When Jenny Chrisman was homeschooling her three-year-old twin girls in 2003, she found herself running out of ideas to keep them active and entertained. "The winter time was especially difficult because they spent so much time indoors," she said.
Chrisman decided to invent an educational product for preschoolers that would keep kids active inside or outdoors. She spent the next two years researching kids' brain development patterns and the importance of physical fitness for young children.
She applied what she learned into creating "Exercards." It's a set of 26 cards, each of which demonstrates a fun physical activity and includes a built-in lesson. On the "tick tock tippy toe" card, an animated dog teaches kids to exercise their calves by going up and down on their toes. He also teaches kids to move their arms like the hands of a clock.
"So kids are exercising and learning about the hours of the day at the same time," said Chrisman. On the opposite side of each card is a letter of the alphabet so kids can engage in quiet learning too.
"I tried them on my girls first and they loved them," said Chrisman. Chrisman spent about $5,000 to print 1,000 sets of the cards in 2007. She sold them online for $10 each and through toy stores in her area.
A year later, Creative Child Magazine gave her product the "Seal of Excellence Award."
"As a parent, I felt it was very important for me to instill healthy food and lifestyle habits in my kids," said Chrisman. "If we help children develop these habits early, hopefully we'll be able to tackle the obesity epidemic in this country."
These seven entrepreneurs are successfully juggling their duties as moms, while making millions in their businesses.
