June, 2011 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives June 2011

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Holy Hail Storms

Posted on June 10, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Weather seems to be in the news a lot lately. Throughout the United States, people have been dealing with severe weather of all kinds. My heart goes out to the people in the flooded areas fighting to save their homes and to those picking up the pieces after the deadly tornadoes.

As I pulled into the driveway Wednesday afternoon, the sky changed from sunny and bright to ominous. It was in the mid 90’s, but the wind started to gust. I will admit that I was unaware that a storm warning was in our area. We packed the kids into the house and got them out of their swimsuits and decided to relax in the cooler house. As I was sitting and doing some work, I heard thunder, saw lightning flickering outside, and then chunks of ice were slamming against the house. Yes, chucks of ice.

TechyDad was able to get the one above when he ducked outside our front door to snag it to show the boys. A little while later, the sun came out and I went outside to look around for damage. Even though it was still close to 90 degrees, there were still good sized chunks of hail in the grass.

I went to check on our vegetables that we outside. Luckily, everything looked pretty good. We were a bit nervous since hail destroyed cucumbers and tomatoes a few years back.

When I went back around the front, I decided to take a photo of one chunk of ice and then next to my foot to show the difference.

Yes, we get hail from time to time in the Capital District area, but not like this and several times in a few days. Thank goodness everyone was safe and sound. Now we just hope things settle down across the country for the rest of the summer ahead.

My question to you this week:

Do you like summer storms? Would love to know why you do or do not. Please share any unusual weather you have had near you.

Pssst . . . be sure to stop by my Dove Men + Care giveaway along with TechyDad’s Kung Fu Panda giveaway to enter for a chance to win some great items.

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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 #155

Categories:
Aloha Friday flowers and plants house interesting photos summer TechyDad weather

Teaching Kids About Bullies – Catch Me There

Posted on June 9, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Each and every school is now faced with the dilemma of how to teach students about this topic. The reality is that educators need to be trained on how to present it within the curriculum and how to recognize it within the school setting. Children need to recognize when they are being a bullied, we need to try to prevent this behavior from the start.

Have you or your children ever been bullied?

In a perfect world, bullies would not exist. Unfortunately, I know this is not the case. TechyDad and I have written about this topic many times. We have had to deal with this on several levels this year.

This week, my post on The Disney Driven Life focuses on bullies. More specifically, Teaching Kids About Bullies With Disney. Yes, I think we could utilize Disney stories and movies to help teach kids about bullies and other forms of character education. I am certainly thinking outside of the box, but often times that is the best way to reach kids. You look for something that you can connect to the topic at hand and present it in a fun manner that will stick with them for life. Please stop by to check out my latest on connecting Disney with education and let me know what Disney bullies you can think of.

I hope to see you at The Disney Driven Life to say hello to everyone else that writes there as well. My other posts there can be found under NDM183 – that’s me!

Categories:
Disney DisneyDrivenLife Educational My Other Projects school

100 Steps In Photos

Posted on June 8, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Here are the boys on their way to try a photo shooting experiment. More about it on TechyDad’s Blog.

Categories:
fun interesting jsl my boys nhl photos TechyDad Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tales – Picnic at Camp Shalom

Posted on June 7, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a child, I have many memories of going to camp during the summer. I went to a JCC camp, Girl Scout Camp, a local nature/crafting camp, and some others over the years. These days, the options of camps are even more extensive if you know where to look. Summer vacation in our area does not begin until the end of June. I have been so busy with other items, that I have not secured camp for the boys yet. I know; I need to get cracking on that.

While reading Picnic at Camp Shalom, a new book out from Kar-Ben Publishing, it made me think back on my camp experiences. I remember being in a summer play that was a spoof of The Wizard of Oz with a Purim theme. I dressed up and recall singing “Follow the Hamantaschen Road” with my friends. I need to dig around to find the photos to show my boys as I investigate camps for them.

More about Picnic at Camp Shalom:

When Carly makes fun of Sara’s last name at mail call, her bunkmate at Camp Shalom thinks she’s just being mean and refuses to be consoled. Little does Sara know that Carly had a reason for her outburst. When their mutual love of music brings harmony to Shabbat dinner as well as to their friendship, Carly finally gets the chance to reveal her secret.

