The Angel Forever

Tuesday Tales – Isabella: Girl on the Go

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

Last year, I read a blog post about a book called My Name Is Not Isabella: Just How Big Can a Little Girl Dream? It was not just any book. It was about inspiring children, especially girls, to dream big. The spunky little character within the story is Isabella. Author Jennifer Fosberry introduces us to this fun child who did not simply want to be herself, she wanted to be famous women in history. I fell in love with the New York Times bestselling book and was so excited to hear that Fosberry and illustrator Mike Litwin teamed up again for the new sourcebook about Isabella. The book is being released today.

In the first book, Isabella uses her imagination to showcase to her mother the amazing scientific women that she is pretending to become. She learns that the sky is the limit if she follows her dreams. In Isabella: Girl on the Go, we watch as Isabella sits in her backyard and talks to her father.

Once again, Isabella’s imagination takes her from her yard and propels her into the adventure of a lifetime. Each time her father asks her who she is, we are whisked off to a new city where we see a famous structure.

Thanks to Isabella, we are able to see that everything in the world is just a dream away. We learn about new careers like being an archeologist, artist, astronomer, and more while traveling to places like Paris, London, China, and beyond. The playful words from Fosberry allow readers to see where Isabella has gone in her imagination. They are paired perfectly with the gorgeous illustrations from Litwin.

The book really could be for multiple age levels. Younger children will marvel at Isabella’s silly imagination and talks with her father while in her own yard. Older children can use the tale as a starting point to do more research about the places and structures that Isabella sees within her vivid imagination. At the end of the book, there is even more information about the places and structures that we visit.

I know that I highly recommend this book and hope to use it for gifts in the future. More information about the book, a downloadable Isabella Girl on the Go Passport and activity kit, and book tour can be found on Sourcebooks website. I know I will be printing these out to try with my kids soon. They look like a fun addition to a book study in a classroom, or something to try at home on a snowy or rainy day.

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 Sourcebooks in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. Two Amazon Affiliate links are included in this post for the two books mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book through that link.

Categories:
books Educational gift ideas photos Product review Tuesday Tales

Favorite Walt Disney World Park

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

As a child growing up in the 1980’s, I remember when Walt Disney World was only the Magic Kingdom. Going to Epcot, Hollywood Studios (originally Disney’s MGM Studios), and Animal Kingdom for the first time provided special times in my life. For the Disney Blog Hop, we were asked to pick our favorite Walt Disney World Park. Selecting just one would be like declaring a favorite child. I do not believe that can be done and truly love certain aspect of each park for what they have to offer.

The Magic Kingdom

No trip to Walt Disney World can truly begin until you walk through the gates and catch your first glimpse of Cinderella’s Castle down Main Street USA. The first time you being your children (or spouse), be sure to capture this special moment because the mouths hanging open are priceless.

As a child, I remember my first time on Space Mountain with my father and, years later, taking my oldest on it for the first time. We celebrated my youngest son’s second birthday at the Crystal Palace where he fell in love with Tigger. Classics like Dumbo, Small World, Big Thunder Mountain, The Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean all are home in this part. As someone who has read The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson, there is a special new spot in my heart for where this series begins.

Epcot

My earliest memories of the first summer that Epcot opened is meeting and falling in love with Figment. There was just something special about this purple dragon on the pavilion that he shared with Dreamfinder. Although it has changed over the years, I still adore going to see my purple friend.

While on our honeymoon, TechyDad and I spent a lot of time wandering around World Showcase together. It was romantic, close to the resort we were staying at, and housed many of the restaurants that we dined in. Yes, Epcot is likely my foodie favorite destination just for this reason alone. While we have never been to the Food and Wine Festival, we have fallen in love with the Flower and Garden show that just take your breath away.

Disney Hollywood Studios

My heart still belongs to the amazing Beauty and the Beast stage show at the studios. It is magical to watch, a great break in the day, and takes Disney movie magic into a stage show. A funny thing happened the first time I saw it with my parents and brother, then I watched my boys become mesmerized with the characters dancing and singing in front of them.

Of course, The Muppets have a space here and each time we can visit Kermit, Piggy, and the entire gang before walking over to Toy Story Midway Mania for some family arcade style fun.

