Miss Dorothy and her Bookmobile

Miss Dorothy and her Bookmobile

Written by Gloria Houston and Illustrated by Susan Condie Lamb

Published in 2011 by Harper, ISBN 978-0-06-029155-6

All Ages

Review
I developed my love of reading because a bookmobile came out to the country every week and I was able to pick out books.    I fell in love with this book just from the cover because it resonated with my childhood walks to the bookmobile to get my treasures.

Young Dorothy dreams of becoming a librarian in charge of a “fine brick library.” She pursues this dream, obtaining the education that she needs. When marriage takes her to the Blue Ridge Mountains where resources are scarce, Dorothy advocates for the construction of a local library and finds like-minded book-lovers who instead raise funds for a bookmobile. Through rain, snow, and even floods, Miss Dorothy travels the countryside bringing books to readers of all ages. Eventually, Dorothy gets her library, a donated country farmhouse, and the community members all pitch in to set up the collection. Beautiful landscapes in soft pastels with careful details provide a strong sense of this rural area and the people who inhabit it. In an author’s note, Houston informs readers that Dorothy Thomas was her childhood librarian who touched the lives of many people by sharing her love of books and reading. Houston’s historical fiction picture book with its lyrical text is fitting tribute to the woman that she describes as her hero.

Curriculum Links

The Bookmobile

http://homepages.nyu.edu/~mg128/index.html

Wisconsin Library Heritage Center: Bookmobiles

http://heritage.wisconsinlibraries.org/bookmobiles.html

Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy: Traveling Libraries

http://www.michiganlights.com/lhlibrary.htm

Pack Horse Librarians: Photo Gallery

http://newdeal.feri.org/library/j_1k_bg.htm

History of Books and Printing

http://legacy.www.nypl.org/research/chss/grd/resguides/bookhist/

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Start your own Shutterfly Photo Book today.

150th Anniversary Vicksburg Campaign Reenactment

National 150th Anniversary
Vicksburg Campaign Reenactment

DATE: 10/19/2012 - 10/21/2012 

CITY: Vicksburg, MS

 LOCATION: Vicksburg, Raymond, Edwards

CONTACT: Friends of Raymond, Inc., or Vicksburg CVB 

PHONE: 601-636-9421 

The reenactment of several military actions of the Vicksburg Campaign will feature up to 5,000 reenactors and participants. The reenactment of the 1863 Vicksburg Campaign will be presented as part of the commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. Event will feature educational field programs for schools, reenacted battles - including the Battle of Champion Hill, which was the largest Civil War battle in Mississippi and was one of the most decisive of the Civil War; and the commemoration of a portion of the ill-fated assault by Union forces on the works of Vicksburg. It was after this unsuccessful assault that Grant decided to take the city by siege. Included will be Civilian reenactors, garrison troops, and period merchants, or sutlers, demonstrations and lectures will be conducted for the public between the battles on Saturday, to include cooking, sewing, and refugee impressions. 

 For tourist info or tickets contact:
Friends of Raymond, Inc.
Vicksburg Campaign 
P. O. Box 1000
Raymond, MS 39154
e-mail: info@friendsofraymond.org

Friday 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Saturday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Saturday 10:00 – 11:00 AM	Special demonstrations for participating local schools Courthouse: Medical & Specialty displays: Band at noon Battle of Raymond on the original site on Hwy 18 south of Raymond
Saturday 11:00 - 3 PM	The Vicksburg Campaign - lecture on campaign by well known tour guide and preservationist Brigadier General Parker Hills (Ret). Civilian and refugee demonstrations, and sutlers open to the public.
Saturday 3:00 – 4:00 PM Saturday 4:00 – 7:00 PM Saturday 7:00 – 8:30 PM Sunday 9:00 AM – NOON Sunday NOON Sunday 2:00 – 3:00 PM	Battle of Champion Hill on Hwy 18 south of Raymond Soldier Camps & Sutlers Open to Public after Battle Camp Dance near Sutlers for participants Soldier Camps / Sutlers / Church Service Open to Public Memorial Service at Raymond Confederate Cemetery Assault on Vicksburg on Hwy 18 south of Raymond

