Playing a joke on Mom

Sorry Harry Potter, but you have been replaced by Edward Cullen and his family, the mysterious, vegetarian vampires of the Twilight series.

I jumped for joy when I first discovered the Harry Potter series. I thought my girls would enjoy the adventures of a young magician as he battles evil and tries to be a normal kid at the same time. That did not happen. I was more excited than them. I guess this was one time I would not be able to live vicariously through my kids reactions. I was disappointed. The movie version of the book stirred them up a bit, but they were more scared than impressed. Still, I read every single book of the series hoping they would follow my footsteps. Alas, the books are now covered with dust as they wait patiently for some attention.

And they will continue to wait. Now, Twilight is in the air. When my daughter first was introduced to the series she did not understand the storyline. Vampires and romance were new subjects so she asked me to read it so we could talk about it. Before I could get to it, rumors spread that a movie was being made. This made my daughter race to finish the book and ask her friends about the book. When she finally finished it and understood it, she insisted I read it. What an entertaining book. I really enjoyed it and I can see why young girls are so fascinated with the main character, Edward Cullen. As usual, the theme of a forbidden love is a powerful pull, especially for impressionable teenagers. The twist of the Romeo and Juliet story is very compelling and it makes you want to continue reading.

We have seen the movie and we were very disappointed with its quality. This did not stop us from continuing to read the series. Usually, I am the one that is hounding my girls to finish reading a book. This time , my daughters pulled a fast one on me. They made this charade of whining that they wanted the second book of the series. It had to be an original, especially since the library did not have a copy of book number two or three. I said sure as long as I got to read it first since I read faster than them. My husband joined their play and told me that he was buying the book, only to find it sold out at the bookstores. I believed him and forgot about the book, until one morning that my daughter hands me the second book, New Moon. I was very surprised and said that I would read it right away and give it to her by the next day. Their reaction astounded me. They all were laughing. It took me a moment to realize that my daughter had already read the book. What a good joke they played on me. She had read, not just New Moon, but Eclipse also. I have a lot of catching up to do now.

New Vocabulary: (highlighted in blue)

• charade: a game; a deception


• forbidden: something that is not allowed; prohibited


• rumor: gossip; a story that is not true.


• vicarious: experience emotion indirectly through someone else's experience.


• vegetarian: someone who eats only vegetable, no meat.


• pull a fast one: expression meaning to play a joke.

Complete the sentences using a new vocabulary word:

• Ali is a ____________. She will not eat a hamburger.


• The ____________says that John stole Peter's girlfriend.


• Ella lived ___________all of her twin sister's achievements.


• The fruit of the apple tree was ______________ to all that lived in the garden.


• The boys ______________on their mother when they convinced her school was closed.


• Stefan continued to act like the president of the company even though her knew the __________was almost over.

Grammar Point:
Subject-Verb Agreement. When writing a story or an essay at times it is easy to lose focus on the subject - verb agreement of a sentence. The verb, or action of the sentence must correspond with the subject of the sentence. Therefore if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. If the subject is singular the verb must be so also.
ex: The cat jumps. subject : a cat (singular) verb: singular present
The rabbits win the race . subject: the rabbits (plural) verb: simple present

In the above text, I have highlighted in red 4 examples of subject - verb agreement. Re-read the story and find 3 more examples of subject -verb agreement.

Enjoy!

Endless Saturday

Saturday seemed endless. It started with my routine trip to Queens to teach religion at the Church of the Holy Child Jesus. My assistant for the day was my daughter, Angelica. She was very enthusiastic and more than willing to help in the classroom. She knew that after class we were going to retrieve her new glasses, visit grandparents, and then get to the highlight of her day, the appointment with the beautician for her new hair style. She was exceptionally happy, and very talkative. She was also helping me to organize a little impromptu dinner with my cousins in the evening. As we raced down the boulevard to all our stops, we made mental lists of housework to be done and calls to make. Since my husband is the family chef, he was in charge of the cuisine for the night. He was planning a surprise. It was very exciting not to know what was on the menu for dinner.

