The Angel Forever

Thermal Laminating Fun

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

When I was teaching in a classroom, I was best friends with the thermal laminator in our building. I used it for student work, for protecting my reference tools, and making sure that decorations were ready to use for multiple years. Yes, I spent many hours learning how to make that giant thermal laminator get a work out.

For quite some time, I was toying with getting a laminator at home. The other day, A Frugal Friend posted about a one day special on a Scotch Thermal Laminator on Amazon. When she told me that she has used it for two years now and that I would love it, I was sold. Of course the one day price was even better ($16.99 – now under $30). Yes, I bought the Scotch Thermal Laminator 2 Roller System on Friday and it arrived Tuesday. Wednesday morning my kiddo (home sick) helped me to test it out.

I asked JSL to find art that he had made. Of course, he picked one that would not fit in a pouch at first. Not to worry, we found some on a regular sized piece of paper and put it into a pouch. While that was waiting, I set up the machine. It was SO easy to use and the instructions were great.

The machine did not take long to heat up. Once it was set, I simply placed the Thermal Pouch into the machine and it literally fed right in without me doing more. JSL was mesmerized and curious what it would be like after.

The artwork that JSL made was now protected and ready for him to take around and share with others. Of course, once you laminate one item you, you start to think about other things to create. My mind immediately went to maps for the little kiddo. He loves playing with them and using them for pirate treasure hunts. So, I pulled out some extra Disney Parks maps and put them onto a piece of computer paper. That was then placed into a pouch to laminate.

JSL was in love and later on we made one more map so all four of the Walt Disney World parks were accounted for. In the end, I was happy with my purchase and my kiddo now can not wait to try the laminator (he says this in a Dr. Doofenshmirtz voice) again.

So my question this week is inspired by my new laminator:

What would you love to laminate if you had a machine and why? Yes, I am also using this to come up with more ideas.

It's Me

Disclosure: An Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the thermal laminator mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to purchase it through that link.

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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.

Aloha #234

Categories:
Aloha Friday arts and crafts me moments

Hobbit Phobia

Posted on December 20, 2012 10:59 am by TheAngelForever

It all started in the fifth grade. That was the year my teacher broke away from the traditional basal readers for Language Arts instruction. There were two to four books that we would all be reading in different groups during the academic year. For some reason, I can only recall two of them. The first one that I read was The Diary of Anne Frank. It was the year after my Hebrew School teacher talked with us about the Holocaust. She and her husband were survivors and had the tattooed numbers on their arms. From that day on, I wanted to learn everything I could about the time period. I wanted to know so I could be sure it would never happen again.

On the flip side, there was another book that we read. It was by J.R.R. Tolkien. This was the first time I was forced, yes I am using that word, to read something I did not like. The small writing on the page, the long chapters, the descriptive nature by the author all turned me off of reading. What was the book? It is quite popular these days and you probably know just from the title. He’s a photo of TechyDad’s prized copy:

I’m sorry Bilbo Baggins, I have nothing really against you I just did not like The Hobbit. Truth be told the style of writing just was not for me. This experience helped me in the classroom when I was teaching Language Arts to sixth graders. I could understand that not everyone would adore the books that I selected and had to help them to work around this. I even told them about my life experience being told I had to read something. Yes, humanizing and relating to my students helped.

Fast forward to the release of The Hobbit in the movies. You see, this is a favorite book for TechyDad and he really, really, really wants to see the movie. When we first were married, the Lord of the Rings movies were out and I tried to watch them with him. I fell asleep and never made it past the first part of movie one. Yes, I do believe that some of that was me protesting thanks to my reading experience in fifth grade.

Now I’m conflicted. Do I spend the money to attempt to see the movie with him and try to ease up my Hobbit Phobia, or just send him off to see it alone? Have you ever had experience reading a book where you just could not move forward?

Categories:
books looking back me moments

Lots of Holiday Joy at Disney

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

Although I have been to Walt Disney World countless times in my life, I had never experienced a major holiday season while visiting. This all changed with our trip for the official opening of New Fantasyland. The holiday magic is in every resort and park and really highlights the location that they are in. Although I do not celebrate Christmas, it was a joy to wander around looking at all of the festive decorations and lights. Sharing some of these seemed the perfect way to channel the theme of *Joy* this week.

