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Tuesday Tales – Little Chimp’s Big Day

Posted on September 7, 2010 11:22 am by TheAngelForever

Tomorrow is a big day in our house. No doubt there will be tears flowing from my eyes. Early in the morning, I will be dropping off JSL to his first day of nursery school. At three years old, he has never gone to school before and is quite excited to do so. This morning, we went to meet his teachers and a few of his classmates. He had a lot of fun making pizza for the teachers, being shy and of course teasing them in his cute little way.

I sat back and watched. It is still hard for me to believe that my baby is a preschooler and going off a few days a week on his own. I think allowing our children to grown up and become independent is one of the most difficult items that a parent faces.

It is only fitting that this week I selected a book just about this topic that we received from Sterling Children’s Books. The newly published Little Chimp’s Big Day by Lisa Schroeder and illustrated by Lisa McCue. Lisa Schroeder is also the author of the book that I read over the summer with my older son. I reviewed It’s Raining Cupcakes a few weeks ago.

About Little Chimp’s Big Day:

In the jungle, in a tree
Sits a little chimpanzee.
Mother said she’d be right back
But now the branch snaps with a crack

And in a SNAP, Little Chimp is off on a big adventure-taking a watery ride atop a hippo, swinging on vines, and munching bunches of bananas. But as he goes bumping, jumping, and racing across the jungle, he never stops wondering: "Where could Mother be?” Little Chimp may not know, but sharp-eyed kids will see that mommy has an eye on him all the time! An enchanting text filled with rhythm and rhyme, and sweetly charming illustrations.

Little Chimp’s Big Day – Written by Lisa Schroeder – Illustrated by Lisa McCue – Sterling Children’s Books – On sale September 2010 – ISBN 978-1-4027-4967-4 – $14.95 – Ages 3 and up

What we thought:

Love – that is what I feel for this book. It truly is hard for me to put my feeling for this book into words since it hit so close to home. It could not have come out at a better time as I get ready to send my youngest off to school for the first time. Little Chimp’s Big Day is the perfect book for a mother (or father) and child to read together. It shows the love, trust, care and feelings that a parent shares with their child. The book’s message is subtle, yet oh so powerful. Schroeder does an amazing job showing readers how Chimp is spreading his wings and getting some time to be independent in the world.

With the easy flowing rhyme and rhythm of the words on the pages, we are quickly transplanted into the jungle with Little Chimp. Suddenly, the branch of his tree breaks and he falls. He thinks that he is alone, but Schroder clues us in that Mama Chimp is watching her little one to see how he can figure things out. From that point on, we can search for her in the beautiful illustrations from McCue

Little Chimp lands with a thud

in a mucky patch of mud

In the jungle, peek-a-boo,

two big eyes, peering through.

We follow Little Chimp along as he looks for his mother and encounters other creatures in his jungle environment. My three year old son loved the verbs that described what Little Chimp was doing. He helped to repeat them along with me whether Little Chimpy was bumping, chasing, jumping, racing, grooving, gliding, moving, riding or doing something else. He was also able to know that at the end of each section we would stop with Little Chimp to wonder "Oh, where could Mother be?"

In the end, there is a happy ending that not only leads to hugs in the book, but JSL and I hugged as well. I know that tonight, I will be reading this to my little guy again before he ventures off to his first day of preschool without Mama there. I know that he will be fine, but I need to reassure myself with a book and hug at the end.

I highly recommend this book to other parents to read to their children before they go to school, head to a different situation or just to remind them that it is okay to try things on your own because your parents will always be there watching over you. This will be a book that will definitely be added to baby gifts for parents to have when they need it down the road (the teacher in me likes to give books).

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 received this book complimentary of Sterling Publishing in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own.

Categories:
books jsl milestone photos Product review school Tuesday Tales

Back To School with Seventh Generation (Giveaway)

Posted on September 2, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that I am a teacher. Although I am working at home right now, I am jealous of all of the teachers setting up their classrooms, preparing items for students and going shopping for supplies. Of course, along with those items, many teachers are gearing up for items to keep their rooms as germ free as possible. The reality is that each and every year that I was teaching I was usually sick by the end of September.

