Summer Learning's a BLAST With Netflix #Streamteam #NetflixKids

Summer Slides Are For Playgrounds Not For Minds 

And Netflix Can Help

Something weird happens every year, about this time. All the school uniforms, school supplies, and school sales start ramping up and taking over the airwaves while there's still plenty of summer left! We're not quite ready to leave the long, lazy days of summer for school yet! But with Netflix Kids and a little help from your friends on The Stream Team, nobody needs to freak out about a lack of learning or suffer the summer slide.

Everyone's heard about the summer slide by now... that dreaded phenomenon where kids lose months of learning every summer. School may be out, but learning doesn’t have to be, and Netflix makes summer learning A BLAST! 

Disclosure:  ChiIL Mama is a proud member of the Netflix Stream Team. We've been compensated for sharing monthly posts with our readers.  All opinions are our own.

Give your little ones a summer brain-power boost by introducing them to something new with Netflix—whether you choose a documentary about dinosaurs or go on a math adventure to the moon. Learning rocks inside and outside of the classroom. 

Here at ChiIL Mama we dig documentaries. My husband shoots documentaries & TV Shows all over the world, and we've learned soooooo many interesting things about a wide range of topics from watching his shows and more.

For the perfect way to beat the heat and indulge in some screen time, introduce your kids to something new with Netflix. It's a great way to relax and wind down after a full, active day of outdoor play too.  ChiIL Mama's Top Flixs Pick: Check out Wild Horse Wild Ride, an awesome documentary the whole family can enjoy, by a husband/wife team who are friends/co-workers of my husband's.  An annual contest challenges people across the U.S. to tame a wild mustang in 100 days, a dangerous feat performed by people from all walks of life. Rated PG. Available on Netflix.

Take a look at the plethora of great documentaries available for older kids and adults, including Blackfish, Food, Inc. and Mitt.

10 Netflix Titles for a Summer Brain-Power Boost

1. Lewis & Clark: The Journey Out West 2. Walking with Dinosaurs 3. Secret Yellowstone 4. The Blue Planet 5. When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions Want even more brain-boosting titles? Our friends at Common Sense Media (one of ChiIL Mama's favorite resources) shared 12 age-appropriate documentaries that encourage kids to explore worlds they may not normally encounter, all currently streaming on Netflix – check out the list here.

Netflix Kids Titles for a Summer Brain-Power Boost:

1. The Great Mouse Detective 2. Busytown Mysteries 3. LeapFrog: Math Adventures to the Moon 4. Turtle: The Incredible Journey 5. The Magic School Bus ChiIL out with us this summer in Chi, IL and beyond at ChiIL Mama (family friendly) and our sister site ChiIL Live Shows (adult). Check back with ChiIL Mama for more cool Stream Team Themes every month!  Stay cool and stream on... Disclosure:  Once again, ChiIL Mama is a proud member of the Netflix Stream Team. We've been compensated for sharing monthly posts with our readers.  All opinions are our own.

It's Curtains for The Summer Slide With ShowerSmarts #Giveaway #green #EcoFriendly

Enter HERE for your chance to win This NEW Out of This World Shower Curtain: Solar System! (MSRP for $43.95).

Disclosure:  ChiIL Mama is happy to partner with single mom & serial entrepreneur, Kimberly, the mastermind behind ShowerSmarts™ educational shower curtains. Thanks to ShowerSmarts™ for the opportunity to review and host a giveaway.  As always, all opinions are our own.

We just got the Out of This World Shower Curtain: Solar System design shown above and the kids (and adults in our family) are already absorbing a cosmic amount of knowledge. Your eye will be drawn by the gorgeous, colorful art and the facts will follow! The sky's the limit. We're impressed that the curtain is machine washable, and eco friendly!  This company just launched in late February of 2014, so YOU can be one of the first to have one of these lovely, smart art curtains!

About the Curtains:

The curtains are made out of durable and long lasting fabric, with original designs from local artists. Our curtains are printed in the U.S.A. and ShowerSmarts™ is part of the movement to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.  Plus we are environmentally friendly. What do I mean by environmentally friendly? Our curtains are printed with water free digital printing/drying/labeling, plus the dyes are 100% environmentally safe. 

It's Curtains for The Summer Slide With ShowerSmarts:

Everyone's heard the buzz about the dreaded summer slide.  You know, that phenomenon where kids backslide as their brains go on vacation, and they lose up to 2 MONTHS of learning they have to do over in the fall. In a report from the National Summer Learning Association they state that "A conservative estimate of lost instructional time is approximately two months or roughly 22 percent of the school year."

Well, ChiIL Mama's got a great idea to share, that will put slides back on playgrounds and mountain tops where they belong, and keep kids learning in a fun and playful way so subtle they'll hardly notice.  

A Word From The Founder:

I'm Kimberly, a single mom and serial entrepreneur in sunny Southern California. I am so excited to announce the launch of my new business, ShowerSmarts™!

Six years ago I decided to take my daughters to Costa Rica for a vacation. It was my first vacation out of the country as a single mom. I was both really excited and scared, but mostly proud...proud that I was breaking personal boundaries. I decided to buy a map of the world on a shower curtain, so I could show my girls where we were going, but also to start planning new places to go and visit. My girls loved the shower curtain. They started referring back to it for homework, quizzing each other and me on the countries of the world. I was amazed by how much we were all learning almost by accident. After the plastic curtain wore out I started looking for other educational shower curtains. I just couldn't find what I was looking for. I wanted something educational, beautiful, and environmentally friendly, and that's where ShowerSmarts™ was born.

I researched the educational standards of children in elementary school, and I came up with the first four educational concepts and hired local artists to bring my visions to life. I have learned a lot since launching. For example, as time passes adults forget the multiplication table and where each state is in the union. What I realized is everyone can benefit from ShowerSmarts™. No one is too young or too old, education is for all of us.

Visit our website www.showersmarts.com to view more info and order yours!

ChiIL Out With ChiIL Mama's Countdown to Summer Giveaways

School's out for summer, here in Chicago, and we're celebrating with LOTS of giveaways for babies through adults.  ChiIL Out with ChiIL Mama all summer long, in Chi, IL and beyond! Giveaways are open to anyone in the US.  Enter through midnight on summer solstice, June 21st.

Check out more inspiring ShowerSmarts designs below:

Disclosure: Once again, ChiIL Mama is happy to partner with single mom & serial entrepreneur, Kimberly, the mastermind behind ShowerSmarts™ educational shower curtains. Thanks to ShowerSmarts™ for the opportunity to review and host a giveaway.  As always, all opinions are our own.