Collection Time
By TheAngelForever | January 27, 2012
Growing up, we would usually take at least one family vacation a year. It would be to Disney World, Ocean City Maryland, Virginia, or various other places along the east coast. Along the way, my brother and I started to collect buttons/pins from the places that we would go to. This collection continued as I would get pins from locations I visited when I was in college and even beyond.
Over the summer, the boys and I found my giant box of goodies from growing up.
The boys were mesmerized with everything inside. They loved seeing all of the ones from different Disney attractions and locations. Some of these sadly are long gone. NHL spent quite a lot of time reading all of them and asking me questions about the different pins and when I received them.
My question to you this week is inspired by my old collection:
What items have you and/or your children decided to collect and why?
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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #188
Topics: Aloha Friday, Disney, fun, looking back, me moments, nhl, photos, vacation | 8 Comments »
Thankful for Speech Therapy
By TheAngelForever | January 26, 2012
It is no secret that, as a parent, I have become quite familiar with special services for my children. Thanks to NHL’s low muscle tone, he received Occupational and Physical Therapy to work on his fine and gross motor skills. With the hard work of everyone involved, you would hardly know that he once was a two year old that was unable to walk.
About two years ago I started to battle to get JSL some Early Intervention. His speech was not very clear, but he would “talk” a lot. Sad to say, the system failed us at the start, but has certainly made up for it since that time. In late September 2010, JSL started getting speech two days a week. By this time, he was frustrated, we were flustered, and everyone wanted our little boy to be understood.
We still have no idea why JSL dropped sounds in almost every word. His hearing was fine and other items checked out. It was not simply beginnings, certain letters, or endings – it was all over the place. The little guy’s speech patters were a mystery. Luckily, his preschool knew that he had qualified for services and suggested a therapist to work with JSL. We are so very lucky to have CT in our life. JSL adores CT and we saw improvements quickly. At the end of last year, JSL qualified for summer services and continued sessions this academic year. I do believe that CT is a miracle.
With this burst in speech, JSL has come out of his shell a lot more. He’s so much more outgoing once he gets to know you, and loves to perform song/dance routines. Here is the little guy after his music enrichment class where he made a new instrument. He is singing Shalom Chaverim – the Goodbye song in his classroom.
With recent budget cuts, I do not know how much more time JSL has with CT. More about those cuts and implications for children in New York and beyond coming soon.
Today, I wanted to thank all of the therapists, like CT, out there that work with kids to catch them up to speed before they head off to Kindergarten and beyond. As a parent and teacher, I truly get all of the hard work that they do both on and off the clock for our children. If your child receives therapy, remember to stop and thank their provider for all that they do.
Topics: jsl, looking back, nhl, photos, school, video | 1 Comment »
Preschool Star of the Week
By TheAngelForever | January 25, 2012
Topics: Disney, fun, jsl, looking back, school, Wordless Wednesday | 1 Comment »
Tuesday Tales – Newbery Books
By TheAngelForever | January 24, 2012
On Monday, the American Library Association announced the 2012 Youth Media Award Winners. Some of the awards given out were the Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, Coretta Scott King Award, Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, and many others. To see the full list of 2012 award winning books, the ALA has the press release with all of the titles, authors, illustrators, and other important information on their website.
As a parent who has an older child that is now reading chapter books, I like to keep up to date on these new award winning books . Of course, during my days in the classroom I read a lot of them as well.
I previously wrote about some of the Newbery titles that I have read over the years. I not only read these because I adored seeing all of the children’s literature that are out there, but also to see what to use within my classroom. I will not lie, I often selected titles that were Newbery Medal or Honor winners. They were not the only titles, but most years I would select 1-2 Newbery trade books to read as a literature unit.
- The Egypt Game
by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
- Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
- Ella Enchanted
by Gail Carson Levine
- The View from Saturday
by E.L. Konigsburg
The four books above have something in common. They are all Newbery Medal or Newbery Honor books. They are also four books that I taught during Language Arts units in my own classroom. Each of them is unique in their own way. They connect with other subject areas and are fantastic books.
I know that I hope to check out the new Newbery winners for 2012 soon.
Have you read any of the 2012 award books? I would love to hear about them. What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Book Posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.
Disclosure: Four Amazon Affiliate links are included in this post with the four book titles mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the books through that link.
Topics: books, Educational, me moments, school, Tuesday Tales | 2 Comments »
The Sleeping Blanket
By TheAngelForever | January 23, 2012
There is nothing better during the cold months than to curl up under a cozy blanket and read a book. It doesn’t matter whether the book has pages to flip, or is found within my Kindle – it is just as relaxing. All that I need are my newly knitted blanket and current book.
I am about half way finished reading Kingdom Keepers IV – Power Play by Ridley Pearson. I love these books and have written about them before. Although they are not specifically written for adults, I enjoy them because the story puts me into the magical world of Disney. There is something special about favorite characters battling the evil Disney Villains like Maleficent and Cruella De Ville.
Sunday afternoon, the boys were busy playing Nintendo and it seemed like the perfect time to catch some more of the Kingdom Keepers adventures throughout Walt Disney World. I read for quiet a bit and then I felt like I was being put under a spell. Of course, the Evil Queen was not in my house. I felt the need to close my book and eyes.
After I woke up from my nap, I joked to TechyDad. I think there is something to this blanket. Several nights this week, I would curl up on the couch to sit and watch television or read, only to fall fast asleep under the blanket.
Does this cozy, soft, warm blanket have special powers to make those who curl under it forget their mission to read or get work done?
