Sunday's Plate

I heard on Facebook that my son is making pancakes for my grandchildren down in Florida, and I started to wonder how many families do this as a Sunday ritual. Pancakes can be one of the most endearing and filling meals we eat, but many people believe that pancakes are not good for you, so they miss the whole treat and treasure altogether in favor of cereal or something more nutritious.

The bold fact is that pancakes, if made correctly, are much more nutritious than a bowl of cereal. They have so many more health factors with one that stands out in my mind. "Daddy made these for me. He loves me. I'm having fun. I'm laughing and we're having fun together."

Eating with your children every day is more important, according to a recent Columbia University study, than reading to them. It's a family time that brings people together. If you make pancakes every Sunday for your children, then it's probably true that you sit down with your own plate.

But women worry about their weight and men turn up their noses at the sweet. It doesn't have to be that way if you think about the recipe you are using and do a few new things.

Pancake batter is made of flour, baking powder, salt, milk, oil and eggs. That's all you need. If you use whole wheat pastry flour, your breakfast turns whole grain. If you add some oats, some wheat germ, some bran, you've got multi grain cakes. Whole wheat pastry flour is found in the baking department with the Red Mill products.

There is no sugar in pancake batter. You don't need it. Add an extra egg for protein and cut your salt from a teaspoon to a half teaspoon.

Use soy milk for lighter cakes and a little estrogen for mom.

To get fancy, you can take a whole orange and grind it up in your food processer and add the whole thing straight to the batter. Try cranberries, blueberries and nuts. If you grind you get the flavor but not the lumps.

The syrup is always a concern. I have always made my own because store bought, as they say here, was always too pricy when I was a young woman, so I learned to make my own. Syrup is easy. 1 cup of water to two cups of sugar. Add a 1/2 stick of butter and a little maple flavoring and boil 3 minutes to make the granules dissolve.

But what if we used a can of frozen concentrate brought to a boil on the stove for a couple of minutes and put a 1/2 stick of butter in it? Apple cinnamon syrup anyone? A little sugar would make the syrup thicker.

Here's the recipe for my pancake batter;

2 cups wwp flour
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
Milk to desired thickness. I use probably 1.5 -2 cups.

( add 1.5 cups sugar and cut the milk and you have muffin batter.)

Enjoy!

Friday's Tattler

We started our day with cereal and a trip to the bathroom. Then it was off on the bus. The kids were great travelers. We stopped at the nursing home in Boonville, and we sang and visited with he elderly. We stayed about forty-five minutes.

Then it was off to Lincoln. We stopped at the museum and saw the artifacts of the pioneer days. The big question was, "What was the pioneer's most important possession." And the answer was given by Luke. It was "The ax." Kudos to him.

The children seemed to enjoy the day. It was a beautiful day, cool, crisp, bright, and even the animals were not adverse to being in "the children's sight." We saw a big black snake and a rabbit - not in the same picture, I mean no one was chasing anyone!

Lincoln's Boyhood home is an excellent child's introduction to history. Mr. Louis did our tour was wonderful and gave us a really good tour. The children asked so many great questions, I think even he was impressed. Aaligah asked how the pioneer managed to build his cabin when the logs were so heavy. Mr. Louis said, "The first long, the heavy one was dragged to the site by a horse. The other logs were cut from poplar which is much lighter and easier to manage. They could lift the poplar."

Some of the boys who were listening kind of looked at the cabin and then at one another. I think they were trying to figure if they or maybe their father's could lift what appears to be a very very heavy object!

We learned about starting a fire because one of the children asked about "what happens when the the fire goes out?" And the answer involved a flint, a piece of metal, and a burned piece of cloth. The kids were fascinated.

The children loved the animals, and they loved the workshop where Mr. Louis talked about all the wild animals near the farm the pioneer family would see and use. There were timber wolves back then, and bears. Mr. Louis dressed Austin up in a bear skin and had him play the bear, which he loved. We saw the pelts of beaver, gray fox, wood bison - now gone - mink, coyote, and others too numerous to write here.

The garden was growing at a nice rate. The children recognized the shape of the tee pee, and we told them that it was for beans. We saw dried beans from last year called"tough britches."

They were making some kind of cheese indoors, and some had already been made and there were hanging balls of cheese in the trees.

We ran through the woods to the farm, and then walked our way out on about a .5 mile hike. It was simply beautiful.

We had a super picnic, and the children ate 12 loaves of bread with any of nine sandwich fillers. We had homemade cookies, chips, a whole watermelon, carrots, pickles, and water.

Next week we will go to New Harmony. Hoping to stop for ice cream up there before we come home. It's been a great summer already!

Monday's Tattler

A couple of days late... just to touch base with parents who are sending their children on Thursday. Hey parents, it's going to be hot, hot, hot! Please, please, please, let your children wear shorts that are knee length or shorter, sleeved shirts and socks and shoes. Please no dresses, sandals or long sleeves. No jeans please.

We will be working intently on school work this summer. We have established two teaching teams and on days spent at the Garden School we will be working on all the academics we think the kids will enjoy. We will tackle a strong program of reading, math, handwriting, art, fine art, geography, history and science and music. Starting Monday there will be a spelling list sent home for half the school. This spelling list will be used to do a geography-handwriting entry for a book on field trips all the children are doing.

