August Long Weekend

In order for our Province to have a long weekend in each summer months, our August long weekend falls on the first Monday of the month, called BC Day. It`s hard to believe that July is just about over and we`ll move into a new month. We have had so much rain and chilly weather that I for one don`t feel like it`s even summer yet. Temps here haven`t gone above 23c, nor have even hit much over 18c lately!! It`s rather sad! I guess we can still hope for a hot month of August. I`d be happy with just a few weeks of 25c-30c....not asking for much.

In the meantime, one thing that is growing in abundance this year are the raspberries. Each juicy berry is a little taste of nature`s goodness :)

August Lesson Plan Ideas

August Lesson Plan Ideas For You
Here are some ideas to incorporate August events in your classroom:

1. August Is Back To School For Teachers - Worksheets, Lessons, Guide

2. National Inventors Month - Worksheets, Guide

3. August 1 - Ramadan Begins - Worksheets, Lesson Plans

4. August 6th- Alexander Fleming's Birthday - Worksheets, Guide

August 7th - American Family Day - Workbook

August 8th - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon Resigns - Worksheets, Lessons

August 18th - Wizard of Oz Premiered in 1939. - Teacher Guide

August 24 - Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. - Worksheets, Lessons

August 26 - U.S. Women Gain the Right to Vote - Worksheets, Lessons

August 27th - Mother Teresa's Birthday - Worksheets, Lessons

August 28th - Dr. King gives "I Have a Dream" Speech - Worksheets, Lessons

See All August Events and Celebrations

 

See source for more info: http://www.teach-nology.com/monthly/aug/augustevents.html

and http://www.teach-nology.com/newsletters/577.html

Thinking Teachers

"In these days of teacher bashing, it is even more important to show the world your pride in the profession. TeachersFirst watches what people say about us on blogs and tweets. Soon, we will be surprising random teachers who spread the word about TeachersFirst with a shirt to tell the world YOU are a Thinking Teacher. If you have a blog or web page, write a post about TeachersFirst. Tweet to tell people who may not know about TeachersFirst. Share TeachersFirst on Facebook. You may be surprised to hear from us."

See more about TeachersFirst at:  http://www.teachersfirst.com/whyjoin.cfm

Things to Do

Need Something to Do?

http://www.kidsdelco.com/     http://figmediapa.com/
Print a book to read.   Play a game online.   Sing a Song
Learn a New Skill   A Game a Day   Spirograph
Coloring Pages   Design an Animal   Jungle Fun   Craft a Day
Virtual Keyboard   Simple Crafts   Sand Art   Online Games
Find It!   Games   Paintbox   What's in the Bag?   3D Doodle
Optical Illusions  Move the Red Block  The Dot Game  Bubble Wrap
Learning Games   Kdg Activities   Educational Activities


See more ideas at: http://www.mrsjonesroom.com/index.html

Clip art: http://www.phillipmartin.info/clipart/

Summer Home Learning Recipes

for Parents and Children
Grades K-3

"Parents and families are the first and most important teachers. If families teach a love of learning, it can make all the difference in the world to our children."

Richard W. Riley
U.S. Secretary of EducationEducational research has made it clear that parents who are actively involved in their children's learning at home help their children become more successful learners in and out of school. During the early adolescent years, adult guidance is especially important.
Here are some reading, writing, math, and science Home Learning Recipe activities. These have been developed by the Home and School Institute. Parents of young children in prekindergarten through third grade find them to be easy and enjoyable ways to work with the school--using materials they have at home to build their children's skills.

Reading Activities

Sorting and Stacking--Teach classification skills with dinnerware. Ask your child to match and stack dishes of similar sizes and shapes. Also have your child sort flatware--forks with forks, spoons with spoons. This is like recognizing the shapes of letters and numbers. Telephonitis --Give your child practice in reading numbers left to right by dialing a telephone. Make a list of telephone numbers your child can read--for relatives, friends, the weather bureau--and have your child make a call or two.
Let 'Em Eat Shapes--Cut bread into different shapes--rectangles, triangles, squares, circles. Make at least two of each shape. Ask your youngster to choose a pair of similar shapes, then to put jam on the first piece, and to place the second piece on top to make a sandwich. This is a snack plus a game to match shapes.
Dress Me--Increase your child's vocabulary. Teach the name of each item of clothing your child wears--shirt, blouse, sweater, sock, shoe--when your child is dressing or undressing. Also teach the body parts--head, arm, knee, foot. Then print the words on paper and ask your child to attach these papers to the clothes in the closet or drawers. Make a pattern of your child lying on a large sheet of paper. Tack it up. Ask your child to attach the words for the body parts to the right locations.
Hidden Letters--Build reading observation skills with this activity. Ask your child to look for letters of the alphabet on boxes and cans of food and household supplies. For example, find five A's or three C's, or any number of letters or combinations on cereal boxes, soup cans, bars of soap. Start with easy-to-find letters and build up to harder-to-find ones. Then have your children write the letters on paper or point out the letters on the boxes and cans.

