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Books, books, and more Scholastic books – Tuesday Tales

Posted on September 21, 2010 6:05 pm by TheAngelForever

Do you remember getting the Scholastic Book Club flyers sent home from school when you were a child? I do and I remember spending hours sifting through them to see what was included on each. When I became a teacher, this continued. I kid you not, hours were spent looking to see what items I wanted to add to my personal library. Now, as a parent I continue on tradition.

When JSL started nursery school, they asked parents to sign up for committees to help with items. I immediately put my name down for the classroom Scholastic Book Club parent. This was SO up my alley. At Open House last week, I found out I was the only person that wanted to do this. The next day, I was greeted with the following in JSL’s cubby.

I went home, set a date and got them ready to distribute to the other parents in the room. Today, I also finished getting the online ordering location ready. I love this since it allows parents to see even more book options than the ones in the flyer sent home. It also credits the classroom with a free $3 book for each online order placed. A huge win win for classroom libraries.

NHL also came home that day with his Scholastic forms. Here is everything that I have been working on, while reading with the boys. It helps to explain part of why I am not posting a book review for Tuesday Tales this week.

Remember, support your child’s classroom and order some books from Scholastic. They have a great selection for all reading levels and many different price ranges. Books make great presents and never need batteries.

Just an FYI – I am posting this out of my love for all things Scholastic through the years. Thank you to the Twitter Scholastic representative for their assistance the other day. I love getting replies back for photos of books, questions and concerns. I always like tooting the horn of a company that genuinely cares about kids, teachers, schools and literacy.

Next week, I will be featuring the book 1+ 1 = 5 and Other Unlikely Additions by David LaRochelle. This is a fun math related book that has a lot of activities that can be done with it.

So what have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your Tuesday Tales 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: I have been a life long Scholastic customer as a student, teacher and parent. No compensation was given for this post, I simply wanted to share what I have been up to. Of course, I am open to the idea of working with Scholastic (*hint* *hint* *nudge* *nudge*). The Amazon widget is for our Amazon Affiliate where I will receive a percentage of money for the sale of the book and other items in our suggested items.

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books customer service Educational looking back me moments school Tuesday Tales

Knitting bloggy break

Posted on September 18, 2010 10:17 pm by TheAngelForever

Yom Kippur is officially over and I am just too tired to blog at this moment. Instead, I am off to "read" a book while knitting more cloths mindlessly. Here is my cloth collection that I have made right now.

Earlier in the week, JSL helped me to take out my wash cloth collection that I have been making this summer. There are 31 completely finished, 5 more that need final touches and another one on my needles right now. Slowly getting enough for gift giving and then, once the weather is coole,r I will move back to working on my big blanket. The boys were jealous of the super soft blanket that I made Cousin BA. Here is the little guy in it back in March before his bris.

Soon after he was born, I started making them one, but have been on hiatus thanks to the warmer summer months. Now that the fall is nearly here, it will be time to get cracking on the big stripped, soft blanket that is currently waiting for me on my circular needles. For now, I am working on more cloths that can almost be done with my eyes closed.

Categories:
holidays knitting looking back me moments photos

Tuesday Tales – Chicken Cheeks

Posted on September 14, 2010 10:17 am by TheAngelForever

I will be the first to admit it. I enjoy books that are clever and make you laugh. As a teacher with a science background, I can even handle ones that use a little bathroom humor and/or items about body functions. I am a firm believer that we need to get children to read and why not learn about things in a fun manner.

One of NHL’s favorite books, when he was about JSL’s age (3), was Everyone Poops. He thought it was amazing and wanted everyone to read it to him. Thankfully, he expanded his horizons into many other books since that time. The other day, we all went to the library together. NHL and I immediately stopped at the new book cart. We picked up a lot of interesting titles that we have been reading. As a second grader, NHL is asked to read 100 books by the end of the school year. He did well over 200 last year since he enjoys reading so much.

While we were busy in the new book section, TechyDad and JSL were looking in another area. When I went over to them, TechyDad proclaimed that he had a book that Papa had to read to the boys. Here it is:

Yes, Chicken Cheeks by comedian Michael Ian Black has the subject matter that you think by looking at the front and back cover of the book. Page after page of fun and new ways to describe posterior parts of animals. Nothing inappropriate for kids and gets you thinking and giggling, of course. I could certainly see using this as a spring board for a lesson on synonyms. This book alone gives you countless options for your child to use rather than butt! The other part that makes the book even more special are the amazing illustrations by Kevin Hawkes.

