Here in The Marketplace, we make it our mission to bring you stories of moms and their businesses. Are you a Canadian Mom who owns or runs her own business? Do you know someone who is? Submit a story for consideration in The Marketplace by emailing marketplace@urbanmoms.ca.
This week, Leeann’s story:
What’s the first word children want to print? Their Name! The ‘Signature’ stamp from The Little Stamp Company was originally developed when my daughter was 3 years old. She was keen to learn how to spell and print her name. It repeatedly took a long time to ‘dot’ her name, Mackenzie, so she could trace the letters. Dotting her name to practise was a valuable learning process but it was time consuming. As a busy parent of two I thought – why not create a fun stamp? After searching and searching for a suitable stamp the initial prototype of the ‘Signature’ stamp was born. Now, Mackenzie’s younger brother, Kian, is proudly learning to print with his own ‘Signature’ stamp too!
With my expertise and a Master’s in Education, I appreciate the value of early literacy. When children learn to print their name the building blocks of further letter and word recognition begin. Of course there are lots of printable resources online for children to practise printing, but our self inking stamp allows kids to use their stamp on any paper. Rather than sitting with ‘worksheets’ to practise, children can learn to print in a fun and engaging way by actively stamping their name. Children feel proud to place their name on artwork, and get a boost of self confidence from printing their name.
After sampling a variety of stamp concepts with my family and friends the design became apparent. It needed to be easy to use, mess free, and use an eco-friendly, food grade ink.
The Little Stamp Company is confident this product not only assists parents by being a useful tool but also promotes early literacy in a memorable and unique way.