These days cleaning at home and school is crucial to help keep illness away from children and teachers (no less everyone at home). When I was asked to participate in a MyBlogSpark for Back to School with Seventh Generation I immediately signed up. They sent me the Back-to-School kit that I am also giving away below. We use their products at home and I know a lot of teacher friends that do as well. Here are some tips from Seventh Generation to assist you to stay healthy and germ-free.

With nearly 22 million school days lost each year due to the common cold and flu (CDC) and as many as 2.7 million bacterial found per square inch on common school surfaces (NSF International), it´s no wonder that 82 percent of parents with kids in grades K-5 fret about the germs in their children´s classrooms (according to a survey conducted by Seventh Generation).

This school year, Seventh Generation is sharing tips from best-selling author and pediatrician, Dr. Alan Greene, to help parents protect their child´s health during back-to-school season. Dr. Greene suggests taking the following precautions:

Optimize the immune system

Reap the benefits of probiotics like those found in yogurt. A recent study showed that children who received enough probiotics daily throughout the cold and flu season had a significant reduction in the number of illnesses they had and, when they did get sick, the symptoms were both milder and didn’t last as long.

Be sure your child is getting plenty of vitamin D from the sun, from food, or from a supplement.

Build a strong foundation. Good food, good sleep, and good physical activity all help the immune system to flourish.

Be wise about reducing unnecessary exposure to harmful germs

Teach children the key times to clean their hands in the classroom. The most important times include after sneezing, coughing or using the restroom, upon leaving "high-risk" places (recess, naptime, play stations) and before meals or snacks.

Sixty percent of teachers surveyed said that they request that parents donate disinfecting wipes to the classroom. Seventh Generation´s disinfecting wipes kill 99.99% of germs* naturally using the active ingredient thyme, a component of thyme oil which is derived from the herb thyme.

Stress the importance of not touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

Demonstrate to your children how to cover their mouth and nose for every cough and sneeze. This simple maneuver has spectacular results in decreasing the spread of viruses and bacteria floating about the room, waiting to be inhaled.

*Refer to disinfecting product labels for full details

Giveaway:

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Seventh Generation, one lucky winner will receive the following Seventh Generation Back to School Kit like the complimentary one I received.

The Seventh Generation "Back-to-School" kit includes a Seventh Generation backback, two canisters of Seventh Generation disinfecting wipes (one for home and one to donate to your child’s classroom), disinfecting multi-surface spray cleaner, facial tissue and paper towels.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Share a tip for keeping your kids healthy and germ-free.

The following Bonus Entries may also be done. Please be sure to leave separate comments for each that you complete below to make sure you get the right number of entries.

1 Bonus Entry – How do you keep your household clean during the school year?
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet the following about the giveaway (May be done once a day): Help to fight nasty germs! Enter to #win a Back-To-School Kit from @TheAngelForever and @SeventhGen http://bit.ly/c3DKMZ #myblogspark
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of August/September. Leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries.

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. Contest starts today September 2 and ends at 10:59 EST on September 16, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

Disclosure: I wrote this review as part of a MyBlogSpark campaign for Seventh Generation. My family received the complimentary Back-to-School kit and another will be provided to a winner of the giveaway. All opinons are my own and no other compensation has been given. As previously stated, we have been buying Seventh Generation products with our own money for many years.

Categories:
giveaway Product review school

Tuesday Tales – Today Is the Birthday of the World

Posted on August 31, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Next week begins the High Holidays for Jewish families. Growing up, I remember going to synagogue with my family and listening to the shofars being blown. What I do not recall is reading childrens books about the holidays. I am sure if they were in existance. If they were, my mother would have bought them for us since we did have our token Chanukah stories that were around.

My children are very lucky. These days, there are many more books about Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah and holidays the rest of the year. I always look in stores for new Jewish holiday books and buy anything that I see from the Scholastic book flyers and/or fairs. We are also lucky that The PJ Library exists. A few years ago, we received a book in the mail introducing us to The PJ Library and inviting us to sign our children up. Here is a little about the fabulous program from their website:

The PJ Library

Jewish Bedtime Stories & Songs for Families

The PJ Library® program supports families in their Jewish journey by sending Jewish-content books and music on a monthly basis to children from age six months to five, six, seven or eight years depending on the community. Created by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, The PJ Library is funded nationally in partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, local philanthropists, and Jewish organizations.

