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This bestselling $16 spray makes shoes 'water- and scuff-proof,' fans say

This bestselling $16 spray makes shoes 'water- and scuff-proof,' fans say

Yahoo26-02-2025
There's nothing worse than spending your hard-earned money on a pair of leather shoes or a nice pair of sneakers only to see them permanently scuffed or stained after the next storm. There are tons of shoe protectants out there that claim to work at shielding our shoes from accidental stains, but Amazon shoppers say the No. 1 bestselling Crep Protect Shoe Protector Spray is one of the few that actually work. It's designed to make your shoes waterproof and scuff-proof, and it'll only set you back $16.
This spray is so popular that more than 40,000 cans were sold in the past month alone at Amazon. The No. 1 bestselling shoe protective treatment works on a range of materials, including leather, nubuck, suede and canvas. Keep in mind, though, that you won't achieve the same result with mesh shoes since it's permeable. Best of all, reviewers say it "doesn't leave a visible residue" on shoes, so once you coat your boots, loafers or sneakers, you won't see that distracting film that some other protectants leave.
The Crep Protect Shoe Protector Spray is designed to protect your shoes from both grime and moisture, including water, oils, and stains — all of which are practically inevitable. Once you've applied a thin coat, your shoe will repel any moisture and keep dirt from sticking.
A single treatment of two coats can last for up to four to five weeks. Be careful not to overapply, however, as excess use may eventually cause damage to your shoes.
We knew this product was popular, but with more than 22,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, it's safe to say that it has a cult following — and for good reason.
One fan uploaded a photo of her shoes after wearing them in the rain, and they looked like they just came out of the box: "They're in perfect condition," the impressed reviewer wrote. "No stains — this stuff is amazing. I followed the instructions of applying [it] two times before wearing, and it works exactly as described. My shoes are, in fact, water- and scuff-proof. I can't believe I haven't tried this stuff sooner."
A white-sneaker wearer said: "Works like a charm! I used this on my Nike Air Force [Ones] and the shoes stayed intact. All you have to do is wipe with a damp cloth and all the dust comes right [off]."
"I sprayed two pairs of Uggs and my Timberlands with one bottle," said one snow stomper. "The Timbs, I was able to do [a] double coat, but on my Uggs, I couldn't, and it still protected them really well. I was in about seven-plus inches of snow with my Uggs, and they have no water damage. The snow just fell right off, and the next day, I went on the mountain with my boots and there was a snowstorm. My Timbs are in perfect condition, and again, the snow would just fall right off after a stomp or two."
Shoppers appreciated this product so much that critiques were hard to come by. One shopper noted, however, that their "only con is that I wish it was larger."
Another reviewer shared a bit of advice: "I used this on my suede boots and purse. It works well. The fumes are awful but to be expected. Use outside."
If you have Amazon Prime, you'll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)
The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.
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26 Parent-Approved School Year Essentials
26 Parent-Approved School Year Essentials

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26 Parent-Approved School Year Essentials

