A Meme

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

I found this on one of the blogs I read and thought it would be fun to throw it out into the blogosphere.

Outside my window... it`s a bright sunny day with a teeny tiny little nip in the air (I LOVE it!).

I am thinking... about whether I should take the kids to Prague for a week at the beginning of December. Tigerpapa can`t come so it would be just me and the kids.

I am thankful for... everything, especially my family.

From the kitchen... I plan to make squash risotto and wholewheat biscuits for dinner. I have never made risotto before so it should be interesting.

I am wearing... a cream coloured long-sleeve sweater with a hood and jeans.

I am creating... nothing lately. Maybe I`ll try to start knitting again.

I am going... to go across the street to the German Cultural Center to buy some homemade bread. Then I will drive to a furniture store to look for a shoe closet for our entrance.

I am reading... "Merry Christms Amelia Bedelia" and "Girls of Riyadh" by Rajaa Alsanea

I am hoping... and praying for my mom!

I am hearing... an awesome 1980`s compilation cd that my LSF (Lovely Scottish Friend) gave me for Christmas last year. It`s currently playing the theme from Miami Vice...wait, its now changed to "Life in a Northern Town" by The Dream Academy.

Around the house... things are sparkling clean and organized because the home helper came yesterday! :).

One of my favorite things... is to snuggle with the kids and read them a story before bed. Right now we are reading "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe". I also like chocolate and coffee.

A few plans for the rest of the week... I will volunteer in Tigergirl`s classroom to help with handwriting and find some pictures to go on our walls. I`d also like to get our Christmas picture taken so that I can get my cards sent out in time!

Here is picture thought I am sharing... I feel this bumper sticker really represents the people here in Beirut....at least in my recent experience:


Here are the people I`m tagging... Midori, Gina, Shinshu Life, Jan, and Lily.

Katykins

Katy likes to completely relax. This is how I found her today:

Jack-o-Lanterns

I forgot to showcase these puppies:


Yes, that`s mold you see in the mouth and eyes. Tigergirl had carved this pumpkin at school a couple of days before the picture.


Tigerboy drew the face and Tigerpapa did the carving.



They aren`t the right kind of pumpkins but I think they are lovely and full of character. :)

Creative Spelling

I found this taped up on Tigergirl`s wall. It took me a couple of minutes to figure out what she has written. Can you see it?



My favourite part is, "jam and toast" as opposed to "jam and bread". I also enjoyed "a needle pulling fred" which is far more interesting than "a needle pulling thread" if you ask me. :)

The method of teaching reading and writing has changed since I went to school. Along with this "creative spelling" there is a lot of time spent on reading and writing in the classroom. The students have one-on-one conferences every day with the teachers to evaluate their level and see if there are any problems. They also use pens instead of pencils so that the students don`t spend so much time correcting their work. The main goal though is to encourage the children to develop a love of reading. It`s totally working too. Tigergirl told me her favourite part of school is reading from her book bag (a bag of books that is tailored to that child`s level) and she gets very excited when she moves up a level.

I`m off to check Tigergirl`s homework. She has to make a photo/drawing report about the uniqueness of her family....should be interesting!!!