Writing Activities

Disappearing Letters--Promote creativity and build muscle control with a pail of water and a brush. On a warm day, take your children outside to the driveway or sidewalk and encourage them to write anything they wish. Talk about what they've written. Comic Strip Writing--Use comic strips to help with writing. Cut apart the segments of a comic strip and ask your child to arrange them in order. Then ask your child to fill in the words of the characters (orally or in writing).
And That's the End of the Story--Improve listening skills and imagination. Read a story aloud to your child and stop before the end. Ask the child how the story will turn out. Then finish the story and discuss the ending with the child. Did it turn out the way you thought?

Math Activities

Laundry Math--Sharpen skills by doing a necessary household job. Ask your youngster to sort laundry--before or after washing. How many socks? How many sheets? And you may find a lost sock as well. Napkin Fractions--Make fractions fun. Fold paper towels or napkins into large and small fractions. Start with halves and move to eighths and sixteenths. Use magic markers to label the fractions.
Weigh Me--Teach estimating skills. Ask your children to guess the weight of several household objects--a wastebasket, a coat, a full glass of water. Then show children how to use a scale to weigh the objects. Next, have them estimate their own weight, as well as that of other family members, and use the scale to check their guesses. Some brave parents get on the scale, too.

Science Activities

Ice Is Nice--Improve observation and questioning skills by freezing and melting ice. Add water to an ice cube tray and set it in the freezer. Ask your child how long it will take to freeze. For variety, use different levels of water in different sections of the tray. Set ice cubes on a table. Ask your child how long they will take to melt. Why do they melt? Place the ice cubes in different areas of the room. Do they melt faster in some places than in others? Why? Float and Sink--Encourage hypothesizing (guessing). Use several objects--soap, a dry sock, a bottle of shampoo, a wet sponge, an empty bottle. Ask your child which objects will float when dropped into water in a sink or bathtub. Then drop the objects in the water, one by one, to see what happens.
What Does It Take to Grow?--Teach cause-and-effect relationships. Use two similar, healthy plants. Ask your child to water one plant and ignore the other for a week or two, keeping both plants in the same place.
At the end of that time, ask your child to water the drooping plant. Then talk about what happened and why. Plants usually perk up with water just as children perk up with good words and smiles from parents.
Children are eager learners: they are interested in everything around them. These easy-to-do activities encourage children's active learning and those wonderful words of growing confidence, "I can do it."
Think of these as starter activities to get your ideas going. There are opportunities everywhere for teaching and learning.
Take a little time to do a lot of good!
These home learning "recipes" have been tested and developed by Dr. Dorothy Rich, author of MEGASKILLS ®, for the National Education Association. Reprinted with permission of the National Education Association and The Home and School Institute, 1994.
Reproduction of this brochure is permitted.
See Source for More Info at: http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/Recipes/reck-3.html

Taking a trip without ever leaving home

One thing I love about meeting new Blogger friends and following those who pique my interest is that I get to visit other places I never would have otherwise had the opportunity to visit. I get to tour through peoples homes and summer cottages. I get to feel the pride taken in many hours of searching for just that perfect piece of furniture or eclectic dish to complete or add to a collection or maybe see the perfection of a refurbished antique. I get to see how colors come together or how lovingly a quilt has been pieced into an heirloom. Creativity is born from seeing how others brings things together and inspire us.

Thank-you to all my Blogger friends for making me feel your passion :)

What to do....

.....when the weather is cool and rainy. This summer has so far been very rainy and cool, so sinking into a world between the covers of a book is a great way to spend the days. I went to the library yesterday with a list of recommended books I found at Misadventures of the Dynamic Duo who is part of First Wild Card Tour that posts book reviews of Christian books. I wrote down several that I thought look interesting. This also is an opportunity to broaden my reading to other Authors I am not familiar with.
So, currently I am reading:

Here is a little excerpt to whet your appetite:
"Something sinister is happening in Radcliff, Colorado---and police chief Jonah Westfall must stop the twisted behavior. His investigation forces him to involve childhood friend Tia Monroe, new veterinarian Liz Rainer, and the local baker. Haunted by his past, can Jonah ignore his personal demons to protect the town---and the people he cares about?"
320 pages, softcover from Waterbrook.

