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Favorite School Projects

Posted on March 16, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Yesterday, I shared a big project that my preschooler made at school. Over the last few months, the kids have made individual craft projects to put together an amazing Shabbat Box for our family. The week or so before that, another part went home because it would not fit into the box.

FYI – Tzedakah means charity. In Judaism, it is considered a fundamental part of life. The boys know that we send in tzedakah each Friday or to Hebrew School because helping others is important.

I love that JSL has learned about Shabbat, about giving, and more. By allowing the kids to make items that they will use when celebrating Shabbat, it becomes more personal to them and they embrace this part of their identity.

So my question to you this week is inspired by all of JSL’s projects:

What is your favorite project that your child has made in school and why? As a teacher on hiatus, I am always curious about projects that other children have completed in certain levels of their schooling. Oh and if you do not have kids, what was your favorite project from when you were in school?

It's Me

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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 #195

Categories:
Aloha Friday arts and crafts Educational holidays jsl looking back photos school

Preschool Shabbat Box Project

Posted on March 15, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Reality check time. My baby is going to be a kindergarten kid in a few months. Soon, JSL will no long be in preschool in the place that we know and love. He will venture off into an entire new world filled with learning and many more firsts. Before I rush us past this first year, I am going to cherish the time we still have in his nursery school.

On a day that we went for a meeting with the school district about JSL’s amazing speech progress, we had wonderful box of goodies sent home. These were items that JSL had made during the school year in his classroom. Each child presented their families with an amazing Shabbat Box.

As fantastic as it looks on the outside, it was even more impressive inside. Check out all of the items that were within the gorgeous Shabbat Box.

So what are all of the items you ask? Well, let’s take a tour to see all of the JSL made Shabbat items that his teachers helped to make.

This week, the kids spent time making challah dough, learning to braid them, and baking mini challahs to bring home. These were perfect to have along with the challah covers that they also designed.

Of course, when preparing for Shabbat there must be something to drink ~~wine~~ –er grape juice out of. This is the colorful kiddush cup that JSL created.

There was one item that was breakable in the Shabbat Box. The kids made beautiful sand art Shabbat candle stick holders. These are so pretty thanks to the different color sand varieties that they had to pick from.

The item that I think JSL will use a lot is the kippah that he made. I am sure he will be able to wear it to holidays and also use it for Shabbat. JSL told me that they painted them. Love the tie dye effect and how original his came out.

The last things included were some educational items. There was a pamphlet with Shabbat blessings for Friday night and ending on Saturday evening. JSL was especially excited about the Shabbat matching game that he insists we play soon.

Thanks to making these special items to use for Shabbat, they mean even more to JSL. I know that he will always remember his time in preschool thanks to the memories that his fantastic teachers have provided for him.

P.S. The kids also made another item that came home last week. More on the Tzedakah box coming soon!

Categories:
arts and crafts Educational fun holidays jsl milestone photos school

Tuesday Tales – I’m Not Tired Yet!

Posted on March 13, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Raise your hand if you are tired from lack of sleep thanks to the clocks springing forward. . .

Imagine me sitting here waving my hands wildly! Although extra hours of sunlight are a wonderful thing, they wreck havoc on the sleep cycles of the kids in the house, which transfers over to the adults. Their bodies still think it is earlier, the sun is out, and they do not want to settle to get ready for bed. The timing on a rerelease of a book written and illustrated by Marianne Richmond could not have been more perfect.

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; ISBN: 978-1-4022-6878-6; Picture Book; $16.99 March 2012

As the mother of an eight and almost five year old, I have heard a lot of excuses from my boys on why they are not tired and/or do not want to go to bed. I have to admit that NHL and JSL have very active imaginations, but nothing quite like Ralphie.

Ralphie is a six year old little boy who is the star character of I’m Not Tired Yet! He and his mother allow us to watch as they participate in their sweet bedtime routine. As we see from the start, Ralphie is not interested in going to bed. Although his mother is aware of his strategy to prolong his wake time, she engages in an adorable play with words with her young son. Together, they imagine multiple animal visits while allowing for time to kiss, hug, poke, and play before finally settling down for the night.

One example of Ralphie’s favorite animal is the polar bear. When he says that he can’t sleep because of a mosquito buzzing in his ear, she quickly suggests polar bear cuddle time. Sure enough the beautiful illustrations from Richmond allow us to see the sweet embrace of mother and son as polar bears.

