Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 05/29/2020

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

#ArtJumpStart- “It all begins with an idea. #ArtJumpStart is a collection of easy art projects to try at home using materials from your recycling. Download the full collection as a PDF or browse the images below” (L:G;SA:FA)

The 5 Clue Challenge – “All over the world, people live in diverse regions, and climates with different animals, plants, and interesting nuances. As I have traveled the world working with teachers and students, I have tried to bring experiences back to my own classes. Below you'll find short videos where you will get 5 clues to guess a location, animal, or person. Some videos were created by me as I traveled. Others were submitted to me by teachers and children from around the globe. Your mission is to do research and figure out the answer to each challenge in as few clues as possible. Have fun!” (L:G;SA:A)

Cat in the Hat Builds That – “Do you want a science app? The Cat in the Hat gives you that with a tap! Kids play and learn in their backyard, to see how science is fun, not hard! Based on the PBS KIDS series, “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That,” this app introduces pre-k kids to science inquiry and engineering (STEM) concepts through games tailored to their learning progress. Kids can build bridges, explore friction through slides and sort fun objects and tools in fantastical lands along with the Cat in the Hat, Nick and Sally. As kids play, they earn rewards to decorate their treehouse and backyard, and unlock games that let them tinker and explore in their own way. Includes simple and fun hands-on activities that parents and kids can do together, extending the STEM fun to home and everyday materials.” (L:E;SA:S)

15 Online Summer Learning Opportunities – “It's that time of year again for my annual list of online summer learning opportunities or programs.  This is especially prevalent w/ the COVID-19 "double whammy" that is happening w/ school closures around the world, economic downturn, and high possibility of summer learning loss for students.  These programs help fill a gap that sometimes is lacking over the summer months and best of all can be done at the comfort from home.” (L:G;SA:A)

Journey North – “Tracking migration and seasons…Use News Updates to drive instruction. Each update includes a journal page with a question to explore, an activity to try, a map to analyze and more. Over the season, the journal becomes a workplace where students explore ever-changing events, record compelling questions, formulate hypotheses, and document discoveries.”  (L:G;SA:LA,S)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Michelle Kwan

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here is some more information about another famous Asian American that you might not know much about.

Michelle Kwan was one of America’s most popular figure skater and has won numerous Olympic medals.

Kwan was born in 1980 in California to parents who immigrated from Hong Kong. She grew up speaking Chinese and English. She started figure skating when she was five years old. Her older sister Karen and her practiced three to four hours every day. It was very expensive and when Kwan was ten, her parents couldn’t afford a coach, but a member of the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club helped them out. In 2009, she earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies with a minor in political science from Josef Korbel School of International Studies. In 2013, she married Clay Pell, an American lawyer and former director for strategic planning on the National Security staff at the White House. After four years of marriage, they filed for divorce in 2017.

Kwan won five World Championships and nine US Championships. She holds the record for the most consecutive US titles and consecutive4 US Championship medals.

In 2006, Kwan was named as a public diplomacy ambassador representing American values and traveled a lot.

In 2008, She became a member of the Committee of 100, which is a Chinese American organization that encourages relations between the US and China.

In 2011, she served as an adviser to the US-China Women’s Leadership Exchange and Dialogue.

In 2012, Kwan was appointed as a state department senior adviser for public diplomacy and public affairs.

In 2014, she joined Fox Sports for the Winter Olympics broadcast.

Jerry Yang

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here is some more information about another famous Asian American that you might not know much about.

Jerry Yang is the co-founder and former CEO of Yahoo! Inc.

Yang was born in Taiwan in 1968. In 1978, his family moved to California where the extended family took care of the children while his mother taught English to others. When he moved to the US, he took the American name Jerry instead of using his name Yang Chih-Yuan. He only knew the word “shoe” when he came to America but within three years, he became fluent in English. He attended Stanford University where he earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in electrical engineering. He met his friend David Filo at Stanford.

Yang and David Filo created an internet website that consisted of a directory of other websites in 1994. The eventually renamed it Yahoo! In 1995, Sequoia Capital invested $2 million in Yahoo! And in 1995, Reuters and Softbank gave more funding. In 1996, it went public. Yang was named as one of the top 100 innovators in the world under the age of 35 in 1996. Yang served as CEO from 2007 to 2009.

In 2012, Yang left Yahoo! and began mentoring other technology startups. He also became an investor through his firm called AME Cloud Ventures.

Yang is married to a Japanese woman, Akiko Yamazaki, and they live in California. He likes to play golf and watch sumo-wrestling.

