Important Message and Fourth of July

 Hello, Friends.

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Independence Day, the Fourth of July

Celebrate with picnics, parades and fireworks. This year looks very different from last year! Have fun and God Bless America!

History Channel has a great overview of the American Independence Day that is celebrated on July 4th or the Fourth of July. You can click on links to learn more about Thomas Jefferson (who wrote the Declaration of Independence and who is under scrutiny in American culture), Common Sense (a best selling pamphlet of the time) and the tradition of fireworks (which we love here in Indiana!).

Country Living has a popular culture article that suggests recipes along with a play list of popular songs.

Sing and Sign Along to The Star Spangled Banner

The Star-Spangled Banner in ASL: Happy Fourth of July! - YouTube

Hamilton County Fourth of July Celebrations 

Carmel:  https://www.carmelfest.net/entertainment/ Fireworks Sunday and Monday at 9:45 PM

Zionsville: https://www.zionsvillelions.com/events/4th-of-july Fireworks Sunday 10:00 PM

Noblesville: https://www.cityofnoblesville.org/topic/index.php?topicid=438 Fireworks Sunday 10:00 PM

American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30 PM EST.

We covered family words and Independence Day vocabulary. Let's sign The Star Spangled Banner!

Kid's Conversation: Thursday, 4:00-4:30 PM EST

We shared how to say hello and how are you? We also remembered how to tell each other good-bye. Food art and amusement park rides were also shared. 

Our next meet up in the park: July 13, 2:30-4:30

Founder's Park: 11675 Hazel Dell Parkway, 46033

under scrutiny: being critically examined

pamphlet: flier, booklet

June Wrap Up

 Hello, Friends.

We are having "fall in summer". In Indiana, the weather often reminds us of what is to come with unseasonable weather days sprinkled into the usual days. While it might be a little cold to go to the pool, you can enjoy some great "zoo days". June 22 was the longest sunlight of the year. Our daylight time will be getting shorter from here on out. Get out there and have some fun! Cold weather is on its way.

Meet Up In the Park

June 29, 2:30-4:30 PM EST

Cool Creek Park Playground

2000 East 151st Street, Carmel

Enter off of the roundabout on 151st St. The playground is on the left. Look for my yellow Jeep.

Indiana Fun (Not California Fun)

Fun things to do in Orange County. Orange County, Indiana, that is. There is often confusion about Carmel, Indiana and Carmel, California. Beyond the pronunciation (Car MUL versus Car MEL) there is the old joke: Carmel-by-the-Cornfield. Don't be confused.

Feeling Bleu? Have a Gouda Time on the Indiana Cheese Trail Aside from the great puns in this headline, what could be better than a quest for cheese?

Carmel Caffeine Trail Map Who knew there were trails for everything? Coffee! You can't go wrong here.

Our Open Classes and Meetings...Sign up or Email to get Zoom links join the summer fun.

American Sign Language: Monday. 5:30-6:30 PM EST, Zoom

As we build our vocabulary, we are increasing our One Note tech ability. Look for a new email from Erin Rose with the links.

Grammar Workshop: Thursday, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM EST, Zoom

We had some great discussions about plural, possessives and apostrophes. If you text, correction will often turn your plural into a possessive using an apostrophe. This is not correct form. Correct examples:

• Have you been to the Willards' house? (the Willard family and multiple people [s] and apostrophe with no repetitive 's']
• All [of] the Willards will be there. (more than one Willard are going to come to the event, and casually the of may or may not be included in the 
• The two dogs' bowls are out on the porch. (two dogs; bowls belong to them)

July 15 is our next meeting. Look for an email with supporting materials for this week and information about our next topics to start.

Kids' Conversation: Thursday, 4:00-4:30 PM EST, Zoom

We had a houseful in Brazil. Thanks for bringing your friends! The animal food art was cute and looked delicious. It is interesting to see what you can do with some food and a little imagination! We learned to say "good bye" in Uzbek, Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish and French. We also learned the casual "see you later".

