June, 2013 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives June 2013

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My First Windows Phone

Posted on June 7, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I get to check out new phones to see how they work in my life. I have to admit, it is exciting to try new smartphones on different platforms to see how they compare one another. When I was asked if I would like to try a Windows phone, I agreed. While I have never tried one, I know many people that love them and figured it would make me a more well rounded consumer.

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I received a Nokia Lumia 822 Windows Phone (link to information page). The UP allows me to track my activity, sleep, and other items with the app that go along with the device. There was no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.

So far I have taken the Lumia 822 out of the box and charged it. Once that is finished, it will be time to move my SIM card over and set the phone up. I have to say, a few first impressions here. The phone is very polite. I like that it welcomes me and says goodbye when I turn it off.

If you are a Windows Phone user, I would love some advice. What are some of the apps that are a must on your phone? I have certain ones that I adore on my phone and hoping to find most of them available for Windows Phones as well. One great resource is Selfish Mom where she shared her favorite Windows Phone apps. Robyn’s Online World has also shared a variety of posts about her experience with a Windows Phone.

Categories:
Phone Apps Technology

Standing up for Public Education

Posted on June 6, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up, I went to my neighborhood elementary school. Then, I moved onto one of the middle schools in our district for two years. After that, I went to the giant high school where I had amazing opportunities that many other kids my age did not receive. Teachers in my life made such an impact on me that I wanted to be like them. I hoped to one day be in a classroom where I could be creative and teach to watch children grow and learn.

Of course, these days the world of education has changed a lot. As a parent, I have watched a dramatic change over the last five years. The difference from my oldest son’s experience in kindergarten to my youngest son’s current classroom is alarming. My youngest son is being forced to take 30+ minute tests on a computer several times a year to see how well he has been taught. The tests are not developmentally appropriate and most definitely will not show how well all children are doing academically. I know my son’s teacher is an amazing woman, but she is being held back. She is helpless if she wants to keep her job. Rather than teach the kids in creative ways that reach each of them, teachers must do it the way the curriculum guide tells her.

Looking into her eyes, I can see the level of frustration and it makes me sad. I am sad that my kindergarten kid did not experience things before the change. I am angry. My anger stems from teachers being told how to do things when they are the ones that know their students best. They should be able to create authentic ways to assess how well their kids are learning. Instead, we pay companies millions of dollars each year to frustrate our children.

I also see my older son with a year before he goes to middle school being taught for state tests. As a teacher, I know the drill and it breaks my heart. It hurts to know that kids are not taught to be free thinkers and look outside of the box. Instead, they are being shown how to systemically dissect a specific high stakes test. I do not blame his teacher or any of the others, it goes above them. I saw how stressed my son’s fourth grade teacher was each morning of the NY State exams (three days of ELA, three days of Math, and two days of Science). No child should be put through this, nor should the teachers.

This is why we will be going as a family to the One Voice United Rally in Albany at the Empire State Plaza on June 8, 2013. We will be walking side by side with people from our school letting them know that we have to be heard and that we support them. We need our children to be creative thinkers and not limited to the test. Grammy Award winner, Tom Chapin will also be at the rally. Mr. Chapin recorded the song Not on the Test which really does hit a strong note. Here is the video of the song and you will see why.

Once again, I urge more people from throughout New York to make a trip to Albany on June 8 to teach your children a valuable lesson.

Categories:
Educational PSA school

Magical June Memories at Disney

Posted on June 5, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

June is a special month for magical Walt Disney World memories in my life. TechyDad and I were married in June twelve years ago. Not only did we have a Mickey and Minnie Mouse on our bridal table, we went to Walt Disney World for our honeymoon. For over a week, I introduced TechyDad to the wonder of Walt Disney World since he had never been before. We went on several behind the scene tours, ate amazing meals, and explored Animal Kingdom for the first time as a married couple. So I take you back to some photos of our honeymoon. I do wish we had more photos of us, but sadly it was before PhotoPass.

