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Tuesday Tales – Mama Doni’s Jewish Holiday Party

Posted on November 12, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

So how does one celebrate the Jewish Holidays in our house? In addition to our focus on the delicious items we will prepare, music plays a big part of our family traditions. Since the boys were really little, we have gathered a wide variety of Jewish music to share for Shabbat, Chanukah, Passover, and beyond. Many of our CDs and MP3s feature Mama Doni (Doni Zasloff). When we were asked to review Mama Doni’s Jewish Holiday Party that was just released, we immediately agreed since we are big fans.

Embracing and honoring Jewish tradition with a fresh, new approach, two-time Parents’ Choice winner Mama Doni (Doni Zasloff) sings, dances, and cooks her way through the holidays in a fun and inspirational DVD, Mama Doni’s Jewish Holiday Party, and its companion CD soundtrack, Mama Doni: The Acoustic Jewish Holiday Collection. (DVD: $19.98, includes bonus CD, run time 66 minutes. CD alone: $12.98, run time 43 minutes).

The timing of this DVD is perfect with Chanukah coming early this year. If you have not heard, Jewish families across the United States will be lighting their menorah during Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgivukkah (as many are calling it) has not happened since 1888 and will not happen for another 77,798 years. The DVD features three segments. One is about Chanukah, another features Shabbat, and the last has a focus on Passover. The boys and I focused on the Chanukah one for now. The first thing that we noticed were some familiar songs from Mama Doni’s Chanukah Fever CD (previous post about this) that the kids adore. JSL loved watching the humorous video that goes along with Honey, This Ain’t Money! One of my favorites was the Bluegrass version of Chanukah Oh Chanukah featuring Eric Lindberg. Check it out here so you can see what I am talking about.

In addition to videos, Mama Doni also shares Chanukah traditions. Doni takes us into the kitchen to make potato latkes. She shares the recipe that is included in her book Get Cooking: A Jewish American Family Cookbook (previous post). Over all, the variety in the Chanukah section kept the kids watching and interested to see what the Shabbat section included. I know they look forward to checking out the Passover segments a bit closer to the holiday (their focus is on Chanukah this month). Once again, Mama Doni has left us smiling, laughing, and singing along with her brilliant approach to Jewish music. Her passion to share Jewish traditions within this DVD are obvious thanks to the enthusiasm that you can not only hear, but also see. I know we will continue to watch for new projects from Mama Doni in the years to come.

Tuesday Tales is usually about books, but music and holidays are also important. What video is a favorite in your family for the holiday season? 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.

Disclosure: Waldmania! provided me with a copy of the Mama Doni’s Jewish Holiday Party DVD to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received. As mentioned above, we have done previous reviews of Mama Doni’s CDs, but have also purchased additional titles on our own.

Categories:
holidays Music Tuesday Tales

Crochet Hat Central

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

When I find a craft that I enjoy, I tend to go a little wild making items. Years ago it was knit cloths, scarves, and blankets. Recently I switched my focus to crocheting. For a while I was constantly making crochet granny squares for what eventually became my rainbow blanket. Next up, I fell in love with making wristers. Then, I knew the cold weather was coming and wanted to make hats. I never tried a knit hat, but crocheting intrigued me. Last week, I decided to try the First Fall Crochet hat pattern by Lion Brand Yarn.

While I liked this pattern, I wanted to make something that would not require me to stitch it up in the end. So I found another pattern on a video (not sure the name) and made another hat to match some wristers that were already finished.

I quickly fell in love with this pattern because it is the base for a lot of more fun character hats that I want to try one day soon. Some may include two mouse ears and help me to share my Disney Side a bit more this winter. So to practice, the boys each picked out some yarn for me to make them something. NHL’s hat is orange and black. JSL wanted a TARDIS blue hat. I made a hat to match my potato chip scarf that I knitted last year. Of course, once I was finished, I decided that it had to have a pom-pom on top. I made another hat with a pom-pom for Nana to match some wristers that I crocheted her a while back.

Do not worry about TechyDad, I need to size a hat for him and then his will be all set. Now I need more yarn and people to make hats for STAT!

