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Fourth Grade and Kindergarten Kids

Posted on September 6, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

My house is eerily quiet right now. Both boys started school full time and I have to admit it is strange. We were together all day the entire summer. I got used to the chatter and voices in the house. I actually do better work when there is some background noise around. For now, Pandora Internet Radio and Spotify are my friends.

For five years, I often wondered what it would feel like taking my youngest for his first day of full day kindergarten. I wrote about NHL’s first day years ago, but it seemed less dramatic in my mind. The morning was calm. NHL was excited to see friends and meet the long term substitute that would be in for his teacher. There were no visible nerves, which makes me know we are in the right school now. Then there was JSL. My kindergarten kid was saying his tummy hurt, that he wanted to go back to sleep in my room, and that he was scared. The strings of my heart were starting to tighten.

When we went outside, it was time to do the traditional first day of school photos. The boys cooperated to amuse me.

JSL’s outfit looked vaguely familiar. It really made me wonder why. Since I blogged when NHL started kindergarten, I went back to that post. This is the reason why:

I seriously did not plan that, but it’s kind of funny that I liked the same outfit four years later. Anyway, once we got to school JSL was not smiling as much. Thank goodness NHL was ready to go. We walked him to the back of school and he immediately ran over to say hello to the assistant principal. One kiddo happy and off for his first day of fourth grade.

Then, it was time to take the kindergarten kid to his room. When we arrived in the hall, it was a little confusing. JSL did not want to let go of TechyDad. We were eventually told to head into the room to drop off items into their cubby. When we went back outside of the room, JSL sat next to some other children. The photo below was taken just before one of us ended up in tears.

Yes, JSL started to cry. TechyDad followed him into the classroom as he sobbed. I knew we had to say goodbye and leave. After a bit I walked into the room, nodded to the teacher who was trying to help and told her we would see both of them at the end of the day after he rocked kindergarten.

TechyDad went off to work and when I got to my car my tears started to flow. It hit me that things were going to be different forever. My little guy who had been with me since I left my classroom when he was born was going to school. I knew he was going to be fine, but it still hurt knowing how upset he was.

Thanks to some amazing friends, I was ready with something to greet JSL with after school. This is what was waiting for the little guy when he climbed into my car after his first full day of school.

I knew that JSL was familiar with The Kissing Hand and I wanted to let him know that I had forgotten to do this very important item. I did not kiss his hand or have him kiss mine before day one.

We made sure to do this before going to school for day two. There were less tears, but still an emotional morning. I know things will get better. The smile on JSL’s face when he came out and told me kindergarten was stupendous was all that I needed to hear.

So how do you help your children to adjust to a new school, classroom, teacher, or other item that may be stressful for them?

Categories:
brothers jsl looking back me moments milestone nhl photos school TechyDad

Disney Inspired September

Posted on September 5, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Imagine making a calendar with Disney themes for each month. I personally love this idea. This week for the Disney Wordless Wednesday, we were asked to come up with calendar shots that we would include for September. As an educator and mother of two boys that went back to school yesterday, my brain is all caught up on back to school in September (NY goes back after Labor Day).

Be sure to stop by Focused on the Magic by clicking on the button above to join in the Disney magic this week.

Categories:
books Disney looking back school Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tales – The Energy Bus for Kids

Posted on September 4, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Today is the start of the 2012 school year for my boys. As they enter fourth grade and kindergarten, we are smiling and positive about everything. Of course, challenges along the way may happen and sometimes it is hard to help children to overcome these obstacles to keep going toward positive thinking. Thanks to Wiley Publishing, I heard about an inspirational new book to read in the classroom, at home, or any other time you need a reminder about being positive.

The Energy Bus for Kids – Written by bestselling author and speaker Jon Gordon – Illustrated by Korey Scott – Published by Wiley – On sale August 21, 2012 – ISBN 9781118287354 – Hardcover 48 pages – Ages 4+ – $16.95

Being a child in school is a lot different these days than it was when we would little. Now, we not only have peer pressure, we have multiple types of bullying situations, social media presence, and beyond. Parents, educators, and other influential adults need to help children to step off on the right foot thinking about things in a positive manner. I have to admit, as someone who often things of things as the glass is “half empty” attitude – The Energy Bus for Kids: A Story about Staying Positive and Overcoming Challenges got me thinking as well.

When JSL, entering kindergarten today, and I read the book together we immediately felt like we had entered the world that George lives in thanks to the beautiful illustrations from Korey Scott. We watched George worry, wonder, and learn in front of our eyes. We saw how he learned to focus on the positive, see the best in others, and not dwell on what could have been. His new bus driver Joy opens his eyes to new valuable lessons that he is able to apply each day at school and at home.

