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Making Dream Pillows

Posted on August 9, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It is no surprise that I love our library. I write about them, the amazing librarians, and the programs they schedule often. Last year, I fell in love with one particular day when the Tang Museum came to make Story Towers inspired by the artwork of Josh Dorman. This year, I knew that we HAD to head to the afternoon when Tang was again reaching out to the local libraries to do projects.

They started off talking to the kids about three dimensional art and what it means. Then they showed a poster of one of Oliver Herring’s sculptures. What I didn’t realize until I went to their website at home is that the Me US Them, Queen Size Bed with Coat is huge. I knew they said it would take up the space the kids were sitting in. It is actually a sculpture made of Knit silver Mylar and 12 x 57 x 88 inches. As a knitter, I am intrigued to learn more about this type of sculpture. They showed this to the kids and asked them what they saw. Many mentioned a pillow, shining objects, and more. Then they saw another piece before it was time to learn about their projects.

Since the theme of New York State Libraries summer program is Dream Big READ, the Tang Museum decided to make Dream Pillows. As you can see above, the supplies needed were on the table for the kids. Foam pieces, scissors, bubble wrap, double sided tape, and their imagination. The only additional item needed was some colored tape to make a frame around their art when the top layer of bubble wrap was added. Before the kids were sent to the table to be creative, they were shown a few examples. Here are two that I took photos of to share.

As soon as NHL and JSL sat down, they seemed to have an idea and got started. While I was chatting with a friend who came in to surprise me, the women from the Tang Museum helped the boys to find items that they needed (thank you). By the time I arrived, they were already taking shape.

NHL decided to make a scene from Back to the Future (he’s been watching those with TechyDad lately). JSL opted to make a fun robot. Here are the boys holding their finished dream pillows.

Thank you again to our wonderful library and the Tang Museum for bringing more art education into the lives of children in our community. My boys have been asking to visit the museum soon and I hope to be able to do that. I would love to know, have your children done craft projects while learning about a new artist or style of art work? Art mixed with education is a powerful tool and I would love to know. Please share in the comments below.

Categories:
arts and crafts Educational fun jsl local event looking back nhl photos summer

Tuesday Tales – Shopping for Books

Posted on August 7, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

We have a lot of books in our house. Not a shocking statement when you realize that I am a teacher. Many of our books were from when I was teaching and bought them for the boys. Other books were from my college days when I started to “collect” them.

We often gift books to the boys for special occasions, holidays, and just because. Sometimes, they get to help us to pick something special out. The other day we found some gift cards to the book store that were for the kids. It was a lot of fun wandering around with each of them to see what they would ask for. Much to my surprise, they both focused on the books and not the countless toys (albeit educational ones).

I walked around the store with JSL. He is getting very interested in reading on his own. As he get closer to starting Kindergarten, his reading readiness skills are increasing dramatically. Sure he loves to read the Magic Tree House books with me, but he is looking to smaller early readers. We went up and down the aisles and then something caught his eye. He saw a Jake and the Never Land Pirates book. When I flipped it over, I noticed there were other books listed. We went to someone working in the store to see if they would help us find them.

We located the early readers and he instantly fell in love because Bucky, Izzy, Jake, and the rest of the crew were inside the book. I noticed they were rebus style and although not in love with that, allowed him to put them into his buy pile. In the end, he opted not to get all four of the Jake and the Never Land Pirate books that they had and selected a World of Reading Phineas and Ferb book to round out the day. I know that in no time he will be reading these and others to me!

TechyDad went around the store with NHL. They were looking for a specific book in a series he has been enjoying. He wanted to purchase the second of the Tales of the Sixth Grade Muppets books since he enjoyed the first one so much. They eventually found it and I think NHL would have stopped shopping there.

The boys continued to look around since JSL and I were trying to debate on books. They spent quite a bit of time looking at books in the biography section. TechyDad said that NHL was very intrigued with a few of them. In the end, he narrowed it down to Walt Disney, Benjamin Franklin, Jim Henson (would have been second choice), and Abraham Lincoln. The one he selected was the Sixteenth President of the United States. NHL learned about him in school and wanted to read more.

What type of books would your children select if given time to shop in a large book store? I would love to know. Please be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below and also let me know what you have been reading recently. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.

BTW – If you are interested in the books that we purchased, the following are Amazon links to them. If you decide to buy them we will receive a percentage of the sale.

Categories:
books Disney Educational jsl nhl shopping TechyDad Tuesday Tales

Tuesday Tales – Olympig!

