Monday, August 10, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
It was about time: UPDATES
I have been losing kilos (or pounds) since I spent almost a month in Europe, and that was in December/08 and January/09. I started the trip with 71kg and now I've got 62kg and my goal is to reach 57 which is how much I weighed when I was 15. I am 33 now btw. After that trip, we had a great new year beginning at our business and Roberto and I had firmly made up our minds towards moving out of the school and getting our own real place to live in. This is where I am right now. Sitting on my funky bed, in my yet-to-decorate bedroom looking through my window and observing a heavy cloudy sky. It is 3C and this winter has been this way. We even got -6C which is quite unusual down here. The ironic thing is that it never gets to snow down here and that is a quite bummer. I started working out this year. Unfortunately I get to go to the gym only once a week, but it has helped me in a way. I believe that moving out from the building of the school and finally having my own place has taught me how important it is to take care of myself in the sense of body and mind. I also started therapy and that has been going on for about a month or so, and my therapist has showed me that my personal problems aren't simple but totally easy to get over. Hubby found out about his DIABETES and that was a huge shock to all of us although nobody in our families has been informed about it except for his brothers and his sister-in-law who happens to be a doctor and she told him the precautions he must take and he has been strictly following them. He's been guided by a nutritionist and he has nailed her instructions especially everytime he checks his blood in that meter thing and he knows he is getting the right thing. This disease came to our lives as a blessing (how ironic it is to say such a thing... but what am I to say?) He started taking care of his diet and we even started watching for what we eat and drink. And all that thanks to his high sugar blood level. I've been experiencing a whole total new phase in my life which is bringing me forward although there are still some issues left to deal with. My therapist keeps telling me that I am not supposed to harm me or blame me for not being able to be the best teacher, the best wife, the best entrepreneur, the best cook, the best maid, the best blogger... etc. We could just be happy for the fact of BEING. But this is so so so hard... And yesterday, I had to look for another health professional. It was a last-minute call for having broken a tooth. My dentist had to see me at 8:00 pm on a Saturday. Poor him. As my therapist likes to say: "And this is the story of my life. Oh well, I just know that I am making hummus tonight."
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Need a new camera urgently...
Hints on Using a Digital Camera in the Classroom
These ideas can be modified for your specific grade level & student/teacher abilities. The BEST way to get the most out of ideas such as these is to let students do as much hands on as they are able. With good modeling by the teacher, repetitive instruction on the do's & don'ts of handling cameras, and encouraging observations by the teacher, even Kindergarten students should be able to take their own pictures to use in their projects!
1.Have kids dress up as "what they want to be when they grow up" to illustrate career reports.
2.Take a series of pictures (1st step, 2nd step, etc) showing how to do something (how to add 2 numbers, how to conduct a science experiment, how to draw a picture in Kid Pix, etc.).
3.Record pattern block constructions, story maps, inventions, etc.
4. Use the 5 second movie option to record each student saying how they've used Math today, or what their favorite season is & why, or their definition of Science, etc. Assemble into a slideshow (Powerpoint or Kid Pix).
5. Take pictures of students in September, January, & February to watch them grow.
6. Assign pairs of students to go on a walk through the school to find examples of geometric shapes (circles, triangles, parallel lines, obtuse angles, etc).
7. Create a virtual tour of your classroom. Have each student select an area to photograph and describe to create one page in a slideshow. Expand to create "tours" of your school and/or community.
8. Document the growth of a school project: planting & growing of a class garden, any school construction project, the tree outside your classroom window throughout the seasons, etc.
9. Create a "School Rules" or "Class Rules" book complete with illustrations of acceptable behaviors (with your students posing "caught" in appropriate activities).
10. Have teams of students take pictures of everyday things & put into Kid Pix /Powerpoint with English & Spanish/French vocabulary. Print out for a classroom "Pictionary".
11. Take pictures around town of easily recognizable signs (the McDonald's arches, the Big Boy, etc). Assemble into a book titled "I Can Read". Great to inspire confidence in K and 1st Grade beginning readers.
