Saturday, April 24, 2021

Winding up April

All classes and meetings are GMT-4 unless otherwise noted.

Hello, Friends.

Just in case you thought our weather was going to be a little less changeable, we had Tuesday and snow. Wednesday we had wind, rain, snow, fog and sunshine all within 30 minutes! There is an adage: if you don't like the weather in Indiana, wait five minutes and it will change. That was the case on Wednesday. We had all the seasons all at once! The weather should be improving over the next week Hopefully this is winter's last hurrah

Some fun vocabulary came out of our discussions: sun shower (when it rains while the sun is out; this is a great opportunity to find a rainbow) and sun dog (a shiny spot or spots in the sky around the sun).




International Friends Meetings Over the Summer

We have two more official meetings to our 2020-2021 school year. Our last official meetings are May 9-15. We will begin our more informal and relaxed summer programming using Zoom or in-person over the summer. Watch for announcements. 

Fairy Tales Are For Everyone

Fairy Tales are an important literature and cultural component. While Fairy Tales can be enjoyed by people of all ages, not all Fairy Tales are written for children. These stories that begin with "Once upon a time..." and often end with "And they lived happily ever after." have lessons and morals along with dire consequences told in a fanciful manner that has talking animals and other magical events that help people to digest the message. This Resource from American Literature has a great list that breaks down the different stories and their origins. Click on an age range and then on the title to read. I am sure you will enjoy these stories!

Stories and More: Monday, 10:30-11:00 A.M.

We told the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This is a particular favorite of mine. This is the story of a girl that helps herself to someone else's home. It is a great story for using the word "too". Children can "read along" with the pattern making this story a fun interactive game. Hot and cold, hard and soft, big and little are all tested until Goldilocks finds what is "just right". Here is a printed version to tell.

April 26: We start our unit on nursery rhymes with Little Miss Muffett

May  3: Yay! May!

May 10: End of year get together!

American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:00 P.M.

We continued with our hand shape alliteration sentences. It is fun to get creative! 

April 26: We will expand our conversation skills. Be prepared to carry on introductory conversation and small talk in ASL for the first 10 minutes of your appearance into our meeting.

International Bible Study: Tuesday, 9:30-10:30 A.M.

Luke 7:36-50 tells the story of a "sinful woman" who crashes a party and washes Jesus' feet with her tears and perfume and dries them with her hair and kisses. Jesus is reprimanded by the host. Jesus answers that the host did not offer Jesus the opportunity to wash his feet. Jesus declares to her that her sins are forgiven. With this proclamation, Jesus clears up all question of her integrity from this point forward.

April 27: Luke 8 contains teaching stories by Jesus. The first is the parable of the sower. How appropriate as we begin thinking about our gardens!

International Friends: Tuesday, 10:30 A.M.-12:00 P.M.

We met and chatted.

April 27: Join us to learn about Ataturk, the founding father of the Republic of Turkey.

May 4: Star Wars Day and Cinco de Mayo Eve.

May 11: Gardening Day. Pick up a packet of salad mix seeds from Carolyn's porch. We are considering an outdoor meet-up to plant our container gardens.

Reading with Friends: Wednesday, 10:30-11:30 A.M.

Our Don Quixote reading group had a great time comparing current events with Don Quixote. We also had fun comparing our translations. We discovered that some translations are word to word and other translations attempted to provide a parallel adage in another language (an maybe culture). At that point, Cervantes decided to include an introspective chapter about the cost and the abilities of his Arabic translator. So distracting and funny since we were having the same conversation around our issues following the story.

April 26: We are talking about chapters 10 and 11. 

Afternoon Conversation: Wednesday, 4:30-6:00 P.M.

We looked at an Excel spreadsheet to determine a practical problem from a Butler University student groups. We continued to chat about other miscellaneous topics including great international food options from Costco. 

April 28: Join the conversation and maybe a little Excel.

English Classes: Thursday, 9:30 A.M.-12:00 P.M.

We are heading into the homestretch for our classes. Our classes continued with little break since the COVID pandemic began. The staff is planning for our upcoming summer months and then further into the next year. Join the conversation with your summer plans.

April 29: Classes continue regularly through May 13.

Kid's Conversations and More: Thursday, 4:00 P.M.-4:30 P.M 

Join us for our first Kid's Conversation and More Zoom for our elementary aged Friends. Email Carolyn for the Zoom Link to have your child(ren) join us. Parents are requested to join in this meeting to establish our summer schedule.

April 29: Our first meeting. Email Carolyn for the link.

End of the Week Conversation: Friday, 10:30 A.M.-12:00 P.M.

The conversation ranged from names for Grandma and Grandpa culturally and by family to our preferred convenience stores and food. Every country has it's favorite ice based snacks and beverages. Here they are called Sno-Cone and Slushies or Slushes. We compared whether we liked books or movies. 

One favorite book that might as well be a movie is The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This is an innovative take on . Is isn't a picture book or graphic novel, it isn't a flip book or a movie; yet it it all these things. 

April 30: Meet to end the week and reflect or jumpstart the weekend.

 International Stories and More: Saturday, 8:00 P.M. EST/Sunday, 9:00 A.M. JST

We we started our nursery rhymes unit with the Itsy Bitsy Spider. We talked about BIG and little. It is always fun to meet across the time zone.

May 8/9: We meet again to enjoy or time with rhymes.

adage: common saying (you can lead a horse to water but can not make him drink)
breaks down: classifies, analyzes
came out of: was the result
clears up: solves, puts something in order
integrity: completeness, moral right
introspective: self analyzing or looking back 
jumpstart: get something off to a quick and exciting beginning
just in case: if something should or should not happen
last hurrah: final appearance
might as well: a situation is the same as if a hypothetical is true
noted: mentioned
pronunciation: official statement
take: interpretation, execution
this/that was/is the case: the situation is
winding up: ending (winding rhymes with finding)

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