As a parent, it's not always easy to find activities that are both exciting for kids and truly educational.
I know the struggle all too well.
We recently tried Cocomelon Sing and Play with JJ on our smart TV and the change in our kids was immediate.
Instead of just watching, they were jumping up laughing, singing and clapping, along with JJ and the whole crew.
Thanks to the impressive technology, the characters actually reacted to our kids' voices and movements, making the whole thing more like playtime than watching a program.
Created with guidance from early childhood specialists Cocomelon, Sing and Play with JJ helps support vocabulary development, rhythm coordination and confidence.
The experience is safe, ad-free, and totally hands-free on the big screen.
Our kids loved feeling like part of the adventure and we loved watching them light up as they learned through upbeat music and playful movement.
So if you want screen time that feels like playtime you can feel good about, give it a try.
Available now in the Volley app on your smart TV.
Just search Volley in your TV's app store and start your free trial of Cocomelon.
Sing and play with JJ today.
Imagine sitting at a table with a fresh box of crayons.
You open the lid, and a rainbow of colors greets you.
Reds, blues, greens, yellows, and so many more.
Each crayon has its own neat paper wrapper and sharp tip, ready to bring your drawings to life.
Crayons feel simple, but behind them is a long history of invention, creativity, and fun.
The story of crayons is about how people found a way to put color in children's hands all over the world.
The idea of coloring with wax is not new.
Thousands of years ago, ancient Egyptians and Greeks used wax mixed with natural pigments to decorate statues and other objects.
Artists in the Middle Ages also used wax in a method called encaustic painting, where hot wax mixed with colors was brushed onto wood or canvas.
While these early techniques were important, they weren't meant for children or everyday art.
They were complex, messy, and mostly for professional artists.
The crayons we know today began with chalk and charcoal.
In the 1700s and 1800s, artists and students used sticks of colored chalk or compressed charcoal to sketch and shade.
These were helpful, but they broke easily and created dust.
People wanted something cleaner, sturdier, and more colorful.
This led to experiments with mixing pigments and wax into small sticks.
The first crayons designed for kids appeared in Europe in the 1800s.
They were made by combining colored pigments with oil and charcoal.
These early crayons worked, but they were often messy, oily and sometimes even toxic because of the materials used.
Parents and teachers wanted something safer for children.
That demand for safety and simplicity opened the door for a big invention in America.
In 1903, two cousins, Edwin Binney and Harold Smith, founded the company Binney and Smith.
They were already successful at making products like pigments for paints and even black carbon for tires.
But they wanted to create something new for schools and families.
They experimented with paraffin wax, a safe, inexpensive material, and added non-toxic pigments to create smooth, colorful sticks.
Their invention was the modern crayon.
That same year, Binney and Smith introduced their first box of Crayola crayons.
The box held just eight colors, red, blue, green, yellow, orange, violet, black, and brown.
The name Crayola was invented by Edwin Binney's wife, Alice.
She combined cray, the French word for chalk, with ola, from the word oleaginous, meaning oily.
The new crayons were safe, bright and affordable, and they quickly became popular in schools and homes.
From those first eight colors, Crayola grew into a worldwide favorite.
Over the years, more and more shades were added.
By the 1950s, boxes with 48 and 64 colors were being sold, complete with a built-in sharpener.
Children could now color with hues like maize, periwinkle, and burnt sienna.
The company also began renaming and inventing new shades to keep up with trends, eventually expanding to more than 120 different crayons.
Crayons weren't just tools, they became part of childhood itself.
Teachers used them for classroom projects, and kids used them to make cards, posters, and drawings.
Unlike paint, crayons didn't spill, and unlike markers, they didn't dry out.
They were easy to hold, didn't cost much, and could be used almost anywhere.
For many children, the first step into art was picking up a crayon.
Crayons became so iconic that they found their way into museums.
The Smithsonian Institution recognized Crayola as part of American culture and in 1996 the company opened the Crayola Experience, a family attraction where visitors can learn how crayons are made and even create their own.
Crayons had gone from being just a classroom tool to a symbol of creativity and imagination around the world.
Today, billions of crayons are produced every year.
They are sold in more than 80 countries, and Crayola remains the best known brand.
Yet other companies also make crayons, each adding their own twist.
Some crayons are made with soy-based wax for a natural option, while others are designed to be extra durable or easy to wash off.
Despite these changes, the basic idea has stayed the same a simple stick of wax and color that anyone can use.
The next time you open a box of crayons, think of the long history inside.
From ancient wax paintings to that first box of Crayola crayons in 1903, Each crayon carries a story of invention, imagination and color.
Simple, safe, and full of possibility, crayons remind us that art belongs to...
