Hello, Friends.
We had a January thaw (an unseasonably warm period in January) this week. Indiana likes to tease us with out of season weather to remind us that a change is on the way.
February
February is renowned for Valentines' Day (February 14) and its spin offs like Galentine's Day. February is Black History Month. February is the shortest month but it is chock full of important and inconsequential days to celebrate.
February 2: Groundhog Day
February 10: Chinese New Year: Welcome Year of the Dragon!
February 13: Fat Tuesday and/or Mardi Gras and Galentines' Day
February 14: Valentines' Day and Ash Wednesday
February 19: Presidents' Day
February 29: Leap Day
Check out a day-by-day list of somethings to celebrate throughout February from Readers' Digest. Then, be sure to celebrate your favorites.
In Indiana
Devour Indy is on. Try a new restaurant. Visit an old favorite. This article provides five insider tips to make more out of this event.
Minnetristia in Muncie is a great place to visit. There are exhibits to enjoy as well as beautiful grounds. The Storyland exhibit opened January 20. Enjoy classic children's books with activities.
Bob Ross, the famous artist that introduced the Joy of Painting to generations with filmed his soothing videos in Muncie that aired on PBS. Visit Bob Ross' studio that is housed in one of the historic buildings. Or sign up and take a class and paint along. Here's Bob painting a winter scene. Listen to his soothing cadence and narration.
Bluebirds
Snow on the pines, bluebirds on the feeder make Winter wonderful. I watch, warmed by flurries.
This is an example of writing that we talked about in class on Thursday. In poetry, the writer will paint an image with words. In poetry, the author may decide to visually (and creatively contrarily) break the sentences and phrases into different lines to control the reader's understanding and force an intentional phrasing of the work beyond standard punctuation. These sentences lend themselves to poetic interpretation.
Snow on the pines,
bluebirds on the feeder make Winter wonderful.
I watch,
warmed by flurries.
The above is an example. Think about how you read this work. How would you rephrase this writing to emphasize rhythm or the ideas?
Meanwhile, bluebirds are not common in Indiana in the winter. That alone is a wonder. Bluebirds are a symbol of happiness and hope in Western culture.
American Accents and Cultural Stories
Our Netflix recommended watch is Fried Green Tomatoes. This is a heartwarming movie about the relationships between friends and employees and family.
We like to geek out on American Accents (but we focus on the broadcaster version: Midland American English - be sure to listen to the clips in this article from Wikipedia if you don't read the whole thing) that is most widely understood nationwide and world wide). American accents map: A tour of different accents across the US is super fun survey of some of the more famous accents and is full of video examples.
Classes and Meetings
American Sign Language: Tuesday, 5:00-6:00 PM EST (UTC -5), Zoom
We met and chatted and filled in the blanks for important words like Starbucks.
Can you see an opportunity to use these important phrases from this Instagram clip?
January 30: Wrap up the month with weather language and community helps. Here are some Instagram videos to help:
Weather broadcaster: notice her phrasing and grammar (also notice how they pronounce Miami in Oklahoma!)
International Bible Study: Tuesday, 8:45-9:45 PM EST (UTC-5), Zoom
We enjoyed 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John. These three letters are full of the Gospel and are the image of the love portrayed by Jesus. John expresses his love for the people as well as the love that God has for His people. 1 John 3:1 sets the tone:
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
John expresses his joy in his relationships and with their mutual relationship with a loving God. John also issues warnings about false leaders and teachers that corrupt the true message of compassion, love, and grace and he advises how to handle these people. John brings a message of light, hope, truth, and love. A confidence that comes from a loving God.
These short letters are worth a read.
January 30: Begin our conversation on Revelation. This book is often called confusing and abstract. It has a reputation of being frightening. When read from the perspective of God's infinite love and care, it is a message of insight and hope. The end is the beginning! Join the conversation!
American English and Culture: Thursday, 9:00-11:00 AM EST (UTC-5), Zoom
We are happy to note that this "class" is morphing into a Master Class. Our colleagues are beginning to step into the roles of "peer teachers" (listening to each other and identifying areas of development) as well as take a greater role in driving class content (suggesting activities and exercises as well as resources). As Friends step forward, they grow leading personal and class growth. Staff continues to provide cohesion and direction to keep us accurately on track as well as bring creative activities to keep us moving forward.
We had very interesting conversations around our writing prompts. We talked about how American schools use collages for learning: gross and fine motor skills in cutting and pasting, visual imagery and impact for communicating, searching and repetition for memory and building mental connections to name a few. Practical applications of "collaging" include Mind Maps (here is one application among many) and Word Clouds (this is one application, find more on the class resources page). The Business Model Canvas provides a practical hybrid for thinking about and communicating direct content in lieu of a formal business plan.
Thank you to our Friends who stayed after class to provide us with activities and requests for our next meeting.
Pronunciation cautions: live vs. leave. The "i" in live is short and can be misconstrued or mispronounced to sound like "leave". Sentence context can help, but in conversation this mispronunciation can be distracting from the main message (the listener has to interpret). Review pages 4-6 in Mastering the American Accent by Lisa Mojsin.
February 1: February is Listen, Learn, Love Month. Check our Meetings and Classes page for the focus for the week. We are continuing to practice and play with English and develop our abilities to communicate admiration and affection. Find the February schedule on the Meetings and Classes page.
Play with English writing prompts:
- Choose an article and tell about it. Be sure to cite where it came from.
- Notice "something weird" and show us (in writing) the surprise
- Create an acrostic. Use your name. Use a loved one's name. Write a phrase. Write a word.
Kids' Conversation and More: Friday, 4:30-5:00 PM EST (UTC-5), Zoom
We bit the bullet and finally got around to the Edo Period. Our Friend found this article: The Edo Period: Political, Economic, and Social Developments. We are taking turns reading aloud and talking about our thoughts about this period. It is interesting to note how this period in Japanese history still has impact on Japanese society and character today. We are discovering new words and learning to pronounce them.
February 2: Join us as we continue to explore the Edo Period via our article and compare our current situation and possible impacts.
Words and Phrases
around: regarding
bit (or bite) the bullet: stop avoiding something
chock full: full or overflowing
cite: give credit to a quote or original source
full of: has lots and lots
geek out: be excited and enthusiastic about a particular thing; focus on and enjoy studying quirky topics or information
got around to: do something, finally!
lavished: bestow in excess
make more out of: get greater value from something
meanwhile: a bridge word leading to a related subject
morphing: changing
note: pay attention to something; identify something specific
on: happening
renowned: know, talked about, famous for
step forward: risk a leadership role, opinion, etc.
survey: description
to name a few: here are some examples
worth a read: read it, you will get a lot out of it
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