Imagine making a calendar with Disney themes for each month. I personally love this idea. This week for the Disney Wordless Wednesday, we were asked to come up with calendar shots that we would include for September. As an educator and mother of two boys that went back to school yesterday, my brain is all caught up on back to school in September (NY goes back after Labor Day).
Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.
Today is the start of the 2012 school year for my boys. As they enter fourth grade and kindergarten, we are smiling and positive about everything. Of course, challenges along the way may happen and sometimes it is hard to help children to overcome these obstacles to keep going toward positive thinking. Thanks to Wiley Publishing, I heard about an inspirational new book to read in the classroom, at home, or any other time you need a reminder about being positive.
The Energy Bus for Kids – Written by bestselling author and speaker Jon Gordon – Illustrated by Korey Scott – Published by Wiley – On sale August 21, 2012 – ISBN 9781118287354 – Hardcover 48 pages – Ages 4+ – $16.95
Being a child in school is a lot different these days than it was when we would little. Now, we not only have peer pressure, we have multiple types of bullying situations, social media presence, and beyond. Parents, educators, and other influential adults need to help children to step off on the right foot thinking about things in a positive manner. I have to admit, as someone who often things of things as the glass is “half empty” attitude – The Energy Bus for Kids: A Story about Staying Positive and Overcoming Challenges
When JSL, entering kindergarten today, and I read the book together we immediately felt like we had entered the world that George lives in thanks to the beautiful illustrations from Korey Scott. We watched George worry, wonder, and learn in front of our eyes. We saw how he learned to focus on the positive, see the best in others, and not dwell on what could have been. His new bus driver Joy opens his eyes to new valuable lessons that he is able to apply each day at school and at home.
Jon Gordon takes a topic that even adults often need reminders on and makes it perfect for children. As we go through the story, George learns five extremely valuable lessons:
Rule #1: Create a Positive Vision
Rule #2: Fuel Your Ride with Positive Energy
Rule #3: No Bullies Allowed
Rule #4: Love Your Passengers
Rule #5: Enjoy the Ride
My kindergarten kid has years of academics and other adventures in front of him. Reading this book before he starts his academic career was interesting. He truly had a positive view of everything. I do believe The Energy Bus for Kids will be great to keep around in case we have a rough day and need a gentle reminder of positive goals and outlook. My plan is to read this on the eve of fourth grade with my nine year old son. As a child who has had ups and downs and been removed from a school because he was being bullied, this will be a nice conversation starter about letting go of the past and keeping a positive approach to this brand new school year. Jon Gordon reminds us that we have the ability to fuel our lives with positive energy to overcome challenges by using your attitude as your guide.
I would highly recommend this book inside and out of the classroom to use with children. It would make a great beginning of the year character building mini-lesson and can easily be built on for more getting to know you activities and beyond. There is even a free teachers guide (with lesson plans) and activity journal to download on EnergyBusKids.com, along with other resources. There are bus tickets, kindness cards, ticket of appreciation, rules card, license plate, and items for parents/teachers. I may even print out the journal to use with my own boys at over the next week for enrichment.
What books are you reading right now? I would love to know. 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 Wiley 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 in this post for the book mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book through that link.
Labor Day 2012 signifies the end of summer in our area. It is hard to believe that tomorrow both of my boys will be in school. One will be a fourth grader and the other a kindergarten kid. Over the weekend, I pushed passed this and enjoyed the last moments of the summer.
Views like the one below certainly helped to make me forget about a lot of things on my mind.
Seeing smiles on the boys faces in the pool, made my worries melt away.
It was nice to sit in the sun and watch the kids play, explore, and enjoy the time without a care in the world. Just kicking my feet up out of the sand and watching them enjoy the fun in the sun.
Today, we will spend a quiet day at home, enjoying time resting, remembering our special weekend with family, the summer we enjoyed, and gathering supplies for the first day of school.
There is something special about being with extended family. It isn’t every weekend that you get to see relatives from near and far. Yet Labor Day weekend seems to becoming more of a traditional time. Not everyone was able to make it to my aunt and uncle’s house at the lake, but still so many were here.
Though I had a headache when we arrived, seeing my boys with my niece and nephew made me smile.
The kids had an amazing time running, playing, laughing, and being carefree.
They stopped a few times to have lunch and celebrate NHL’s birthday with some Kermit cupcakes.
Then there was time at the pool, lake, and on the boat. Everyone split up to divide and conquer. I missed JSL on the boat, but heard all about how he was able to drive.
At the end of the day, my “little” cousins – who now live in other states and Israel – were giving the next generation moments they will never forget. It isn’t every day that you are able to have a parade piggy back style with a phones and cameras capturing every magical moment.
These are just some of the photos from a small part of the weekend. A weekend with family to relax, rest, and get ready for school. So many memories, so many moments, such an amazing time.
Dear NHL and JSL,
Getting hair cuts for the two of you has not exactly been one of my favorite items to accomplish over the years. I think we often wait until your hair is beyond ready to get a trim because it has always been an adventure. Whether it was bad cuts, too many noises, people that were not friendly with children, or our favorite person leaving – something always seemed to happen.
Over the years, I have documented a lot of your hair cut milestones. There was the time NHL decided to be a barber at six years old and we had a hair emergency. There was the photo shoot of JSL’s first hair cut back in November 2008. Thanks to this, it should not be a shock to either one of you that I had to take photos when we finally went to have your hair done at the Snip-Its last weekend (they opened during the winter).
I will admit that I am now kicking myself for not taking both of you here before this time. It was not just a place to get hair cuts, it was an experience. From the moment you walked in, the two of you were mesmerized. Snip-its was bright, beautiful, and beyond kid friendly. The two of you kept busy while I chatted with the owner and filled out some forms to get coupons in the mail. Then, it was time to get your hair done.
Both of you were so quiet the entire time. Neither of you were wiggly, upset, or bothered by the new location. Of course, I do believe I now know the secret of success at Snip-its. Yes, they have a great weapon to keep kids happy and it worked brilliantly.
The two of you were more worried about your gaming than anything else. There was a milestone of sorts on this adventure. JSL, you finally had a haircut that used clippers. Since you are going to kindergarten and the amazing hairstylist showed you not to be afraid you agreed. When we asked if it was too short, you said you wanted more off. I have a feeling you would have kept going until you were bald because you were so happy. When it was finally time to go, you used your passes to get your prize.
I know that we will be back to Snip-its because we all had a wonderful experience. The people there were fantastic with both of you, they get working with kids and that means a lot. Thank goodness Daddy was on his toes. Before we went in, we took a photo of the two of you with the figure outside the store. When your hair cuts were done and paid for, we did another one. Here are the results:
I hope both of you agree that we will be heading back to Snip-its again when your hair needs some attention. We will leave it to the professionals who know what they are doing and work well with kids.
Love,
