What started as learning how to get a rhythm with crochet and trying a granny square, has warped into a large project that keeps on growing. At first, I used some recycled yarn from another project. Then, I kept adding new colors. To date, I have used eight colors and made 62 squares. Each of the squares is about 7 1/2 inches. I have 10 more squares to make with the colors currently in my house. Here is a peek of what I have done.

As you can see in the photo on the bottom right, the patch work granny square afghan was not big enough. That’s when I went out to add the two new colors seen in the bottom middle. Just to share all of the colors, I put them in a semi-rainbow order to display. I know I am adding a deeper yellow/orange color to the mix and may add a lighter peach/coral color in before connecting them together.

So yes, aside from three small dish cloths, this is my first crochet project. It is a large one, but it will be fun to see finished. Now I just have to get all of the squares set, figure out a pattern, and actually connect them. Oh and that is another debate.

What will my next project be? Well, my little guy has requested a Pete the Cat doll that I found online. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear patterns that you love. Meanwhile I need to decide, should I make the textured single crochet connect in gray or black?

The reality is I miss many items outside of my own classroom. I miss…

• being in a classroom and watching children learn
• seeing the smiles on a child’s face when he/she learns a new concept and they are so proud
• creating inventive ways to help different children to reach their academic potentials
• being part of an educational community as a teacher
• working side by side with other amazing educational professionals

Unfortunately, the world of education has changed a lot over the last 5-10 years. The Race to the Top funding and the push for Common Core Curriculum has caused a dramatic shift in what classroom time looks like. Children in New York State and around the country are constantly getting ready for one test or another, taking one of what seems like a million tests, or being stressed about what their test results may mean for their schools/teachers. The reality is that your children and mine are paying the price. Creative and authentic learning environments are a thing of the past. We are teaching to the tests. Kids are becoming little robots that are taught how to highlight key phrases, pull apart a topic, and answer questions that may not even have a correct choice.

I have a lot more to say on this topic, but right now I am biting my tongue a bit. Rather than rant and rave here, I am working with parents and teachers to get the word out. I want our voices to be heard. Thanks to this, my family will be joining others on June 8 at the Empire State Plaza for the One Voice United Rally Together. Why rally? Here is a video from Peter DeWitt on the NYSUT website that answers the question.

As an educator, tax payer, and most importantly a parent I will be there with my entire family showing my boys that I will fight for their right to the education that they deserve. My children are more than a number. My 4th grader should not lose eight days to the ELA, Math, and Science tests, plus other hours for benchmark exams, and countless days spent preparing for these high stakes test. I should not have to hear my KINDERGARTENER come home worried about a test that he took on a computer. He should not fear tests and have to worry about this as he starts out his academic journey. His focus should be on reading, writing, learning math concepts, making friends, and enjoying school. Sad to say, his teachers are not to blame.

New York State needs to wake up, see what they are doing to our children and stop the insanity. For more information about the rally on June 8, please head to the information page from NYSUT. I will leave you with this PDF from NYSUT about the rally that you can download and share with others here.

I urge more people from throughout New York to make a trip to Albany in a little over two weeks to teach your children a valuable lesson.

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

Over the weekend, when my son was sick, I wanted to listen to a book while he watched a movie. This allowed me to crochet and hear something. The first thing I did was to reinstall the OverDrive Media Console for Android onto my new phone.

Once I had the app, I knew that I wanted to add a book. I clicked on the “Get Books” icon at the top right and proceeded to add in my accounts with the two library systems. Now, when I am on the go, I can use my 4G LTE connection or Wi-fi to download new books on my account.

From here, your experience will be slightly different depending on the library that you are visiting. On the NY Public Library landing page you can select the type of book that you would like to search. I typically do an advanced search. Here I can select MP3 audiobooks that are available to download now. I can also specify publishers, genre, and more. As you can see, simply looking for MP3 audiobooks that were available now gave me a large number of options that was a bit overwhelming.

