After reading this morning's newspaper I felt I had to contact the paper and ask them where their editor was hiding. I see so many grammatical errors. One of this morning's headlines was "businessmen was...." I think I am going to share with you some of the grammatical rules that are fun to learn or memorize that will always help with the English language whether writing or speaking. I am sure you learned these. But, like everything else...when not used...forgotten. Today's lesson is helping verbs. Here is a cute little rhyme....(learned in 7th grade)
is am be are was were been
have has had
could would should
may can will
might must shall
do did does seems done

Presidents' Day

Happy Presidents' Day. ( Washington, Feb. 22 and Lincoln, Feb. 12.) As I hung out my flag this morning I realized my grandchild, Penelope, would ask questions about the flag. When she noticed it she just stared and stared. I got her to say flag and USA. I was trying to teach her to say, "I pledge allegiance...." But, she is not yet two. As I went through this process with her I realized that so many children today do not know the reason for the flag and what it stands for. I know there is anger in the country right now and a lot of criticism. But, I still have the love, some days not so much, for my country. It is my home. I will defend it as long as I am alive. I still have freedoms, even though some seem to be not so free anymore. I will not give up on America. I still shed a tear when singing or hearing the National Anthem. By the way,do you know the words to the National Anthem? When Francis Scott Key saw through the smoke "...that our Flag was still there..." the words came to him for this anthem. I saw this flag in Washington D.C. It was in this very large room spread out across many tables while it was being carefully cleaned. There were many signs of history and years on this flag. I could not move my eyes from this sight. Our forefathers looked at this same flag. But, I am sure their feelings were so much stronger than mine. Their fight for freedom and their new country were all that was important at the time. Can you imagine putting your hand over your heart as the National Anthem is being performed and thinking about these same things other than who was going to win the Super Bowl? I am sorry that I can not express in words my very emotional strong feelings about the flag as well as others. But..I do have these feelings and always will.

colors

I thought I would share with you an idea I had for helping teach my two-year old grandchild how to organize, learn colors, matching, and how to say the colors and the numbers. Here is a picture. If you need directions, please write to me. I found the buttons at http://www.clownantics.com Here is the picture.

website

I finally finished it. I now have a web site for my math workshops. I have been working on this for quite a while and hope that I will get at least one chance to conduct a workshop with my math ideas. I love math so much and hate to see adults and students showing dislike for the subject. It can be fun, and I am determined to help these people see this and not be afraid. Too many students would tell me that their parents hated math and could not see the point in taking all of these classes. So, many of these children say the same thing. It is something we use every day, and I hope I can make a little difference in these attitudes. www.chocolatemath.net

Perigee

I hope you noticed that the moon was exceptionally bright on Friday night. It is what you call a perigee (per'i je). This is the point in the orbit of a heavenly body such as the moon or even an artificial satellite at which it is the closest to the earth. That night it was about 30% brighter. It was so amazing. This can happen once or twice a year when the moon is full. Just thought you would want to know why it was so bright and beautiful.