We will be doing a film festival for a half hour every day. These films are children's theatre and are well worth watching. This is a class. The class will begin after snack and go to 5:00.

Things to do and remember:

Every child needs his shot record by Monday!

Please make sure you are current with your accounts.

Please bring a one piece bathing suit for your child by Monday. The children do not need towels. Please bring a bottle of sun screen.

Please locate your field trip shirt for Friday. There will be no exceptions. Children without shirts will be sent home. Please make sure your child wears shoes and socks on all field trips.

Flip flops are expected on swim days. Please do not send children in shoes and socks on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Theses are swim days. Please do not send children to school in swim suits. Children may not wear swimsuits all day. There is a time designated for changing clothing at school. NO swim shoes. Whoever created swim-shoes needs to be taken out and publicly humiliated.

This week tuition is regular price with a $10.00 field trip cost. Next week tuition climbs $25.00 every week during the summer whether your child attends or not. We cannot budget these kinds of trips without parent cooperation. For $25.00 a child is taken to the pool all day twice and goes on an elaborate field trip.

I think that's it. Can't wait to see my little people!

Sunday's Second Plate

US obesity due to more calories, not less exercise: Study

By Caroline Scott-Thomas, 11-May-2009

From Food Navigator

Related topics: Science & Nutrition

Increased calorie intake – rather than lack of exercise – is nearly exclusively responsible for the obesity epidemic in the US, according to a new study presented at the European Congress on Obesity on Friday.

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) sees obesity as a global epidemic, the US still heads the list, with obesity affecting over a third of American adults.

The study is potentially important for the food and beverage industry, which has taken a dual approach to tackling obesity. It has focused its efforts not only on product reformulation to reduce trans fats, saturated fats and sugar, but also on encouraging increased physical activity.

But the study’s leader, Professor Boyd Swinburn, chair of population health and director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention at Deakin University in Australia, said: “There have been a lot of assumptions that both reduced physical activity and increased energy intake have been major drivers of the obesity epidemic…This study demonstrates that the weight gain in the American population seems to be virtually all explained by eating more calories. It appears that changes in physical activity played a minimal role.”

For more of the article go HERE!

Something New Under Saturday's Sun

I received this last March. I told you I'm so far behind I'm almost in front of myself in the big circle of life.

From Top 100 Baby and Children's Health Blogs:

We just posted an article, “Top 100 Baby and Children’s Health Blogs”

I thought I'd bring it to your attention in case you think your readers would find it interesting.

I am happy to let you know that your site has been included in this list.

Raising a child in this world can be a daunting, dangerous, and confusing task. From various diseases, both new and old, to household risks, parents need all the information they can get. To help you get the information you need, we’ve combed through hundreds of blogs to compile the best 100 baby and children’s health blogs, which are designed to inform, educate, and help you raise healthy children.

Why not go see.

Good morning from Florida. I hope this week has been outstanding and that you have a wonderful Memorial Day. As for me, I will be thanking two of my wonderful children for their work in the armed forces. I also take time to thank all our troops for all they do for us.

Have a blessed Memorial Day.

Don't forget to bring your shot record and your child's bathing suit with you upon your return.

Thursday's Teacher

Partnership’s First Product Aimed at Middle School Vocabulary

By Debra Viadero

Comment: great innovation. I herald Miss Amy's ability to keep the vocabulary going this year at the Garden School. Her constant vigilance with words this year has been outstanding.

When researchers from the Strategic Education Research Partnership met with Boston secondary school teachers three years ago, the teachers told them they had a problem. Students struggled to understand their textbook lessons because they continually tripped up on—or glossed over—the academic words they came across.

They would stumble on words such as “deduce” or “notwithstanding” or interpret a phrase like ‘“gross domestic product” to mean something icky that is found in the home.

“They’ll think they know the definition of the word. They’ll apply what they know, but they won’t actually challenge themselves,” Jennifer Henderson DiSarcina, one of the middle school teachers who has worked with SERP researchers, said...

For more of the article go HERE!

The Beach Vacation!

It's been a wonderful vacation simply because we are all so excited to just "do our own thing." Strangely enough, most of "our own thing" is shared. It's been fun. Desperate weather coming in. It was torrential downpours for six solid hours. The insane stop and go of a toll road system did not grace the highways, but disgraced it. We must have stopped eight times, and the toll was $1.00!

The condo is really nice. There is plenty of space and there's a deck with a view of the ocean. The first day it rained a lot. Miss Molly was very disappointed, but today it was rainy but with long periods of sunshine. It's cool enough that Miss Judy continues to wear a sweater.

Terry and Anne and I went to the book store today, and no, they didn't have my book, but Anne got a book on the Balkans, and I got two wonderful cookbooks with a lot of neat things for the kids.

Molly and Anne and I went souvenir shopping and got fun stuff.