Posted on July 31, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Twas just days before the Olympics when the boys and I were at the library for jelly bean testing in the name of science. A display by the front door caught our attention. It was filled with books for all ages and videos about the Olympics. Suddenly, JSL grabbed a book and asked to check it out. I have to admit, the cover of Olympig! by author and illustrator Victoria Jamieson made me smile.

On Thursday night, we got caught up with things before bedtime. JSL was very upset about skipping our usual reading. That is when I had an idea. It was family story time. I figured it would be fitting to read Olympig! the night before the opening ceremony to the 2012 London Olympics.

We meet Boomer, a very unlikely hero. Boomer the pig sets off with his family to compete in the Animal Olympics. Boomer is filled with confidence and believes that his hard work and practice will pay off. Of course, the pesky Mr. Hamstring is always there to point out his short comings along the way. The boys and I talked about how proud we were of Boomer each time he kept plugging along. He did not give up and is a good sport when he does not win most of the events.

Both of the boys really enjoyed the book and were even more excited to be able to watch the opening of the Olympics the next day. What I really enjoyed was the message that Jamieson puts into her book. Parents, Teachers, and children can easily use this book as a springboard for discussion on doing your best, being a good sport, and work ethics. The words and illustrations blend beautifully together to bring you deep into the world of the Animal Olympics.

Here is a book trailer about the book so you can see more.

Now my mission is to explore more books by this very talented author and illustrator! Of course, while watching the Olympics, we will also be exploring some of the ideas that Victoria Jamieson has on her website for crafts and more.

What are you and your family reading this summer? What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments 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: One Amazon affiliate link is included and should you purchase the book mentioned I will receive a small percentage from the sale. As always, all opinions are my own.

Categories:
books Educational jsl nhl real world news Tuesday Tales

Jelly Beans in the Name of Science

Posted on July 28, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

Last year, we went to a lot of the summer programs at the library. We are doing the same this summer. It has been a lot of fun and quite a variety of items to do. Last year, one of your favorite items was the kid style chocolate blind taste testing. This week, they decided to do something similar, but with jelly beans. NHL, I knew that you were going to be in heaven since you adore jelly beans. I will admit I was worried about JSL.

Since I was nervous about JSL’s reaction, I made sure not to talk too much about it before we arrived. As we began, the two of you were excited because all of the kids were thrilled about the prospect of candy.

JSL, as I suspected, you were not overly thrilled with the jelly beans. You started to pout and get upset. I made a deal with you that I would cut the jelly beans in half and you did not have to eat any that you did not like. Thank goodness the purple jelly beans that we began with were very tame and you seemed to enjoy them. Things fell apart a bit by the time we arrived at the pink. You got through most of the green and then NHL helped to let you know ones to avoid.

NHL, you were in love with this activity and not just because of the candy. When I looked over, you were well into the second set of jelly beans and recording your data. What shocked me was you did not simply put an “x” next to your favorite. You had a system. You gave each jelly bean a score from one to ten so everything was noted as you went along. This was really good thinking since JSL had a hard time keeping track of the flavors as he went along.

Here’s a video that I made the two of you of the fun from the experience. Something to remember the scientific study of jelly beans.

We had a great time and talked about how scientific the sheets were and what other items could be done in a similar fashion at home. The best part was that everyone had fun, JSL tried new items, and NHL explored data collecting. I know I can’t wait to check out more of the events the rest of the summer and make more memories with the two of you.

Love,

For those interested in the types of jelly beans used by the library, I asked. Here are the answers (the favorites were not done being tallied up when we left):

A – Jolly Ranchers
B – Regular from Price Chopper
C – Starburst
D – Spice from Price Chopper
E – Sour from Price Chopper

Categories:
Dear Kid Saturday Educational food glorious food fun jsl local event nhl photos video yummy

Smiles in the Summer

Posted on July 22, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Time to be honest. Summer vacation can be a stressful time. I love spending time with my boys, but there are days when the fighting, bickering, and other sibling squabbles get old. Then, moments like this happen out of the blue and for absolutely no reason at all…

There was no prompt. I was just lucky enough to have my phone close by to capture this amazing moment. The boys simply curled up on my bed to stay cool and read. JSL rolled over by NHL. Where something could have happened, it didn’t. Instead, NHL pulled his little brother over for a kiss. A genuine sweet moment between two siblings. There was no screaming, yelling, or complaining. The only things I noticed were smiles like this…

The moments like these make the others fade away a little faster. I will cherish these moments because our 18 summers together are happening way too quickly.

P.S. One other message to get out there today: