Monday, December 20, 2010

Learn to Speak Basic Spanish - Basic Spanish Course

Welcome!!
Rocket Languages presents to you the most interactive and exciting ways to learn any language. You can hear the Spanish accent, converse with real Spanish people, teach and be taught by others while doing exercises with other learners. Its said that the best way to learn to speak basic Spanish is to converse with other Spanish speaking people.

Basic Spanish language is not as easy as it sounds, but the methods and techniques used in your course will allow you to learn and enhance your capability of adapting to any language.

DID YOU KNOW?
The more senses (out of the five senses) a person uses to learn a language the more that person is able to recreate the words and grammar in the correct form.

This is something that was taught to me during my language classes, still even though there method utilized more than one of my senses it still couldn't keep my interest in the right place...
Now then you at rocket languages will use this similar rule to form your Spanish language speaking capability with effective techniques which have enabled our learners to always retain the most of what they are taught and use it when conversing in their exercises or solving grammatical problems.

How Will You Be Doing This?
Well you will utilize your senses in this manner:

Hearing Sense: We have audio recordings for our lessons which enable the listener to learn the accent, sentence structure and much more about the literature of Spanish.

Vision Sense: We have games, videos and other visionary methods to illustrate the grammatical points.

Touching Sense: We have exercises for making you write the words that you learn everyday.
Sense of Interest: ( I know this is not one of the senses but hey this is what they couldn't get from me when I was in my classes so here it goes): We have games which teach our learners while having fun and it also helps them relate to the words and speeches in Spanish.
This may sound obvious but it is the truth, using more than one of your senses increases the capability to learn.

What To Do Now?
For beginners you could visit the website for more details or view the short review of the product given below.

Rocket Languages:
It is a FTA certified company
Affiliated with ACTFL (American Council for Teaching of Foreign Languages)
60 days money back guarantee
Associated with click bank for safe transaction
Virtual teacher online 24 hours

There is also free stuff available at the site but the best thing about learning basic Spanish form rockets language is not its guarantee but rather the 6 day free course for learning to speak Basic Spanish Language. It is for your evaluation purposes so that you can taste a bite of the real thing.

The product houses many types of feature which will enable you to speak Basic Spanish Language in about the first 2 weeks of the 8 week course. It is still available and that also at a discount price don't ask just look at it yourself:

It's not a discount rather a giveaway for what its actual worth is.

Learn to speak your Basic Spanish Language and have joy in the fact that you came to the right place with your learning problems.

If you still have doubts about the product you could always visit the site and learn the basics about Spanish language learning.

And then decide whether you are comfortable with the guarantee and certification that is provided by us.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Big Brother Jeopardizes Jersey

As an expatriate New Jerseyite, I still have an interest in current events in my old home state. I was more than a little dismayed therefore to learn that the beginnings of a full-blown police state will be firmly and legally in place on December 18. The Public Health Council voted on Monday, December 10, for New Jersey to become the first state in the country to require annual flu shots for children attending preschool or licensed day care. Three additional vaccines will be required beginning in Sept. 2008.

Forced vaccinations? Parental rights violated? Looks like a done deal. The council approved it, Gov. Jon S. Corzine has already approved it, and all that remains is for State Health Commissioner, Dr. Fred M. Jacobs to sign off on the mandates by Dec. 18 - which he is expected to do.

The new rules will save lives and prevent disease and suffering, according to Deputy Health Commissioner, Dr. Eddy Bresnitz. Sorry, Deputy, but that's the exact opposite of what you can expect. And sorry, New Jersey, but you are entering a new and untested twilight zone - the results of which you can't begin to imagine.

Ask the terrorized parents of children in Maryland's Prince George County what it's like. More than a thousand kids were recently herded into a courthouse to be forcibly vaccinated while armed police and attack dogs stood guard.