Book Review: The Notorious Benedict Arnold

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, and Treachery

By Stephen Sheinkin

Flashpoint/Roaring Brook Press, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-59643-4686-8

Grades 6 and Up

Review

If you are of a certain generation, you remember when Peter Brady was assigned the role of Benedict Arnold, dashing his hopes of playing George Washington. In American culture, Benedict Arnold is synonymous with words such as villain or traitor. He was the first American leader to profoundly disappoint the American population. But readers of this cradle-to-grave biography may be surprised at how many times the Continental Army lived to see another day because of Arnold’s actions, approved or otherwise. In short chapters that keep the pace moving, Sheinkin provides readers with the unique opportunity to explore Arnold’s “backstory,” including his successes and failures prior to the start of the American Revolution, the various roles he played in the Continental Army, and in particular, just how close he was to George Washington, and what a personal and public devastation Arnold’s treachery was to the Commander. Without Arnold, the American Revolution could have ended much earlier, in favor of the British. With Arnold, it almost ended earlier, in favor of the British. Ideal for exploration in small groups and literature circles, this engaging biography allows readers to examine maneuvers and morals, alliances and ambition. 

Curriculum Links

Benedict Arnold’s Papers at Harvard University’s Houghton Library

http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/~hou01257

Library of Congress: Benedict Arnold’s October 20, 1780 Proclamation

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/amrev/homefrnt/arnold.html

Benedict Arnold in London, England

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/09/nyregion/an-american-traitor-gets-a-tribute-in-london-that-is.html?ref=benedictarnold

Benedict Arnold in New London, Connecticut

http://nlhistory.org/?p=452

Fort Clinton, Fort Arnold @ West Point, now the United States Military Academy

http://www.usma.edu/

Fort Ticonderoga

http://www.fortticonderoga.org/

Saratoga National Historic Park

http://www.nps.gov/sara/index.htm

George Washington’s Papers at the Library of Congress: Timeline of the American Revolution

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/1775.html

Mt. Pleasant, Benedict Arnold’s Home in Philadelphia

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.17949/

John Andre’s Monument in Westminster Abbey, London

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/john-andre

John Andre in Art, Courtesy of the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA

http://www.worcesterart.org/Collection/Early_American/Artists/sully/capture/painting-discussion.html

Benedict Arnold’s Letters and Portraits in the New York Public Library Digital Gallery

http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?keyword=benedict+arnold

Brady Bunch Episode: “Not Everyone can be George Washington”

http://www.tv.com/shows/the-brady-bunch/watch/everyone-cant-be-george-washington-4990/

Pumpkin Challenge

We are studying geography.   It is also October and we always decorate pumpkins during this month.    SO.... I am combining the two into one project. 

PUMPKIN GLOBES

I am challenging the boys to decorate a pumpkin like a globe.   I have found several examples to show them what I am looking for...

We would like to invite YOU to join us for the challenge:

1.   Use a pumpkin to create your globe.  The size is your choice.   Real or fake is also your choice.
2.   You must include all the continents, major oceans, equator, and prime meridian.   
3.   You can use whatever supplies you want:  paint, construction paper, markers, play-doh, craft foam, etc....  
4.   Have your pumpkin globe finished by October 17th
5.   Post a picture of your finished pumpkin globe to the Facebook page by October 17th.  

FREE National Park Entrace Day

September 29
National Public Lands Day

FREE Fee Day!

Our closest park is the Vicksburg National Military Park.

Guided tours are available and reservations are recommended. The park commemorates the campaign, siege, and defense of Vicksburg in 1863 and includes over 1,340 monuments and markers, a 16-mile tour road, a restored Union gunboat, and a National Cemetery. CD’s are available at the Visitors Center, where life-sized exhibits and artifacts from the Siege of Vicksburg are on display. 

Hours: Visitor Center: 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

3201 Clay Street
Vicksburg, MS 39183
601-636-0583
www.nps.gov/vick

Do You Twitter?

Do you Twitter?  It is more than just a social network.  It is a great educational tool as well.   Here are some great educational hashtags that you should check out on Twitter.

#gifted or #gtchat
These two are specifically for parents of gifted and talented children. 

