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Love for Doc McStuffins

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

I fully admit that I allow my children to watch television and have since they were little. When NHL was little, we would sing and dance along with Bear in the Big Blue House, The Wiggles, Stanley, Jo-Jo’s Circus, and other shows on what was then called Playhouse Disney. By the time JSL was born, the shows had changed and things were morphing into Disney Junior. For JSL, we would sing and dance to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, and The Imagination Movers.

Photo Credit: Disney Junior

Of course, Disney Junior is no longer just a morning lineup for children on Disney Channel. Now, it is a dedicated cable station that runs 24/7 with kid and family friendly programs and movies. When the channel debuted, we got to meet Doc McStuffins. Doc is now a major favorite of my four year old son. He pretends to be a doctor and I will often hear him singing the songs when playing on his own.

If you are unfamiliar with Doc McStuffins, please watch this small segment.

As a parent, I love that Doc uses real terms for things (though some are made up), incorporates items to help ease kids fears of medical professionals, promotes women as professionals, and embraces stay at home fathers. There are also great online Doc items on the Disney Junior website.

While at Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I will be attending a break out session that will be with the executive producers of Doc McStuffins. It will be wonderful to hear how they select topics for the show and make them developmentally appropriate for our children. I know that thanks to their work my youngest is even more well versed in staying hydrated, getting rest, being compassionate, and other healthy living items.

Are you a Doc McStuffins fan? What is your family’s favorite character or part of the show and why? 

Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, we were given an incredible deal from Disney.  Also note that Disney never asked us to blog about this event. As a long time Disney fan, it is my pleasure to share my experiences from the event. Thank you to Disney Junior for the photo and more clips can be found on their YouTube channel.

Tuesday Tales – Walt Disney World Books for Kids

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

As I have mentioned before, my oldest son can sometimes be a reluctant reader. It took him a long time to accept chapter books and not be intimidated by lack of pictures. NHL is a third grader and loves to read about science, people, and places. If we have tour books around the house for an upcoming vacation he will read them. I have absolutely no complaints about this. As a reading teacher, I applaud almost any type of reading a child will do.

Last year, while at Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, I briefly met Tracie A. Cook. Tracie, who runs Vacation Field Guides, is a veteran teacher and Disney fan who is also an author.

Disney Books for Kids

When these books arrived the other day, the boys were so excited. I explained to them that both were books about Walt Disney World that were made just for kids.

Vacation Field Guides – Kids Tips for Walt Disney World

Kid Tips for Walt Disney World: Touring Advice by Kids for Kids is just that. The book contains thoughts, via quotes, from children ages 7-15 about Walt Disney World. Kids tips for kids

There were things to know before you go, specific items to see/do while in each of the parks (with specifics about some rides), dining suggestions, and many other items. NHL enjoyed reading these and weighing in on what his views were since he has been to Walt Disney World multiple times now. I also know he’s excited to possibly help Tracie by filling out a survey for upcoming books. I think the kid connection will help get kids involved in planning your upcoming trip.

WDW Adventure: A Field Guide & Activity Book for Explorers

Walt Disney World Adventure: A Field Guide and Activity Book for Explorers is an interactive book for kids to learn while exploring the magic that is Walt Disney World. As an educator, Tracie has packed this book with a lot of items to make children think while completing their exploration. As I have said forever, there are so many EduMICKational experiences within Disney World if you take the time to look for them.

The book begins with a letter to the explorers, key to navigation symbols used in the book, and some tips before they head into the parks. From this point, there are pages filled with items to complete, locate, find, and research in fun ways while touring. Yes, you will want a pencil to write down items as they are located. Here is one of the pages that caught my son’s attention when looking at it.

A look inside by Star Tours

I have to admit, I am a little jealous of this book. I want to head into the parks and try these out. The teacher in me thinks that it looks like a great hands on learning exercise while having a lot of fun. NHL will definitely be reviewing this after he tests it out on our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World.

I would love to know if your children (or you) have tried either of these books and you have any tips for children testing out the adventure. As always, please share what you have read recently. 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.

It's Me

Disclosure: We received these books from @WDWFieldGuide in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. Two Amazon Affiliate links are included in this post for the books mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the books through these links.

The Year that was 2011

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

It is hard to believe that 2012 is here. Once again, the year went by with a lot of fun, photos, and memories. Here are just some of the highlights from the year that was 2011.

January:

Lots and Lots of Snow

February 2011:

Greeting the Devil Dawg

March 2011:

Magical Memories

April 2011:

Views from Seder 2

May 2011:

Cousins at play

June 2011:

Reliving our honeymoon almost 10 years later

July 2011:

Mexico

August 2011:

Lion Cupcakes

September 2011:

P1040961

October 2011:

Halloween 2011

November 2011:

Silly Turkeys

December 2011:

IMGP4313

There were so many other things that made 2011 special and amazing. Thank goodness that is what archives are for. We can look back, laugh, cry, remember, and reflect.

What are some of your favorite part of the year that was 2011?

It's Me

Catch Me There – Mickey Mouse and Schools Collide

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

What, you ask, is controversial about Mickey Mouse and education? I know many of you are telling yourself that there is so much that Disney, Mickey Mouse, and the rest of the gang can teach your children. You do not have to sell me on that. As NDM183, I write about the world of education in The Disney Driven Life. I have used Disney within my past classroom, with my own children, and beyond.

I have been on a bit of a hiatus with my post on The Disney Driven Life. Then, I had an idea for a topic. Always on the minds of parents is whether or not it is “ok” to take a child out of school for a vacation. Being an educator who once thought a certain way, and now a parent that has slightly altered her theory – this seemed like a great topic to pick up.

