My Favorite Masks for Kids

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Today is a big day in our house, with Mathilde returning to in person learning at school!

I was starting to think that this day would never come, but it's finally here almost seven months after schools abruptly closed. For now, it's just Mathilde attending school in person as our school district has decided to start with the youngest learners (Kindergarten through second grade) returning first. Ava and Lola will likely return in person some time in October or November. The schedule is still in the planning stages so we'll have to wait and see.

As with our home learning, Mathilde's in person learning will run from Tuesday through to Friday. Mondays have been set aside as a teacher planning day with the kids working independently at home. This is great as it gives us a little more flexibility on Mondays. The kids still have work to do, but as there's no set time so we can get out and explore on nice days. Yesterday we went for a short hike in Boulder Mountain Park and it was so nice to be out without the weekend crowds. 

Anyway, with school partly returning in person, the main focus has been on keeping the kids, staff and families safe. This means lots of handwashing and hand sanitzer, daily health checks, social distancing, and, of course, wearing masks. I'm sure by now you've seen lots of pics of my kids out and about in masks as we've been wearing them every time we step out of the house since April. In the six months that we've been wearing masks we've accrued quite the collection and have had plenty of time to work out what works best for each member of our family. 

So, today I'm sharing my favorite masks for the kids! You'll find a few different styles here as different situations (or hair styles!) call for different masks. Plus sometimes we just like to mix things up!

For the most part we wear Mochi Kids and Joah Love masks on a daily basis. 

The Mochi Kids masks are Lola and Mathilde's favorites as they are super comfy and come in cute kawaii designs. They're made of a super soft cotton a little thicker than t-shirt fabric.  Lola and Mathilde wear the kids' size while Ava and I wear the adult size. Lola can also wear the adult size if needed but it's a tiny bit big for her for now. I have a simple hack for making mask straps shorter below, so make sure to keep reading!

Ava mostly prefers to wear a plain black mask so Joah Love masks are her go to. We have lots of them in black! Joah Love masks have a really clever way of adjusting the ear straps which makes them one of my favorites. Like the Mochi Kids masks they're made of t-shirt soft cotton so they're really comfy to wear. I've just bought their new infinity strap masks which we can hang around our necks when we take them off. Super handy for when we're out hiking and only come across people every now and then.

Kim wears both the Joah Love masks and Hedley & Bennett masks. I have both of these too. The Hedley & Bennett masks are made of a stiffer, yet still soft, cotton and are a little more structured. In both brands I wear the small/medium and Kim wears the large. We're yet to try out the kid sizes, but as they're made just the same as the adult sizes I know they're great quality and will be very comfy.

Another brand that we've been wearing is Lilla Barn. These masks have long stretchy straps that tie around the back of the head rather than ear loops. This makes them great for wearing with glasses as there's less bulk behind the ears. They're also super adjustable and can be pulled down to hang around your neck when not is use. They can be a little fiddly to tie though.

You can see the masks mentioned above plus a few other favorites below. As always, click the bold and underlined links below to shop.

😊 Joah Love Infinity Mask with Filter Pocket

😊 Hanna Andersson Kids Mask 2 Pack

😊 Mochi Kids Mustard Happy Mask

😊 Primary 3 Pack Rainbow Navy Masks

😊 Lilla Barn Mask

😊 Hedley & Bennett The Kids Mask 3 Pack 

😊 Mochi Kids Kawaii Halloween Mask

😊 Joah Love Black White Stripes Mask

Along with our masks there are a few accessories that make our mask wearing days easier. I like to keep our clean masks by the front door so they're always ready to grab on our way out. I found this  faux leather hanging folio at Target a little while back and it's prefect for storing masks by the front door. If we have masks that have been worn very briefly and will be worn again later that day they hang on the hooks, otherwise they go straight into the wash. When we're out and about I keep spare masks in snack size Stasher bags or ziplock bags. They're a handy way to keep masks clean before use. 

There are a few accessories that make mask wearing a little easier. If your mask pulls uncomfortably on your ears mask extender straps (also known as "ear savers" will help with comfort. If your mask straps are too long (which is the case for a couple of Mathilde's) my simple hack to shorten them is to tie small clear elastic bands about a centimetre in from the end - or how ever long you need to shorten them. I keep a handful of these in my handbag both for Mathilde's hair (she's growing out her fringe and wears it in a tiny ponytail at the moment) and also incase I need to shorten mask straps on the go. Mask lanyards are handy for when you need to take your mask on and off regularly. I like the lanyard below with the breakaway safety snap. This will come apart should the strap get caught on something that could cause strangulation. My last "hack" is for those of us with glasses (ie. three out of five in our family). If you've worn a mask with glasses you'll know that they tend to fog up easily. Using an anti fog wipe, drops or spray will make a difference. Make sure to purchase a product that's suitable for any coatings your glasses might have.

  

😊 Entryway Faux Leather Hanging Folio

😊 Anti Fog Cloth

😊 Stasher Bag Snack Size

😊 Breakaway Safety Lanyard

😊 Velcro Mask Extender Straps

😊 Goody Clear Ouchless Rubber Bands

😊 Optix 55 Anti Fog Treatment

Do you have any favorite masks you'd like to share? Or maybe accessories that make mask wearing a little easier? 

Crush Walls 2020 & RiNo Street Art

Lat weekend the kids and I spent a day in Denver's RiNo neighborhood checking out the annual Crush Walls street art festival.

By now, you'll know I'm a big street art fan. You won't need to look back far through the archives to see that as my last post was also about a street art festival. Ha! Actually, this is our third street art festival in just a few months. 

Anyway, Crush Walls is an annual festival that takes part in Denver's River North, or RiNo, arts district every September since 2010. I had been worried that it would be canceled this year due to Covid, so it was a pleasant surprise when I read that it was still going ahead - with masks and social distancing, of course. The festival features events throughout the week culminating in the main event on the weekend. We attended on the Sunday. I always like to go to these sorts of things a little later as we get to see more finished pieces. 

Let's take a look at all the color and fun of Crush Walls 2020 - plus a lot of other murals that we checked out in RiNo.