#collegechat
Looking forward to college or have a child in college... this chat hashtag has great information.

#edu or #education
Anything and everything about education falls under these two hashtags.

#edtech
Education Technology

#homeschool, #homeschoolers, #homeschooling
There are a lot of amazing resources for homeschoolers on Twitter!


#scholarship
A huge collection of scholarships and scholarship resources.

#collegeaffordability
Find ways to make college more affordable.

#ACT or #SAT
Get great advice for ACT and SAT prep from these hashtags.




#mathchat - mathematics

#scichat - science

#engchat - English

#artsed - arts in education

#musedchat - music

#SSChat - social studies chat

#GeographyTeacher - Geography

#PhysicsEd - Physics

#SocialStudies - Social Studies

Ninjawords

Ninajawords

Sometimes you need to know the definition of a word... fast... like a ninja.  Nothing more and nothing less!

Roadside America

Roadside America

Where’s the birthplace of Kool-Aid? Where's the “Ax Murder House?” And what’s so mysterious about the Mystery Spot, anyway? Roadside America is your definitive resource for the kooky, nichey, and downright bizarre landmarks that help make this huge country so unique. Use this site to plan your next roadtrip and getting from here to there will be more interesting than your average game of “I Spy.”



You can also add some of your favorite places that YOU have visited!

I searched Mississippi to see the things the suggested...

Vacation Favorites

Notable places we've visited or heard about.

• Flora: Petrified Forest [tips]
• Gulfport: Hurricane Shipwreck [tips]
• Holly Springs: Graceland Too [tips]
• Leland: Jim Henson Museum [tips
• Lucedale: Palestine Gardens [tips]
• Meridian: King and Queen of the Gypsies [tips]
• Natchez: Mammy's Cupboard
• Oxford: World's Largest Red Cedar Bucket [tips]
• Port Gibson: Windsor Ruins [tips]
• Tupelo: Birthplace of Elvis Presley [tips]
• Vicksburg: Folk art church [tips]
• Vicksburg: Pregnancy Mini Ball [tips]
• Vicksburg: Where Coca-Cola Was First Bottled

Interactive Spelling Bee

Interactive Spelling Bee

This set of activities is like an old-fashioned Spelling Bee.

Contestants -- that's you! -- in grades 1-8 will listen to three stories, one at a time, and then spell words from each story. Students in high school will listen to separate sentences and then spell the words from each sentence.

If you get stumped, you can click to hear a word again, as many times as you need to. If you're in grade three or higher, you can ask for a definition too. Since words often make more sense when they are attached to an idea, all the words in the story or sentences are in context.

Review the words, hear the audio, and SPELL the missing words. Make sure to check your SPELLING carefully, since your results will be calculated at the end.

Depending on the speed of your computer and internet connection, you may experience brief delays.

Look and Learn with Hoot

Look and Learn with Hoot

Friday, September 21, 2012Mississippi Museum of Art
10:30 AM

The Mississippi Museum of Art hosts an event for 4-5 year olds and their parents. This educational opportunity features a hands-on art activity and story time. Please dress for mess. This month’s story is Art Dog by Thacher Hurd. 45-minute program.

Arthur Dog is employed as a guard at the Dogopolis Museum of Art.  The museum houses the works of such painters as, “Vincent Van Dog, Pablo Poodle, Henri Muttisse and Leonardo Dog Vinci.”    

Arthur is  mild-mannered and lives a quiet life, except when the moon is full.  During those nights, Arthur’s appearance and personality change.  Donning a mask and a beret and carrying a box containing paints and brushes, he creeps throughout the city as a graffiti artist.  With a splat of his tail, Arthur signs his murals, “Art Dog.” 

One day, a robbery occurs at the Dogopolis Museum.  The Mona Woofa, a priceless painting, is stolen. When the police arrive, they conduct a search of the outside perimeter.  It is a full moon, and Art Dog is found in the alley with his eyes glowing and fur glistening, paintbrush in paw. Unsurprisingly, he is suspected of committing the robbery and is arrested. 

Jail, however, cannot hold the innocent Art Dog; he uses his paint brush to paint an open window where there are bars. He leaps out.

