Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Come celebrate with Crayola!

To celebrate their 110th birthday, the 8 original Crayola crayons are throwing a birthday bash at the Crayola Experience, the worlds only interactive Crayola family attraction. The new Crayola Experience features four large floors of new interactive exhibits and one-of-a-kind attractions that your kids will love! They focus on the magic of color and the encouragement of creativity in children, and it will be opening this May
This seems like a place Jack would LOVE!  Bes of all, right now, you can enter to win a three-night all expenses paid stay for four to celebrate the birthday and the Grand Opening in May 2013! Sounds like so much fun, I know I'm entering!

To enter, visit Crayola's Facebook page and click "enter here"! Good luck!

Crayola trip contest

disclosure:  Crayola provided me with the information

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

TeachHUB, and the first infographic made by (my) kids!



For National Library Week, TeachHUB.com and Clever Girls Collective are proud to present the world's First Ever Infographic Made By Kids! For more information about TeachHUB.com, please visit their website.
  
I don't know if you all know this, but I am a special education teacher.  Because of this, I am always on the hunt for the most new ideas, current practices and lessons that meet the common core.  I look on pinterest, blogs, message boards...you name. it!  We now I found a great new site with all of this along with ideas and techniques to use in the classroom.  TeachHUB is the newest place for teachers to go for up-to-date education information, a place to share ideas and "borrow" others, and where you can go to find professional development of your choosing.  

TeachHUB's mission is to improve the quality of education by making available the most current, complete and affordable resources for all K-12 Educators.  "Built by Teachers, for Teachers, we offer free lesson plans, the latest in education news, professional development and real teacher blogs plus the tools and applications modern Educators need to maintain a level of excellence in their classrooms."  TeachHUB.com provides the latest in education technology, news and tools. It's a great free resource for all K-12 teachers.

My favorite part?  I really like that on the home page, they list the top 7 stories using pictures.  This way I can see at a quick glance the newest topics being featured. It's quick and easy to find what other educators are interested in and checking out.

Recently I administered a survey to my students asking them varied questions about what they know about reading, who their favorite characters are, and what do they know about certain library topics.  The kids loved that they were filling out a "survey", and I loved the answers to "what does your teacher do over the Summer?" 

Check out the first infographic made by kids



TeachHUB.com is a free resource for teachers and parents who want the latest in education news and technology. You can see the latest articles from TeachHUB by subscribing to their Facebook pageor following them on Twitter.
 

I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, and content and opinions expressed here are all my own. To learn more about the TeachHUB.com, visit their website.#CleverTeachers #NLW13

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Do you follow me?

My relationship with pinterest is like a marriage.  At times I can't get enough of it and want to spend all my time with Pinterest, and then other times I need my space and have to get a little "me" time.  Well right now I'm in my "Can't get enough of" phase, and I think you should join me.  You can check out all my boards and my obsessions with desserts and Adam Levine. 
 

 
Follow me here.
Oh and I would love it if you would leave your pinterest profile in the comments below!

Monday, April 8, 2013

How to Trick the Picky Eater: Freshfoods Cook-n-Blend Baby Food Maker Review



Even though Jack is eating solid foods, he is one of the pickiest eaters I have ever seen.  No meat, no cheese, and he has to inspect everything!  Trying new things is an even bigger struggle; I am hoping that this is just a stage and he will soon grow out of it.
So when I was given  the Freshfoods Cook-n-Blend Baby Food Maker from NUK through the Moms Meet blogger program, I was excited to see what I could blend up for him to eat.

The Freshfoods Baby Food Maker is an all-in-one steamer, blender and food processor so that you can make your own, homemade baby food from scratch in one convenient appliance with minimal effort. Since I’ve always been one to make as much of my own household items from scratch as it is, making my own baby food was always something I’d intended anyway. But this food maker simplifies it so that even the most novice of mommas can whip up good-for-you meals for their babes, lickity split.

With the food maker, you can make up to four meals at a time and select whether you want smooth or chunky texture. The machine itself is pretty small so that it’s quite manageable (as compared to my regular food processor). You steam (if necessary) and blend in the same container so it’s not very messy at all, and clean-up is simplified. Plus, if you want to steam two different foods at once, there’s a separate steam compartment so that you can multitask without hassle. Once you set the choices, it only takes about fifteen minutes or so to steam the veggies and then a couple more minutes to puree them and you have fresh, whole-foods dinner ready for baby.

What's great about this maker is that it works great for toddlers.  I can blend up fruit, and sneak in those veggies to make sure he is getting all he needs nutrition wise.. I’ve already tested it out by steaming sweet potatoes and apples and making "apple sauce".  I've also make smoothies with spinach mixed and Jack loved them both.  The best part was that it was SUPER easy to make and even easier to clean up! I can even steam veggies for my husband and I!

If you're interested in trying it yourself, you can download a $20 coupon for the Freshfoods Cook-n-Blend Baby Food Maker as well as print a coupon for any Freshfoods accessory. Find out more about the Freshfoods Baby Food Maker and other Freshfoods products for baby (including freezer trays, a food mill or popsicle molds) on the NUK website or by following NUK on Facebook.

Find the
Freshfoods Cook-n-Blend Baby Food Maker on Amazon.
Disclaimer: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinions on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Wordless(ish) Wednesday..Easter

Spring Break is over now and I am back to work.  The countdown is now on for Summer break.  We didn't go anywhere, but we still had a great time....bowling, museums, seeing friends, and just relaxing.   I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted but I did want to share a few Easter time pictures. Jack loved the Easter egg hunts..even in the cold weather! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter and have a great week ahead.