July 1 Bring your design of an amusement park ride to share. We will also teach each other to say "Hello, how are you?" and answer that question in all of our languages! 

get out there: go and live life

go wrong: make a mistake

here on out: from this moment and continuing into the future

its: possessive form of it (like she and her or he and his or they and their); it's = it is

that is: as a clarification or correction

Happy Father's Day

 Hello Friends

Happy Father's Day! There are so many great things about dads. There are the dad jokes and 

Fathers are so important to our children. The Importance of a Father in the Life of a Child tells us how important Father's are in our lives. Even after we are adults, we rely on our dads for their wisdom and their love and support. Celebrating dads is pretty easy. American dads love bbq and want to do the grilling themselves. Enjoy this great video on Grilling complete with dad jokes and thoughts on being a dad! And, enjoy the Wisconsin accent!

Meet Up in the Park

We met at Carey Grove Park in person on Tuesday. We had a couple friends Zoom and Facetime in to say hello. Oh it is so nice to get together and for our children to meet each other and play. 

We had a number of requests to meet in the afternoon. Our in person next meet up: 

Tuesday, June 29 at the Cool Creek Park Playground at 2:30-4:30 PM EST. 
2000 East 151st Street, Carmel, IN 46033

Use our International Friends Zoom to join us virtually.

Hamilton County Fun

Indiana is known for pork tenderloin sandwiches. Our Japanese friends may think of “katsu”. The Tenderloin Trail highlights this favorite June 29-July 27. Look for restaurants, special deals and the T-Shirt.

Carmel Indiana Year-Round Fun

If you live locally, here are some events and dates to save here in Carmel. We are looking forward to year-round fun and festing. Learn more by visiting the websites on this flier.

Types of Post COVID Conditions The CDC has information about the long term effects of COVID. 

American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30 PM EST, Zoom

After reviewing letters and numbers, colors and question words, and word order. Be ready to converse using our vocabulary. We have enough to talk and combine words into sentences. Bring your homework sentences from last week to open the session.

Grammar Workshop: Thursday, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM EST, Zoom

Our grammarians wrote short pieces. We combed through them and talked about English conventions and how to use grammar tools to improve communication. Written English relies on punctuation conventions to clarify meaning. One we talked about is the Oxford Comma, which is a comma in the list before "and" and last word in the list. Sometimes this comma helps to clarify what is in the list. An example of an Oxford Comma is in the first sentence of American Sign Language above. In this case, the Oxford Comma is important because the items in the list are grouped and include the word and!

Kids’ Conversation: Thursday, 4:00 PM-4:30 PM EST, Zoom

We shared information about our home countries. It is nice to learn about each other! Next Thursday we will share our food art! Don't miss this delicious meeting.

flier: an information sheet that is widely distributed 

combed through: analyze

conventions: common rules

June Meet-up and More

 Hello, Friends.

It’s summertime and the living is easy! In Indiana and in the United States we are getting back to “normal”  and beginning to put our year of social isolation behind us. If you watch the national news, you get a selective glimpse of what is really happening.

Last year we didn’t know if we could go to our neighborhood swimming pool or playground or enjoy outdoor concerts. This year we know that catching COVID outdoors is not a danger. Vaccination rates are up as well as people who have immunity by having had COVID. 

As we open up, mask wearing can be a matter of personal, psychological comfort and not an indication of illness. In the American Culture, face coverings have been illegal prior to the pandemic. As the U.S.  returns to "normal" these suspended laws are becoming relevant. Many people have a naturally acquired immunity to COVID 19 because they have already had the disease. Others are fully vaccinated (two weeks past the required number of injections). We still need to wash our hands (or use sanitizer) and clean surfaces, though because we have discovered that these precautions have kept us from getting sick from colds, flu, etc. as well as COVID. 