Thanks to my GoodReads list, I saw a book title that looked familiar. Sure enough they had Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster. I selected the title, checked it out, and within seconds it was downloading to my phone. Once you select your book to listen to, you can see the player and navigation pages below.

When you need to stop, you simply pause and close the app. The next time you begin and press the play button it will begin right where you left off.

Have you ever used the OverDrive Media App? I would love to know if you have any audiobook suggestions. As always, Tuesday Tales is about spreading love for books. 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.

Disclosure: I used the Lucid 2 by LG phone that I received as a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers to assist me with this post. All pictures were taken via the QuickMemo™ on the phone. As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I share ways that I use my cell phone to make life easier. There is no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

This all ended last year when I finally took the advice of a friend and bought a cupcake courier that would transport 36 fully decorated sweet treats on the go. The first time I used it was to transport my son’s Kermit the Frog cupcakes to his family birthday party at the lake.

JSL’s birthday was last week and he wanted me to make pirate cupcakes to bring to his kindergarten classmates. We picked out some Jake and the Never Land Pirate rings to put on top for each of the kids. To make sure I had enough for all of the children, teachers, and other staff members that we may see,  36 would need to make the trek to school. I made the cupcakes the day before and allowed them to cool. I stored them right in the cupcake courier and moved the trays around as I was ready to decorate each dozen. It made for an easy system where I could pipe frosting, add sprinkles, and place a Jake and the Never Land Pirates ring on top.

A short time later, I was able to grab the entire container and place them into the car. I made it to school with minimal cupcake damage (some frosting that was piped slid off a few).  The best part was seeing JSL’s face and watching him gobble up the treat with his friends.

I now know that the courier purchase last year was one of the best investments ever. I do not have to worry about making cupcakes and taking them places. I can bake, make them, and go.

When I travel, I typically have posts written and scheduled ahead of time. Sometimes, I write them and have also had some amazing guest writers over the years. Still, I have found myself at Walt Disney World or other locations with something that I want to blog at that moment. In the past, I was limited to using my laptop if I brought it with me. While I prefer to blog with Windows Live Writer, I am flexible when I need to be. Thanks to my smartphones, I am able to use the WordPress app for Android and I can publish at any time with my 4G LTE connection via Verizon Wireless.

The fist time I used this app was when we were at the Disney Social Media Moms celebration last April. I wanted to share some of the magical memories that we were having. Since I did not bring my Laptop (TechyDad had his), I used my phone. My post, Moving to Disney World,  proved to me that mobile blogging is a possibility when I need it. When you look at that post, you can not really tell that it was done on the fly unless you notice the different watermarking and way that the photos are set up. Another example is Fantastic Memories from the same trip.

If you have never used the WordPress App it is really easy to install. Once you have it on your phone, you simply select if you have a WordPress.com blog, want a new blog, or use a self hosted WordPress blog like mine. Once you log in, you will have a dashboard of current published posts on the screen.

When you want to write a post, you simply press the “+” that you see in the screen shot above in the upper right corner. A blank post post will appear and it really does look like a smaller and more simple version of the WordPress publishing page. It took me a little while to remember how to use it since I use Live Writer to write, edit, and schedule my posts.

You simply go section by section through the screen. Give the post a title, then compose everything and add media from your phone, type in tags, and set other options the way you want them established.

Of course, the WordPress app also allows you to work with other items on your blog while out and about. From the main screen, you can open a menu by sliding your finger to the right to open up additional features. An item that TechyDad and I have had to use in the past is the comment area. If we get an e-mail about a comment and it is clearly spam, we can use this app to go in, mark it as spam and move on. Before we had smartphones, those comments would have to stay on our blogs unless we had computer access.

There is a lot more that you can do with the WordPress app, but these are some of the highlights. I know that I hope to use this app a lot more this summer while exploring new and fun locations with my family. Have you ever blogged on the go using the WordPress app? I would love to hear your experience.

