Monday, March 31, 2014

Good News

Good news everyone!

1. It's Spring Break!  
Getting my rest on and getting back into a zen-like state of peace.  Or something like that.

2. My husband got a job!
He got an interview offer during his last week of employment with his former employer and now they've called him to work.  I'm very excited for him and our house!

3. Friday Field Trip
It only took forever to finally get coordinated with a manager but we're doing the fun pizza kitchen field trip this Friday and I hope that you can make it!

4. Making stuff up
Three sounded weird to leave off on so here's this one.  


I love you guys!  Stay safe and may everyone who reads this post receive great news to share with other people in their life.  *blows kisses*

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Ep. 6 - Take Care Miss Nanami

Disclaimer:
This episode analysis(musing) contains spoilers.  This episode analysis skims over topics and doesn't go into huge detail because each detail is really worth it's own post.  This analysis does not cover every detail to analyze but ones that I have chosen to discuss.  Also, these are my opinions and nothing official.  You do not have to accept or agree with any of this.


"Nanami-sama go-yōjin!"
 (七実様御用心!) 
May 7, 1997
No duel.

We begin with Nanami walking home, alone, in the blanket of night.  So much dark.  Following behind her are footsteps. Dun dun dun!!
Understandably frightened she runs off and trips, almost being run over by an oncoming car.  She doesn't pay any attention to the driver's apology or anything she says because she's frozen in fear by the shady figure watching her.  Okay, creepy but not as creepy as if that figure had been Slenderman.  

The next day Nanami shares her concerns with her big brother over.. Lunch?  In front of Miki.  He dismisses her claims of someone trying to kill her and I can't blame him.  Her presentation does make it seem something not to be taken seriously.

You know, it's not until this rewatch that I really see how distant he really is in their relationship.  I always before saw them as not close but with her overly brother loving self actually made it hard to truly see how dismissive he really is to her.  And right from the start.  Was the cat the beginning of Touga's distance?  When did he start pushing apart?

Baseball as Nanami tells Miki and her lackeys about what's going on.  Haha that even her lackeys are like "no, we do her dirty work so we'd get to brunt before her."  Well geez, if you weren't so obvious about how you "work" for maybe they would but anyone who catches it would surely skip the middle man.

Crack!  Smack!  Baseball to the face!  Now Nanami is raving mad at Utena.  
People that say Nanami is not a likable character can stuff it.  She's too naive adorbs!  Oh yeah, she's totally queen bee-itch and more but still.  

Utena and Nanami talking, laughing as Utena gets filled in.  Miki's only good for pointing out people in the Rose Garden.  As Touga and Anthy have an oddly dramatic conversation about "offing" something which Nanami assumes is her but Utena and Miki do too.  Miki, for being a child genius, you are such an idiot.  Turns out, Touga and Anthy were talking about a bug problem.  

Anyway, Nanami in her run away fit gets stopped in the hallway by.. a runaway horse.  And now, it begins.  She for real freezes in terror.  And then there are chickens.  And then we hear a deep manly voice talking to her and offering his kerchief.

The next day Utena and Miki and the lackeys follow Nanami to see who her "prince" was and we see.. Mitsuru Tsuwabaki?  Not the voice pair up but sure.  

So Nanami asks Tsuwabaki to be her boyfriend even though he's so young which throws everyone for a loop.  

Okay, so the Shadow Girls in this episode go camping and say the best part is the curry but their curry is all garbage.  I think it's more representative that when Nanami asks Mitsuru to be her boyfriend that it really is not what either of them really want.  Sort of.

And now.. For my favorite dialogue between Utena and Miki.  Miki educates Utena on how Nanami sees men with some light miscommunication because of lunch.  It's nothing that we, the viewer, don't already know but if Miki's presentation of "dregs. leftovers. parsley." doesn't tickle you then blah on you.

Our first view of Tsuwabaki and Nanami as a couple is cute but after a quick montage we begin to see the true nature of their relationship.  Tsuwabaki is Nanami's personal assistant in ways that Meryl Streep in the Devil Wears Prada would applaud.

This offends Utena in her black and white world of right and wrong who "stands up" for what Nanami is doing to Tsuwabaki only to be shocked when Tsuwabaki says that he doesn't mind.  He admits to being the one to have put Nanami in danger and his reasons for why which are kind of.. odd to me.  He wants to be her big brother and protect but doesn't really want to be her boyfriend.  He just wants to be cool and protect her.  Um, okay.  

