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Board of Ed Meeting – 5/19/2009

Meeting tonight at 7pm.

Hoboken Board of Education meeting of April 7, 2009

LOCATION: Board Meeting Room (1115 Clinton Street)

Organizational Session

  1. Appoint Delegates and Alternate Delegates to State and local Board association.
  2. Appoint Board Officials – Paid/Unpaid
  3. Professional Service Contract Awards/Appointments through RFQ’s.
  4. Appointment of In-House or Outside Board Counsel.
  5. Fees for copies of public documents (OPRA).
  6. Procurement of Goods and Services through State Contract.
  7. Procurement of Goods and Services through Cooperative Pricing Agreement.
  8. Designation of newly elected Board President as authorized signer on Business Office Checking Accounts; Rescission of prior resolution.
  9. Re-adoption of Policy Manual.
  10. Implement 2009-2010 Budget.
  11. Designation of Superintendent or Business Administrator: Transfer Authority.

Stated Session

  1. Approval of minutes.
  2. Utilization of vehicles: outside agencies.
  3. Personnel: appointments, transfers, postings, committee realignments, leave of absence, termination, resignation, retirements, suspensions, negotiations, retirement withdrawal request, reduction in force, increment withholding, and dismissal of staff personnel.
  4. Possible closed session discussion on potential litigation, negotiations, and tenure or disciplinary charges.
  5. Fiscal reports, school reports, fire drill reports, Board Committee reports, A148 and A149 financial reports, budget line transfers.
  6. Possible discussion and/or action on the future of the school district’s facilities.
  7. Claims, regular and workers compensation.
  8. Approval of payroll
  9. Participation in N.J. Transit Bus Pass Program.
  10. Annual Maintenance Budget Amount Worksheet (Form M-1) and Comprehensive Maintenance Plan.
  11. Emergency Student Aid Expenditure – Senior Class Trip cost for economically disadvantaged students.
  12. Purchase used school bus.
  13. Joint Transportation Agreement.
  14. Special Education tuition contracts.
  15. Field Trip and workshops. Any matters relating to the above items that may come before the Board. Please be advised that the Board may be required to go into closed executive session during this meeting to discuss potential litigation and personnel items. Action may be taken on all agenda items.Published by order of theBoard of Education of theSchool District of the City of Hoboken.David Anthony, Board Secretary

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112 Comments on "Board of Ed Meeting – 5/19/2009"

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WHO is more closely related to WHICH former comm. of ed? Please be specific–provide names and details. Thanks!

Not that common. He is much more closely related to the former commissioner of education.

In Italy it is.

No, he’s not. Gagliardi is a fairly common name.

Can you tell us if the new outside attorney Kids First just hired, named Vito Gagliardi, is related to former Hoboken superintendent Patrick Gagliardi?


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Hiking Biosphere

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As if the fresh air weren’t enough, Jodi has a Diploma in Wellness and holds an aqua training class three times-a-week in a local pool. She is also a Nordic Walking Trainer Professional and qualified mountain guide – regularly taking groups walking, skiing and snow shoeing in the mountains that surround the resort.

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When you reach your destination, you enjoy a traditional roast venison supper in the hunters’ lodge. The next day you wander at up to 2500m above sea-level, where you walk past mountain lakes nestled between majestic summits.

The day after that you take a tour of the local farm shops, where a delicious, home-grown organic (goes without saying!!) product awaits your palette. When you return to your chalet, you take a well-deserved rest and relax with a sauna and maybe treat yourself to a drop of Austrian red wine. What, on Earth, could be better?

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Copyright Lungauer marathon St Martin Chalets Lungau is a focal point for healthy, natural living and wellbeing. Even if you come here to let your hair down and relax, the climate is so pleasant and there are so many opportunities for exercise and fresh air, you won’t be able to resist its sense of outdoor adventure and (hopefully) our Austrian fitness holidays.

Although most people picture Austria covered in snow, it’s beautiful all year round – with vast pastures, crystal-clear lakes and carpets of colourful wild flowers. The whole region is criss-crossed with networks of hiking trails and cycle / mountain bike routes and there are all sorts of organised tours and treks to join. After a few days in Austria’s pure mountain air (and maybe a couple of spa treatments), you’ll feel like a different person.

Whether you’re horse riding, mountain biking, hiking, cross-country skiing or simply taking a break from it all, there’s a certain magic about this place that seems to leave people feeling completely refreshed.

Chalet gym

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Tuesday, September 8, 2009

My neighbor the jerk

I say "jerk" because sometimes I decide this needs to be a family show.

Saturday - up in Healdsburg - after watching the "Not so Fighting" Illini get destroyed by Mizzou, we decided to wander down our street to Christopher Creek Winery and drown our sorrows in a few tastes. On the way home Sunday I pulled over and took a shot for perspective's sake.

This road is a narrow "2 lane" road with no shoulders. For all intents and purposes it dead ends just behind the perspective in the photo, veering right as a one lane private road. The four of us were walking down the road, "taking the lane" as there is next to no traffic on the road, but when it comes it behooves you to be visible. There were 4 adults, plus my son being pushed in a baby stroller. The residents of this lane frequently walk down the road, with their children, dogs, whatever. There is a sign posted as you head Eastbound, at the point where the road really starts to narrow, that says "Slow Down Please", painted all nice and flowery with a horsey on the sign.

Going the direction of the photograph, we were just past the winery seen on the left when a red SUV approached us going the better part of 55 MPH from what I could tell. Independently, all four of us did a "reverse raise the roof" gesture - both hands pushing down towards the ground to indicate the following...

We looked back as he sped by, and he slammed his brakes in front of the winery. Great, another dumb tourist goes speeding down Limerick Lane and almost flies past the winery. But no.... he shifts into reverse, hits the accellerator, and speeds back towards us!

He gets even to us, rolls down the window, and spews out in some crazy Eastern European accent "Vat did eyeee just meese just naaaaw". We looked at him puzzled, and he went on to say "Vat ees yoor prahhhblem?".

The response was a bit muddled as all four of us, 3-4 beers into our day indicated our displeasure at his driving, he hastily replied "Zeee speeed leemit is 45 MPH and I was going 35 MPH, vat is yoor prahblem!" I said "Bullshit the speed limit on this podunk road is 45 MPH and you were going the better part of 55. Where the hell are you going anyway?" He replied "Eye om going hooom!", probably thinking we were just a bunch of tourists ourselves. We pointed out that we lived just down from him and our displeasure that people would drive like such tools, he sped off halfway into the lecture.

Oh... as if it matters... I took one more photo...

Yokota Fritz said...

It's one of those facts that the people doing most of the speeding in the neighborhood are the residents.

djconnel said...

Doesn't matter anyway.

CA VC 22350:
Basic Speed Law

22350. No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.

End of story.

ChipSeal said...

I am often criticized for breaking traffic laws that don't exist. It seems to me most drivers just make up the rules as they go along, as this fella did.


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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The next stop is your, pardner!

Last week the Bay Citizen published an article listing San Francisco's most dangerous streets for cyclists. They basically collected all the data on accidents including a bicycle and mapped them out.

I'd argue that the analysis is backwards. There's a certain probability of an accident at any given location if you are riding through it. In order to get that number, you have to normalize the number of accidents by the number of trips. The reason that places like Valencia and Market have the most accidents is that they are the most popular roads to ride on - and this is because they have been determined through experience and tribal knowledge to have the best balance of safety and utility. Certainly riding down 22nd Street from Sanchez to Church - a 28 percent gradient - would be a lot less safe, but there are no recorded accidents there!

The article also discusses fault, which brings up the issue of police bias. Over and over again we see instances where the driver made an error, but no citation is made. (Aside - I'm still trying to figure out the legitimacy of an argument made by Burlingame PD that an accident report assigning fault is effectively the same as a citation in terms of insurance *and* points on your license). Generally speaking, cyclists feel that the police often suffer from a windshield perspective and are dismissive of cyclists. The other day, I encountered an officer who doesn't share that perspective.

On Caltrain NB 267, a passenger boarded at Sunnyvale and started ranting, berating the other passengers. "You afraid I'm going to rob you? I should. Kiss my a**. I should kick your a**. You gonna call the po po? I'd f**k your shit up but I don't want to go back to jail."

This was a bad scene. We were in the bike car and there were some strapping guys in there, but this guy was a mean looking character, and young. I started fiddling with my phone trying to figure out if there was a surreptitious way to alert the conductors or police. I wasn't the only one - and the hooligan noticed. "You got your iPhone gonna try to get the po po to save your ass???"

