school | The Angel Forever

Category Archives school

Apple Picking Field Trip

Posted on September 22, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Living in New York State, we are lucky that we have a lot of apple orchards around us. Not only can we get fresh apples during the right season, but in many instances we can go and pick our own. Last year, JSL’s school was supposed to go on a trip. Thanks to the weather, it was canceled. This year, we hoped that the weather would behave and the kids would be able to go apple picking at Indian Ladder Farms.

When we got up Wednesday morning, the fog was thick and it was pretty wet outside. A light drizzle was in the air, but nothing too bad. Thanks to this, the ground was not very nice, but it could have been a lot worse. JSL wore his boots and was all set to go.

I had worried that we may arrive late since we had to travel a bit after dropping NHL off to school, but we made it in time and were able to wait with the other kids and families there for the fun morning. While we were waiting for everyone else to arrive, we decided to buy a bag to pick some extra apples for home.

The main reason we opted to do this is thanks to the selection that would be picked today. The Jonagold are a favorite and we hoped to find some of these to share with TechyDad and NHL.

The little guy was very excited to get into the fields to pick some apples. We quickly realized that he was smart to keep his hood up. Thanks to the damp morning, you were rained on as you pulled the apples off the branches. Not to worry though, JSL thought this was pretty funny and got into the apple picking.

Some of the trees were not in the best of shape. I’m not sure if this is because they were already picked over, or if Hurricane Irene had something to do with it. JSL and I still managed to move a few rows into the trees and found lots of apples to take home.

Going alone with the little guy was special. He was so proud to pick apples on his own and put them into our big bag. At one point, I made sure to stop him for a photo with an apple that he had plucked off a tree.

Before too long, our bag was filled and it was time to head to our car.

Yes, we have a good amount of apples to hold us over until we are able to go apple picking with the entire family. The little guy was so upset that he could not lift the bag, but I told him it just meant that we did a really good job.

After moving the car, the classes took turns going on a hayride around the fields behind the big store/barn.

Even at about 10:15, it was still really foggy. The fog lifting off over the mountains was gorgeous. Here’s a quick shot I was able to snag:

Then, we had snacks under a tent – JSL enjoyed the donuts that the nursery school brought (I promised to buy cider donuts to take home).

The kids were given money to buy food to feed the animals. I wish I had gotten a shot of JSL – he was brave and tried it, but I was helping him with the machine. The goats ate it too quickly.

Of course, there were even more animals down a bit from the first group.

Then, it was time to say goodbye to everyone from nursery school and head into the Indian Ladder Farms store. Here, we picked up from cider donuts and a bread for home. Of course, JSL was able to have one of the donuts in the car since that is a tradition after going here.

Despite the rain that greeted us in the morning, we had a fantastic time at the apple picking location. I know that JSL and I will have fun thinking of ways to use all of the apples we picked and heading back with the rest of our family to get more apples soon.

Have you gone apple picking this year? If you have what are your plans for all of your apples?

Categories:
food glorious food fun jsl Local Business me moments milestone photos sahm school weather yummy

Tuesday Tales – It’s Challah Time!

Posted on September 20, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday Tales

Have you ever had challah? You may not have had it plain, but chances are that you may have been served challah french toast. Here’s a slice of challah that we had while on the road the other day.

Each Friday at nursery school, JSL and his classmates celebrate Shabbat. We bring in money to donate to others, food for the food pantry, and they have a Shabbat table. Last week, JSL’s new class made a new tablecloth to place with each of their handprints and names for this year. In addition to this, a girl and boy are selected to be the Ima (mother) and Abba (father) to help do the Shabbat duties. On the first Friday, JSL was Abba and so thrilled to do this special task. This is what the table looked like last year:

Shabbat is special and thanks to this, we have a book that JSL received last year from Kar Ben Publishing.

It’s Challah Time! uses photos of preschool aged children in a classroom setting. Together, the children (with adult supervision) are making challah for their Shabbat celebration. The easy to follow steps and large clear photos take you along the journey of making a delicious challah of your own. As a child, my favorite part of making challah was getting the chance to braid the dough before it was baked in the oven.

The book also shows the kids participating in traditional Shabbat activities. They read stories together, sing with the Cantor, and set the Shabbat table to get ready for their weekly celebration. Then, they show the challah cover over their special bread, candles, and grape juice. When it is time to light the candles, all of the kids participate together and share the experience.

Celebrating Shabbat is important to keeping our Jewish traditions alive. It’s Challah Time! does a fantastic time of keeping this alive with kids and also shares a recipe at the end so you can make challah making memories at home with your children. I know this is a book that JSL and NHL will both enjoy and remember thanks to the fantastic preschool times they have had in their own classrooms and at home with our family.

