When I was pregnant with my son, I studied baby name books and practiced putting names together. I knew what I wanted his first name to be, but I wanted his whole name to be both meaningful and to sound great together.
In the end, I decided on the first name I chose many years ago, along with a meaningful family name. This name is very important to me, for many reasons, and yet I find that I haven’t often talked about it with My Little Man. That’s why I believe in the mission of this company and was so excited for the opportunity to review their latest product: Your Amazing Name – Personalized Adventures for EVERY Name! by CrossTimber – Name Meaning Gifts.
I started praying for My Little Man way back then. It wasn’t always a conscious thing, praying for someone through a name, as it wasn’t something I really knew about; but it I knew that words and names have power. I knew that I wanted his name to mean something more than what people yelled when they wanted to talk to him. I wanted that name to be a part of his reputation; to sound professional, should he go that route; to be short and sweet and something anyone could say.
It’s been a long time since I really sat and pondered all of this, and thinking about his video really made me realize just how very much God is bringing all of that to fruition.
That’s what CrossTimber’s newest product is: a cartoon video, personalized just for your child, all about his/her name.
Because these videos, while intended to show a child just how special s/he is, take just a small bit of work from the one ordering them. I answered some basic questions about him, chose a graphic from an assortment that would be featured toward the end of the video, and wrote a short letter that was included in the video. I also uploaded a piece of art that My Little Man drew.
The letter was a challenge to write. It has to be more than a sentence or two, but it’s short enough that I needed to compact my thoughts. It didn’t take long to do, but I did need to think it through a bit.
When we got to that part of the video, My Little Man started to laugh. “Did you have to write that?” he asked, but as he listened, his face lit up. Adding these personalized words is definitely a super special touch.
The video was clearly his from the beginning to the end, however. It starts with his artwork and his name is soon introduced. Throughout the video, his artwork is transformed into several objects, and his name is used throughout the video in many ways. It is spelled several times, too, making it a great learning opportunity.
Later in the video the Biblical perspective of names is discussed, and cartoon animals talk about how special and unique the child is. One of these animals also used lots of puns, and this was my Little Man’s favorite part of the show – he loves puns!
All in all, I love the message that CrossTimber is sending with these new name videos. They’re personal, specific, full of faith and scripture, and include learning opportunities, too.
I think that the suggested age range is a bit wide, however. Rather than going through age twelve, I think they’re more appropriate for kids in the toddler through early elementary stage – for those kids learning their letters and how to spell their names. While the message is appropriate for people of all ages, the delivery method is more suited to the younger crowd, I think.
When my kids were a part of that little-kid set, they would have loved every aspect of these videos. They also would’ve gotten a big kick out of the printable activity videos, all of which were personalized with My Little Man’s name. They included mazes, a Bible names word search, and a variety of handwriting sheets.
There are personalized gift options available to match your video. You can choose between things like a name plaque, a personalized character photo, and an origin scroll. Your video will be delivered digitally, but you can also choose to add a DVD version to your order. These are all great options to help bring home the positive message of your child’s video.
CrossTimber is giving away one personalized cartoon video right now! CrossTimber is having a special grand opening sale right now on their Amazing Name products, so this is a great time to order one for the special little one in your life. If you want to read more reviews, though, you’ll find lots more from the Homeschool Review Crew by clicking on the image below.
