Making Changes to Help us Grow Stronger

Here at Peekaboo Beans we are constantly learning and growing and today we have an important message to share with you about our tween line CiCi Bean.

CiCi Bean was born out of the idea that tweens need to be confident in their bodies and in what they wear; that size shouldn’t be what matters. While this idea was full of love and purpose, the tween market is extremely broad and quite hard to break in to. We’ve learned so much along the way, and we now realize that what we do best in the world is Peekaboo Beans. 

Knowing this, we have decided to tuck CiCi Bean away for now and focus all of our attention and resources into making Peekaboo Beans a stronger and more thriving brand. By focusing all of our resources into Peekaboo Beans we can put more into our baby collection and add more styles up to size 10 for both boys and girls.

This may seem like a sad day, but CiCi Bean is just taking a break; it may not be gone forever! 

In order to clear out our current CiCi stock we have put everything CiCi on sale! 

Place your order now because all CiCi Bean will be removed from our website on Tuesday, May 26^th.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me, I value each and every one of you!

In love and play,

Dropping a Holiday LOVE BOMB on this deserving family!

Gary Chapman, after thirty years of serving as a marriage counselor, was convinced that there are five basic love languages -- five ways to express love emotionally.  He believes that each person has a primary love language that we must learn to speak if we want that person to feel loved.  

In his book, "The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate,"  a 'Love Language' test was developed, which I took awhile back to better understand how I need to feel loved.  I recommend taking this test online because it provides a deeper insight into both you and your family members. For example, if your spouse's love language is physical touch, then they feel loved by gestures such as hugs and holding hands, not necessarily from words of affirmation.  By learning to speak someones love language, it can improve communication and foster stronger emotional bonds.  My love language is 'gifting.' Finding the perfect gift for someone brings me such joy and when I receive a thoughtful present, it touches my heart.

My heart is full when I can give and since this is at the core of who I am, I've incorporated it into the culture of my business.  At the Peekaboo Beans Playground we all have a secret admirer which means each and every one of us receives random gestures of kindness throughout the year, be it small gifts, notes, or a cup of tea.  When we do our 'reveal' every quarter it's great fun to hear the conversations that ensue regarding how we tried to maintain our anonymity.  

In the spirit of gift giving, we at Peekaboo Beans launched our Holiday Love Bomb earlier this month. We realize that this time of year can be stressful for families that are facing daunting challenges, so we were excited for the opportunity to give back to those in-need, in our local communities. Thank you to all of  our VIPBs and Play Stylists who nominated these very deserving families. We are excited to have chosen a very deserving family and have provided them with a play ready Peekaboo Beans wardrobe, amazing quality toys from Raspberry Kids (www.raspberrykids.com) and organic skin care products from Skoah (www.skoah.com) and for Mom... a digital camera to capture precious family moments all year round.

At Peekaboo Beans our mission is to provide ingredients for a playful life.  We are here to help support you, as you help support others not just in the products we create, but in the community we build--  so this holiday love bomb was for you.  Now that is speaking my language!

in love and play,

Join Us for a Fire Side Chat!

We are so excited to announce our first Fire Side Chat dates with our Founder and Director of Play in a city near you! 

Peekaboo Beans will be hitting the road out east and hosting three fire side chat’s late this November. The growing playwear brand is inviting the public along with their current Play Stylists to join in on a night of mix and mingling with Traci, who will be sharing her inspiring journey of how Peekaboo Beans came to be, the opportunity of owning your own business as an Independent Play Stylist, and most significantly, spreading the message of the importance of play for our children.

Peekaboo Beans’ Fire Side Chat’s will begin in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan this November 14^th from 7:00pm – 9:00pm at the 6Twelve Lounge. Peekaboo Beans will also be bringing their Pop Up Playdates to Saskatoon on Nov 16^th from 10:00am - 12:00pm at the Children's Discovery Museum in Market Mall. 

If you are interested in learning more about joining the Peekaboo Beans community and the opportunity of becoming an Independent Play Stylist, please join us at one of our upcoming Fire Side Chat’s located below and email your RSVP to play@peekaboobeans.com.

Upcoming Fireside Chat Dates:

Saskatoon, SK - November 14

6Twelve Lounge at the Sheraton Cavalier

612 Spadina Crescent E

Saskatoon, SK  S7K 3G9

7:00-9:00pm   

Ottawa, ON - November 21-22

Spin Kitchen & Bar at the Ottawa Marriott Hotel

100 Kent Street

Ottawa, ON  K1P 5R7

7:00-9:00pm                       

Kitchener/Waterloo, ON - November 23

Martini's, 2980 King Street East, Kitchener, ON

6:00-8:00pm

Tweens Need to Play Too!!!

