Ms. Nancy Online

Before I left Alaska, two of my students entered the Earth and Sky Young Producer’s competition, which was an international contest where kids could produce a 90 second radio broadcast about anything involving science. While the contest no longer exists (sad…because these two students won $1000), all the performances are archived. This is a great example of a podcast, which is essentially a radio broadcast that is available over the internet. Wouldn’t that be an interesting project for your child? It involves not only writing development but speaking skills. I know our students in the Brea science group are learning amazing facts about the ocean and giving speeches about what they are discovering. Maybe we can get some of these speeches tied together in a readers theater production to put online. Wouldn’t the grandparents in Florida or North Dakota love to hear their grandkids online?  salmon.mp3

More examples of winning performances (as well as lots of great science information) is available at www.earthsky.org. Just type in a subject in the search box. If any of you have a performer ready, give me a call and we will get it rolling. It’s amazing how much information can be conveyed in 90 seconds, and it gives kids a great sense of an introduction, body and conclusion.

Karen has just added the first book report to our blog. Be sure to read it! I’m certain there are other students who are writing interesting book reports because I have seen them, but writing them on your own page gives you a record of what you have read and lets the world know what you think is good reading. So let your friends know!

Three members of our little community are again performing in The Glory of Christmas at the Crystal Cathedral. I believe we have an armored soldier and a woman selling spices accompanied by her child. Somehow they are managing to do performances at night and on the weekends and do homeschool!

Cerritos has just informed us that they have openings available for us because Keesha and Margo attended professional development workshops. Thank you to them! I am taking reservations immediately, so please call me if I haven’t talked to you already. Here is what is available:

Monday, December 4, 2006 @ 11:30 (arrive by 11:05) Grades Pre-K to 2

Christmas is here and Franklin decides to have the best party ever! Beaver takes care of entertainment while Bear cooks the food, sampling everything he makes. Fox gathers Christmas decorations for the perfect Christmas tree that Franklin must find all by himself! Students join Franklin and friends as they go on magical adventures with a dancing snowman, a wacky gingerbread bear, and a trio of playful elves. Everyone, including audience members, celebrate the holiday season with lots of singing, dancing, and the Christmas spirit!

Performed with larger than life animated characters (actors in costumes), this musical features beloved Franklin the Turtle and his friends as we see them in story books. The breathtaking scenery gives audience members the impression of turning the pages of a giant story book. Franklin’s Family Christmas Concert is heartwarming. Young students leave the theater wanting to read all of Franklin’s stories! 

Tuesday, December 5, 2006 @ 11:30 (arrive by 11:05) Grades 4 to 8

A Celtic Christmas features stories, music, songs, and dances from the infinitely rich treasure of Ireland’s cultural heritage. The show recreates the joy and innocence of a night before Christmas in a farmhouse. Neighbors gather around a fire on a long wintry night. They laugh, tell stories, play music, and dance to find joy. Long before Riverdance, ordinary Irish men and women knocked sparks off the flagstone floors of their cottages with jigs, reels, and hornpipes and the rafters rang with the fiery music of the fiddle, bodhran, tin whistle, and the mesmerizing ulleann pipes. Along with Tomaseen Foley, gifted dancers and musicians bring to life such a night, taking us back to a time when television and electronic devices were not yet invented. This is an uplifting performance for everyone!

Among all the people in my life that I’m thankful for, I have to say that the families that are on my roster are the best perk of my job. Some jobs are just that, but teaching is a calling and I’m so happy that you and your children are in my life. The extraordinary chain of events that led to this job and to all of you still amazes me. So, thank you for all you add to my life. I trust you will all have a Thanksgiving full of joy and the making of good memories.

I’m sorry to say that I tried to sign all of you up as users on my email address, but the system just wouldn’t let me. I thought that would be an easier way for your children to start writing and having a forum for their thoughts, but it seems like you will have to do it on your own. It really only takes minutes if time is the hesitation. I know you are all busy; you are doing one of the most important and difficult jobs in the world. You have my greatest respect. Another issue I wonder about is fear…of predators, of doing a new trick on the computer, of having your child’s writing displayed for all the world to see. All are legitimate. Please let me know if I can help you with any of those.

Speaking of fear, another good piece was posted by Stone that invites response. Thinking about it today, I would have to say that my greatest fear is that something would happen to my children or my husband. As many of you know, the summer before last we were awakened at 3:00 in the morning by one of my son’s friends, saying he thought Joseph might have been in an accident. I found myself in a surprisingly calm place throughout, as I proceeded to call the local hospitals and the police to get information. When we found Joey, he was a mess, but he was alive! I was overwhelmed with thankfulness, and at the same time, devastated by the loss felt by the parents of the child that didn’t survive that night. That loss doesn’t go away. My walks often take me by their house and I ache for them and how their lives were changed by that moment. The earth was shaken for a lot of people that night. One thing I know: fear doesn’t accomplish anything. When my boys leave for the evening, I have to put my trust in the same Hand that got Joey through that night.

On a lighter note, Tosh wrote about his dream. It’s another good writing idea. I’m sure your kids have lots of dreams, both the sleeping and waking kind. Get them to write about them! Their audience is waiting!

If you haven’t visited the Nixon Library, this might be a good time. ”One of the largest such collections ever assembled, A Holiday Festival of Trains features a breathtaking landscape of more than 100 toy trains whistling through dozens of tiny snow-covered villages and wintry mountain passes. Accompanying the toy trains will be a rare display of the Lilly Belle, the miniature steam locomotive built in 1949 by Walt Disney and enjoyed in his own backyard, on loan from the Disney family.”

Since this is right in Orange County, this would be an easy field trip for your family. I say that, knowing that museum trips can be difficult for active kids. The last time I tried this particular museum with my boys, I got a great deal of eye rolling and general resistance to “another educational adventure.” It might have been easier with trains!

For our youngest writers a good Thanksgiving project would be to create an A to Z book featuring “Things I’m Thankful For.” Depending on your child’s skill level, each page could have one word and a picture or more extensive writings for more advanced writers. Students may need help coming up with thankful associations for some of the more obscure letters. If you do this project, please be sure to share it. Having a collection of created books would be a great addition to the spring Project Fair.

While I know it is a long drive, Family Math Night is happening on Thursday at the meeting center in Murrieta. From what I understand, numerous EF’s will be presenting games and presentations to make your math program richer and more exciting. Families with children in grades K-6 are invited to attend and join in the fun at 6:30 on November 16th.

Thursday was our last class in California Indian culture. We all sanded on our soapstone slabs, rounding them into beads using sharkskin (emery boards). The beads can be attached to the twisted rope headbands we made last week. We also played math and phonics games using our acorn spinning tops and sent messages to different “villages” with our rhythm sticks. We found the messages were much clearer when we played together which was really hard. It was hard to ignore our group today as we made a lot of racket. Everyone also had a chance to play on the percussion instruments provided by Yamaha and the Cerritos Performing Arts Center. Any family longing for more noise in the house should contact me for the loan of these instruments.

Tomorrow is the California Indian workshop! I can’t wait to see all of you. We will be making a headband, a petroglyph and some Indian games. It will be fun!

Watch for an announcement soon about a rhythm/music workshop with instruments donated by Yamaha. Again, this is a wonderful provision from the Cerritos Performing Arts Center. I will be going to the training and picking up the instruments tomorrow.

The Russian Seasons Dance performance was fantastic and if you were there to enjoy it, please write a thank you note I can send to the performers.

I’ve been notified by the host of this web site that it might go down for repair this weekend. So get your writings in before that!