Well, Nanami was listening to his whole admittance and blows her top.  Not because he tried to hurt her.  No, she doesn't care about that.  But that he made her doubt her big brother.  
And then a kangaroo.  
I love also how Miki and Utena totally ditch Nanami when the kangaroo approaches.

Holy tar, Tsuwabaki took on three middle school boys in a fist fight and he thinks he's going to take on this kangaroo.  But Nanami saves him from attempting that so good.  
Okay, I don't have any feelings for these two in any romantic or intimate way but when she does this.. I just love them in that moment.  A moment that purely defines their relationship.  A relationship of boss and subordinate in a way that's caring and close with intimacy or romance.  I don't know how else to explain it but it works and I find it beautiful.  

Then Touga tears off his shirt, dons boxing gloves, and knocks out the kangaroo in a single uppercut.  Chu-Chu helps by ringing the bell.  Nanami is finally explained that Touga and Anthy were trying to kill bugs.  Nanami and Tsuwabaki break up as an item but don't worry, they continue their boss and assistant relationship.

Touga Kiryuu...  You're really quite a guy.


Screenshots from the lovely ohtori.nu.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Baozi

Meat-filled buns?  Yes please!

I haven't had one of these since I was in high school.  My friend's mom made them when I stayed over.  They were SO good.

Every recipe I've found requires a steamer and I don't have one of those.  I don't even know if I can order these at the local restaurants.  

If you haven't tried these then you must definitely must take the time.  You'll never forget their savory delight.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

GELDS: SED1.4c

SED1 – The child will develop self-awareness.
SED1.4c Shows confidence in a range of abilities and the capacity to take on and accomplish new tasks.
WSO: Demonstrates self-confidence.

Activities: Centers/Work Time/Free Play.  Your students one hour of uninterrupted play is when you will see students demonstrate this task.  Students who explore new items or learning centers and problem solve during play are demonstrating their confidence.

Books: Ladybug Girl series by: Jackie Davis

GELDS: CLL6.4d

CLL6 – The child will develop early phonological awareness (awareness of the units of sound).
CLL6.4d Segments sentences into individual words.
WSO: Demonstrates phonological awareness.

Activities: Eeny Meeny Miney Moe.  Rhymes like this and other variations (Bubblegum, Bubblegum for example) are great ways to use the whole class to segment a sentence into individual words.

Jump Rope Rhymes.  You don't have to have a jump rope for students to jump, clap, stomp and more to each word in Cinderella Dressed In Yellow and many more.  

Caterpillar Sentences.  Have various blank circle cut-outs.  Allow students to contribute sentences and create a caterpillar with each body segment being a seperate word.

Books: A keynote on books in this section is large books, preferably single sentences to each page.  Point to each word as you read or allow students to point to each word for you as you read.

GELDS: MA4.4a

CD-MA4 – The child will sort, seriate, classify and create patterns.
CD-MA4.4a Independently orders objects using one characteristic and describes the criteria used.
WSO: Orders, compares, and describes objects according to a single attribute.


Activities: Paint Swatch Ordering.  Cut paint samples apart so that each shade is separated from each other.  Allow students to glue them to paper in order from darkest to lightest or vice versa.

Seriation.  Make varying sized cut outs of any item that your topic of interest is for students to order by size.  For example: Easter would have small, medium, and large eggs.  

Books: Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Somebody and the Three Blairs by: Marilyn Tolhurst

GELDS: SC5.4a

CD-SC5 – The child will demonstrate an awareness of and the need to protect his/her environment.
CD-SC5.4a Understands that people have an impact on the environment and participates in efforts to protect the environment. 
WSO: Shows some awareness of ways people affect their environment. 

Activities: Garden.  Building and tending for a garden together as a class can build for the importance of allowing flowers to grow rather than picking flowers before they bloom.
Recycle Sort.  Build on your students ability to sort while discussing environmental awareness in an activity where students sort plastics and paper into seperate containers.

Books: The Lorax by: Dr Seuss
Michael Recycle by: Ellie Bethel

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Linky Party: Flounder

Flounder: Something that surprised you and frightened you.



Everything.

That's so many things in life, isn't it?  

Surprise!  You have an interview.  Are you nervous?  Are you scared?  Are you FRIGHTENED?  Yeah, you probably are.  

Life is full of surprises that can be intimidating.  It's all about how you handle yourself in those events. 