First off, let me explain why I want to share our community of amazing educators with you, and why I am a stand for our series “PLAY-ducation”.   

We are suffering a Play Deficit.  It isn’t hypothetical, it isn’t some social media farce gone wrong.  It is true.  Canada received a failing grade in the area of play.  A big F!  What would you do if your bean came home with an F on their report card, you would certainly pay attention.  So we are!  Play will not die off overnight, it will be a slow process and in generations to come, there will be no such thing of Free, Unstructured Play.  And generations will suffer. We will lose the vital skills that we need to grow into healthy, well-adjusted communicative adults.  

Insert our Play Series.  Different topics, amazing speakers, a night out to grow, learn and feel supported in your family values.  

This week we had the AMAZING Andrea Chatwin, our resident Play Maven and Certified Childhood Development Specialist come and talk about Tweens.  I was particularly excited about this topic because I have a tween. I see how my five year old plays unleashed and perfectly without any restrictions, but I notice as my first born, a once unleashed little girl now turned tween, is still young at heart but craving to be mature and grown up.  

So we created a presentation “Tweens Need to Play Too” and as always Andrea Chatwin NEVER DISAPPOINTS. 

Although hard to articulate the impact of what I learned, I will share a few key points:

Tweens need to play in order to develop into confident and competent young people. Their need for self directed, unstructured free play remains consistent even as they enter middle to late childhood, and moreover Neuroscience is telling us that children need to play for optimal brain development to occur!

What symptoms of over-scheduling may look like…

Psychological - Irritability.  Difficulty focusing. Difficulty concentrating. Behavioural difficulties.

Physical - Poor eating habits. Sleep difficulties. Headaches. Stomach aches.

Understanding the Pull to Electronics:

Artificial Mastery – electronics easily and quickly give the child/tween the feeling of “I did something well”. Making actual, real life mastery some what boring.

Immediate Gratification – the user feels relief and/or feels better faster than it takes when one goes out to play. 

Dissociative State – “I am no longer available emotionally in this situation”. children/tweens can shut out the outside world, they don’t have to feel anything or be connected with their inner worlds. They can be emotionally blank, yet still get immediate gratification.

Coming down from the technology high:

Mood differences post electronic play; Limited patience or impulse control; Difficulty focusing or attending to tasks; Impact on parent child relationship

Responding to your child/tweens behavior:

Step 1 – Empathy, Empathy, Empathy. Express to your child/tween that you fully understand what their experience is right now and why their request is so important (ie. I want to watch more tv). Get alignment.

Step 2 – Set your limit clearly and firmly (ie. tv is not for today).

Step 3 – Give your child/tween choices to return some control back to them. Refocus the issue on to something they do have control over (Ie. no tv before school, but when you come home you can decide if you want to watch 1 hour after school or after dinner).

How to Play with Your Tweens:

• Offer joint attention. Focus and value something just as much as they do. Join their experience. Find what lights their eyes, what causes them to be interested.  If only for 30 minutes a week be with them in whatever capacity they desire.  
• Playing with a younger child helps your tween to engage in healthy play activities without the concern that it is too babyish.
• Keep toys accessible. Even when kids/tweens claim that they are finished with “toys”, if they are accessible they will likely gravitate towards them in quiet times.
• Encourage natural play. Kids need to be outside, whether this is at a local park or in your backyards
• Play together as a family. Indoor games, outdoor activities, sports, crafting.

Join us Wednesday, October 29th for the next talk in our PLAY-ducation Series, "Raising Children in a Digital World" with Dr. Deborah MacNamara. Admission is by donation. All proceeds will be donated to Playground Builders. Please SAVE YOUR SEAT and RSVP to play@peekaboobeans.com.

In love and play, 

Into the Woods

At Peekaboo Beans we are all about Play!   If you follow us on Social Media, you will see despite creating amazing collections (like this Fall 2014) we always try and take time to play at work!  

More importantly, with a world of endless distractions, we want to bring play back into our children's lives.  Just like the air we breathe, the sleep we need and the healthy food we eat, play is an essential part of healthy development! 

So today we celebrate the launch of another playful collection and provide a product that truly fosters a playful life.  “Into the Woods” is inspired by nature, and all the goodness it brings to the soul.   Check out Page 11 of the Catalogue (link below) to learn more about the collection inspiration.  