A school supply essentials box in case that back-to-school list is just too daunting. This case has pretty much everything you'll need for the school year and almost anything that'll be on the supply list so you can enjoy summer rather than fight Hunger Games-style with another adult over the last glue stick. Each bundle includes a plastic pencil box, a 10-pack of markers, a 24-pack of crayons, a 12-pack of colored pencils, three glue sticks, a pack of #2 pencils, five pencil top erasers, a rubber eraser, a pencil sharpener, a pair of blunt tip scissors, two pencil grips, a 12-inch ruler, a wide-rule spiral notebook, a wide ruled composition book, and two 2-pocket folder with metal review: "As a busy working mother, this was a lifesaver! The kit had everything my third grader needed to start his new school year, and I didn't have to fight the crowds at the stores!!! 5 stars!!!" —Carolyn JacksonGet it from Amazon for $32.99+ (available in two other sizes). A gentle alarm clock that'll hopefully bring you much cheerier wake-ups than jarring beeping sounds. I recently started using this sunrise clock and THE CHANGE to my mornings. Even if your little one is too young for an alarm clock, just having one for yourself can make waking up so much more pleasant. Promising review: "This clock is a lifesaver! I bought one each for my three kids so they can get up on time for school, and it works perfectly! They love the ease of use and customization — and they are actually excited about getting up on time!" —KavinaGet it from Amazon for $32.88+ (available in three colors). A cereal dispenser so they can get themselves breakfast without a gigantic pile of spilled cereal on the floor. The added excitement of making every breakfast feel like a hotel vacation breakfast is simply a bonus. Promising review: "These keep my cereal fresh, my 6-year-old can use them on her own! It's truly a lifesaver!" —Allison MarieGet it from Amazon for $31.22. 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I love the four cops and how hidden and easy they are to access. The toothpaste comes out perfectly every time and does not make a mess!!! My kids love to make messes, so this is a lifesaver. I have already recommended this to all of my friends and family." —Lindsay SnackGet it from Amazon for $16.99+ (available in four colors). A day-of-the-week clothing organizer so that choosing clothes for school doesn't become a daily battle in your household. Just check the weather report and choose outfits over the weekend — suddenly a (mostly) stress-free morning! Promising review: "This has been an absolute lifesaver! My kids put all of their clothes for the week in their 'pockets' on Sunday and there's no digging in the mornings anymore!" —CrystalWGet it from Amazon for $25.99. A fan-favorite Skylight calendar for keeping all of your family appointments in plain sight. 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I wasn't sure about 2-in-1 cleaners — until the Shark VacMop became my new go-to for quick and easy cleanups
I wasn't sure about 2-in-1 cleaners — until the Shark VacMop became my new go-to for quick and easy cleanups

Tom's Guide

timea day ago

  • Tom's Guide

I wasn't sure about 2-in-1 cleaners — until the Shark VacMop became my new go-to for quick and easy cleanups