Here is a trailer from the author about the book:

Picnic at Camp Shalom – Written by Jacqueline Jules – Illustrated by Deborah Melmon - Kar-Ben Publishing – March 2011 – ISBN 978-0-7613-6662-1 – $7.95 (paperback) – Ages 5-9

What I Thought:

Summer camp is a milestone that most children will eventually participate in. Making new friends and getting to know them is part of the excitement of the experience. Of course, when you do not know someone well, you could easily hurt their feelings. Jacqueline Jules shows us how Carly makes an honest mistake that results in Sara pulling away from her new friend. We watch as Carly learns from her mistake and explains to Sara that she is sorry for upsetting her. The beautiful illustrations from Deborah Melmon take us into the world of Camp Shalom and let us go on the flag hunt and join in Shabbat dinner with the campers. Traditions of summers at camp, being Jewish, and making new friends are strong themes in the book.

As a teacher and parent, I really like another aspect of Picnic at Camp Shalom. Children often act in an impulsive fashion. Without even thinking, they can say words that sting and hurt their friends and others in their lives. This book would be great to use with children to show them why it is so important to stop and think before saying something too quickly. Take time to discuss what happened to Carly as a result of what she said to Sara. How could she have done things differently? What would you do if you were in that situation? Do you think your feeling would be hurt if someone did that to you? As you can see there are a lot of questions you could generate from this. I can not wait to share this book with my almost eight year old son. Lots of lessons to be learned from it.

What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Book Posts, and/or leave a comment 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: I received this book complimentary of Kar-Ben Publishing in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. One widget within the review is for my Amazon Affiliate where I will receive a percentage of money for the sale of the books should you opt to buy the book mentioned.

Categories:
books looking back me moments photos Product review Tuesday Tales

Blogging Conference Advice

Posted on June 6, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Once again, there are a bounty of blogging conferences coming up. Whether you are going to TypeACon (may cry since I will not be there in a few short weeks), BlogHer, SheStreams, or another in the months ahead if this is your first experience going to one it can be nerve wracking.

In February 2010, I was heading to Disney Social Media Moms for my first conference experience. I did not know what to expect since it was the first ever at Disney, but looked to my peers for some advice. In August, I went to BlogHer 2010 in New York City. This conference scared me a lot more. It was a much larger scale, many more people, and SO many things going on all at once. I have now been to three conference, and have this bit of advice for you:

BE YOURSELF!

The weeks before a conference people will be stressing over a myriad of things. These are a few items I worried about and my thoughts.

Clothes to wear for sessions and parties –> Take it from me, it is important to be comfortable in a professional way. No need to be too dressy if you will not be happy. People dress in jeans, others will wear cocktail dresses to some of the parties. Do what works best for you.

Techy gadgets to bring –> Take items that you are comfortable working with. Some people will work only on their iPad, others will have laptops, cameras, Flip Cameras, and then some. Only you know what you will use and want to have on hand for live blogging, or networking while there.

Business cards and what to put on them –> Give as much or as little information as you are comfortable with. Your name, blog name, Website address, FB/Twitter pages, phone number, e-mail address are all great starts. I also put my photo on mine. Along with my Angel logo, I have a small photo of myself. This helps people to put a face to my blog after chatting.

Making a schedule –> Do not stress over this. There is so much going on. Have a general plan, do not over book yourself, and go with the flow. As a Type A personality this is tough for me, but I learned the hard way at BlogHer that you can not be in three places at one time.

What sessions should you go to?! –> Only you know what your goals are. If there are a lot of choices at the same time, go to what is best for your future. Sure, your friends may be going to another location, but you will learn the most in a place where you need to be.

My biggest mistake time and time again – not taking enough photos at conferences with my friends. Each time I promise I will do better, and I forget. Do not make this mistake. Pull out your camera and capture these memories. They are well worth the moment to pause and pose.

If you are getting ready for a blogging conference, Tiny Prints would like you to know that they have business cards that you can customize. Their business card selection allow you to add photos, logos and design accents to a variety of formats.

When you go to your first, or subsequent conference enjoy the time, network, learn, have fun, and like I said be yourself! If you have been to a conference – what advice do you have? If you have never been an have any question, please feel free to leave them below.

Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a Global Influence campaign for Tiny Prints. By sharing this information with my readers, I will receive 50 free business cards to thank me for my participation. No other compensation has been given.