Tech Bootcamp

Ok! Heads up! I remember when the latest technology was making the Chipmunks sing in unreachable and funny notes...  And here I am, a Digital Immigrant, learning as quickly as possible how to use technology in online classes as well as a tool for educational uses.  I am having fun exploring as much as possible while I am as busy as I have ever been.  Ideas bud, bloom, and wilt away!  I am surfing, tweeting, blogging, facebooking, et al, all over the place...  I visited my Twitter account and found that I am following New York Times, The New Yorker, celebs, and friends.  I have been facebooking for a while as well as blogging.  Now, I just need to bring pics, etc. into this blog to make it more interesting...

Last week in January 2011

One always hopes for the new year to be better, although we sometimes hardly know what better is. I am grateful to have a roof over my head, and an apartment underneath that roof that is quite nice, even awesome, one might say.  We are comfortable, have enough food; we love each other. I love teaching, too. What is it that myself longs for? warmth, sunshine, a caressing breeze, and no earaches.

Snowing...

Oh, dear.  It looks like we are going to be snowed in for the week. 

Snow

Snow. It has fallen; it is falling; and it will continue to fall. (past, present, and future progressive.)  Snow is cold. Teddy will not do his business in snow. Teddy looks at me like its my fault that it is snowing.  Teddy flicks his feet, one at a time, when he has to walk in snow.  Teddy does not like snow. He does not run in snow. He does not look for Spot or other dogs in the snow. Teddy does not sniff the snow or bite the snow. Teddy says, "To hell with the snow."

Grammar Tree

I am trying to devise a visual that will help students see that the parts of speech grow together to form a sentence.  For example, in order to have a sentence, one must use nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs to form the sentence. Sentences form paragraphs.  Paragraphs form essays, etc.  Hmm, I have a tree branch with twigs--this is not a huge limb; it is a smallish limb, etc...  And the branch has twigs that branch to form larger twigs--will this be confusing or will it be helpful.  I will play with this on paper a bit...

Hello! Christmas and other holidays!

Did you know that the song, White Christmas, sung by Bing Crosby, was from a musical?  I am uncertain why people long for snow on Christmas; perhaps we have this connotation that the snow reigns peace as well as water.  Or perhaps many of us are wise enough to appreciate the beauty of the darkness, the cold, and the light as it combines to help us remember our wishes for peace, health, and prosperity for every one.  While snow and cold are different, I would prefer a warm beach, sunshine, and soft, warm air.  Easily could I dream my holiday wishes there...

Happy Holidays and New Year

I am listening to the kind of gentle jazz that I really like; the music reminds me of my sweet husband, David.  He is cooking tonight; I can hear him chopping and hear the clang of the pots and pans as he gets them out of the cupboard. My David is sweet and earnest. He is tireless, works hard, takes care of his family, and loves me, too. I am very blessed and feeling so tonight.