August, 2012 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives August 2012

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Summer Days 2012

Posted on August 11, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

It is hard to believe that there is less than a month before the two of you go back to school. I have often wondered how I would feel that day. NHL, for some reason, it did not phase me as much when you went to kindergarten. Since JSL is the youngest, it has been tough to handle. My little boys are getting bigger.

I thought I would be excited, but the reality is that it scares me. I know the two of you will do fine in school. You are both smart kiddos. This really has nothing to do with school and more of time passing by. The two of you are growing up before my eyes and these days will forever change as you learn new things and figure out your paths in life.

While we were at Walt Disney World in April, they reminded us that you only have 18 summers of fun with me. Basically, you have to pack those moments with memories that will last a life time. While JSL is only five, NHL is going to be nine this week. That means that half of your family summers before turning 18 are over. It really does seem like just yesterday when both of you were born, and getting rocked to sleep.

So boys, please amuse me when I ask for a hug here or there, or pester you to take and let me capture a moment with my camera. I am not trying to bother you, I am making sure I document these times so we can look back and recall them years from now when you have your own children. Now, let’s make sure we get serious about the next few weeks and other summers ahead of us. We need to make lists of places to see, people to meet, and things to learn about.

Love,

Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday Disney DisneySMMoms jsl looking back me moments milestone nhl photos school summer

Olympics Reading and Learning

Posted on August 10, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

This year, the boys seem to be more intrigued by the Olympics. We watched part of the Opening Ceremony together the night it aired, and saw the rest of it with the DVR. The night before it started, we read Olympig! together. Then, NHL and JSL noticed books in a display at our library. The books were all about the Olympics, athletes, London, and more. There were books and movies for adults, plus a variety for kids.

NHL has been fascinated with the swimming and diving events. He has followed along as Michael Phelps made Olympic history with his medal count. It was not a surprise to me that he wanted to take out a book on this great athlete when he found it on the display.

As you can see, several of the books have come home with us to read. It goes to show that there are always books to help expand on subjects at home or expose children to a themes, travel locations, or people – it just take a little research at times.

My question to you this week:

What sport or athlete from the London 2012 games would you love to learn/read more about and why? If you have not been following along, what is your favorite summer game or what do you wish was in the Olympics?

___________________________________________________________________________

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 #215

Categories:
Aloha Friday books jsl nhl photos real world news

Making Dream Pillows

Posted on August 9, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It is no surprise that I love our library. I write about them, the amazing librarians, and the programs they schedule often. Last year, I fell in love with one particular day when the Tang Museum came to make Story Towers inspired by the artwork of Josh Dorman. This year, I knew that we HAD to head to the afternoon when Tang was again reaching out to the local libraries to do projects.

They started off talking to the kids about three dimensional art and what it means. Then they showed a poster of one of Oliver Herring’s sculptures. What I didn’t realize until I went to their website at home is that the Me US Them, Queen Size Bed with Coat is huge. I knew they said it would take up the space the kids were sitting in. It is actually a sculpture made of Knit silver Mylar and 12 x 57 x 88 inches. As a knitter, I am intrigued to learn more about this type of sculpture. They showed this to the kids and asked them what they saw. Many mentioned a pillow, shining objects, and more. Then they saw another piece before it was time to learn about their projects.

Since the theme of New York State Libraries summer program is Dream Big READ, the Tang Museum decided to make Dream Pillows. As you can see above, the supplies needed were on the table for the kids. Foam pieces, scissors, bubble wrap, double sided tape, and their imagination. The only additional item needed was some colored tape to make a frame around their art when the top layer of bubble wrap was added. Before the kids were sent to the table to be creative, they were shown a few examples. Here are two that I took photos of to share.

As soon as NHL and JSL sat down, they seemed to have an idea and got started. While I was chatting with a friend who came in to surprise me, the women from the Tang Museum helped the boys to find items that they needed (thank you). By the time I arrived, they were already taking shape.

NHL decided to make a scene from Back to the Future (he’s been watching those with TechyDad lately). JSL opted to make a fun robot. Here are the boys holding their finished dream pillows.

Thank you again to our wonderful library and the Tang Museum for bringing more art education into the lives of children in our community. My boys have been asking to visit the museum soon and I hope to be able to do that. I would love to know, have your children done craft projects while learning about a new artist or style of art work? Art mixed with education is a powerful tool and I would love to know. Please share in the comments below.

Categories:
arts and crafts Educational fun jsl local event looking back nhl photos summer

Parading Around Epcot Flower and Garden Festival

Posted on August 8, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Walking around Epcot can often feel like parading around from country to country. This week, the theme of the Disney Wordless Wednesday is Parade. Come on a special parade around parts of the 2012 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

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

Categories:
Disney looking back travel vacation Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tales – Shopping for Books

Posted on August 7, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

We have a lot of books in our house. Not a shocking statement when you realize that I am a teacher. Many of our books were from when I was teaching and bought them for the boys. Other books were from my college days when I started to “collect” them.

We often gift books to the boys for special occasions, holidays, and just because. Sometimes, they get to help us to pick something special out. The other day we found some gift cards to the book store that were for the kids. It was a lot of fun wandering around with each of them to see what they would ask for. Much to my surprise, they both focused on the books and not the countless toys (albeit educational ones).

I walked around the store with JSL. He is getting very interested in reading on his own. As he get closer to starting Kindergarten, his reading readiness skills are increasing dramatically. Sure he loves to read the Magic Tree House books with me, but he is looking to smaller early readers. We went up and down the aisles and then something caught his eye. He saw a Jake and the Never Land Pirates book. When I flipped it over, I noticed there were other books listed. We went to someone working in the store to see if they would help us find them.

We located the early readers and he instantly fell in love because Bucky, Izzy, Jake, and the rest of the crew were inside the book. I noticed they were rebus style and although not in love with that, allowed him to put them into his buy pile. In the end, he opted not to get all four of the Jake and the Never Land Pirate books that they had and selected a World of Reading Phineas and Ferb book to round out the day. I know that in no time he will be reading these and others to me!

TechyDad went around the store with NHL. They were looking for a specific book in a series he has been enjoying. He wanted to purchase the second of the Tales of the Sixth Grade Muppets books since he enjoyed the first one so much. They eventually found it and I think NHL would have stopped shopping there.

The boys continued to look around since JSL and I were trying to debate on books. They spent quite a bit of time looking at books in the biography section. TechyDad said that NHL was very intrigued with a few of them. In the end, he narrowed it down to Walt Disney, Benjamin Franklin, Jim Henson (would have been second choice), and Abraham Lincoln. The one he selected was the Sixteenth President of the United States. NHL learned about him in school and wanted to read more.

What type of books would your children select if given time to shop in a large book store? I would love to know. Please be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below and also let me know what you have been reading recently. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

BTW – If you are interested in the books that we purchased, the following are Amazon links to them. If you decide to buy them we will receive a percentage of the sale.