Jon Gordon takes a topic that even adults often need reminders on and makes it perfect for children. As we go through the story, George learns five extremely valuable lessons:

Rule #1: Create a Positive Vision

Rule #2: Fuel Your Ride with Positive Energy

Rule #3: No Bullies Allowed

Rule #4: Love Your Passengers

Rule #5: Enjoy the Ride

My kindergarten kid has years of academics and other adventures in front of him. Reading this book before he starts his academic career was interesting. He truly had a positive view of everything. I do believe The Energy Bus for Kids will be great to keep around in case we have a rough day and need a gentle reminder of positive goals and outlook. My plan is to read this on the eve of fourth grade with my nine year old son. As a child who has had ups and downs and been removed from a school because he was being bullied, this will be a nice conversation starter about letting go of the past and keeping a positive approach to this brand new school year. Jon Gordon reminds us that we have the ability to fuel our lives with positive energy to overcome challenges by using your attitude as your guide.

I would highly recommend this book inside and out of the classroom to use with children. It would make a great beginning of the year character building mini-lesson and can easily be built on for more getting to know you activities and beyond. There is even a free teachers guide (with lesson plans) and activity journal to download on EnergyBusKids.com, along with other resources. There are bus tickets, kindness cards, ticket of appreciation, rules card, license plate, and items for parents/teachers. I may even print out the journal to use with my own boys at over the next week for enrichment.

What books are you reading right now? I would love to know. 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: I received this book complimentary of Wiley in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own. An Amazon Affiliate link is included in this post for the book mentioned. I will receive a percentage of money for the sale should you opt to buy the book through that link.

Categories:
books Educational Product review school

Kindergarten Kid Take Two

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

In our part of the country, we do not head back to school until after Labor Day. We have an extra winter break to save on heating, so school does not get out until the June 22. This summer has been a whirl wind for me. There were days that were amazing, and yes there were days that dragged and I could not wait until TechyDad got home. Of course, I would not change the fact that I have been home with the boys since JSL was born.

It’s hard to believe that now, five years later, my little guy is ready to be a kindergarten kid. This may be my second time sending a child to start school, but I think it is more difficult this time around. JSL is my “baby” and he’s been with me all of these years. In addition to this, we are not at the same school that NHL started in years ago. It’s all new to me in this building and I have to admit – it is a little overwhelming.

Thank goodness JSL seems very excited about kindergarten. We went earlier in the week to orientation where he met both of his teachers and was able to explore his classroom. After we took a pile of papers out of his cubby, we sat down by his seat for him to do a little assignment for his teachers.

As soon as I read the instructions, he was ready to go. He wrote his name and got started. He knew exactly what he wanted to draw for his new teachers and when finished I asked to take a quick photo.

As the other children finished, the teachers called them over to the rug in the front of the room. They read The Kissing Hand (one of my favorites) to the group while parents worked on filling out some of the papers given to us. Then, the kids talked about the story, asked questions, and even parents had the opportunity to inquire about things.

As I get ready to send another kiddo into kindergarten, it inspired my question this week:

What kindergarten or elementary school memory is one of your favorites and why? It could be from your childhood or one of your children’s if you have any.

Disclosure: An Amazon Affiliate link for The Kissing Hand is included above. If you use it to purchase the book, I will receive a percentage from the sale.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #218

Categories:
Aloha Friday Educational jsl milestone photos school

Back to School with Mabel’s Labels

Posted on August 30, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Labeling school items is a sporting event for me. I remember enjoying it when I helped organize my items as a student. Then, it was fun to have fresh items for my own classroom. Now, as the mother of a fourth grader and kiddo going into kindergarten it really gets interesting. I want to make sure that the kids know what is their own and that it stays that way for the entire school year.

A lot of my friends have been raving about Mabel’s Labels for a long time now. I would see their items on websites, and, more importantly, on their personal items at conferences and be impressed. When Mabel’s Labels reached out to me to try some of my own I jumped at the opportunity.

Since JSL was heading to kindergarten, I asked for his name. We received the Ultimate Back-To-School Combo package. This is what it looked like in the package (name obviously blacked out):

JSL does not start kindergarten until after Labor Day, so we have not completely gathered his items to label yet. Of course, he HAD to test them out. So we pulled out a new doodle notebook that he has for practicing his writing in. Here is what Skinny-Minis looked like on there. His name is partially removed, but you can see the easy to read font and great hockey icon (how did they know he liked hockey?):

For a closer look, I went to their website and made a test view of the different items that we received in the combo:

What I love is that Mabel’s Labels are durable. After seeing them used by other children and people that I know, they last and hold up to use. They are waterproof, so they will not run if they get wet. They can go into the dishwasher, so the new thermos for lunch can immediately get a hockey label for JSL. I can also use the tag mates to label clothing without ironing or sewing (bonus points in my book). One of the Teeny Tags will be heading onto JSL’s generic looking lunch bag that you can not write on.

The Ultimate Back-To-School Combo pack is only available until September 28. The items seen above sell for $42. There are also Back to School items including a Tween Pack, Preschool shoe labels, and Book Label packages. Of course, there are many other durable items available from Mabel’s as well. I think NHL is now jealous and wants us to order them. After my experience this time, I am sure there will be an order in our future.

As a teacher, I recommend that you do not skimp on labeling. The better you prepare the items in September, the less likely you are to need to replace them later in the year because they are lost.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary Ultimate Back-To-School Comb package from Mabels Labels in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own.