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 travel vacation

Tuesday Tales – Dig into Reading in New York

Posted on June 4, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As a child, I loved going to the library with my neighborhood friends to take out books to read. This was the time when I could read what I wanted, when I wanted, and relax. There was a summer reading program, but to say that it has grown up over the years would be an understatement. Last year, the New York State Libraries told elementary aged children to Dream Big. This year, the theme is Dig into Reading and we saw a preview of this at the Book Festival that we went to in April.

Like last year, Summer Reading NYS has made a new video to share the new theme.

I know that the boys and I will be spending a lot of time reading and going to different events at various local libraries. We have come to really enjoy these special times together each summer.

To get more information about the program, head to the Summer Reading at New York Libraries page to catch all of the latest news and locate your library. If you are not in New York State, look around your community to see if your libraries participate in something. My guess is they exist and would be something worth investigating.

Do you or your children participate in a summer reading program? I would love to know about your experience. As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. 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.

Categories:
books Tuesday Tales

A Pirate Craft Party

Posted on June 3, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It should not be a surprise that I love to knit, crochet, and craft in general. I have all of my life really and it appears that my youngest kiddo is the same. If given an option of playing a board game or making a craft, JSL would likely select the craft ninety percent of the time.

When we asked JSL if he wanted to have a birthday party and invite some of his friends from school he said yes. Then, we had to brainstorm about places to have the party. One weekend afternoon, we happened to be at Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts store picking up some fabric. They had some tables set up in front for classes. I happened to ask if they did birthday parties. Yes, they did and I was told to call back Monday to talk with the person that coordinates them to get more information and availability.

This is not a sponsored post, we paid for the party completely on our own. I am sharing this to let others know about the wonderful experience we had. To make a long story short, we booked a party at our local Jo-Ann store and it was on June 1. When I booked it, Alex wanted to know what my son liked. I noted he wanted to do something with pirates (again) and that he loves to paint. As I sat in the party room talking about the event, she quickly came up with two crafts for the kindergarten set to make during the two hour party. I would simply need to tell her final numbers closer to the party, bring any decorations, and bake cupcakes and not decorate them. Another fun item, they gave me free postcard invitations to hand out to the kids.

We arrived for the party and the first craft was already set up. Each spot at the table had a small wooden treasure chest waiting for the kids to paint. While everything was getting set up, I worked on the snack/goodie table making the theme pretty obvious. As soon as the kids arrived, Alex and another woman (also named Alex) got started giving the kids directions and putting paint onto their paper plates to begin.

TechyDad and I were beyond impressed with the variety of paints. If a color was running out, they got more and made sure the kids were happy. The two women were beyond patient with the kids and always helped them when they asked for something. When JSL wanted to write something on top of his treasure chest, Alex got a permanent marker and helped him to write on it where the paint dried.

While the treasure chests were drying, it was time to make some jewels and doubloons to put inside them. The kids would be using Crayola Model Magic. To make it sparkle and look more like pearls, gold, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies – Alex had the kids mix in some glitter. This worked beautifully. The kids worked for quite some time making their items to take home.

Next, it was time to create some cupcake memories. Each of the kids was given a cupcake that needed to be decorated. They were allowed to ask for any color frosting that was available. They had a lot of colors in regular frosting, plus a bunch of fun glitter gels. Then once the kids had put on their frosting and gels, they were able to pile on some fun sprinkle varieties.

JSL continues to talk about his party and already wants to plan for next year back at Jo-Ann. As a parent, I loved the ease of the planning and the interactive nature of everyone that works in our store. A huge thank you again to Alex and everyone else at our local store for making my son’s pirate dreams come true.

If you are interested in learning more about the Make it a Party at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store, you can check out the information here. As I noted earlier, we paid for our party and felt it was a wonderful deal. The link is to the information that I found when I decided to schedule our party.

Categories:
arts and crafts birthday

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