Now free, Art Dog needs transportation. He paints a “Brushmobile” which runs on paint instead of gas. 


Using his keen canine sense of smell, he searches for and locates the real culprits at an abandoned warehouse.  A scuffle occurs, but instead of using a weapon, Art Dog brandishes his paintbrush. “Paint! En garde! Touche!”  When the fighting ceases, the criminals are shown embedded in a piece of art.  

The police arrive, accompanied by the museum director.  The museum director, impressed with Art Dog’s  “Messterpiece”,  offers him a show at the Dogopolis Museum.  On the day of his show, Art Dog paints a masterpiece in the sky titled “City Rhapsody.”  Everyone in attendance is awed, but then suddenly Art Dog is gone leaving everyone, except the reader, wondering, “who was Art Dog?”

Book Review: Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature

Outside your Window: A First Book of Nature

Written by Nicola Davies and Illustrated by Mark Hearld

Published by Candlewick Press in 2012, ISBN 978-0-7636-5549-5

Grades PreK – 6

Book Review

Whether you live in a rural, suburban, or urban setting, there’s a wondrous world of nature right “outside your window.”  Biologist and author Nicola Davies invites you to explore this world year round with her seasonally organized collection of nature poems. Davies’s exceptional ability to use descriptive and figurative language, in particular similes and metaphors, makes the content come alive and the science facts and concepts more comprehensible to her child audience. Her writing is both beautiful and functional. The poems in various forms explore the cycles, patterns, and sensory experiences of flora and fauna in each season, such as this description of an apple:  “Fresh from the tree, / the apple sits in your hand, / cool and round, / and streaked with sunset colors.” The beauty in this collection is not limited to Davies's words. Mark Hearld’s illustrations rendered in mixed media more than live up to the publisher’s description as “breathtaking.” Reminiscent stylistically of late nineteenth and early twentieth century children’s book illustrations, the images blend collage, woodblock print, pen and ink, and painting, creating rich pastoral scenes that beg multiple viewings.  With its oversized trim, thick pages, fascinating images, and engaging text, this book makes the impossible possible – Davies and Hearld allow us to hold the miraculous natural world around us in the palm of our hands.

Curriculum Ideas

Shared Reading. Keep this wonderful volume close at hand to read these poems aloud throughout the school year. Select children’s favorites to rewrite on sentence strips to post in a pocket chart. Keep the lines of the poem whole on the sentence strips or cut them into individual word cards so that students can reassemble the poem from memory using letter/sound or sight word cues. Invite children to illustrate the poems.

Symphony at Sunset

Symphony at Sunset

DATE: 9/21/2012
TIME: 6:00 PM

CITY: Jackson, MS

LOCATION: The Cedars, 4145 Old Canton Road 

The Fondren Renaissance Foundation hosts an evening of music from the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Bring blankets, lawn chairs and picnic baskets. Free. For more information, call 601-981-9606.

Book Report Forms

Book Report Forms



This is an entire page of book report forms.   Biography, fairy tale, historical, fiction, mystery, non-fiction, surveys... there is something for your student.

BibMe

bibme

Where was this when we were in high school?   BibMe is a website which takes all of your sources for a paper and creates a bibliography for you.    BibMe is an automated citation creator and bibliography generator. It can save you loads of time building and formatting your references, time that is understandably valuable and would be better served working on your paper.

BibMe allows you to search for books, websites, films, magazines, journals and newspapers from a database of millions of entries to find your source and autofill in the information. BibMe also allows manual entry where you enter all the necessary information yourself instead of choosing from BibMe.




BibMe offers resources to help you cite your work properly in the “Citation Guide” section. You can find information on the different formats for references your sources, using MLA, APA, and Chicago.



To create a bibliography, you’ll need to register for the service, you can save up to 10 bibliographies to your account for future use. Once you have saved a bibliography to your account, you can open it up at a later time to edit by clicking “Open”. The bibliography you open will replace your current bibliography in the “My Bibliography” pane. Or if you would like, you can permanently delete a bibliography by clicking “Delete.” You can also download your bibliography in either the MLA, APA, or Chicago formats and include it in your paper.