In 2007, Yang and his wife gave $75 million to Stanford University where $50 million was spent building the “Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building.” This building was designed with sustainable architecture principles. In 2017, they pledged $25 million to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

Amy Tan

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here is some more information about another famous Asian American that you might not know much about.

Amy Tan is a Chinese-American writer. Her first novel was the 1989 novel called The Joy Luck Club about Chinese women and their American born daughters and was eventually made into a movie. I loved this book and movie because I could relate to a lot of the feelings the young girls experienced. Tan has written several other novels and also two children’s books.

Amy Tan was born in 1952 in California. Her parents had immigrated to the United States in 1949 and then moved to Europe when she was a teenager. When she was only fifteen years old, her father and older brother died of brain tumors six months apart. At that time, her mother moved Tan and her younger brother to Switzerland. During this time, she learned about her mother’s previous marriage to another Chinese man and how her mother had to leave her children behind in Shanghai. This became the basis for her first book. Tan returned to the US to go to college. Tan and her mother had a difficult relationship.

She dropped out of the college chosen by her mother and followed her boyfriend to California and eventually married him in 1974. While attending college, she held many different odd jobs including writing as a freelance business writer using non-Chinese sounding pseudonyms.

Tan got Lyme disease in 1998 and suffers epileptic seizures because it was misdiagnosed for several years. She cofounded LymeAid 4 Kids which helps pay for treatment for uninsured kids. She also suffers from depression and chose not to have children so she wouldn’t pass this on to them. Her mother also suffered from it and threatened suicide many times before she died in 1999.

Tan currently lives in San Francisco and taken up drawing.

Maya Lin

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here is some more information about another famous Asian American that you might not know much about.

Maya Lin is the architect that designed the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington DC and the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama.

Lin was born in Ohio to parents who emigrated from China. Her father was dean of the Ohio University College of Fine Arts and her mother is a poet and former literature professor at Ohio University. Her aunt was an artist and poet as well as the first female architect in modern China. She attended Yale University and got her Bachelor of Arts in 1981 and a Master of Architecture in 1986.

When she was 21 and still in college, Lin won a competition to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Her design was chosen out of 1422 submissions. This memorial was completed in 1982. Her design was to create an opening that symbolized the pain caused by war and casualties. This design became controversial because of Lin’s ethnicity, lack of experience, and design. Others complained that it didn’t include surviving veterans and the dark granite showed a negative attitude towards the war. After defending her design before Congress, it was decided that The Three Soldiers statue and an American Flag would be placed beside the memorial. This memorial is one of the most visited sites of the National Mall. Lin believes that she would have never won this contest if designs were submitted by name instead of a number.

The Civil Rights Memorial in Alabama is a memorial to 41 people killed during the Civil rights movement from 1954-1968. Lin’s design is based on the soothing and healing effect of water and was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr’s speech, “I Have a Dream.” The memorial is a fountain in the form of an inverted cone. The water flows over the base of the stone which includes the 41 names. You can touch the water and change it temporarily but then it returns to smoothness.

Lin prefers to be called a designer instead of an architect. She focuses on how space needs to be in the future and the emotions this space creates. She focuses more on memorialized time periods rather than figures so her works are more abstract.

Lin also designed the Museum of Chinese in America near Chinatown in New York City in 2009.

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 05/22/2020

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

70 Acts of Kindness Ideas That Won’t Cost a Thing + Printables – “…spread the love with our 70 acts of kindness you can do without breaking the bank. Who knows, these small actions may just leave you —and your wallet — at ease.” (L:G;SA:A)

Monster Minigames – “Rehearse matching letter-sounds, blending and segmenting - all within the familiar environment of Teach your Monster to Read.” (L:E;SA:LA)

Copyright for Teachers - A Webinar With Beth Holland and Richard Byrne – “In this webinar Beth Holland and Richard Byrne share advice about copyright issues in the classroom.” (L:T;SA:A)

Making Sense of Spelling – a TED-ed lesson; “What can spelling tell us about relationships between words? While spelling may sometimes seem random or unexpected, this lesson illuminates how peeling back the layers of spelling helps us understand the complex history and meaningful structure of words.” (L:H;SA:LA)

World’s Worst Pet – free iPad app; “Help your students build a rich vocabulary of essential words! World’s Worst Pet exposes students to over 1000 Tier Two words at 6 different levels through four engaging games. Aligned to the Common Core, this app provides student-friendly definitions, a playful narrative, a fun reward system and thought-provoking writing prompts!” (L:E;SA:LA)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Yo-Yo Ma

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here is some more information about some famous Asian Americans that you might not know much about.