Parents were threatened with fines and prison sentences if they failed to have their children immunized. State Attorney General Glenn F. Ivey admitted that no law mandated shots be given, and claimed that exemption forms were available. For some strange reason, however, information packs given the parents prior to the forced vaccinations failed to include the so-called waiver forms.

Attorney General Ivey said, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Implying... what? Tasering of non-complying parents? Maybe a little waterboarding would be in order. Welcome to the fascist state of Maryland. where gunpoint medicine is the rule of the day. An interesting note: General Ivey also admitted that he had chosen NOT to give his own children the vaccines! I wonder why? Perhaps because of their well-documented dangers.

Another interesting note: The school district demanding forced vaccinations is set to lose a considerable amount of state funding if their Draconian orders are not complied with. Obviously, such non-complying parents are a danger to public health and should be incarcerated until they see the light. And their children should be medicated - by whatever force is necessary.

Most people - at least, some people - are aware that vaccines contain the toxic mercury preservative Thimerosal, which has been banned for decades in every civilized country in the world concerned with the health and well-being of its citizens.

It is a well-documented fact that Thimerosal is linked to autism and autoimmune diseases. Some vaccines contain aluminum, linked directly to alzheimers. Some contain known carcinogens such as formaldehyde, anti-freeze and a long list of other poisons linked to glaucoma, migraines, and even AIDS.

Flu shots can increase your risk of developing multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes, allergies, colitis, eczema, psoriasis, ADHD, Lupus, Graves disease, Chron's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gherig's disease, seizure disorders - and on and on.

Vaccines contain DNA fragments, harmful chemicals, fetal tissue, pig, sheep and horse blood, rabbit brains, dog kidneys, and potentially deadly bacteria. Among other things. Many other things. Too many to even list. The current flu shot, of course, is based on last year's flu virus. Which no longer exists. It mutates constantly.

Did you know that more than 70% of doctors and nurses in this country refuse to get an annual flu shot? I wonder why...

Since the flu shot weakens your immune system, you are more vulnerable to the illness and more likely to come down with the flu after getting a flu shot. I know some people who succumb to the scare propaganda and religiously get their flu shots every year. It apparently never occurs to them that the flu they suffer from immediately thereafter is a direct result of their flu shots.

As to forced vaccinations for your children, try to explain to the armed guards at your "health" clinic - if you're a resident of Maryland or New Jersey - that you are concerned with the health of your children and would rather go to jail to prevent their deliberate poisoning.

Try to explain that vaccines prohibit a child's immune system from adapting and growing stronger and that vaccinations suppress normal immune response. Leaving your children completely unprotected against future infection.

Such protestations fell on deaf ears in Prince George's County, Maryland, as they will no doubt be equally disregarded in New Jersey. No word yet as to the penalties for non-compliance in the Garden State.

Cui Bono? Who benefits? Drug companies. Big Pharma - and the politicians they have paid for. Vaccinations are based on questionable science. Doctors dismiss reports of any dangerous side effects - because their Big Pharma masters insist on it.

The real motivation? Money. The almighty bottom line. Unbelievable, obscene profits derived by a predatory "health" system that preys on its intimidated victims, coerced by a tyrranical bureaucracy to relinquish yet another freedom. It's all about money and control.

Maryland enforces mandatory vaccinations as if they were harmless. They are not. They are poison. Unfortunately, New Jersey is about to join the medical police state, with perhaps other misguided states soon to follow.

Concerned parents have the responsibility and the right to reject forced vaccinations. Threatened with fines and imprisonment, however, the parents in Maryland didn't object. Their kids were herded in line and forced to take their shots, with no consideration as to any medical history. Most parents fell into line and followed orders without question.

If the medical Gestapo comes to your town and threatens at gunpoint, with attack dogs ready to strike, to throw you in jail and remove your children for 30 days if you refuse a potentially dangerous vaccination - what will you do? Will you dare to protect your children? Or will you join the ranks of the terrified, intimidated Sheeple most of us have become?

