Category Archives My Other Projects

A Variety of Fun Winter Activities

This winter has been brutal around here and all over the country and beyond. There have been many days when the kids would love to go and play outside, but it is simply too cold. Recently, I have been reading a lot of the blog posts from other writers on the Bedtime Math blog for ideas to keep the boys busy. I am very lucky to be part of this very special group. It has also inspired me to let go, get messy, and have more fun with the kids because they are growing up before my eyes.

Snow Paint Fun and Learning

Here are some of the latest from the Bedtime Math blog that may be something you will want to check out for a snow fun or other days when trying to keep warm with your kids.

  • Mini Football = Big Super Bowl Fun – Angie Six shares a great game of football that is fun to try inside and keep the kids busy.
  • So You Wanna Be A…Firefighter – Great new series written by Derek Stump that looks at careers that involve math.
  • Snowflake Fun – Candace Lindamann gets the entire family looking at the math behind snowflakes.
  • Watch Out For Flying Marshmallows – Yes, I encourage you to get your kids to let marshmallows fly around your house.
  • DIY Recycled Rock Band – Angie Six shows us how to make some fun musical instruments with things you will have at home.
  • This Craft is For the Birds – Kim Moldofsky has kids feeding birds and making winter animal observations.
  • On a (Math) Roll with Tape – Grab a roll of masking or painters tape and get ready to move around and have fun with this post by me.

These are just some of the fun items that we have done and are going to try over the next few weeks. I have more fun planned and I know the other bloggers do as well. How have you kept your kids warm, busy, learning, and having fun this winter?

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Making Math Fun

Growing up, I remember spending hours playing on calculators and adding up catalogues for fun. Not really fun for most people, but it kept my interest in technology and numbers working together. My love of math, science, and technology continued as I followed my dreams to become a teacher. As a parent, my boys likely have no idea when I sneak some math fun into our routines. I mean does this look like the makings for a math activity?

Math fun at home

Yes, that really is something for math and more about it will be coming soon.

Thanks to being one of the parent bloggers on the Bedtime Math blog, I have a new location to find exciting activities to try with the boys. Here are some of the latest that will be perfect for these cold winter days:

There were also posts for the holidays that were items I saved on Pinterest to look back at for next year. I know I am looking forward to seeing what comes next from the other talented people on Bedtime Math parent blog team. I hope you will join us over there and if you have a great math activity that you have done with your kids, I would love to hear about it. I am always looking for new options to try with my boys.

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Math Fun for Kids

As I mentioned a few months ago, I am writing posts on the Bedtime Math blog. The posts have been on a wide variety of topics since the first one.

My Bedtime Math Posts

It has been a lot of fun thinking about activities that we have done with the boys that were fun and locating math right in them. My mind already did that with science, so it just seemed pretty natural given my kids love math. So far I have written:

With winter break coming up and more days inside thanks to the weather, everyone is looking for more ideas to do at home. I hope you will join me over at Bedtime Math Blog to look for some fun activities from myself and the other bloggers there.

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Bedtime Math Parent Blog Writer

For a few weeks, I have been holding back on announcing some fantastic news. I was recently asked to write posts for the Bedtime Math Parent blog. Now that all of the paper work is signed and my first post is live, I thought I would share some information with my readers. It is no secret that math and science are a huge part of our world thanks to my love and TechyDad’s. Our kids have been naturally curious about numbers, math concepts, and like to play with math games when given the choice. My oldest son, NHL, has always incorporated math problems into his art work.

Bedtime Math Android App Screenshot

As a parent, I love why Laura Bilodeau Overdeck created Bedtime Math for families. The mission is to make math a fun part of kids’ everyday lives. Math is a part of our world, so why not find it within the fun that families do each and every day? That is exactly what the book, website, and app are working to do. This video shares a bit more about the book by Overdeck.

So my question this week is inspired by my new project:

What fun ways have you incorporated math into your family and lives outside of the school setting?

It's Me

Disclosure: My writing for Bedtime Math is compensated, but I was never asked to share this on my blog. I believe in adding enriching activities into the lives of our children, and Bedtime Math does this, so I wanted to share.


Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this Friday fun. These days, Pamela at A Renaissance Woman is reviving the fun Friday Meme. Head over there to link up and join in the fun.

Aloha Friday by Kailani at An Island Life

Aloha #256

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The Year that was 2011

It is hard to believe that 2012 is here. Once again, the year went by with a lot of fun, photos, and memories. Here are just some of the highlights from the year that was 2011.

January:

  • Mother Nature started her tricks with a lot of snow that came our way. We had fun making memories with the sled in our own yard.
  • I started writing Education posts at The Disney Driven Life and introduced it to everyone. Thank you to J.L. for the amazing opportunity. I look forward to getting back on track in 2012.
  • NHL lost three more teeth during the first three months of the year. Much relief as they came out without dental assistance.

Lots and Lots of Snow

February 2011:

  • The Snowpacalypse welcomed the month of February threatening 18-30 inches of snow. It left lots of the white stuff and tons of ice damage. Our neighbors probably had a laugh with knee-highs on our roof.
  • With all of the freezing cold, even the little guy was trying to ride Tony Pony to Disney World to escape. Of course, we were gearing up for Disney Social Media Moms Celebration 2011 in March.
  • We continued to take the boys to introduce them to hockey. They had a blast checking out all of the extras between the on ice action.