I treasure these moments of bonding. Angelica is a young teenager and she is blossoming in a very mature way. She is still a child-like fourteen year old that wants to be twenty, yet enjoys visiting grandparents, helping children and spending a day out with her mother. Her patience is limitless. I realized this as we sat on a lumpy sofa, reading magazines, guessing if dad was using our tomatoes and avocados for his secret recipe and eating stale pretzels, as we waited almost two hours for her turn at the beauty shop. Her biggest complaint of the day was why did we have so many family reunions. I tried to emphasize that as much as we enjoy friends, family is our faithful support group in good and bad times. And that I did not want to wait for an incident, good or bad, to happen for us to speak, so we get together when we can and enjoy ourselves.

We returned home with just enough time to dust the piano, to sweep the floors, to light the fragrance candles and to dim the lights, so any cobwebs we missed could not be seen. My youngest, Diana had done her part and as a team, we accomplished a great feat. The house looked warm and inviting. My husband's talent was evident as the aroma of dinner danced in the air. Our cousins arrived and our evening was wonderful. As we all were talking at the dinner table, I observed Angelica as she listened and participated in the conversation with all the other adults. I felt very blessed to have such a bright, young lady for a daughter. I turned and saw my youngest being a witness to her sister's behavior and realized that her turn to blossom is just around the corner.
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NEW VOCABULARY :

• boulevard: a large street with three to four lanes.
• endless: having no end, no limit
• to treasure: to cherise , hold in high regard
• impromptu: something that is done suddenly
• stale: not fresh, old
• cobwebs: web spun by spider.
• feat: extraordinary accomplishment
• around the corner: an expression meaning: happening very soon

Complete the sentences. Use the words above:

1. We attempted to cross the large_________, but the cars did not slow down for pedestrians.
2. When we returned two days later, we found that the bread was ______ and the roast beef was hard.
3. She __________that old porce;lain doll because it had belonged to her grandmother.
4. There was dirt and ___________all over the abandoned cottage.
5. The village held an____________meeting to discuss how to trap the wolves.
6. Luck was just _____________when I found the four leaf clover.
7. We accomplished a great __________when we located the lost boy.
8. The tunnel seemed ___________ as we walked accross it the first time.

Foreign Word Borrowing:
As our culture becomes more diversifiesd, words from other languages come in contact with English and stay to become part of the English language. Examples of this phenomena are cookie (Dutch), yogurt (Turkish), gorilla (Africa), menu (French) and piano (Italy). Some words remain with their original spelling as in the French word, chauffeur. While others change, like stampede which comes from the Spainsh word: estampida. Re-read the above story carefully. There are 12 borrowed foreign words used. Can you find at least 10 foreign words? Write them down and see if you can guess what language they come from.

Have Fun!

Snowy night

Tonight as I sat by the window, I saw the snowflakes fall, slowly, almost gingerly as if they did not want to disturb me. Their slow, yet steady movement, made me want to fly again. This time I wondered if I could I fly to the future? Could I go to a world where hunger is a scarcity? A world that has found a way to control violence. A world where abuse, whether domestic or international has been eliminated from society and diversity is embraced. I would fly to a world where our younger generation does not learn about hate from their environment but rather compassion by example. I would enjoy living in a world that would embrace positive change.

I shudder from a chill as I noticed that I am sitting by my window again. The snow is still coming down worse than before because I can barely distinguish the street lamp outside. I realize when I look out from my window, that my world is changing. The snow changes everything from shadow to light just as rain brings life to grass, trees and flowers. Change even so subtle is positive. Positive attitude will make the world change. So I smile and promise to keep smiling as I try to make others smile. A smile is not hurtful but it can change a person's day from gloom to happy. When I look out the window again, I see my neighbor trudging through the snow. He stops and I get his attention. I smile as I wave my hand in greeting.

New Vocabulary:

• distinguish : not able to recognize or see


• subtle: slight; small; barely able to perceive.


• realize: to understand


• control: to be able to restraint or limit ability of others


• compassion: the awareness and deep feeling for the feelings good or bad of others.


• diversity: being different


• trudge: to walk with difficulty
  

Fill in the blanks with above vocabulary:

1. The __________of cultures found in the school increased the awareness of other languages and traditions.

2. As he was driving , the rain suddenly come down hard and he could not _________the road up ahead.

3. The turtle made a _________movement when he saw the boy approach.

4. They ___________that the red bird was alive when he flapped his wing.

5. He could not ___________the angry mob with his passive words.

6. Diana is a very kind and __________ young girl. She always is ready to help.

7. At the end of a difficult day, the bus driver _______ up the path to his house.

Subordinate conjunction:
Specific conjunctions that unite two independent clauses or an independent clause and a dependent one are called subordinate conjunctions.
An example: Jake arrived on time to pick up his girlfriend. (independent )
They were late for the opera. (independent)
Conjunction: Even though.