Do you shut down and panic or do you rise to the occasion?  I recommend that you learn to buckle up and roll with those surprises because life is never done passing those out to you.  

NEXT WEEK: Eric: Have you ever helped a stranger? What happened.


Monday, March 24, 2014

March Magic/Movie Madness

I'm going nuts for some March Magic from Disney Parks and Movie Madness from The Zombie Run!

I went through the Round 1 brackets of each and picked out who I wanted to win from there.  I haven't been able to bring myself to go past Round 1 or even pick who I would want to face off in the final rounds.  

I think I would be okay with HitchHikers versus Pirates in the end of March Magic with HitchHikers taking home the win but it's so hard to say.
Maybe Army of Darkness versus Dawn of the Dead for the Movie Madness.

Regular March Madness?  I don't know.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Comedie Musicale Utena

I interrupt the episode analysis, again, for the Utena musical this time!
I watched it in it's raw Japanese glory.  It's less than an hour long and if you truly enjoy Utena then just knock this out.  
I'm not really going to "analyze" this but more just some comments.

  • Is that a white streak or pink in Utena's hair?  It's hard to tell with the quality....
  • Juri looks SO good!  Great casting choice!
  • Haha!  Even the musical doesn't bother with Miki as a duelist.
  • Wow, Anthy is really short.  She looks EXACTLY like a lot of Anthy fanart I've seen..
  • Oh Saionji's actress is perfect.  She captures his expressions perfectly.
  • Why did Utena get the prince getup before she even won Anthy from Saionji?
  • Is the girl in the white dress Utena as a kid when she met Dios/Akio?
  • Something about Anthy's song after the Saionji duel reminds me of Prom Tonight from Not Another Teen Movie.
  • AHHH!!!  THE SHADOW GIRLS SEQUENCE IS CUTE AS ALWAYS!
  • What was that Chu-chu?  It's larger than Anthy.
  • Nanami running across stage is cute but I think we all need more Nanami from this please.
  • Oh hi Akio.  I normally am not a fan of you but WOW!  Akio is SO HOT in this piece.
  • Is that a cigarette in Akio's hand?  Is he a smoker now?
  • Doesn't matter, keep looking smoking hot Akio.
  • I prefer Wakaba helping Utena out of her funk over Akio doing it but if it means I get to look at this smexy version then I guess I'll deal with it.
  • And her singing voice.  WA Y better than Utena's.  
  • I love this Akio.
  • Wait, what was that between Touga and Akio at the end?  


The amazing louchan also watched it this week and has her piece to say about it.  The experience was interesting but I don't see myself watching it again and again as I do the anime or the movie.. 

Friday, March 21, 2014

Top Things You Wish You'd Done at MGA Con

There was quite a few things going on at MGA Con this last weekend.  Here's my list of top to do's at the convention:







5. Check out a panel.  
Pick a panel.  Any panel.  Sit in and visit.  Even if it is something that you never thought that you would have interest in, you might learn something new and cool.  This year was definitely the year for panels if you wanted your voice heard.  Get in on our exciting panels while we still have open seating available for you!






4. Catch some cosplayers.
Sure, you could just wait for them all to come out for the costume contest..  Some cosplayers switch outfits mid-day so catching them as they visit the convention is a blast for me.  It also makes the cosplayers feel special that people take them aside whenever for pictures or attention.














3. Play games.
We had tournaments, a table for checking out games, and a sign up board to play role-playing games!  I might have only played two new games this weekend but I enjoyed them both very much.











2. Browse Artist's Alley.
I love looking at art..  Even if I can't afford to buy every pretty little thing I see, it is amazing to see what some people are able to create.  We had so many talented artists this year.  











1. Hang with the staff.
We might have looked super busy most of the time but when someone stops to chat us up, we can make the moment special for you.  Chatting with attendees, dealers, and vendors is our favorite.



What were your Top 5?

Thursday, March 20, 2014

MGA Con

This past weekend was the big event that I've been telling you about for months.
That's right, it was finally upon us: Middle Georgia Comic Con!

From Friday afternoon until Sunday night we took over the Macon Centreplex to provide an exciting experience located within Central Georgia for lovers and appreciators of many fandoms to gather together.  We transformed entire areas of the complex to host a wide variety of dealers, artists, games, and events!

First year open and the experience was great!  I'm thankful for the help of every volunteer that came together to make this event happen.  I'm thankful to family and friends who showed support of the event by attending and helping to spread the word of this convention. 
We're already working on making next year even better!