Browse this site to:

Check whether The PJ Library is available in your community.

Find out how to become a PJ Library partner.

At this time, The PJ Library is available in more than 100 communities across the United States. Each community is sponsored by a local Jewish organization and local donors who share a passion for vibrant Jewish life.

Each month, the boys receive a book about an upcoming holiday, relating to Jewish heritage or a CD filled with Jewish music. Here are just a few of the books that have arrived in recent months:

Just in time for Rosh Hashanah, JSL received Today Is the Birthday of the World by Linda Heller (Amazon affiliate link).

Today is a special day: the birthday of the world, when God and all God’s creatures celebrate the beauty of life. As God asks each dear creature in turn whether it has been the best that it can be, this simple affirmation of life and goodness applauds the contribution that each and every one of us— from the mightiest elephant to the smallest child— can make. The whimsical animals in Alison Jay’s perfectly composed crackled paintings will make this a favorite book on the family shelf.

The book was published by Dutton Children’s Books in April 2009. For children ages 4-8 and 32 pages. ISBN 978-0525479055

As a parent, I love that The PJ Library also includes ideas and information for the adults. This is the note inside the book from the PJ Library. Note how they really help to explain the connection of the book to the holiday.

Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year. During Elul, the final month of the Hebrew year, the shofar (ram’s horn) sounds in synagogues around the world to announce the approaching year, Rosh Hashanah, which begins on the first of Tishrei. At this time in the annual cycle we are reminded of the world’s formation – the birthday of the world! – and the six days of creation as expressed in the first book of the Torah, Bereshit (Genesis).

Children everywhere look forward to birthdays and, naturally, some of the anticipation involves presents. Here is an opportunity to celebrate the world’s birthday while teaching a lesson in "price-less" gift giving. We can all observe the brithday of the world, in part, by giving back to the earth. Get creative as your family takes part in the now-more-than-ever critical work of tikkum olam (repairing the world). Involve everyone as you increase efforts at recycling, have your little ones decorate signs to remind everyone to turn off the water when brushing teeth, walk rather than use the car when possible, or plant a tree in your yard (or your neighnor’s). Allow imagination to soar!

Throughout Today Is the Birthday of the World we see God’s creatures performing acts that only they can carry out, a reminder that there is no one correct way to offer the world our best. As the child paints, plants, or shares with others we can only imagine that this is what is intended for us all: life interwoven with mitzvot – sacred deeds performed out of responsibility and care – that help make the world the best it can be. The culmination of each of this book’s creatures "doing what comes naturally" is the child who, we are told, is able to "life the world’s spirit."

How can your children list the world’s spirit? As you encourage inclinations to sing, draw, bake, read, week, share, smile, respect, conside and love, you foster the world’s best.

What we thought:

The boys and I read this book to get ready for the High Holidays. I think a lot of it went WAY over JSL’s head. He is only three and liked the pictures, but I do not think he truly got the message of the book. NHL is seven and definitely got it. When we were done reading, we talked about ways that we could all be the best and help to lift the spirit’s of the world. We brain stormed for a while and are going to work on a few arts and craft projects to express this and share with other family friends in the upcoming weeks.

Disclosure: My son received this book as part of our membership to The PJ Library. We were never asked to write about the book or PJ Library. I just wanted to share this information and a good book with my readers. The opinions expressed in the review are my own and no compensation was given.

Categories:
books holidays photos Product review Tuesday Tales

Phineas, Ferb and Kung Zhu Take 2

Posted on August 30, 2010 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

A little over a week ago, we had NHL’s family birthday party. As mentioned before, we planned on allowing time for the kids to play with the Kung Zhu’s that we were giving them. It was the perfect opportunity for them to do something fun while the adults talked.The day before the party, we came to the realization that it was just not possible to keep all items from our Kung Zhu universe out.