When it comes to 2-in-1 cleaning, I've always been dubious. I worry that rather than mastering one objective, it becomes average at two (blame the experience I had with a washer/dryer). But, I'm relieved to say the Shark VacMop has proven me wrong. Armed with a cleaning solution, no-touch pads and effective suction for tackling debris, it's a slimline cleaning system that (almost) does it all. For anyone looking for a space-saving, multi-tasking vacuum cleaner for smaller spaces, it's an excellent choice. I've got two small kids, so having something to zip around, tackling the endless crumbs and spillages. has been a real timesaver. After two weeks of testing, it's become my go-to as opposed to hauling out my cord vacuum or spray mop in tandem to tackle all those messes. In the box, you get the Shark VacMop, 6 disposable VacMop pads and Shark's multi-surface cleaning solution (enough to fill your VacMop up once). So, after some rigorous testing the all-in-one starter kit, here's what you should know before you buy. The Shark VacMop is available through the Shark website for £99.99 in the UK and for $89.99 in the US. It's also available for $69.99 on Amazon, which is $20 cheaper. You can buy 30 replacement cleaning heads for $26 at Amazon, making the cost just under $1 per use. From the moment I pulled the Shark VacMop out of the box, it looked easy to assemble, and it was. There are three parts, which are already loosely attached after unboxing. All I had to do was click into place the handle, the body, and the head. If it seems like it's giving you resistance, flip it around the other way (or maybe that was just me). Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. The VacMop is fairly slimline and compact, considering it's also a vacuum. That means I can easily prop it behind a door and out of the way. Plus, it only weighs 1.5kg, so it's easy to maneuver around my home, without too many strenuous lunges and pivots. But, while I found it a breeze to zip around with the VacMop, alternating between vacuum and mop, I would say that when it came to more stubborn stains, that's when the physical work increased. Once the cleaning solution is applied (with a quick squirt from the button on the handle), it's actually quite sticky, which adds more resistance to movement. But if you're only using it for a small-to-medium area, this is less of an issue. Durability-wise, I'm a bit of a bulldozer when it comes to cleaning. I like to lock in and get it done, and I'll admit, sometimes that leads to me hitting into the sides a little too aggressively or getting caught up on corners. I put the VacMop to the test with my rigorous cleaning regime and it actually held up really well. Judging by how slimline it is, I would've thought it might suffer a little from my cleaning sessions (which I'll admit are usually timed), but the head rotated with ease, and it slid around the corners with a grace that I wish I myself could have. But the best thing (and worst thing… we'll come to this later) about the VacMop is the no-touch disposable pads. It's hard to imagine that you can mop up and vacuum up crumbs, hair, and dirt with the same flat pad. But, it was incredibly easy to click into place and even easier to press the button to release it all into the bin afterwards. A design aspect I cannot fault. The Shark VacMop is made for hard floor cleaning. So, I tested it over two weeks in my kitchen, hallway, and bathroom, and I was pleasantly surprised. Having previously used a quick mop with removable and washable pads, I found it pushed crumbs around in front of it, or made me drag the vacuum around first. So, having the ability to effectively vacuum up the dirt and debris before running the mop over is a genius move by Shark. There are two buttons on the handle: one for releasing cleaning solution and one for vacuuming, and I'll admit I got a bit confused about which was which. Once I got going, though, I weaved between them with ease. I was a little hesitant about the fact that a disposable pad was somehow going to act as a container for all the crumbs, but I found that they didn't escape and were easily removed as part of the pad afterwards. I was also impressed at the VacMop's power. I tried it on a range of debris around my home, from dust to crumbs, and I was pleased with how it suctioned them up. I would say here, though, that if you have larger debris, you shouldn't expect the VacMop to do it all. It's not going to pick up the leaves your kid dragged in on the bottom of their shoe – I tried. For testing, I wanted to make sure I had some stubborn stains to pit the VacMop against. I tried out a stubborn yogurt stain and coffee stain to see how it fared. I'm happy to report, it did the job. It took me a couple of sprays of the cleaning solution and some fairly aggressive mopping to tackle the yogurt, but it was one of the hardier stains in my home, and now it's gone. For quicker stains and any spillages, though, it tackles them quickly. At times, I felt like I was putting in a lot of the work with the mopping, but I wouldn't say this experience is any different to other mops I've used. After all, even when I vacuum, my smartwatch thinks I'm doing a HIIT workout. What the VacMop promises to do is clean your hard floors, and it does exactly that (with a little oomph). Battery-wise, I charged up the VacMop before my first use and while it did last a few hours of testing, it did require a charge before I was done, and that took a while. If you're planning on tackling a larger home or space, this may not do the trick. And while the disposable pads are incredibly efficient and absorbent, they left enough cleaning solution on the floor to cover quite a wide area before I needed to spray anymore. Which, I'd love to add, also smells really nice. What I will say about the disposable pads though, is that whilst I love them for their ease-of-use and how it only took a press of a button to remove them, I do worry about how environmentally-friendly they are. I'll grumble about washing up my mop heads and removable pads, but ultimately, I'd rather run them through the washer than throw them away. Not just for the environment, but for the cost, which I'll get into below. When it comes to my hard floors, I've always opted to use my Shark corded vacuum to tackle crumbs, dust, hair, and more. But, it is a lot of faff to plug it in and run around with the cord lassoing my kids' feet. I've found since testing out the VacMop, this is now what I go-to for quick and easy cleanups, but is it worth the price? The fact that it's a vacuum and mop is the biggest selling point, and it absolutely deserves praise for how well it accomplishes both for the price. The problem is, while I might be inclined to spend £99.99, I wouldn't want to pay out for the consumables. It's £14.99/$15.99 for 16 pads on the Shark website, which is $1 a clean. While that doesn't sound like a lot, I wouldn't leave the dirty pad on there after every spillage and stain because of the grime it holds onto. So, with every quick clean, I'm not overly happy with spending $1. The cleaning solution for a bottle is a similar price, but I haven't run out of a full container yet. In fact, over two weeks of quick use and a full kitchen rub down, I've only used around a quarter of the fluid container. The VacMop is a great solution for quick cleans when you want to tackle both vacuuming and mopping in one go – and it's a real timesaver. But, when it comes down to expense and sustainability, you'll need to weigh up whether it's worth the investment. While I don't love the additional cost of the VacMop pads and cleaning solution, I'm not using it to clean my whole house, so I'm hopeful a little expense will cover a lot of small cleans. And the investment is worth it considering those pads lock away debris, rather than push it around, and scrub the floor at the same time. I also like how lightweight it is, given there's a whole vacuum built-in, and the cordless cleaning power is incredibly convenient. I will say that pushing it around my home became a bit of a workout, especially when scrubbing in the cleaning solution, but ultimately it's not a robot vacuum, so I shouldn't expect it to do all the hard work for me. If you're looking for a dual-purpose cleaner that'll take on the work of both your vacuum and mop, it's a great piece of kit. I really enjoyed using it and I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a place for it in your home, too.