Find them on facebook for updates between now and next year's convention!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

GELDS: SED1.4b

SED1 – The child will develop self-awareness.
SED1.4b Identifies personal characteristics, preferences, thoughts and feelings.
WSO: Demonstrates self-confidence.

Activities: Favorite Graphs.  Graphs where students get to voice their opinion from favorite flavor of milk to favorite ocean animal and more allow students to voice their preferences.

Class Discussions.  Class discussions are a great opportunity for students to share their thoughts and feelings with others in a safe and positive environment.

Books: Hot Rod Hamster by: Cynthia Lord
Purplelicious by: Victoria Kann
The Way I Feel by: Janan Cain

GELDS: CLL6.4c

CLL6 – The child will develop early phonological awareness (awareness of the units of sound).
CLL6.4c Isolates the initial (beginning) sounds in words with adult guidance. 
WSO: Demonstrates phonological awareness.

Activities: Letter Box.  Using the song by Dr. Jean Feldman, have a real box with letters for students to put in as you sing the song.  Variant, use student pictures with the song.  "I wish I had a little box to put my friends in.  I'd take Megan and go /m/ /m/ /m/ and put her back again."
An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Letter.  When students feed the old lady a letter she tells them the letter sound.

Books: Dr. Seuss' ABC Book
Z is for Moose by: Kelly Bingham
My First BOB Books: Alphabet by: Lynn Kertell

Songs: Act Out the Alphabet by Jack Hartmann
Alphardy by Dr. Jean Feldman
Phonercise by Dr. Jean Feldman
Gumball by Dr. Jean Feldman

GELDS: MA3.4d

CD-MA3 – The child will explore and communicate about distance, weight, length, height and time.
CD-MA3.4d Associates and describes the passage of time with actual events. 
WSO: Participates in measuring activities.

Activities: Daily Schedule.  Have a daily schedule posted that students can manipulate as you pass through the day.  They will begin to utilize the language of "after snack" or "before lunch".

Calendar.  Reviewing yesterday, today, and tomorrow along with upcoming events can prepare students with an understanding of language related to the passage of time.

Books: Cookie's Week by: Cindy Ward
Chicken Soup with Rice by: Maurice Sendak
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by: Judith Viorst 

GELDS: SC4.4d

CD-SC4 – The child will demonstrate knowledge related to physical science.
CD-SC4.4d Uses classroom objects to function as simple machines to enhance child directed play. 
WSO: Explores how objects and materials move in different circumstances.

Activities: Catapults.  Allow students to gather various items from around the classroom to launch tissue balls across the table.

Problem Solving.  Plan an activity but "forget" an important tool.  For example, play dough play but you've lost the rolling pins.  What can we use?

Books: And Everyone Shouted, "PULL!" by: Claire Llewellyn
Many of the "If You Give A...." series by: Laura Numeroff feature creative problem-solving. 

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Linky Party: Ariel

  • Ariel:Where do you think you belong, and why?

  • Lately I have been desperately wanting the warmth of the sun.  I've been wanting the floating bliss of laying in water.  I have been wanting to belong poolside. 
  • The weather has been terribly flip-floppy for almost a month now.  Beautiful, high temperature weather Sunday and Monday but as the week goes on, the colder and more miserable the weather gets.  
  • I've outgrown it.  I want sun and warmth.  I want fun and water.  
  • I belong in summer right now.  I very much want to get to it.

Though in a few month, I might be craving the mountains and cabins again.  Or perhaps another city visit.  We'll see.

NEXT TUESDAY: Flounder: Something that surprised you and frightened you.

Friday, March 14, 2014

MGA Con

It's here!  It's here!  It's finally here!
Okay, well early bird events are tonight but close enough!

Wait, where was I yesterday?  Sick.  Sadness!!  I went to the medstop on Wednesday night and was told that I had early signs of strep and had to stay home.  All better with the antibiotics in full swing in my system but don't drink after me yet.

Any way, so I'm packing up my stuff to set up at the convention.  
Oh?  What am I setting up?  A quiet room.  I started on the Night Nurses (first aid) but when there was talk of having a quiet room for parents to take their children for a cool down from all of the convention excitement, I volunteered faster than Katniss Everdeen.
I'm excited for what is put together and hope that it is everything you hope for.  Come out and see us this weekend at the Macon Centreplex in Macon, Georgia.  
It's our first year so every ticket and every ounce of feedback are important for us to continue building this event into something that grows and blossoms into an increasingly amazing event.