With a just starting to crawl baby and a few almost/barely three year olds in the mix, we decided to leave the Giant Battle Arena and the four tanks for all of the kids to enjoy. This really worked out well. As the kids were getting to know their Kung Zhu Hamsters, they were able to take turns with the tanks and use the battle area. Check out some of the action:

The kids really did play with the Kung Zhu non-stop. I kept hearing them come into the kitchen as I was making things. Suddenly, I would look back and see a Kung Zhu and child run by. I think we kept the perfect amount of items out for our rather crowded space. The kids seemed to like the tanks and even tried putting them in the Battle Arena to see what would happen. I wish we had more photos, but they blurred a lot from chasing action – or TechyDad and I were in the kitchen getting things ready.

We had also planned on letting the kids make Kung Zhu inspired twinkie cakes, but due to two of the kids having food allergies it did not work out. NHL was disappointed with this and since there was no other Kung Zhu themed party things, I let him select another favorite. So Perry the Platypus, meet Azer, Thorn, and the rest of the Kung Zhu critters.

There was also plenty of food for the humans and Kung Zhu’s to try. Of course, it makes me wonder if the Kung Zhu friends had anything to do with the great cake debacle. Hmmmm. . .

After playing and eating, it was time for presents.

NHL received some Ben Ten items, gift cards, books, a new lunch box and more to go with what he received on his actual birthday. Before we knew it, the time was up and everyone was heading home. We took lots of family photos at the end, which I will share later.

Thank you again to Kung Zhu and Mom Select for making this a second memorable party.

Disclosure: This review (previously written) and party (part 1 and 2) were made possible by MomSelect and King Zhu. They provided me with all of the items shown above to throw the ultimate Kung Zhu party.The opinions expressed were mine and I received no other compensation.

Categories:
birthday family fun jsl looking back nhl photos play time Product review weekend

Monkey Monkey Music with Meredith LaVande (Review/Giveaway)

Posted on August 29, 2010 7:36 pm by TheAngelForever

Music has always been an important part of my life. When I was little, I remember rocking out to favorites of my parents generation along with my own music. These days, childrens music has come so far. In addition to music that goes along with television programming, independent artists are stepping up and creating music that is genuinely appropriate for kids.

I was recently asked by Waldmania! to check out What Are The Odds? Monkey Monkey Music with Meredith LaVande. This CD is being released in a matter of days, on August 31. Since we are always looking to expose our boys to different music, we agreed to receive a complimentary CD for review.

More about What Are the Odds? and Meredith LeVande:

Here is an introduction about what Monkey Monkey Music is from the website.

Monkey Monkey Music is a children’s music program developed by Meredith LeVande, an educator and songwriter who has close to a decade of experience working with preschool aged children. Monkey Monkey Music is a continuously evolving project that’s committed to conscious and quality based music and media which puts the best interests of children first. Learning and music is a fun, joyous, experience for children, which is why Meredith’s collection of songs and live performances continuously engage both children and adults for years on end. Celebrations can be educational, and education should be fun which is why her shows, parties and programs are so successful.

Both Meredith’s live performances, and simple listening experiences galvanize and unify groups of people, both young and old to "jump high", "shake it loud," and celebrate the topics that reference the lives and desires of young children while fostering connections between groups of people as a whole.

What Are the Odds? is the second full length CD from LeVande’s Monkey Monkey Music project. It will be released on August 31, has a run time of 46 minutes for ages 2-7 and will cost $14.99. Here is a description from Amazon:

With What Are the Odds? Meredith LeVande has created something remarkable, finding the middle road between baby songs and pop band songs where kids lyrics are simply added to music that would otherwise be played for adults. Meredith’s music is not only child-friendly, it s truly child appropriate, having been created with the healthy growth of the child in mind.

