Happy Holidays!

Hi out there! Anyone online? What are you all doing over this wonderful week off? My daughter is home from Pittsburgh for 4 more days, so we're going to do some fun "Mother/Daughter" things. Right now we're sitting in our living room doing techie stuff. (Are you surprised?) We both have our blogs up and are busy posting. (Lara says "HI!" by the way.) So what are we going to do? Not sure yet. We might go to Longwood Gardens for a visit. Have you ever been there? I've only been once, and that was a very very very long time ago. It's supposed to be quite beautiful at holiday time.

What else am I going to do? I want to put a fire in my fireplace and curl up with my new books. I got 4 new ones to read! (I get so excited about books!) I also want to get back into my yoga and running. (I took about a week off to get a lot of my schoolwork done- for report cards, student special reports, planning all of those exciting class lessons, and of course holiday preparation- I made my friends their gifts this year.) Don't want to get lazy and gain TOO much weight from all of the cookies and holiday goodies ; )

Well, if you're out there reading, drop a comment to let me know what you're doing. Hope you are all safe and happy!

xxoo,

Ms. Becker

p.s. The picture is of a Jizo. Jizo is a special protector of children.

Speaking of food, it's THANKSGIVING!

Giving Thanks. There's something to ponder. Do you know the history of Thanksgiving- like, the real deal? Check out this site to watch a movie and learn interesting things about this special "All American" holiday! THANKSGIVING STORY

Now, wasn't that interesting? What did you learn? Why were they thankful? Why are YOU thankful? Or what are you thankful for?

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH??

Do you like the school lunch? Amir thinks the school lunch is nasty. He thinks it tastes undercooked because it's not hot enough. Kailie says that the hot dogs look raw inside. Sayyid thinks we should have steak for lunch instead of those old hot dogs and hamburgers. He also thinks the pizza is naaasty! It has "brown stuff" on it! Nazir is asking for ribs!

Brian thinks the school lunch should go up a notch. He thinks the food should be upgraded! What do you guys think? Is there ANYTHING about the school lunch that you like? If so, what? If not, what should be changed?

Chillin' in Room 214!

Here we are, the "B2" Group, chillin' in room 214. Mishan thinks it's a cool place, and we all agree. Do you come to room 214 this year? If you do, what's your group? Siani wants to know if there is a group "A". Steven wants to know how many people come to room 214. So tell us! Who are you and why do you come? If you don't come, do you wish you did?

VACATION!

Here are some photos of where I am RIGHT NOW!!!! Isn't it beautiful!

I'm in Goose Rocks Beach, Maine.
Find me on this map. (Click here and then hit the - minus button to make the map smaller so you can see where I am in relation to Philadelphia.)

JULY, JULY, Doesn't time fly!

Like my rhyme??? Ha-ha! So. You know how everyone got the flu at the end of the school year? Well... I had to wait until my VACATION to get sick! Yuck! Thanks a lot guys! : /

But now I'm enjoying my beautiful garden. It's very relaxing.

What are all of you doing these days?

June! Graduation, End of School, Summer...

It's HERE! JUNE! Let's see. Five more days until the 5th graders graduate. Seven more days until school's out for students! WOW!

I had a super time with you guys! This was a great teaching year for me, and will probably go down as one of my all-time favorites! So what do YOU think about your school year? Do you have any "do overs"? (That means if there was something you did that you would have done differently.) Tell me your thoughts... Be sure to check out Hoops and Yoyo's thoughts on the end of the year. Click here.

WOW! A MONTH ZOOMED BY ALREADY!

Hey! Can you believe a whole month passed since I posted last? (Yeah, I know King... YOU know!) So anyhow, it's almost June and my 5th graders will all be graduating! What's on your minds now as the year is coming to an end?

This is for Daysha

Daysha posted a comment and wants to know what people are going to do over their summer. I hope to visit my sister, Zoe, in San Francisco and go to Maine with my daughter and husband. I'm also going to work in my garden and read lots and lots of books. So, since Daysha asked... What are YOUR plans?

I SO LOVE YOU GUYS!

You guys are the greatest. I have been having a hard time moving around or even sitting because my back is so bad. But you have all been busy commenting on my blog and cheering me up. I really tried hard to come in to school each day, but the doctor told me I can't drive. So.... I'm going to get there tomorrow-- Friday-- no matter what!

    I love you all and thanks for all of your wonderful notes to me.

       xxoo,   Ms. Becker

Phew!

Are you as glad as I am that the PSSAs are over??? Yeah boy! So anyhow, Zoe made this amazing power point about it. It's called "Zoe's PSSA Survival Guide" and it really rocks. You should definitely check it out on my web page... (Click here to see it.) Let us know what you think. Make sure you tell Zoe what an amazing job she did!