For more information, visit MGA Con or like them on Facebook.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

GELDS: SED1.4a

SED1 – The child will develop self-awareness.
SED1.4a Identifies self as a unique member of a specific group or demographic that fits into a larger world picture.
WSO: Identifies similarities and differences in personal and family characteristics.


Activities: Feature Graphs.  Distinguish their individual differences in graphs of eye color, hair, and more to help them identify their individual characteristics.

Books: I Like Me! by: Nancy Carlson
I Am America by: Charles R. Smith Jr.
I Like Myself by: Karen Beaumont

GELDS: CLL6.4b

CLL6 – The child will develop early phonological awareness (awareness of the units of sound).
CLL6.4b Identifies and produces rhyming words.
WSO: Demonstrates phonological awareness.
Activities: There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Rhyme.  On a cookie sheet, place three picture cards, two rhyming words and one not.  Example, pig, star, wig.  Hold up each card and say the word of the object having students to echo it back. After the rhyme is identified, students feed the rhyming words to your old lady prop.  New cards are places on the tray and the game continues until no cards after left.  
Erase a Rhyme.  Draw an image of anything fitting your topic of interest.  We'll use a snowman for our example.  "We need to erase something that rhymes with 'cat'..........."  The game is done when your picture is gone.  This could be done on white board or students could all do this on lap whiteboards.  This activity can also be found on smart exchange to utilize on your interactive board.
Books: I Ain't Gonna Paint No More by: Karen Beaumont
Rhyming Dust Bunnies by: Jan Thomas
Songs: Make A Rhyme, Make A Move by Jack Hartmann

This indicator is NOT word families.  
That is rime, not rhyme.

GELDS: MA3.4c

CD-MA3 – The child will explore and communicate about distance, weight, length, height and time.
CD-MA3.4c Uses a variety of techniques and standard and non-standard tools to measure and compare length, volume (capacity) and weight.
WSO: Participates in measuring activities.
Activities: Recipes.  Play dough, bread, jell-o, and many other recipes are great experiences for using standard tools of measurement.
Cut Out Measuring.  You can print or die cut shapes of any size and number for students to use in nonstandard measuring.  Students can measure height of objects using the cut outs or manipulative counters to measure the volume of a cut out.  Die cuts have many versatile nonstandard measuring uses.
Books: Ten Beads Tall by: Pam Adams
How Do You Measure? (series) by: Thomas K. and Heather Anderson

GELDS: SC4.4c

CD-SC4 – The child will demonstrate knowledge related to physical science.
CD-SC4.4c Describes materials by their physical properties and states of matter.
WSO: Explores and describes light and sound. (This is the official link up from the WSO to GELDS Correlations)
Activities: Texture Sort.  Sort fabric swatches by their physical properties.  Smooth/bumpy, soft/coarse, thin/thick.
Frozen Toys.  In an ice tray, place tiny toys in each section and fill with water.  Freeze in freezer and remove for small group.  Students will have fun doing what they can to melt the ice to release the toys for play.  
Ice Painting.  Mix the powdered paint with water and fill ice tray.  Allow students to paint with the frozen paint cubes as they melt.  
Absorbency Testing.  Fill an ice tray with various items in each section (example items: cotton ball, button, tissue, flat-end screw, soil, eraser).  Students will take eyedroppers and squirt water on each item.  Which items absorb water?  Which didn't?
Books: The Wet Dry Book by: Kate Spohn
My Pretty Pink Purse by: Tim Bugbird
Water, Ice, and Steam by: Ira Wood

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Linky Party: Belle

  • Belle:Is there someone you are close who no one else likes? What's the story?

I would not say that I am close to someone that no one else likes but I do have some people on my friends list that people question.  

My favorite person that falls in this category is getting married this weekend!  Congratulations!  

When we were younger, we might have both been screwed over by the same jerk but instead of focusing on him might have kind of been a bit upset with each other.  And by a bit, I mean it got pretty ugly.

Thankfully we grew up, matured, became awesome people and realized that we are wonderful and amazing women who can set aside what happened.  We cheer each other on from afar; celebrating in our accomplishments and being supportive during trying times.  
Even if he no longer recognizes us or accepts us on Facebook, we accept and love each other.  I'm glad that she's moved on to better and brighter things.  While we might not be incredibly close, we're closer than we were and probably even closer than most people brought together by situations like that.  

