Saturday, October 10, 2020

Fall Fun

Hello  Friends,

Fall is a beautiful time to be in Indiana! Have you noticed the trees? Have you noticed the sunsets? 

  • Ride the Nickel Plate Express out of Noblesville. Two fun trains are running in the fall.
  • Make a bonfire. Here is a link to the YP (Yellow Pages*) that lists places to buy firewood. You have to be very careful this time of year with fires since it is so dry...make sure you use a fire ring to contain your fire. Have a bucket of water on hand to douse your flames. Don't forget marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey's bars to make s'mores.     

  • Pumpkin Spice is back! Go crazy for pumpkin spice shakes, lattes, candles, donuts, pancakes, beer, cookies, cup cakes... Sweater weather and pumpkin spice just go together!
Movie Recommendations
Radioactive: the story of the scientist Marie Curie and her work in the field of nuclear science and radium. Watch the trailer.



Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara: This Bollywood Hindi language movie is about three friends on a bachelor party road trip. Read the captioning to follow the story. What a great way to practice your English and travel. The Official Trailer. The making of the song Senorita, so fun! Hindi, Spanish and English all so danceable!
                     
Zoom
Our meeting and class offerings are growing . You are welcome to join any of our classes and offerings. Use the links emailed from International Friends after registration. If you have registered, please check your email for our latest listings and log ins. Look for an updated email with our new classes and log ins.

  • It is important for you  to use the Zoom link from International Friends. The link and your email together provide security for our meetings. That email also is your key to easy entry into our meetings.
  • It is important that you do not share/re-email these links: sharing can compromise our Zoom as well as cause problems with your logging into the classes.
  • Be sure to click on the link for the class or meeting you wish to attend (if you are coming to English Classes be sure to click that link and not one of the others).
  • Please text or email me directly with your concerns. 
Columbus Day
Monday is a federal holiday recognizing Christopher Columbus for "discovering" North America in 1492. Columbus was an entrepreneur who was looking to find and expeditious trade route to China and India and gambled on the emerging science that the world was round and not flat. Columbus was Italian, but got financial support from Spain to test his theory. The European countries of Spain, France and England began sailing East to explore and settle the Western Hemisphere for political, religious and economic reasons. Not all states recognize this holiday. In the past months statues of Columbus have been torn down during protests and riots. There are a number of reasons cited for defacing and destroying. Some states renaming the day Indigenous Peoples Day. Read more about these current events in this Wall Street Journal article.

Poetry is a way to learn. From this poem, children would learn the history but also the rhythm or song of the English language.
Stories and More: Mondays, 10:30-11:30, private Zoom 
(Register or contact for more information). 
We Zoomed together to read 10 Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss. This fun counting and rhyming book is a great complement to apple season. Our preschoolers practiced counting apples red and green. They watched Miss Tomoko make our craft for the week. 

As parents, we talked about the importance of rhyming stories and poems for building an ear for the English language as well as learning the "song" of this language. We talked about how to make squishy "apples" (or use orange for pumpkins) as an alternative to play dough or as a stress ball. We talked about fine motor and gross motor skills and how our craft helps with developing dexterity.

October 13: We will continue to grow and learn together! Everyone has their "packet" for the month. This will be a fun week since we can craft together. We have plenty of spots in the class! 

American Sign Language: Mondays beginning October 13, 5:30-6:30
Join us as we start this new adventure in American English. This is an opportunity to watch and learn ASL or American Sign Language. Many parents teach their toddlers sign language to help with developing early language skills.

International Bible Study: Tuesdays, 9:30-10:00
What a great discussion about Mary's response becoming the mother of God. She sings about the history of Israel and the promises God made to all people to send a Savior. Mary sings how God's actions seem counterintuitive to human values. God's justice is different than what humans demand. Mary acknowledges Jesus' role (summarized in John 3: 16-17) as the Savior bringing perfect justice and mercy.

October 13: Let's talk about the birth of John the Baptist, Luke 1: 57-66, and maybe 67-80 for Zechariah's Song.

International Friends: Tuesdays, 10:30-12:00
Cooking together in our kitchens has been so fun. Learning from each other to make special dishes while chatting has be a great way to become friends. My family and neighbor were happy to have the Brig

October 13: Let's make rice pudding. You will need a cup of rice (uncooked), a can of sweetened condensed milk, a can of evaporated milk, and plain milk as well as cinnamon and raisins.

English Classes: Thursdays, 9:30-12:00
Our classes are continuing to meet and learn so much. Language learning is all about being able to communicate with the people around you. These first weeks of class are our time to get to know each other so that we can easily and confidently talk together. Some people seem like they are more confident speakers. Some people are more deliberate

Tricky words we talked about in our Basic class that even trip up natural English speaker:
  • alone and a lone: A lone coyote stood alone in our yard. (One coyote was by itself in our yard)
  • along and a long: I ran a long extension cord along the wall. (The 10 foot cord is against the wall.)
  • already and all ready: Are you all ready to go already? (Are all of you finally ready to go?)
  • also and all so: The baby rabbits were all so tiny also. (All the baby rabbits are very tiny, too.)
  • always and all ways: At a four way stop, all ways always stop. (Every car has to stop at a four way stop.)
Afternoon Conversation: Wednesdays, 4:30-6:00
End of the Week Conversation, Fridays, 10:30-12:00
We always cover surprising ground in these meetings. We learn about each other and about living in Indiana and other places. Trying to tell you everything we talk about is daunting. Join us! Share your questions and answers. 

bonfire: a fire for social
YP or Yellow Pages: the pages in the paper phone book that has businesses listed; the paper is actually yellow which makes it easy to find
fire ring: something to contain your fire
sweater weather: cool days
trailer: promotional video for a movie
making of: a mini documentary 
offerings: options 
compromise: open the door for people to enter our computers and classes
recognizing: 
expeditious: quickest or most efficient
gambled: a guess and action with a risk
emerging: not established
cited: said or listed
defacing: damaging 
current events: what is happening in the news
complement: something that goes well with something else
a ear: able to hear differences
squishy: soft nice to feel
dexterity: skilled at crafts or activities using your hands
plenty of spots: space available
deliberate: thoughtful
tricky: not obvious
daunting: intimidating

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