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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

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.

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books Educational fun gift ideas jsl milestone nhl photos Product review Tuesday Tales

Snowtober 2011

Posted on October 30, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Snow in October is not unheard of in the northeast. Of course, IF we get snow it is not usually able to be measured. On Thursday, we were lucky enough to get just under two inches of snow. Thanks to some warmer (40 degree-ish) weather, it melted quickly on Friday.

As I write this, we are bracing to see just how much snow we get during what they are calling the great Snowtober storm. Originally, we were told the storm would begin here at about noon on Saturday, but the reality was that it started at about 4:00 and looked like this:

Prior to that, it had been very dry and the sky was even really blue early in the day. Then, at about 5:00, it started to really stick on the ground. Here is another photo of outside in the front of our house.

Of course, snow in October worries a lot of us because we remember another winter weather event that happened not too long ago. On October 4, 1987 we had a bad ice/snow storm. The trees were still covered in leaves. Old trees fell and pulled down lots and lots of power lines. I was in elementary school and there were no classes for a week. During that time, we lived with my grandparents because our house had no power and they did. It was an adventure that I will never forget and hope not to live with my boys.

So excuse me if I am not around much Sunday and beyond. Depending on how much snow we get, I may not be able to get online.

So how is the weather by you? If you live in the line of the storm please let me know how you are making our by you.

I know we are lucky compared to some areas. This just makes me wonder – what is the rest of the “winter” season going to toss our way. Clearly Mother Nature gave us a major trick before Halloween.

Categories:
looking back milestone photos weather weekend winter

Personalized Princess Time at Disney

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

Growing up, people would always ask my parents why we would go time after time to Walt Disney World. I never really understood why people would ask these questions. The reason: it was a place where our entire family could enjoy our time together. We were able to leave the real world behind, be carefree, and see/experience something new no matter how familiar we were with the parks.

As an adult, I get it. I now understand the magic of a Disney vacation on a different level. Before we go, I have everything planned. We have our entertainment built in, our resort has many options to offer, and even meals are booked and with the meal plan only tips need to be paid. By the time we arrive in Orlando, we have paid for everything except some souvenirs and ready to enjoy our time there.

Back in March, when we were planning some dining reservations I told TechyDad that I had a request. In all of my visits to Walt Disney World, I had never eaten with the princesses. Yes, this mother of two boys wanted to see Belle, Ariel, Arora, and other important ladies in Disney history. TechyDad was not entirely sure that it was the best thing to do with two boys, but I insisted. NHL and JSL were young enough to appreciate the experience without complaints about mostly girls in their princess gear being there.

We were able to snag some lunch reservations to Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot. We had a magical experience. We had our photo taken with Belle before we were seated. Then, each of the princesses came around to meet and greet every table. What impressed me the most was how the characters interacted with the boys. Check out how Ariel noticed something in the autograph book and talked about pirates.

A magical moment that we captured and can show back to the boys when they are older. Of course, we can also show JSL the goofy smile that he was sporting most of the trip when it was time for photos.

While we were waiting for our dessert, I pulled out the video camera and asked NHL what he thought of the experience. I figured it would be interesting to see what a seven year old boy, with no sisters, had to say about dining with Disney Princesses. This is what he had to say in the very distracted environment.

I do believe that we made the right choice going to this restaurant on our March vacation. I know it was a magical memory that will live with us for many years to come.

If you have any magical Disney moments to share, I would love to hear them. As always, if you have any questions about Disney – just ask away.