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Everything Is Awesome Thanks to First LEGO League

Posted on December 8, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

When NHL started middle school, he came home one day begging to join the LEGO Robotics team. You could see the sparkle in his eyes as he got more and more excited about the possibilities.

We could tell that he was focused on joining. Not only did he tell us about it, he had gone to the instructor to chat with him. NHL wanted to make sure it would not interfere with Hebrew School. It seemed like the perfect fit for our little geek in training, especially since the main day was not a conflict with other commitments.

NHL took his so called homework assignments for this after school enrichment seriously. He asked to watch YouTube videos of other competitions and LEGO Robotics teams. I had forgotten that over the summer he went to an event at the library that sparked this interest thanks to a local college.

Everything has been relatively awesome with this first middle school club. I actually wrote most of this post while sitting in a college lecture hall during the teams FLL (First LEGO League) competition. It was an eye opening experience on many levels. I have a feeling that with more practice and guidance, this is something that NHL will really enjoy over his academic career. Who knows where it may lead him down the road.

What clubs are your children involved in after school? I would love to know more about them and how you know if they are the right fit for your child. Do you ever go to visit, observe, and/or help out? I have a feeling we may be doing more of this down the road to give everyone more hands on deck.

Categories:
Educational school

Middle School is Just What the Doctor Ordered

Posted on October 3, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

For years, I was preparing to send my oldest child to middle school. As a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, I felt like I had to advocate even more for this big milestone. One classroom and teacher in the elementary school would be a lot different than nine periods a day with just as many, if not more teachers. Middle schools are much larger, there are many more students, and it is a tough time developmentally for most if not all preteens.

Without going into too many specifics, we had an amazing IEP for the start of middle school. Everyone at school greeted us at orientation with smiles and showed us around. The day before school, we went back in drop items off to the locker and make sure the lock was mastered. Each time we went to visit, the individuals at school were amazing. They knew my son, welcomed him, and eased my fears.

The first day of school came and went with only parental nerves on edge. NHL was excited for a fresh start. He was thrilled to already have his schedule memorized. He could not stop talking about having Social Studies and Science every day. He came out of school with a smile on his face and I was able to breathe.

What TechyDad and I experienced the next morning shocked us. NHL hopped out of bed and ran into our room telling is to get moving because he wanted to get to school. There was no hesitation, just energy and excitement to go and learn more from his teachers. This continued the following week. Each day, my son was more excited to go to middle school.

After I sent my son to school for the second full week, I did something that was important to me. I stopped to write a note to every member of my son’s team to let them know I was thankful. The middle school transition could have been a disaster. The reality was that because of everyone involved, NHL was off to a great start.

As I pushed the send button, I was a bit nervous. After so many years of fighting for supports and struggles, I did not want to jinx anything. Still, it was the right time to cheer everyone up and let them know. As a middle school teacher, I know you do not often hear positive feedback. So I sent the email to the principals, several people in the Special Education department, and the guidance counselor. At the last second, I decided to add one more person. Yes, my note praising the team at the middle school for helping my son transition also went to the superintendent of our district.

The responses from various people made me know that I did the right thing. It made me feel wonderful to know that I had made them smile and lifted their spirits.

So why am I writing this post?

My hope is that someone may read it and it will help them as their child is transitioning from elementary to middle school. While I know they are likely as worried as I was waiting for middle school to start, I want to reassure them that it may be just what the doctor ordered for your child. The structure of the day, the fresh beginning for each class period, and the mixture of different students helped my son. My Aspie adores knowing his schedule and not having to worry about changes within a single classroom. The structure of middle school allows that and so far he is doing very well. Sure there will be bumps in the road, but with the support of his team and open communication this experience could open up the world for my child.

Categories:
milestone school Special Needs

Back to School Message

Posted on September 6, 2014 12:36 pm by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL and JSL,

Two days ago, you started back to school and it honestly tugged at my heart. While the last few weeks were filled with bickering between the two of you, there were many sweet moments. In addition to this, it was nice not to have a hectic schedule. It was fun to read what we wanted, go to the science museum almost any time, and relax without school worries. Ah, the school worries. It has been difficult hiding my own worries from the two of you the last few months. The reality of never again taking you to the same school and watching one of my babies head to middle school was hard.

On the first morning, you were so excited for the start of middle school NHL. I really do hope that this enthusiasm continues throughout sixth grade and beyond. You keep going back and forth about what your favorite subject is and which teacher you like most. I keep reminding you that there is no reason to have a favorite and you can enjoy all of them while learning. It’s fantastic to see you come out of school energized and excited to learn science and social studies each and every day. Common Core’s focus on Math and Language Arts took away a lot of this over the last few years. No blame on your past teachers, they did what they were told to do by the district and NYSED. I look forward to watching you spread your wings and grow academically while exploring new math concepts, novels, and more. Everyone that we met at orientation and after have been so kind and helpful. I am encouraged and hopeful that it will be an amazing year for you.

