Winter ONEderland!

Amelia’s Winter ONEderland!

This past weekend, we took our one year old son to Amelia’s first birthday part.  The theme of the birthday was winter and the decorations all involved something that had to do with winter.  As my husband, son, and I entered the event we were greeted by Santa’s helpers dressed in white.  The two girls told us to put our signatures and messages on the doll house and informed us were we should sit.  The room had Christmas lights all over and the tables were decorated with snowmen wearing a pink tutu and pearl necklaces.  It all looked amazing!  Santa and Santa’s elves visited the event, gave out balloons, and did face paint for the kids.  There was also a food station, candy station, and hot chocolate station. My one year old son was terrified of Santa but my son definitely enjoyed all the fun activities with his friends.

Vocabulary:

1.      Theme-an overall idea of something

2.      Decorations- to decorate or embellish something.

3.      Greet-to say hello

4.      Signature-to sign your name

5.      Event- a party, meeting, reunion etc.

6.      Terrified-to be scared

Grammar Point:

Pronouns take the place of a noun.  For example, some pronouns are he, she, them, they, it, us, ours, and many more.

Grammar Activity:

From the list above underline as many of the nouns and try to replace them with a pronoun.  Do the best that you can. 

            Ex:  ‘Santa’ can be replaced by ‘he’

Matching Activity:

1.      Theme                         A.  to decorate or embellish something

2.      Decorations                 B. to sign your name

3.      Greet                           C. to be scared

4.      Signature                     D. to say hello

5.      Event                           E. a party, meeting, reunion etc.

6.      Terrified                      F. an overall idea of something

A Reindeer For Christmas

A Reindeer For Christmas

By Kenn Nesbitt

Dear Santa, this Christmas my list is quite small.

In fact, I need practically nothing at all.

My list is so short and so easy to read

because there's just one thing I actually need.

A reindeer for Christmas is all I require;

a reindeer, of course, who's an excellent flier.

I really don't care if it's Dasher or Dancer.

I'm okay with Cupid or Comet or Prancer.

Please don't think I'm greedy; I only want one.

You won't even miss him, and I'll have such fun.

I promise I'll feed him and treat him just right,

and take him out flying around every night.

You see, I'm not selfish. So, for my surprise

this Christmas, please bring me a reindeer that flies.

But if my request is a bit much for you,

I guess that an iPod will just have to do.

Vocabulary:

1.     Reindeer- a large deer (many times known as Santas reindeer).

2.     Require- something that is needed

3.     Greedy-to always want something and want to be wealthy with money or materials

4.     Selfish- to only care about yourself

5.     Request- to ask for something

6.     I-Pod- a media players that stores and plays music

Grammar Point:

Nouns describe a person, place or thing.  Nouns are usually the first things children learn. Some examples of nouns are dog, Maria, The Empire State Building, and a pencil.

Grammar Activity:

In the poem above there are a variety of different nouns.  Can you pick them all out and write them down on a piece of paper.?  How many did you find?

Acitivity:

Pick out the nouns for the list below.  Place a check next to each word that is a noun and an X next to the words that are not nouns.

1.     Samantha_______

2.     Molloy College_______

3.     Delicious________

4.     Television______

5.     Warm_____

6.     Cake______

Elf on a Shelf

Christmas is a Special Time

It’s an opportunity to spend the days shopping for Christmas gifts and to spend some time with friends and family.  The holidays mean carols, lights, church, Santa Claus, and snow and we cannot forget the gifts.

For me Christmas is a time of fun and laughter with family, but to my seven year old cousin Ivan, Christmas means something else.  My aunt just got my cousin the “Elf on a Shelf”.  For me this was something I had not heard of and was astonished when I soon found out what it was.  While I was visiting, I saw a cute little toy elf sitting on the living room table.  As I go to pick it up I was startled by Ivan who yelled “Don’t touch him”.  I instantaneously dropped the toy and soon found out the story behind the little guy.  The elf is Santa’s little helper and notifies Santa whether Ivan had been behaving or acting bad.  Every night the elf moves to a different place in the house because when the kids are sleeping he goes to the North Pole to inform Santa and when he returns sits at a different place.  So, Ivan now behaves tremendously well and makes sure no one touches his elf. 