Suddenly, the rider across from me said "OK - ENOUGH. THAT'S IT PARDNER, YOU'RE GETTING OFF AT THE NEXT STOP." I looked over and he was flipping open his wallet to reveal... a Police Badge! He waddled down the bike car in his Sidi's and between him and the 2 conductors who had finally arrived, set this guy straight and evicted him in Mountain View.

Best I can tell he's Menlo Park PD. He gets on at Tamien - as soon as the scene settled down we went back to discussing service cuts and he was concerned about losing his station.

Don't mess with the Bike Cop!

John C. Baker said...

As I said on Twitter, that's great (and exactly why cops get to ride the train for free). As for what the Burlingame cop said, I dunno about insurance, but as a former police dispatcher, I can tell you that accidents and related points do indeed show up on your driving record -- more so because you can't avoid the points through traffic school.

djconnel said...

You always have the most interesting commutes: brushes with death on an almost monthly basis. Yesterday I had the Australian won his cell phone for an hour (the train was running slow), this morning the guy who had a continual conversation with himself (I didn't ask what was in the cigarettes he occasionally fondled)... relative Dullsville.


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BREAKING NEWS! Ashley Greene Will Receive The Style Icon Award At HollywoodLife's Young Hollywood Awards!

Fri, April 23, 2010 2:10pm EDT by 3 Comments

042310_ashley_greene_teaser_button_83756192Hey Twi-hards! We’re incredibly happy to announce that Ashley Greene — yes, Alice Cullen herself— will be receiving the Young Hollywood Style Icon award at our very own Young Hollywood Awards!

Ashley Greene, one of the most gorgeous stars from Twilight, one of our all-time favorite films, coming to HollywoodLife’s Young Hollywood Awards May 13 at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in LA. And we’ll be presenting her with the Young Hollywood Style Icon award!

Less than two years ago, we had never even heard of Ashley Greene — but then she won the coveted role of quirky vampire Alice Cullen in Twilight and became a sensation overnight! And we MUST applaud her for her awesome red carpet style! Whether she’s all dolled up at a red-carpet premiere or dressed down to run errands, Ashley’s effortlessly chic style does NOT go unnoticed — which is why she totally deserves this year’s Style Icon award.

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Friday, September 05, 2008

Ron Burgundy: Discovered by The Germans in 1904, They Named it San Diego, Which of Course in German Means a Whale's Vagina.

Ray and I are going to San Diego with our friends, Tye and Jenn Jones, a week from Monday. They rented a beach condo and invited us to go party with them and you know what? When friends invite you to a go. We are so excited.

Ray and I have never been on a beach vacation since we've been married so its time. Tye and I will rent surfboards and spend all week in the water flopping around like shark bait and Jenn and Ray will spend all day getting sunburned. How much fun is that?

It can't come fast enough.

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News | Law and Order
24 May 2017 12:25
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

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  •   Home > News > Law and Order

    NZ rated least corrupt country

    NZ has risen from being the fourth-least corrupt country in the world to be joint top with Denmark in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

    Public servants have been told they have a right to celebrate, but can't become complacent after New Zealand was ranked the least corrupt country in the world.

    New Zealand jumped three places to share top spot with Denmark in Berlin-based Transparency International's 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index.

    Both scored 90 in an index that ranks 176 countries on a scale of zero to 100. Somalia is at the bottom of the list, scoring just 10.

    Last year, New Zealand ranked fourth with 88 after previously leading the league table.

    TI New Zealand chair Suzanne Snively says the country's public sector agencies have focused successfully on developing processes that prevent corruption.

    "New Zealand trades on its low corruption reputation and we are increasingly finding how to transfer these behaviours from our public to our private sector to leverage off this enviable reputation for integrity," she said.

    "Our public servants from throughout the country have a right to celebrate this news. The TI CPI proves that they are working to do a good job preventing corrupt behaviour."

    But she also said the biggest challenge to maintaining a top ranking had been a tendency to become complacent.

    The prevention of corruption could be regarded as a lesser priority, given other pressures, including earthquakes, the global financial crisis and the consequent reductions in baseline funding.

    Justice Minister Amy Adams said it was encouraging to see New Zealand reclaim top spot, having held it for eight of the last 10 years.

    "The result reflects New Zealand's zero-tolerance of bribery and corruption, and affirms our reputation as world leaders in this area," she said.

    Ms Adams said the government had implemented a number of anti-corruption initiatives.

    These included new bribery offences and increased penalties, fast-tracking a second phase of anti-money laundering reforms and ratifying the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

    1= New Zealand 90

    1= Denmark 90

    3 Finland 89

    4 Sweden 88

    5 Switzerland 86

    6 Norway 85

    7 Singapore 84

    8 Netherlands 83

    9 Canada 82

    10= Germany 81

    10= Luxembourg 81

    10= UK 81

    176 Somalia 10

    175 South Sudan 11

    174 North Korea 12

    173 Syria 13

    170= Yemen 14

    170= Sudan 14

    170= Libya 14

    169 Afghanistan 15

    168 Guinea-Bissau 16

    166= Venezuela 17

    166= Iraq 17

    Source: Transparency International's 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index 2016.

    © 2017 NZN, NZCity

     Other Law and Order News
     24 May: Newshub car recovered; gear still missing
     24 May: Booze detecting anklets for offenders
     23 May: Manchester attack: 23yo man arrested, police say
     23 May: TV crew's car stolen outside courthouse
     23 May: How Customs set up huge cocaine sting
     23 May: DoC sought legal advice over MoT fraudster
     23 May: Mental health costing police $37m a year
     Top Stories

    Read happy to sign on with NZ Rugby again More...

    AFT Pharma confident despite losses More...

     Today's News

    Sharon Osbourne thinks she needs "therapy" for her television addiction 12:07

    Law and Order:
    Newshub car recovered; gear still missing 11:57

    Read happy to sign on with NZ Rugby again 11:47

    Sadie Frost is open to the idea of getting married again 11:37

    Kelly Rohrbach is reportedly dating Steuart Walton 11:07

    AFT Pharma confident despite losses 11:07

    Fonterra lifts payout forecast 10:47

    Lena Dunham has axed her Lenny IRL tour due to complications with her endometriosis 10:37

    Insurer Tower's losses narrow 10:27

    Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is flattered that people want him to be the next US president 10:07

     News Search

    Power Search

    © 2017 New Zealand City Ltd


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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under Grant No. MCB-1052331. Any opinion, finding, conclusion, or recommendation expressed in these videos are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily represent the views of iBiology, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, or other iBiology funders.

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Trimming or Cutting Instructions for the Pittosporum Tobira Variegata

A vibrant evergreen shrub or small tree, Japanese pittosporum "Variegata" (Pittosporum tobira "Variegata") is named for the creamy white edges of its small, oval, green leaves. Native to Japan, China and Korea, it is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 10 or 8 through 11, depending on the source, and can be grown indoors everywhere. A tolerant plant, “Variegata” adapts to a wide variety of trimming and pruning techniques.

Floral Display

Many homeowners who regularly shear their Japanese pittosporum "Variegata" may not know it produces a spring floral display. Branch tips put out small, creamy flowers in clusters scented like orange blossoms. The blooms turn yellow as they age, fade to green and then become brown seedpods. Unfortunately, the flowers are lost when the plant is pruned too early in the season. If possible, prune after your "Variegata" finishes blooming.

Shrub Shearing

A Japanese pittosporum tolerates shearing well as long as pruning starts when it is young. If you choose to shear multiple “Variegata” plants to create a formal hedge, they'll need frequent maintenance, often beginning in spring before their flowers bloom. If you want to shear your “Variegata” but save its flowering period, then avoid pruning until after the spring flower display, and do not prune again because doing so can remove buds for next year’s blooms. For a mass planting, space “Variegata” specimens so the centers of their trunks are 4 to 5 feet apart.

Tree Training

“Variegata” can be trained to grow as a small tree, but that task requires patience. Wait until after the plant has become established in its planting site, and then begin carefully removing its lower branches and pruning those higher to emphasize the tree’s natural, multitrunked form. If you like the plant's fragrant flowers, then training “Variegata” to grow as a tree is an excellent way to showcase them because a tree does not require pruning nearly as frequently as a shrub, removing or reducing the danger of pruning ruining the spring floral displays.