When it comes to protecting your children, perhaps the time has come to draw the line. Accept this fascist infringement on what's left of your rights, and the next step is government enforcement of gunpoint medicine on everyone of every age and state of health.

You will be arrested, drugged and restrained and forcibly medicated against your will for taking safe and effective vitamins instead of deadly high-profit pharmaceutical drugs. Think it can't happen here? Think again. Don't give up the right and freedom to choose what medical treatment is best for your children. Don't accept your government's fear-based lies and attempts to manipulate and control every aspect of your lives.

Don't depend on organizations like the FDA or the American Medical Association to protect your rights. They work for Big Pharma. The only rights they are willing to protect are the rights of the pharmaceutical companies that own them. Given a choice, they would forcibly vaccinate everybody in the country. Regardless of the consequences to their health.

Remember freedom? It's almost gone. Either we protect what's left of it, or watch it disappear forever. In which case we'll deserve whatever we get.

Perhaps the protests and attendant publicity as New Jersey tries to enforce its new dictatorial powers will be enough to provide a wake-up call that something has to be done and done now. In all probability, however, the controlled, mainstream media will do their usual sterling job of providing minimal coverage - if the story isn't ignored altogether.

It's an almost insurmountable task trying to deliver the real news about almost anything to an indifferent audience, whose interest and concern barely exists. What we have become and what we've lost in this country is a genuine tragedy. There's still time to change - but in the grand scheme of things, that time can be measured in seconds.

Just as an aside, you are probably aware that we have the most expensive health care in the world - and far from the best. You probably didn't know that many Americans are choosing to go abroad for their medical care.

In fact, an estimated half million Americans traveled to foreign countries for medical treatment in 2006. So-called Medical Tourism is now a booming industry. Patients report being treated as respected guests, and given as good or better medical treatment - at a far lower cost - than anything offered here in America.

Many of these "medical tourists" have decided not to come back. Another option, if your choices are jail time in lieu of forced, gunpoint vaccinations. There are some places - in fact, many places - where freedom still exists.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Ten Children Books For Daily Reading

Recently, I asked my friends and family for some advice. I asked them to send me ideas for books to read to my son. He's three-and-a-half, and he loves reading. A lot. As a former English teacher, one might think I would be thrilled about his love of literature, and I am. What I am not thrilled with is the titanic collection of mindless dribble I find in bookstores. The bookstore shelves are so frustratingly crammed full of lackluster texts for tots that it is nearly impossible to find the few pearls. Scan the list below for the generous suggestions and comments from parents in the know, as well as a few gems I've managed to cull from the crowded bookstore shelves.

Title: I Can Do It By Myself

Publisher: Western Publishing Company-A Golden Sturdy Book
I think all parents can relate to hearing these words. If you haven't heard them yet, you will soon. My super cool aunt raves about this book. She says it was one of our favorites when we were small, and now she reads it to our children. It's really simple to read and nicely illustrated.

2. Title: Amazing Grace

Author: Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
This story about acceptance and confidence reveals a little girl who wants to play Peter Pan in her school play. One of her classmates says she can't because of her skin color. The little girl's grandmother then takes her on a journey and shows her the first African American prima ballerina in Swan Lake.

3. Title: Where the Sidewalk Ends

Author: Shel Silverstein

Publisher: HarperCollins
One of my best friends adores this book, "Emma and I both love this book. I can still, to this day, rattle off the entire poem, Sick (a two-pager) because it is so poignant, funny and lyrical. And now I have Emma singing through Ickle Me Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too. I love that she has taken to something I loved as a child."
I can also vouch for the success of this book in our home. I, too, adored this book as a child, and I partially credit Silverstein with my love for writing and reading poetry.

4. Title: Miss Spider's Tea Party

Author and Illustrator: David Kirk

Publisher: Scholastic
These books are known for their incredibly vivid and vibrant illustrations. Each page is a work of art. But it's also a story about letting go of preconceived ideas about people (and spiders.)

