This post is sponsored by HarperCollins. 

On our early summer trips when the kids were first experiencing the summer gap between grades, I had the loftiest goals of filling that gap with daily lessons on vacation. I crammed second grade readiness practice books and math manipulatives in a dedicated “summer school” bag and toted it across the country with dreams of daily school lessons at the picnic table in the front yard of my dad’s cabin. It took me three years of packing that bag to finally admit that my goals were a little too big for the reality of what our summer looks like, and my kids were never going to want to start their day with math review when the lake was calling. I asked my sister last year what advice she’d offer moms for a list of summer hacks I was writing, and she laughed and said, “Forgive yourself before the summer even begins for all the educational supplements you’re never going to get to.”

As a teacher I know there’s really one important tool–easy to pack–that kids need to fill the summer gap–books. Reading is the all powerful cure to making sure kids don’t fall back during school breaks.

The rest of those summer review lessons can be folded into travel–sorting strawberries in number groups after we pick them, writing postcards to our friends filled with juicy descriptions of our adventures, and adding uneven fractions as we double our recipe for saskatoon pie. So now, we mostly just bring books. And for Nella and Dash, we have a nice stash of HarperCollins I Can Read! books which are not only organized into color-coded levels but include hundreds of titles featuring award-winning authors and illustrators and the most beloved characters in the history of children’s literature–friends they already love like Pete the Cat and Fancy Nancy and Paddington Bear.

The little ones love these books not only because they recognize their favorite characters, but because they make reading so accessible for early readers with small sentences and recognizable sight words which encourages independent reading.

We have them tucked into the back pocket of our car for the road trip, and there’s a stack on the cedar chest in the cabin for everyday reading.

I’ll never forget my own memory of the first book I read alone–it was Little Bear, and I learned to read it on vacation in Tawas, Michigan.

We’re not quite there for a full book independently read, but both Nella and Dash have fun finding words they recognize and reading the books together with family.

I love the way these books and their character friends extend into real life. Dash claims his red shoes are “just like Pete the Cat,” and every teddy bear we pass by is Paddington to Nella.

Our friends at HarperCollins are celebrating our book lovers getting ready for school with a special giveaway for you. One reader with a U.S. mailing address will receive a sampling of five I Can Read! books and a State Bags backpack. Have you seen these backpacks? I’m hooked now–they’re gorgeous. I LOVE this giveaway package!

Just leave a comment on this post telling us what book is your child’s current favorite book to read! I’ll randomly choose one winner by (I’ll insert a date here) and notify them by e-mail.

You can learn more about I Can Read Books! here or follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. There’s also a great collection of printable activities and tips for beginning readers if you’re feeling ambitious this summer!

Happy Reading!

This post is sponsored by Swisspers. 

Alright, we’re talking self care today. It’s one of the most repeated questions I get and a problem I hear so many women my age talk about–How do you find the time? How do you not lose yourself taking care of everyone else? What even is “me time?” 

I don’t know all the answers, but I do know this: You don’t  FIND “me time.” You CREATE it. At this point in the game, all the time you have is taken, and there’s none lying around just waiting for you to discover it. Making space to take time for yourself is an intentional act that means saying no to something else so you can say yes to yourself.

While the demands of everyday life do make it difficult for big blocks of me time, one self care area I’ve invested in consistently this past year that’s made me feel so taken care of is my evening ritual–taking an already existing routine I like to call a “Level 1” (not a lot of thought) and amping it up to a Level 10 Ritual. Getting ready for bed used to be a sloppy get-‘er-done check off my list (grab anything to wash my face, brush my teeth), but it’s now a ceremony that’s as close to a spa as a home ritual can get, and I look forward to it every night.

Here’s how I transformed my Level 1 to a Level 10.

Indulge
A splash of water and a cheap face soap may have done the trick when I was 20, but I’ve earned my right to indulge in good products that are kind to my skin and make me excited to use every night.

I invest in good products for my evening ritual (started using True Botanicals this year and love them!), and seeing them all set up in my night ritual area makes me want to take the time to take care of myself.

I’m excited to partner with Swisspers on this self care post because they make the very best products for getting makeup off your face. Their new makeup wipes are 100% cotton–unlike others in the market that are mixed materials.

I brought them with me to Michigan and use them every night to clean my skin (we don’t have a bathroom in the bunkhouse, so if I want to skip going to my dad’s cabin for my night ritual, these work perfect without a sink!)

Their cotton rounds are also super soft and plush. I keep a jar of them on my bathroom counter and use them every night to get my eye makeup off or to use toner.

Pretty Up Your Space
One of the easiest ways to turn a regular ol’ routine into a ceremonious ritual is to create a space for it. My evening ritual area has a candle, an Amazon echo to play some music and pretty bottles all lined up on a shelf. I make some of my own toners (witch hazel, rose water, etc.) as well as pour my eye makeup remover into pretty amber spray bottles which I spray onto the cotton rounds (don’t know why I never thought of this before–so much prettier to display and great for travel).

Take Your Time
We take God-knows-how-long to get our kids ready for bed; we should be giving ourselves the same kind of time and love. When I go in to the bathroom at night, I know it’s going to be at least a 10-minute spa ritual. I choose a good song, light my candle, pull out all my products and clip my hair up. And I love that my kids get to see me take that time for myself.

Our friends at Swisspers want you to have some self care time too, so they’re giving away an evening ritual package that not only includes their amazing products (two packs of their 100% cotton makeup wipes, Swisspers cotton swabs, two packs of their premium rounds, two packs of their exfoliating rounds and a pack of their blending applicator sponges), but they’re also including some of my favorite products for an evening of relaxation–my favorite Capri Blue candle, a bottle of doTERRA lavender oil, Smith’s Rosebud Salve, my favorite Essie red nail polish, Lori Roberts’ new gratitude journal and a copy of Bloom).

To enter, follow @swissperscotton on Instagram and tag two friends there. Giveaway ends 11:59 pm on 7/25/18. Winner will be notified through a direct message that they’ve won.

In the meantime, have a favorite evening ritual product you use–a face oil you love? A heavenly smelling body lotion? An eye cream that makes you look younger? Let me know in the comments!

You can buy Swisspers products on Amazon now, and you know I love when Amazon drops a box on my door. Check out more of the self care products Swisspers offers here.