BibMe is a great service for free, visit http://bibme.org/ and try it for yourself.

Crytoquote

Crytoquote

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to uncover the mystery quotation by cracking the secret code. The quote has been encoded using single letter substitution - this means that each letter of the alphabet has been replaced by a different letter or a number. For examples and more information on how to crack these sorts of codes, click on 'INSTRUCTIONS' while playing the game.

Each week, all the encoded quotes will be from a single author or work. Type who or what you think that author or work is in the input box above for a place on the weekly chart.

Visual Dictionary Online

 Merriam Webster Visual Dictionary Online

 
I have a visual learner.    I can explain it all day, but until he sees what I am talking about he just can't understand.    My son is blessed with my Daddy's photographic memory.    When he sees things and reads them, he remembers them.   What a gift!   It is one that I did not receive.   

We love their games of the week.    Play by associating words with images. It’s a great way to build your vocabulary or test your knowledge.  Here is an example of a recent game:

Poetry 180

Poetry 180 is designed to make it easy for students to hear or read a poem on each of the 180 days of the school year.  Each poem was selected with high school students in mind.   Mr. Billy Collins, developer of Poetry 180 says, "The point is to expose students to some of the fresh voices in contemporary poetry; it is not necessary that all schools read the same poem every day. Also, you may skip a poem for any reason. The poems have been chosen with high school age students in mind, but if you feel a certain poem is inappropriate, skip it."

You can subscribe to Poetry 180 and have it sent to your email daily.  

We chose day 25 as a sample for you:
 
Domestic Work, 1937

Natasha Trethewey

All week she's cleaned
someone else's house,
stared down her own face
in the shine of copper-
bottomed pots, polished
wood, toilets she'd pull
the lid to--that look saying

Let's make a change, girl.

But Sunday mornings are hers--
church clothes starched
and hanging, a record spinning
on the console, the whole house
dancing. She raises the shades,
washes the rooms in light,
buckets of water, Octagon soap.

Cleanliness is next to godliness ...

Windows and doors flung wide,
curtains two-stepping
forward and back, neck bones
bumping in the pot, a choir
of clothes clapping on the line.

Nearer my God to Thee ...

She beats time on the rugs,
blows dust from the broom
like dandelion spores, each one
a wish for something better.

from Domestic Work, 1999
Graywolf Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Acrostic Poetry

Acrostic Poems

In this online tool, students can learn about and write acrostic poems. An acrostic poem uses the letters in a word to begin each line of the poem. All lines of the poem relate to or describe the main topic word. As part of the online tool, students brainstorm words to help write their poems and can save their work-in-progress to revise and edit, reinforcing elements of the writing process. Students can also print their finished acrostic poems or proudly show off their work by e-mailing it to a friend.

The Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln, Grant and Mississippi

The Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln, Grant, and Mississippi

DATE: 9/11/2012 
TIME: 12:00 PM

CITY: Jackson, MS  

LOCATION: Old Capitol Museum

PHONE: 601.576.6920

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Dr. Edna Greene Medford from Howard University will offer remarks on this monumental event in American history. Lecture to be followed by panel discussion and light reception. This free event is funded by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Foundation. Free.

Directions

Cars

• Take the Pearl St. exit (96A) off I-55.
• Turn right onto State St.
• Turn right onto Amite St.
• Turn right into parking lot behind Old Capitol
• Walk around south side of building to enter through the front

Buses

• Park along Amite Street, next to War Memorial Building
• Visitors walk along sidewalk to the front of the building

Book Review: Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia O'Keefe Painted What She Pleased

Georgia in Hawaii: When Georgia O’Keeffe Painted What She Pleased

Written by Amy Novesky and Illustrated by Yuyi Morales

Published by Harcourt in 2012, ISBN 978-0-15-205420-5

Grades 1 – 6

Book Review

“Georgia painted waterfalls and green pleated mountains, lava hardened into fantastic shapes, and delicate, feathered fishhooks that she collected like seashells.” 