Lots of pelicans. Yesterday I was privy to a lot of bird life. We had pigeons, egrets, two species of sea gull, several fine pelicans, a red headed vulture, and sand pipers all in one beach. The bird drama was delicious. One sea gull named Oscar was overseeing the romance of two pigeons named Tutor and Beck. Beck was then immediately courted by another fine bird named Tortellini. I watched as Hope, a lovely pigeon came very near hoping for food, but alas, I didn't have anything for her. Then the fight broke out among Oscar and his friends or enemies. Sea gulls can be vicious attacking one another, but be assured I put them all in time out!

This morning a dead sea turtle lay on the beach. She was obviously very very old. She went back to the sea.

We have also had a lot of jelly fish. I had to reassure my family that they are harmless.

As for the human life, the boys are having a lot of fun in the pool and in the surf. Robbie has been re-christened "the screamer" an has finally made friends with the waves that seem to have this overwhelming desire to knock him over.

Bill has taken to the ocean like an old sea horse. He is in love with everything out there. He loves the water, the sand, the animals, and is charmed by everything he sees.

Jack is more quiet, but he has the most adventurist spirit on this trip. He has boogied, swum, wave dived, and just about every ocean play you can think of.

It's a joy to be here with my boys. Robbie continues to fall asleep in my arms, and the boys are delighted by grandma's snacks and games, and that warms my heart. We will celebrate Robbie's birthday tomorrow.

It's still the wrong bed, the wrong bathroom, the wrong towels, etc., but it's been a lot of fun.

Terry and I are thinking about driving up to Savannah on Friday when the boys go to Disney. I'm not a park person. So we will probably drive up to the Shrine at St. Augustine and then on to Savannah for the day and then go home.

Wonderful Wednesday

Subject: FW: Obituary printed in the London Times



An Obituary printed in the London Times......... Interesting and sadly rather true.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who
has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was,
since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He
will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the
worm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend
more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children,
are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended
from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the
job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly
children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental
consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student; but could
not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an
abortion..

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses;
and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in
her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by
his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son,
Reason...

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and
do nothing.

Teaching Assets and Liabilities by Judy Lyden

Tuesday's Child

There is ALWAYS a better mousetrap. As a builder, I realize that not only are there many many mousetraps, there are many ways of using a mousetrap. I'm a re-upper, a re-organizer, a change is good person, and I'm always reviewing and fixing and making changes in everything I do. So the Garden School is always under siege by Miss Judy.

Most recently at school, we have had a change in staff, and that change in staff made the wheels of change begin to move in my mind. I thought a lot about what makes the GS different from other places, and what our good qualities are and what our liabilities are. As a builder, one wants as few liabilities as possible because one wants the building to be strong - a fortress - and in our case, a fortress against ignorance and particularly the ever encroaching shallowness that's a sign of our times.

As I mused about what gives us real life - it's commitment - to the school as a whole. If the school is important then the children, staff and parents will be committed to giving the life of the school the best we have - on the job and off. We are always teachers, no matter if we are here or there or anywhere, and the life of the teacher is non-stop. Teaching follows through at home, in public, and with friends. The committed teacher is an asset. He or she is always learning and always bringing new things to the classroom. The committed teacher is always bringing something new into the building, is eager to do new things, is eager to try new lessons, is someone who talks about teaching and is interested in more than the minimum that is expected. An asset is not looking for the bottom line, but the top line.

On the other hand, liabilities always hurt everyone because slack presents its rotten little head as time and a half in reverse! So the better mousetrap has no liabilities.

As an owner, I have to do my part to make sure that liabilities are never an issue. It's my job to offer a quality teaching environment to all our staff. Offering staff a quality schedule helps keep teachers enthusiastic because they don't go home exhausted every single day. They have time to engage the world and have a life outside of the school. Having a schedule that matters, teaching freedom, choice of classes, choice of extras, and the assurance that if someone needs time off, it's available because we all pull together, is the only way to manage a school like ours.

Working together to build this better mousetrap is easy when all the teachers are committed and not just to themselves, but to one another - it's the work at hand. It is my promise that all our teachers will be committed to the work at hand.

Finding originality among teaching strategies that actually work is another whole area for "the boss" that comes into play with a committed staff. The usual contained classroom has always been a model for me. I like it on a grand scale, but recently, I am thinking that although I think very young children need their own place to learn, they also need a variety of teaching styles to learn from. Not every teacher is good at all things. Not every teacher likes all things. So the "boss" needs to feed the children from the best pitchers she has.

One of the things I've noticed over the years is a shortcoming in continuity. I remember one year I taught my children to do perfect handwriting because handwriting is very important to me. As they moved into the next class, the teacher was not concerned at all with handwriting and as a result, the children never practiced and ultimately forgot how to write well, and that's a shame. Another experience is a loss in continuity with number patterns. I worked ever so hard to teacher patterns of numbers to my preschool class, and then it was totally forgotten in the next year when the teacher was not interested in what I had done. I believe number patterns are the key to understanding our based ten number system. If you can understand what makes ten, you can understand what makes 100, 1000, and finally non-real numbers.