27 Classroom Items Teachers Say Their Students "Love'
27 Classroom Items Teachers Say Their Students "Love'

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timea day ago

  • Buzz Feed

27 Classroom Items Teachers Say Their Students "Love'

A set of play fruit that teaches everything from colors to counting and might impress parents if it encourages your students to eat a fresh fruit or two at home. Promising review: "I am a preschool teacher, and I love these. We can use these to teach colors, farming, health, and nutrition, and use them for dramatic play. They seem to be well-made and durable. Very cute!" —JennyGet it from Amazon for $31.97. A set of 16 posters so your students never have to look far for a reminder on everything from emotions to days of the week to seasons. Promising review: "I enjoy knowing that I'm supporting a family while using their products. I have the posters beside me now, and they are durable and bright. My students love the colors, and I like knowing that I'll have them for years to come." —MeGet it from Amazon for $24.99 (available in three colors). A pack of 100 colorful wooden blocks because some toys never go out of style. Your students can build a solid foundation by sorting these by color or shape, or just stacking the tallest tower anyone's ever seen. Promising review: "I bought these for my classroom. The kids LOVED them. I admit I had to join them and build right by their side. Very colorful and lots of fun! Total engagement. I am ordering a second set!" —SunnyRGet 100 blocks from Amazon for $15.39. A reading comprehension cube to check to make sure your students are make it fun! Pass one of these around for thoughtful prompts that can help spur discussion. Promising review: "Using these in my reading groups makes my students feel like they're having fun playing a game. They are disappointed if they miss their turn to roll a cube and answer a question about our book. They like to roll and choose to answer, OR pass the question to another. Use of the dice is limited only by your imagination!" —A. HightGet a set of six from Amazon for $15.99. A set of magnet tiles for any budding architects to dream big during open-ended play. With bright colors and a variety of shapes, these will keep young students engaged and encourage creativity. Promising review: "I am a teacher and ordered these for my classroom. The kids love them and are very creative with them. Durable and easy to clean." —Amazon CustomerGet it from Amazon for $39.99. A Play-Doh set because sometimes you don't need to mess with a classic. Students can work on fine motor skills during play, or incorporate this into other learning lessons! Promising review: "I'm a teacher and use these in my classroom. They're mini, which I didn't initially expect, but they work well! My students use them for word work during stations, and I'm able to store them in a Kurig holder, which is PERFECT!" —KatyGet a 10-pack from Amazon for $7.99. A Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! 150-Piece Building Set for the student who thrives when constantly tinkering. The possibilities are endless with these gears for structures that really spin. Promising review: "I bought these for my classroom, and of course, they arrived at home, so I can try them out first with my children. They loved them so much that I had to hide them, or they would have never made it to my classroom! I would recommend this item to teachers and parents. Definitely a great gift as well!" —RachelGet it from Amazon for $46.40. A personalized poster because who doesn't love feeling like it's all about them every once in a while. Some teachers use these to highlight students every week, while others use it as a learning tool to get to know their students at the start of the year. Promising review: "My students love decorating these posters when they are the 'Star of the Week' in my first-grade classroom. I send the posters home a week in advance so parents can help their child fill out the poster at home. We display these posters in class and put them in a book for Open House. Students love looking at these posters, and they become a keepsake for parents. The quality is great and I will continue to purchase these every year!" —luv2teachGet it from Amazon for $14.99 for a set of 30 posters. An LED light strip for when shouting "eyes on the board!" over and over isn't helping your sanity or their attention span. Hold their attention (and show off your decorating skills) with this color-changing light. Promising review: "I love these lights for my classroom. My students do too!!! I put these all around my board and cabinets. I'm glad I got the 50ft roll. It fit everything I wanted it to." —Amy VanBuskirkGet it from Amazon for $13.99+ (available in five sizes). A set of scented bookmarks teacher reviewers love putting in reward jars and reading nooks. You could have themed food-and-book pairings or let your young readers pick their favorite from the stack. Promising review: "My students love these bookmarks! They are very smelly! Some are not smelly in a good way, some are stinky like the taco one. It actually