What I did not expect was the controversy to hit so quickly. When I posted a question to my teacher friends on Facebook, it got heated quickly. Parents of children came in to defend their views. People talked about what they did as children and now as parents. It made me wonder if I should continue on.

Heading to Walt Disney World

In the end, this heated commenting sparked an idea. My almost finished post morphed before my eyes. It quickly became at least a three post series.

My latest post on The Disney Driven Life: The Mickey Mouse Over School Dilemma – Part 1 is all about how the need to talk about this topic came to fruition. Please stop by to say hello and check out the other magical posts from my Disney Drive Life friends. My other posts there can be found under NDM183 – that’s me!

It's Me

Cutting and Pasting Practice – Catch Me There

Sunday, August 21st, 2011

As a teacher, you would think that I would know when kids need to learn to cut and paste. Well, you would be wrong. I have now been caught off guard with both of my kids. Thanks to this, we spent time this summer practicing and working on cutting and pasting skills. To help make this more fun, I tied in Disney. Shocked, aren’t you?!

Favorite things collage

My latest post on The Disney Driven Life: Cutting and Pasting Practice with Disney is all about the project that we did and more ideas you can try. It really is amazing how much time kids will spend cutting and pasting when they have items that they love in front of them.

Please stop by to say hello and check out the other magical posts from my Disney Drive Life friends. My other posts there can be found under NDM183 – that’s me!

So what other ideas do you have for cutting and pasting practice with younger kids?

Do not forget that even older children need to work on these skills since they do not use scissors as often as younger kids may in school and when crafting.

It's Me

Art Education Meets Disney – Catch Me There

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

When you bring a child to an event where they need to be creative, you never know what may inspire them. Case in point was when the boys and I went to our local library for a Story Tower event run by the Tang Museum. I wrote about the actual program here on my blog in a post titled When Art Meets Library.

Making their story towers

I hinted that NHL was inspired by Disney’s Animal Kingdom when it was his time to make a story tower. I expanded on this for my most recent Education post for The Disney Driven Life titled When Disney Collides with Art Education. NHL showed me that he learned a great deal during our trips to Disney. He knew about different animals, their habitats, and where they were within the types of vegetation. I loved how he mimicked this knowledge by creating his own animal kingdom complete with Fast Pass. To read more about this, please stop by and read the rest of the story.

Please stop by to say hello and check out the other magical posts from my Disney Drive Life friends. My other posts there can be found under NDM183 – that’s me!

Have your children ever used things from your travels at times you least expected? Please be sure to share in the comments below.

It's Me

Living With The Land – Catch Me There

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

The sun was supposed to come out today, but it looks like that has changed again. After over a week of nearly non-stop rain, we are going a bit stir crazy here. The week has been filled with rain, headaches, and flash flood warnings.

Yesterday, when there was a break in the rain, we went to buy some vegetable plants. The cold and then constant rain did not allow us to start our modest little garden from seeds this years. Still, we are hoping to have some of our own tomatoes and zucchini (all that we bought at this point) to prepare with the boys.

Disney Style Crops

Growing a garden has definitely been inspired by our love of Disney. This week, I wrote about being inspired by Epcot’s Living With The Land. Over on The Disney Driven Life, I make a connection with Epcot, growing a garden, and learning. Be sure to head on over to check out my latest on connecting Disney with education. My other posts there can be found under NDM183 – that’s me!

While at Disney World in March, I decided to capture a little video while on Living With The Land. Here is little teaser of the ride. You can hear my very active three year old in the background.

I hope to see you at A Disney Driven Life to say hello to everyone else that writes there as well.

TheAngelForever

You Can Catch Me There – April 17, 2011

Sunday, April 17th, 2011

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? It is! To celebrate, I have been combining my love of Disney and education together at The Disney Driven Life. First I wrote about acrostic poetry, and now cinquain. Do you know how to write a cinquain poem? It is really fun and easy. My son even helped write one for my article.

I also shared the following book with everyone:

Mouse of Zen

Yes, a member of the Disney Driven Life team has published a book of Disney inspired haiku. More details about that in my cinquain article.

So what is your favorite type of poem? Please let me know and be sure to stop by the DDL to say hello and share one of your own poems.

TheAngelForever

You Can Catch Me There – April 10, 2011

Sunday, April 10th, 2011

Spring may officially be here in the Capital District. As the weather warms up, I hope to be able to spend more time with my family outdoors. In addition to writing here, I have also been busy contributing to other places.

Time for Bear in the Big Blue House

Since my last update, I have written two new posts on The Disney Driven Life:

KidsFunPlaza Button

I have also been working on more articles for the KidsFunPlaza magazine. The April issue should be out in the Capital District within the week. You can check out the March Digital Issue here:

I have also had some new blog posts on the KidsFunPlaza blog:

My recent posts on KidsFunPlaza:

Some of the latest posts from my KidsFunPlaza colleagues:

Please stop by A Disney Driven Life and KidsFunPlaza to say hello to everyone else that writes there as well.

TheAngelForever

Time to Write to a Disney Character

Sunday, February 20th, 2011

Is you child a reluctant writer? Do you want something fun to inspire him/her to write more?

 Disney Character Dialogue Journal

This week on The Disney Driven Life, I wrote about Character Letter Writing Fun using a dialogue journal. Please stop by to brain storm on ideas to inspire children to write more and practice their skills.

TheAngelForever

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