Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I am almost as Irish as an American Irish person can be. All of my ancestors, with the exception of one who came from England, came over from Ireland during the potato famine. I was born Colleen Garry and I married a man who is less Irish than me, but carries a more obvious Irish name, Corrigan. When we got married my brother told me that my new name, Colleen Corrigan, sounded like the name of a leprechaun. St. Patrick’s Day, which is this Thursday, is a day that I look forward to every year. I’m not quite sure what it is that I like so much about St. Patty’s Day. I’m not exactly a big fan of parades; I find them to be just okay. However, there are certain parts of the St. Patrick’s Day parade that I do enjoy, like the step dancers and the bag pipers. We actually had a bag piper play outside of the church on the day we were married. And, when I was little I used to be an Irish step dancer and dance in the annual parade on Staten Island. My husband is currently a New York City fireman and unless he has to work, he usually marches in the parade in Manhattan every year. Before my kids were in school, it was fun to take them into the city to watch him march. When I was growing up, St. Patrick’s Day was the one day of the year when Irish music and the smell of corned beef and cabbage swarmed the house and now, I enjoy carrying on the tradition for my children every year. I love to bake and March is the one month when I make several loaves of Irish soda bread. I actually made five loaves on Sunday and I will probably make a few more before Thursday. I love listening to the Irish music, the warmth of an Irish knit sweater, the little kids all dressed in green and how everyone is just a little Irish on that day. It’s also a reminder that spring is just around the corner. It’s a fun day and I’m looking forward to celebrating it again this Thursday. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!!

Vocabulary:

Ancestors (noun) – a person from one whom one is descended

Leprechaun (noun) - a literary figure found in Irish folklore represented as a little old man who will reveal the location of a hidden crock of gold to anyone who catches him 

Exception (preposition) – exclusion of

Parade (noun) – A large public procession, usually including a marching band and often of a festive nature, held in honor of an anniversary, person, event etc…

Bag Pipe (noun) - an instrument consisting of a melody pipe and one or more accompanying drone pipes protruding from a windbag into which the air is blown by the mouth or bellows

Bag Piper (noun) – A person who plays a bag pipe

Corned Beef (noun) – beef cured or pickled in brine

Cabbage (noun) – the head or leaves of a plant, eaten cooked or raw

Potato Famine (noun) – a historical event between 1846 and 1849 a fungus infected the potato crops in Ireland, causing massive death and emigration throughout the nation.

Practice: Fill in the blanks with the vocabulary words from the list above.

1. Her _________ came from Germany. 
2. With the __________ of his aunt, the entire family went to the wedding. 
3. The school band marches in the _____________ every year. 
4. The ________is a difficult instrument to play. 
5. The __________played a beautiful song during the ceremony. 
6. He cooks the _____________ in a slow cooker. 
7. I like to eat corned beef and ___________.
8. My children believe that if they are ever lucky enough to see a ________ he will lead them to a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
9. The ________  _________was a difficult and tragic time for the Irish people.

Grammar Point:
Verbs are action words needed to make sentences. Can you list all of the verbs I have used in my blog? Think of a holiday in your culture and write five sentences about it using at least five of the verbs I have used in my blog.

Links: 

  

http://www.st-patricks-day.com/about_saintpatrick.html

Don't Text and Drive

The other day I was talking with some friends about our pet peeves. Everyone has them. Some seem to make sense and others just seem kind of funny. In our discussion, the pet peeves ranged from lying to the inaccuracies of the weather channel. One of my major pet peeves is texting while driving. I have friends who tell me it’s not a big deal and they have it down to a science. This idea is something I simply just don’t understand. It’s amazing how dependent upon cell phones we have become over the years. Looking around, especially at today’s teenagers, it almost seems like the cell phone has become another extremity-- attached to the hand at all times. It seems a little excessive to me, maybe even an addiction. Don’t get me wrong, I am lost without my cell phone. I consider it a necessity in my everyday life and I am a pretty big texter. However, I don’t do it while driving and if I’m talking to someone while I’m on the road, it’s hands free. According to an article on Oprah.com, author Sari Harrar writes, “A recent survey found that 77 percent of respondents said they've texted or sent mobile e-mail while driving.” It is also quite alarming to me that studies have shown that while driving drunk makes you four times as likely to be in an accident, texting while driving makes you eight times as likely to be in an accident (see chart). I just can’t imagine what could possibly be so important that so many people can’t hold off on reading and sending text messages until they have reached their destination. I doubt anyone would argue that the message was worth sending if it caused them to kill someone. Ok, I’ll get off my soap box now.

Vocabulary

Pet Peeve (noun) - a major annoyance or complaint

Discussion (noun) - an act or instance of discussing; consideration or examination by argument, comment

Inaccuracy (noun, plural --cies) something inaccurate; error

Dependent (adjective) - relying on someone or something else for aid, support

Extremity (noun) - a limb of the body

Respondent (noun) - a person who responds or makes a reply

Soap box (noun) - an improvised platform, as one on a street, from which a speaker delivers an informal speech, an appeal

Fill in the Blanks

1. The man was preaching his beliefs on a _________ outside of Penn Station.
2. There were fourteen __________ who replied to the volunteer request letter.
3. It is important to cover all of your ___________ when it is cold outside.
4. She is __________ upon alcohol.
5. The form was filled with so many _________, it needed to be redone.
6. The parents needed to have a ___________ about their daughter's behavior with the teacher.
7. Dirty dishes in the sink left from the night before is his biggest ____________.

Grammar point

In formal writing, it is best to avoid using contractions. However, since blog writing is an informal style of writing, I have used several contractions. Can you find all of them and undo the contraction? For example: I'm = I am. 

