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Calendar holiday happenings

Posted on August 20, 2009 10:49 am by TheAngelForever

As a former teacher, I still use an Academic calendar. I finally made my September 2009 to September 2010 calendar to fill in important dates. First I put in family/friend birthdays, anniversaries and the like. Next, I put in the secular holidays. After that, it was time to place the Jewish holidays in and incorporate the school district calendar for NHL.

This year the High Holidays are in September and October and aside from Yom Kippur, all fall on the weekend. Although this means we will not be able to go to Six Flags during those weekends, it does mean that hubby will not need to take time off for Rosh Hashana (2 days), Sukkot (2 days), Shmini Atzeret (1 day) and Simchat Torah (1 day). This is huge in my mind. Of course, in noting this I was aware that next year would likely be a lot different.

As I went through December, I saw Chanukah starts in mid-December on the 11th (miss all the big Christmas sales again). Then I noticed that Purim was February 28. Oy! I knew at that moment it was not a good sign. Sure enough the Passover seders are Monday-Tuesday March 29-30. To put that into perspective, Easter is the following Sunday on April 4th. This means that JL will need to take off 5 days from work for Pessach. Fast forward to May and two days mid week for Shavuot.

Then, it was back to the High Holidays of 2010. Everything is during the week, except Yom Kippur which is a Saturday and my sister-in-law’s birthday. Everything is between September 9th and October 1st. I joked with JL that Chanukah would likely be in November given the early holidays. I was not far off. Next year, in 2010, Chanukah begins December 1st and we will light the last candle on my birthday.

So, if you are keeping track with me: That is 13 holidays that my hubby takes off of work because of his beliefs. Another item I realized is that NHL will miss his first day of Hebrew school. We have a family function that weekend. Since the Jewish holidays this year are all Saturday/Sunday combination, it means he will not have his first day until October 18th. Oy!

Categories:
holidays jl school

Six today

Posted on August 17, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Today my big kid is six years old. I am in major denial. For some reason, NHL turning six has hit me harder than when I turned thirty. I am not sure why, but the fact that NHL is over half way to a double digit number is tough for me to swallow (Five).

Dear NHL,

Six years ago today the adventure began. You were born and our lives changed forever. Daddy and I became parents and we loved the challenges that came our way. Looking at our gorgeous little boy was worth every sleepless night.

Before we knew it you grew up before our eyes. Each year we would celebrate. . . one, two, three, four and, last year, five. This year has been quite the adventure with a five year old. It was a transition for not only us, but you as well. Soon after turning five, you went to full day kindergarten and began your adventure in elementary school.

Here is a look back at the last year of you life. After your fifth birthday, you were quite fascinated with croquet. Much time before kindergarten was spent outside with your new set from Nana and Papa. (August 2008)

With tears in our eyes we sent you, our kindergarten kid, off to school. (September 2008)

Dr. NHL had a lot of fun Trick-or-Treating on Halloween. To this day, we all joke that your fascination with all things medical may be a sign of a career in your future. (October 2008)

For Thanksgiving at school, you insisted that the Pilgrims try some matzoh balls made my Mommy. You gobbled them up and were so proud that JSL came to kindergarten to visit. (November 2008)

So many things happened at the end of 2008. We celebrated Chanukah, went to Disney on Ice and planned our first big family vacation. (December 2008)

During the cold winter months you, JSL and I had a lot of fun spending snow days home in our PJs. This was our time to catch up on watching different Disney movies before our trip in May. (January 2009)

For the third year in a row, you went to see Sesame Street Live. This time you were the pro and helped to show your little brother and cousin S the ropes. (February 2009)

As the spring arrived, you became excited about learning to ride your new bike (early birthday present from us), seeing your cousins for a weekend at the hotel/pool and getting ready for Disney World. You also showed your vulnerable side when you saw your brother taken away by ambulance to the hospital after another febrile seizure. (March 2009)

Along with kindergarten, this year began another part of your education. You went to Hebrew School and loved Israeli Dancing. Daddy went with you to your first big dance festival and you loved it. (April 2009)

When May finally arrived, you were beyond excited to take your first ride on an airplane and go to Disney World. You came home from that visit a new child. Not only did you love roller coasters/wild rides, you no longer were afraid of costumes at amusement parks. (may 2009)

In June, you rode a horse for the first time and graduated from kindergarten. At that moment, you were no longer my kindergarten kid and it was tough for Mommy. (June 2009)

This summer, we went back to Six Flags and you continued to show your love for rides galore. You had fun riding in the Big Red Cars with JSL, and of course the Bob Sled with Daddy and me. The best part, you wanted your photos taken with all of the characters at the park. Now if only you can get your little brother to be cool with them. (July 2009)

This month, you went to camp for the first time, tried a Super Soaker with Daddy, went to Home Depot and Lowes for kid building clinics, finished the summer library reading program (read over 60 books so far), and discovered your first wiggle tooth is almost ready to come out. (August 2009)

This year you have learned so much. You saw how important it is to take your medicine to control your allergies, even if you do not like it. Figuring out how to swallow a pill was much better than a lot of liquid medicine. Not only can you add and subtract, but you now write stories and can read books on your own. This was your number one goal that you told your teacher in September and you met it with flying colors!