Disease Control

Pruning can be used to minimize disease in the plant. If you see signs of disease, prune off the affected branches 6 inches below the site of infection. Disinfect pruning tools between each cut, soaking them for five minutes in a solution of 1 part 70 percent isopropyl rubbing alcohol and 1 part water. Allow the tools to air-dry before reusing them. Pruning to allow light and air inside the plant helps to prevent infections or to prevent them from returning. Especially when shearing hedge plants, try to open them up by removing inner branches.

About the Author

Sarah Moore has been a writer, editor and blogger since 2006. She holds a master's degree in journalism.

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11 June 2011

The Potty Post

Strange things make me wonder. When I last flew several years ago, it seemed that all the old folks in wheelchairs and walkers and the whole shebang were loaded up first. It took them over 10 minutes to load six people and I wondered if there were a fire, would anybody make it out? I'm hardly a "survival of the fittest" kind of person, but I question the wisdom of allowing so many physically handicapped people to use a plane at once if there aren't good ways to get them in and out of the plane QUICKLY. It's a safety issue. (I'm not saying no handicapped people should fly. Just maybe not so many on one flight! Or have a few rows without standard seats in which you bolt the chairs to the floor like they do on the handicap busses, and wider aisles so you can just scoot these folks out fast! Just askin' for some common sense.)

Now I'm wondering how they would EVER be able to use the potty. The wheelchair doesn't even go up the aisles, so people who can't take a few steps can't get on the plane in the first place unless someone carries them. I guess people in wheelchairs don't have families to travel to and never need to use the restroom. Well, good for them! :)

No, seriously, planes are an extreme example, but almost no business has accessable anything. Try clothes shopping sometime at a department store. Could you imagine getting between the clothes racks and looking around? Even stores built within the last few years allow for practically zero room between the racks. Aisles that are carefully constructed to allow wheelchairs to go through are clogged with rolling sales racks. And the bathroom, you have to open a really heavy door to get in WHILE you are going round a corner. Imagine yourself unable to move from the waist down and sitting in a chair. You can't open the door and get in, can you?

I don't know that I agree with forcing businesses to make things "handicap accessible" and spending zoodles of dollars, especially if it does no blinking good for people who really need the chair to get around. By the way, I weigh something like 468 pounds (well, maybe 458 but am using the upper end of my weight to make a point) and I cannot get into the stall, turn and shut the door. I have to use the handicap stall or I won't be able to fit without getting toilet water on my hiney when I stand up. By the way, automatic flushers are JUST WRONG! You can't stand and get away in time without getting splashed in the small stalls! And too bad for you if you don't like seeing me hold my skirts around my stomach when I exit; I am not letting my skirts touch the potty, so I will hold them next to my body until I clear the stall AND the splash area. Man. Who needs Sea World when I can get splashed every day at Wal-Mart for free? Eew.

As noted in the previous paragraph, I am fat. Deal with it or I will squash you. But I must say it is absolutely WRONG of some of these folks to use the Wal-Mart automated chairs IN the restroom! If you're that stinkin' handicapped, you should have a chair of your own that doesn't take up six feet by three feet. Wal-Mart (God bless 'em) is providing those chairs as a COURTESY because their store is so large, and they know some people get tired of walking all that way. Please have the COURTESY not to take them into the restroom and run over the toddlers there. It's 20 steps. You took at least that getting into the building before plunking your fat self on the chair. Courtesy, people.

I dunno. I think we can ask for some courtesy in the design of these businesses, too. Does anybody actually use the tiny stalls if there isn't a line and a real need to go?

  1. Agreed!!! Keep the motorized carts OUT of the bathrooms, they are small enough without those in the way. Another thing that bugs me is when people try to take their shopping carts into bathrooms...do you really think someone is going to pilfer your unpurchesed items if you leave the cart outside the bathroom?? You're in a STORE, there are thousands of cartons of eggs, and hundreds of gallons of milk...yours isn't the ONLY one.

    Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George gets caught taking a book in the bathroom and the book is 'flagged' as a bathroom book by staff. He is horrified. lol Well, who would take their food into a public restroom, then take it home and put it in the fridge???

  2. Lol AHHH, but um...

    How do I put this? Do you know how many people I've seen leave the bathroom without washing their hands? Even after obviously POOPING?? And then they touch the groceries, but don't buy everything they touch??

    The groceries don't bug me nearly so much as the running over kid thing. You can leave the shopping cart where it won't get splashed... it's kind of like reading a book in the bathroom, sorta yucky to put it back on the coffee table... but...

    Hm. I wish I had a handy poll in the sidebar. Groceries in the bathroom, gross? yes or no.

  3. I remember that Seinfeld episode! Was funny. lol

  4. Can't offer any thoughts on the plane issue, but in shopping centres I will often use the handicapped toilet, not because I'm too fat for the regular stalls, (I weigh about 154 pounds), but because I don't drive so take my little "granny" trolley to the shops with me to wheel my groceries home in. This doesn't fit into a regular toilet stall and there's just no way I'm leaving it outside for anyone to walk off with, so into the handicapped stall I go.

  5. P.S. here in Australia, the toilets are not within the store itself, but situated somewhere else within the shopping centre. A trolley of groceries left outside one of those would be gone in a heartbeat! Also my groceries are in zipped up bags well away from the toilet itself, close to the washbasin so well out of splash range. Mostly I try not to take groceries in, if I think I can make it home, if there's some urgency, then I have no choice.

  6. Interesting... but makes sense. Then the big stores aren't left to deal with all the cleaning issues... here the bathrooms only are in larger stores, which makes no sense.

  7. My thought is that they are worried that someone will steal their motorized chair while they are in the restroom if they leave it outside--just like an empty shopping cart will get taken if unwatched.

    Lynne Diligent

  8. I have handicapped stall guilt. I am overweight too, wearing about a size 22. I feel claustrophobic in a regular stall, so unless there is a handicapped person around, I head right to the handicapped stall, but sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be using it.

    Regarding the carts... if it is parked outside of the bathroom with a few items in it... and maybe a note... no one will touch it for the few minutes it takes you to potty.

    I don't have a toddler anymore, but I have attacked people pretty viciously for almost hurting or even offending my kids.

Non-troll comments always welcome! :)


text:
Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Giggle Poetry

Giggle Poetry introduces children to poetry in such a fun way, it will inspire the poet in your child.  The site is full of silly poems that are fun to read out loud.  Although the site is designed with classroom teachers in mind,most of the content can be tweaked for homeschool use as well. We print out many of the poems to practice fluency.

Electrolux / Kelly Ripa Summer Campaign - Opportunity to Win! CLOSED

Kelly Ripa is celebrating a split with a banana split!  No, not a split between her and her fabulous hubby, Mark Consuelos, but a split from Electrolux - the company is splitting their refrigerator and freezer duo into two with the introduction of their new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer.  And not only are they celebrating their new products, Kelly and Electrolux are also getting together for a good cause.

Starting today, at http://www.kelly-confidential.com/, you can build your ultimate banana split using virtual ingredients from classic whipped cream to caramel sauce to rainbow sprinkles. For each "split", Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund as part of its $750,000 commitment to help fight ovarian cancer.
As usual, Electrolux and Kelly find new and fun ways to say thank you to those who support this great cause. Everyone who logs on to the site and builds a split will be automatically entered for a chance to win the daily prize - $50 towards sweet summer treats - and the grand prize: the new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux.

MomSelect is also getting into the fun by offering one of my reader's a chance to win a $25 American Express Card to buy your own banana split toppings (or anything else your heart desires!)

Visit Kelly's site to build your virtual banana split,  Each day you do, Electrolux will donate $1 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund1. Plus, you'll be entered for a chance to win the daily prize, $50 toward sweet summer treats, AND the grand prize - the ultimate kitchen "split" - the new stand-alone refrigerator and freezer from Electrolux.2. Leave a comment below to tell me you have entered - you may do this once each day.

EXTRA ENTRIES: (Leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Publically follow my blog.

2. Follow me on Twitter.

3. Follow Kelly Confidential on Twitter.

4. Tweet about this giveaway (5 extra entries!)  Copy and Paste the message below

I built a virtual banana split & helped Ovarian Cancer Research for a chance to win $25 http://bit.ly/awP4rT

5. Subscribe to my blog. (upper right corner) (2 entries)
Contest ends 7/29/2010
Disclosure: I was given a $25 American Express card for myself, and one to give out as a prize for posting this.  I was not compensated in any other way.