International Friendship Day celebrations take place on the first Sunday of August.

"My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me."  Henry Ford

"My friends are my estate."  Emily Dickinson
"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."  Walter Winchell

"A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself."  Unknown

"I get by with a little help from my friends."  John Lennon

"A Friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyway!"  Unknown

Ice Cream Day and Month

National Ice Cream Day - 3rd Sunday in July
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month. He also established National Ice Cream Day as the third Sunday in the month.

Did you know? Charles E. Minches of St. Louis, Missouri is credited with inventing the ice cream cone. On July 23, 1904 at the World's Fair in St. Louis, he filled a pastry cone with two scoops of ice cream to make the first ice cream cone. There is some controversy over this claim. Italo Marchiony of New York City filed a patent for the ice cream cone months before the fair opened. And, he was selling lemon ice in cones as early as 1896.

More Information:
July is National Ice Cream Month from the International Dairy Foods Association
Ice Cream History and Folklore
 
See more at the source: http://www.holidayinsights.com/other/icecreamday.htm
More Resources: http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/icecream.htm

Flash Flood

I was out driving this aft and my poor little car was as overwhelmed by this flooding as the one in this photo.

Our local News Source had this to say about our freaky weather this aft:

"Rain: Open Thursday-Sunday 4am through whenever Mother Nature wants to quit and, unfortunately, this weekend she has no plans to quit pouring rain over parts of the Peace Region.

More of this unseasonably wet weather is expected tonight throughout the Peace with an additional 5-10mm for Saturday. On Sunday, showers are expected but no heavy rainfall IS forecasted...Fingers crossed.

The heavy rain wasn't forecasted and hit just before 5 pm this evening flooding parking lots, vehicles and stranding people on streets as some rush to their cars."

Can all this be blamed on Global Warming??

Maybe it's Still Summer!

After the second bout of rainy, windy, chilly weather here in Northern BC, here is proof that it may still be summer and we may still get some sunshine and heat. PLEASE???

This pot of marigolds survived being "drowned" earlier in rain. Such a lovely splash of yellow beauty!

And the baby rose shrub I planted just this spring has proven she is a hardy soul and produced new blooms.

A Perfect Day For.....

The torrential rain did stop sometime in the wee hours of the morning and the sky actually brightened. Then we watched dark clouds roll in once again and it poured!! There is supposed to be one more day of this rain and then sunshine...yay!!
This aft, after reading for most of it we decided to watch the Movie, Knight & Day. It's a delightful spoof and we laughed. Well done!

How High is the Water, Momma?

I mentioned here about the weather prediction for Heavy Rainfall. Well, the rain has come and has already dropped a recorded 3 inches...and it hasn't stopped yet. It's looking like North Peace isn't getting the beating that South Peace is:

                                Tuby RV Park

                               Golf Course

This is what my brother had to drive through with his big tanker truck,making work soggy and miserable :

I'll end this with this Johnny Cash song:

Author's Week-Second Week of July

"Author's Week is celebrated in the 2nd week of July and other times of the year! Lessons that explore the challenges, achievements, and lives of some of the most influential authors in history.  Dramatizing life stories provides students with an engaging way to become more critical readers and researchers. Students select American authors to research, create timelines and bio poems, and then collaborate on teams to design and perform a panel presentation in which they role-play as their authors. The final project requires each student to synthesize information about his or her author in an essay."

http://www.teach-nology.com/themes/lang_arts/greatauthors/  Great Authors Theme Resources

http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/authors.htm  Children's Authors-Illustrators-Great Site

http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Whole_Language/WLG0010.html  Favorite Author Lesson

http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Literature/LIT0033.html  Shakespeare Lesson

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/indeksi.htm Authors Calendar-ABC Order

http://authorsdirectory.com/ Classical Authors Directory

http://www.classicauthors.net/ Classic Authors List

http://www.bethanyroberts.com/childrensbookauthors.htm#alphabetical Directory of Authors

http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/king/authorexpert/ Web Quest Authors

http://teach.fcps.net/trt10/Webquests/writeon.htm Web Quest Authors

http://www.first-school.ws/theme/books.htm  Children Books and Literature Theme-Lessons-Activities

http://www.swlauriersb.qc.ca/english/edservices/pedresources/webquest/authorwq.htm Web Quest Favorite Author