12.Assign a new "Class Photographer" each week. This student should have easy access to the digital camera. The assignment: to capture at least 1 photo of "learning in action" to be used in that week's newsletter home. Of course, s/he would also be responsible for 1 -2 sentences describing what's happening in the photo.
13.Record a series of student pictures as they act out a story they've read or that another student has written. Use as illustrations for the story or as a means for telling what happened first, etc.
14.Use photos of students to illustrate an "All About the Author" page for student published books.
15.Print out full-body photos of students in "poses". Cut out their picture from the background and glue into art projects ("This is me in Fall", "Me on the Ocean Floor", etc.).
16.Import student photos into Kid Pix. Use the Eraser Tool to erase the background. Use the Drawing tools to create pictures of the student in their Halloween costume, as their favorite Fairy Tale character, as Santa Claus ("What I would give to the World as a Present"), etc.
17.Fall introductions: Set up a template for a Classroom Trading Card. Each card should include the student's picture, their full name, and important facts about that student. Print out on card stock and have students had them out to each other so each student has a full class set. Post a set on a bulletin board, use as drawing cards to decide groups, who's next on the computer, etc.
18.Insert a digital picture of you on your "Welcome to my classroom" card that you send out before school starts.
19.Take a class picture and print on special iron-on paper for Class T shirts. Great to wear on Field Trips, for Field Day, etc.
20. Use student photos for "Student of the Week" displays, special certificates and awards.
21.Take lots of pictures when your class is on a field trip. Back in the classroom, each student can choose 1 picture to label with a short description of what was happening or why this was important or some tidbit they learned. Print a copy for all.
22.Take pictures of students with their families during open house. Make sure you label, so you will recognize parents at conferences later in the year.
23.Insert photos of each student into a word document (size them small enough so your whole class fits on one page). Label each picture with the student's name. Helpful for subs, parent helpers, and non-readers.
24.Use the page of student photos to help students take surveys. Insert the page into a plastic sheet, hand one student a vis a vis pen, and pair him/her up with another student who has a survey question on a clipboard. Once they've surveyed a fellow student, they can X out that student's picture to keep track of who hasn't been asked yet. I include my picture at the end so I know when the survey is officially over and they are ready to tally their results.
25.Have to disconnect cables to move your computer? Take several pictures of where the cables go so it's easier to reassemble. Do the same with bulletin boards that really worked for you.
26.Record pictures of bulky art projects to put into a student portfolio.
Got this from http://www.edzone.net/~mwestern/
These ideas can be modified for your specific grade level & student/teacher abilities. The BEST way to get the most out of ideas such as these is to let students do as much hands on as they are able. With good modeling by the teacher, repetitive instruction on the do's & don'ts of handling cameras, and encouraging observations by the teacher, even Kindergarten students should be able to take their own pictures to use in their projects!
1.Have kids dress up as "what they want to be when they grow up" to illustrate career reports.
2.Take a series of pictures (1st step, 2nd step, etc) showing how to do something (how to add 2 numbers, how to conduct a science experiment, how to draw a picture in Kid Pix, etc.).
3.Record pattern block constructions, story maps, inventions, etc.
4. Use the 5 second movie option to record each student saying how they've used Math today, or what their favorite season is & why, or their definition of Science, etc. Assemble into a slideshow (Powerpoint or Kid Pix).
5. Take pictures of students in September, January, & February to watch them grow.
6. Assign pairs of students to go on a walk through the school to find examples of geometric shapes (circles, triangles, parallel lines, obtuse angles, etc).
7. Create a virtual tour of your classroom. Have each student select an area to photograph and describe to create one page in a slideshow. Expand to create "tours" of your school and/or community.
8. Document the growth of a school project: planting & growing of a class garden, any school construction project, the tree outside your classroom window throughout the seasons, etc.
9. Create a "School Rules" or "Class Rules" book complete with illustrations of acceptable behaviors (with your students posing "caught" in appropriate activities).
