If you arrived into my classroom when I was teaching, you would have been greeted with a giant Eeyore on my desk. It should be no surprise to you that my gloomy old pal was the first Disney “E” that came to mind. After that, I went a little outside of the box while looking at old magical moments from adventures to Walt Disney World.
Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.
Stresses and challenges exist in the every day life of our children. Often, these items can cause more negativity to be around us. This negative energy really does start to make an impact on children at an early age. Adults need to help the next generation to combat these feelings and help them to work through it.
Earlier on Tuesday Tales, I reviewed The Energy Bus for Kids by Jon Gordon.
Jon Gordon tackles the topics in his books in a way that benefits children and adults. The five rules that George learns are:
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
As I mentioned in my review, I recommend this book to use inside and out of the classroom. It would make a great to a conversation with children about positive thinking and how it can help you to overcome challenges.
The Energy Bus For Kids Giveaway:
It is time for another Rafflecopter giveaway for one lucky reader thanks to Wiley Publishing. Please be sure to see the rules listed.
To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section and Rafflecopter. Giveaway begins September 25, 2012 and ends October 8, 2012. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to US and Canada residents only.
Disclosure: I received The Energy Bus for Kids: A Story about Staying Positive and Overcoming Challenges
Each year, I ask the boys to think about the kind of cake and theme that they want for their birthday. Every year, I hold my breath waiting and wondering what they will select. Last year, NHL wanted lions and it was a challenge, but we made it happen. This year, he is really into Harry Potter and the Muppets. I was not too sure where this would go. At first, I was going to attempt sorting hat cupcakes, but as time crunched for the family party on Labor Day, my patience dissolved. Thank goodness NHL agreed that he liked the Kermit the Frog cupcakes that I found online. The original that I saw was posted on Simply Being Mommy.
NHL agreed that he liked them. Before we settled on anythingm I wanted to purchase items to make the crucial Kermit eyeballs. They were the focal point of these cupcakes. To do this, I ordered black edible markers and we bought some Mentos. The black marker worked beautifully on the Mentos, but there was a catch. The kids did NOT like the strong mint flavor. I reached out to my Facebook and Twitter friends for ideas on other possibilities. In the end, I finally let go of my type A personality and settled for cute, functional, and something the kids would like.
Yes, I settled on white chocolate melting wafers. They were not perfect because the texture was not as smooth as the Mentos, but they worked. I had to go quickly because it was a warm day and the marker did not dry on the rough surface of the chocolate. Once they were done, they were placed inside the refrigerator to chill while I baked some cupcakes. The band-aids shown below were simply inspiration and were not used since baking went smoothly.
Cupcake baking went according to plan. Once they were all cooled, the cupcakes were placed into the amazing Cupcake Courier
I found that it was easiest to frost and decorate the cupcakes while they were sitting on the shelves of the courier. Trying to place them back in after they were finished was not the easiest. Here is how they looked as I was working and finishing up.
The best part was that transporting the cupcakes was easy. I put the entire courier into the refrigerator for the night before, then pulled it out, and we were ready to head to the lake. The cupcakes made it all the way there and it was easy to pull out the trays to display for everyone to select the Kermit that they wanted.
Now, I brace myself to see what cupcake creation the boys ask for next, or what I may try now that I have my new courier, corer, and other goodies. If you have any suggestions, I would love to know.
It isn’t every day that a movie can make you feel old, but bring back happy thoughts at the same time. I do believe that Wreck-It Ralph may just do this.
The boys, including TechyDad, and I can not wait to see this movie. Just watching the trailers has opened up old gaming dialog. Of course, as you can see from the picture above, old school video games meet new school gaming in this movie coming to theaters November 2. Here is the latest trailer that was released from Disney Animation to help you get excited. Try to see how many characters/games you recognize. Ready? Go!
Now, what I really want to do is learn how to speak Q-Bertese. I think it would be a great code language for parents to use when they can’t “talk” in front of their children. What do you think and are you excited about going to see Wreck-It Ralph?
Disclosure: Disney PR notified me of the Wreck-It Ralph trailer. I was not compensated for this and simply wanted to share since I adore all things Disney. You know we will be going to see Wreck-It Ralph when it is released November 2, 2012.
Dear NHL and JSL,
A few weeks ago, we were out at a craft store looking for a gift for someone. At one point, NHL looked at me and asked to let him pick out some yarn for a project. You had a specific item in mind. One of your stuffed friends wanted a blanket like I had made myself. It was impossible for me to say no. We went to the yarn section and you picked out something extremely bright. It was called Crayon and I think I know why. I quickly knit up a small blanket for on your bed.
Once you saw that your brother had a blanket for someone, you also wanted one JSL. I realized this when we were at the craft store getting supplies for the Kermit cupcakes. Since we were there, you selected the yarn that you liked. There seemed to be a theme going here with your colors. Yours was actually called Psychedelic. I really loved the way it stripes and turned out. When I finished yours the other night, I left it by your pillow for you to find in the morning.
It was a lot of fun seeing both of your faces when I let you select the yarn and then again when I was finished with the items. I guess it really is hard for me to say no to something like this. Of course, now I recall hearing the two of you mention new scarves for the winter. Hmmmm…
Love,
