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School Supplies – Third Grade Take 1

Posted on July 25, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

In New York, we go to school until the third week of June. It seems like other parts of the country have been out forever by the time we are just getting started. Do not fret, we all have to get in 180 days no matter what. If we have too many snow days here, we will have vacation days taken away.

Of course, this also means that the week after the kids end school stores like Target, Staples, CVS, and others are starting their Back-To-School flyers. When we walk into their stores, it is like a school supply factory came for a visit. When I was teaching, I loved this time of year. There was just something fun about getting new items for my classroom. Now, it seems like a chore. I know that if I do not snag these bargains now, I may not get them again.

So here we are not even into August and most of my son’s school supplies for third grade have been purchased. The Tweets from people questioning my purchases were priceless since it was still mid-July when I was buying items. The reality is that a 25 cent poly folder is a good deal when they are normally more than a dollar each.

Here is the list that came home with NHL on the last day of school:

6 Folders and 6 Composition Notebooks (see colors) labeled with subject and first and last name: Black & White (2), Red/Math, Green/Science, Yellow/Reading, Purple/Social Studies, Blue/Writing. Plastic Folder labeled “Take Home” folder Psssst – I bought all poly/plastic folders since they were on sale and will last.
Looseleaf paper (wide line) – a constant supply will be needed At this age I fear how they may eat the paper. *sigh*
Pencils No amount specified – in 1st grade it was at least 5 and 20 for second grade. I know kids and they use a lot more than that. Lots left from my classroom to hand off to NHL’s teacher.
Erasers
Scissors
Ruler
Colored Markers, 24 box of crayons or pencils
Pencil pouch (zippered, soft kind)
Glue sticks Whoa – no number required. I bought 8 for now, but have others from sales in past years.
Three boxes of tissues
Two rolls of paper towels
2 Dry Erase Expo Markers
Old (but clean) sock (used as an eraser)
$4.00 for Homework Planners, to be sent in a separate envelope
$5.00 for National Geographic magazine My son is going to LOVE this!

Curious how this compared to previous years? Here are old posts

2009 1st grade – School Supplies – What’s on Your List?
2010 2nd grade – School Supply List 2010

NHL started this school at the end of last year, so I am not sure how this list compares with kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade in the building. I guess one day we will know with JSL. I recall, as a teacher, making my lists to send home to parents to buy. Now, I wonder how difficult of a task they may have had with certain items. Hmmm……

Love it, or hate it – what is on your child’s school supply list for the 2011-2012 school year? Inquiring minds would love to know.

I cringe thinking about next year because I will have a kindergarten kiddo and fourth grader to buy supplies for. Oy. They are growing up way too quickly. If anyone knows how to stop this, please let me know.

Categories:
looking back nhl photos school shopping summer

Painting with Water – Catch Me There

Posted on July 24, 2011 9:08 am by TheAngelForever

During the summer, I typically try to take the kids outside to enjoy the weather. Of course, this week that was not really possible thanks to the extreme heat and humidity. It was just too hot and hard to breathe and function while living in an oven. Once the weather cools off some, I hope to be able to take the boys out to do some painting with water.

Painting with water? Check out what I mean:

It is exactly what it sounds like. I have written about it before and it was inspired from a walk with my family at my favorite location. Walt Disney World helped me to come up with this fun way to keep the kids busy during the summer

My latest post on The Disney Driven Life is about Painting and Learning with Water. I show how this activity inspired by the creative minds at Walt Disney World gave me a fun summer learning tool to use with my child. Not only is it fun, but the kids really can learn items about science and more.

Please stop by to say hello and check out the other magical posts from my Disney Drive Life friends. My other posts there can be found under NDM183 – that’s me!

Before I go, here is a video that Disney Parks shared so you can see the magic of Custodial Art come to life.

What would you draw with water if you had a chance? Please let me know in the comments below. Have a magical week!

Categories:
Disney Educational fun interesting looking back My Other Projects photos summer

Destination Romantic Disney Dreaming

Posted on July 18, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I have a bad case of the Disney blues. You see, ten years ago in June, we had our amazing honeymoon at Walt Disney World. TechyDad and I were spoiled rotten and had the most magical experience on that trip. We stayed at the Beach Club Resort for 10 magical days.