NHL is going to be heading into 5th grade and JSL into 1st grade. I really want to make sure they get a week or two at camp. My boys will are very different and will thrive at locations that will not be the same. My little guy loves to run, jump, play, sing, dance, and do crafts. He would probably love a very traditional summer camp like I went to growing up. NHL would not do well with this. He is a geek at heart and wants to explore the world of science, math, Harry Potter, and the like.

Looking at different options, (it isn’t too late) brought me back to a post I wrote a while back. I thought about things that you need to think about when considering camps for your child.

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Have you started to think about camp options for your child?

I know I have. A few years ago, my oldest son went to camp for several weeks. Although he liked it at first, it was probably not the best fit for his interests. It was a little too focused on athletics. He would have preferred something that did not spend the entire day out on a field playing different sports. Perhaps something that included some swimming, crafts, acting, and more. Thanks to this experience, we are doing more research on camps this year.

When I was growing up, there were a few local camps to pick from. Parents could select from Camp Chingachgook, Boy/Girl Scout, Helderberg Workshop, the JCC, and a few other high profile places in the Capital District. Now, all bets are off. Parents and children have a wide variety of options throughout the area. There is a camp for almost anything and everything that you can think of. The best part is there are websites like Albany Kids Out and About to help you locate options. Albany Kid also has a wonder page with updates about How to Find Camps in the Capital Region including enrichment classes.

Before you are overwhelmed with the variety of options available, sit down and think about what you are looking for.

• Do you want a full day camp experience? Will you require early drop off and extended day options?
• Does you child want a camp specifically dedicated to Baseball, Soccer, Basketball, Dance, Acting, or something else that they have a passion for?
• How far are you willing to travel to get to a camp? Are there transportation options available to/from the camp?
• Would your child benefit from an enrichment camp opportunity? Many of the local universities and colleges have programs that help with academic support, as well as enrichment to children that may prefer something like this.
• Have you heard anything from friends about a camp? Often word of mouth is a great starting point as you begin to research things.

These are just a few of the items to think about. Make a list, compare different options, ask about financial options, and think about questions that you have for camps when you talk to them. Hopefully this will assist your family as you sit down to contemplate summer plans.

Do you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them as I struggle to find the perfect camp for both of my boys.

Disclosure: Parts of this post were previously published on a project I worked on. The text is mostly the same, but I placed a new introduction to go along with a topic that continues to be important for families. The image above is Happy Camper from Open ClipArt and by Benji Park.

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

For months now, I have been teasing you and begging you not to turn six. Of course, I knew that no matter how I wished and begged it was not really going to happen. Although I look forward to watching you grow up and become more independent, I am going to miss these moments because they are going so quickly.

My Kindergarten Kid is going to be heading into first grade soon. Not only did you learn all of your alphabet and letter sounds over the last year, you learned to read and write. Your sweet little messages makes me smile and I adore how you know just what to do or say to everyone to make them feel loved and special. Here is a look at your fifth year.

To celebrate being five, the two of us set out on an adventure last year. We started to read The Magic Tree House books. Over the months, we caught up to where the author was writing. Of course, Perry and Jake were always close by and you loved going to Nursery School. It was also the time where you learned how to ride your new scooter. (May 2012)

A lot of milestones happened soon after you turned five. You said goodbye to your amazing speech teacher and to everyone at nursery school. Suddenly, you were my new Kindergarten Kid. We had a few weeks together before NHL was finished with third grade. We went to craft events and had a lot of fun together. (June 2012)

Over the summer, you, NHL, and I continued to have fun going to crafting events, checking out items at the library, and exploring other items. You quickly discovered that you really like mini-golf when we went with Nana and Papa for the 4th of July. Later in the month, you and I went out alone and made a new special friend while looking for a birthday present for NHL. (July 2012)

The reminder of the summer was filled with crafts, reading, going to the park, and birthdays for Daddy and NHL. We also went on a few special trips to Hoffman’s and then, before we knew it, it was time for Kindergarten Orientation. (August 2012)