11 Boredom Busters

Here are 11 ideas parents can use to keep young minds active during the summer months:

1. Boredom Buster Jar: At the beginning of the summer, sit down with your family and brainstorm a list of activities that can be done alone or that you can enjoy doing together. Encourage your children to share their own ideas and help you decorate and label a simple jar as the family "Boredom Buster Jar." They'll feel more involved in the project and more likely to think this is a "neat" idea, if they participate in the creation and idea generation. Next, write everyone's ideas down on slips of paper and as a group decide which ones should go in the jar. Anyone in the family can pull any idea out of the jar to fight the summertime boredom blues.

2. Stories Alive: It sounds too simple, but reading is one of the most important waysto keep young minds engaged during the summer.Make reading even more fun by finding ways to bring the stories to life. For example, in the book Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran, children create a make-believe town in the desert out of rocks, boxes, and their imaginations. Read the book with your children and then challenge them to create their own town with materials they find in the backyard.

3. Art Start Box: You'll need to gather basic art supplies-child safe scissors, glue, markers, tape and construction paper. Put them in a special box along with empty oatmeal boxes and paper towel rolls, colorful magazines and bits of aluminum foil. Occasionally add a special surprise like chalk, stickers, or stamp pads so there's always something new for the children to find. Even if you normally have these supplies around the house, it's fun for children to know that the Art Start Box is just for them. They'll probably have some good ideas of other household items that can be recycled to fuel their creative energies.

4. Family Performances: Break out old clothes or costumes and encourage children to make up characters and create a play to act out. They are the directors, actors, and producers. They can also make musical instruments out of pots/pans, wooden spoons, empty canisters and have a parade; or everyone can play along to your family's favorite songs. Record or video the performances, and enjoy the replay. You'll also be capturing a bit of family history everyone will enjoy for years to come.

5. Family Dance Party: Crank up the music and encourage your entire family to boogie down. Dancing gives children a great outlet for self-expression through their own motion and helps build self-esteem. It also enhances motor and coordination development by incorporating skills like jumping, landing and leaping. Dancing is a great activity that can involve the whole family and doesn't take very much preparation.

6. Fort Building: Children love to build all kinds of structures--from small towns to large towers. Constructing forts or tents is an activity that can keep children focused and problem solving for hours. All the items you need can be found around the house- some chairs, cushions, blankets, and of course adult supervision.

7. Cookbook Fun: Have you ever shared your favorite cookbook with your children? Take it out and ask your children to choose a recipe to try. Measuring can be a fun and easy way to keep math skills fresh.

8. Summer Scrapbook: All you need for this project is a spiral notebook. Encourage everyone in the family to draw pictures of favorite activities and collect mementos from special events throughout the summer. Children love to go back through scrapbooks and albums and tell about what happened at each occasion. They will also be building their storytelling skills at the same time.

9. Listening Game: Lie down in the backyard, in the den or at the park and listen. What do you hear? Do you hear what I hear? Can you imitate the sound? This is similar to watching the clouds and naming the shapes, and it encourages everyone to slow down and focus on listening.

10. Camping Out: Pretend to campout in the backyard. Plan a meal, pack a backpack and set up a campsite. You might even decide to spend the night!

11. Scavenger Hunt: Make a list or picture cards of common household items and have your children find the items on the list. Invite friends or neighbors to join in the fun to make it a competition.

Top Learning Toys

Monday, June 28, 2010

Great Kids Fashion - Win Clothes For Your Kids! CLOSED

Whether your kids are headed back to school, or just palling around with friends like my boys, they want to do it in style.  One way to make sure they are dressed to impress is with Parigi Fashion. Parigi Fashion has been a major part of the children's fashion industry for nearly thirty years. You may not be familiar with the name Parigi fashions, but I know you know some of their wonderful brands including:  DKNY, Puma, Baby Phat, Apple Bottoms, Akademiks, and Phat Farm! Parigi Brands are distributed to specialty boutiques and major department stores everywhere!

But the best thing about Parigi Brands (well second to their fabulous clothes) is the fact that they sent me a free Akademiks outfit for my son to try out AND a FREE outfit to give to one of my readers!!!  They sent me this outfit complete with a cool t-shirt and great fitting jeans for my 13 year old, Palmer to try out.

Let me just start out by saying that Palmer is extremely a little picky when it comes to his clothes.  He only wears certain brands of jeans, and he wants his shirts to be "his style" as he calls it.  So, needless to say I was worried that I might have to bribe  convince him to try out the clothes for me.  But, I didn't have to worry at all, when we opened the box his reaction was, "Cool!  Are these for me, please tell me they are for me."  When he tried on the pants he was extremely pleased with the fit, and we have now been able to add Akademiks to the list of pants that he will actually wear!  A good thing because they are more affordable then other brands that he will wear.  And I must say, he looks handsome in the outfit, don't you think?  If you don't agree, please don't share your opinion! LOL!

And the clothes had the amazing ability to make him be nice to his little brother! (OK, maybe that is an exaggeration and he was simply in a good mood, but I think his stylish new duds did have a hand in his chipper mood!)

Now for the contest, Parigi shipped me this outfit in a size medium (the jeans are a size 12), and they have provided the same outfit in an extra large to give to the winner of this contest.  To enter, simply follow the steps below.  The winner will be selected on July 15th.

Visit parigigroup.com and tell me your favorite collection of clothes. (1 Entry)

EXTRA ENTRIES:  (Leave a seperate comment for each entry)

1. Follow my blog publicly

2. Follow Parigi Fashions on Twitter

3. Like Parigi Fashions on Facebook

4. Follow me on Twitter and tweet this giveaway: (Can be done once daily)

(Copy and Paste the following) @ParigiFashion: The coolest and most fashionable children's clothing around. Enter to win an outfit here! http://bit.ly/cvQL5I #giveaway

5. 5. Subscribe to my blog. (upper right corner) (2 entries)

Sunday, June 27, 2010

TenMarks Summer Programs

Research shows that students lose 2 months of math learning over the summer!  But there is something you can do about it!  Tyler my 9 year old has been working on keeping up his math skills with TenMarks interactive math program. The program is customized to each student. Each week he is assigned 3 worksheets based on his current math level and ability.  Along with the worksheets are hints and video lessons for each topic.

Tyler has been able to work independently for the most part, but sometimes the questions are worded in a way that he has needed assistance understanding what they are asking.  For example one of the questions asked:

Count minimum number of coins and bills for the change without using quarters

Cost : $3.07

You Give : $5.00

When he pressed the button to ask for a hint it said:

Hint: Exhaust the highest denominations - $1.00 is the highest denomination

Once I helped explain how to solve the problem, he was able to move right along and answer the other questions that were similar.

He loves when he gets the answers correct, and when he completes the assignments on-line he doesn't even realize that he is learning!

TenMarks has19 different programs, personalized for all levels of learning and achievement. Students practice one topic at a time with interactive worksheets, with hints to guide them, and video lessons to help when needed. Priced at only $39.99 for the entire summer, the types of programs available are:

•Step Up - review skills from past year, preview year ahead.

•Foundation - refresh core concepts (Algebra, Geometry, Fractions,...).

•Custom - personalized, based on a quick assessment.

My overall ranking is a 9 out of 10, and I would definitely reccomend the program!

To view a flyer for more information about Ten Marks click here.
To try it yourself, click here.
Disclosure: I received a trial of the program to give my opinion.  I have given my honest opinions about the program, and I was not swayed in any way by the free trial.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Handwriting Practice Worksheet

If your child is learning to write their name, you may want to head over here to print out your own custom handwriting worksheets.  You can print their name in D'Nealian style like above, or Zaner Bloser (below).  You can also use the site for making copywork or other handwriting worksheets.

Book It Program

Every year Pizza Hut runs the BOOK IT! program. BOOK IT! motivates children to read by rewarding their reading accomplishments with praise, recognition and pizza. You set a reading goal for each of your children . A tracking chart and reproducibles are included to make it that much easier. As soon as a child meets the monthly reading goal, you give him or her a Reading Award Certificate.

Enrollment ends June 30th, so head over here to enroll soon!

The Big Read

The Big Read was developed by The National Endowment for the Arts to "create a nation of readers." The idea is to inspire people to read good literature defined as follows:

"A great book combines enlightenment with enchantment. It awakens our imagination and enlarges our humanity. It can even offer harrowing insights that somehow console and comfort us."