Even though Jake arrived on time to pick up his girlfriend, they were late for the opera.

Other conjunction that follow this pattern are: if, after, when, as, until, unless, because , when and others.

See if you can pick out a three subordinate conjunctions in the paragraphs above. Notice how they are uniting two independent clauses that are related to the idea of the story. Following these examples and create 3 sentences using the subordinate conjunctions you have found.

Warning: Do not be fooled by the coordinating conjunctions: but, and, so.
Enjoy and Smile!

Dreamer

Have you ever sat on the beach, looked out at the horizon and let your imagination wander? Where did you go?
If I could fly over the sea, then I would soar through the clouds. I would travel until I arrive in my aunt's backyard. She has been in mourning and she needs company. If she were home then I would visit with her and I would convince her to take a trip with me. If she accompanied me, then I would take her to visit every family member around the world. This is the only way I can show her that she is not alone. If I could fly, she would appreciate my visit very much.

Have you ever dreamed of touching the sky?
Have you felt the tender touch of the clouds as they danced around your body?

Many years ago I was able to make this dream a reality. I, along with my husband and cousins, climbed one of the highest snow covered mountain called Cotopaxi in Ecuador. It was a very difficult and dangerous walk but it was worth the effort. At one point, I felt unable to breathe and we rested for a moment. As I sat on a rock, I realized that I was surrounded by clouds.Their touch was light and cool. I reached out into the air but I could not grasp anything. I felt it on my cheeks. Suddenly, the clouds parted and the the view was spectacular. I saw the valley and the land beyond it. I watched as wild horses galloped across it, while others grazed and others played. It was a pristine scene that no one else had seen. It was so peaceful and quiet, that I felt like I was disturbing nature just by watching it.

Have you ever asked who lives among the clouds?
I have always thought of the sky as a very peaceful place. It was the place where souls lived. As a child I would look up at the blue sky and imagined my guardian angel playing peek-a-boo from behind the clouds. When my children were younger, they would look up at the sky and they would imagine seeing animal shapes in the clouds. I guess we all have different visions. ******************************************************
New Vocabulary:

1. different visions: expression meaning not seeing things the same way

2 tender touch: expression meaning soft feeling on one's skin

3 peek-a-boo: A game played with babies where you hide from their view and then suddenly

appear. This causes the baby to laugh.

4 soar: to fly high

5 guardian angel: spirit or angel that protect children from harm (christian view).

6 mourning: period of grief or sorrow after the death of a loved one.

7 pristine: untouched, like new

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Complete the sentences using the new vocabulary:

1. The plane _________above the mountains.

2. The children pray every night to their _______ _________.

3. The little girl laughed when we played _________________ with her.

4. The baby stopped crying when she felt her mother's __________ ___________.

5. The lady was in ___________for many years after the husband died.

6. The new car had arrived in ____________condition.

7. They never agree on anything because they have ________ _________.

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Grammar Point: Conditional clause

Conditional clauses are usually used to express an idea that may or may not real, in the present, past or future mode. Conditional clauses have two parts; the main clause has the auxillay verb, 'would' or 'will', and the subordinate clause has 'if'. Usually the main clause is the consequence of the "if" clause.

Examples:
If I study hard, I will learn English . (present conditional : an event that implies what may happen now)

If she had worn her sneakers, she would not have fallen. (past conditional: an event that could have happened in the past. )

I would go shopping with her, if she arrived on time. (future conditional: en event that may happen in the future.)

In the above readings, conditional clauses and simple past tense are used to answer the highlighted questions. Read the stories over again and find the conditional clauses. See how they give the unrealistic answers an imaginary quality. Then compare it with the story expressed in the simple past tense.

Use one of the highlighted questions and write a story using one or two conditional clauses.

Have Fun!

The Mysterious Caller

Tonight, my cell phone rang and I answered it. The caller's voice sounded distorted and hung up almost immediately after I spoke. Many thoughts went through my head, none of them positive. I checked the number but it was restricted. I figured whoever it was would call back. If it was an emergency, our family members know to call the house. So I went and sat down for dinner. Again the cell phone rang. Now, I was annoyed. I got up and answered the cell phone. Again, the call is dropped. I told my family that the next time it rang, I would ignore it. And so I did when it rang for the third time. The only difference now was that a message was left.

