Today’s post is part 2 of highlights from my family’s 8-day maximum-experience Disney vacation. I can’t believe we’ve been home almost a month already!
Seriously, Jim.
In front of Cinderella’s castle at the Magic Kingdom. That’s not a fake smile!
Today’s is part 1 of a 2-part post covering highlights from my family’s 8-day maximum-experience Disney vacation. And what a long, strange, WONDERFUL trip it was!
I thought I would be ‘Already Gone’ by the first day of this trip. But instead, for eight straight days, I had TONS of fun!
For “The Definitive Disney 10,” I will be covering 10 talking points from the 8-day Disney vacation my family took last August 20-27, in 2 separate posts. My overall goal? I don’t know, actually. Amusement? Sure. To inform? Perhaps!
Our Disney Vacation started today. How exciting!
Except for the dreaded day-before packing preparation. That’s usually the roughest part of the trip, right?
One suitcase small enough to avoid checks, plus one carry-on bag. L-R: S4, me, S12. Mike hadn’t packed at this point yet, but he will use one duffel carry-on bag and whatever room is left in our big suitcase that contains all the evil “liquids” not allowed on the plane. I prepaid $25 to check that bag today via Jetblue.com. I also printed all of our boarding passes already! You can do so up to 24 hours in advance with Jetblue.
Wrong! At 11 pm last night, I was sitting in bed, done with all my travel tasks, already relaxing and writing. This was on the day before we left for an 8-day vacation some 1,000 miles from home, with my entire nuclear family in tow. I must have been in quite a good place, preparation-wise, amirite?
I want to shout it from the rooftops. YES!
This week, I am reviewing children’s book The Day That A Ran Away, written by B.C.R. Fegan and illustrated by Lenny Wen.
The inside-the-book title page of The Day That A Ran Away
I really should have been a poet. Ha!
For book review #9 back in March, I reviewed the just-about-to-drop for the first time, super-cute children’s book Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32 written by B.C.R. Fegan and illustrated by Lenny Wen, which focuses on the numbers 1-32 in a cheerfully-spooky-but-not-scary hotel setting. And now next month, the duo will be releasing yet another children’s book, this one featuring letters and the alphabet, titled The Day That A Ran Away. This newest Fegan-Wen tale is set in both a school classroom as well as the wilds of a little boy’s imagination. Or is it?? 🤔😎 Continue reading
I am back with yet another book review,
for Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32!
Not bad, eh?
My brutally honest co-reviewer.
For book review #9, I received an adorable picture book that looked like a perfect read-aloud for my youngest daughter, S3. I decided to review the story organically, and read it to S3 as part of our nightly bedtime ritual one night last month. Titled Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32, the book is authored by B.C.R. Fegan, and illustrated by Lenny Wen.
Don’t Ever Look Behind Door 32 is a picture book, written in verse, that contains a big-time focus on numbers and counting. Right away, the numeracy focus absolutely thrilled my inner elementary math AIS teacher, I have to say! Continue reading
Time to get up off that couch and GO SOMEWHERE.
Last July, I was scrolling through Facebook, looking at my friends’ vacation photos that were popping up in my news feed. As I ‘liked’ various photos of my friends’ families out and about having fun, I realized that it had been a long while since my family last went on vacation together.
It was time to take a trip! Continue reading
This week, the lazy days of my treasured summer vacation came to a close. The first ‘official’ day of school looms ahead next Wednesday for S11, and …for me.
Boo! Hissss…
BUT…
Soon enough, the math teaching madness begins. Numbers!! Holla!!
LadyBB / Pixabay
On the bright side, I’ve had an absolutely amazing summer! And though I’m sad to see it end, all good things… seem to do that. Such is life, amirite?
So today, on this pre-Labor Day Friday, the official last Friday of summer break here in NY (for 3 out of 4 of us here, anyway), I have decided to post an extended recap of my top three favorite summer moments for your reading pleasure. To avoid a ridiculously long, rambling post, however, said recap will consist of three separate posts, starting with this one. Continue reading
Eh, I think she’ll be OK.
About Toddlers and Cell Phones:
“Tablets and Smartphones May Affect Social and Emotional Development, Scientists Speculate,” (theguardian.com, February 1, 2015)
“Smartphone, Tablet Overuse Among Toddlers May Stunt Development,” (cbc.ca, February 3, 2015)
About Parenting and Cell Phones:
“Cell Phone Distracted Parenting Can Have Long-Term Consequences: Study,” (time.com, January 6, 2016)
“Dear Mom On The iPhone: Let Me Tell You What You Don’t See,”
At times, I do text or Facebook when I’m the parent in charge. Other times, I do not.
(deseretnews.com, February 15, 2013)
Note: Judgmental much?
And the epic rebuttal to the above:
“Dear Mom On The iPhone: You’re Doing Fine,” (huffingtonpost.com, August 11, 2014)
Yes, many folks on the Internet have strong opinions about cell phones, toddlers, and the parents who own at least one of each. Therefore, I was very curious about how
The author, Dehghanpisheh, is also the illustrator. She does a beautiful job creating vivid, colorful, fun, page-filling illustrations that complement the text well.
this subject matter would be incorporated into a read-aloud picture book for very young children when I was asked to review #BabyLove: My Toddler Life, which was written and illustrated by Corine Dehghanpisheh. I ended up on the final page of the story nodding in an enthusiastic manner, complete with a big smile on my face. What a great story this is! Not only was the book entertaining, but the characters and the plot totally resonated with me as well. Continue reading
Thiagarajan’s book
If there is any truth behind the stereotype “Asians are good at math”?
Why Asian children consistently outperform their American counterparts in the West in STEM fields?
What the secret is to the drive that leads to success seen so often in young Asian scholars? Where does this work ethic originate?
How Eastern parents get their kids to behave and, like, do all this work without ending up with angry children who rebel and end up hating them for life?
If a child’s academic success can be mostly attributed to nature, to nurture, or to a combination of both?
Why American parents are so afraid of pushing their children to succeed?
Why American child-centric parenting is so damn exhausting?
If Asian educators could benefit from incorporating any current Western best practices in teaching within any of the core academic subjects?
(Spoiler alert: the answer is YES) Continue reading
Christmukkah cheer.
Another holiday season is upon us! When you celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah like we do in my home, there is double the pressure to find the best gifts for the (lack of) money we have. Quadruple, if you multiply two holidays by two kids. And this year, both holidays fall at the exact same time. This phenomenon has definite pros, but also significant cons.
Pros: I have a bit more time to bargain hunt than when Hanukkah falls at the start of the month. That year when Hanukkah merged with Thanksgiving? Yeah, that was stressful.
Cons: That’s, like, a ton of stuff to seek out, purchase, and wrap by a certain date and time. Oh, and Mike and I are hosting Christmas dinner this year too, because apparently, we enjoy chaos. Pile it on, yo!
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a01QQZyl-_I[/embedyt]
OK, it’s not at the level of pressure described in this song, but holiday time is still filled with pressure when you are a parent. Plus, its a Freddie Mercury-David Bowie duet, for Pete’s sake. That’s reason enough to throw this video into a post. Continue reading