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/biography-study-using-role-398.html  Role-Playing Authors

http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/authors.htm  Authors Theme Resources

Authors' Week

Author Sites

Jan Brett
Ronald Dahl

Tomie dePaula

Patricia Polacco

Gail Gibbons

Joanna Cole

Kevin Henkes

Eric Carle

Judy Blume

David Carter

Lynne Cherry

Faith Ringgold

David Kirk

Laura Numeroff

Dav Pilkey

Gary Paulsen

Mike Thaler

Denise Fleming

Kate Waters

David Adler

Audrey Wood

Jane Yolen

Dr. Seuss

Jon Scieszka

Katherine Paterson

Angela Medearis

Robert Munsch

Sharon Creech

Pat Mora

Wendell Minor

Dan Gutman

Jean George

David Wiesner

Charlotte Zolowtow

Jim Aylesworth

Betsy Byers

Children's Authors

Top 100 Children's Authors

Source: http://www.mrscowan.com/

Evening

                          The summer night is like a perfection of thought.

Heavy Rainfall.....again

Today has been a wonderful, sunny day. Since my husband is on "Staycation" he has enjoyed puttering around. Today he has been doing yard work and so I've been serving lunch and coffee breaks outdoors and sitting out there enjoying summer weather. I'm glad we have because here comes the rain again. Environment Canada calls for "The Peace Region could receive another 50 to 80 mm of rain this week.

Environment Canada has issued a statement that heavy rain is expected over northeast B.C. Beginning late Thursday night and continuing through Saturday morning. The forecast calls for 50 to 80 mm of rain.

The majority of the rain is expected to fall over central and southern parts of the Peace region. So far the models have been a bit inconsistent with rainfall amounts and exact locations. However, the pattern indicates a high probability for heavy rainfall over the Peace region starting late Thursday night and continuing through Saturday morning."
Not a thrilling prospect and this on the heels of the last heavy rainfall, resulting in flooding and mudslides. Highway crews are still repairing part of the highway in The Pine Pass that was swept away.

A Royal Visit

Prince William and Kate spent Canada Day in Ottawa, first attending a citizenship ceremony before heading to the huge party on Parliament Hill. Now, as wowed as we Canadians are when Royalty comes to visit, I cannot help but notice how appropriate Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, is by wearing a red hat with Maple Leafs, that symbolizes our Canada.

O Canada - The Maple Leaf Forever

Let me tell you a little story about this grand Country called Canada, on her 144th Birthday :)

Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire. Originally called Dominion Day, the name was changed in 1982, the year that Canada gained full independence from the United Kingdom.
On Canada Day, July 1, 1980, 'O Canada!' was proclaimed the National Anthem of Canada, 100 years after it's debut performance in 1880.

Jul 1, 1867 - Seeing Canada become a country on July 1st, 1867, Muir was inspired to write a song about this new dominion that he was a part of. After reflecting on the new Dominion's national symbol – the humble maple leaf.

Interesting Canadian Facts:

• Canada was named from the Huron and Iroquois word kanata, which means village.
• Canada has approximately three million lakes across the country. More than 30,000 of those lakes are larger than three square kilometers!
• Princess Juliana of the Netherlands gave Ottawa 100,000 tulip bulbs as a thank-you gift in 1945 for keeping the Dutch Royal Family safe during World War II. The Netherlands was occupied by the Nazis until Canadian soldiers liberated the country in 1944-45.
• The Bank of Canada issued the last $1 bill in 1989. It was replaced by the one-dollar coin, known as the loonie, which came out in 1987.
• The world's only flying saucer launching pad is in St. Paul, Alberta. It was built in 1967.
• The largest mall in the world is West Edmonton Mall in Alberta. It has over 800 stores and restaurants, an amusement park, the world's largest indoor lake with four working submarines, 26 movie theaters and a hockey-sized ice rink.
• More than 75% of the world's maple syrup comes from Canada.

Poem-That Fateful Fourth

  
That Fateful Fourth  

Our will was strong, our want was great Let freedom reign, what better fate We journeyed long from Plymouth Rock The time was clear to end all talk That fateful fourth our courage showed Americans - and how we glowed We won the right to be self known Our independence, clearly shown The test of time has stood us tall Through bravest hearts, some forced to fall We’ll always cherish those we’ve lost Their gift to us, their total cost Today we face another foe And stand together, all do know Please often pray to God above He’s seen our hearts, He knows our love  ©2002Roger J. Robicheau Source: http://sites.google.com/site/veteranpoetroger/