5. Title: Love that Dog

Author: Sharon Creech

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
This is another one of those fantastic poetry books. I love it myself; I love it for my son; I loved it when I taught poetry to my high school students. It's about a boy named Jack who is exploring poetry and trying to find his own inspiration, which he manages to find in his dog, Sky.

6. Title: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Author: Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault

Illustrator: Lois Ehlert

Publisher: Little Simon
I have to add that just today, when I picked my son up from school, a lot of the kids were circled closely around their teacher, entranced by the book she was reading to them--Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. This book offers welcome relief from the monotony of most ABC books.

7. Title: Barnyard Dance

Author: Sandra Boynton

Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
This book was recommended by a friend of mine who is a mother and a writer, so she knows her stuff. "We have a rollicking good time sing-songing this lively rhyming board book. Elizabeth is six and we still love it, and now she reads it herself!" Another book, by Sandra Boynton, that we love in our house is Personal Penguin.

8. Title: Goodnight Moon

Author: Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd

Publisher: HarperCollins
A classic. This was on my list for sure and has been vouched for by nearly every parent who responded to my request for ideas. We have this book in Spanish, too, and we've read it so many times that it really doesn't matter which version we read anymore; Xander knows it so well.

9. Title: Toy Boat

Author: Randall de Seve and Loren Long

Publisher: Philomel Books
This is a new book that I think will become a classic. It's a great story about a little boat that gets separated from his little boy. The small boat is, at first, excited about his new freedom to sail in the huge lake, but he quickly encounters many big (and some scary) boats that caution him to "Move along!" It's a new twist on the old big kid/little kid stories, where eventually the little kid (er, boat) survives encounters with the big kids (boats) and returns home safely. Each glossy page is home to imaginative and vivid illustrations.

10. Title: Where the Wild Things Are

Author: and Illustrator: Maurice Sendak

Publisher: HarperCollins

How could I leave out this classic? I used to love this story, and now it is one of my son's favorites. We've been reading it for about two years, now, and he has every page memorized, but we all still love the story of the boy with the wild imagination. If you forgot about this one, it's time to go to the store.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Why Do I Need to Learn to Read

Every year teachers all over the country encounter a student that will say something like this. "When I grow up I'm never going to read a book. I hate books. I hate to read. When I graduate I will never read again so why do I need to learn to read?"

Here is a letter you may want to give to those students.

Dear Student,

Okay, that is your decision to never pick up a book and read again, but I would like to remind you of these things that you may want to do.

Legally driving a car requires some reading.To be legally able to drive a car you must read and pass a written test that is based on a driving book that you will need to read to learn the rules. When you get out on the road you will need to be able to read the signs in a split second because you are driving 75 miles an hour as you pass them. And how about those exciting bumper stickers that everyone likes to read because they give you a chuckle on the road. Those also have to be read.

If you go on a trip-you will need to read a map an atlas or maybe even a language dictionary. And if you decide to fly or ride some other transportation you will need to read schedules, tickets, and safety instructions. Visit a travel agency and you will need to be able to read a brochure about the many exciting places you wish to go.

Even going to get food at a restaurant you will need to be able to read. If you ever want to eat out at a restaurant you will need to be able to read the menu that is even at a drive through.

Buy something on time and you will need to be able to read a contract. To buy a car, a house or any large item you will need to be able to read about the contract before you sign it so you don't end up with 24% interest or some weird clause that hurts your chances of owning something.

Getting a job will require you reading the advertisement in the newspaper and then the application that you will filling out when you go ask for the job.

Newspaper, magazines, Oh you say you only look at the comic section. Those have to be read, also. Magazines do have pictures but they also have descriptions of what is going on in the picture.

Going to the doctor requires reading. To start with you will need to read the directory of doctors as you enter the building to find the doctor. How about the prescription that he gives you and tells you to follow the instructions on the bottle. These will also need to be read. Go to the emergency room and they make you sign papers that you better read and as you leave they give out written instructions on what you need to do to take care of yourself.

