TheAngelForeverWe often forget about the meaning of July 4 and what it really means to those of us living in the United States. As we spend time with family on this special day, be sure to take time to remember those that fought for the freedoms that we have, along with all of the men and women still in the armed forces today keeping us safe.
Today is also about family, making memories, and enjoying time with those you love. Be sure to live in the moment and enjoy.
July is a funny month. We begin with festive fireworks and thinking about how our country gained independence. Then, the rest of the month is filled with ways to keep cool in the heat and humidity. With these items in mind, The Hall of Presidents and going under the sea with Ariel seem perfect for the July calendar shots.
Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.
This summer, one of my goals with the boys is to get them writing more. Reading is important, but the teacher in me does not want the writing to slide over the time off. As JSL finished kindergarten, he seemed to be on a major writing kick and I did not want to let go of this enthusiasm. He was writing story after story, and loved alternating with fun poems that he would illustrate.
JSL’s writing book also came home from the school year and I could see growth within that small journal (photo above). A simple sentence that was likely copied, quickly became several sentences with his own inventive spelling based on his phonemic awareness.
One day when it was raining, I asked JSL if he wanted to write a new story or poem and start a book for the summer. He immediately said yes. To change things up and help inspire him, I gave him a new booklet of stickers with his composition notebook. Within minutes, the newly minted first grader was off and writing. He picked a sticker and started to write a poem about dogs called Woof. The next day, he asked for the notebook again and wanted to write more. The next thing I knew, he was sharing two more poems called Meow and Tweet.
I love watching him write and enjoy it. This was my favorite age to teach because of the way you could literally watch their reading and writing grow each and every day. An added bonus at our house was NHL’s reaction. At almost ten years old, NHL is a reluctant writer. For a variety of reasons, he has a hard time getting his thoughts on paper (typically, his brain is going a mile a minute and his hands can not keep up), so he uses tech devices to assist. Suddenly, he asked for a notebook, pencil, crayons, and stickers to start his own book. He began with a table of contents and then wrote a story about a doggy ball game and after that started something about fish. My next idea is to work on something that is more interactive with both of the boys. More about that coming soon.
Do you work on writing over the summer with your children? I would love to know what you may do with them. 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.
There are many apps out there that allow members to share video on the go. Of course, it was not until Vine came onto the scene that it seemed to become popular. I have to admit that I was skeptical about the lure of Vine, but when we went to visit our local Science Museum, I saw the beauty of capturing a moment in more than a photo.
Then, on June 20 Instagram announced that they were also going to allow video. This screenshot is from their press conference that I watched.
Instagram would give me more time on a video to capture moments, I could add filters, select which frame to use for people to see in their feeds, and it was in a community that I was already very involved in. Community is big on Instagram and I really enjoy that I can control security and spam comments there. Vine has a lot more comment spam that can not be removed on the Android platform at this time. Another nice feature on Instagram is that you are able to set it up so the videos do not automatically play. This means that, when you see the little video icon on a picture, you simply click on it to play the video.
Over the last week, Instagram has had some growing pains with their video. Numerous videos were made and lost as I was trying to upload them. Thank goodness, they were saved on my Droid RAZR HD so I could use them in other way.
Then, everything seemed to work on Thursday evening when we went to an event at the museum. I was able to make three Instagram videos of the dinosaurs at miSci and they were shared on there and on Twitter and Facebook. The only downside at this point is that you can not embed your Instagram video like you can do with Vine. Of course, I am still able to take the video off of my smartphone to incorporate into a longer video with some photos.
As you can see, I now have a longer video to share on my blog, send to family, or keep for my boys. Since I did not have my video camera, my smartphone was able to help me in a pinch.
Have you tried Instagram Video yet? I would love to know what you think so far.
Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I receive different devices to check out in my life (like the Droid RAZR HD mentioned above). There is no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.
On Tuesday morning, NHL had his braces put on his teeth. To help distract him for a little while, the boys and I went to miSci to explore some of the new exhibits for an hour. While the Dinosaurs! area was not technically open, many of the sections were able to be seen while we were there.
We roamed around and the boys had their photos taken with triceratops together. Then, JSL put his head into T-Rex’s mouth. It was either time for his dental exam or he was making the kiddo lunch. We saw a few more of the areas that were visible. At the time, Instagram video was not working, so I made this Vine to share.
A few of the areas were still roped off until the member preview on Thursday evening and the official opening on June 29.
We went to the members preview and we had a wonderful time looking at all of the dinosaurs. While we had technically seen them three years ago while visiting the Buffalo Museum of Science, it was interesting to see them in different areas of miSci in Schenectady. More video and photos to come as I go through the photos and we head back to visit them again when it is a bit less crowded over the next few months.
So my question to you this week is inspired by the new exhibit:
What are the favorite dinosaurs and why? Perhaps you wrote a report in school as a child, or your son/daughter likes one for a special reason.
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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this Friday fun. These days, Pamela at A Renaissance Woman is reviving the fun Friday Meme. Head over there to link up and join in the fun.
Aloha #244