Yo-Yo Ma is one of the world’s greatest musicians. He plays a 1733 Montagnana cello, nicknamed Petunia, and a 1712 Davidoff Stradivarius.

Yo-Yo Ma was born on October 7, 1955, to Chinese parents. His family moved to New York when he was seven years old.

He began playing the cello when he was four years old and made his musical debut at Carnegie Hall when he was nine. He graduated from Julliard School and Harvard University. Yo-Yo Ma has recorded fifty albums and earned more than a dozen Grammy awards. He has performed with many of the world’s major orchestras.

In 1978, Ma married Jill Hornor and had two children. According to research, a relative had hidden Ma’s family genealogy in his home in China to save it from being destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

In 2006, Ma was named Peace Ambassador by the UN Secretary-General. He is the founding member of the Chinese-American Committee of 100 that addresses the concerns of Americans of Chinese heritage.

Dalip Singh Saund

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here is some more information about some famous Asian Americans that you might not know much about.

Dalip Singh Saund was the first Asian American, the first Indian American, the first Sikh-American and the first member of a non-Abrahamic faith to be elected to the United States Congress.

Saund was born on September 20, 1899, and died on April 22, 1973.

Saund persuaded his family to support his plan of studying food canning in America and then returning to India to start a canning industry. During summers, he worked at different canneries. He got a doctorate degree in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley.

His career options were limited because of the anti-immigrant feelings at the time so he worked for twenty years in farming. He was a lettuce farmer and a distributor of chemical fertilizer. During this time, he fought laws that discriminated against Indians. He and other Indians earned the right to become US citizens in 1949. A year later he was elected judge of Justice Court but was denied the seat because he was not a citizen for one year when elected. In 1952, he was elected to the same court and stayed there for 5 years. Saund served three terms in the House of Representatives and worked to improve US-Asian relations.

Saund wrote a book called “My Mother India” which he hoped would help end the British Empire’s occupation of India. His book addressed India’s caste system and answered questions regarding the cultural and political problems of India.

He suffered a stroke in his fourth term on an airplane flight and left him unable to speak or walk. He was moved from a hospital in Maryland to California and ten years later, he suffered his second stroke and died.

Steven Chu

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here is some more information about some famous Asian Americans that you might not know much about.

Steven Chu was born in St. Louis, Missouri. As a child, he loved to build things and even hoarded his lunch money to buy parts for his homemade rockets.  and went on to earn a Ph.D. in physics from The University of California, Berkeley.

After Berkeley, he joined Bell Labs where he and colleagues carried out his Nobel Prize-winning laser cooling work. Dr. Chu received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1997. After Bell Labs, he became a physics professor at Stanford University, where he and colleagues initiated the Bio-X program. The Bio-X program focuses on research in biology and medicine. In 2004, he was appointed as the director of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a US Dept. of Energy National Laboratory. This lab was a center for research into biofuels and solar energy. He started the initiative to develop methods of harnessing solar power as a source of renewable energy for transportation.

Dr. Chu was sworn in as the Secretary of Energy on January 21, 2009, and was the first person appointed to the US Cabinet after winning a Nobel prize. He was also the second Chinese American to be a member of the US Cabinet. He was also the designated survivor during the State of the Union address on February 12, 2013.

Chinese Railroad Workers

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, here is some more information about some famous Asian Americans that you might not know much about.

Construction began on the transcontinental railroad in 1863 and was a 1912-mile line between America’s west and east coast. It was finished in 1869 and built by three private companies over public lands. Even though thousands of European immigrants worked on the Pacific Union rail heading west, there weren’t enough men to build the Central Pacific line. This line went through the rugged Rocky and Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Central Pacific hired 50 Chinese laborers to lay down railroad track in 1865. These laborers were escaping the poverty and terror of the Taiping Rebellion in China.  Because they liked the completed work so much, Central Pacific preferred hiring more Chinese men and recruited them in Canton, China. Approximately 12,000 Chinese railroad workers performed dangerous work that others refused to do. Rivers were dammed, ditches were dug, and tunnels were blasted through mountain rangers. Many were killed on the job. Chinese workers faced a lot of discrimination and were paid less but they never quit. Even though most of the black and white workers were paid $30 each month along with food and lodging, most Chinese workers were paid $26 a month and provided lodging but they preferred to cook their own food.