So this next year, we will do a splendid little curriculum based on the idea of perfect parts of a whole. We will have a teacher for every subject who will float from one group to another. Miss Elise will teach art to the preschool, the 4-K and the K-1. Miss Julie will teach reading to all the groups, Mrs. St. Louis will teach arithmetic to all the classes, and Miss Amy will teach vocabulary and handwriting to all the groups. We will rotate from class to class. This actually strengthens the curriculum and allows the teachers to team teach. It makes continuity a non-issue because the continuity lies with one teacher. It puts everyone on the same track and makes us all responsible for the whole school curriculum and lessens the chance to drop the ball. In the afternoon we will teach the afternoon subjects on a rotating schedule as well.

And what will I do? Well, someone has to answer the phone... ;-)

I am committed to re-building the Garden School with a new teaching interest. I am looking forward to maximizing our ideal: Take a child from where ever he is as far as he can go...

Monday's Tattler

As we arrive at the beach, I'm thinking about you guys back in Indiana. It's always hard to leave the school. This was a much needed vacation for me. Last break was a year ago when we drove to Florida for my son's MA graduation. We spent five days out and four were on the road. It was hectic to say the least. This vacation is especially nice because we were invited and because I will get to spend real time with my grandsons.

This week at school should be a review week. Children are reviewing what they have learned this week. It's a time to get summer organized as well. It's hard to believe that summer is almost here.

Summer is a very busy time at the GS. Our summer month of June is going to be all about travel. We will study the whole concept of travel and look at different kinds of travel, travel manners, travel consequences, travel in history and talk about what travel might be like in the future.

Please remember that sandals are only for pool days. Children are just not comfortable on the play ground with pea gravel between foot and shoe!

Please switch to shorts and short sleeved shirts now. It is too hot for long sleeves and long pants.

Please consider putting sun screen on your children before they come to school. This is the parent's responsibility. We will put sun screen on children before going to the pool.

Have a great week!

Sunday's Plate

Snackers seek to balance indulgence with nutrition

By Caroline Scott-Thomas, 04-May-2009

From Food Navigator

Comment: I think this trend is true. There will always be the junk eaters - people who cannot be without their sodas, their fast food and their junkie junk like snack cakes and cardboard box food, but as the push for nutrition and health fully engages the edified world, the hope is that food options will become healthy.

Related topics: Financial & Industry

Snacks are becoming healthier and more upmarket as Americans increasingly turn away from the idea of three square meals a day, according to a new trend-mapping report from Packaged Facts.

The report, which has been developed in conjunction with the Center for Culinary Development (CCD), says that time-pressed consumers are now looking to snacks to replace meals, rather than to just fill the gaps between them, and are therefore looking for nutritional punch as well as more exotic flavors and quality ingredients.

The report cites figures from the NPD Group, which show that 21 percent of all meals consumed in the US are now snacks, with snacking forecast to grow 14 percent by 2017.

CCD CEO Kimberley Egan said: "Snacks are less and less the hunger-soothing bridge between formal meals. They have become valuable gastronomical events in their own right, especially as consumers demand more from their snacks."

Manufacturers are responding with a range of options that either offer nutrition in themselves, such as protein and fiber in baked vegetable snacks, or that play on the perception of health suggested by the raw ingredients, such as seasoned nori sheets and vegetable chips.

Healthy halos

More manufacturers are becoming aware of the power of a so-called ‘healthy halo’. This is an idea also used by flavor companies making superfruit or tea flavors, for instance, that tap into consumer awareness of the whole food’s antioxidant properties without asserting that the flavors present any of their health benefits.

“The health halo around veggies like sweet potatoes and parsnips gives these snacks instant better-for-you status, but the last thing consumers want are chips that ‘taste’ healthy,” said the report. “Instead, alternative chips offer indulgence fused with a perception of healthfulness.”

Global slant

New snack trends that have already achieved mainstream acceptance include nuts in ethnic-inspired flavors. These are divided according to consumers’ age range, according to the market researcher, with under-40s looking for wasabi, chili, lime and soy sauce flavored nuts, and baby boomers interested in mellower, herby flavors. All ages are interested in the promise of added performance benefits, such as increased energy and stamina.

Other emerging snack foods with a health-conscious twist are high-end popcorn, in more sophisticated flavors such as black truffle, curry or parmesan cheese, and ‘whole-nutrition sweets’ based on whole grains and pulses, like brown rice, soybeans and lentils, without skimping on sugar, butter or chocolate.

Packaged Facts calls whole grains “the unlikely ingredients in the sweets consumers are munching for flavor and for things like protein and fiber.”

Something New Under Saturday's Sun

Now that I have your attention!

I got this back in February and it got lost in my email - oops. It's a new English clothing outlet for kids. It looks interesting and the clothes are cute. To shop go HERE!

Friday's Tattler

Good morning -

Today is Awards Day at 3:00. It should take about 20 minutes to award awards, and then there's a picnic following on the playground. Please bring a covered dish or something to go with hot dogs!

Thursday's Teacher

I thought this was interesting. Anyone want to take a shot at this?

What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895...

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.


8th Grade Final Exam:
Salina , KS - 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.


Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000.. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft... Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt


U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.


Orthography (Time, one hour)
[Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10.. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.


Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6.. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

Also shows you how poor our education system has become and,
NO, I don't have the answers!

Wacky Wednesday!