You will see a new an amazing feature - “Lets Talk Play” in our new catalogue!  Refer to Page 6 and 7, and meet our amazing Play Maven, Andrea Chatwin as she gives us her professional seal of approval on why PB features helps support the healthy development of your child.   

It is hard to pick out a favourite piece (so many to die for pieces)!  No doubt I love the Once Upon a time Coat and the Woodland coat!  Check out page 90 to see how you can get one of these amazing coats half price or free!

The girly girl in me loves the Enchanted Dress and the Whirl and Twirl (a throw back to the beloved Dreamy Dress of Fall 2010).  The tomboy in me loves the Stag your it tee ad the Ranger Pant - oh if I only had boys!!!  My Tween Bean fave, by far is The Be Brave Tunic and the new edition to the Heart Collection the Follow your Heart Hoodie!  Of course the baby playsuits would have me reconsider more babies!!!

Peekaboo Beans is all about family first - so our Social Selling model is an amazing way for us to support family first and share the joy of our product with you.  Find one of our knowledgeable and trained Play Stylists in your area and support local by shopping their Peekaboo-tique.  Click here to find a play stylist near you.

Your back to school shopping and fall wardrobe planning will be a breeze, no driving, no busy malls, no pushy sales people.  You can arrange a playdate, or an evening with your mommy friends to shop together and earn your new product for half price and free. 

If you are new to beans - you will fall in love.  It is designed by moms, for you and your children to be happy healthy and comfortable in everyday play so you never miss out on those play perfect moments.   If you are already a bean-aholic - continued to be wowed! 

Thank you for your loyal business - by supporting Peekaboo Beans, you are taking a stand for ethical manufacturing, elimination of harmful chemicals in your children's clothing, you are supporting local moms, and the building of Playgrounds in war torn countries.  To date in partnership with Playground Builders, you have helped provide safe places for over 200,000 children to play in some very dark places. 

Want to learn more about Joining our Vine (join for $99 right now!) and starting your own Peekaboo-tique, join our movement of Play!  Our amazing vine of Play Stylists is second to none.  A community like no other!!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I hope you love the exciting new collection!

Click to view our Fall 2014 Look Book

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It's time to give.

No matter what, whether I am happy, sad, down, blue, gracious or any other of the multitudes of emotions us women experience, giving to others makes me happy. Making others smile makes me smile.

I have been watching the tragedies of Hurricane Haiyan and I feel helpless. Sometimes the world feels so big and I wonder, "How can I contribute and make a difference?"

I've learned from one of my mentors, Darrell Kopke, that you have to find what you are passionate about and make a choice as to how you can contribute. Align with your values and you will drive impactful, positive change. It is up to you to find your voice, discover your passion, and pursue it. He says, "I drive a V8, so I'm not saving the world by driving the vehicle I do. I do, however, invest in socially responsible companies while being a stand for profit and for people."

In his words, "You can't suffer for the suffering," but you can help be part of change. Follow what makes you naturally curious, it will lead you to your passions and purpose. This is how you will best affect change.

So I declare my contribution through Peekaboo Beans:

1. To be a stand for the importance of play: I will be relentless in my efforts to educate about the importance of free, unstructured play for our children and future generations. I will make a product that supports a playful life.
2. To give back to play: I will create opportunities to raise awareness and funds to build safe places for less fortunate children to play in through our charity partner: Playground Builders.
3. To be a voice for working women: I will create a working environment for mothers that provides the space to be a mother first while being a creative and knowledgeable contributor to a society of meaningful work.
4. To foster a community of entrepreneurs: To extend this mom-focused working environment, I will strive to build out an entrepreneurial platform that allows mothers the opportunity to stay at home, earn income, and be entrepreneurial on their own terms.

This month, you can help give the gift of play with our Playground Builders' "Purple and Green Hoodie" campaign. Buy a green "On the Go" or a purple "I Heart Play" Hoodie at a reduced price and $5.00 will go to buying the following pieces for a playground:

• Swing set: $488
• See Saw: $381
• Bench: $74
• Slide: $391
• Monkey Bars: $73

By choosing to align with Peekaboo Beans you are standing with us as we choose to make a change. Together, we are:

1. Giving the gift of play, for your children, my children, and children around the world.
2. Giving the gift of change - through the voice of PB.
3. Giving the gift of ethics in manufacturing practices.
4. Giving the gift of supporting the local economy.
5. Giving the gift of making a difference in the world. One Bean at a time.

What could be more perfect? Buying local, supporting the worldwide community, and all in the comfort of your own home! Does it get better than that?


In love and play,