NEXT TUESDAY:
Ariel:Where do you think you belong, and why?

Monday, March 10, 2014

Open Ended Questions

I made you all a treat for your classrooms!

Printable posters for open ended questions that can be asked in each learning area of the pre-kindergarten classroom.  Also included are sheets for noting student responses.  All available for download at teachers pay teachers.

How I use these is to laminate the poster sheets and make several copies of the student response sheets.  Place the student response sheets on a clipboard with the laminated sheet covering them in each respective learning area.  This gives you quick and easy documentation paper for taking your anecdotal notes.
There are two additional benefits of having these posters in your classroom.  First, it gets you in the habit of engaging students in ways that CLASS will be looking for in their observations.  This can also aid your TKEYS observations in demonstrating those Higher Orders Thinking Questions.  Second, it gives your classroom volunteers a very helpful tool to benefit you.  You can instruct the volunteers to play in the learning areas with students, ask questions from the sheet, and document for great additional assessment data.

I hope that you enjoy these posters and response sheets! 

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Sailor Moon Synopsis

A synopsis of Sailor Moon as told by someone who has never seen it.
The photo that inspired this synopsis.

"So there’s this blonde girl and I think she has some animated chubby a monkey buddy and there’s other planetary bodies that are sailor buddies. I know there was a Jupiter and Mars. Was there a Pluto? Pluto was a planet at the time so yeah.
I think we should have a Sailor Sigil and a Sailor Beetlejuice.
There’s these girls that represent planetary bodies. Moon one has a chubby monkey buddy. I’m not sure what they do. I’m pretty sure they try to save earth, the world somehow in some sort of revolution. As constellations and planetary bodies they try to save the universe. Sailor Major Canis. She’s the one with big teeth and got made fun of in high school.
The blonde one’s kind of pretty.
I’ve seen more Utena than Sailor Moon.”

There was more. I did my best to capture it to share with you all.

I'm actually debating on doing this more often.  Showing my friends promotional artwork for an anime, give them a title, and ask them to give a rundown of the show.  If you have any suggestions, feel free.  My friends won't cheat and watch any of the titles that you offer.  I promise.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Mommy-Daughter Spa Night

Tonight is the my daughter's first daddy-daughter dance and I am super excited!
Moments like these are treasures to cherish, the moments to enjoy before they grow up.


We spent the first portion of our evening playing dress up.  Trying on various dresses and shoes together before running back home out of the rain.


We took our time trimming and painting fingernails and toenails.  Then began the process of twirling her hair because she wants it curly for the dance.

It took her a while to settle down to bed for her "beauty sleep" for the big day tomorrow.  It's exciting!  Her first dance and daddy is going to be her prince!

I'm excited too.  I can't wait for them to tell me all about it. 

Thursday, March 6, 2014

First Star Wars

I shared with you all the details of the preparation for the Disney trip.  One was introducing my daughter to the beauty of Star Wars before the trip.
We all sat down to begin the beauty on a snow day from school.  Then my husband's phone rang.  They wanted everyone to return to work from the winter storm.  Sad sad, cry cry.  He was going to miss the experience.
My daughter eeped and clung to me as soon as Vader first walked on to a scene.  He carries some powerful presence that did not need words or any prior explanation to know that this is the man you should fear in this movie.
Towards the end of A New Hope, she identified her favorite characters as C3-P0 and R2-D2.  Before we could finish the first movie, we had to pause and take me to the doctor.  Couldn't leave right away though, Vader and Obi-wan were facing off and my daughter announced that Obi-wan would win that fight.
She really was shocked that it didn't turn out that way.  Her immediate reaction was "that's not what I said would happen."  Star Wars had quite a number of moments like that for her.  She shared with the nurses what happened to Obi-wan at the doctor's office kind of wowed.

And then the ride that is The Empire Strikes Back.  How exciting it was to hear my daughter identify Han Solo as soon as he entered the Hoth base.  Yay!
Many fun moments and then, the one that matters.  First, Luke losing his hand made her gasp.  But the big reveal made my daughter turn into this:

She couldn't bear it.  A daddy can't be a bad guy.  That's not how her world works.  
When she found out Leia was Luke's sister, that was easy to accept.  By that point she had reasoned that it was okay for Luke's dad to be bad as long as he becomes good later.