Greeting the Devil Dawg

March 2011:

  • Mother Nature teased us with warmth to melt snow mountains early in the month, only to knock us down with an ice storm to remember. Crackling trees and ice pelting the house is hard to listen to in the dark.
  • A magical trip to Walt Disney World for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration allowed me to see amazing friends, learn, and have fun with my family. Lots of items from that trip were shared throughout the months ahead.
  • Of course, the reality world hit hard once we got back from our magical adventure. Tough decisions were ahead and left my head spinning. All of this made me remember the wise words of Rene SylerThe Good Enough Mother.

Magical Memories

April 2011:

  • Passover preparations were dominant this month. Making lists, shopping, and getting the house ready. Of course, we also captured memories of the holiday itself.
  • Lots of moments where I wished I was not the adult who had to make decision. Thank goodness, JSL helped to keep me smiling along the way.
  • A routine visit to the dentist for NHL revealed the need to see an orthodontist. We made the appointment for several months later in June, but knew the missing adult tooth was going to be something to contend with.

Views from Seder 2

May 2011:

  • Even moms need field trips. Yes, the weekend before Mother’s Day, Cutestkidever and I jumped into the car for a lunch date with Rene Syler.
  • JSL’s 4th birthday and new love for Jake and the Never Land Pirates required working on a theme for his party. Supplies were bought and cupcakes were made.
  • The sun coming back also provided an opportunity to test out our new grill, plant some veggies, and attempt to regrow our front lawn.

Cousins at play

June 2011:

  • After taking NHL out of a school he had been in since kindergarten, TechyDad and I watched as our second grader started to flourish in a new school. Once again, we started to believe in the education system. This entire drama made it SO hard to bite my tongue and keep a lot of things to myself.
  • Father’s Day we spent a fun day together. We had lunch out, went mini-golfing, and had dinner with Nana and Papa. It reminded me of how special these moments together are.
  • The end of June marked a major milestone for TechyDad and me. We celebrated out 10th wedding anniversary. Memories of our special day, honeymoon at Walt Disney World, and everything over the ten years together came flooding back. Of course, the day of our actual anniversary was a house nightmare. A plumbing fix resulted in us moving out for several days.

Reliving our honeymoon almost 10 years later

July 2011:

  • The month started with a visit out to see my brother and his family for 4th of July. While there, we went cherry picking and beat our previous record. A day at Niagara Falls was also included in the fun adventures.
  • Both of the boys were home with me for the entire summer. We looked for fun activities to do. We often ended up at the library for learning and crafting.
  • We also spent a lot of time at Michaels crafting our way around the world. Yes, Michaels and Crayola teamed up to make a great passport of crafts for kids to do that were mostly free. The kids learned so much and we found some great new crafts to try later on.

Mexico

August 2011:

  • At the end of July, we started to think about a magical getaway to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Shortly after this, we booked a fantastic trip to relive our honeymoon at Walt Disney World. Everything was planned from the hotel, dining, and place for the kids to stay over Labor Day.
  • NHL turned 8 in August and requested lion cupcakes. We documented the construction process and birthday celebration.
  • The end of the month was heart breaking. We watched as Hurricane Irene wrecked havoc up and down the east coast. Thanks to the fear of the kids being stuck with no power and our flight getting canceled, we postponed our big trip to Disney. Being responsible adults was tough.

Lion Cupcakes

September 2011:

  • The boys started back to school after Labor Day. NHL loved his new school and was settling into third grade. JSL thrived at his familiar nursery school and we had lots of fun going apple picking with his class.
  • As a Type-A personality, I am a planner. So it was very rare for me to pack up in just a few days notice to head to New York City for the first ever SheStreams Conference. It was an amazing time seeing friends, learning, and getting away for a weekend. A huge thank you to all of those that made it a magical and empowering weekend.

P1040961

October 2011:

  • As a third grader, NHL started to take band in school. He picked percussion instruments and drum practice even got a Disney touch thanks to Nana and Papa.
  • During the month of October, two large packages arrived to host parties. The boys loved learning and playing with LeapFrog items during the Learn, Create, and Share Party. The LeapPad had been an amazing addition to our family learning electronics. HexBugs also invaded our house for some glow-in-the-dark holiday fun.
  • Halloween was a lot of fun thanks to everyone staying healthy. NHL was Darth Vader, JSL was Jedi Tigger, and even TechyDad dressed up. Of course, Snowtober threatened to make things more interesting just a day before heading out.

Halloween 2011

November 2011:

  • The start of the month meant going to a fun event for bloggers at Price Chopper, headquarters. The Price Chopper Holiday Cheer afternoon showcased endless holiday entertaining ideas. Of course, I wanted to highlight the Decadent Desserts line.
  • This was also the month that my entire family fell in love with Susan Egan. I had been lucky enough to see Susan at Disney Social Media Moms in March, but her new CD review was a hit in our house. My little guy even had a crush on her and certainly did care more than Nina.
  • The boys learned about what an aufruf is and spent a lot of time with family in November during Thanksgiving weekend.

Silly Turkeys

December 2011:

IMGP4313

There were so many other things that made 2011 special and amazing. Thank goodness that is what archives are for. We can look back, laugh, cry, remember, and reflect.

What are some of your favorite part of the year that was 2011?

It's Me

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