Vocabulary:

1.      Opportunity: to have a chance

2.      Astonished: to be surprised

3.      Startled: to be shocked or amazed at something

4.      Instantaneously:  to do something immediately/right away

5.      Notify: to let someone know about something or to inform someone

6.      North Pole: Where Santa Claus lives

7.      Tremendously: means the same as extremely

Grammar Point:

Conjunctions are words that join simple sentence to make a compound sentence.  An easy was to remember conjuctions is with the acronym FANBOYS, which stands for: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

Grammar Activity:

Can you write five sentences using the FANBOYs conjunctions below. 

Ex: For me Christmas is a time of fun and laughter with family, but to my seven year old cousin     Ivan, Christmas means something else.

1.      ______________________________________________________________________

2.      ______________________________________________________________________

3.      ______________________________________________________________________

4.      ______________________________________________________________________

5.      ______________________________________________________________________

Cloze Activity:

Use the vocabulary words from above to fill in the blanks in the following sentences.

1.      Macys had a big sale and I had the __________________ to buy a coat at half the regular price.

2.      It snows a lot in the _________________, and it is where Santa lives.

3.      I received a lot of gifts for Christmas and I felt ___________________________ happy.

4.      I was ________________ to find out that it snowed in November when it wasn’t even winter yet.

5.      I told my sister to ______________ me when the package arrive so that I could go pick it up.

6.      I was ____________________ when my brother scared me.

7.      The little girl drank her milk __________________ so that she could go out and play.

What are Adverbs?

The Puppy

The puppy runs happily,
The puppy runs  happily, disturbingly,
Runs happily, disturbingly, weirdly,
Happily, disturbingly, weirdly, calmly,
When it sees food.

Vocabulary:

1.      Disturbingly- to bother or distract

2.      Weirdly-something that is strange

3.      Calmly- feeling relaxed with no stress

Grammar Point:

An adverb is a part of speech that modifies verbs or any part of speech other than nouns.  Many times adverbs end in the ending –ly. 

Grammar Activity:

Look at the adverb poem above and on a piece of paper write down all the adverbs that you find.  There should be a total of four adverbs.  Would you change any of them?  If so, which ones and with what word?

Activity:

Follow the following format and make your own adverb poem.

Line 1 : Noun
Line 2 : Same noun + verb + adverb 1
Line3 : Same noun + verb + adverb 1, adverb 2
Line 4 : Verb + adverb 1, adverb 2, adverb 3
Line 5 : Adverb 1, adverb 2, adverb 3, adverb 4
Line 6 : Phrase or clause showing condition, time or place.

12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards

     On Thursday, November 10th 2011 the Twelfth Annual Latin Grammy Awards were held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.  The Latin Grammy Awards event is organized by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. It is to honor the best artists from all over the world that have recorded in either Spanish or Portuguese.  There are different awards such as: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist.
     Some of the people that were at the awards were Shakira, Sofia Vergara, Usher and Romeo Santos,Prince Royce, Mana, and Pit Bull.  One of my favorite was Shakira who performed a few of her songs.  She arrived in a dazzling gold dress and looked stunning.  Sofia Vergara looked incredible in her silver long dress.  Shakira's amazing performance made the Latin Grammy awards unforgettable.

Vocabulary:

1. Organize-to put things into order or put together an event
2. Academy-a private school or instruction center
3. Artist-performs as a singer in the performing arts
4. Record-a song recorded by a singer/artist
5. Album-consists of many songs such as a CD
6. Stunning-to look beautiful

Grammar Point:

Ajectives are words that describe the noun or pronoun that we are talking about.  For example, in the paragraph above I mentioned Shakira's "dazzling gold dress".  'Dazzling' and 'gold' are describing how Shakira's dress is.

Grammar Activity:

In the paragraph above about the Latin Grammy Awards, try to find as all of the adjectives used and underline or circle them.  Can you think of another adjective that could replaced the ones I used?

Cloze Activity:

Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.