Another Review at MyShelf.Com
Pork Chops by Judith Anne Lyden Who says parishes are quiet places of prayer where nothing ever happens? If you've ever wondered what really goes on inside a parish, you might consider this first novel by Judith Anne Lyden. Anne Lynch has an agenda. She leaves her husband temporarily, packs her suitcase, and infiltrates her old parish school to find out what the old priests are up to. For one thing, they want to get rid of all the over-forty teachers and hire young, new ones. Posing as a cook, Anne gains access to their hearts and—with her delicious meals—their stomachs. The story includes an array of quirky characters that seem to drive each other crazy throughout most of the book. Pork Chops is a Christian novel with touches of humor that will appeal to readers who love elements of food and cooking in their fiction. Though the story moves at a slow pace, the dialogue is interesting and the author does bring to life the commonplace aspects of a rectory and the people who inhabit it. The descriptions of food add an element of novelty. The strength of this novel is in the spunky protagonist's voice more than the plot, as there's not much action in the book. That said, Anne's observations about human nature and the people around her are interesting and there's a genuine honesty in the prose that comes through in the pages.	The Book Whiskey Creek Press January 2009 eBook 978-1-60313-467-5 Fiction / Mainstream / Humor Amazon Kindle Excerpt and other eBook formats at the Publisher's site NOTE: The Reviewer Mayra Calvani Reviewed 2009 NOTE: Reviewer Mayra Calvani has published three novels for adults: a paranormal titled Embraced by the Shadows, horror thriller Dark Lullaby, and, most recently, women's fiction / satire Sunstruck. She has also written two books for children, The Magic Violin and Crash!, and co-authored The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing, a USA Book News Best Books award finalist.
© 2009 MyShelf.com

Monday's Tattler

Good Morning!

It's going to be a beautiful day. It was gorgeous yesterday, and I think today is going to be a repeat!

We are hoping for a little climb in the weather by the end of the month because the pool needs to heat up a bit before the kids have a rollicking good time in it. Alternate plans if the pool is too cool are in the making.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day.

This week we will be working on phonemes (sounds) and counting both in French and in English to 100. We will be working on handwriting and games of "What do you know." This seems to fascinate the kids. They love knowing and they love hearing new material. This week the bigger questions will be on geography. Children should know their oceans and their continents.

Awards Day is this Friday at 3:00. A little ceremony for parents will commence at 3:00 and be done about 3:20. A picnic will follow out side. Please plan to bring your child's favorite "side." Good suggestions are mac and cheese, baked beans, green beans, salads, etc. The GS will be furnishing hot dogs and buns compliments of Carolyn Shapker. The GS will also supply a big graduation cake and drinks.

Please remember that every child will need to have an adult with him. If you are having trouble with supplying an adult, partner up with a friend to attend for you. Ask that someone at the GS take your child. We are not concerned with the fact that parents attend. We are concerned with the fact that the child is left alone. It's a very busy time for teachers, and children left alone and crying is not the way a celebration or a holiday needs to go. So if you are having trouble finding an attending adult, ask someone to help you.

Have a great day!

Saturday and Sunday's Plate

Just a wee bit for today from Kids Lunch Box Cards.

Tip: Empty your cupboard and mix a snack! Bite sized cereal, dried fruit, pretzels, crackers, popcorn, M&M's, shredded coconut-- anything goes when you are creating a homemade snack mix. It's a great solution to small portions at the bottom of the box!

Comment: We do this at school with whole packages of different snacks, and the children just love it. You need to buy whole grain snacks. Still looking for a whole grain Cheetos.

Friday's Tattler

Friday was a tired day at school. The kids all seemed tired and ready for a break. We even had a couple fall asleep.

We are working very hard in the K-1 to catch up. We were delighted with our little guys approach to learning. Children are always keen to learn, and when a teacher just doesn't teach - especially for selfish reasons - the children miss out. Never before has the Garden School been put into this situation - where a job was simply not done because one of our teachers spent her time texting and playing on the phone at the children's expense. This kind of dishonesty is not what we have ever been about, and we are trying to remedy this as quickly as we can. It puts everyone in a terrible situation.

Teaching very young children is supposed to be like a peaceful ocean. You spend a lot of time enjoying the gentle waves of education. Your boat becomes like a home, your skies are blue, your sun is strong and lively, and then suddenly, the child comes into port, his voyage over, and he knows everything there is to know about his trip. He knows the material presented in the classroom and can report it all to anyone he meets.

There are two things that prevent a child from learning. One thing is certainly a teacher who doesn't know anything, and secondly a teacher who just doesn't teach. There are lots of teachers who claim to be educated, and truly they are not, and many would say it doesn't matter, but it does. Education is not a thing that can be presented to you on a slip of paper because you manage to sit through four years of college. Education is an individual effort to gain knowledge and be able to use it effectively to teach others. You don't need a college education to do that. But if you have that, it's not a pretty bauble to be put on a shelf. It's a tool for life.

The real question about being educated is: "Do you read books?" Answer reveals a lot. A book is not a magazine. A teacher who does not read does not progress past college. College is only a start in one's education - it's an invitation to learn, that's why they call graduation "commencement" because it's only a beginning. If you quit at the starting gate, then what's the point of the race?