The website provides free reader and teacher guides with language arts lessons and activities, radio programs, video profiles, and information about book authors. When you get to the site you'll see a brief introduction and some highlighted books and activities. Click on "Our Books" in the horizontal menu at the top of the page. A new page opens with a list of titles including:

•The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

•A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

•The Poetry of Emily Dickinson

•The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

•Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

•To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

•The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

•~ and many more!

Click on any title and a new page opens where you can access:

*Reader's Guide - Read a synopsis of the book, read the author's bio, discover the main characters, learn the historical context of the story, access discussion questions and more.

*Teacher's Guide - Get free lesson plans with printable handouts, review classroom project ideas that could be tweaked for a book club, get suggestions for essay topics, and find links to additional resources.

*Radio Show - The Big Read releases a new radio show about a selected book and author every 2 weeks. It's informative and entertaining. You can listen to the show online or subscribe to the podcast for free.

Summer Reading Tips

Not every family homeschools during the summer, which means that reading may not be on their list of priorities. However, it’s very important to keep their minds working during these summer months to make sure when school starts back in the fall they are on track and ready to learn. Here are some tips for motivating kids to read this summer:

  • Combine activities with books. We have a chocolate factory nearby that the boys have been dying to visit! I made them a deal that if we read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Chocolate Fever I would take them to it. If you are taking a vacation - see if you can find a book that fits with it!
  • Monkey See Monkey Do. Show kids that you love to read by reading each day. Share an interesting fact you read in the paper or a funny quote from a book you are reading.
  • Relax the rules. Summer is a time when children can read what, when, and how they please. Don't worry about  goals or pages read, and don’t force kids to read something they’re not interested in.
  • Visit the library. It’s got thousands of books and audiobooks to borrow, computers to use, and magazines to leaf through. Make the library your “go-to” destination for the summer.
  • Think outside the book. Recognize that reading can happen in many formats, from eBooks to magazines to online read-along stories.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get an "I Can Read!" book. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

I Can Read! Books Become an I Can Read! Member

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Review of KC Distance Learning Website

My kids are part of what is being called the iGeneration - what that means is that they have not lived during a time when there wasn't an internet, computers, cell phones, etc.  Many schools and parents are looking for ways to reach these eLearners and to match how they naturally learn, in order to provide them with the best education possible.  But, how to do that?

One way is through online classes. On-line classes are one way to give middle and high school studentsnew options to learn using preferred tools in a familiar environment, and even experience enhanced, one-on-one relationships with educators. Whether they're in need of more assistance, looking for wider range of classes or simply prefer to learn in a medium that they have grown up with, online learning can be a great way to fit your child's needs.

Two of my older boys have taken on-line classes for high school, and have loved them!  My oldest was able to work at his own pace, graduating two years early, and is now attending the University of Nevada, Reno.  My younger son will be starting his Freshman year, and all of his classes will be on-line.  My boys are not the only ones taking advantage of on-line classes, in fact, today there are 1 million children learning online, either part time, full time or between school terms. Additionally, more than 20 percent of schools and educational institutions around the country offer online classes today, and that number should grow by another 30 percent within a couple of years, according to industry research.

From the home-schooled family, the student brushing up on skills to compete at the next level or the child facing challenges in traditional schools such as bullying, KCDL provides academic solutions to fit your child's needs. Visit their website at http://www.onlineschoolsolutions.com/, and then click on your state to find the online school serving your area.

Monday, June 21, 2010

On-line Geo-board

My kiddos absolutely love playing with geo-boards, so I was ecstatic when I found this on-line interactive geo-board for them to play with.  It is a great way to practice geometric skills!

9 reasons to visit your public library

Taken directly from the Reading Rockets website. Here are 9 reasons to visit your public library.

1.Free programs and activities: From author visits to puppet shows to family films, libraries offer programs with kid appeal after school, on the weekends, and during the summer. Ask your librarian for the schedule of upcoming events.

2.Story times: There’s nothing like hearing a good story read by someone who loves to read aloud. Libraries are terrific settings for story times which often include finger plays, games, songs, and crafts that can be learned and enjoyed again at home.

3.Workshops: Many libraries offer workshops that can help enrich your life as an adult and support you as a parent. At many libraries, it is possible to learn to knit, prepare your taxes, update your rÃ©sumÃ©, gain computer skills, or improve your parenting skills.

4.Books: Librarians are happy to make recommendations and most public libraries have a special section just for children’s books.

5.Audiobooks: Listened to a good book lately? Most libraries have a collection of popular adult and children’s titles available for checkout on tape or CD.

6.Movies: Your public library is a great source for free access to the latest blockbusters, family movie classics, documentaries, or favorite TV shows.

7.Music: Want to introduce your children to Beethoven or the Beatles or new children’s songs? Check to see if your library has a collection of music on CD.

8.Magazines and newspapers: Introduce your child to some of the magazines designed just for children. With bold photographs, poems and a joke or two, magazines are another reading choice for beginning readers. Or catch up on the news in your community and share a smile over the comics.

9.Computers: Most public libraries offer free Internet access, computers with educational games for kids, and valuable online resources for teenagers.

Fridge Magnet Writing

Here’s an online interactive fridge magnet website. Move the words around and have a play, then use the words to inspire your own writing.

Vincent Malloy - A Poem Writing Prompt

Watch this Tim Burton movie about a boy named Vincent Malloy told in rhyme.  Then see if you can write your own poem!

Sea Life Number Puzzle

Practice counting, number recognition, and number order with this fun worksheet.

Kindergarten Writing Rubric

The rubric above was designed by Julie Lay and a team of kindergarten teachers from the Redmond

School District in Oregon.  Take a look at your child's writing.  What level are they currently at?  What things do they need to work on to get to the next level?

Friday, June 18, 2010

Roald Dahl

Based on the wonderful world of Roald Dahl, this website features fun teacher downloads and a lot of lesson plan ideas.  To learn more about Roald Dahl, watch this video.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Win a $25 Gift Certificate from Growing Tree Toys -CLOSED

I am constantly looking for great places to buy educational toys for my boys, so I was really excited when I found Growing Tree Toys.  They have toys for all ages starting from birth on up to 11 years and older - a plus when you have a large family with mine ranging in age from preschooler to teen.  They feature some of my favorite brands including: Melissa and Doug, Bananagrams, and Learning Resources Toys.  Their prices are competitive (with an awesome clearance selection) and they offer FREE shipping on orders of $75 or more!

But, perhaps the best thing about Growing Tree Toys is that they are offering a $25 gift certificate to one of the readers of my blog!

Contest ends July 4th!

Visit Growing Tree Toys and leave a comment below telling me what educational toy or toys you would buy if you won!

1. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment below letting me know that you followed.

2. Follow Growing Tree Toys on Twitter and leave a comment below letting me know that you followed.

3. Like Growing Tree Toys on Facebook and leave a comment below letting me know that you did.

4. Tweet about this contest on Twitter, and leave Twitter name in the comments letting me know that you did. Counts for 1 extra entry per day!

5. Subscribe to my blog and leave a comment below.

The Summer of Kung Zhu

We were lucky enough to be chosen to host a a Zhu-riffic Kung-Zhu Party for our boys and some of their friends.  The kids had a blast playing with all of the fun toys.  The excitement started when the box arrived at our house filled with tons of Kung Zhu toys.  My boys already loved Zhu Zhu parts, but pairing them with the Kung Fu aspect was genius!  My boys are Tae Kwan do nuts so they went wild for them - it will definitely be the summer of Kung Zhu at our house!

Dad hard at work putting everything together.

 With the assistance of a helper or two.

Choosing hamsters.  The party kit came with enough hamsters for each boy to get their own.  Several of the moms called later to make sure that it was ok that they came home with them - they were amazed by the generosity of Zhu Zhu Pets™ and MomSelect!

Then it was game on!  Here are a few pics and video of the fun!
(Video by my 14 year old - thank goodness the kiddos are techno savvy!)

transformation of fighting ninja and warriors.

Throughout the summer I will be posting more pictures, games, and snack recipes from the party along with a chance to win your own Kung Zhu pet!

For more information about the Kung Zhu family, visit zhuzhupets.com

Want To Win Kung Zhu pets?