Hmmmm. . . could it be?
After TechyDad and I came up with this theory we asked the boys to test it out, but for some reason they refuse to try it. Of course, I still am going to test it with them one of these days – insert evil laugh here!
Do you own a special blanket, pillow, or something else that just seems to make you fall asleep? Makes me wonder if the baby blankets like this do the same for those that have received them?
Topics: books, Disney, knitting, laughs, me moments, photos, sleep, TechyDad | 2 Comments »
In Search of Hakuna Matata
By TheAngelForever | January 22, 2012
Stress, it happens and it can leave you dreaming some odd things.
One of my recent dreams was similar to this scene that we saw at Disney on Ice back in December.
Of course, my dream was of me as Peter Pan and someone else in the Captain Hook role. I no not know who that other person was because a few could have been staring in that special scene.
I know, you are thinking that I am supposed to be an angel. LOL – even angels have reality check moments where they take on another personality a la Stitch.
Disney is definitely on my brain. Watching the videos made me smile, laugh, and forget about some of the things happening in real life for a few moments. I hope you enjoyed them as well.
Topics: Disney, me moments, vent, video | 2 Comments »
Super Hero Squad Building Fun
By TheAngelForever | January 21, 2012
Dear NHL and JSL,
Monday, Daddy had to go to work, but the two of you had the day off of school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Since Nana and Papa were back from the weekend at a family wedding, we decided to spend some time with them. We showed them a great new to them place for breakfast. Then, we went shopping at Target. They finally had more of the Super Hero Squad figures that had been out of stock since before Chanukah.
After shopping, we went back to play at Nana and Papa’s house. I told the two of you that it would be fun to make some buildings or castles. I thought the giant wooden block sets would be perfect to create places for your four new Super Hero Squad members. We sat on the floor together, with both sets of blocks, and made some structures together.
We had a lot of fun. It was nice to see you both laugh, play, and have no worries. I do hope we will share many more of these moments together because they are so very special.
Love,
Mommy
Topics: Dear Kid Saturday, family, fun, holidays, jsl, nhl, photos, play time | No Comments »
Say No to Censorship
By TheAngelForever | January 20, 2012
Wednesday, I likely confused some members of my family if they stopped by my website. First, they would have seen this:
This was a widget for WordPress that TechyDad and I placed on our blogs to show support against the new bills that the US Congress and Senate are trying to put on the books. We really liked that this would help to inform people about what these bills will do to the average American – including bloggers like us. If you continued to my blog, this was at the top over my header/logo:
I did not blackout my website like Wikipedia, Reddit, and others. Instead, I did not post new content during the blackout period and had this information to educate people about the cause. If you look up in the right corner, I now have a Stop SOPA ribbon.
As someone who has had her content copied and used without my permission, I get that piracy is not ok. The problem is that SOPA and PIPA go far above and beyond that. Oh and IF you have seen the commercials promoting these bills – they are horrid. Scare tactics against citizens without all of the information is unacceptable. Here check it out (commercial begins at :29 mark):
For more information, please head over to read TechyDad’s post about the legislation.
So my question to you this week:
Did you blackout your website on Wednesday? I would also like to know why you opted with your choice. Please remember to make some noise and contact your representatives in Congress and Senate to let them know that censorship is NOT acceptable. We need to kill these bills and revamp to properly stop piracy.
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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.
Aloha #187
Topics: Aloha Friday, me moments, photos, PSA, real world news, TechyDad, television | 13 Comments »
Winter Snowmen Crafting Fun
By TheAngelForever | January 19, 2012
Mother Nature has been mighty odd this season. We had more snow in October (about five inches) than we have seen in November, December, and most of January combined. Living in New York, I am not complaining about this. I am a realist and know that “winter” can give us pesky frozen weather well into March and even April. Thanks to Pinterest, I am trying to think ahead. I have a lot of items in my house to make crafts with the kids should we be stuck home during a winter weather phenomenon.
So, I set out to look for items after I saw a pin with the snowmen below. This looks like a great family project that could be put up on a wall, mantle, or over a doorway. No doubt it could be done with other items and be great for different ages. When I used to decorate my classroom, I would put them up right after Thanksgiving and keep them during the winter months. It was the perfect non-religious decoration, plus they are cute!
Source: somedaycrafts.blogspot.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest
Another item that I found was adorable and would be great to do at home or in a classroom as part of a snow, winter, snowman theme of study. The blogger that it came from is a first grade teacher and you can see the portfolio items that his students made along with these star snowmen.
Source: mrsschmelzer.blogspot.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest
For older children, a mixed media project would be a lot of fun and more of a challenge. I thought this idea from Elementary Art Room using torn paper mosaic style came out great. I even thought the cutting practice would be great for my little guy as well.
Source: elementaryartroom.blogspot.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest
Snowmen with words, specifically children’s names, was the inspiration for this project. This kindergarten teacher had each of her students put a letter of their name on on a snowball and then add on faces, hats, and arms. She also had other projects that were done within the same time frame with this theme.
Source: stlmdk.blogspot.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest
There were many other pins that I added to my snowmen crafts and goodies board over on Pinterest. What items have you made with snowmen? Please share them below so I can add them to my list of projects to try one day soon.
Topics: arts and crafts, crafts, fun, Pinterest, winter | 2 Comments »
Super Hero Squad Invasion
By TheAngelForever | January 18, 2012
Topics: fun, me moments, my boys, Wordless Wednesday | No Comments »
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