Tracks on the CD:

Hello (New)
What Are the Odds?
Shake It Loud
This Way, That Way
In the Garden
Wheels
Air Guitar
Frogs Eat Butterflies
Circle
Turn Your Body Around
Bubbles
Who’s a Knickin’?
Silly Animal Friends
Guess What I Am
Willow Tree in the Wind
Goodbye (New)

What we think:

From the moment we saw the titles of the songs on the CD, we were all focused on one in particular. A few months back, NHL wrote a poem at a school event called Butterfly and Frog. In the short and sweet poem the frog eats the butterfly, so "Frogs Eat Butterflies" intrigued us. It was interesting to note that the song is adapted from the Wallace Stevens poem "Frogs Eat Butterflies. Snakes Eat Frogs. Hogs Eat Snakes. Men Eat Hogs." This is NHL’s poem:

We wanted to see if this song made NHL’s first grade poem come alive even more. Yes, we went right to that song and then listen to the rest! The song begins by telling you to be careful who is in your company because they may be hungry. Then, it goes into describing how parts of the food chain works. Sharks eat seals, crumbs are a party for ants, and of course frogs eat butterflies. The country twang of the song is quite different from most of the other tracks on the CD, but it works perfectly for this title.

As a parent and teacher, I really liked how Meredith LaVande meshes learning into all of her songs. Not only are facts included, but favorites take on a new spin. The song "Wheels" teaches children about different modes of transportation that include wheels. The chorus includes a new tempo and take of The Wheels on the Bus song, a favorite of children and parents because it gets everyone moving. I also appreciate that the Monkey Monkey Music website includes the lyrics to all of the songs. This is often helpful when you want to make sure your child is trying to sing along. JSL really enjoyed "Hello" when we listened. It really made him listen and get involved. He was able to clap his hands, sway sideways, jump up and down, spin, shake it silly and then make monkey noises.

I have been trying to put my finger on LaVande’s singing style and it is hard to do. When I listen to her voice and the background beat to a lot of the songs, it makes me think of female musicians from the 50’s and 60’s. I could just imagine her belting out tunes with a band at a Sock Hop.

The only criticism that TechyDad and I had was on the title song. In "What Are the Odds?" it has the following lyrics:

But what are the odds?
Let’s count the odds
Let’s count the odds to 9
1 … 3 … 5 … 7 … and 9
9
9 planets counting Pluto
Let’s say them in a row
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

Do you see a problem here? Why yes, Pluto is no longer a planet. When we grew up it was one of the nine planets, but scientists have since downgraded Pluto to a dwarf planet. A technicality, but as a science teacher it bothered me a bit. I only hope that this song was written long before the recent developments.

Overall, we enjoyed the What Are the Odds? CD. The song mixture was great to use with toddlers, preschooler and even my elementary aged son. The songs were gender neutral, so they are great for all children.

Giveaway:

Thanks to Waldmania!, one lucky reader will be able to win their own copy of What Are the Odds?.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Answer the following question: Who will this CD be for and what age are they?

For all bonus entries below, please be sure to leave a separate comment for each extra chance you are allowed.

1-2 Bonus Entry – What was your favorite children’s CD (record/casette/8 track) from when you were a child? and/or What song are you most excited to hear on this CD? (Be sure to leave two comments if you answer both of these questions)
1 Bonus Entry – Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and Monkey Monkey Music Giveaway in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment for each daily entry. Example Tweet (feel free to use): Chance to #win a new #kids music CD from Monkey Monkey Music and @TheAngelForever http://bit.ly/cKegPr Stop by to enter the #giveaway
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Leave a comment on any of my non-giveaway posts from the month of August/September. Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one. This Bonus entry may be done only twice per person.
1 Bonus Entry – Enter any of my other current giveaways (keep checking back – more being added all the time). Be sure to leave a comment here to let me know which one.
3 Bonus Entries – Add my blog button to your website and leave a link with the location. Be sure to give yourself 3 comments for credit.
5 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the giveaway. Be sure to leave 5 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra entries.

To enter, please follow the rules above within the comment section. The contest starts today August 29 and ends at 10:59 EST on September 12, 2010. You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but must leave a valid e-mail address for me to contact you for mailing address once the giveaway is over. I will select the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If there is no response, another winner will be selected. Open to U.S. residents only.

Disclosure: This review and giveaway was made possible by Waldmania!. They provided me with the What Are the Odds? CD to facilitate this review. The opinions of this review are mine and I received no other compensation.