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Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! A Birthday Celebration!














It's Dr. Seuss' birthday, and to kick-off his birthday celebration little one and I have been reading a few of Dr. Seuss' books.  Then we celebrated twice! First with a play date with his friends, and then I volunteered to read story time at his preschool.
 Since it's a birthday celebration we can't forget the cake! :) 

For the Dr. Seuss' story time at his preschool I read: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

We had hand print cut-outs inspired by a post that I found here. The children then matched the colors to the list with the words "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish." They had so much fun! 


 The children posing with their hand print "one fish, two fish, red fishblue fish" posters. :) 

The Dr. Seuss hat filled with treats were a take home gift, and then they had cupcakes and juice. 

For the Dr. Seuss hat filled with treats all you need is:  
  • empty rolls of toilet paper 
  • red and white construction paper
  • glue 
  • card stock to make the bottom of the hat 
To make the Dr. Seuss hat we used empty rolls of toilet paper (and I hot glued a large circle on the bottom). I filled the inside with a cellophane bag with Tootsie rolls, and tied with a ribbon. Then I placed a little card saying: "Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!" 

I grew up reading Dr. Seuss, and he's an all time favorite for children of all ages. How are you celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday? If so, what will you do? I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and comments! Please like, share or pin!¡Hasta la próxima!

This post is being linked up at: Tuesday Tots, The Sunday Showcase, Ingles 360Virtual Book Clubs for Kids, 2 Big, 2 Little Weekly Co-Op,  and The Children's Bookshelf.

Disclaimer: An Amazon affiliate link is used in this post.



Book Review: The Color of Us

Black History Month is celebrated from February 1 through February 28th. Before we say goodbye to this month I wanted to share a beautiful book that I bought for little one. The Color of Us by Karen Katz. It is a wonderful book for children to explore multiculturalism and diversity. 

Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links. If you click on the link, and make a purchase I will receive a small monetary compensation. Thank you! 

The book is about a 7 yr. old girl who is learning to mix colors, and wants the right color of brown to make a painting of herself. However, her Mom tells her that there are different shades of brown, and off they go to explore the neighborhood. They talk about  the different hues, and shades of skin color of the people they come across with.  
The description of skin colors that the author uses are beautiful!   Ranging from honey, to ginger to coconuts and coffee toffee. Thus, helping us appreciate the beauty in each color within each race and culture such as Asians, Indians, Latinos and Blacks.
After reading the book to little one we made some crafts! :)  I traced his hand on construction paper, and cut out the hands for him to color. He colored each hand with his new Multicultural Crayons. (Note: I had to order the crayons on-line because they don't sell them in stores).

He had fun coloring the hands as we described the colors, and matched the colored hands to the characters in the book.  He was even looking for crayon shades that matched our skin color as well.  He said that we (he and I) are honey, and that Daddy was a caramel color. :)   This book is a keeper, and I especially love it because of how it brings out the beauty of everyone's skin color. You just can't help but feel special about your own skin color! 

How do you teach your children about multiculturalism and diversity? Would love to hear from you! Please comment, like, share or pin. 

Dr. Seuss' Playdate: Story time and Craft


Dr. Seuss' birthday is on March 2nd, and to celebrate we had a Dr. Seuss' playdate with little one's friends. We had story time with Dr. Seuss' The Cat in The Hat. (Not really because the boys chose "Are You My Mother?" as the book they wanted me to read during story time).  OK, it's their story  time, right? :)  

Playdate was outdoors, and the weather was beautiful! 

After story time, we had a "Make your own Dr. Seuss hat" craft session. (Inspired by Living Montessori Now found here.) I printed out copies of Dr. Seuss' hat so the kids can decorate with red & white cotton balls. All you need for this craft is:
  • Copy of Dr. Seuss' hat (found here
  • Red & white cotton balls (instructions on how to color cotton balls here)
  • Glue  



After we finished story time one of the boys wanted to read The Cat in Hat. The other two boys were too busy playing in the yard; and enjoying this beautiful weather! 

A beautiful display of the boy's cat in the hat craft. :)  

Will you celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday? If so, what will you do? I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and comments! Please like, share or pin!

I was featured on: 
Housing a Forest | Learn, Play, Create
¡Hasta la próxima!

Disclaimer: An Amazon affiliate link is used in this post.

This post is being linked up at: Crafty Mom's Share, Kid Lit Blog Hop, Weekly Kid's Co-Op, Ingles 360, 2 Big, 2 Little Weekly Co-Op, and The Children's Bookshelf.

Spanish Home Lesson: Oso pardo, oso pardo, ¿qué ves ahí?