Fully engaging the world begins with a knowledge about the world, and that knowledge is ever increasing and also something that can be passed down to the children. If teachers don't care enough to know the basics, they fail to be able to teach effectively. So what is the bank of knowledge that is the basic requirement for teaching in my opinion?

I think teachers should have a basic knowledge of grammar. Speaking well means you have the dignity of at least paying attention to our own language and understanding the structure and the sense of words. Learning the right way of using the past tense, comparatives and superlatives and understanding words is something that children should expect in daily speech because that is their example. Speech patterns and patois immediately places a person.

Teachers should have a basic knowledge of history so that there is a sense of what happened when when children ask. Being somewhat sure of the last thirty years of history is not really enough history to know. An ignorance of history kind of leaves a person without a sense of place in the world. If you look at history as a story about man, you come to understand that we have become what we have become because of what has gone before. In the Common Era, we have Rome, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Age of Science and the Modern Period and they are not all the same lengths. Each age has given man something. Government, language, religion, economics, architecture, medicine, agricultural techniques did not suddenly develop in the late 1950s.

Reference to the arts is dying among education bound students. The ability to draw a reference to characters from the great classics is no longer possible and that's a shame. To call someone a Shylock or Tom Sawyer or a Tess is about as lost today as referring to Steve Reeves as Superman. To know nothing about fine art is startling. To compare Precious Moments to a Chagall window is disheartening.

Science is another part of the teaching puzzle, and so is geography. To be completely ignorant about the world is a shocking revelation about what a $60,000.00 education is really giving our young teachers. Not to be able to pick out China, India, the continent of Africa or know that the Antarctic is south and the Arctic is north is a tragic flaw of education. Not to know why we have not run out of water yet is pathetic.

So now I've given my rude opinion about education and what I expect at the Garden School. I expect teachers to know about the world they live in. It's important because the children want to know and you can't tell them if you don't know. It's a kind of a duh.

This past weekend some of the faculty met to discuss summer and next year's calendar. This will be a learning summer from start to finish. Everything we do will be aimed at learning and speaking. If you can't talk about what you know, and do it with good grammar, you don't know it. We expect a lot and children love it, and that's the goal.

Thursday's Child - teaching

Today is supposed to be an article about teaching, but I did that on Sunday, and on Sunday it's supposed to be a thing on food. So today, I'm posting a recipe for pancakes or waffles for 40, because someone asked...

Making waffles for 40 allows the cook a lot of room for additions. Here's how you start:

I use 5 cups of regular flour and 5 cups of whole wheat pastry flour. You can use all 10 cups whole wheat pastry flour and that is super, or all 10 cups white flour, but the waffles would have little if any food value.

There is about a cup of canola oil you add next.

I use about a 2 teaspoons salt and 10 teaspoons baking powder.

I put in 5-6 eggs, and mine are beautiful blue or brown. Color doesn't make a difference.

Now here is where you can add your extra stuff. The combinations are infinite. You can add oats,
cinnamon - I usually add about 2 tablespoons. You can add pumpkin pie spice, coconut, raisins, nuts, wheat germ, cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries or what ever and then enough milk to make the consistency about the same as a light cake batter. It might take as much as 8 cups with heavier flour. I rarely ever measure anything because I do everything by how it looks.

I use 2% milk at school - about 5-6 cups, and soy milk at home because soy milk makes the waffles really air light.

You mix this up in a big bowl and then pour it in a pitcher. Your waffle iron should be red hot and have been sprayed with pan coat. Cook waffles until the light changes or until the steam stops - about 3-4 minutes.

Here's the recipe for a regular family of four:

2 cups flour
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups of milk

Here's a recipe for home made syrup:

1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Boil for three minutes.

To the syrup you can add jam or fresh fruit, maple flavoring, butter, raisins nuts, etc. Make it fun. My daughter in law once told me that waffles were junk food, but I can't for the life of me figure out how that could be ;-)))

Wonderful Wednesday

Subject: The Puppy

Puppy Size

"Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this," the mother told the volunteer.

"What is it she keeps asking for?" the volunteer asked.

"Puppy size!" replied the mother.

"Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for."

"I know...we have seen most of them," the mom said in frustration...

Just then Danielle came walking into the office

"Well, did you find one?" asked her mom. "No, not this time," Danielle said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back on the weekend?"


The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.

"You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply," the volunteer said.

Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. "Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend," she said.

Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her.

They both felt she was being too particular. "It's this weekend or we're not looking anymore," Dad finally said in frustration.

"We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either," Mom added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs.

Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted.

Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one.

One by one she said, "Sorry, you're not the one."

It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup.

The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.

"Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!" she screamed with joy. "It's the puppy size!"

"But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks," Mom said.

"No not size... the sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed," she said. "Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!"

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.

"Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms," she said.

Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, "Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!"

Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day.

They are the sighs of God. Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear. "Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath! away."

The Spoiled Personality by Judy Lyden

We often talk about the spoiled child with disgust. We label children as spoiled, we often fail to associate with spoiled children when we have a choice, and we certainly would choose just about any child who isn't spoiled as a guest when we go someplace special. We all know what "spoiled" means, but do we really understand where it comes from?