We decided to go all out and stayed at a deluxe resort. We wanted to be near Epcot so we could dine around the world and at the Boardwalk. They upgraded our room when they heard we were on our honeymoon. Check out the view from our balcony:

We had a deluxe dining plan and also had the ability to do tours with our package. We did several behind the scene tours, ate at Spoodles, Le Cellier (several times with same day reservations – *gasp*), Chef Mickey, Crystal Palace, and saw Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba.

This was when I made TechyDad a believer. He quickly saw the magic of a Walt Disney World vacation. He was able to see that it is not simply for families with children. It is a place where you can be with your spouse and have plenty of romantic moments. It is a location to wine and dine, be a kid, and enjoy magical memories together. It is a destination that you can visit over and over and still not see everything. So many people do not understand and I am ok with this. I am just lucky TechyDad gets it and so do friends like Amy. She just got back from a 10th anniversary trip to Walt Disney World with her husband. Before leaving, she wrote a post about romantic Disney with quotes from me included.

So why am I writing about this? Well, you see TechyDad and I are toying with doing something that is unlike us. We are talking about putting us first and getting away without the boys. Yes, we are debating a 10th anniversary trip to Walt Disney World. Sure, we have been since our honeymoon, but not just the two of us. In fact, the only time we have been away without the boys was to BlogHer last year in NYC. This would be a trip for us, not in the name of Social Media (imagine that).

We won’t be staying at the Beach Club Resort this time, but it will still be a magical vacation for just the two of us. Now, we just have to check a few more items and figure out child care. The boys can probably stay with TechyDad’s parents, but they have never done that without us before. A lot of things are on my mind, but dreaming and making this into a reality is making me smile.

If you have any suggestions on romantic meals or other places to visit as a couple at Disney World, I would love to hear about it. A lot has changed in ten years.

So, please excuse me for a little while. I need to dream a little more about the possibility of a romantic getaway to the most magical place with my amazing husband. We need this for us and our family.

Categories:
Disney dreams jl looking back photos travel vent

For the Love of a Fish Fry

Posted on July 15, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Growing up in the northeast, I learned to love our local fish fry haven. I remember going with both sides of the family to this favorite destination. Relatives that were from out of town would actually beg to head to Bob & Ron’s Fish Fry. I would sit there looking up at the sharks on the wall, swivel in my seat, and let time pass.

As a child, I was not originally a fan of the fish fry. Instead, I would get a hamburger or later on clam strips (never said I was kosher ~~as a kid~~). Then, I realized what I was missing.

The other night, we took the boys bowling and wanted a quick and easy dinner since it was late. I pulled out our Entertainment book. I recalled that there was a coupon for Bob and Ron’s Fish Fry. We pulled into the parking lot and memories came flooding back. The menu has hardly changed, even with new owners in recent years.

This was not a healthy meal, but something different, nostalgic, fun, and delicious. Yes, it fun to get photos of my kids swiveling in the same chairs I sat in as a kid.

The boys were mesmerized by the giant sharks on the wall. I could not resist taking a photo when they asked me to capture this moment (even if NHL was being silly).

So my question to you this week:

Do you have a restaurant that you recall from your childhood that you like to revisit now? Why do you still like to head back there?

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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 #160

Categories:
Aloha Friday family food glorious food jsl looking back me moments nhl photos yummy

Super Hero Tutor Needed

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

Being the mother of two little boys can be a challenge at times. I fully admit, I am not up to speed on my super heroes. As a child of the 80’s, I am well versed in He-Man. While I played with my Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears, and Barbies, my younger brother had quite the collection of He-Man toys. Ah, the memories.

My boys are currently into super heroes thanks to TechyDad. When they are not pretending to be pirates or Toy Story/Disney characters, they switch to this other side. You know, the one that I am not too familiar with. Sure I know the names and can pick them out in a photo, but that is about all.

I seriously need some tutoring in super heroes and their personalities/powers. Some of the super heroes that I hear about include:

Hulk
Spiderman
Hawkeye
Captain America (see JSL’s question from the other day)
Thor
Iron Man
Superman
Batman

The other day, while playing at Nana and Papa’s house, the boys had out our old Fisher-Price Construx.

While we used to make cars, buildings, and the like – my boys made something completely different. Check this out:

Yes, the creativity was there. NHL made Thor’s hammer and Captain America’s shield. The two of them ran around for quite some time pretending to be the characters from The Avengers.

So where do I start? Are there Cliff Notes for this sort of thing? Seriously, I could certainly use them.