LEARNING FRENCH USING TECHNOLOGY

DUOLINGO IS GREAT FOR LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGE

This fall Olivia is going to a new school - into a french immersion program. 
I feel it would be very beneficial if old Dad brushed up on his french. How?
We know that language is best learned when you are immersed into an environment where only that language is spoken. But, if that is not possible you can turn to the internet. You can watch Youtube videos, search up worksheets, read blogs...or you can use an 'APP'. Yes, there is an app to learn french (or a handful of other languages) called DUOLINGO.

Duolingo is awesome! 

Yes, there is 'work' to do, but, not the classic "let's conjugate the verbs...je ___, tu ____, il/elle ____

This site makes learning french kind of fun. It is set up like a game - a quiz game! Oooh I love games, especially quiz games. I really like when they start off really easy and you feel so smart. Then I adore (that's french for love) when the challenge level rises as if there is an algorithm tracking all your answers/mistakes and tailoring the questions for you...hmmm

It does start off kind of easy with multiple choice formats, or even pictures...

easy enough

Even if you have no idea what is going on and you guess right you can still learn a bit by the explanations the site gives you.

ahh, that's what it meant

Then is gets a bit harder. Luckily, you can hover your mouse over the words and get a translation...help that eliminates that feeling of total terror when you feel completely lost in another language. 

tu mange (hover over apple to see if it is feminine or masculine)

They keep in interesting by mixing in french and english - makes you think (and learn too!)
If you make a mistake you get an explanation. There are more indepth conversations in a message board that can be helpful as well.

Oooh, I made a mistake

BUT, what I love about technology is that there is much more than just typing and reading...you can click on the little icon and listen to the words being spoken. Another level of learning right there!

I can hear the words...in FRENCH!

And, to keep you motivated you get points everytime you finish a 'round' of learning. If you finish an entire lesson plan you get a crown! Ooh. You can go a bit further by setting your daily goal of X number of points, and there are extra bonuses along the way.

I've met my daily goal, yay me!

I love how the lessons are set up. They are split in sections/topics; starting with basics and you have to earn your way to more advanced stuff. 
There is a small lesson you should read before tacking the questions. They are easy to follow and usually have charts to refer to if needed.

On top of all this there are a couple of other extra learning tools.

Flashcards. We all know flashcards work for memorizing single words or phrases - well, they've done it digitally. The great part is that you can read the word, hear the word, see it in context. Isn't technology great?!

There is also a practice section where you are bombarded with a random assortment of questions. It's a timed, high pressure 'game', that makes things fun (if you like that sort of thing).

The best part is you can review your questions and answers. Another great way to learn.

I have found this site and app so useful. You are given all kinds of different ways of learning french (or as I mentioned earlier a bunch of other languages too) and it is fun along the way.
A great tool to have in your toolbox of learning :)

SCHOOL LUNCH TIME IS BACK

MAKING SCHOOL LUNCHES AGAIN

Finding that balance of good quality nutritious food and 'junk' is tricky.

Go into any classroom and you will see a variety of lunches - from one extreme (junky): lunchables and a pop
To the other extreme (hippy-dippy): a free range hard boiled egg in the shape of a hello kitty on a bed of organic kale.

We try to meet in the middle.

I have a little fun with the extremes in this video - from 'would your grandparents recognize the food' to POGOs!

I really think you can't go wrong with my strategy: A foundation heavy on the fruits and vegetables. A sprinkling of things considered unhealthy, processed, sugared, nitrate-ized....this strategy works well, even on that day when you say, 'we need to do groceries'. You can use what you have. That's what I do in this video:

We all have time constraints, energy limits, budgets, picky eaters...it's the classic economics question - marginal gain per unit of energy put into a task.
How much time and effort do you need to put into a lunch to make it just healthy, tasty, and cheap enough?