I haven't even begun to cover what you will need to read when you graduate after high school. The list goes one with emails, billboards, bulletins, catalogs, charts, circulars, clues, epitaph, fliers, formulas, graffiti, greeting cars, handbooks, horoscopes, instructions, invitations, journals, labels, letters, lists, manuals, maps, marquees, memos, notes, obituaries, pamphlets, portfolios, postcards, posters, programs, questionnaires, receipts, recipes, scripts, signs, skywriting, statements, and telegrams.

If that list is not good enough these last two ought to be the icing on the cake. You will need to be able to read if you happen to find your sisters or brothers diary and when a rich relative dies you certainly will want to be able to read his will.

So students realize you may never read another book, but that is not the only thing that we read while we live on this earth. So get with it learn to read while you are young and it will make your life a lot easier.

Sincerely,

From Someone Who Knows

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Beginning of School Activities for Preschool - All About Us

If you're searching for fresh ideas for beginning of school activities for preschool, try this one. Some of the most memorable activities I have done are ones that span the school year. Parents and children love to see how they have grown through the year!

Parents are anxious about their children starting their first year in a setting other than home. They want to be reassured that the teacher and staff recognize and value their preschooler's unique qualities.

The preschool teacher also has the responsibility to teach the children to get along in a group and begin the process of respecting other's unique qualities as well. This is a year long goal, as well as a life long goal for all of us!

All About Us Preschool Activity

The project that I call All About Us is one that helps the students, teachers and parents have a visual display of how the class is changing throughout the year. This display is not left out continuously but rather brought out at different times during the school year to note new changes, abilities, differences of any kind.

This is one of those preschool activities you can use for teaching many skills such as color recognition, numbers, counting, comparisons, opposites, etc. You can also identify abilities such as letter recognition, name recognition, favorite books, toys--the range is up to the teacher to decide.

At the start of the preschool year, I make one chart per child on a piece of cardstock or heavy grade paper that will last the school year. On the left side of the chart I list: name, birthday, height, hair color, number of siblings, favorite food, colors I know, letters I know, favorite book, etc. (This is your own list to create so feel free to add other things if you wish.) Then across the top, put columns where you can record dates of entry. If you have access to a camera, take each child's picture and put add this to the chart.

I have a hallway or wall set aside for everyone to see. Another way to display this is to attach the papers to a long piece of ribbon to make a banner that can span the wall or a corner. I use this often the first month of the year at circle time to show how to measure height, ask children their eye color or hair color. We count how many siblings are in a person's family.

You can record the children's answers to the list on your sheet and then add these to the charts. I also I think it's important to give them the opportunity to decorate their pages with stickers or crayons. Customizing a part of their banner.

After a few weeks I'll take this down and then bring it back every few months to see how things have changed. As the years pass, children will have acquired the ability to enjoy and lots of action "level", count, learned presented in the letters they have. Some, like add the information next to their name such as "maycut with scissors", "can stand on one foot", "can hop", "made new friends". Listen to their ideas for inclusion here. This is an excellent way to hear from their own mouths how they think they have grown!

The self esteem that this promotes will be evident when you bring this out throughout the year.

Parents love to have this visual chart for them to see and at the end of the year--what a wonderful gift for your preschooler to take home. It is his/her validation of how much they have learned and grown throughout preschool.

These beginning of school activities for preschool will provide fun throughout the year and will be a welcome gift at the end of the year.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Top 10 Delightful Daycare & Preschool Activities

As a daycare provider, it is important to have a long list of activities that your children enjoy, as well as plenty of daycare supplies, such as art supplies, toys and games. Active play is essential to brain development, so bring out the active in your daycare activities as much as possible!