Coffee With the Mrs. is giving away an amazing set:
The winner will receive:

(1) Rock'O Battle Hamster

(1) Drayko Battle Hamster

(1) Ninja Warrior Armor- Dark Jonin

(1) Special Forces Armor - Dune Tracker

(1) Giant Battle Arena

(1) Missle Attack Tower

(1) Dragon Hammer

Altogether that's a $90 value!!

To enter, head over here!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Reading Fluency

Reading fluency is the ability to read with accuracy, speed, and with appropriate expression. Accuracy is the number of words that are read correctly. If your child misreads more than 1 out of every 10 words, the text may be too difficult for them. Reading rate or speed is the rate at which a child is able to read a given text. Non-fluent readers will read more slowly and deliberately while fluent readers will read quickly and easily.

To determine your child's fluency:

1. Select material that is at your child's reading level.

2. Ask your child to read aloud for 1 minute.

3. Make a note of any words your child misreads.

4. Count the total # of correct words your child read in 1 minute.

5. The result is your child's reading rate or wpm (words read per minute).

The table below shows the grade level benchmarks for fluency.

Adam Ant Finds Perimeter

Here is a fun mini-lesson on perimeter with Adam the ant. Adam walks around the figures and gives your child a chance to solve the perimeter. A fun and easy explanation.

Adam Ant

And for more perimeter practice, try these:

Household math
Area and Perimeter Journal

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Printable Calendars

These calendar templates and printable pages can be used to build calendar skills as well as many other skills.

January -- printable or editable version

February -- printable or editable version

March -- printable or editable version

April -- printable or editable version

May -- printable or editable version

June -- printable or editable version

July -- printable or editable version

August -- printable or editable version

September -- printable or editable version

October -- printable or editable version

November -- printable or editable version

December -- printable or editable version

Summer Fun Journal

Your kids will love writing with the summer themed journal prompts here. Ms. Robin sings writing prompts on each page. Your kids will enjoy writing and illustrating their own journals.

1. Print out the Summer Fun Journal for each child.

2.Your child can help by stapling the pages together or punch with three holes and tie the journals together with yarn.

Teaching Your Child How to Read Sight Words

A Sight Word is any word that is known by a reader automatically. Sight Words (sometimes called the Dolch Word List) are some of the most frequently used words in the English language. Even though there are only 220 of them, Sight Words comprise approximately 50 to 70 percent of any given general, non-technical text. Therefore, teaching Sight Words as early as possible is considered a crucial part of elementary education.

Find out how many sight words your child knows using this

Sight Word assessment.

Using the words your child does not know, you can print out flashcards or make your own using index cards for your child to work on. Here are a few printable ones:

Emergent words 1
Emergent words 2
Emergent words 3
Sight Words Workbook

We keep our sight words in a small box similar to the system in this video, and practice 5 to 10 minutes each day.

How to Make Manicotti

Cooking with your kids is not only fun, it’s a great way for a child to experience that true sense of accomplishment that comes from creating a work of their own from start to finish. This recipe comes from KidzKitchen, a popular feature of the children’s online magazine KidzClix.net. The complete recipe is given below.

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
1/3 cup finely chopped parsley
½ teaspoon salt
32 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 eggs

1 pound manicotti (large tubular pasta)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
4 cups of your favorite pasta sauce
½ cup freshly grated parmesan

1. Place filling ingredients in medium bowl. Mix together until combined.
2. In large pot of boiling salted water, add olive oil. Cook manicotti until somewhat firm to the bite and about ¾ cooked (about 7 minutes, depending on brand). Carefully drain manicotti.
3. Spread 2 cups sauce over bottom of 13X9X2 inch baking pan. Fill each manicotti evenly with filling. Arrange stuffed pasta in single layer in prepared dish; sprinkle with chopped basil. Spoon remaining sauce over; sprinkle ½ cup parmesan evenly over the top.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake manicotti covered with aluminum foil for 30 minutes. Carefully remove foil and bake uncovered about 10 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes and serve.

Explore Anne Frank's hiding place

Today marks the anniversary of Anne Frank’s birth. During World War II, her family hid from German occupying forces. They were eventually discovered, and Anne later died in a Jewish concentration camp.

Anne Frank left behind a diary chronicling the time of hiding. It has since become a defining story of World War II. And now you can explore it in even more depth.

This site is an amazing companion to the Diary of Anne Frank. It contains detailed biographies of the people involved. And you’ll see a timeline of the diary's events.

But most impressively, it accurately recreates Anne Frank's hiding place. You can interactively move through the rooms. You’ll see them as they were at the time.

Portions of the diary are narrated for each room. The portions are linked to the rooms where they were likely written. It brings the events to life in dramatic way.

Anne Frank's Hiding Place

Mendeleyev's Periodic Table

Dmitri Mendeleyev was first to put the elements into an organized table that clearly explained the relationship each element had to the others.

A college student made the video below as a report for his chemistry class.
Watch and learn about the history of the periodic table- it's entertaining and very informative!

For a printable periodic table, click here.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Chain Game

Transform words by changing them one sound at a time. Explore phonics and word-building and develop stronger spelling skills.

The Chain Game

Make the Band

Create a musical composition for a band of kids and dogs using the control panel to choose the tempo, vocalists and instruments for the melody and rhythm. Build vocabulary by learning words that describe music.

Make the Band

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Look What Came In The Mail

My kiddos were super excited when they saw a giant box filled with all of thse wonderful Kung Zhu toys inside. We will be hosting a Kung Zhu toy party for 12 wild boys next week! Wish me luck and look for updates and contests on this blog!

Toddler and Preschool Activity Calendars

Looking for ways to keep your little ones busy! These printable activity calendars will give you a start! You can print out June's calendar here.
Additional calendars are posted monthly here.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Shark Place Value Game

If your kiddos are learning about place value, you might want to have them play this fun shark game. They simply match the place value blocks with the number in the bubbles.
To Learn more about Place Value

Play Simon On-Line

Do you remember that old game Simon from when you were a kid? Well, now you can play on-line at this site. Great for building memory skills and working on patterns and relationships. Tons of fun, and your kiddos will have no idea they are learning!

Free Life Along a Prairie River poster

If you and your kiddos are learning about ecosystems (or animals), you might want to order this free poster. Simply fill out the form on this page to get one.
There are also free teacher's guides and student activities on this page.

AMERICA The Story of US

The History Channel has a brand new series called AMERICA The Story of US. They are offering this entire DVD set to every school in the United States for FREE. This does include homeschools. DVD requests must be made prior to July 1, 2010. DVDs will be mailed around August 2010, and free shipping is included in this offer.

Click here to receive your copy.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Portable Word Wall

Sir Ken Robinson - Nourishing Kids' Creativity

Smories is a website that features kids reading the stories they have written out loud. You simply click on each child's picture to view their story telling video. The stories can even be watched from your iPhone or iPod Touch if you have one

There are plans are to to publish 50 more Smories every month. Authors of any age and skill can write and submit a story, just as long as it's original.

Maybe watchng a few will inspire your children to have a go at writing one themselves? I know I will be incorporating this idea into some of my own writing lessons with my kiddos!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

What's My Angle?

If your kids are learning about angles, you will want to check out this fun flash based website. The site features tutorials as well as games all about angles. Fun and educational, who could ask for anything more?

Scissor Skills

Cutting accurately with scissors is a skill we sometimes take for granted, but scissor skills are just as important as other fine motor skills. Cutting requires the coordintion of many skills including fine motor coordination, bilateral coordination, and eye-hand coordination. Here are some ways to practice this important skill.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Barnes and Noble On-Line Storytime

Barnes and Noble has a new program of on-line stories with well loved children stories read by authors and celebrities! This month features Fancy Nancy read by author, Jane O'Connor.


text:
Monday, October 22, 2012

The Rivals

Mars near the red star Antares on Monday October 22, 2012. Mars is the bright object to the right of centre, 2/3rds of the way down, Antares is the bright object near centre. Mercury is the bright object just above the roofs (click to embiggen).Close-up of Mars near Antares.

As you know, the name Antares means "Rival of Mars". Both objects are red, and for a good part of the year they are of similar brightness. Of course one is a red giant star, the other a modest sized planet. Ironically, Antares is so big that Mar's orbit would lie inside the rival star.

Tonight they looked good together, giving the Scorpion a very unusual shape.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who does Horizon Academy serve?