Mnemonic Device?

Hey. Have you ever heard of a mnemonic device? It's a pattern of letters, an expression, or ideas that help you remember something. Like when I said for Daylight Saving Time that you "Spring Forward and Fall Back." I also remember a teacher I had in 6th grade who helped me remember the how to spell dessert and desert. She told me that dessert was "sweet stuff" and had 2 s's. I never forgot after that. Then there's the whole "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" for order of operations in math, or "My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" for the planets in the solar system.

Do you have a favorite mnemonic device? Do you know what the last 2 I just wrote mean?

SPRING FORWARD?

Did you know that Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend? Do you know what that means? I remember always getting confused about that. I knew that we changed the clock an hour, but could never remember when we put it ahead or when we moved it back. Then someone helped me by saying we "Spring Forward" in the Spring, and "Fall Back" in the Fall. Pretty cool, huh! (I hope you understand what that means...) Anyhow, check out this neat sight to learn more- IT'S TIME, then come back and tell me if you think we SHOULD change the clocks or not and why. Be sure to read about the controversy to help support your point of view!

Happy Birthday, LARA!

Well, for all of you that know my daughter Lara, it's a very special day today. This day, March 2nd 2009, is her twenty-first birthday. Yup, that's 21. 2-1. Yikes! So, I want to give a special hello to her since I'm not with her. She's away at college in Pittsburgh, and we won't be able to celebrate this very special day together.

Feel free to join me in wishing her a very very happy day...

So Lara, enjoy your day, eat all the cake and ice-cream you want, and know that I love you.

xxoo,
ur Mom

THANK YOU CEAY!!!

I would like to make a special post to Ceay! Thank you Ceay for reading my post of Wednesday, February 11th. WOW! Someone reads super carefully!!!!!

How Carefully do YOU Read?

OK. My last post was a dud. I don't think anyone read it carefully. I was asking about the PSSA, and people answered about how many days are in a week!!!! What's up with that???? If that's how carefully you read, we're DOOMED on the PSSA!!!!

I'm growling! (That's ME at my desk. See what happens when people don't read carefully??? Let's see how well you guys read THIS post! arrgh.)

HOW MANY DAYS??? EEEEEKKKK!

OK! We're in the great countdown! This week we've been busy taking the PSSA Writing Assessment. (At least the 5th graders have.) We've been doing a great job, working hard, trying our best, and NOT letting the TEST GET US!!! : )

SO... How many days are left until the Math and Reading PSSA's??? We're in the 20's. How are you getting ready for them? Do you have any pointers in how to handle the testing? Like how not to stress out? Or how to tackle the exam? Let me know what works for you, or what you need help with...

What did YOU do on your "Snow Day"???

Hmmm... Let's see. My alarm went off at 5:30 as it always does. I moaned and groaned (I have a bad cold) and lay very still to see if I could "hear" snow. You see, in my neighborhood, if it snows, the street gets very quiet- unusually quiet. I couldn't tell, so I moaned again and started to get out of bed. My husband came in and told me to go back to sleep- that school was CLOSED! 

Alas, I was already awake, so I jumped out of bed, ran to the phone to call Ms. Cooper, had my cup of coffee, listened to the news a little, then got on my treadmill to run for my usual 30 minutes. After that, I did my yoga and meditated. Now fully awake and charged, I got on my boots, gloves, ear warmers, and coat, grabbed my shovel and proceeded to shovel my steps and sidewalk. Feeling very energetic, I continued down the block to my elderly neighbors' houses and shoveled their walks and steps as well. (Gee, aren't I such a nice person.) Then I came back in, drank a nice cup of herbal tea, and watched TV. Yes, you read that right- I watched TV. I was going to do my favorite thing and read, but my cold got the better of me, so I "vegged out" and curled up with a blanket and some mindless television. (I like HGTV.)

So, how did YOU spend your day?

Here's a Special Shout-Out to George and King!

Hey George and King,

I wanted to give you two a special shout out. You have been blogging with me faithfully for some time now! Thanks for all of your comments and input. You're the greatest!

RESOLUTION???

Well, it's a new year, a new month, a new day, a new beginning! Because of this, many people decide to make changes in their life or themselves; to make a resolution! I think the most popular ones are to lose weight, eat better, and exercise. I remember making MANY resolutions over the years- some I've kept, and some I didn't. I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to make a specific one or not this year. I just want to keep trying to be the best person I can be...

Any thoughts on your end? Making any resolutions this year? Let me know!