JSL when you heard that your big brother was leaving for school that first day, you jumped out of bed. You wanted to get dressed quickly for our back to school traditional photo. I think this really meant a lot to you, not just me. The last few weeks, I watched as nightmares returned and questions popped up. I think the reality of no big brother at the elementary school was hard for you. Not walking into the building together and knowing that you won’t see his face during the day is a huge change. We enjoyed the quiet time in the morning together as we waited to go to school. My heart broke watching you cry that first morning as you walked up to your classroom alone. At the end of the day, you told me you were sad. I stopped and asked you why. You told me you loved school and did not want to leave. Finally, I was able to exhale because I knew you were happy being back with friends. Like your brother, I hope to see you smile each and every day when you come out of school. I missed seeing you rush home to write stories and being creative. I saw all of that come back this summer, along with your love for reading chapter books by yourself.

Boys, always know that I am here for you. I am cheering you on to do the best that you can and always here to help you. If something happens in school, never second guess being able to talk to us at home. You are the reason we fight so hard to make sure the educational world gets back on track. We want both of you to have the opportunities that we had and more.

Love,

Mom

Categories:
brothers Dear Kid Saturday school

Back to School Snacks and Savings

Posted on September 1, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

It’s hard to believe that the summer is over and kids all around will be back in school. Over the last month or so, Price Chopper supermarket has been helping parents like me to get ready. In addition to their back to school savings, they have great recipe suggestions to help everyone transition back to the more hectic autumn schedules.

Snack time is important at our house. I want to get something nutritious into the boys to give them energy to head outside to play and get homework done. After a long day at school, it helps to have a variety of options available. To get ready for the first week back, the boys and I went to Price Chopper together. We often go shopping as a family, but this time we were on a #PriceChopperB2S mission for snacks thanks to #CollectiveBias.

NHL and JSL had ideas of their own. They asked us to buy ingredients to make smoothies for warm days after school. They both agreed on vanilla Yoplait Greek yogurt, frozen blueberries, and bananas. In addition to that, I told the boys that I wanted to try to make a trail mix with a twist. My idea was to mix Honey Nut Cheerios into different flavors of Yoplait Greek Yogurt and freeze them. These would then be added to some more traditional trail mix items. The boys had fun going up and down the aisles looking for different choices to put into our trail mix. In the end we picked out roasted edamame (NHL has braces and can not eat nuts), pretzel sticks, and semi-sweet chocolate chips. The next big decision was what flavor of Greek yogurt to select. NHL asked for blueberry and JSL requested strawberry. TechyDad and I also allowed the kids to get a splurge item because we rarely have juice pouches in the house. The new Capri Sun Super V Fruit & Vegetable Juice Drink looked interesting and will help on Hebrew School days when we are rushing.

FYI, did you see that sign in my photo above about winning an iPad mini? Price Chopper customers can enter a first day of school photo contest running from August 17 to September 20. You can vote on your favorite from September 21 to 27. The five winners with the most votes and five random winners will each receive an iPad mini.

Yogurt Covered Cereal Trail Mix

The boys adore Greek yogurt, but they take it in their lunch most days. To switch it up and have something munchy, crunchy, and fun we made a trail mix that included frozen Greek yogurt covered Honey Nut Cheerio clusters. These need to be made ahead of time and added to the mix right when the kids are ready to eat. They will melt, but the cool snack adds a fun twist to a family favorite.

We set up the kitchen into a mini assembly line. A large cookie sheet was covered with wax paper ahead of time. Each of the boys opened up their container of yogurt and we mixed the cereal in. We put half a cup into each 5.3 ounce container. Once they were mixed well, we put small dollops onto the lined sheet. This was placed into the freezer. After about half an hour they were set and ready to go.

If you are using this snack later on, I suggest taking the clusters off of the cookie sheet and storing them in a freezer safe container. The yogurt clusters will melt if it is warm and that defeats the purpose of the snack. Just mix some of each ingredient into a bowl and voila – it’s snack time! Of course, some kiddos many like a bowl of yogurt clusters on their own. The boys enjoyed the twist on this snack and also asked for some left over Yoplait Greek Yogurt with a quarter cup of Honey Nut Cheerios in it for breakfast the next day. Score!

What are some of your favorite snacks for after school? I would love to hear your ideas and whether or not you get the kids involved in the process.