But she did not paint a pineapple. A new picture book biography of Georgia O’Keeffe by Amy Novesky captures the passion, intensity and determination of the iconic American artist by focusing on a lesser-known event in her life. In February of 1939 Georgia O’Keeffe traveled to Hawaii, having been commissioned by the Dole Pineapple company to “create two paintings to promote the delights of pineapple juice.” Conflict arose when O’Keefe was told by company owners that she could not be housed next to the pineapple fields. Denied the opportunity to paint pineapples in their natural environment, the artist refused to paint one. Instead, she traveled throughout Hawaii, immersing herself in the natural wonders of the island and creating twenty paintings. Novesky’s concise, yet expressive, text evokes a vivid portrait of the artist, her strength of character, her passion for beauty, and ultimately, her rationality. Yuyi Morales’s digitally compiled acrylic paintings capture the lushness of the Hawaii and pay tribute to O’Keeffe’s artistic style. Double page spreads immerse the reader in luminous landscapes saturated with vivid color. One spread forefronts a canvas with an image of the same seashore that serves as background, while O’Keefe is pictured off to the side, gathering treasures at the shoreline. The turquoise endpapers include captioned images of the native flowers that appear in Georgia’s paintings. A powerful tribute to the artistic spirit, this title will forever change the way you view a pineapple. 

Curriculum Links:

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/

Georgia O’Keefe Museum: Chronology

http://www.okeeffemuseum.org/chronology.html

National Gallery of Art

https://images.nga.gov/en/page/show_home_page.html (search for O’Keeffe)

http://www.nga.gov/kids/scoop-okeeffe.pdf

Whitney Museum for Kids

http://whitney.org/ForKids/Search?query=georgia+o%27keeffe

Honolulu Museum of Art

http://www.honoluluacademy.org/art/collections/5398-new-20th-century

San Francisco Chronicle: Georgia O’Keeffe’s Visit to Hawaii

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/12/16/georgia_okeeffe_hawaii.DTL&ao=all

Honolulu Academy of Arts: Arts of Hawaii

http://www.honoluluacademy.org/art/collections/5467-new-arts-of-hawaii

MFA Educators Online: Fishook From Hawaii No. 2

http://educators.mfa.org/objects/detail/9745?related_people_text=Georgia+O%27Keeffe

Dole Pineapple Plantation

http://www.dole-plantation.com/

Making The Most of Your September Budget

School is in full swing and we are taking a quick look at how to pinch our pennies...

Big appliances:   If your stove, washing machine or other large appliances have quit, now is the perfect time to buy!  

Cars:   Dealerships are starting to move last year's inventory off the lot and start moving in the new.    Go in on a weekday morning and look.   Don't be in a hurry to make a decision.   If you have a car you want, see how long it sits on the lot.   Make an offer after you make observations.


Holiday airfare:   If you will be going to Grandma's house for the holidays now is the time to book those flights!


Laptops:  Back to school laptop deals are still in abundance!

Grills and Lawn Mowers:   You are so glad that the season for cutting grass is over, but stores are looking at all that inventory and are desperate to move it out!


Labor Day:  Keep your eye open for the special deals that will be happening during Labor Day weekend!


Shrubs, Bushes, and Other Landscaping Plants: If you've got a warm area to keep plants, or you live in an area where growing happens all year, now's the time to jump in, Kiplinger says, and help your local greenhouses clear out the stuff that people didn't get ambitious enough to plant this summer.

Reading Bear

Reading Bear

Learn to Read for Free!

I am a BIG fan of phonics.  It sets a solid foundation for a love of reading.   As a substitute teacher and tutor, most students who struggled with reading had not been taught a basic grasp of phonics.   My own husband went to a elementary school which did not teach phonics.    It has affected his ability to spell his entire life.

Reading Bear, a project of WatchKnowLearn.org, is the first free program online to teach beginning readers vocabulary and concepts while systematically introducing all the main phonetic patterns of written English, all using innovative rich media.   Currently there are 14 presentations, but they furiously working to increase the number to about 50.  

By the end, well over 1,200 items of vocabulary will be given the Reading Bear treatment.  