smells like onions. Most of them are delicious-smelling." —S N TGet it from Amazon for $6.49+ (available in five different pack sizes). A classroom rug that pulls double duty: a nice place to direct students where to sit AND teach them numbers, letters, animals, shapes, colors, the list goes on. Promising review: "Love the brightness of the colors. My preschool students enjoy pointing out the letters, shapes, colors, and numbers on the rug." —ShawnaGet a 6'6"x4'9" rug from Amazon for $59.99. A Pretend and Play calculator cash register because you are never too young to learn financial literacy. Or they're obsessed watching the register at the grocery store. Promising review: "I'm a teacher at a preschool, and I bought this toy cash register for the children in my classroom. First, it came with play money, which is great, but that quickly got ripped, which is fine because the children enjoyed making their own play money. I love that it has sounds and is easy for the children to use. It also incorporates a little math, which is nice. Overall, a great buy!" —SarahGet it from Amazon for $34.97. A self-inking stamp for adding a little pizzazz to your grading and feedback on homework, tests, papers, and more. You'll save some time and your students will be saved some effort to decipher your quick handwriting. Promising review: "My students loved it when I stamped their papers. I teach high school juniors and older adults, and they will compare what stamps they get." —teachhistoryGet an eight-pack from Amazon for $12.85 (available in two designs). A book to set a welcoming tone in your classroom. Teacher reviewers love how this reinforces being kind and respectful to each other, and it comes with activities for the whole group. Promising review: "This book is such a great read for the beginning of the year. It touches on all of the things we want to establish at the beginning of the year: respect, differences, and kindness. There are so many fun activities to do out there that go along with it, too. My class loved it, and it is now a permanent read-aloud for my classroom year-to-year." —Stacey LagroneGet it from Amazon for $12.99. A set of drawing pads so your students can draw over and over and over again without wearing out your printer. Plus, they are waterproof and sturdy enough to withstand a drop or two (a day). Promising review: "I use these in the classroom. Students are excited to use them, and they are very durable. You can freeze the screen so it doesn't erase, but you can't erase mistakes, only the whole screen. Highly recommend. Bought for gifts too, as add-ons to presents. These are so inexpensive and worth it!" —IvyGet it from Amazon for $9.88+ (available in three pack sizes). A magnetic timer because some students need a visual cue for how long they have to complete a task. This can stick to a whiteboard, and is large enough for even those in the back to see. Promising review: "I bought this for my classroom, and it is SO helpful for my students AND me! We try to 'beat the clock' when we have our phonics UFLI lessons (supposed to be 30 minutes on the dot), and it helps them SEE how much time is left since it's not digital. I'm so glad I bought this. It truly is a game changer. Also, I love how it is magnetic. The magnet is so strong that it is literally almost kinda hard to pull it off my whiteboard (which means there's no chance it can get knocked off). Fully recommend." —LynleyGet it from Amazon for $15.99+ (available in 10 colors). A set of fidget toys that are must-haves for some students to be able to focus. Teachers love that these are easy to clean, and students can pick from a few different textures. Promising review: "Soft and flexible. Easy to carry in a pocket or toss into a fidget bucket. My students love them; however, I have a few teachers who grabbed one, too. Also super easy to clean, leave out overnight, and ready to go the next day." —Kirsten SGet a six-pack from Amazon for $9.99. A pack of scented markers because you want your students to experience the ~magic~ of coloring in something orange and it actually *smells* like an orange. Promising review: "Mr. Sketch markers are an extremely fun addition to your classroom. My students love getting a star or smiley face on their paper(s) with these, so they can smell all the flavors. They love to guess the scents and by the end of the year have their favorites. They cherish the times they get to use them on big projects. They make the projects look colorful and smell great.