Hopefully this last video will inspire you to do the least amount possible...with the most reward. AKA - easy to make lunches that are tasty and healthy:

MORE LUNCH IDEAS FROM THIS BLOG

A PLAYLIST OF THE BEST SCHOOL LUNCH YOUTUBERS I HAVE FOUND

LET KIDS BE BORED

BEING BORED IS ESSENTIAL FOR CREATIVITY

I remember being bored as a kid. I'd be bored with my toys, bored with TV, bored with books, so I'd complain to my parents, "I'm bored". They'd throw back the typical parent response, 'go find something to do'.
I'd trudge back to my room, lie on my bed and be bored. 
But, a little while later I'd be busy again, drawing or cutting up old hockey cards and creating a new game with them. I'd be outside climbing the tree stringing up rope to catch a bird. Something like that. I'd end up creating something; a game, a picture, an inventive bird catcher (that never really worked). That's what you did when you were bored.

Is that still happening today?

It sounds like not that often. With overscheduled kids, working parents that feel guilty 'doing nothing' on a Saturday, cell phones constantly grabbing their attention...there is just no time to 'get bored'.

But, it turns out being bored is very, very, very good for the brain.

There is more and more evidence coming out making the connection between boredom and creative thinking/brain health. Turns out letting our mind wander, getting bored, zoning out, daydreaming, all those kind of things are very important for the brain.

Another one of those perks of slowing life down or simplifying life. Being 'unproductive' is the new productive!

I read a great article - linking boredom and creativity - urging parents to rebel against our culture of 'being productive' at all times and instead take an alternate route and devote time to your inner self (and appearing to be unproductive). This article does a great job of explaining how the brain reacts to boredom.

I also stumbled across a similar podcast explaining how boredom is NEEDED to make the brain as creative as possible. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-school-of-greatness/e/51883202


Just something to think about. 

SCHOOL LUNCH CONTAINERS

WE'VE HAD A FEW LUNCH CONTAINER SYSTEMS OVER THE YEARS

The foundation for a good school lunch starts, not with food, but, with the containers you send the food in.

Wow, what a good quote I just made up!

Over the years we have had a variety of lunchboxes and for the most part they have all done the job well.

Classic metal box lunch system - apparently not cool for the grade 3 crowd

We started out with a Lock & Lock system. It is an ideal size, with removable compartments that allow a lot of flexibility - the container can hold a sandwich one day and the next day can be transformed into four small containers of [insert food such as chickpeas, chicken, tomatoes, lettuce]. 

These containers are durable - we have been using them consistently for eight years and they are still in mint condition.

Here is a video showing the lock and lock system and how we used it:

Last year we were given a premium lunchbox - A GOGREEN LUNCHBOX - to try out. We teamed up with FENIGO.COM who gave us the lunch containers to review.

The Gogreen is a big container split into different compartments - I think calling it a Bento Box would be fitting. It holds a ton of food (great, for our giant eaters) and it keeps everything in...as in no leaks, even with wet foods!

The Roots Lunchbox from Costco was what Elliott used for his lunches most of last year. He did not like the big Gogreen box ... and I have a feeling taking a giant green lunchbox out of his backpack somehow embarrassed him. So, we bought him a 'generic' lunchbox - the ROOTS one from costco.

There are many other ad hoc containers we use - tupperware, ziplock, sistema. Most of these were smaller containers used for specific purposes like holding sauces, dips, yogurt.

Tupperware snack containers - still going after 10 years

Kids love dip for veggies. Great for ketchup, sour cream, tartar sauce (maybe?)

You might be surprised to learn that we found some of these at the dollar store. Including this very useful yogurt container that keeps yogurt and granola (toppings) separated.

Rubbermaid yogurt container / separator

To see this container in action, here is a little video for you. Be prepared to laugh.

HOCKEY THEMED WORKSHEETS SPELLING

NHL HOCKEY WORKSHEETS TO WORK ON SPELLING

Spelling takes time and repetition - things that can be really boring for some kids. You can add some interest using hockey words.

For kindergarten kiddies you can label equipment and leave out the first letter. They can sound it out and fill it in. Easy, fun, and full of learning.