Of course, since this is Tuesday Tales, I must ask the usual question. 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: I received this book complimentary of Kar-Ben Publishing in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed in the review are my own.

Categories:
books food glorious food holidays Product review school Tuesday Tales yummy

100 Days of School Projects – Catch Me There

Posted on September 18, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

It may only be September, but before you know it your children may be coming home with a 100th Day of School project. Did you have to do one as a child? You probably didn’t since they have not been celebrating this day very long.

Of course, my oldest has experienced this for a few years now. When he was in kindergarten we made a cool Googly Eye banner. This was something we came up with while exploring a craft store for ideas. The next year we had to come up with a project idea while at Disney World. The result was this:

My latest post on The Disney Driven Life: 100 Days of School Projects with Disney Memories is all about how we came up with this idea while on our trip. I share other ideas that we considered and ask people to let me know what other possibilities with Disney they can think of.

Please stop by to say hello and check out the other magical posts from my Disney Drive Life friends. My other posts there can be found under NDM183 – that’s me!

What 100th Day of school projects have you done with your children? I would love to know and think it would be great to share with others. Please share in the comments below and if you have written posts about them, feel free to leave a link as well.

Categories:
Disney DisneyDrivenLife My Other Projects photos school

Tuesday Tales – The Reading Ultimatum

Posted on September 13, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday Tales

We are now into the second week of school here. Over the summer, I made sure that NHL read books while playing outside, going to events at the library, and other items in the community. Of course, something else happened over the summer. My nearly eight year old son became a gamer. If we would allow him to spend the entire day playing Nintendo Wii and/or his Nintendo DS – he probably would.

This became worse after NHL’s birthday in mid August. You see, NHL received a game for his DS that he HAD to finish. Day and night we heard about this game on the bottom of the picture.

Yes, my kiddo was really into Harry Potter in this format. Of course, I am hoping that we can translate his intrigue of Snape, Voldemort, and Hermione into the books. I would love to read them with NHL since it has been a long time since I started the series.

Now that school is back in session, NHL’s time outside of school is limited. He has Hebrew School obligations that are also taking up two days a week. Thanks to this, reading seems to have taken a major step back. As a reading teacher, I am not happy with this. So last night, when NHL would not come up for air from his Nintendo DS, I came up with a new system. Once NHL is finished with his homework, has gotten some play time outside (or Wii Sports when it’s cold/rainy), he must read one of his books to earn gaming.

Just one day in and NHL seems to get this new system. He woke up this morning and curled up on the couch with his book. Monday evening before heading to an appointment, he sat down with his Phineas and Ferb book and tallied up some more reading. Although early in the game, I do believe this may work well.

Have you ever had to do a reading system with your child to swap out for another item that they would prefer to do? I would love to hear any of your experiences.

Categories:
books decisions nhl school Tuesday Tales

Rally for Recess with Danimals

Posted on September 12, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I have to admit something right now. When I was teaching, recess duty was one of my least favorite parts of the day. You see, recess meant heading outside with the kids, often freezing while they ran around and got rid of some much needed energy. Living in the northeast, even on those cold and snowy days, we were outside. There were only certain temperatures and wind chills that would keep us inside. On those days, I could see the importance of recess. It was a time for the kids to run, play, and get stresses out. They would walk around the track and chat with buddies, or chase each other around and climb on a playground. It really didn’t matter what they did – it was their free time to move their bodies before heading back inside to work for the rest of the afternoon.

Now, as the parent of two children in school, I watch to see if they have recess every day. In addition to this, I want to know if they will have PE and or time in the gross motor room (that’s the preschool indoor room). I know the days that my older son has PE. He seems more focused and still adores learning to play sports and I hope he keeps this throughout his lifetime.

When I received an e-mail from Mom Central telling me about the new Danimals ‘Rally for Recess’ Blog Tour, I immediately signed up. If I could help to spread the word about this great project they have I wanted to. We were sent a giftcard to purchase our own Danimals products. I would share a picture, but, well, they gobbled the Smoothies before I was able to get a photo.

So what do you do?

Purchase specially marked Danimals products that have codes on them.
Sign up online and enter codes for credit
Help your school earn the most points in their league

The top five schools will win a $20,000 playground makeover and ultimate recess day. There are also instant prizes and other details available on the Rally for Recess website. The programs runs through February 8, 2012. You can find codes on Danimals packaging (or free by mail) to enter and register schools online. The top school in each of the five categories (based on size) with the most codes registered wins!

Be sure to tell your school about this opportunity. With recent budget cuts, they can use your help to try to revamp their recess equipment. Lots of families probably purchase Danimals for yogurt snack options and can take a few moments to register their school for possible prizes. Imagine the smile on the faces of the children if your school wins the big prize.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Danimals and received a gift card to facilitate my review. In addition to this, I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate. All opinions are 100% mine and in no way influenced.