January, 2012 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives January 2012

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Super Hero Squad Building Fun

Posted on January 21, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

Monday, Daddy had to go to work, but the two of you had the day off of school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Since Nana and Papa were back from the weekend at a family wedding, we decided to spend some time with them. We showed them a great new to them place for breakfast. Then, we went shopping at Target. They finally had more of the Super Hero Squad figures that had been out of stock since before Chanukah.

After shopping, we went back to play at Nana and Papa’s house. I told the two of you that it would be fun to make some buildings or castles. I thought the giant wooden block sets would be perfect to create places for your four new Super Hero Squad members. We sat on the floor together, with both sets of blocks, and made some structures together.

We had a lot of fun. It was nice to see you both laugh, play, and have no worries. I do hope we will share many more of these moments together because they are so very special.

Love,

Mommy

Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday family fun holidays jsl nhl photos play time

Say No to Censorship

Posted on January 20, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Wednesday, I likely confused some members of my family if they stopped by my website. First, they would have seen this:

This was a widget for WordPress that TechyDad and I placed on our blogs to show support against the new bills that the US Congress and Senate are trying to put on the books. We really liked that this would help to inform people about what these bills will do to the average American – including bloggers like us. If you continued to my blog, this was at the top over my header/logo:

I did not blackout my website like Wikipedia, Reddit, and others. Instead, I did not post new content during the blackout period and had this information to educate people about the cause. If you look up in the right corner, I now have a Stop SOPA ribbon.

As someone who has had her content copied and used without my permission, I get that piracy is not ok. The problem is that SOPA and PIPA go far above and beyond that. Oh and IF you have seen the commercials promoting these bills – they are horrid. Scare tactics against citizens without all of the information is unacceptable. Here check it out (commercial begins at :29 mark):

For more information, please head over to read TechyDad’s post about the legislation.

So my question to you this week:

Did you blackout your website on Wednesday? I would also like to know why you opted with your choice. Please remember to make some noise and contact your representatives in Congress and Senate to let them know that censorship is NOT acceptable. We need to kill these bills and revamp to properly stop piracy.

___________________________________________________________________________

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 #187

Categories:
Aloha Friday me moments photos PSA real world news TechyDad television

Winter Snowmen Crafting Fun

Posted on January 19, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

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!

Source: somedaycrafts.blogspot.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

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.

Source: mrsschmelzer.blogspot.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

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.

Source: elementaryartroom.blogspot.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

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.

Source: stlmdk.blogspot.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

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.

Categories:
arts and crafts crafts fun Pinterest winter

Super Hero Squad Invasion

Posted on January 18, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Categories:
fun me moments my boys Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tales – Time for a Hug

Posted on January 17, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Everyone knows that Valentine’s Day is coming in a little under a month. During that time, we often think about the ones that we love to hug. There will be lots of hearts, hugs, kisses, special notes to those that we love, and more.

Did you know that this Saturday, Jan 21, is National Hug Day? It is and it seemed like a great time to share a new book that I reviewed by Phillis Gershator and her mother Mim Green called Time for a Hug. Once I started to read and they saw the illustrations from David Walker, they were hooked.

Too often, we forget about the simple things in life and never stop even for a brief second to enjoy them with our children. Before we know it, they grow up before our eyes. In Time for a Hug, we are reminded that there is never a wrong time to pause for a bit and enjoy a hug with someone special. In this tale, we go from sunrise to sunset with Little Bunny. As we watch Little Bunny get dresses, eat meals, play, and go about the day – there is always time to stop for a special hug no matter the hour.

Toddlers and preschoolers will appreciate the activities that Little Bunny does throughout the day. My youngest caught onto the rhythmic nature of the book and quickly jumped in every time I asked “What time is it?” within the story.

The beautiful illustrations from David Walker just melt your heart with the touching story from Phillis Gershator and Mim Green.

Time for a Hug – Written by Phillis Gershator and Mim Green – Illustrated by David Walker – Sterling Children’s Books – January 2012 – ISBN 9781402778629 – $9.95 – Ages 3-5

With older children, I could see making crafts like a hug around the clock. For really crafty people, it could even be in a mobile form. Perhaps stopping each hour while your child is awake to have a hug and mark down on a heart what you are doing during that time (breakfast, taking a walk, building with Legos, or something else). Of course, you could also make a hug picture book and take photos of you and your little one each hour to make a special scrap book for Valentine’s Day or just because. The possibilities are out there and so many great extensions of this book could be created with your own family.

What have you read recently? Please 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.

Disclosure: I received this book complimentary of Sterling Children’s Books in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. An Amazon Affiliate link is included where I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book mentioned.