Language and Communication 

You may hear about formal and informal language, but there is also familiar language. When people get together they tend to move in and out of these social states of language depending on how comfortable they are with the people they are with and what they want to express. Dialects, accents, slang, grammar usage vocabulary choices all play a part in how people choose to express themselves. As you study English, consider what is your motivation:

• Is it to be fluent? 
• Is it to communicate with others? 
• Is it to make friends and to exist happily with the English speaker around you? 
• Is it all of these things?

Notice how each of these questions are written. This also informs you about your motivation for learning American English. Let's talk! Comment on this blog or join our Grammar Workshop or email to continue the conversation.

English Plural

Talking about more than one thing can be a problem as you think in one language and speak in another. There are no hard and fast rules which can make your understand complicated. Think things like: deer

Here are some Irregular Plural nouns. Don't get overly concerned with these. Irregular plurals throw natural speakers off.

Meet up at the Park June 15

Drop by Carey Grove Park, 140001 Carey Road, Carmel.

Tuesday, June 15, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM

• We will not have a pitch in.
• Masks are not required according to outdoor and vaccination guidelines.

Drop by for conversation and a chance to see each other face-to-face. I will bring my tech. If you are out of the area, you can Zoom in using our Tuesday, International Friends link. Email if you need the link.

On Line Fun

June 14-28 Eiteljorg Indiana Market and Festival

American Sign Language: Monday 5:30-6:30 PM on Zoom

Try this coloring sheet and learn how to sign words that begin with the letter "d". We are transitioning to using OneNote. This is a very conceptual app that works well with our ASL thinking.

Kids' Conversation: Thursday, 4:00-4:30 PM on Zoom

We will talk about our home countries ("because that is what we are most familiar with"). Join us for a surprise project TBA announced Thursday! Email for the link if you want to join the English conversation. 

Grammar Workshop: Thursday, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM on Zoom

We had a great introductory session. This week we get down to business and start studying together to advance our natural language development in the very documented grammar of American English.

For those of you who are interested in exploring more, read Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue and Made in America: an informal history of the English language in the United States (free on Prime Kindle...Quick grab your copy).

American Accent Training: Thursday, 9:30-11:30 AM on Zoom

Our American Accent Training is continuing to meet. While this class is currently closed to new members, it doesn't mean that the rest of us can't learn...stay tuned for more...

Bill Bryson book titles: Please pay attention. Capitalization and punctuation are very important to understand the English language. These are grammar rules but they also impact how words are voiced and interpreted in English.

express: communicate

hard and fast: specific 

move in and out of: use or demonstrate

out of the area: not near

play a part: contribute

states: conditions or circumstance

suspended: a law or legal ruling that is not enforced during a specified period of time

throw natural speakers off: throw (insert a group of people here) off: confuse or confound a particular group of people

Welcome Back for Summer Meetings!

Hello, Friends. 

I hope you are enjoying these first weeks of summer. The pools have opened. Our International Friends are continuing classes and some of us are having our shortest days and winter.

Save the date: June 15 is our first in person meet up. Watch for details.

International Friends Summer Meetings and Classes

Register or email to participate in our summer offerings:

Grammar Workshop: Grimace, gripe, groan---Get a grip on Grammar! Join us for the first session June 10, 10:00 AM- 12:00 PM introducing the classification of English words and the order they usually appear. 

American Sign Language: Monday, 5:30-6:30 PM. Talk with your hands with us! We are continuing American Sign Language through the summer. Learn this new language along with American English.

Kids' Conversation: Thursday, 4:00-4:30 PM. Meet new friends from around the world. Share interests and start new projects.

Zoom and Virtual Activities 

Michael’s has Zoom classes for adults and kids.

Carmel Clay Library Reads summer reading program kicked of the summer reading program. If you live in Carmel, this is a great resource to motivate the whole family to enjoy reading. If you don't live in Carmel, you can take advantage of the on-line resources. Here is fun Activities for Kids Ages 0-3.

Hamilton County Local Activities

Are you ready to rub elbows with your neighbors in Hamilton County?

Carmel Gazebo Concerts in the Park

rub elbows: mingle or meet with a group of people