Dancing

Move the daycare furniture aside and encourage your children to move freely around the room with colorful scarves or fabric used for dress-up time. Spinning around in circles, jumping, and moving all relieve stress, promote brain development, well being, and believe it or not, restore a sense of calm in young children.

Sing Along Time

Teaching nursery rhyme songs, seasonal songs and other simple songs to your children is always a big hit. Most young children love to express themselves with their voices, and sing along time provides them with an appropriate way to do so.

Look for songs that teach simple life lessons about sharing, manners, cleaning up and healthy eating. Your children will enjoy singing the songs, as well as retain the lesson.

Circle Time Rhythms

Circle time is also a perfect place for practicing rhythms and getting out the sillies. Have the children sit or stand and teach them simple rhythms that incorporate clapping and stomping combinations. Once they learn the rhythm, speed up the tempo until everyone is rolling on the floor laughing and exhausted.

Shaving Cream Art

You can not usually think of shaving cream as the provision of childcare, but when working with children who carry with them in the mouth are all shaving cream is a wonderful means of art. Spray on a table with shaving cream and support the children draw pictures, letters and numbers. There are children with their enthusiasm, fresh, soft, mellow and natural.

Puppet Theatre

Capturethe attention of your daycare children by turning story time into a puppet show. Simple puppets can be made from old socks, miscellaneous fabric pieces and imagination. And, most young children will enjoy hearing familiar stories told by a puppet!

Face Painting

This activity has nothing to do with actual paint, but is a soothing activity when little ones are grumpy. Invite the children to come to you one at a time to have their faces painted. Then, gently draw all over their faces with the tip of your finger. Most children will feel soothed by this little bit of touch, although some will be tickled by it.

Shape Sorting

Very young children love games and toys that involve shape sorting. Provide children with plenty of shapes in the form of wooden or plastic blocks and containers to put them in. You can also have them sort objects by color and shape for a little variation or to make it a little more interesting. This helps children learn the names of shapes and colors.

Tall Towers

Plastic food containers collected over a period of time are great for stacking. Children can build towers taller than themselves, but will mostly enjoy knocking the towers down. The advantage is that the containers are very lightweight and won't hurt if they fall on a child. They are also easy to clean up by having the children stack them together again.

Play Dough

Play dough is a classic child's activity and an essential part of the daycare supply closet. Moving hands are essential to child development, and play dough is fun, creative, and builds hand and finger muscles.

Indoor Parade

The indoor parade incorporates music, dance and dress-up. Have the children pick their outfits from the dress-up closet, then chose several songs that everyone knows and march around the room singing, dancing, stomping and clapping. It uses up excess energy and generally puts a smile on everyone's face.

This list of delightful daycare activities can be implemented easily with a few simple daycare supplies.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Cricut DesignStudio Demystified

If you have a Cricut machine, and the DesignStudio software for it you know how wonderful they are, but sometimes the software gets in the way of your project. Even if your computer savvy, you need to have some of the process demystified for you.
 
I know I often run into something that I want to do, and can't find it in the manual that comes with the DesignStudio. All you get there is information on how to set it up and how to use basic functions.
 
I often find myself having trouble getting the ideas in my head to actually come out in perfectly cut patterns. The manual is really lacking in the "How Do I's" for many of my questions. It really slows down the creative process when you run into one of those times when you need to know "How Do I" do something, like weld a couple of pieces together, or manipulating a letter or image to the exact shape I need for my project.
 
Having to search the web, or ask friends how they would do it is one way, but forces me to set aside my project while i find the answer to my questions. Trial and error is another way to go, but that can get costly wasting materials, not to mention the time and frustration involved.
 
It would be nice to have my own private teacher by my side, at my beck and call for all my projects, but that's not economically feasible. As much as I'd like to, I can't afford to hire a private tutor to watch over my every move and provide helpful suggestions.
 
Another option would be an eBook perhaps, or a video tutorial. They are usually low in cost, and depending on the source, a good value and a great help, or kind of useless.