Categories:
arts and crafts crocheting knitting

Tuesday Tales – Public School Advocacy and Diane Ravitch

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

Being an advocate trying to save Public Schools means that I am constantly doing research, reading, and learning new things. As a teacher, I love finding new authors and adding to my knowledge base. Of course, sometimes the items that I read are depressing. They remind me that the system that is crumbling before my eyes took decades to get this way and has many layers of political strategies from both parties behind it. Some of the reading has also explained a lot about my college years when I was studying to be a teacher in New York State.

My green laces are a symbol the Lace to the Top movement that is to remind everyone that our children are more than a score on a test. So much of the emphasis in schools around the country these days is about data. Companies are using our children as guinea pigs rather than allowing teachers to prepare them for the future. One of the biggest advocates for public schools is Dr. Diane Ravitch. Ravitch is a historian of education and also served as Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to Secretary Lamar Alexander from 1991 to 1993 during the administration of President George H.W. Bush. Over time, Dr. Ravitch’s views have changed about education reform and now she fights to try to stop the destruction of the system that she insists is not failing. Her book The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education (2010) was an eye opener. It really explained my life as a student growing up in the ‘80s and then why the NYS Standards were such a huge part of my life during my college years.

As the kids were starting back to school in September, a lot of people in the groups I belong to were talking about Dr. Ravitch’s new book that was due out.

Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools is the book that I am currently reading. Dr. Ravitch wrote this book to respond to critics of her last book. The premise of this book is to take on the myths that surround the public education system and share how reformers continue to neglect and worsen the problems of poverty that plague schools districts. Dr. Ravitch was on The Daily Show once again last week where she talked with Jon Stewart. This is the segment that aired on the show. Please note her green laces in hand.

Jon continued to talk with Dr. Ravitch after the taping and included the video on The Daily Show’s website. In addition to this, Ravitch also blogged about the experience.

You can hear more of Dr. Ravitch talking on her panel discussion with Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC. Her words truly are powerful and serve as an eye opener once you understand the history and what the reform movement really is trying to do.

I will write more about Reign of Error once I finish reading the book. Have you ever read books about a topic that are you an advocate for? I would love to hear 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 Educational Tuesday Tales

Selecting Baby Blanket Yarn

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

While I will not be having any more babies of my own, I adore making items for new babies. A special handmade baby blanket is what I usually make for family and friends. In recent years, I have had a favorite chunky yarn that was always my go to for projects. I would knit up a diagonal blanket for the new little one to grow into and use for a longer time. When I was invited to a baby shower for a friend, I started to look around for new yarn. My friend is not going to find out the sex of her baby until he or she is born. This meant that I needed to find a color that would work for a boy or girl. Ideally I did not want too much blue or pink. Enter Bernat Baby Blanket yarn in Little Sunshine.

The Bernat Baby Blanket filled two musts in my mind. It was not wool for sensitive baby skin (it is actually polyester) and it is machine washable. My boys were jealous when they felt how soft it was once I got started on the project. Originally, I had planned on crocheting my first baby blanket, but I did not like the way it was folding up, so I went back to my favorite baby blanket pattern. I also liked how Little Sunshine has peach, yellow and green for a different color combination. When all was said and done, the blanket above was large and the boys helped me to pick out the new baby a little buddy to go along with it.

Do you enjoy making gifts for new babies? I would love to know your go to yarn and patterns for gift making if you knit or crochet.

Pumpkins for Halloween

Posted on October 31, 2013 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

For many years, we never bought pumpkins. I think some of the reason was being frugal and the crops had some issues. One year, the boys and I picked out pumpkins and went to Nana and Papa’s house to carve them in their bigger kitchen. The moment that they reached inside the pumpkins and touched the guts inspired my recent post on Bedtime Math. There is just something special about carving pumpkins, playing with the pumpkin guts, and roasting the seeds. This year, we took the boys out to “pick” some pumpkins at a local gardening store. They spent a lot of time figuring out which pumpkin was perfect. Then this past weekend, it was time to carve them up. Pumpkin guts time was fun as usual.

We quickly learned that JSL’s pumpkin was very ripe and he did not like the strong smell. While NHL made a face at first about the feel of the pumpkin guts, he had a blast playing and experimenting while we got everything ready. Then, each of us designed out pumpkins and TechyDad did the carving.

Of course, when all was said and done, the boys were goofy and had a blast with the entire process. I had to take photos because these are the memories we will cherish years from now.

So to all of the kids and kids at heart dressing up as Harry Potter, Captain America, Doctor Who, and other fun ghosts and goblins – have a safe and wonderful Halloween.