Horizon Academy serves students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities in a 75-mile radius of the Kansas City area. We are an independent, coeducational school and we educate students in grades 1-12 with diagnosed learning and/or attention challenges. Students who attend Horizon Academy may have language-based learning disabilities (Dyslexia, Auditory Processing Disorder, Dysgraphia, or Receptive and/or Expressive Language Disorder), Dyscalculia, and/or ADHD. We hold accreditation with the Independent Schools Association of Central States and AdvancED, and we are a Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education Approved Private Agency.

How do I know if my child has a learning disability?

If you are still in the exploratory phase, we recommend psychoeducational testing. Once testing has been complete, please feel free to call our admissions team to determine if our program is appropriate for your child. While the staff at Horizon Academy cannot diagnose a learning disability, we will be offering free reading screenings Fall 2016 for children ages 5-7. The Free Early Reading Screening Program is built on the body of research which shows that at an early age children can be reliably screened for the skills that must be present before reading and spelling can successfully develop.

What does the admissions process look like?

For admission to the regular school year program and the June summer program, there are four steps (tour, application, screening, decision) which are outlined on our admissions page.

I worry that my student will have a difficult time leaving friendships behind; how does Horizon Academy ease the transition?

The transition to a new school is rarely easy. We want the transition to be as smooth as possible, so we encourage students and their families to maintain current friendships through scouts, extra-curricular activities, sports, and their religious affiliations. Our counseling staff will work with your student and your family to ease the transition process. We also offer a number of programs designed to help students learn how to make new friends and sustain relationships.

How long is the average stay?

The number of years at Horizon Academy varies from student to student. Each student receives an Individualized Education Plan and will be taught according to his or her specific needs for the length of time needed based on progress, performance and assessment data. Determining when a student is ready to transition is a team decision made by the student, parents, teachers and therapists.

I work full-time; does Horizon Academy offer before or after school programming?

Yes, for a fee, before care is offered from 7:30-8:15 AM on a drop-in basis. We also  offer after school enrichment programming from 3:15-4:30 PM including homework club, chess, fencing, yoga, art, sports, and sensory science to name a few (fees for clubs vary) which will be open to students in the community beginning Fall 2016.

Extended care is available for a fee from 4:30-5:30 PM.

What is the tuition?

Tuition (2016-2017 school year):

  • Elementary & Middle School: $24,900/year
  • High School: $25,200/year

Is financial aid available?

Horizon Academy raises funds each year to give direct, need-based financial aid to our families who qualify. Financial aid covers a portion of tuition. Families may also be eligible for an educational loan through


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Progress…in Baby Steps

My inability to accomplish very much in the way of progress this last month finally got to me enough late last week that I spent some time on a few small projects. To start with, Abigail and I finally pulled out, primed and painted her headboard – we opted for spray primer and paint which is much easier when you are dealing with wrought iron – a real time-saver. I only wish I could have found a creamy white instead of either stark white white or serious almond. We went with the true white over the almond since it matches the other pieces in her room better….but it almost feels a bit TOO white. I would love to know if any of you has found a somewhat creamy white spray paint they can recommend? Please share!! We can always top the headboard off with another coat later. For now, it certainly is fresher and prettier than when we found it.

Note: while Abigail and I had a lot of fun during the project itself, we actually spent much more time trying to clean up afterwards. Not wanting to paint any of our shoes, we stayed barefoot during the painting, and as a result, both of us got layers of spray primer and paint caked on the bottoms of our feet! We had some hilarious bonding time sitting together on Abigail’s vanity with all four of our feet in her little sink, trying to scrub the paint off. Next we will wear old socks that can get dirty and then be thrown away after the job is done.

I also finally finished the big boys’ window dressing. Their room has had small metal blinds in there since we moved in, which collect so much dust and cannot be helpful for Jonathan’s allergies. I’ve had curtains for the window for some time, but didn’t want to install the hardware to hang them with until I’d chosen a paint color for their wall. (So we don’t have to remove hardware or try to to paint around it once we finally get to their walls.) And, after trying nine varying shades of blue I think we’ve got the right color, at last. I primed and painted areas just large enough to allow for mounting their curtain rods and holdbacks – many thanks to Jay who did the job of installation. When I have some more time I will go back and prime and paint the entire room. For now though, the boys are quite happy with their window. Nicolas, upon seeing it for the first time announced, “Hey Mom, WOW! It looks just like the windows in the movies!” I’ll take that as a compliment.

The other thing now occupying my “spare” time is my search for The Dishwasher…that will replace our terribly inefficient, loud, and not really washing very well any more (think greasy deposits of day old goat’s milk still on the inside of the plastic cups after going through the wash – ugh!) vintage KitchenAid Superba by Hobart . We believe the dishwasher may actually be older than I am. I hear they were/are great machines, but I think we will be parting with ours soon! I had my eye on a low end Bosch, but have heard from several different sources that they are not easy to find parts for, or repair on your own…..and since my resident handyman saves us loads of money by doing these things himself…I may need to look elsewhere. So, I’m back to the drawing board. Anyone who’s recently bought a dishwasher, or has a machine they love dearly (and that is quiet and cleans well!), feel free to chime in with your recommendations! I’m all ears!!

  1. Mom/Ruth
    Aug 18, 2007

    Baby steps are good! We’ve had 2 dishwashers that I’d love to have again. The first was a top-end Kenmore with a rebuilt motor we found at Sears in Hawaii in the ’90s. The price was right, and it was both super quiet and performed well. The second was a new Maytag, not high-end as far as I know, that had just been installed in the house we rented when we first moved to Dallas. The GE that came with the house we bought performs fine (of course the two of us don’t give it the toughest workout!) but it is typically noisy. Though compared to the garbage disposal it could be considered quiet – but that’s another story.

  2. Richard Steenson
    Aug 19, 2007

    The dishwasher in the house we moved to in Flower Mound had a top rack mounted on a flimsy guide and was always at risk for falling. It was also a very loud dishwasher in a kitchen that is open to the family room. We bought a Bosch from Lowe’s late last year, and love it. We especially enjoy how very quiet it is.

  3. Lindsey
    Aug 21, 2007

    So glad Josiah is better, I can’t believe he had a fever of 104 degrees, that must have really been scary. Hope everyone stays feeling well!


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Managing funds to grow Australian horticulture

The funds that we invest are provided by the Australian horticultural industry (growers and supply chain), the Australian Government and co-investment partners.

Hort Innovation invests these funds into research and development and marketing (growing demand) programs and activities that increase productivity, farm gate profitability, and boost sales of Australian produce in Australia and overseas.

Our investments are aimed at giving growers the knowledge and services they require to build a profitable, competitive, and sustainable business — for today as well as tomorrow.

Investments made in marketing are designed to improve activities beyond the farm gate to better meet customer needs in both domestic and export markets.

Investments in research and development (R&D) address high priority industry needs, such as pest incursion control, food security and gaining global market access. Using systematic experimentation or analysis in any field of science, technology, economics or business, investment in R&D aims to acquire or apply knowledge that improves any aspect of the production, processing, storage, transport or marketing of horticulture products.

Industry funding

Industry funds are derived in two ways:

Growers of horticultural products pay a statutory transaction levy on the sale of their produce.* These levies are collected by the Australian Government through the Levies Revenue Service and distributed to Hort Innovation for investment. More than fifty levies are collected in the horticulture industry across 35 commodities.

* with the exception of the Processed Potato R&D levy which is paid by processors.

Collective Industry Funds

Industry sectors that do not have a statutory levy in place may apply to Hort Innovation to be recognised as a Collective Industry Fund, where funds are contributed by growers and managed in the same manner as a statutory levy.

Download the Collective Industry Funds criteria.

Australian Government funding

The Australian Government also contributes funding up to 0.5% of the aggregate gross value of farm gate production (GVP) of all horticultural industries. These funds are then applied to research and development programs at the discretion of the Hort Innovation board.

Co-investment funding

Partners seeking to achieve similar research and development outcomes also provide funding.

Our two-pool investment model

Our investments in R&D and marketing are made for both the near and long term. This is reflected in our two pool investment model:

Pool 1

R&D and marketing investments within Pool 1 are made specifically on behalf of levy paying industries. These investments focus on the explicit needs identified and prioritised by the industry from which the levy funds have been derived.

R&D investment within this pool is funded from grower levies that are matched with Australian Government funds up to 0.5% of the GVP for each industry sector that has a statutory levy or a recognised collective industry fund.

In general, investments within Pool 1 provide outcomes that have a 1-5 year delivery timeframe and, in the case of R&D, span a wide scope of investment types and are more applied in their nature.

