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Nina Doesn’t Care – My Four Year Old Certainly Does

Posted on November 17, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Since I went to SheStreams in early October, I seem to be more aware of my video camera. I want to capture those moments that are classic in our life. Yesterday, I wrote about the new Susan Egan CD called The Secret of Happiness. Our family honestly loves the music, but I do believe that my little guy has a crush on Belle, –er Nina’s Mom – I mean Susan Egan. He asks for her songs in the car and wants to listen and sing along constantly.

JSL had seen my videos of Susan from March, and watched her on Glamour and Goop (Susan’s blog with Georgia Stitt), but never really paid as much attention since he loves listening to her sing. Thanks to this, I was curious what his reaction would be to seeing the video for the first time.

After I picked JSL up at school on Tuesday, we rushed home to see the video that had been released for “Nina Doesn’t Care” that morning. Here is the video, unedited.

As you could see, JSL was trying to sing along, but became a bit too captivated. I would have taped more, but he just sat there repeating the name of the song. Now that he has seen it a lot more, he dances around the living room and sings along with Susan. Thank goodness JSL does not know how to use the camera yet.

Have you ever captured a video of your child in awe of a person that they admire like this? I would love to know – please share.

Disclosure: I received this CD reviewed earlier complimentary of Susan Egan and Levity Entertainment Group in order to facilitate that review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed are my own as a huge fan of Susan Egan and Georgia Stitt. As you can see the fun was just a major perk that I had to share.

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Disney jsl laughs milestone Music video

Angry Birds Boo-Boos

Posted on November 14, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Saturday morning, I went out to get some errands done while the boys stayed home. First, I went to the craft store to get some yarn. After that, I wound up at another location to check out some Chanukah present ideas. While passing by the pharmacy area, something caught my eye. There were Angry Bird band-aids sitting on the shelf. I had never seen them before and thought the boys would adore them.

I have to admit, I have never played Angry Birds. Part of the reason is probably because the boys are so into it and I am not given any time. So, although I am quite familiar with this photo, I do not GET the game.

What I do get is that my boys, all three of them including TechyDad, love the game. They bond over it and have even gotten Papa into the act with his iPad.

Back to Saturday. When I got home, I told TechyDad that I bought something special for the boys. He saw the band-aids and took them out to show the boys. The boys were so excited and could not stop thanking me for buying them. Then, it got quiet as I put groceries away.

A few minutes later, a scream happened from the other room. It was one of the boys. Can you see where this is going? Yes, the boys were claiming left and right that they had injuries and boo-boos because they NEEDED an Angry Bird band-aid.

The boys eventually stopped “hurting” themselves to get one of the new prized items when we went out on some missions to explore a few new to us locations. Of course, it did not end there. Sunday morning, JSL screamed that he needed a band-aid because he had a boo-boo on his finger. We looked. Nothing there. A few moments later, he came back and declared it was killing him and he needed a band-aid now. The funny thing was that the finger location had changed. My theory is that he had a Mel Brooks inspired mole moment. If you watch his movies you will know what I am talking about.

So fess up, are you a fan of Angry Birds? Would love to know how these little critters have changed your lives since they became so popular.

Categories:
family fun jsl kid talk laughs my boys nhl photos TechyDad

Four Year Old Self Portrait

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

Dear JSL,

Yesterday, all of the parents in your school went in to chat with teachers to see how the kids are doing. All of your teachers are really great and talk with me in the morning and afternoon, so I knew a lot of what has been going on. Before we started, they pointed out the bulletin board that all of the kids in your main class had made.

Then, they asked me to pick out which was you on the board. They explained that they gave you mirrors and photos to do self portraits. I guessed a few times, then noticed the wrong names. I was stumped. Your teachers, E and L, mentioned that they tried to remind you that you are blonde. See, here you are with your still very light locks doing some writing practice at school.

As you can see, I was a little confused when I finally figured out which face was yours. Yes, you went with simple and different. My guess is that you didn’t like the idea of blonde being yellow yarn. This is your first self portrait according to you:

The rest of our meeting went really well. You love school, are adjusting well, and are growing up before our eyes. I was so proud when E and L told me about something you were able to do that others could not. You are such a smart little cookie and we are going to continue to work with you on writing and working toward reading.

Love you my little kiddo,

Mommy

__________________

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arts and crafts Dear Kid Saturday jsl milestone photos school

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.