The Angel Forever

Tuesday Tales – Learning to Read

Posted on November 8, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It is no secret that I am a certified reading teacher. I may not be in the classroom right now, but I am always thinking about my own children and others. My oldest son craved to learn to read. When asked on the first day of kindergarten what his goal was, he said it was to read alone. In a short amount of time, he did this.

Fast forward to my youngest. JSL is suddenly beyond interested in learning to read and write. When we received a bounty of items to host a Leap Frog – “Learn, Create, & Share” Party, I knew there was something special here. We had a lot of Leap Frog items in the past, but everything in our package was new to us. Since our party, JSL has been focused on writing letters and trying to read on his own. At almost four and a half, I want to run with this literacy development.

There are so many ways to help children to read. The best early literacy learning comes from reading a lot and having others that model this behavior. JSL is lucky and has that with his big brother, TechyDad, and me. We all read a lot of different items and enjoy reading to him. Thanks to the LeapFrog Tag, JSL is now able to read alone.

With the Tag, kids are able to sound out words on the pages of the special books that are for use with the Tag. We were sent the LeapFrog Tag Learn to Read Phonics Book Series Short Vowels. I was very impressed with the content in them. They kept JSL’s interest and he was able to follow along, repeat what was said, and figure out what to do with little assistance. In this video, you will see how JSL can utilize the different features. Let’s ignore the fact that I distracted him, he skipped a page, and liked to repeat words.

In addition to being easy to transport and use, I love the variety of books offered for the LeapFrog Tag. There are a lot of picture book classics, Disney titles, books about super heroes, and more. In addition to this, there are items like the LeapFrog Tag Maps: World. This works with the tag pen and helps children to learn about the world map, cultures, and other items. There are even games to race around the world while homing in on your geography skills.

The Tag Reading system is very versatile and can grow with a child as they learn to read and practice increasing their fluency and comprehension. Not only are these wonderful gift items for a young child, but a set would be a fantastic teacher/classroom gift as well. Imagine the faces of children using these in a kindergarten or preschool classroom to gain confidence and self-esteem while learning to read.

Do you have a Tag Reader? If you do, I would love to know what books you recommend since Chanukah is coming and we will probably be getting some titles for JSL to enjoy.

What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Book Posts, and/or leave a comment 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: As a long time LeapFrog supporter, I applied and was selected by Mom Select and LeapFrog to host a “Learn, Create, & Share” party. They provided me with all of the items shown above. The opinions are all mine and no other compensation was received. More coming soon about the LeapPad and helping kids to learn to write.

Categories:
books Educational fun gift ideas jsl milestone nhl photos Product review Tuesday Tales

The Humidifier Saga

Posted on November 7, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Our doctor has been telling us to us a cool mist humidifier with the boys to help them when they are sick. For years, we have tried humidifier after humidifier and they have never worked. Each time the doctor tells is, we have to remind him that we are THE ones that are the joke of of the humidifier industry.

A while ago, my Aunt T needed to downsize a humidifier to one that she would be able to refill on her own. She knew that we were having issues and gave it to us. We had never set it up until Sunday. When I got back home, the little guy was miserable. So TechyDad hauled out the humidifier and tested it out in our bathroom. Check out what happened.

Why yes, it actually works. Not only is cool mist coming out of the humidifier, but the water level goes down after a short amount of time. So now with any luck, we can set this up with the boys for tonight to help the little guy who is so stuffed up. For now, JSL is intrigued with the “smoke” that is coming out of the machine.

Do you have a cool mist humidifier? I would love to know what you have that works. We may purchase another for use in a different room.

Categories:
doctor jsl looking back sick kid sickness TechyDad vent

Bridal Shower Weekend Out West

Posted on November 6, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Hello from sitting at my brother’s house while away from the boys for the weekend. I went with my parents to a bridal shower for the soon to be bride of my first cousin. It has been a non-stop day filled with many memories. Here is the gorgeous cake:

Of course, I miss my boys, but seeing my niece and nephew and being able to play with them for a little while without distractions has been a different experience.

Now, I feel a little helpless. Poor TechyDad is home with the boys and JSL is not feeling 100%. Let’s just say that they had an exciting evening with carpet cleaning, medicine avoidance, and more. Hopefully everyone will get rest and I can give them all hugs when I get home on Sunday.

Categories:
cousins family photos road trip TechyDad yummy

Phineas and Ferb Halloween Surprise

Posted on November 5, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

The two of you love Phineas and Ferb. It seems to be something that both of you can agree on. While shopping with Papa one day, we spotted Phineas and Ferb Halloween Shirts. They were too funny and bought immediately since they had your sizes.

When both of you were home from school, I wanted to take a photo of you wearing the shirts. Of course, this ended up in a comedy of errors. Here are some of the photos that I used in another post.

Photo Out Takes

When the shirts were bought, it reminded me that I had put away a special Halloween card for the two of you to share. Yes, since it was unique and fun – you were both to share this card. After I tried to take the photos above, I turned on the video and captured the two of you figuring out what was inside the envelope.

Capturing this moment for Daddy to see was fun. NHL, I caught the start of you singing along. Soon after, both of you were singing and dancing with the Busted song as we got your costumes ready to head out for some trick-or-treating.

The two of you showed me once again, it’s the little things that make you happy.

Love,

Mommy

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Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday fun holidays jsl laughs nhl photos video

The Great Veggie Dilemma

Posted on November 4, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Confession time. I have one child that is a fantastic eater. NHL is eight and has almost always been good about eating fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious items. Sure, there was a small point in his toddler life that he refused a few things here and there. When he was little, he would order broccoli and mushrooms on a pizza as toppings. Yes, he would request broccoli as a side dish.

Enter JSL, a four year old picky eater at best. Daily battles over what he can eat and what he will not eat happen. Where NHL will give things a “no thank you” try and usually like it, JSL will go on a hunger strike. His preferences will change from day to day, so TechyDad and I never know what preferences we will face. Chicken nuggets that he devours one day, may be tossed to the side three days later. We simply never know. We are able to get him to eat other protein sources. Nutritional drink supplements, cheese, PB, and sometimes Greek yogurt if we stand on our head.

Where we get to a stumbling block are fruits and veggies. JSL will not eat grapes, strawberries, or most other items. While cherry picking, he ate some in the orchard, but declared they were gross afterward. Apples are hit and miss, as are bananas. About the only way he loves fruits are in a smoothie. We can do that from time to time, but they are not as easy to do on the fly.

Vegetables rarely pass by JSL’s mouth in a whole or recognizable form. SERIOUSLY! He used to eat cucumbers and possibly some other items if we could bribe him. Not any more. We have attempted those recipes where you hide items in them, but they are quite time consuming thanks to making vegetable purees. Oh and most of the time he would not touch them anyway.

While out shopping the other day, I needed some pasta. I usually purchase whole grain pasta since it is the healthier option. Something caught NHL’s eye. He saw the colored vegetable pasta from Barilla. I told him to pick one out. He selected the Piccolini that has zucchini and spinach.

The other night, we made that with the Ronzoni Garden Delight we already had in the house. Both have a full serving of vegetables in each portion. What did the picky eater think? That photo above is JSL devouring the pasta. It may not be a solution, but it is a good alternative to have when we are going to serve the kids pasta.

So my question to you this week:

What food items do you battle with your children over or did you refuse to eat when you were a child?

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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.