Cell phones and I have always been at odds. I realize the importance of technology, but I feel everyone including myself, have become dependant on an object that is not beneficial or unique to communication. Certain industries, like banking, real estate, medicine and others rely on the cell phone to stay in touch with their clients and offices. But is it absolutely necessary to answer the phone for business while you are having dinner with the family or you are enjoying an evening at the movies ?

Teenagers, even the pre-teen generation, act as if their lives will die if they can not reach their friends. Yes, communication among friends is important, but how about using the house phone for a change. It would save us some minutes and money too. It would also allow us parents the opportunity to hear who you are talking to. That is our way of knowing your friends. Even though we may never meet them, at least we'll recognize their voices .

This brings me back to my mysterious caller. It was not a family or friend calling. It was a computerized message telling me that my dog smells. I was very offended by the prank call. My dog does smell and the only one who noticed this was a friend of my daughter. She knows because I mentioned it when she visited yesterday. A coincidence ? I do not know. This is just an example of why cell phones are unnecessary in the lives of bored teenagers. Even though this is the first time I received such a call, it definitely will deepen the chiasm between me and cell phones.
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New Vocabulary

• distorted: not clear
• through my head: expression meaning an idea / thought came to mind
• beneficial: positive or good
• for a change: expression meaning something different
• offend: deeply hurt by something
• chasm: deep opening
• make a prank call: expression meaning someone calls and leaves a mean message at home as a joke.

Fill in the blanks with new vocabulary :
1. The kids made a ___________ to the fire department.
2. I was __________ when he called me by my rival's name.
3. We had to jump over the _________ between two buildings.
4. It was sunny today ___________ instead of being cloudy and rainy.
5. It was________ for the boy's health to go live in Arizona.
6. The image on the picture was ___________because he moved the camera when he took the picture.
7. It never went ________________that Jerry was lying to me.

Grammar for the Day:

Conjunctions: Conjunctions are words whose job is to join or to bring together parts of the sentence, like two clauses.

Example: Joe went to the beach. + He swam in the ocean. To join these two ideas together you use a conjunction. Joe went to the beach and he swam in the ocean.

Please re- read the story. Pay close attention to the conjuctions. See if you can find at least 5 conjuctions.

Family Reunion

When she was 5 years old, Eileen's mother passed away. Her death was unexpected and left a little girl not just without a parent but also without links to that parent's family. Her paternal grandmother did keep in touch with her mother's sister for several years. Unfortunately, this communication stopped upon her death. Her aunt and cousins tried for years to locate her but were unable to reestablish any connection with Eileen and her father's family. Eileen grew up feeling alone, even though she was surrounded by her father's family. She loved them all, but always felt like she was missing something. Years later, her cousin typed her name in the Facebook search engine and found her in Florida. After verifying that she was their long lost cousin, a family reunion was planned. Eileen was very excited and looked forward to meeting her aunt, her sons and their families.

When Eileen and her husband left Miami, Florida , the temperature was 8o degrees Fahrenheit. They were a little surprised when they learned that the weather in New York City was close to 36 degrees fahrenheit with thiry mile an hour winds. They were used to these tropical storm-like winds, but they were not ready for the blustery cold. Eileen thought the drastic change in weather as an omen to her upcoming meeting. She was very nervous. She had tried for years to find her mother's family also. There always seemed to be a mystery surrounding her mother's life and death. Her father refused to answer her inquiries. Pictures were scarce. Her godmother knew little of her mother and could not answer many of Eileen's questions. Eileen knew her upcoming reunion held the answers to her questions.

