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Eric Van Raepenbusch's Blog – April 2011 Archive (7)

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Happy Birthday Daniel Kirk - May 1

My mother likes to recount the story of the first birthday party I ever had, when she invited a bunch of neighborhood kids over to celebrate my special day with me.  She decorated the house, made the cake, planned the fun and games and the kids arrived at the appointed hour bearing presents and energy to burn.  I, the sensitive child, found the party a little more exciting than I could handle.  Before long my mom realized I had disappeared.  She searched the house and found me in my bedroom,… Continue

Added by Eric Van Raepenbusch on April 30, 2011 at 10:10pm — No Comments

Happy Birthday Stuart J. Murphy - April 25

The go-to question when meeting someone new is often, "What do you do for a living?"  When I answer this question by saying, "Stay at Home Dad" there is a moment of awkwardness and then one of the following comments or questions:



Wow, that is really great for your kids that you are able to stay home.

Wow, dude, I wish I could stay home all day?

Wow, do you miss working?



I really like hearing the first response, the second makes me laugh on the… Continue

Added by Eric Van Raepenbusch on April 24, 2011 at 10:02pm — No Comments

Happy Birthday Jon Agee - April 19

When I was a special education teacher, I had my students spend a small part of each language arts class "working with words".  Students would manipulate letter cards to make words and then rearrange them to find new words.  It was a quick way to focus on word patterns and isolate the sounds we had been studying.  This week my children and I "worked with words" in some hilarious new ways by investigating books by Jon Agee.  We learned about:



- Palindromes (words or phrases spelled…

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Added by Eric Van Raepenbusch on April 18, 2011 at 10:55pm — No Comments

Happy Birthday Jane Kurtz - April 17

"I grew up mostly in Ethiopia and in a big family --eventually five girls and one boy-- so birthdays were pretty practical and low-key, but I do have a sweet memory of the year I turned ten.  That fall, I'd gone off to boarding school in the city of Addis Ababa. (My family lived in the countryside, far from the capital city, where I spent days outside, a big part of the inspiration from my Lanie stories published by American Girl last year.) Since my birthday was in April, I had no hope of… Continue

Added by Eric Van Raepenbusch on April 16, 2011 at 11:29pm — No Comments

Happy Birthday Beverly Cleary - April 12

Beverly Cleary's birthday sparks a nationwide celebration of reading.   Every year on April 12th, Drop Everything And Read (D.E.A.R.) Day, families are asked to put aside all distractions and read for 30 minutes. This day of reading is celebrated on Beverly Cleary's birthday because of her Newbery Honor book (1982), …
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Added by Eric Van Raepenbusch on April 11, 2011 at 11:13pm — No Comments

Happy Birthday Jerdine Nolen - April 6

Nothing is more devastating for a small child than seeing their balloon accidentally drift away. I remember my daughter's 4th birthday party when she released a balloon that was attached to a gift.  It was tragic to watch the balloon disappear.  The tears continued to flow even after the balloon was gone.  Jerdine Nolen's motto is "Hold fast to your dreams as you would your balloons." As a parent, her motto made me think about the importance of keeping my children's dreams securely fastened…

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Added by Eric Van Raepenbusch on April 5, 2011 at 10:16pm — No Comments

Happy Birthday Sandra Boynton - April 3

In preparation for Sandra Boyton's birthday this week, I read through my post from last year's birthday celebration when we made sock puppets for her song and short film One Shoe Blues (look for the post below).  I ended the post by asking, "The question is where will she go next? More music? More film? Or something completely new?" This year's celebration brought something completely…

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Added by Eric Van Raepenbusch on April 2, 2011 at 11:47pm — No Comments

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