Bullied to Death

I recently saw a man by the name of John Halligan speak at a middle school assembly. When I was sent to the auditorium as a chaperone, little did I know that his story would sit so heavily on my heart. He spoke about bullying and how his son, Ryan, was bullied so badly that he committed suicide at the age of thirteen. The beginning of the speech began with the introduction of his son through a video montage of his life put to the tune of Elton John’s “Last Song.” As a mother of three boys, one of whom is named Ryan, it hit a nerve and I was unable to control the tears pouring down my cheeks. I was not the only one and in fact, a few teachers left because it was so difficult to watch. At first, I was thinking that it was going to be too upsetting and overwhelming for the students in the auditorium. As he spoke however, my thoughts changed. They need to hear this, and many of them need something eye opening to really grasp the concept that there can be serious consequences to their words and actions. Quite often, people act or speak before they think it through. For whatever reason, however, it seems to happen much more frequently during the middle school years.

He spoke about how he handled the situation when his son came to him and told him that he was being bullied. And, as a parent, I was sitting there thinking that’s what I would have done. He and his wife handled it the way I would imagine myself and my husband handling it if it were one of our sons. That disturbed me. He said hind sight is twenty-twenty and I certainly learned from his hind sight.

What I liked most about his talk were these points:

The parents should meet with the bully and his or her parents to discuss the situation. I was saddened and intrigued that the schools and the laws across the states are not handling bullying properly and the rules and laws need some serious adjustments, which Mr. Halligan has been working towards. The one thing that I loved and I hoped every child took away from his speech was that the bystanders are just as much to blame as the bully. They have more power than they think. I imagine that most kids who watch other children being bullied are afraid that if they say something, then the bully will turn on them. While bullying has always been an unfortunate part of society, it seems that in our modern society it has become far more prevalent. Perhaps this is because today, people can cower behind a computer or a cell phone text to carry out their mission. Mr. Halligan states on his web site, “I believe bullying through technology has the effect of accelerating and amplifying the hurt to levels that will probably result in a rise in teen suicide rates. Recent statistics indicate that indeed teen suicide is on the rise again after many years of declining rates.”  I have not been able to stop thinking about this story since I heard Mr. Halligan speak. I can only hope that many of the students who saw him with me feel the same way.

http://www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org/

 Vocabulary:

Chaperone  (noun) - someone who accompanies and supervises a group, especially of young people, usually when in public places.

Bullying (verb) - intimidate; domineer

Disturbed (verb) - to perplex; trouble

Hind Sight (noun) - recognition of the realities, possibilities, or requirements of a situation, event, decision etc., after its occurrence.

Intrigue (verb) - to arouse the curiosity or interest of by unusual, new, or otherwise fascinating or compelling qualities

Accelerating (verb) - to cause faster or greater activity, development, progress, advancement.

Amplifying (verb) - to make larger, greater, or stronger; enlarge; extend

Fill in the blank:

1. The teachers will  ________ the dance.
2. The older students were _______ the younger child.
3. The movie "Taken," ______ me.
4. Looking back, I should have seen the signs, _____ is twenty-twenty.
5. I used bugs in the lesson to _____ the students.
6. I felt the car _____ as we drove off the ramp onto the highway.
7. The girls screams were _______ as the time came closer for Justin Beber to step on stage.

Grammar Point:

I have used many verbs in the past tense. Can you list all of them?

A Spoonful of Sugar

Growing up, Mary Poppins was by far my favorite movie. There was something so fun about this realistic, yet very magical nanny. I adored, and still do, the music and the dancing in the scenes. I loved the idea of being able to clean up a room by simply snapping a finger. It was amazing to imagine clothes and toys dancing merrily back into their properly assigned drawers and boxes. The movie, which derived from the collection of books authored by P.L. Travers, seems to make all of the chores children normally despise doing, rather enjoyable.  Years ago, when I heard the movie was coming to Broadway, I wanted to go. However, raising three young children, working part-time and fulfilling a master's degree have made finding the time to go somewhat of an issue. I was finally able to go this past weekend, thanks to my sister and her fiancé (they just got engaged Friday night). They bought us tickets as a Christmas present this year. Since we received the gift, I have been so excited to see the show and spend the afternoon in the city with my husband. As luck would have it, my husband woke up with strep throat and a 102.6 fever on Sunday morning and was unable to go. I was bummed, although fortunate enough to get my mother to take his place. The show was amazing. I highly recommend seeing it. It was just as magical as the movie and entailed more special effects than any other show I have seen on Broadway. It was fun, and like the TV commercial says, rather than making you feel like you are at a kid's show, the entertainers make you feel like a kid at the show. It was also a great day with my mother. Unfortunately we don't live very close to each other and it turned out to be an unexpected, perfect and rare opportunity to spend some quality time together.

Vocabulary

Realistic (adjective) - resembles real life

Magical (adjective) - produced by or as if by magic

Fiancé (noun) - a person engaged to be married

Engaged (adjective) - pledged to be married

Fortunate (adjective) - receiving good from uncertain or unexpected sources; lucky

Chores (noun) - a small or routine task

Bummed (adjective) - disappointed

Rare (adjective) - occurring far apart in time; unusual; uncommon

Entailed (verb) - to cause or involve by necessity or as a consequence

Fill in the Blank

1. The characters in the painting were _________.
2. The Disney vacation was _________.
3. Her __________ proposed to her on bended knee.
4. The __________ couple celebrated over dinner.
5. She was _________ it did not rain for her outdoor party.
6. The children complained about doing ________ around the house.
7. He was _________ she was not able to attend the party.
8. Meeting the President was a ______ opportunity.
9. The job _______ a lot of travelling.

Grammar Point

This blog is written primarily in the past tense. It also involves a magical element. Can you write about your own personal magical story using the past tense?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrnoR9cBP3o