Today we had to cancel little one's Spanish immersion class due to bad weather. It was raining heavily, it was foggy, and the drive to the center is quite a ways. So I preferred not to drive in that type of weather, so we stayed home. Of course, we had our at-home Spanish lessons with Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? We don't have the Spanish book so I translated for little one.  You can find the Spanish one here:   Oso pardo, oso pardo, ¿qué ves ahí?
We used Spanish color flash cards so little one can match them to the colors of the animals, and then he matched them to the coloring pages. (That I found here.) As he matched the colors with the animals, he would also say out loud the colors and animal names.  The repetition of the colors and animals, and the rhythm makes it easy for little one to remember, and develop his Spanish literacy. 
He had so much fun matching the flash cards and the coloring pages to the pages of the book.
Of course, he had more fun clowning around, and being silly. :)  Trying to hide away from the camera.
 
Afterwards, he got serious, and was very busy coloring his pages. He then asked if he can cut them out to make puppets! I was happy to oblige, because it just comes to show how creative he can be! It never even crossed my mind to make puppets! Ha! :)  
I taped popsicle sticks to each animal, the teacher and the children cut-outs so he can play with them.  He and his Daddy even did a puppet show for me! :) 
Story time in Spanish, learning new colors and animals, and making puppet shows kept him busy for a few hours.  This boy keeps me on my toes, and now I'm thinking and working on our next "At-home Spanish lessons" :)  

What fun ways have you tried to incorporate learning Spanish (or any other language) at home? I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and comments! Please like, share or pin!

¡Hasta la próxima!

Disclaimer: An Amazon affiliate link is used in this post.

This post is being linked up at: Crafty Mom's Share, Kid Lit Blog Hop, Weekly Kid's Co-Op, and The Children's Bookshelf. 

Our Journey into Spanish Immersion Classes

Our Journey into Spanish Immersion Classes

Photo credit: Clip art on Office online
As a bilingual mother trying to raise a bilingual child in an English monolingual environment has been challenging. However, my hopes and dreams of raising a bilingual child have been rekindled by both the opportunity to enroll him in Spanish Immersion class, and my son's continued interest in the Spanish language, and as he claimed some time ago, "Mommy I know Spanish!" :)

Spanish Home Lesson: Maisy's Food (Dual Language Book)

I've been toying with the idea of focusing more on starting an at-home Spanish lessons for little one. I am not a teacher, but I am a mother trying to teach his son Spanish. Being that Spanish is my first language, I feel confident enough that I can pull this off. :)  Keeping in mind that I have to make this fun, and interactive for my pre-schooler.    

In a recent visit to the library little one picked out Maisy's Food Los Alimentos de Maisy: A Maisy Dual Language Book (Spanish Edition).  The book is simple, colorful with both English and Spanish words with each picture.  So this past weekend I started by integrating a  craft session after Spanish story time with Maisy's Food book. 

After we read the book we started making the foods in the book and he would say the name in Spanish. He enjoys hands on crafts so I came up with a great idea of making Maisy's food with Play-doh.  Once we were done making the foods, I wrote on each paper plate the name of the foods, and he matched the words with the book to find which food it was. We had so much fun, and spent a good hour and a half learning Spanish as we were playing.  Then of course, he wanted to kick it up a notch, and played "restaurant" with his Daddy and I. 




As you can tell by the look of joy on his face he truly enjoyed it, and has learned some new words in Spanish.  Of course, once again I'm a proud Mami!  We're going to be working on more at-home Spanish lessons, and I've found a lot of wonderful resources on-line.  No worries I will share soon in another another post!  :)

What fun ways have you tried to incorporate learning Spanish (or any other language) at home? I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and comments!  Please like, share or pin!

¡Hasta la próxima!

Disclaimer: An Amazon affiliate link is used in this post.

This post is being linked up at: Crafty Mom's Share, Kid Lit Blog Hop, Weekly Kid's Co-Op, and The Children's Bookshelf. 

Book Review: I am Latino The Beauty in Me

I came across this book during a visit to the library with little one, and immediately felt drawn to it.  Other than me, my son doesn't see too many Latinos in our area, and I want him to embrace the "Latino" beauty in him!

I Am Latino: The Beauty in Me by Sandra L. Pinkney. Is an actual picture book with photographs of Latino children, and families. The first page starts with "Use your senses and you will see, there is beauty in everything."  The book encourages you to use your five senses to appreciate the beauty in a Latino/a:

See the beauty in me I am Latino/a, see the love in the family
Listen to the melody in the language, to the rhythm of the music's beat
Taste the Latin foods
Feel the need to dance swaying your body (Baladas), hip swinging (salsa) or finger snapping (Flamenco)
Smell the aroma of the Latin foods

In almost every other page it poses the catchy question:  "I am Latino/a. Can you sense the beauty?"   The message that it conveys is that being Latino is beautiful through images of our culture, and family traditions. This book exalts the Spanish language, the music, the food, and the strong family ties. 

Both little one and I enjoyed this book. We talked about his familia that lives in Puerto Rico and in New York. It has words in both English and Spanish that we were able to practice together, and reinforce the Spanish phrases and words that he's learned.   