You are my big kid and I am so proud of you. I can not wait to see what this year has in store for us as you turn six today. Know that I always love you, will be cheering you on, and will help you when you need me. I hope that you have a magical birthday today and know that I love you with all of my heart.

Mommy

Categories:
birthday Disney fun looking back milestone photos school Six Flags

School supplies – what’s on your list?

Posted on July 19, 2009 8:41 pm by TheAngelForever

If you have been inside any retailer like Target, Walmart, CVS, Staples, Rite Aid, Walgreens or the like, you have probably seen the sale. Yes, even though it is still July, the Back to School craze has already started. We are over a month away from the start of school here (after Labor Day). Still, NHL’s 1st grade school supply list has been on my brain for a while. Not that I mind since I really love getting bargains this time of year. Here is what we have to purchase:

The following should be labeled with your child’s name:

Pencils – at least 5
2 large erasers
2 large glue sticks – NO liquid sticks or bottles of glue
Standard size pencil box – NO pencil bags please
Box of 16 crayons – NO larger
2 solid color folders
A book bag

The following should not be labeled with your child’s name – they will be community supplies:

Box of tissues
A set of 4 Dry-erase markers (the brand "Sharpie" works best) *black
Package of baby wipes
Package of plastic spoons
Package of small paper plates

Not really a horrible list. I believe there were supplies for Pre-K and K. We have most of the items, but need to get a few more. So far the most challenging item has been the 16 pack of crayons. Of course, you should know that I am a Crayola snob. As a teacher and parent I will do nothing else. Sure Rose Art are cheaper, but they are not the same quality and man they do not clean as nicely if they get on items. We finally found a 16 pack of crayons in stock for $1.16 – compared to 20 cents for a 24 pack of Crayola crayons. Sick I tell you!

We are stil debating a backpack. I am leaning toward an L.L. Bean bag since the quality is amazing, they last and have a wonderful warranty. At the same time a lot of people love their Lands End bags. Whatever we buy will be something that will be used for several years. I had a Tough Traveler bag that I received in 5th grade (’87) and used it on my honemoon (’01).

NHL really likes the Nautical Red Grid Camo back that I showed him in the L.L. Bean catalogue the other day. Check it out:

I can definitely see this lasting, but which size do we get?

This is now the third year that I have been on the school supply receiving list end. I think it was much less stressful making the list for my students to get when I was teaching. Of course, I am sure they probably shook their fingers at me too!

So what is on your child’s school supply list? Is there something in particular that you find strange, hard to find or that you really like purchasing? Please share your thoughts. It is always interesting to compare with each other.

Categories:
decisions nhl school shopping

Teacher gifts 2009

Posted on June 26, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

This year I had a dilemma. NHL was in a multi-teacher classroom. There was a regular education teacher, special education teacher and two aids in the room. Obviously, I could not afford to get them all something big and exciting. In December I organized a collection of money for gift cards to give each of the teachers in the room. Once again several of the parents expressed a desire to do this, so I agreed to send out a note. Only a handfull of people sent money in, so I purchased each of the teachers a gift card to a book store where there is a myriad of possible items to purchase. As a a teacher I loved giftcards that allowed me to buy something special that I may not have otherwise purchased.

In addition to these adults, NHL has PT and OT where I wanted to thank them for all that they have done. I wrote in NHL’s communication log asking for the six adults to tell me their favorite colors. My plan was to knit them some wash cloths to have. Something a little more personal. In addition to this, I went and bought them some notecards and mini-notebooks for their purses. Here are some photos of what I purchased for them.

This is how I wrapped them to send in with NHL:

In addition to this, I bought the school nurse a gift card for some coffee. She went out of her way helping us with allergy and pinkeye issues throughout the year. What I did not do was purchase/make anything for NHL’s Music/Art/PE teachers or the librarian. As wonderful as they are, there has to be a line and that was mine this year.

So my question to you this week:

What do you usually do for teachers? Do you give something to all of the individuals that work with your child/children, or only certain teachers?

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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 Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #54

Categories:
Aloha Friday knitting photos school

A kindergarten farewell poem

Posted on June 25, 2009 2:07 pm by TheAngelForever

Monday morning NHL had his kindgarten graduation. The kids (and teachers of course) did a fabulous job. They sang several songs, read a class poem and then it was time for the class gifts and certificates.

I must admit that I have heard this poem before thanks to being a teacher, but it really hit when my own child was receiving it. Each child was handed a sand pail with the following poem attached and the items included. Here is the poem:

In this bag you will find some things

That hold the key to what your future brings

It is with great sadness that I watch you depart

Because you have a special place in my heart.

A ruler to remind you that there are always rules to follow

Kisses to remind you that you are loved

A pencil to remind you that there are still many things to learn

A marker to remind you to leave a good mark wherever you go

A penny to remind you to use good sense

An eraser to remind you that it’s all right to make mistakes

1. Getting kindergarten certificate, 2. Happy kindergarten kid, 3. Almost a first grader, 4. Kindergarten poem

Today marked the last day of kindergarten for NHL. He is now officially on summer vacation and going to be a first grader in the fall. I am going to miss my kindergarten kid, but look forward to a fun summer with my big boy before he starts a new adventure in learning.