Primary learners can have more of a challenge (and some fun) unscrambling the words. I've added some hardcore hockey slang in a quiz section at the bottom.

Answers to the quiz above:
WHEELS
TWIG
BISCUIT
BUCKET

Another example of a hockey themed word scramble. This one is tough. 

Answers to the word scramble

1) hockey

2) skate

3) hat trick

4) puck

5) slapshot

6) power play
7) penalty
8) stick
9) boards
10) body check
11) defense
12) forward
13) helmet
14) offside
15) goal
16) assist
17) referee
18) bench
19) water bottle
20) jersey
21) Wayne Gretzky
22) goalie
23) iceing
24) breakaway

MORE HOCKEY THEMED WORKSHEETS - MATH & GEOGRAPHY

AN OLD INDIVIDUAL LIQUOR PERMIT FROM THE 1930s

In the 30's you needed a permit to buy booze!

Way back in the 1930s you could not go out to the corner store and buy a bottle of something [insert poison of choice], no, no, it was very regulated. There was no push by the province's Premier to make beer cheap (FORD and his buck a beer!). No it was a different time when alcohol was the devils juice. Prohibition was on in the States and up here in Canada we were almost as strict. There were many 'dry' places out there.
What I found out was that during this era you had to have a permit to buy liquor. Apparently, it was $2 to buy it and you had to show it everytime you bought booze. You took it with you to the liquor store and they would sign, date, and write what you bought. It sounds like you even had to have it when you bought a beer at a hotel bar. It was a method of tracking drinking habits, and allowed store employees or even police to see how much a person has been drinking and put a stop to it!

I ran across an old liquor permit by chance. I bought a book from a yard sale - A James Bond book, DR. NO (the inspiration for Austin Powers' Dr. Evil) - and this permit was in the book being used as a book mark. 

 The cover feels like a passport - like hard fabric. It was made to last, and it has.

The first page has some interesting personal information. Apparently, the permit was owned by a local resident, Michael McCormick, who was a chauffeur with the City Coach Company.

He did not buy a lot of liquor.
But, very interesting to see how things have changed. The perception of alcohol and the methods used to help alcoholics are vastly different. 

HOCKEY THEMED WORKSHEET FOR MATH AND GEOGRAPHY

MAKING MATH AND GEOGRAPHY FUN USING AN NHL HOCKEY THEME

Do you have hockey obsessed kids? We do. So, I took advantage of that interest in all things hockey and made up some 'fun' problems for the kids to do over the summer break. 


Geography - our middle guy was kind of lost when it came to geography. It was 'boring' to him. But, take a map with NHL logos on it and all of the sudden there is some interest. 
One way to learn the provinces of Canada is by hockey team right?



Math - Math can get tedious, with all the repetition and questions that have no relevance to real-life. Sports can change that! Hockey is full of math; be it stats, probability, jersey numbers...here is a chance to make questions 'fun' and give them life. 

I tried to add some connection to the questions by creating a story - you've been called up to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs! How far do you travel to play the Winnipeg Jets...and the story (and math questions) continue from there.

 My true goal here was to work on geography, so I keep making them refer back to the map...and the math practice is just a bonus.

 I made sure to include a few of the children's fav players to keep their interest peaked. And, a small art break (get creative with jersey design!)

 I have a soft spot for local heros - my fav player when I was growing up was Doug Gilmour. He's from our town, so I tried to make that connection with the kids. It was a great way to drill down to a more local level in the Geography dept.

 Hockey as a theme makes is so easy to incorporate everything from probability, percentages, logic...to FRENCH! Oui! Ils jouent de hockey au Quebéc! So, when you travel to Montreal to play a game get ready to work on some french words.

 Calculating time is easy to work in too - you've calculated how far you need to travel, now, how long will it take to get there? 

 Expanding the map and introducing a few familiar places in the USA is not hard - there are teams in Florida and California. Places they've heard of or been too - Tampa Bay is not far from Disney :) 

 Then just let the creativity fly, like the puck does when the D-man takes a one-T from the blueline...