When daddy returned home from work, she was telling him all about the amazing movies that she watched today and finalizing on her ultimate favorite character; Darth Vader.  Whom she later got the battle with at Disney World.  And also got his lightsaber for her birthday.

My husband is now introducing her to episodes 1-3 which I'm not documenting to the same degree because 4, 5, and 6 are all that really matter in the world anyway.  Though her reaction to Darth Maul was priceless.  "He has TWO?!"

  I don't know if she's fully realized that "Ani" is going to be Darth Vader, though she did note that he shares last name with Luke...  

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

GELDS: CLL6.4a

CLL6 – The child will develop early phonological awareness (awareness of the units of sound).
CLL6.4a Listens and differentiates between sounds that are the same and different.
WSO: Demonstrates phonological awareness.

Activities: Instrument Guess.  Introduce your classroom's musical instruments.  Name them and play their sound.  Place a trifold board in front of the musical instruments and play an instrument.  Students name it when they hear it.  This game can be altered for farm animals and more.
Who Is Speaking?  Record the voice of each student in the classroom.  Play back the recordings for students to identify the voice of the student speaking.
Echo.  You say a word, they say it back.  You say a statement, they say it back.  You alter your voice, they do too!  Take turns and let them create an echo for the class to call back to them.

Songs: Tarzan by Dr. Jean Feldman
Boom-chicka-boom by Dr. Jean Feldman
Alligator by Dr. Jean Feldman

GELDS: MA3.4b

CD-MA3 – The child will explore and communicate about distance, weight, length, height and time.
CD-MA3.4b Compares objects using two or more attributes, such as length, weight and size.
WSO: Orders, compares, and describes objects according to a single attribute.
Activities: Opposite Chart.  Draw a line down the center of your chart paper.  On one side have prompts and pictures of items such as "large rock" or "heavy elephant".  Students come up with what would be written/drawn opposite these things.
Opposite Hunt.  Give students an item and ask them to find it's opposite in the room.  For example, a thin color pencil could be compared with a thick color pencil and more.
Books: The Foot Book by: Dr Seuss
I'm the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by: Kevin Sherry

GELDS: SC4.4b

CD-SC4 – The child will demonstrate knowledge related to physical science.
CD-SC4.4b Investigates and describes different types or speeds of motion.
WSO: Explores how objects and materials move in different circumstances.
Activities: Movement Dice.  Children roll a dice with various movements to perform on what they roll.  Example; skip, run, walk, waddle, hop, and more!
Mother May I and Red Light, Yellow Light, Green Light are two great games to explore movement.
Books: Jump, Frog, Jump! by: Robert Kalan
Songs: Marching Medley by Ralph Covert
Listen and Move by Greg & Steve 

GELDS: SS5.4b

CD-SS5 – The child will understand the passage of time and how events are related.
CD-SS5.4b Differentiates between past, present and future. 
WSO: The WSO correlations from Bright from the Start do not match this with any WSO indicator.

Activities: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.  This Large Group Literacy chart has chart paper divided into three.  Together the class works to write down events from yesterday, what has happened so far today, and what they think will happen tomorrow.

Books: Long Ago and Today by Rozanne Lanczack Williams

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Linky Party: Jasmine

  • Jasmine:The story of when you had to really trust someone. Was it easy?

I feel like this is what life is all about, trusting someone. 
I married my husband.  I trust him with my heart.  I trust him to help raise my daughter.  I trust him to help clean the house and pay the bills.
I trust that my parents will pick up my daughter from school each day.  
I trust that my daughter do well at school.
I trust that her teachers are doing everything in my daughter's best interest academically.
I trust that my school handles documents appropriately and that we maintain accreditation.  
I trust that my school board does the same.
I trust that my neighbor's don't set their house on fire so that my house doesn't.
I trust that the other drivers on the road are paying attention to me braking in front of them so that they don't rear-end me.

Life is all about trust.  Sometimes, it isn't easy.  Sometimes I don't trust that where I parked my car was the safest decision and have a panic attack while charging back to where I parked.  Sometimes I trust that when I tell someone to back off for the time being because now is a really confusing time and they're making things more confusing.  Sometimes you make it back and your car is safe.  Sometimes you make it back and find that the person has taken your advice to mean keep pushing forward.

NEXT WEEK! Belle: Is there someone you are close who no one else likes? What's the story?
  • Jasmine:The story of when you had to really trust someone. Was it easy?



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