Did you notice the calendar this week, or today perhaps? My husband, TechyDad, has been chatting it up for at least a week.
Why?
Well, because today is #10101010. He has been asking other bloggers to write about their life 10 years ago, and 10 years down the road. TechyDad has already written about our life as he sees it. Head on over to read and join in the fun. Be sure to link up so others can read about your 10-10-10 experience.
Dear JSL,
This was your first full week of nursery school in quite some time. Wednesday, you were supposed to go on an apple picking field trip. There was going to be a hayride and other fun activitities. Unfortunately, the rain had other plans. Well over five inches of rain came and would not stop over several days. Thanks to this, apple picking was not an option. Your teachers made some extra fun activities that were apple related this week. You were so proud to share your painted apple on the wall:
When we walked into school Friday, there was a surprise waiting for you. You had one of the most prized jobs for the week. You were selected to be Abba for Shabbat. I wanted to take your photo next to the table, but you were a little stinker and refused. So I took a picture of the table.
When school was over, you were so proud to show me your Abba sticker and tell everyone about it and the grape juice. Yes, there is no doubt you really like nursery school, even if you are a bit clingy in the mornings lately. I can not wait to see more of your projects and visit one day when you are Abba to see you in action.
Love,
Mommy
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If you want to participate in Dear Kid Saturday, head on over to Cutest Kid Ever by clicking on the button below.
Over the last few months, I have mentioned projects, deadlines, articles to write and blog posts for another project in my Tweets. Up until this post, I have been pretty quiet about it here on my own blog. I have been working on a new adventure. To say that this never would have been possible without social media, specifically Twitter, would be an understatement.
Quite a while ago, I "met" @AnaRC on Twitter. We started chatting about crazy New York winters and Disney. Ana moved to Northeast NY from her previous home of Western NY. Fast forward to present day and I am working on her latest pet project called KidsFunPlaza. This project is a dream that she had and is living out. Not only is there a blog, but a new magazine for the Northeast region of New York. Check out our first baby (with my second baby modeling it):
I am writing the toddler and kiddo articles on the KidsFunPlaza Blog as well as in the magazine. In addition to this, I am doing interviews in the magazine for the Parent and Educator of the month. Our second magazine is going to print next week and I can not wait to see it. The blog is not region specific and has articles that are written by an amazing group of women that I will introduce you to soon in another post. For now, please say hello to those of us on Twitter –> @CutestKidEver, @TheCraningGap, @SandraFoyt and @AlbanyMommy (if I missed someone please let me know). The magazine is a local resource for parents, grandparents, and others that will be available in locations for FREE. Eventually, KidsFunPlaza will be expanding to other regions and will be a fantastic resource for people throughout the country.
So my question to you this week is:
Do you have a free local parent magazine/paper near you? If you do what do you like/dislike about it? If you do not, what would you like to see in one some day?
Also be sure to enter my CardsDirect $50 gift card giveaway. TechyDad is also hosting a LuLu.com Photo Book giveaway.
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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 #120
Right now, budgets are extremely limited in schools. At my son’s school, nurse teachers were cut, librarians let go, and many programs slashed. Thanks to this and other local issues, the school has been on the chopping block year after year. Below is a photo of my son last year at a rally to save his school (something no child should ever need to go to).
Our school is currently trying to implement a gifted and talent program for students that need to advance in their studies and have enrichment. The problem – no money. Parents like myself are trying to help and research items to use in the school that are cost-effective and will not burden the teachers any more than they already are. It is a very trying time to say the least, especially as the parent of a child that needs this programing.
Our PTA works hard to supplement the school with field trips, speakers and other programs for the students. Together, as a team, we work to better the educational experience for our children. I have to admit that we are very lucky that we have a groups of parents that genuinely care and come into the school to volunteer their time. This year, I am hoping to assist more in the classrooms as well. As a certified reading teacher, I hope to volunteer and help children that need a little more help with their literacy skills. With my little guy in nursery school a few days, I can do this and it always feels amazing to see the twinkle in a child’s eyes when they have an "ah-ha" moment.
So what can we do to help our school? First, go to your school join the PTA, ask your child’s teacher or principal how you can help. Perhaps sending in extra classroom supplies, working in the lunch room, or assisting with another item would help. Of course, companies like Bing are trying to help. Bing just announced their "Our School Needs" program. Here is a video about the submission process for the program.
General info about Our School Needs:
How the Our School Needs Contest Works
We want to hear from teachers and students about what their school needs most. Look around your school and think about how it would benefit from winning $100,000.
What To Do
Students can work in groups, classes, or even school-wide to write an essay and take pictures finishing the sentence "Our School Needs: ___________." To enter:
- Write an essay (500 to 800 words)
- Take pictures (3 to 5 photos)
- Film a video (not required, but fun! Maximum of 3 minutes in length)
Who Can Enter
Any student or teacher from a K-12 school can enter. While students under 18 are encouraged to create the entry, a parent, legal guardian or a teacher must submit it.
What Could Our School Win?
Bing will award a quarter-million dollars, divided among four schools—$50,000 to three first-prize winners, and one $100,000 grand prize.
Categories
Schools will be broken out into 3 categories, K-6, 7-9 and 10-12. The top-voted entry in each category will be awarded a first prize of $50,000. The entry that receives the largest number of overall votes during the voting phase will receive the grand prize of $100,000.
To read more information about the Bing My School Needs contest, please go to their web site. I know that I will be forwarding this to my son’s school in hopes that we can apply and ease some of the yearly fears about keeping our school open and programs within it. Don’t forget, the last day to enter is Friday, October 22!
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Bing and received a DonorsChoose.org giving code and a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.
3 year old does not understand that it is just a game. More about our HEXBUG party here.
Oh and please help me save Pluto and vote for my photo in a contest.