10. Have teams of students take pictures of everyday things & put into Kid Pix /Powerpoint with English & Spanish/French vocabulary. Print out for a classroom "Pictionary".
11. Take pictures around town of easily recognizable signs (the McDonald's arches, the Big Boy, etc). Assemble into a book titled "I Can Read". Great to inspire confidence in K and 1st Grade beginning readers.
12.Assign a new "Class Photographer" each week. This student should have easy access to the digital camera. The assignment: to capture at least 1 photo of "learning in action" to be used in that week's newsletter home. Of course, s/he would also be responsible for 1 -2 sentences describing what's happening in the photo.
13.Record a series of student pictures as they act out a story they've read or that another student has written. Use as illustrations for the story or as a means for telling what happened first, etc.
14.Use photos of students to illustrate an "All About the Author" page for student published books.
15.Print out full-body photos of students in "poses". Cut out their picture from the background and glue into art projects ("This is me in Fall", "Me on the Ocean Floor", etc.).
16.Import student photos into Kid Pix. Use the Eraser Tool to erase the background. Use the Drawing tools to create pictures of the student in their Halloween costume, as their favorite Fairy Tale character, as Santa Claus ("What I would give to the World as a Present"), etc.
17.Fall introductions: Set up a template for a Classroom Trading Card. Each card should include the student's picture, their full name, and important facts about that student. Print out on card stock and have students had them out to each other so each student has a full class set. Post a set on a bulletin board, use as drawing cards to decide groups, who's next on the computer, etc.
18.Insert a digital picture of you on your "Welcome to my classroom" card that you send out before school starts.
19.Take a class picture and print on special iron-on paper for Class T shirts. Great to wear on Field Trips, for Field Day, etc.
20. Use student photos for "Student of the Week" displays, special certificates and awards.
21.Take lots of pictures when your class is on a field trip. Back in the classroom, each student can choose 1 picture to label with a short description of what was happening or why this was important or some tidbit they learned. Print a copy for all.
22.Take pictures of students with their families during open house. Make sure you label, so you will recognize parents at conferences later in the year.
23.Insert photos of each student into a word document (size them small enough so your whole class fits on one page). Label each picture with the student's name. Helpful for subs, parent helpers, and non-readers.
24.Use the page of student photos to help students take surveys. Insert the page into a plastic sheet, hand one student a vis a vis pen, and pair him/her up with another student who has a survey question on a clipboard. Once they've surveyed a fellow student, they can X out that student's picture to keep track of who hasn't been asked yet. I include my picture at the end so I know when the survey is officially over and they are ready to tally their results.
25.Have to disconnect cables to move your computer? Take several pictures of where the cables go so it's easier to reassemble. Do the same with bulletin boards that really worked for you.
26.Record pictures of bulky art projects to put into a student portfolio.
Got this from http://www.edzone.net/~mwestern/
Monday, July 20, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
myself at our new place...
It is already June (actually it is the end of it) and I am pretty much late with most of my groups at school. Technically speaking, I am not late with most of them, but we are behind schedule in many projects so that means we are going to delay some newer projects. My new place is almost ready. It needs a dining area for sure. However, I simply love my new place. It keeps getting cuter and cuter each day. I've got now a ladybug rug and a world globe for the study (which I moved to my school). We have got a bigger TV for the living room and so the smaller one is now in the bedroom. My cleaning lady comes here every other Saturday to clean it for us and that is a blessing 'cause she is awesome at what she does. Roberto got some new plant pots for the balcony. It will soon be a nice place to chill while enjoying the view from the 9th floor. Little by little, this apartment is getting to look nice. We have also found out a few new places to have meals out such as Vesuvio and another place at the mall which the name now escapes me. As Roberto is not allowed to eat pastas or regular rice anymore, this is a tough thing to get around here. In this town, gourmet steaks and salads are quite difficult to find (too sad). I started working out at a gym near my place. I only go there once a week. I know that this is not enough working out but hey, I still need to squeeze my therapies in my schedule. I go to the gym on Tuesday (I went there this morning) and on Thursdays I see my therapist. She is very pretty and has a soft voice. She looks perfect and her office is quite cozy. The only thing I don't like about her office is that there is radio station playing in the entrance room and I loathe local radio stations. Never do I listen to local songs or radio stations. I am weird and I recognize that. If I were any crazier, I could be taken to a mad house for shizel. Anyhow, I decided to post more photos of my place because the previous ones ended up way too blurry. Way to go photographer! Gotta know me to like me a-n-y-w-a-y.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
600 or more...