😂" —Mary LoftusGet it from Amazon for $14.38. A pencil dispenser so you don't have to go digging through your desk when a student asks if you have an extra. Students love the instant gratification of seeing a new pencil pop down every time they press the lever. Promising review: "I think it is a great idea to use this as a pencil dispenser because my students really enjoy pressing the button and seeing the pencil go down. I usually put pencils with different designs so the students get a different pencil every time. The quality is good and it has great functionality. It is a bit expensive, but I feel like it will last for a while." —RonGet it from Amazon for $29.99+ (available in seven colors). A set of answer buzzers to add a little competitive spirit to the classroom. Set-up a quiz show style game or use these to get the energy up before the lesson begins. Promising review: "Used them to play a game and wake up my class. Everything is screen time nowadays, and the students had a great time learning in an 'old-fashioned' way. All four sounds are different, colors bright. Very fun, and I could think of ways to use at home, too." —jjoy29Get a four-pack from Amazon for $16.49. A pack of floor cushions that'll help create seating areas wherever and whenever you need them in the classroom. Your students can even carry these around if they're looking for a quiet space to read or work on something independently. Promising review: "Love these in my classroom, and will buy more! They came out of the box ready to use and matched the pictures in the listing. My students love them and use them every day, and they're holding up well to being thrown around." —Elle SGet it from Amazon for $70.99+ for six cushions (available in two styles and five color combinations). A pack of paint sticks to mentor young Picassos without spending hours scrubbing paint off the floor. These are more pigmented than crayons but quick to dry and easy to wipe off. Promising review: "My students like to paint, but I hate the clean up. I bought these paints for the class, and they LOVED them! Since it dries so quickly, they could take their art home that day. I didn't have papers all over that were drying, AND the colors were not all mixed together into a black mess on their papers. They were all so proud of their work!" —Amazon CustomerGet a 12-pack from Amazon for $12.30. A set of dry-erase sleeves so it's easy for your little learners to wipe away any mistakes while they are still learning. Place your worksheets in these sleeves and they can write, erase, write, erase until they are done. Promising review: "My students love using these with dry-erase markers for practicing what we've been learning. I work with 1-12th graders, and they all like them. Easy to use — easy to clean." —Susan JacksonGet it from Amazon for $8.99+ (available in 36 colors). A chair organizer because a cluttered table doesn't help anyone focus. Add these to the backs of your students' chairs and they'll love having a place to put all their things out of the way. Promising review: "These classroom chair covers are a hit at my school. Teachers are constantly asking me where I purchased them from. My students are able to keep their items with them without cluttering the horseshoe table." —abousidi75Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (available in four pack sizes). A set of table dots that double as dry erase boards so your students can sit in front of their favorite color and take notes. Or place these on a wall or cabinet or door and write instructions or other temporary messages you can wipe away later. Promising review: "These are awesome! They are a great size, colors are vibrant. They were so easy to use. The backing peeled off easily, and they were a nice weight, not flimsy, and easy to stick down. Air bubbles were easy to press out. My kindergarten kids were so excited when they saw them!" —Kindle CustomerGet a 10-pack from Amazon for $14.99. A number line dry-erase board to help young Mathletes practice their addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication without you having to print and cut a thousand sheets of paper. Promising review: "I bought this to teach kindergarteners to add and subtract on a number line. It was great to teach tens and some more ones. Erasing the board is also very easy, leaving no residue. The size is perfect for teaching/learning. The cards are not too big or too small. The numbers are also large enough so the kids do not have any difficulty identifying them. It is also double-sided, so it's great for kids who are not yet identifying numbers past 10. One side goes up to 20 and the other to 10. Great way to introduce and use the number line in the classroom." —KellyGet it from Amazon for $5.99+ (available in four designs and six pack sizes). A modeling clay for art projects suitable for all ages. Teachers love that these individually packaged 1-ounce portions don't dry up quickly. Students can make something to go along with the lesson's theme, or let their imagination run wild! Promising review: "As a teacher, I am always looking for ways to engage my students in the projects that we do in the classroom! This product is one of my 'must-haves' for the classroom, especially in the individual pouches! We use the model magic in so many different ways: to make models of creatures, to make historical replicas, to make beads, etc. The BEST part about it is that you can pre-color it by jabbing it with a Crayola marker (the more jabs, the darker the color)! We pre-color BEFORE we mold it, and then it air dries! LOVE this stuff!" —Tracey GrahamGet it from Amazon for $27.99+ (available in two pack sizes and color options).

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