After much delay, they finally arrived at the airport. Her aunt was waiting. She saw her and felt her warmth immediately. They hugged. Their hug lasted a lifetime. It was a hug that started with regret and saddness at the lost time, but turned into warmth and happiness. This hug was the closest Eileen had ever felt to her mother. She knew as she looked into those teary eyes that looked just like hers, that the answers were not important as much as feeling the unconditional love of her aunt. This was how her mother would have made her feel. As they collected the luggage and walked toward the waiting car outside, Eileen realized that somewhere in that airport, she had lost that empty spot in her heart. She was finally home surrounded by her mother's love.
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Vocabulary:

to keep in touch with: (stay in touch): expression that means to keep one another informed by calling or writing a letter.
reestablish : to begin again
verifying: to make sure that it is correct.
blustery : weather that has very strong winds
omen : prediction, a sign that tells something will happen before it happens.
inquiry: asking questions
to last a lifetime: moment that will not end

Complete the sentences:
1. He called the airport to ____________the time of the flight.
2. The lights turning off in the middle of dinner was a bad __________.
3. The winds were blowing fiecely onthis _____________day.
4. The policeman made some ___________at the store about the lost boy.
5. The car was made to ______________.
6. They tried to __________ the dialogue after the fire drill.
7. It was difficult to _____________with her friends after she moved to Montana.

A Thought About Grammar:
A verb is the action part of the sentence. It can indicate movement or an abstract feeling. These actions can be expressed in tenses that indicate if the action is in the present, past or future. Today's story takes place in the simple past tense. Most of the regualr verbs have an -ed attached to them which indicates the past. ( hug= hugged) Irregular verb have their own form. ( see = saw)

Please read story again and find at least 10 verbs in the simple past tense.

Read the following sentences and then finish the story ( 5- 1- sentences) using verbs in the simple past when possible. Remember to use regular and irregular verbs.

Yesterday, I walked to the town 's candystore. As I entered the store, I heard a .......

Have Fun !

A Very Busy February

February is the shortest month of the year. There are holidays and many special events occurring in this short time. February has been an important month since 1926 when attention was given to the importance of the history of Black Americans in the United States. Today, we acknowledge all of their contributions by honoring Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday in January.

In the United States, we begin the festive month of February with Groundhog Day on February 2nd. On this day, many people gather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to await the predictions of Phil, the groundhog. If Phil sees his shadow, then we will have six more weeks of winter. I hope you have a heavy winter coat because Phil saw his shadow, therefore, we are having six more weeks of this very miserable cold winter. It is said that he is correct approximately 90 % of the time since he started making these predictions in 1887. So bundle up!

For the romantic at heart, February is the month of love. On February 14th , we celebrate St. Valentines Day. This is the day when we make special efforts to tell someone we love how important they are in our lives. Chocolate candies, red roses and greeting cards with poems are all ideal gifts to give the one you love. Don't forget to send a gift to your mother!


Shortly following this date, we celebrate President's Day on February 16th. We honor the birthday of two of our most famous presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. This is a national holiday, so many people do not work. Schools and universities usually schedule their week long winter recess following this holiday. Enjoy your day off and go shopping!

We end this active month with a very fun day, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) on February 24th. This is a day of celebration and carnival in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a day where people dress in outrageous costumes and wear colorful masks, build lavish floats for the parade, famous bands play jazz and everyone has lots of fun. Be creative and make a mask and dance for hours!

Enjoy this busy time of the year because before you realize it the 28 days of February are gone!

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VOCABULARY:

• acknowledge: to recognize the value of someone
• lavish: too much of something, generous, exaggerated
• bands: a group of musicians
• contributions: to give something without expecting anything in return; to donate
• outrageous: something that is shocking
• festive: happy, cheerful
• bundle up: expression meaning to put several layers of clothing on because it is cold
• prediction: to see things before they happen
• ideal : best
• greeting cards: cards that have a special message inside
• recess: period of time when you relax

Fill in the blanks:

1. I need to buy a _____________for my friend's birthday.
2. We enjoyed listening to the _________ as we had dinner at the restaurant.
3. The children had a ______________after their math test.
4. There was a _________ crowd at the party.
5. The weather was ___________for a swim in the ocean.
6. The rich lady wore ___________jewelry to the lunch with her children.
7. The teacher _______________that the children had worked very hard on the project.
8. My grandmother's ______________was right. It rained all day on friday.
9. The Fire department's ________________of $500.00 helped the family buy new clothes for their children.
10. The kids were ______________ to go play in the wet snow.
11. The boys were punished for their_____________behavior.

Grammar point:

Adjectives: words that decribe nouns.

Example:

wet snow : wet is the adjective. It is decribing the quality of the snow.

new clothing: new is the adjective. It is decribing which clothing is being addressed.

Can you find 10 adjectives in this article and create a story using them.

Enjoy!