It's more than a child's stumbling block. It's more than a couple of years getting past a difficult "stage." It's a more than a poor parenting technique. It's a matter of a human formation that has gone terribly awry. Formation is the building of a human being from the moment of conception to emancipation. At that point the child must form himself and we call it maturity. When that formation is squeezed too tightly into a narcissistic only profile, the child can't help but be spoiled.

Tracking down the failure often means going back through the generations to find which bad example has misguided the child. Often it's the mother because it's her example that is most available to a child. Often it's the mother's mother who has set a selfish, mean spirited, me first example that haunts the whole family generation after generation.

The whole idea of "spoiled" comes from the inside out. A philosopher friend of mine once coined the expression, micropsychia. By that he meant someone's soul was completely consumed by the tiniest of matters - namely self when the whole world was in front of them. A spoiled child learns from a spoiled parent that he is number one, the only one who really matters, and as long as he is satisfied completely in any situation the world is rosy. If follows course because the parent believes he or she is also the only one who matters. It is never a good thing. It is often creates a very evil situation because we are not talking about the body only. We are talking about the soul, and being "small souled" is a dangerous and separating thing from both God and man.

The traits of the spoiled child are tantrums, wailing without tears for things that they are "cheated" from having. The spoiled child feels entitled to everything everyone else gets no matter what. It's almost funny because the spoiled parent will make sure that his or her child gets every single thing every other child has worked for no matter what. The spoiled child can never say thank you, please, excuse me, I'm sorry, or I was wrong. He breaks every rule and then is furious when caught. He lies, cheats, steals, and blames others for his poor behavior. These are learned traits because spoiled parents do the same thing.

The irony of the spoiled family is that the spoiled child is almost always found out to be a fraud. He or she is dressed to perfection, has all the right toys, does all the right activities, seems to have all the right stuff, but there is no substance, no genuineness, no depth - because he is small souled. The spoiled child rarely does well in school because even with some intelligence, there is the inability to give back what they have learned. It doesn't matter until it shows on a report card and then it's someone else's fault.

One of the attributes to friendship that children learn early is called exchange. "I'll play your game if you will play mine. I will give you half fo my ice cream if I can have half of your chocolate bar. I will let you watch your TV show, if I can watch mine later. I will help you clean your room, if you will help me clean mine." These are ordinary swaps that later become adult swaps. We learn in childhood that other people matter and have needs and our help is an investment in the world around us. It's called the human condition, and we learn to swap weaknesses and strengths with love and affection. It helps develop friendships and make the knowledge of one another important.

Spoiled children never offer to help anyone. They always seek help, take whatever is offered and never say thank you.

So how does a family turn spoiled into a geniune personality, something to be admired rather than something to be distained? It's not easy to strip the whole tree. Examining their own behaviors and expectations and changing self centered and grabby handed habits and a me first objective into a world of give and take can be frightening to the family who has never done that.

Beginning to turn around from Narcissius's pool might mean offering one's time to another without expecting a return on the investment. Learning to give freely of time talent and treasure one bit at a time takes time. But one little step at a time would show Narcissius that there are other pools in the universe. Finding other people's pools and recognizing other people as people would enlarge any soul. It would make the world a better place. It would encourage real friendships and a real knowledge of people.

Monday's Tattler

Good Morning! Another challenging Monday. Calendars go out today. The month will be over before we know it.

This is a Plain Jane week. We will be attending to classes all week and still trying to get the kids outside.

Please check the weather for the afternoon to dress children properly. Cool mornings and warm afternoons make for uncomfortable kids if they are still wearing winter clothing.

Our Awards Day is May 15. It will be in the afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Please plan to stay for our picnic. The picnic will include hot dogs and drinks provided by the GS, and covered dishes provided by parents. Please plan to bring your child's favorite dinner side.

We hope you are enjoying the artwork hanging in the library. Miss Elise puts something new there every day. The children have worked very hard this year to achieve some really interesting projects.

Miss Julie will be taking Miss Kelly's place for the rest of the year. Please welcome her.

Have a great week!

From Teacher Magazine.

Comment: This is an excellent article and very close to my heart. I think Mary Tedrow hits the nail on the head. Education should be based on what we know. If you can't write about it, you don't know about it. It's that simple. More writing would lead to better tests. Problem? Teachers would have to read it, and that means more time.

Published: April 22, 2009

Investing in Writing to Win the Ed Race

By Mary Tedrow

Classroom teachers are generally last in line when it comes to spending decisions and the first blamed when those dollars don’t result in student achievement. Given this history, it’s not likely that I’ll be asked to serve on a committee writing a grant for the “Race to the Top” money to be distributed by Education Secretary Arne Duncan this fall. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have an opinion on the matter.

Duncan says these grant dollars will flow only to states promising innovation. For most policymakers that means grand schemes—charter schools, fancy hardware, giant reading programs with discrete benchmarks, alternative paths to teaching, textbook adoptions, mountains of data and tests, tests, tests.

My idea of innovation calls for a quieter revolution, one with fewer bells and whistles. It begins by envisioning a quiet but humming classroom, where busy heads bend over pads of paper and hands scribble rapidly with pens or pencils.

If I were running the education world, I’d ensure that every building contain, at a minimum, one teacher trained through the National Writing Project in the teaching of writing and the use of writing to learn. Planting that single seed could revolutionize the way we look at students and student work.