It is cold. I am sleepy. I am stuffed and I am going to eat more later. I am going to dance later too. I am going to treasure what I have the best: FRIENDS. Things are going wonderful with my new apartment. As soon as I find my battery charger, I will post photos here -> These were words I wrote over a month ago. Last week I wrote these: After having moved, I still don't seem to find my camera battery charger. That explains why I haven't posted any photos yet. I have also gotten a new PC and thus I don't have older photos to illustrate this post. My new place is awesome. It is small, but it is wider than the classroom I used to call home. Coincidentally, many terrible things happened or were happening while we were moving out. Actually, those were things we kind of knew they had been going on but they simply came out during the past few weeks as if they were news to us. But they in reality weren't. Besides this tragic event: getting to find out that we had been robbed by an associate at school for almost a year (big big big bummer), hubby was rushed to the hospital more than a week ago. Two bad news at once, who could handle that? He's got diabetes type 2. Today is officially a week that we got to know for sure he's had these disease for a while. I restarted therapy last Thursday and I'll be taking up canvas painting as a way of renewing energies and relaxing from all this stress. Right now, at 12:35 on a Sunday (7 degrees C -> so cold and so nice), I am sitting in my armchair, by my study desk, ... yeah, I now have a study, a REAL bedroom (not a classroom that used to be a place to sleep), my OWN kitchen, laundry with dryer and stuff, a cool bathroom, a balcony that has the greatest view ever), and a fine bedroom with a terrific window and also the view is breathtaking. I must tell mylself the good things we've been conquering, or else, I am going to dive in a pool filled with depressing feelings. According to my therapist, I am not supposed to mention the criminal associate anymore to anyone (so tough, man) and I have got to cook diet food, help with the errands and chores, and all that will colaborate with hubby's condition a great deal. Riiiight.
PS: Hubby went to a store to get another battery charger for my camera. Hopefully, I will post photos of our apartment still today.
PS: Hubby went to a store to get another battery charger for my camera. Hopefully, I will post photos of our apartment still today.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
I am back
It is cold. I am sleepy. I am stuffed and I am going to eat more later. I am going to dance later too. I am going to treasure what I have the best: FRIENDS. Things are going wonderful with my new apartment. As soon as I find my battery charger, I will post photos of my new place. I have got a new PC and a new psychological disorder: PANIC ATTACK. I started taking heavy meds last week and I will begin therapy in a week. I lost 16 pounds in a matter of months and my skin has been filled with zitts. I am definitely drinking less although I have been getting into deeper trouble. I don't want vacation. I just want JUSTICE.
peace and love
peace and love
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
from 2005
Let us blog until our fingertips bleed...
According to a survey on a site of business technology, PERSEUS, there are about 5 billion blogs subscribed now. In 2005, 45 million have been started so far. 10 million blogs were created just during the first 4 months of this year. Following some math logics, by the end of 2005, the web will have stored 50 million new blogs. This non-stop growth in blogging is given to the easy process of acquiring one: fast steps, some clicks away, already-made templates, then "bam" - 'your blog has been published.'
Undoubtly, that is a huge number! There are many...no no no, too many blogs floating in the world wide web. Can all these spots really exist? How many bloggers would be posting right now simultaneously with me? What about readers? Do we have enough readers to compensate all the efforts for being here in front of a computer screen managing topics, tagging, uploading pictures, and doing whatever takes to have a post in the end? Who are these bloggers anyway?