Animal Kingdom

The first time that TechyDad and I went to Walt Disney World together, it was our honeymoon. I had been many times before, but it was his first trip. The beautiful thing about Animal Kingdom is that we were both going to this park for the first time together. We were able to stand in awe of the Tree of Life together as we started our life as husband and wife.

Watching the animals, exploring the lands, and seeing the shows makes for a great day. We adore the Lion King and Nemo shows, plus each time on the safari is different.

On our last trip, I was able to do something special. I participated in the African Trek with some of the other Disney Social Media Moms. It was an experience I will never forget.

As you can see, there are just too many magical items at each park to simply pick one definitive favorite. How about you, do you have a favorite Walt Disney World park and why do you feel that way?

P.S. A huge thank you to Mariana from The Domestic Buzz for creating this magical Blog Hop! The link will be within this post the day after it is published.

Categories:
Disney DisneySMMoms family jsl looking back me moments nhl TechyDad travel vacation

Presidents’ Day Activities

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

As my search for items to do with the kids over February break continues, I wanted to look at possibilities that have to do with President’s Day. Since the kids have President’s week off, it makes sense to try to tie something in with that.

Of course, I went to Pinterest and searched for President’s Day. I was pleasantly surprised with quite a few craft, writing, and classroom activities. Remember, once a teacher always a teacher – even if you are not in a classroom of your own. Before I knew it, I had a good amount of items on a board of my own.

I love that a lot of these will be more of a challenge for my third grader, but some could work well for my preschooler. One that I think will tie in nicely with other crafts we already have is the Kids Coins for Presidents Day from Alpha Mom.

Source: alphamom.com via TheAngelForever on Pinterest

There are a bunch of other items that we will have ready just in case we have extra time during the week. If you are interested in seeing the items that I have pinned, just click on my board below.

The best part of these boards is that I have a great collection to not only do with the kids, but also use in a classroom in the future. So, do you have any special items that you will be doing to celebrate President’s Day? Please share your plans or link up to a post about your ideas.

Categories:
arts and crafts fun holidays Pinterest

Happy Birthday Trees

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

Dear JSL,

Watching you learn about Jewish holidays at nursery school has been so much fun. You love taking in all of the information and sharing it with us when you get home. Of course, you also adore making crafts that go along with the events.

Last week, your class celebrated Tu B’Shvat. As you told us, it was time for the trees birthday. One day, when you arrived at school, you were going to add paint to a tree project that you had already started. You were so happy to see what this multi media craft would involve. Another day, you planted parsley seeds into the remains of half an orange. As we drove home and you held onto the orange you were proud to announce that you helped to make orange juice before planting the seeds.

Now we will take the best care of your seeds as possible. With any luck, some parsley will grow and we can use it for our Passover Seder. For now, I look forward to seeing your smiling face as you learn all about Purim in the weeks ahead. I have a feeling you will be a pirate for your festival at school.

Thank you for sharing all that you learn.

Love,

Mommy

Categories:
arts and crafts Dear Kid Saturday Educational holidays jsl photos school

Crafting Ideas for Winter Break

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

Some parts of the country have a week of school off in February. We live in one of those areas and it is next week to coordinate with President’s Day. Although it has been a mild winter, we still may have days that are too cold to head outside or snow may keep us home.

Thanks to this, I have been looking at Pinterest for crafting ideas to do with the boys. Over the last few weeks, I have gathered some items that may work for one, or both of the kids. I also tried to find items that we could do with supplies that we already own. To see some of the items that I pinned click on the Crafts for kids button below.

I know that NHL really wants to try finger knitting. With all of the extra yarn that I have in the house, this would be great. The boys would also love to make and then play with their own play-dough. Why not pull them into the kitchen to make something that they can use for hours with the toys that we already have. Of course, we will also be testing our their Shrinky Dinks that they got from Nana and Papa for Valentine’s Day. Who knows, maybe I will even have a chance to try some of the items in this board too:

So this week my question is:

If money, time, space, and mess factor were no issue – what craft would you love to do with your children and/or yourself and why?

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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.