Of course, children will see the repetitive nature of Ralphie’s mother saying good night to him and something cropping up soon after. Then, as his mother is about to leave, something seems to come to Ralphie’s little mind that requires his mother to stay a little longer.

When I read this book with JSL (4), he curled up next to me to listen to the story. He loved that Ralphie was young, but not too little. What I really liked was how JSL immediately wanted to try the fun items that Ralphie and his mother were doing in the book. We were apes, we did fish kisses, and other adorable items that did not get my little guy too amped up before his bedtime.

I believe this may have been the first time we have read one of Marianne Richmond’s books, but will not be the last. JSL has already asked to check into some of her other titles to read together. Ending the day with some laughs was a definite plus for us.

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. An Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the book mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book through that link.

Categories:
books jsl Product review sleep Tuesday Tales

Disney Dining Memories

Posted on March 12, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I love Walt Disney World and have since I was a very young child. During one of our vacations, my relationship with the Walt Disney World Resort changed. We were introduced to the new Food and Fun plan. We had vouchers to do things like parasailing, renting boats, and bike riding. In addition to this, gourmet meals beyond my wildest imagination were included. Walt Disney World suddenly became a dining destination that was not simply for Mickey Ice Cream bars and Dole Whips – it was a lot more.

One of our family meals during that trip was in Epcot. We had reservations at The Coral Reef. Back during this time it was in The Living Seas Pavilion (before Nemo took over). With the dining plan back in the day, we were able to get an appetizer, meal, drink, and dessert. For a small price extra, you could upgrade and order the full lobster dinner. My younger brother was intrigued with this, but had no clue how to attack his meal when it arrived. I still remember the amazing waiter, he pulled up his sleeves, stood behind my brother and guided him on how to get meat out of the places within his lobster dinner.

The Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue also has memories that still bring laughter to our family. My mother had gotten us a table up front. My father had his new camera with us. He was so excited to take photos of the show. Well, at one point the entire group was on the stage and paused since they saw my father was ready. Then, one of them quickly noted “Hey it may help to take off the lens cap!” Remember, this show is a musical comedy and now my father was part of the act. For the rest of the show, they kept picking on him and reminding him about the lens cap.

On our honeymoon, TechyDad and I had another package that included a dining plan. We tried foods from lands and places that we will always remember. We fell in love with Spoodles (now where Kouzina is located on the Boardwalk) and Le Cellier in Canada at Epcot. This was almost 11 years ago when you could actually walk up to Le Cellier and get a table without one of the highly desired ADR.

When we took the kids back for their first trip, we knew that character meals had to be in the mix. The night that we arrived I made reservations for our first sit down meal at Chef Mickey. What I did not expect was both of my children to cry, hide under the table, and be mortified of the characters. The people at Chef Mickey were great and made sure to warn the characters. One of the sweetest memories I have is Chef Mickey standing over a sleeping JSL reminding us to be quiet. When Mickey saw that he was asleep, he came over to get a photo even though it was not our turn.

Over the years, we have tried a lot of restaurants and each has a special memory associated with it. So many of those have been captured here on my blog and I know many more will come in the future.

Do you have a most memorable Disney food or dining experience? Please share them below or let me know if you have written about them so I can stop by. If you want some great information about specific Disney Dining topics also check out The Disney Food Blog.

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 family food glorious food jsl looking back me moments nhl TechyDad travel vacation yummy

Glasses Envy

Posted on March 10, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL & JSL,

This was a big week for the two of you. As a family, we celebrated Purim several times.

NHL, last weekend you had your eyes checked and found out that you need to wear glasses all the time. They came in on Wednesday, so we picked them up just before going to the community Purim celebration. In an instant, you could not only see clearly, but you had grown up. You were so happy to have your new “Harry Potter” glasses and could not wait to show them to everyone.

JSL, what shocked me was your reaction to your brother’s glasses. You were so upset. You cried when we told you he needed them, you cried when he picked them out, and you had a tantrum when NHL picked them up to take home. I could not imagine what the problem was. When we asked you, you told us you were now the only one that did not wear glasses. So, after NHL got his glasses and a pair of clip-on sunglasses, we picked something special out for you.