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

Disclosure: TechyDad was invited to the New Fantasyland media event December 5-7. Disney paid for his travel, our park tickets, room, along with some extra surprises. I was his guest and invited to special events, but paid for my travel and an extra night at the resort.

Categories:
Disney holidays travel

Tuesday Tales – The Importance of Early Literacy

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

A little known fact about me is that I am a Certified Reading Teacher. Though I am not currently in the classroom, we have always spent a lot of time reading with our boys. Tuesday Tales was actually born because of my love of books and hoping to share some of the items that we are reading as a family or individually.

Now, I watch as my youngest son is learning to read. It never fails to amaze me how kids adore this process. It truly is fun to experience. I still remember the early days of reading with toddler JSL, but now look forward to him reading me stories.

The holidays are a great time to gift books to children and adults alike. Remember to get them stories that will take them to near and far lands, encourage them to dream, and prepare them to be life long learners. Thanks to this, I thought it was fitting to share something I wrote for a former project below.

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It is never too early to start reading with your child. I still remember sitting on the couch with my infant son and a pile of my favorite picture books. As he got older, he would initiate reading time. By the time my youngest was a toddler, his big brother was already reading. Watching the little guy ask his big brother to read him a favorite book was priceless.

We have an impressive library of books within our house. As a teacher, I grew quite the collection of children’s books before we had our boys. When NHL was born seven years ago, we started buying board books. These were perfect to read to him. As he became a toddler, he could also “read” them independently. Whether it was Goodnight Moon, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Pajama Time, or another favorite from Sandra Boynton, books were always around.

In addition to having our books at home, I have always brought the kids to our local library. The boys know exactly where the books are and love helping to pick out items. These days, libraries are even widening their selection of board books that are perfect for the toddler set.

When JSL was home with me, I heard about our local library having a story time. We went because it seemed like the perfect match for our love of books. During the story time, the librarian read everyone several stories, used the felt board with the kids and sang familiar classics to get the kids involved. It was also a nice time for the children to socialize and see how to work with others in a group setting.

Remember that children who are exposed to books at an early age are more likely to become early readers. Reading readiness comes from seeing others read and becoming familiar with the written language. When you read to your child, you are teaching them literacy skills. Seeing how to hold a book, turn pages, follow the words from left to right are all things that even a toddler will pick up before going to preschool. So, rather than buying your child a new toy that they may not really need, think about an old favorite book from your childhood and start a small library for your own house.

What book or author is a favorite of your child? As always, please share 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. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

Disclosure: Parts of this post were previously published on a project I worked on. The text is mostly the same, but I placed a new introduction to go along with a topic that continues to be important for families.

Categories:
books looking back Tuesday Tales

Thank a Teacher Day: December 17, 2012

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

Teachers are with our children for more hours each week day than we are. Every day they teach, guide, love, and protect our kids. As an educator, I need to admit something. I never thought of my students as someone else’s. Yes, for that academic year they were also mine. If they were home sick, I worried about them. If they were celebrating a big event, I cheered them on. When they needed someone to talk with in confidence, my ear was always there.

No teacher is perfect and I often have to stop myself from being THAT parent. The one that jumps to conclusions and gets upset with a project, lack of communication, or way something is handled. Then I think about all of the items that a teacher has on his/her plate these days. They wear a lot of hats and are expected to mold the next generation in a myriad of ways.

This weekend, I spent some time and e-mailed both of the main teachers that work with my boys. I wanted them to know that I appreciate all that they do. I know thanks to them and the school community that my kids are in a safe place. Crazy things can happen in any location, even a school, but their teachers, principal, and other support staff would protect them without blinking an eye.

To the heroic teachers that lost their lives last Friday, may memories live with your students and families to keep your messages moving forward. Please take a moment today or this week to remember and thank a special teacher from your life or in the life of a child.

Thank you to Julie Meyers Pron at Julieverse.com for sharing this idea with all of us. I hope more people will join in to thank other educators.