Invitation

January brings the snow

„January brings the snow,
Makes our feet and fingers glow.
February brings the rain,
Thaws the frozen lake again.
March brings breezes sharp and shrill,
Shakes the dancing daffodil.
April brings the primrose sweet,
Scatters daisies at our feet.
May brings flocks of pretty lambs,
Skipping by their fleecy dams.
June brings tulips, lillies, roses,
Fills the children’s hands with posies.
Hot July brings cooling showers,
Apricots and gillyflowers.
August brings the sheaves of corn,
Then the harvest home is borne.
Warm September brings the fruit,
Sportsmen then begin to shoot.
Brown October brings the pheasant,
Then to gather nuts is pleasant.
Dull November brings the blast,
Then the leaves go whirling past.
Chill December brings the sleet,
Blazing fire and Christmas treat.”

INVITATION

For more poems and songs go to the link below: www.kidsnurseryrhymes.co.uk or  „Kids Nursery Rhymes and Poems” .

With Thanks to www.kidsnurseryrhymes.co.uk  for this rhyme.

 

Tags: children, Christmas, flowers, rhyme, snow

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

 

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,800 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

WINTER QUOTES

“Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it.”(J. W von Goethe, German playwright, poet, novelist and dramatist, 1749-1832)

“For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned, it is the season of the harvest.”(The Talmud)

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”(Anne Bradstreet, British poet, 1612-1672)

“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.”(William Blake, English poet, painter and engraver, 1757-1827)

“Blow, blow, thou winter wind, thou art not so unkind as man’s ingratitude!”(William Shakespeare, English playwright, poet, 1564-1616)

“One kind word can warm three winter months.”(Japanese proverb)

“Spring, summer and fall fill us with hope; winter alone reminds us of the human condition.”(Mignon McLaughlin, American journalist and author, 1913-1983)

Beautiful Christmas cards made ​​by our students.
Merry Christmas to all!

Tags: Christmas cards, Christmas tree, Goethe, poet, quotes, Shakespeare, snow, winter

IT’S WINTERTIME !

      Winter is a magic season, although it’s not always friendly. Sometimes it’s a moment of seeing inside of us, of introspection; other times it means dynamism, generosity and joy. In the dictionary, the word “winter” is referred to as: “the season between autumn and spring comprising in the northern hemisphere usually the months of December, January and February or as reckoned astronomically extending from the December solstice to the March equinox”.(Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

          We totally agree, but a definition could not include the very essence of this beautiful season, the reasons why kids love it so much: the holidays, the snow and skiing or snowboarding and the Christmas tree with presents under it.

 

 

Writers and artists were inspired by this season and created remarkable works of art: for instance, the Danish painter Peder Mork (1859-1941) painted “A Mountain Torrent in a Winter Landscape”.  

 

Winter

by William  Shakespeare

 

When icicles hang by the wall

And Dick the shepherd blows his nail

And Tom bears logs into the hall,

And milk comes frozen home in pail,

When Blood is nipped and ways be foul,

Then nightly sings the staring owl,

Tu-who;

Tu-whit, tu-who: a merry note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

When all aloud the wind doth blow,

And coughing drowns the parson’s saw,

And birds sit brooding in the snow,

And Marian’s nose looks red and raw

When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,

Then nightly sings the staring owl,

Tu-who;

Tu-whit, tu-who: a merry note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

  

                          

      CALENDAR

   

There are many famous people who were born in:

•  01 Dec 1761: Madame Marie Tussaud (French artist known for her waxworks, founded the Wax Museum in London)

•  02Dec 1946: Gianni Versace (fashion designer)

•  08 Dec 1943: Jim Morrison (member of the legendary band The Doors)

• 11 Dec 1803: Hector Berlioz (French composer, “Symphonie Fantastique”)

• 14 Dec 1503: Michel de Nostredame or Nostradamus (French foreteller)

• 15 Dec 1832: Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (French engineer who designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris)

• 16 Dec 1770: Ludwig van Beethoven (German composer, “Moonlight Sonata”)

• 18 Dec 1963: Brad Pitt (mega Hollywood star,” Seven Years in Tibet”, “Se7en”)

• 19 Dec 1915: Edith Piaf (French singer, “La vie en rose”)

•  22 Dec 1858: Giacomo Puccini (Italian composer, “Tosca”, “Madame Butterfly”)

• 25 Dec 1642: Sir Isaac Newton (NS: 4 Jan, 1643; English physicist, mathematician, astronomer; described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion)

•  27 Dec 1822: Louis Pasteur (French scientist; developed a vaccine against rabies)

• 31 Dec 1937: Sir Anthony Hopkins (Hollywood star born in Wales, “The Silence of the Lambs”, “Legends of the Fall”, “Nixon”) 

Tags: calendar, december, season, snowman, tree, William Shakespeare, winter

Future is what you make it

“How do you picture yourself fifteen years from now? What is the ideal job for you?” I asked some eighth graders these questions and I found out that most of them have an optimistic perspective on their life. They want to become police officers, doctors, teachers, architects or fashion designers. It’s not bad at all… More interesting is to see how they will achieve their goals as not all of them realize that education is the way.

Many a time, teenagers consider that school is “a burden” and teachers are only meant to “torment” them and stop them from doing what they want. When they are asked about their expectations from school, as institution, and from teachers, teenagers are less determined. They are not sure what they would do to improve things or if they were supposed to decide. This attitude may come as a result of their lack of experience, of the fact that they take everything so easy and imagine that life is but a never-ending party. It is our duty as teachers (and parents) to help them understand that “learning” is the keyword to their future. It is our duty to make the classes as interesting and accessible as possible. It is our duty to inform them that a solid career is based on solid knowledge. It is their duty to learn and contribute to mankind’s progress.

It is their duty to understand that the way they plan their future will influence everybody’s life and this planning should start now by studying and hard work.

There are plenty of things to talk about on this subject, and I can’t and won’t approach all possible perspectives, but I think we should all give serious thoughts to the way children perceive school and education in relation with building their future. I didn’t mean this article to sound impersonal or use “empty” words (I truly hope it didn’t happen!). But I am deeply involved in this process both as a parent and as a teacher. I am upset to see that 98% of my pupils are tempted to cheat when given a test paper. Where did honesty go? How can we convince them that cheating is not an option? Maybe somebody will be able to answer these questions some day. Maybe…

Tags: attitude, future, honesty, ideal job, learning, progress, teachers, teenagers