The president of Central Pacific told Congress in 1865 that most of the railroad labor force were Chinese, He said without the Chinese, it would be impossible to complete the western portion of the railroad within the time required.

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Newspaper in Education Teacher Resources – From The Palm Beach Post; “Over 300 instructional resources are provided including high quality teacher guides, serial stories, student supplements, bullying/character education materials, numerous subject-specific resources, video & audio teacher training modules, and the popular NIE Instructional Calendar. (IWB - For Interactive White Board files.) These resources address the research- and standards-based curriculum focus of schools and teachers. There are curriculum materials for every subject area and grade level. Click on any resource to access it. All resources may be copied for classroom use or for homework assignments.” (L:G;SA:A)

Digital Citizen Resource Library – “Use the following resources to plan virtual lessons and activities that teach students how to be safer and more responsible when learning online.”  (L:G;SA:A)

Next Vista for Learning – “All videos in the regular collections of NextVista.org are for a student audience, highlighting the creativity of students and teachers around the world…We also have a large collection of careers videos to help middle and high school students better understand and connect to their future possibilities.” (L:G;SA:A)

Individualized Education Plan – A Parent’s Guide – a documentary video for parents and teachers (L:T;SA:A)

#savewithstories – Instagram, different people read aloud stories.  “As COVID-19 hits the U.S., millions of kids need our help to learn & eat.” (L:G;SA:A)

Feng Shan Ho

Dr. Feng Shan Ho is known for what he did during the Holocaust by saving thousands of Austrian Jews.

Ho Feng-Shan was born on 10 September 1901 in  China. He was a hard-working student and attended the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 1929 and got his doctorate in political economics in 1932. In 1935, he started his diplomatic career in the Republic of China with the Foreign Ministry and his first post was in Turkey. In 1937, he became the First Secretary at the Chinese legation (which is like an embassy) in Vienna. In 1938 when Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany, the legation became a consulate, and Ho was assigned the post of Consul-General.

At the time, Austria had approximately 185,000 Jews, the third-largest Jewish community in Europe. In 1938, the Nazis invaded Austria and started persecuting the Jews. Nazis required Jews to have entry visas or boat tickets in order to go to another country. Since other nations wouldn’t accept Jewish refugees, the Austrians had nowhere to go.

Dr. Ho risked his life, went against orders, and gave many Jewish people visas to Shanghai China. Anyone who requested a visa to Shanghai was given one, even if they wanted to travel elsewhere but needed a visa to leave. Many did go to Shanghai either by boat from Italy or by land through the Soviet Union. Others used their visas to go to places like Palestine or the Philippines.

Dr. Ho spent 40 years as a diplomat in Egypt, Mexico, Bolivia, and Colombia before retiring to San Francisco. He was an unknown hero of WWII when he died in 1997 at the age of 96.

It was only after his death that evidence by survivors who benefited from his help surfaced. The Commission for the Designation of the Righteous decided to award Dr. Ho the title of Righteous Among the Nations for his humanitarian efforts in giving Chinese visas to Jews in Vienna in spite of orders that told him not to do this. On September 12, 2015, he was also awarded the President’s Citation Award from the Taiwanese President.

Keeping the Good

Slowing the country is opening up again and I’ve learned many new things during my self-quarantine. I’ve learned a lot personally and professionally.

·      I learned that I really don’t need a lot of material things to keep me happy.

·      I learned that I’m more thankful for my good health than ever before.

·      I learned that I love technology and would be lost without it.

·      I learned that I can save a lot of money if I need to.

·      I learned that I read a lot more books when I wasn’t distracted by life.

But I also learned a lot of things involving teaching and learning.

·     
I learned how valuable video conferencing can be.

·      I learned that we can teach children online (I used to think this was mainly for adults).

·      I learned that there are lots of useful resources online that can be used for teaching.

·      I learned that the whole world struggled together to teach children and we can learn a lot from each other when this happens.

·      I learned that learning standards and curriculum is not as important as many thought it was.

·      I learned that students can be creative when it involves learning.

I hope that when we return to brick and mortar schools, that we don’t forget all the things we learned and that we keep the good things.

There are many things that teachers did to teach students online that they can continue to do in the regular classroom. Many strategies and techniques can be useful during face to face learning. Technology can still be a part of instruction and should continue to be in case we have another pandemic. Next time we will be more prepared for a situation like this.

At first online teaching/learning was inconvenient and after a while we became comfortable with it. Now it is the new normal until things change again. And I don’t think that change is all that bad. It keeps us on our toes and keeps our teaching fresh. The important thing is to remember that when things change, we need to keep the good that we learned.