How does it work? In each presentation—playable either as a video or as an interactive slide show—one or a few related “phonics rules” are presented.   Presentations are available in seven different versions. In the fullest version, we sound out a word slowly and quickly, then blend it slowly, and finally (after an optional prompt) blend it quickly. As sounds are pronounced, the corresponding letters are highlighted. Then we display a picture illustrating the word, show a sentence (with the individual sounds again highlighted, karaoke style), and finally show a video illustrating the sentence. Presentations typically give this treatment to around 25 words, though some have more and some have less. The result is a thorough yet painless introduction to phonics principles, while at the same time teaching vocabulary.


Watch this video for even more explanation

3rd Annual Bricks and Spokes

When else can you ride across the Old Mississippi River Bridge? Only at the 3rd Annual Bricks and Spokes Bicycle Ride on Saturday, October 6th! The bicycle ride will begin in beautiful Downtown Vicksburg and will travel the red brick road down to the Old Mississippi River Bridge. Enjoy riding the streets of Mississippi and Louisiana all at the same event! There will be a 1o mile ride, 30 mile ride, and 50 mile ride. With those distances there is sure to be something for every cyclists! The route will be fully supported so be sure to stop, refuel, and enjoy the scenery as you travel along the unique Bricks and Spokes route. All types of bicycles are accepted and riders of all ages are invited! Come be part of history in Historic Downtown Vicksburg and follow the brick roads across the Mighty Mississippi River!

General Information
Whether you are just starting out or an expert rider, Bricks and Spokes is a great ride for you! The 3rd Annual Bricks and Spokes will feature a 10 mile, 30 mile, and 50 mile ride. All rides will begin in beautiful Downtown Vicksburg and will travel south to the Old Mississippi River Bridge. Bricks and Spokes is the only ride that allows you to cycle across the Mighty Mississippi River!

When
Saturday, October 6th 8:00 a.m.

Where
3rd Annual Bricks and Spokes begins and ends in Downtown Vicksburg

Mileage
10, 30, and 50 mile routes

Route Details
The route will go down Washington Street and travel to the Old Mississippi River Bridge and take you onto country roads. Enjoy the beautiful scenery as the route includes flat areas of Louisiana and the great rolling hills of Vicksburg and Warren County. The ride will be fully supported.

Guidelines
All types of bikes are welcomed as well as all ages of riders. Please me sure children under the age of 14 are accompanied by and adult. All riders must wear helmets.

Registration Options

Online at www.racesonline.com
By mail: Vicksburg Main Street Program
1010 Levee Street, Suite D
Vicksburg, MS 39180

WatchKnowLearn

WatchKnowLearn

Free Education Videos.  Organized.

The Vision behind WatchKnowLearn is simple:

Free educational videos delivered over the Internet. Viewed any time, from anywhere.
We believe that everyone should have the same opportunity to learn. The best way to make this possible, we believe, is to organize into one, super directory the hundreds of thousands of good videos currently available on the Internet. To make this a reality, we invite teachers, instructors and educators to suggest videos for inclusion into our directory, and then to review, approve, and assign those videos into appropriate categories using a wiki framework and philosophy. The videos are the highest quality found on the World Wide Web, cover all major educational topics from elementary to secondary schools (or age range 1 – 18), and are Kid Safe!

WatchKnowLearn Now

WatchKnowLearn has indexed over 33,000+ educational videos, placing them into a directory of over 3,000 categories. The videos are available without any registration or fees to teachers in the classroom and to students at home 24/7. Users can dive into our innovative directory or search for videos by subject and age level. Video titles, descriptions, age level information, and ratings are all edited for usefulness. Our Web site invites broad participation in a new kind of wiki system, guided by teachers. We have had a tremendously positive response from educators to the website. If we continue to work together, we can create an incredible, free, educational resource for students across the world.

I LOVE the fact I can create my own classroom!   I love that it is created into subjects and grades which makes it easy to search.


I did a few searches based on some of the subjects my boys and nieces/nephews would be interested in and found these videos:

New "Llama Llama" Book and Book Signing

 
Llama Llama Time to Share
Anna Dewdney
Amazon $10.97

Order yours today!

Book Signing:
September 24
Lemuria Bookstore
4:00 p.m.








Book Description:

Llama has a sharing drama!

Build a tower. Make a moat.
Nelly's dolly sails a boat.
What can Llama Llama add?
Maybe sharing's not so bad.

