To learn how YOU can offer a giveway to Root & Sprout readers, please click here.

For the preschool crowd, there’s Halloween Spooktacular, a collection of spook-free, age-appropriate adventures with all their favorite characters: Barney, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina, Fireman Sam, and Thomas. As a mom, I like knowing that my daughter can watch an hour of television without me worrying about the content of the stories; these are all characters I know and trust. Halloween doesn’t have to be scary to be fun! 

If your kids are a fan of the best-selling book series Goosebumps, they’ll get a jolt out of three all-new DVDs guaranteed to scare them silly, in a good way, of course! Available in stores now are Monster Blood, A Night in Terror Tower, and One Day at Horrorland.

My six and nine-year-old kids watched the DVDs, which contain several episodes on each disc, over the course of a week, and they really enjoyed them. However, the fact that they sat huddled close to each other and could often be seen with their hands partially covering their faces prompted me several times to ask if we shouldn’t turn off the movie instead. Their adamant “NO!” affirmed they were having more fun than not, though, and thankfully no one suffered any lasting trauma. 

If you would like a chance to win one or more of these Halloween DVDs, please send an email to giveaways@rootandsprout.com with the word “Halloween” in the subject field. In the body of the email, specify which DVD(s) you would like to win. The winner must be willing to provide a US mailing address. Enter now through October 8th. 

To read the complete review of these DVDs, please visit the Reviews page.

IXG Education Foundation  offers easy ways for kids to make their world a greener place by launching “National Green Week,” a nationwide program aimed at enlisting an army of “green keepers” to eliminate two million pounds of trash during the week of Feb.2-6, 2009.

National Green Week is a replication of the highly-successful Fisher Elementary Green School Experiment, conducted in a small, suburban school in Walpole, Massachusetts, in June 2008, that resulted in a 70% waste reduction in classroom trash and new town-wide recycling programs.  Educators nationwide, including principals and teachers, have vowed to participate, and children have begun to sign up as green keepers by simply making a promise to pack green lunches and snacks during National Green Week.

To participate in National Green Week 2009, parents, students, and schools simply sign up at www.nationalgreenweek.org or call 1-888-668-2298.  They can either purchase an IXG Green Pack from the website or use their own green tools, and then pledge to participate by packing lunches and snacks in re-usable containers for the week of February 2-6, 2009.  Corporate and individual green enthusiasts may participate by donating IXG Green Packs to schools, classrooms, community groups, or students at www.adoptagreeenschool.org.  IXG Green Packs contain a reusable water bottle, snack containers, an organic tee shirt, reusable shopping bag, and an educational insert.  Students are urged to reserve their green packs now to be sure they have them in time for Green Week. 

If you would like to win your own Green Pack, send an email to giveaways@rootandsprout.com with “Green Pack” in the subject line now through October 8th. The winner must be willing to provide a US mailing address.

To read the article about National Green Week in its entirety, please click here.  

As a parent, don’t you want the toys your kids play with to stimulate their developing brains and promote creative, independent play just as much as you want them to entertain? Wouldn’t you rather purchase an evergreen toy than a hunk of plastic junk that’ll be the hit of the play date for all of ten minutes?  

Enter to win your choice of a pre-cut Terrific Twins, Big Brother, or Big Sister felt doll set. Each set comes with a plastic duffel for storage. Simply send an email to giveaways@rootandsprout.com with “felt dolls” in the subject line now through October 8th. The winner must be willing to provide a US mailing address.  

Even if you don’t win, you can purchase a felt set from the extensive product selection at Story Time Felts. Mention “Root & Sprout” in the comments section at checkout to receive FREE shipping.  

To read the complete review of these felt dolls, please visit theReviews page.

Munny Journey is a Keepsake Journal for Baby’s First Money. Modeled after traditional baby journals it contains pages to record money “firsts,” such as baby’s first dollar, first savings account and first investment. It is also an educational tool, providing information on saving and investing and illustrating how the magic of compound interest can create wealth. 

It is possible to create a millionaire by age 65 for just one dollar a day starting at birth. The assumption used is that the money grows at an average annual return of 9%. This is less than the historical average annual return of the S & P 500, the most widely used benchmark for United States stock investing. 

The book has two primary themes. The first is the keepsake theme of the book with pages to record the financial dreams of parents, grandparents and others. Clear pockets are included to store baby’s first dollar and state quarter. There are pages dedicated to others first’s such as savings account, bond, stock investment and financial advisor.

The second theme is what makes it truly a book more than just a keepsake journal. 

Organized into chapters such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds and college savings the keepsake pages are accompanied by easy to understand text about the different investments and concepts. The goal is to present the value of starting early in a new and unique way rather than with complicated terms and ideas often found in financial books.

The book also shows different examples of compound interest over a lifetime and allows parents to track the balance of an account with a “Munny Mountain” chart and photo pages to be used as the child grows. 

The journal has inspirational quotes separating the chapters and is beautifully illustrated with original artwork by Krista Brand. Shelby Ronnestad served as creative director overseeing design and layout. Rich Ronnestad contributed text, charts and calculations.

Enter to win your own Munny Journey by sending an email to giveaways@rootandsprout.com with "Munny Journey" in the subject field now through October 8th. Winners must be willing to provide a US mailing address.

If I were to recommend a book that embodies the Root & Sprout philosophy, which is to parent through a mutual respect for our children, it would be Parenting with an Attitude: 21 Questions Successful Parents Ask Themselves, written by Ed Wimberly, Ph.D.  

Unlike many parenting experts, Dr. Wimberly believes to effectively parent a child and successfully navigate through the challenges that come with shaping our progeny, one must first look at the inconsistencies and shortcomings of the parent versus focusing totally on what is “wrong” with the child. In other words, Dr. Wimberly forces a parent to look at the ways in which his or her attitudes affect how the child reacts and behaves. He believes, "kids are not usually 'the problem' but rather the symptom of something in the parent's efforts that needs fine tuning. Fine tune and adjust the parenting and you will get the desired results in the behavior and growth of your kids." 

Enter to win your own copy of Parenting with an Attitude by sending an email to giveaways@rootandsprout.com with "Parenting" in the subject field now through October 8th. Winners must be willing to provide a US mailing address.

To read the complete review of this book, please visit the Reviews page.