Have you come across a book that "speaks" out to you? About your culture, identity or heritage? If so, please do let me know. I'm always looking out for good books about culture, identity or heritage.  Please comment, like, share, and/or pin! Gracias! 

Disclaimer: An Amazon affiliate link is used in this post.

This post is being linked up at:  Kid Lit Blog Hop.

Walking into a Heart Attack...This is My Story


Go Red for Women


This is a very personal post, far from crafts, and fun things.  It is a look at me, as a wife, mother, and as a human being. I have taken a very deep look inside of myself; and have realized that if I want to enjoy every single moment, laugh, milestone that my family & life has to offer, I need to be around.


So I asked myself this question:  "What point does having a blog to discover the world through my son's eyes have, if I'm unable to do so?"  Wow, that is a very scary thought, and one that I can't even fathom.

I've struggled with weight all of my life, as far as I can remember even as a child I was always the "big" girl.  However, I never had any 'major' health issues until now. A visit to the doctor's office has put everything in perspective.  Years are creeping on me, and as an overweight woman in her early 40's I find myself borderline with high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.  To add to that the lack of energy, lower back pain, and the aches of heel spurs that are most of the time unbearable. 

My doctor put the risks of my current health in simple terms: high blood pressure + high cholesterol + over weight + physical inactivity = heart attack.   When I got home after the doctor's visit, I hugged my son, and my husband. I was so terribly scared at the thought of not being there for them, even as I type this I feel an urge to cry.   Oh my God, I was walking straight into a heart attack!!!  I researched on-line, and read on the American Heart Association that as women get older their risk of having high blood pressure becomes greater than a man's!  Heart disease is also the #1 killer of women!  

Thinking back there was a time during and after my pregnancy I was very conscious of what I was eating because I was eating for two. I was eating healthy during my pregnancy, and after my son was born because I was nursing  him since the day he was born. For 25 months I made healthy, conscious choices when it came to eating.  Breastfeeding my son was such an accomplishment, especially knowing I was feeding my son the best of the best! Nevertheless,  after I weaned him I started getting careless about what I was eating. I had stopped caring for myself, and putting myself last.  It was easy to nibble on unhealthy snacks through out the day, grab a bite of what my son left on his plate because he didn't finish it, or off my husband's plate (yeah, I did that, too!).  Then I had the million and one excuses on why I didn't have time to exercise or I simply couldn't.  Then the pounds start creeping, and then I got my reality check during my doctor's visit.

My doctor decided not to give me prescription medicine because he truly believes that I can lower my blood pressure, and  cholesterol to a normal level by losing weight. I'm grateful to him for not giving me medicine because of all the side effects. I know I can do this! It's just a matter of taking a step forward to a heart healthier me!  In other words, grabbing the bull by it's horns!  

I started by taking a Heart Attack Risk Assessment that gave me a slap in the face! It's like "Look,  these are your numbers, and your risk on getting a heart attack!"  Then I enrolled in our local YMCA, and I'm working out in the mornings (I'm much more productive in the a.m.). I'm also on Weight Watchers On-Line it helps keep track of my food, and physical activities. I've also started using a weight loss supplement (yes, I know some people don't like to use these types of products, but desperate times, require desperate measures, right?).  Plus, there's an extra incentive they will pay you for losing weight. :) 

I wanted to keep my health issues private since this is so personal, but I feel that this is an issue that needs to be addressed. The statistics are alarming! "Heart disease kills more women than men, at an average rate of one death per minute." I don't want to be part of the statistics, I want to live long and healthy! 

February is American Heart Month, and it's also the perfect time to start getting healthy, and taking care of your heart!  It's never too late, and consult with your doctor before you start any weight loss regimen.  

This post is being linked at Kid Blogger's Go Red For Women supporting the American Heart Association.  Click on the button below, and check them out for other wonderful post on being heart healthy! 
Go Red for Women Blog Hop

This post contains affiliate links, however I am not being paid.  I am simply using them for my own personal weight loss. 

Exploring Puerto Rico "Isla del Encanto": Guest Post on Mama Smiles

File:Puerto Rico Beaches 01.jpg
This picture is posted under creative common rights. For link go here.

I absolutely love my beautiful island of Puerto Rico.  I love it's history, and culture. I live it day by day since I'm a very proud Puerto Rican!  Therefore, I am thrilled to share a guest post on Mama Smiles Exploring Geography series about Puerto Rico!

MaryAnne from Mama Smiles has this wonderful series on exploring geography around the world, and as I looked at the list of cities, states, and countries I noticed Puerto Rico was missing on the list!  So guest posting about Puerto Rico was going to be a great opportunity to showcase the beauties, and wonders of my Isla del Encanto to others; and you can read it about it here.

While you're there don't forget to explore other countries, states and/or cities! All you need is to sit back, relax and read!