Ellie started full day Kindergarten this year and is getting so excited about reading. A couple of her friends are actually reading chapter books, and with her brother in 2nd grade and advancing his reading skills, she’s pretty motivated. It’s really cute and encouraging to see. She’s always drawing at home, and writing her “snap words” among the pictures. Snap words are basically sight words. They’re words you can say in a snap.  

So when we had a chance to check out Text Cool^™ Bracelet Studio I had a feeling she’d really like it. A creative and fun way to spell her favorite words and symbols, turning text into a fashion statement. We had the day off last Wednesday so the three of us spent some time together trying it out, and embossing some fun bracelets. 

She wanted to create a snap words bracelet, like I knew she would. The moment we opened the box and she saw the pink animal print, and grabbed for it immediately. “It’s like the cheetah from school!” she said. (Her school mascot is a cheetah.) So we set things up to try it out. 

Text Cool^™ Tip: The kit comes with 35 bracelets so be sure to test it first on colors your kids are less excited about. It did take us a couple of tries to figure out the proper set up and we had some crying when one of the  precious cheetah bracelets was messed up. 

Ellie has a bit of a perfection complex, so we also turned this fun activity into a learning experience for her. I often have to tell her that there’s no such thing as “perfect,” that art is meant to be fun, creative and open-ended. That she’s only in Kindergarten so she’s still learning, that she’ll always be learning. But she has this inner desire to automatically know how to make or do something perfectly the first time. Her teacher actually noted this on the school progress report last week, and it’s something that John and I have definitely noticed about her too. I was not surprised to read it.

We try to help build her confidence so she doesn’t freak out when she makes mistakes, but it seems to be innate, probably because she’s my daughter, living with a lovely combo of perfectionism and anxiety. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But I do think it’s great for her to live through and learn from mistakes. 

Once she got the hang of it, Ellie had a great time creating some bracelets, including her “snap words” pink cheetah bracelet. She just LOVES learning to spell and becoming a real reader. She took her time making sure her special words were spelled just right. She also made a cheetah print bracelet with some of her favorite symbols and emoticons, like the kitty, rainbow, ice cream and more. 

She even made a pink camouflage bracelet for me with cute symbols and my name on it too. Her idea … so sweet! She was really getting the hang of it and didn’t want to stop. I have to admit, I made a couple myself. It was fun.

Ronin tried it out too. I think creative toys like this should also be enjoyed by boys. It may be marketed to little “fashionistas” but there is absolutely nothing wrong with boys playing with it too. Ronin loves crafts and art probably as much as his sister. Of course his art is sometimes more focused on his favorite sports teams or video games, but his love of creativity is so important to him. 

He was excited to create a Seattle Seahawks bracelet in blue, and I made him this Minecraft bracelet in his favorite gold. He was super focused and wanted to get it just right (much like Ellie). I do have a couple perfectionists on my hands!

One of the nice things about this set is that all of the many pieces store right inside. All of these bracelet strips and buttons go right into the circular storage area. 

So nice that it’s self contained! I am not a fan of toys that come with a lot of pieces and no where to put them, so this was great.

Text Cool^™ includes the easy to use Bracelet Studio (for ages 6+) with over 60 letters and emoticons, and 35 bracelets to wear and share. I can totally see the kids doing this during play dates, sharing their text bracelet creations with friends. 

Text Cool^™ is available at Target, Walmart, Amazon and Toys R’ Us.

Do you have kids who would like Text Cool^™?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.