1. I wanted to ______________ a party for my friend because it was her birthday.
2. My cousin looked ______________ in the dress she bought for her wedding.
3. I have always dreamed of having a ____________ since I like to sing and hope to be famous one day.
4. I want to go to a music ______________ and practice my singing.
5. I love Romeo's new __________ because of the amazing songs he has on it.
6. I like all different kinds of _____________ from different genres of music.

What is your Dream Vacation?

     Have you ever wanted  to go on a trip that has been your dream getaway or travel the world? I have always wanted to travel around Europe and would love to one day travel! Europe is is the sixth largest continent and has the third largest population.  This country is surrounded by the Mediterranean sea and has many different countries such as France, Italy, and Greece. Europe also has five of the oldest countries which are San Marino, France, Bulgaria, Denmark, and Portugal. Did you know that Europe has the tallest  mountain which is Mount Elbrus in Russia?  Most of the countries in Europe use the same currency which is called the Euro.
     One of my favorite foods from Europe is from the country of Spain.  Spain has delicious hot chocolate and churros.  I was able to try these two when a friend from Spain made them for our class one day.
     So now that I have told you about my dream vacation and some interesting facts about the country tell me what your dream vacation spot is.

VOCABULARY:

1. getaway- to go away to a place
2. continent-a big piece of land on the globe (there are seven in total)
3. population-the number of people in a country, city, or other place
4. currency-money
5. churros-a doughnut pastry that is dipped in chocolate

GRAMMAR POINT:

Punctuation is very important to understand written language.  Three different punctuation marks are a question mark, a period, and an exclamation point.   A question mark is used when asking a question.  Most sentences that need a question mark start with the does, who, what, when, where, why, and how. A period is used at the end of a sentence when making a point or statement and an exclamation point is used to show excitement or emphasis.  

ACTIVITY:

Try to find the three different types of punctuation above (a period, an exclamation point, and a question mark) and tell me in writing why I used them in the places that I did.

CLOZE ACTIVITY:

Look at the example below and put either a period (.), an exclamation point(!) or a question mark(?).

1. I love hot chocolate_____
2. Does anyone have a telephone_____
3. I went to the mall with my friends today_____
4. Wait, just wait a moment_____
5. When did you finish the book_____
6. Leave me alone now_____

Hispanic Heritage Month

     Hispanic Heritage Month is coming to an end.  This begins on September 15th and ends on october 15th.  During hispanic heritage month we celebrate the wonderful contributions made by Hispanics Americans to the United States.  the traditions and experiences of hispanic americans help make the united states a diverse and exciting place to live.

     People residing in the united states trace their roots to Spain, Mexico,parts of central america, south america, and the caribbean.  

      There are many hispanics who have made history.  The first Hispanic woman to become an astronaut was Ellen Ochoa.  she was Mexican American and born in 1958.  A Hispanic opera diva was Lucrezia Bori.  she was the first Hispanic to be debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1912.  Rita Moreno was the first Hispanic to win an Oscar, Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy Award for her acting skills in drama plays.  

     Although hispanic Heritage Month is coming to its end it does not mean it should end until next year.  The number of Hispanics and latinos keeps increasing in the United States and it is something that should be celebrated always.

VOCABULARY:

1. Contribution- to contribute or help out in something
2. Astronaut-a person that goes into space
3. Opera-a musical dramatic play
4. Debut-the first appearance at a show or television

GRAMMAR POINT:  

Capitalization  is very important in writing.  We capitalize important names such as the name of months (February and March), names of People (Mary and Erika), places and countries (The Bronx Zoo and Chile), nationalities (such as American and Italian), and to begin a sentence or paragraph.  

ACTIVITY:

On a separate sheet of paper look for all of the words that should be capitalized and correct them.  Keep in mind where capital letters are used as I mentioned in the grammar point above.  

CLOZE ACTIVITY:

Matching Directions: Match the words in column A to column B.

Column A                                                                                                         Column B

Lucrezia Bori                                                              a musical dramatic play

Opera                                                                         first Hispanic woman to win an award

Ellen Ochoa                                                                first Hispanic woman to be an astronaut

astronaut                                                                    first Hispanic Opera singer

debut                                                                         a person that goes into space

Rita Moreno                                                             the first appearance on a show or on TV

Capitalization                                                             is used to begin a sentence and for the names of                    

                                                                                 important place, people, and things.