Pool 2

Investments made within Pool 2 seek to utilise Australian Government funding by attracting and partnering co-investment from other sources to invest in long-term and larger strategic projects.

Typically outcomes from Pool 2 investments will provide broad all-of-horticulture benefits that will impact the longer run future needs of the industry. These investments have time delivery horizons of between 1-15 years and focus on a more concise but intensive span of investment areas.


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Flawless Victory!

Sorta, anyway. (Link goes to the graph of my word count by day on the NaNoWriMo website.)

I mean, I think probably anyone who's ever done National Novel Writing Month has probably heard of someone who pulled off an incredible comeback. The first year I did NaNoWriMo, I was sure that the one Municipal Liason (in charge of organizing events for a given region) was going to fail, but then he wrote thousands upon thousands of words in a few days, to the point where he was beating me in word count despite my diligent adherence to meeting the expected words per day.

I've just never expected to pull one off myself. I've never seemed to be able to write more than two or three thousand words in a day, and usually I can't maintain the upper end of that pace for more than a few days at a time. This year, though, I didn't have a choice. I tried to get a few words out on November 1st, but in between helping with the Obama campaign and some dissatisfaction with the story I was trying to write, I didn't get anything else done for over a week - and when I did start writing again, I ditched the story I had started on the 1st in favor or a new one. Essentially returning me to square one in terms of word count.

The upside to this change in plans is that with the new choice of story, I was able to get fired up enough to maintain a pace of nearly four thousand words a day for the first few days, almost getting me back to par. I did hit kind of a slump in the middle thanks to a nasty case of writer's block (brought on in part by the scenes I was writing), but in the end I recovered and hit the goal line with maybe four hours left in the month.

So, what happens now? Well, in the end I wrote fan fiction. That's another thing I never expected to do; I've seen more than one story on Fanfiction.net that's over 100k words. Never did understand how people managed that kind of thing, but at this rate I'm going to be writing one of those myself. Yeah, the story's not done. Actually, the story before that story isn't done, since what I wrote is essentially a sequel to Midchildan Music, a story I started a while back.

It does simplify my goals a little. I need to clean up Midchildan Music's final chapter, post that, deal with some retcons that need to be done to Midchildan Music as a result of inconsistencies that I introduced in the story I wrote over the past few weeks (and things I don't like in Midchildan Music), and then work on finishing the story that was this year's winning NaNoWriMo project.

And somewhere along the line, I'll probably try to go back to last year's NaNoWriMo. That one didn't end successfully, but it's also a work of original fiction, and I can still try to finish that up sometime...

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Romney at CPAC: “I am sorry that I will not be your president”

posted at 3:21 pm on March 15, 2013 by Allahpundit

Let’s be honest. The only way he could have made this speech truly interesting and newsworthy was by flagellating himself over what went wrong last year. True to form, he passed on that option for something safe, well-meaning, but ultimately pointless instead. BuzzFeed had a post this morning headlined “Mitt Romney wants to apologize to conservatives,” which suggested some eyebrow-raising introspection to come, but Byron York quickly shot that down and in the end nothing particularly penetrating materialized. Here’s the closest he got:

Of course, I left the race disappointed that we didn’t win. But I also left honored and humbled to have represented values we believe in and to speak for so many good and decent people. We’ve lost races before, and in the past, those setbacks prepared us for larger victories. It is up to us to make sure that we learn from my mistakes, and from our mistakes, so that we can win the victories those people and this nation depend upon…

If I were to offer advice to any president of the United States, it would be this: do whatever you can do to keep America the most prosperous and free and powerful nation on earth…

Each of us in our own way will have to step up and meet our responsibility. I am sorry that I will not be your president – but I will be your co-worker and I will stand shoulder to shoulder with you. In the end, we will win just as we have won before, and for the same reason: because our cause is right…and just.

Full transcript here. He did praise the GOP’s governors as thought leaders and pointedly included Chris Christie in his list of blue-state GOPers worth listening to, a gracious note coming from a guy who, more than anyone else, might have reason to endorse CPAC’s decision to exclude Obama’s new best buddy this year. But if the goal was to return to political relevance — which it seems to be, as he’s “eager to contribute to the national debate” — then the quickest path back would have been to use this speech to lay out his self-perceived mistakes in detail as a warning to the next generation of Republican candidates. A missed opportunity, but oh well. At least the crowd received him warmly.

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The Marlborough

Building Name: The Marlborough

The Marlborough Back Bay

Location: Back Bay

Located at 416 Marlborough Street in Boston’s Back Bay, The Marlborough is an elegant concierge building with elevators, common roof deck and on-site workout room. Unit finishes at The Marlborough vary depending on previous owners renovations. If you would like to buy sell or rent a condo at The Marlborough please contact our Back Bay Boston Condo specialist at

Current Listings: Here is a list of properties for sale and rent at The Marlborough.

  1. 2 beds, 2 full baths
    Home size: 1,009 sq ft
    Lot size: 1,009 sqft
    Listed with Gibson Sotheby's International Realty
  2. 1 bed, 1 full bath
    Home size: 749 sq ft
    Lot size: 749 sqft
    Listed with Peabody Real Estate

See all 416 Marlborough .
(all data current as of 5/23/2017)

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.


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The House Of Tap Project

The House of Tap Project was initially conceived by Daniel Leveillé in 2013. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, supported by 136 contributors and four sponsors (Operation Tap, Ruben Sanchez Dancewear, So Dança and Sue Burckhardt), the project finally materialized in November 2015, thanks to Alain Crevoisier (developer), Tabata Hyppolite, Sam Luk (graphic designers) and many others.

Visit our crowdfunding campaign and check the videos that 12 young tap dancers around the world recorded to promote the project

See the list of our helpers here.

The goals set for the platform are numerous:

  • promote tap dance on a global scale;
  • help tap dancers from around the world to come into contact;
  • allow dancers to promote their work for free;
  • facilitate access to tap dance for beginners;
  • educate dancers and people who don’t know about tap;
  • initiate discussions and debates about tap dance and try to find solutions to make the art form move forward.

The House of Tap Project can be divided into two distinct sections:

The database

It allows the website users, once they have created an account on the website or via Facebook, to create profile pages in the following categories: artists, schools, companies, festivals, shows, organisations, events. The ‘artist’ pages are reserved for professional dancers and teachers. The ‘company’ pages are also reserved for professionals. To guarantee the quality of the profile pages presented on the website, they are checked by an administrator before being posted on the platform.

These pages are all organised in the same way. Users can add photos, an introduction, contact links to social media, as well as videos showing their work. Furthermore, the pages can be linked to one another. For example, a professional dancer can link his page to the school where he teaches, the company in which he dances or the next workshop that he will be giving. Likewise, a school can promote a workshop by creating an event and linking that page to the school’s profile page etc.

The critical content

This can be found in the sections on the website’s homepage: the blog, the spotlight, and the « picture/video of the week » section.

The blog contains reposts of existing articles as well as posts written by a group of writers chosen by the website’s administration. These articles can be about any theme in relation to tap dance: history, personal experience, interviews, book, documentary or film reviews, video presentations, etc.

The spotlight section allows the administration to feature a profile page contained in the database to promote a school, an artist, an event, a festival, etc. for one to two months.

The idea of the project is to promote tap dance as a modern art form all over the globe for all kinds of tap enthusiasts: people wishing to start tap dancing, beginners, amateurs, professionals, promoters, agents, sponsors, etc., by giving an open access to a database updated on a daily basis by the users of the website and the administrators. Anyone can register and add to the database by creating new profile pages, filing new events and writing stories.

This site uses a revolutionary new tool called "kinaps", which compiles all the information of the website in an innovative and intuitive way, helping you to compare the various profile pages of the website on one screen. Check it!

How does the site work?

If you want to be part of our project, all you have to do is register or connect to via your Facebook account by clicking on « login » in the menu. You will then be able to create new profile pages, new events, write articles in the forum and post comments on the articles already published.

Get involved in the House Of Tap Project !

Who are we?


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Mums Mums + video premiere!

On Friday House of Wallenberg's clubnight Mums Mums is back at the Stockholm Museum of Modern Art. Tonight will be the sneak premiere of brand new video to "Say it aint so" - the last single from "Legends". This single will be released by Perez Hilton on the 3'rd of December, but on Friday you can see it at Mums Mums!