September was a tough month for both of us. Taking my baby to kindergarten was hard, but it was a big adjustment for you as well. Soon we had a new routine that we continue to this day. Each morning, we practice the Kissing Hand so we both feel better about being apart each day. You also expanded your ducky collection, got a new baby doll, and started Hebrew School that month. (September 2012)

The Fall saw another hurricane threaten to come into the area. While you were home two days, we did crafts and played. We also went on your first kindergarten field trip to check out the apple orchard. No apple picking since the crops had a bad year. When the weather was nice, you played on your scooter and enjoyed looking at caterpillars. Halloween meant that Captain America saved the day for all of us with his fantastic smile. (October 2012)

As the weather grew cooler, we worked on reading more and you started to get homework from school. Thanks to the book fair at your school, we found Pete the Cat and you fell in love with this silly singing feline. Thanksgiving weekend meant that cousins came into town and you loved seeing them and playing with some early Chanukah presents. (November 2012)

As 2012 came to a close, you were keeping busy. You finished up Art Club, became the Star of the Week, and stayed with Nana and Papa for a few days. You also fell in love with my new laminator. Together, we made Disney map projects for you to use on pirate play. Of course, you also loved lighting Chanukah candles, playing in the snow, and spending time with NHL and me during winter break. (December 2012)

2013 started off and we spent a lot of time trying to stay warm outside of school each day waiting for NHL. At home, you loved doing homework, working on your reading, and making crafts. You spent some time helping me with reviews about iPad apps as well. While we never made a giant snowman, you loved creating one for a school project to share with your friends. (January 2013)

Snowstorms and power outages happened a few times over the winter. You had so much fun helping us to make forts and playing inside them. There may not have been snow outside, but you were keeping warm. You loved spending time in your fort with NHL using your LEGOs. Slime was also a big hit during winter break. You spent many hours using that over and over again. (February 2013)

After a long winter, you were ready for the spring and could not wait to get outside. You loved getting to test out your new Big Wheel and racing up and down the block. This was also the time we convinced you that you could read to all of us. It was so much fun sitting down to listen to you read us all a book. I quickly saw that my “baby” was growing up way too quickly during this time. (March 2013)

After we celebrated Passover, we spent time going out to places in our community. You adore going to the NY State Museum and had so much fun checking out all of the CANStruction items featured there. In addition to this, you loved meeting new authors and illustrators at the Book Festival. You were so proud of the book that you picked out, the drawing you made, and wearing your wizard hat. (April 2013)

Now I look at how grown up you are and can hardly believe my eyes. In six short years, you have changed so much, but at the same time you are still the sweetest little guy who genuinely wants to help and make others happy.

Though I have tears in my eyes as I type this, I am excited to see the little boy that you are becoming. I can not wait to see more of your personality come alive in the years ahead. Thank you, JSL, for letting me be a part of this journey with you. As much as I am sad to see you get older, I am excited.

Happy 6th birthday sweetie and here is to many more happy and wonderful memories ahead.

Love,

Mommy

Past B-day posts to JSL:

• Today My Baby is Five
• Hello Four Year Old
• Goodbye to my last 2 year old
• My little guy is 2 today
• My baby is 1

NHL changed the way that I forever see the world. This is nothing negative, but he has given me the inner “Mama Bear” moments where I will fight and advocate until I am blue in the face.

Six years ago, I spent mothers day, extremely pregnant with my second son. I was days from my due date and feeling so tired because I was also battling an infection during the last month or so. Little did I know that the very next morning, I would see my second little boy and fall head over heals in love with another child. At the time, I worried that I would not have enough love for both of my children. Of course, I quickly learned that it would simply expand to fit the needs of our growing family.

Watching the boys on the day that we took JSL home was amazing. The boys have grown so much over the last six years and are now such good friends. They have their moments as all siblings do, but the two will protect each other like nobody else can.

I rarely take photos with the boys because I am usually the one with the camera in my hands, but this mother’s day I asked TechyDad to get one of the three of us.

I always want to remember these moments because my babies are growing up before my eyes and each time I blink more and more milestones are gone forever.