The NWP has been transforming teachers from all disciplines and grade levels for over 30 years, and the track record of success is well documented. One study revealed that 98% of teachers in the NWP remained in education their entire careers, while 70% of those stayed in the classroom working with students. More to the point, perhaps, a recent meta-study of NWP research found that teachers who participate in Writing Project professional development outperform non-Project teachers on every measure of student achievement in writing performance.

But why pour dollars into effective writing-instruction? Well, I’ve come to believe—in part through my experiences with NWP—that writing is at the core of learning.

Writing as Making Meaning

From a teaching-and-learning perspective, reading is input – other ideas implanted from a variety of voices – and writing is output – a record of a student’s understanding of what those voices are saying. But though we spend barrels of money ensuring that students can read, we neglect to help our students make sense of what they’ve read, heard or seen by asking them to use the writing process for deeper thinking.

Teachers are quick to note that superiors seldom seek our advice, yet we rarely ask our students what is on their minds. We spend most of our time filling their heads, and carve out very little to discover how they are responding to and integrating what we’ve told them.

What is it they think they have learned? How does that learning fit into their lives? What connections can they make between the new knowledge and the old? Can they imagine a future where their new knowledge expands to resolve problems and issues? Opening a window into students’ thoughts is the only way to know for sure how well they “get” what we’re giving them. Notepads and pencils make excellent window-openers.

Why writing and not some other tool? Writing is thinking—one student sorting through his knowledge and understandings to produce thought. When a student learns something, she must first articulate it in her own language before she owns it. Writing gives every student in the room the time and space to do this important reflecting in a very personal—dare I say differentiated–way.

In a matter of minutes, writing can reveal a student harboring a huge misconception, a student imagining possibilities the teacher has not considered, or a student struggling to learn an important concept.

By not asking students to write, we are also ignoring their potential role in designing education as makers of meaning. Teachers dismissing student knowledge is akin to education policy makers dismissing teacher insights. In my classroom, my students’ written responses help me know them better and tailor my instruction to their interests and needs.

Still not convinced that true innovation in education lies in the paper and pen?

Try transforming your own classroom into a community of learners tomorrow. Ask your students to write about this: What is one thing we have done this quarter that you have enjoyed? What did you like about it? What is something you would like to see as a part of our classroom work? Why?

I guarantee they will respond with the same eagerness and insight you would, if I were to ask: What is one thing you would like to change about education in this country if you could?

You’ve already heard my answer. So go ahead – write away. What’s yours?

Mary Tedrow teaches high school English and journalism and co-directs the Northern Virginia Writing Project. She is a National Board Certified Teacher and a former Fellow of the Teacher Leaders Network.

Friday's Tattler

It's always amazing to me to watch personalities. Personalities can be matched to a plate full of cookies. Some people actually take the trouble to make the cookies -for everyone. There are those who supply the plate or have the organizational skill that benefit everyone. There are those who share the cookies and create a happy place for everyone around them. And there are those who think the entire plate of cookies, plate, table, room, house, lot, street, town, state, country - in fact the entire world belongs to them - no duh!

Cookie plates begin in childhood. Sharing, giving, that sense of generosity is created in the home. It's reinforced at school with good teachers who are generous and loving. All cookie plates are passed down from generation to generation. Going through life sharing, making, and organizing so everyone gets a part is a great way to go through life. The antithesis? It's not even worth discussing.

Like every day, today was a cookie plate day at school. I watched as an incredible staff made cookies, found the plates and shared them with everyone. The kids got their fill today. There was no one who took the entire plate for him or herself.

I was delighted with my little class of cookies! Every one of my little guys knew their letters, and could tell me the sounds. Several of my kids knew the vowel sounds both the long and the short. This makes me very happy.

Today, Miss Elise set the second cage of butterflies free. The kids got to watch as the butterflies we had raised flew out into the world. It was exciting. It is always such a pleasure to work with an enthusiastic teacher who loves to share. Elise is a delightful teacher and really enjoys her time at the GS. She is young and beautiful and one of those plates of cookies that only has crumbs left because she shared every single one!

We are reading My Father's Dragon after lunch. We are in the second book, and the children are really enjoying it. They are keeping up with the story and can answer lots of questions.

In French class, we are learning about food. Today Jill told me that we ate potatoes, apples, fish and cheese for lunch. We looked up the word corn together. Next week we will learn the body parts.

Miss Leigh spent the afternoon working on a special project for next week. SHHHHHH it's a secret, and we are all excited to find out how this will develop! Miss Leigh is another fantastic teacher. I'm prejudiced, of course, because I've known her since she was a fat little new born butterball. Leigh is an exciting person to have around the children because she's full of life and fun. I remember her as a young child and always thought - "Around Leigh, there is always a party." She hasn't changed a bit.

Miss Kelly has taken a leave of absence, and has been replace by Miss Julie. Miss Julie is really digging in on the children's reading skills. This is her forte, and we are delighted to have her. She brings to the Garden School a steady loving interest, and a seriousness we really need. We are blessed to have her.

Next week the summer itinerary goes home. If you have any changes, please let us know. Thanks for a GREAT week!