The site survey states that most bloggers are female young students (51% - young male + female). They make use of this tool to post as many things as they wish, which are normally their daily school activities or any other personal fact. The posts will be read by their peers, fellow students, or family members; those are readers that the site calls "nanoaudiences." These young folks do not blog for a professional, religious, or any concrete purposes. A typical teen blogger will post twice a month about happenings in their lives by using a mix of lowercase and caps lock letters, overusing typos and abbreviations, and misspelling the words deliberately so they will appear the way they sound.
Right below them, there I am. ...Or better typing, there WE ARE (44% - male+female adults) -- since most of my readers fit in this group-- Blogging is a social phenomenon among young adults. Most adult bloggers are individuals under the age of 30. Women are majority here again. The reason female folks create more blogs is countless, but one thing is certain: male bloggers are more likely than female ones to abandon blogs. This is maybe because these spots are so easy to be created and free from charge mostly that there is a lack of commitment in keeping them updated. Only in my list of links located on the left of your screen, there are probably 8 or 9 dormant spots - three of them are mine.
Those 5 billion blogs do exist, however there are not as many bloggers posting as there are those spots. That means, many blogs are started but later on they are abandoned. Since there are so many non-active blogs, out of 5 billion subscriptions, 20 million only are actually in use - information based on that site I previously mentioned in this entry. So, there is a slight chance that 10 million people might be posting now. And yet, one million give up blogging a day, among these folks are Sassy, Kris, Bulb, Roberto, Lu, me... Let's get back on posting guys!!!
Let us blog more and more until our fingertips bleed...
According to a survey on a site of business technology, PERSEUS, there are about 5 billion blogs subscribed now. In 2005, 45 million have been started so far. 10 million blogs were created just during the first 4 months of this year. Following some math logics, by the end of 2005, the web will have stored 50 million new blogs. This non-stop growth in blogging is given to the easy process of acquiring one: fast steps, some clicks away, already-made templates, then "bam" - 'your blog has been published.'
Undoubtly, that is a huge number! There are many...no no no, too many blogs floating in the world wide web. Can all these spots really exist? How many bloggers would be posting right now simultaneously with me? What about readers? Do we have enough readers to compensate all the efforts for being here in front of a computer screen managing topics, tagging, uploading pictures, and doing whatever takes to have a post in the end? Who are these bloggers anyway?
The site survey states that most bloggers are female young students (51% - young male + female). They make use of this tool to post as many things as they wish, which are normally their daily school activities or any other personal fact. The posts will be read by their peers, fellow students, or family members; those are readers that the site calls "nanoaudiences." These young folks do not blog for a professional, religious, or any concrete purposes. A typical teen blogger will post twice a month about happenings in their lives by using a mix of lowercase and caps lock letters, overusing typos and abbreviations, and misspelling the words deliberately so they will appear the way they sound.
Right below them, there I am. ...Or better typing, there WE ARE (44% - male+female adults) -- since most of my readers fit in this group-- Blogging is a social phenomenon among young adults. Most adult bloggers are individuals under the age of 30. Women are majority here again. The reason female folks create more blogs is countless, but one thing is certain: male bloggers are more likely than female ones to abandon blogs. This is maybe because these spots are so easy to be created and free from charge mostly that there is a lack of commitment in keeping them updated. Only in my list of links located on the left of your screen, there are probably 8 or 9 dormant spots - three of them are mine.
Those 5 billion blogs do exist, however there are not as many bloggers posting as there are those spots. That means, many blogs are started but later on they are abandoned. Since there are so many non-active blogs, out of 5 billion subscriptions, 20 million only are actually in use - information based on that site I previously mentioned in this entry. So, there is a slight chance that 10 million people might be posting now. And yet, one million give up blogging a day, among these folks are Sassy, Kris, Bulb, Roberto, Lu, me... Let's get back on posting guys!!!
Let us blog more and more until our fingertips bleed...
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