What good things have you learned? Please share.

Photo by Volkan Olmez on Unsplash

Duke Kahanamoku

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I thought I would feature some famous Asian Americans that you might not know much about.

Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was born on August 24, 1890, and died on January 22, 1968. He was a  Hawaiian competition swimmer who loved surfing. He was born towards the end of the Kingdom of Hawaii and became a United States citizen. He won an  Olympic medal five times in swimming. He also worked in law enforcement and acting as well as a beach volleyball player and a businessman.

Duke is known as the father of international surfing. He was first recognized as a swimmer in the 1912 Olympics that took place in Stockholm, Sweden. He set a world record in the 100-meter freestyle and won a silver medal in the 200-meter relay. At the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, he won two gold medals. At the 1924 Paris Olympics, he won a silver medal. At the 1932 Los Angelos Olympics, he won a bronze medal. He also appeared in nearly 30 movies over the course of nine years. Then he became the sheriff for the City and County of Honolulu for 25 years.

Math Games Lab for Kids: 24 Fun, Hands-On Activities for Learning with Shapes, Puzzles, and Games - Book Review

I recently read Math Games Lab for Kids: 24 Fun, Hands-On Activities for Learning with Shapes, Puzzles, and Games by Rebecca Rapoport. I read a review copy compliments of Netgalley and I am not being paid to give this review.

All of the activities are for children ages 6 – 10 but I have to admit that adults may even have fun doing some of these activities. The activities can be done in any order and the materials needed for the activities call for simple household items. When doing some of the activities, it may feel more like a game than actually doing math because students won’t realize they are using math principles to complete the activity.

These activities can either be done at home or in a classroom. Each activity begins with a question to think about. It allows the student to come up with a hypothesis and hooks them into the lesson. Each activity is well written giving materials needed, math facts, directions and illustration.

I think this book would make math learning fun for children! This book would be great in a school library or a classroom library or even for a student’s personal library.

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 05/08/2020

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

iCivics Odyssey – “The new iCivics Game Odyssey turns our free online games into an exciting quest for civics knowledge. Play your way through a series of games each week, claim badges, share successes, and learn important civics lessons on the journey to becoming a Civic Boss.” (L:G;SA:SS)

Gallery AR – app for iPhone or iPad; “Gallery AR turns your surroundings into the art gallery. You just need to pick up the phone and find a wall. The iconic art paints will show in front of you! You can walk as close as you want, or sit well into the couch in the living room. Don't worry about the dress code. Enjoy famous art collections!” (L:G;SA:FA)

Vocab Victor – “Vocab Victor will build and strengthen their vocabulary. Assign this fun app in lieu of vocabulary lists, flashcards, and worksheets to give your students focused vocabulary instruction that will hold their attention.” (L:G;SA:LA)

Fact Fragment Frenzy – “Fact Fragment Frenzy, as a stand-alone or as part of an extended research skills unit, aids students in learning the importance of finding the words in sentences and paragraphs that contain the facts they need for compiling their research. They practice by pulling important words from a text over to a virtual notebook. The students then move to putting those notes into their own words, avoiding plagiarism. Having elementary and intermediate students participate in the fact-finding process early in their school experience promises to enrich further study and enjoyment of nonfiction texts.” (L:E,M;SA:LA)

PBS Nature Cat – interactive activities and videos that are very engaging for younger students (L:E;SA:S)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Bring Out the Best

In What brings out the best in you? From Seth Godin's Blog,  Seth Godin asks,

“Can you change your posture so that the situations you’re in a lot bring out your best instead of your worst?”

I’ve heard the cliché: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” And I believe it is true.

I can wallow in a bad situation that I have no control over and whine about it until anyone around me can’t stand me. I can keep complaining about how bad my situation is and how miserable I am but none of that will help make my situation any better. In fact, it will make me, and others just feel worse.

During this virus, I have done a lot of gardening at home and usually, I complain that I never have enough time. My husband trimmed bushes and did some things that he needed to do.

When a tornado hit our Florida house, we had to hurry down there to fix the damage. Since we couldn’t go anywhere, we were able to make some repairs on our own. In addition to repairs, we were able to do some maintenance things that we normally put off until “we get around to it.” Of course, we are having so much fun doing other things that the opportunity never comes around.

I’m reading a lot more library books that I don’t usually take the time to do.

I’m making more phone calls to connect with family and friends that I don’t usually contact. It is good to know that they are doing okay.