Llama Llama has new neighbors! Nelly Gnu and her mama stop by for a play date, but Llama's not so sure it's time to share all his toys. Maybe just his blocks? It could be fun to make a castle with Nelly . . . But wait--Nelly has Llama's little Fuzzy Llama! The fun turns to tears when Fuzzy Llama is ripped in two, "all because of Nelly Gnu!" Mama comes to the rescue and fixes Fuzzy, but she makes it clear: "I'll put Fuzzy on the stairs, until you're sure that you can share."

Fun to read aloud and helpful to children and parents alike, Llama Llama Time to Share is for any child who needs a little encouragement in sharing.

A. Pintura: Art Detective

A. Pintura: Art Detective

As A. Pintura, a 1940's-style detective with a degree in art history, you must identify the artist of a mystery painting.  

Battle of Iuka Civil War Reenactment

Battle of Iuka Civil War Reenactment

DATE: 8/31/2012 - 9/2/2012 |  
TIME: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM

CITY: Iuka, MS  

LOCATION: North Pearl Street/ Chicken Run Road

CONTACT: Tishomingo County Tourism Council  

PHONE: 1.800.386.4373

"The fight began and was waged with a severity I have never seen surpassed." 

                                    Major General Sterling Price, CSA, September 19, 1862.

The Battle of Iuka was fought on September 19, 1862, on the highest point in Mississippi known as "America’s Bloodiest High Point". The battle reenactment begins at 2 PM Sunday, September 2, 2012. Bus tours are welcome. Other events are planned during the week prior to the reenactment such as illuminations, historic home tours, Civil War camps and demonstrations, relic shows, period music, dances, etc. 

Read the Battle History here.

For more information, contact Tishomingo County Tourism Council, toll free 800-FUN-HERE (386-4373), www.tishomingofunhere.org; info@tishomingo.org.

Friday, August 31, 2012
9am	Camp site opens to Re-Enactors
9am - 1pm	School Demonstrations (across from Mineral Springs Park)
4pm - 5pm	Greetings from General Henry Little at Twin Magnolias
5pm - 6pm	Public Speaking by Governor John M. Stone at the Old Courthouse Museum
6pm - 7pm	Military Escort of General Henry Little’s body down Quitman Street in Iuka
Dusk	Grand Illumination of Iuka Historic Downtown  with greetings from Governor John M. Stone
Saturday, September 1, 2012
9am - 5 pm 10am	Camp opens to public  Tactical at Battlefield Site
9am	Opening Ceremonies - Iuka Mineral Springs Park
9am until....	Self Guided Historic Walking Tour
9am to noon	Living history demonstrations every fifteen minutes at the following locations: Twin Magnolia, Old Courthouse Museum, Iuka United Methodist Church, and Dunrobin. Pick up schedule at Old Courthouse Museum.
9am until noon	Camelia Home - Women demonstrate everyday life of the 1860s (202 Meigg Street)
Noon	The Gathering of the Descendants – Old Courthouse Museum, Confederate Marker Dedication. Click here to register.
2pm	Mass Grave Memorial Roll Call at Shady Grove Cemetery
7pm	Grand Ball at Dr. Kitchens’ Farm at Mill Creek
Sunday, September 2, 2012
9 am	Camp opens to public
10am - 11am	Non-denominational Church Services, Mail Call
2pm	Re-enactment of the Battle of Iuka

Thou Shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies

 Your Logical Fallacy Is...

A logical fallacy is usually what has happened when someone is wrong about something. It's a flaw in reasoning. They're like tricks or illusions of thought, and they're often very sneakily used by politicians and the media to fool people.

Don't be fooled! This website and poster have been designed to help you identify and call out dodgy logic wherever it may raise its ugly, incoherent head.

Back to School Night for Educators

Children's Literature Listed by Book Title

Children's Literature Listed by Book Title

What a great website!    I looked up two separate books which I knew that the boys would be reading this year.  

George Orwell's 1984

and

The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleishman

I was able to find powerpoint presentations, literature guides, games, complimentary websites, author information and enrichment information.

You can look up books by title and author names on this site!