More about Chicken Cheeks:

Some bears will go to any length to get some honey. This one recruits every animal that comes along to form, well, a stack. The result? Tail of the duck to the gluteus maximus of the duck-billed platypus (with many other rears in between). Readers will giggle with delight at the bird’s eye view of some hysterical animal bottoms. Follow this back-sided journey up the tree – where the real surprise awaits. The pairing of Black’s minimal text with Hawkes’s visual story line will keep you chuckling from the bottom up.

Chicken Cheeks – Written by Michael Ian Black – Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes – Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing – Published January 2009 – ISBN 978-1-4169-4864-3 – 40 pages – Ages 3-7

Photo from inside the book:

Although this book may not be everyones taste, we really enjoyed it. Sometimes, just having a fun book that makes you laugh as a family is well worth it. Thank you to Chicken Cheeks for a fun read along with Papa!

Disclosure: My family took this book out of our local library compliments of our tax money. The opinions expressed in the review are my own and were in no way influenced by anything. Two links within the review are Amazon Affiliate where I will receive a percentage of money for the sale of the books should you opt to buy the books mentioned.

Categories:
books family laughs looking back photos Product review Tuesday Tales

Peace, Love and Pixie Dust

Posted on September 13, 2010 9:14 am by TheAngelForever

Anyone that knows me, understands that I have a love for all things Disney. Growing up, I went to Walt Disney World almost yearly. I still remember the time I was bribed to go on Space Mountain as a kindergartener and seeing EPCOT for the first time.

When it was time to plan my honeymoon, I was able to convince TechyDad that Disney World would be the perfect destination for us. He had never been and it had a while since my last visit. I think I put as much, if not more, planning into our Disney World honeymoon. We stayed at the Beach Club Resort which was magical alone. We went on several behind the scene tours and dined at amazing restaurants each day.

As our boys got older, we thought it was the perfect time to take them to Disney World. I actually selected going to Disney World with the entire family over going to Chicago to BlogHer in 2009. I sat and planned out our meals, hotel, and where we would go (park wise) each day. The trip was even more magical since my parents went with us. It was only fitting since they are the first generation of Disney vacation fanatics in the family. I learned so much from watching my mother plan each and every trip to Disney World over the years.

Then it was announced that there would be the Disney Social Medial Moms Celebration at Disney World in February. With less than a month to spare, I planned a week long visit for the four of us to Disney World. It was beyond magical and amazing. Meeting people in person that I had talked with online at Walt Disney World was a dream come true.

The truth is, I love talking, writing, and helping to plan Disney vactions. Family and friends often e-mail or call me for my thoughts and suggestions. I honestly will drop anything for my love of Disney since it is such a genuine passion of mine.

So today, I wish everyone applying to the Disney Moms Panel much Peace, Love & Pixie Dust. I know that I will be following my heart and hoping to be part of this special group of men and women.

Categories:
decisions Disney DisneySMMoms dreams family fun looking back me moments photos

An angel and books Pandora style

Posted on September 12, 2010 1:57 pm by TheAngelForever

Last December, my mother asked me to figure out what I would like for my Birthday. I am horrible at putting myself first and coming up with ideas of things that I would like. You see, this was not just a gift for last year, it was also for the year before that. Finally, I decided that I would really like to look at Pandora bracelets. I really liked the idea of making a bracelet that had beads that were filled with memories.

This is what my bracelet looked like when I originally received it.

I have the two boys and a Murano glass bead that looks like each birthstone. A week or so after this, TechyDad bought me the forget me-knot bead to symbolize our marriage.

Just after that, I received a gift certificate to Pandora from my Aunt S and Uncle M. I knew that I wanted to get the angel charm, but also wanted to get one to represent TechyDad. Sad to say that Pandora has nothing technology based. So I waited to see if anything new and perfect would come along.

Pandora mentioned new beads several times, but nothing really perfect came along. Last night, I decided to go to the local Pandora store with my mother to see what new beads they had. I really wanted to use my gift certificate before I accidentally misplaced it. There were two beads that immediately caught my eye. I quickly decided to go for it. Here is a look at my Pandora bracelet with the two new additions.

I went with the angel thanks to The Angel Forever. The book symbolizes being a teacher and having my Masters Degree in Reading. Of course, I have my eye on a few other great beads, but still looking for just the right one that represents TechyDad. Now if only Pandora would team up with Think Geek. A girl can dream right?