I see that the amount of pollution in the air has decreased and a lot of wildlife has been able to exist in less dangerous environments. Loggerhead turtles are able to use the beaches more freely to lay their eggs without the danger of disturbance.

Many this virus has just given the world a pause in their regular routines and letting people see how they could live their lives more simply. People realize they can still do many things with a lot fewer resources and luxuries.

I hope I’m being kinder to people and their situations even if I don’t agree with their point of view. I hope that I’m appreciative of the many things people do to make my life more comfortable and that I let them know this. I hope I am taking the time to appreciate my loved one and my life the way it is.

How are you bringing out your best? Please share.

Photo by Arwan Sutanto on Unsplash

Near the End of the Crisis

While I’m glad we are flattening the curve, I think we still need to continue to do social distancing and taking precautions. Flattening the curve does not mean the virus is gone. It just means the number of confirmed cases and deaths is lessening. I’m afraid if we stop social distancing and taking precautions, the curve will go back up.

This is something we need to impress upon our students. We shouldn’t take risks with our health. Once our health is compromised, it may be hard for our bodies to rebound. We may never be back to the shape we were in before so why take a chance.

Even if the economy opens up, we will continue to avoid crowds of people and wear our gloves and masks when we go shopping.

Maybe after a few weeks, when we don’t see the curve going back up, we may go to restaurants again but not right away.

I will look forward to going camping again. I think we can go camping and hiking without endangering our health because we will be in the open outdoors. Being in nature is also very healing.

Even after this crisis, we need to continue to impress upon our students about taking good care of their health. It would be a good time to talk about having some supplies on hand in case this happens again in the future. It is easier to get supplies when they aren’t in demand. It is also important to continue to take extra time with personal hygiene.

Another habit to continue is to eat healthily and get plenty of exercise. If your body is strong and healthy it is more resistant to diseases and your immunity is better at fighting anything that comes your way.

What other suggestions as we get near the end of the crisis tunnel? Please share.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May has been designated Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

The reason May was picked was because the first Japanese immigrant came to the United States on May 7, 1843. On May 10, 1869, the Golden Spike was driven into the Frist Transcontinental Railroad which was finished using Chinese Labor. My grandfather was one of the ones who worked on building that railroad.

A joint resolution for the celebration was signed by President Jimmy Carter on October 5, 1978. President George HW Bush signed a bill to extend Asian American Heritage Week to a month in 1990. May was chosen as the designated month two years later. President Obama issued a Presidential Proclamation on May 1, 2009, which recalls the challenges faced by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. This proclamation celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander's great and significant contributions to our society.

2020 Goals Review for April

We had an unexpected trip when we were notified that a tornado hit our house in Florida.This put a wrench in my exercise plan and my sugar intake went up. I also didn’t get to work on a park blanket square this month but I got ahead last month in case something like this happened.

1.     Lose 5 lbs. Hopefully this year I will be able to meet this goal. – I was down one pound when we left home but I’m afraid I will show a gain when I weigh myself at home.  

2020	10,000 Steps +	25g of sugar or less
Jan	48%	54%
Feb	66%	38%
Mar	77%	45%
Apr	70%	47%

2.     Crafts – I’m on track for accomplishing this goal.

a.     Knit 12 squares on my national park blanket. I have a total of 25 completed already. (There are 60 squares in the pattern and this is year 3 of the project.)

                                                        i.     Completed 6 squares

b.     Charity – I want to crochet at least 3 prayer shawls and make 10 more NICU hats.

                                                        i.     January – prayer shawl completed

                                                      ii.     February – prayer shawl completed

c.     Knit a sweater.  – Completed the Ground Pepper Sweater

d.     Knit a ZigZag scarf – Completed

e.     Repair the neckline on the Henley sweater I made a few years ago. – I looked at the sweater and realized that to fix the neckline, I would have to rip out both button bands and at this time, I’m not sure I want to do all that work so this goal probably won’t happen. I should receive partial credit for at least looking at it and considering it.

3.     Read 12 nonfiction books that are related to nature. – I’m on track for accomplishing this goal.

a.     The Eighty Dollar Champion: Snowman, The Horse That Inspired A Nation by Elizabeth Letts 

b.     A Lion Called Christian: The True Story of the Remarkable Bond between Two Friends and a Lion by Anthony Bourke and John Rendall

c.     The Adventures of Henry Thoreau: A Young Man's Unlikely Path to Walden Pond by Michael Sims

d.     The Story of My Boyhood and Youth by John Muir

e.     The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey

How is your progress towards your goals? Please share.

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