When we were younger, my brother and I would battle over the surprise in the cereal box. If it took an eye gouge to win the temporary tattoo out of the corn flakes, so be it. This wasn’t breakfast. This was Fight Club.
Thanks to Cheerios®, kids won’t have to fight over the surprise in each box. In fact, they can share it – and learn from it.
Beginning in late March, specially marked boxes of Cheerios will feature a free book, “1 Zany Zoo,” written by Lori Degman, a special education teacher from Vernon Hills, Ill., and winner of Cheerios Spoonfuls of Stories® New Author Contest. The book will be packaged in 2.2 million Cheerios boxes before its Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers hardback launch this summer.
Always dreamed of becoming a children’s book author like Degman, but not sure how to get started? This year’s Cheerios’ New Author Contest opens on March 15 and runs through June 15. And for the first time, Cheerios will be accepting entries written in English or Spanish. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize, a book deal from Simon & Schuster and nationwide distribution of his or her book in boxes of Cheerios in 2012. To learn more, visit www.spoonfulsofstories.com.
Over the past eight years, Cheerios’ Spoonfuls of Stories program has given away more than 40 million free children’s books in boxes of cereal and has donated $3.2 million to nonprofit First Book®, which provides books to low-income families.
Breakfast and books – it’s a balanced morning!
By Nicole Plegge, Lifestyle Blogger for SmartParenting
Metro East mom Nicole Plegge has written for STL Parent for more than 12 years. Besides working as a freelance writer & public relations specialist, and raising two daughters and a husband, Nicole's greatest achievements are finding her misplaced car keys each day and managing to leave the house in a stain-free shirt. Her biggest regret is never being accepted to the Eastland School for Girls. Follow Nicole on Twitter @STLWriterinIL
A St. Louis family favorite – the Children's Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden – will close for the season on November 1-2, and children are invited to have an adventure exploring all the Garden has to offer before the gates close.
Families are invited to the Saint Louis Art Museum on Sunday afternoon to participate in free hands-on art activities with fun themes and to explore the galleries. Each Family Sunday focuses on a different family-friendly theme.
Families can enjoy the Fall Fest Kid's Zone and all the fun of the farm at the Grant's Farm Fall Fest. There will be seasonal treats, animal feedings, a petting zoo, themed photo spots, and the world famous Budweiser Clydesdales too!
Hear stories in Spanish read by native Spanish-speaking storytellers at the Missouri History Museum's Cuentos En El Museo - Storytelling in the Museum in Spanish. In these free storytelling sessions, the museum's youngest visitors explore traditional and contemporary storybooks and do hands-on crafts.
Sensory Friendly Science Time features reduced noise, modified lighting and sensory-friendly demonstrations at the Saint Louis Science Center.