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Presidents’ Day Activities

Sunday, February 19th, 2012

As my search for items to do with the kids over February break continues, I wanted to look at possibilities that have to do with President’s Day. Since the kids have President’s week off, it makes sense to try to tie something in with that.

Of course, I went to Pinterest and searched for President’s Day. I was pleasantly surprised with quite a few craft, writing, and classroom activities. Remember, once a teacher always a teacher – even if you are not in a classroom of your own. Before I knew it, I had a good amount of items on a board of my own.

I love that a lot of these will be more of a challenge for my third grader, but some could work well for my preschooler. One that I think will tie in nicely with other crafts we already have is the Kids Coins for Presidents Day from Alpha Mom.

 

 

There are a bunch of other items that we will have ready just in case we have extra time during the week. If you are interested in seeing the items that I have pinned, just click on my board below.

The best part of these boards is that I have a great collection to not only do with the kids, but also use in a classroom in the future. So, do you have any special items that you will be doing to celebrate President’s Day? Please share your plans or link up to a post about your ideas.

Crafting Ideas for Winter Break

Friday, February 17th, 2012

Some parts of the country have a week of school off in February. We live in one of those areas and it is next week to coordinate with President’s Day. Although it has been a mild winter, we still may have days that are too cold to head outside or snow may keep us home.

Thanks to this, I have been looking at Pinterest for crafting ideas to do with the boys. Over the last few weeks, I have gathered some items that may work for one, or both of the kids. I also tried to find items that we could do with supplies that we already own. To see some of the items that I pinned click on the Crafts for kids button below.

I know that NHL really wants to try finger knitting. With all of the extra yarn that I have in the house, this would be great. The boys would also love to make and then play with their own play-dough. Why not pull them into the kitchen to make something that they can use for hours with the toys that we already have. Of course, we will also be testing our their Shrinky Dinks that they got from Nana and Papa for Valentine’s Day. Who knows, maybe I will even have a chance to try some of the items in this board too:

So this week my question is:

If money, time, space, and mess factor were no issue – what craft would you love to do with your children and/or yourself and why?

___________________________________________________________________________

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 #191

Ideas for Valentine’s Day 2012

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

Tuesday is Valentine’s Day and families all over will be getting ready to send there children things into school for celebrations. One of my boys will be doing this on Tuesday, while the other will have to wait until kindergarten. NHL’s class is having a little gathering where they will exchange Valentine cards and have some snacks.

I knew we would not have enough time to make any of the really cool Valentines that I have seen on Pinterest – like the ones from Zakka Life below.

 

 

It would have been great to make them, but the reality check is not enough time to get the items needed and to construct them. Thanks to this, I went to the store and bought some that I knew NHL would love. I do believe that Agent P would approve as well.

So this weekend, NHL will sign them and get them ready. Then we will try to figure out what snack to make to bring into his class. I have a feeling I may try one of the cool items that I pinned in my <3 Day Items board on Pinterest.

There are just so many great things to be found on Pinterest. If you want to see what I have pinned in mine, just click on my board below and it will take to there now.

So what are your plans for Valentine cards, crafts, and/or baked goods for Tuesday? Please share below!

Under the Weather on Groundhog Day

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

While everyone else is watching to see what Phil the groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania sees this morning, I will be busy. First, I will be taking one kid to school and trying to make an appointment for the little guy to see the doctor. Much of Wednesday was spent trying to get the sick little guy to do this

He was so exhausted after waking up during the night with a fever. There are no other symptoms, aside from a cough when he gets upset. He did get sick all over me, but it was not illness related. JSL is NOT a fan of medicine. Unfortunately, with his febrile seizure history, we do not wait around with fevers. We have to act quickly to get his temperature down. While he has gone eight months without one, we never know if today could bring another seizure.

We did not go to the doctor Wednesday because it may just be viral. If he is miserable during the night, we will likely head to the doctor to have his ears and throat checked to make sure. JSL never complains about his ears bothering him and often they are the cause of fevers.

While we rest, I do hope to read some Groundhog Day books, like the one I reviewed last year.