Disclosure: I am a member of Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and its client. I am a frequent Price Chopper customer and have written about them on my blog in the past.

Categories:
food glorious food school shopping sponsored post

The Middle School Phone Debate

Posted on August 26, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Ready or not, middle school time is finally here! It really does seem like yesterday when I took my oldest son to kindergarten. Now, NHL is about a week away from the start of middle school.

*GULP*

While I am nervous, NHL is extremely excited about this fresh start. New school, new teachers, new classes, and hopefully new friends. Then, the other day, I stopped as I opened a new VZWBuzz device to check out. It reminded me that TechyDad and I had never finalized what we were going to do about one last big decision. Would we be sending NHL to sixth grade with a phone?

This decision may seem like a no brainer for many parents, but it is not that simple for us. I know that a lot of families give their children a phone long before sixth grade because of where they live and how their children get to and from school. I get that, but our situation is very different. TechyDad and I take both of the boys to and from school. So while debating this for our family, I came up with some key items that you need to think about before handing over a phone to your child.

Five items to think about if/when you are going through the great phone debate.

1. Rules of the School – Each school has different rules about cell phones coming to school with students. Some school require phones to be turned off and kept in lockers all day. Other schools allow phones to be muted and kept in pockets with the understanding that if they are seen they will be taken. I know that most schools that I have been to do not allow use during classes and if they are found they will be confiscated. My son’s new school requires parents to go to the principal to retrieve phones that are taken away from children. As you can imagine, having an adult leave work to come and get the phone will escalate the infraction to a new level. Kids are certainly less likely to do it again if they are not simply given back at the end of the day.

2. Reasons For and Against – Make a list of reasons why your child should have a cell phone, as well as reasons against it. Many families want kids to be able to get in touch with them quickly and easily when they stay after school for sports and other extracurricular activities. If they are taking a bus or walking home, safety may be a reason for making the purchase. On the flip side, having a phone is a large responsibility for an eleven year old child just starting junior high. Are they ready for this responsibility and all it entails? (More on this later.)

3. Smartphone or Not – Saying that you will buy your child a cell phone is just the beginning. You have to figure out if it will be a regular one or smartphone. Basically you need to determine if you want your son or daughter to be able to simply use the phone to call and text, or also have apps and ability to obtain data. Another concern of mine was the camera feature. Let’s be honest, you do not want kids to be able to take photos of anything and everything. This opens up more conversations about proper use, not sexting, and more. At orientation, we were talking with someone and mentioned our dilemma. At that moment, it dawned on us that it could be worse sending a child to school with a non-smartphone over skipping it completely. Kids can be cruel and something like that could be another item that is used against a child for bullying.

4. Which Plan is Right? – Another decision that parents have to figure out is whether or not to put their child onto their current plan. I know that TechyDad and I were unsure about this. We actually went into a Verizon Wireless store to see what we could do. We could easily add another phone line (regular or smartphone), but would likely need to commit to a two year contract. There were also prepaid options that we could activate a device that we already had and there would be no strings attached if something did not work out well. My best advice for you is to take time to call or stop by a store and go over different plans and see what makes the most sense financially for your needs.

5. Learning about Responsibility – If you opt to get your child their own phone they will quickly need to add to their responsibility. Suddenly, they will have a device that they must take care of. This means keeping it safe, knowing where it is, using it only when allowed, not letting others use it inappropriate ways, and more. For some children, this may be too much with all of the other changes taking place when starting middle school. If your son or daughter is ready, have additional chats about rules of use. Set clear consequences set for misuse of the phone and what happens if it is lost, stolen, or broken. Go over what your cell phone plan allows. If it is not unlimited texting, be clear that they will be responsible for overage and could have the phone taken away. Smartphone use and understanding how much date has been used is also a lesson that must happen. Set up phones with widgets so they can check and avoid going over set amounts.

So what was our decision? At this moment in time, we are not going to send a phone or smartphone off to sixth grade with NHL. We feel that with all of the changes that added responsibility may be too much for him. We want to focus on NHL getting used to middle school, lockers, changing classes, and everything else that happens in this new academic journey. In addition to this, TechyDad and I feel that IF he needs to get to us he has plenty of ways thanks to his specific circumstances. So, for now, rather than worry about what phone, which plan, and how to protect it – we will focus on middle school. The good news is that if and when we change our mind, we know all of the options that Verizon Wireless has for us to give NHL his first cell phone. Oh and of course we also know about the added security via Verizon Family Base.

Does your child have a phone for school? I would love to know what grade they were in, what type of phone you gave them, and how it went.

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I receive devices like the HTC One Remix to test out and share ways that I use it in my life. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own.