 

 

If you are looking for other Groundhog Day ideas, I found some and pinned on my Groundhog Day board. There are pancakes, fruit snack, predictions craft, cupcake push pops and more. Stop by because the photos are amazing and they link to the items shown.

Do you have any special plans this Groundhog Day? What do you think about the little rodent’s prediction given the relatively mild winter in a lot of the country?

Winter Snowmen Crafting Fun

Thursday, January 19th, 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!

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

 

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.

Making Today Matter

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Today both of my boys are home from school. My oldest son is in third grade and has learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. over the years. His four year old brother is still too young to really understand. Of course, in the back of my head, I know that NHL is aware of who Dr. King Jr. is, but does he understand just how he helped to change life for so many in our country? I am not sure he does since he is only eight and only knows life where he and his friends see no difference in skin color. Something so simple in that statement makes me know that my kiddo is learning so much.

In honor of this day, I wanted to share some great projects that would be fun to do with children today or in February in honor of Black History Month. When I was teaching, I had a lot of great projects that we did for this day and to celebrate the month of February, but I wanted to check what others were doing. Of course, I went to Pinterest and searched for the holiday.

Yes, I have a board just for MLK Jr. Day, but I thought I would share a few of the items here. I could just imagine these wreaths being made in a classroom, homeschool, or at home with kids. They would be great to display and remember the person behind the holiday.

 

 

These freedom bells look perfect to do with younger children.

 

 

When I went to the website that hosted the original idea, it also had a song called Freedom, Freedom, Let it Ring that you sing to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and I think my oldest son may have heard this years ago.

Freedom, Freedom, let it ring,

"Let it ring, " said Dr King.

Let us live in harmony,

Peace and love for you and me.

Freedom, freedom, let it ring,

"Let it ring," said Dr King.

For older children, I love the idea of taking a trade book and mixing it up with the holiday theme. The Crayon Box That Talked is about a group of crayons that do not like each other because the colors do not like each other. They learn a valuable lesson that worked nicely into a classroom crayon box of tolerance and accepting different crayons from a group.

 

 

So how do you celebrate this day with your family? I know that we are hoping to go out and make a difference today within our community. My kids will see that today is not just a day off from school, but a day to remember the importance of a man who changed the world.

Winter Means Pinning Lots of Soup

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

Yes, I do mean I am pinning lots of soup this winter. If you don’t know what I mean come on over to Pinterest to find me.

Thanks to a sweet four year old that shared his cold, nothing sounds good to eat. I am craving my mother’s chicken soup, but that isn’t going to happen. So while trying to clear the congestion in my head, I went to Pinterest. I wanted to find soups for my family to enjoy, keep warm, and devour the rest of this winter. It may not have been THAT cold yet, but there are many more months where Mother Nature will likely have her last laugh.

I sent a call out to my friend on Twitter to see if they had any soup recipes to share. @Kimberaka who writes at From My Corner of Saratoga sent me three items on her blog. She shared how to make soup into dinner, a great New England Clam Chowder recipe, and the one below for Corn Chowder. Thanks Kim!

 

 

Then, I started to do random searches on Pinterest for soup. Something I have also been craving is Pho. Since TechyDad does not like to eat meat when out, we have not been able to locate a place to get Pho for him. Thanks to this pin, we just may be able to make some at home soon.

 

 

It was hard to decide what to and what not to pin, but I was selective at this point. My love of cauliflower and the fact that my oldest son also likes it made a recipe for Caramelized Cauliflower Soup jump out. This sounds really delicious and different to me.

 

 

Since we keep a kosher kitchen, we often make vegetarian soups. I do miss the hearty meaty soups, but love when I find alternatives. Plus with “burger crumbles” from companies like Morning Star, you can easily revamp a great recipe. Here is one for Morning Star Vegetarian Tortilla Soup.

 

 

Of course, a girl can also dream of a soup that looks like a major splurge. I wonder if this one from the Disney Parks Blog for Loaded Baked Potato Soup can be tweaked into a kosher variety (hello soy bacon in a pinch).

 

 

Do you have a favorite soup recipe to share? I would love to know about it. Please let me know about it in the comments. Feel free to leave a link to a post or the recipe online. My need for soup thanks you and I will add it to my soups pins on Pinterest.

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