In The Morning
Paul Laurence Dunbar

‘Lias! ‘Lias! Bless de Lawd!
Don’ you know de day’s erbroad?
Ef you don’ git up, you scamp,
Dey ‘ll be trouble in dis camp.
T’ink I gwine to let you sleep
W’ile I meks yo’ boa’d an’ keep?
Dat’s a putty howdy-do—
Don’ you hyeah me, ‘Lias—you?

Bet ef I come crost dis flo’
You won’ fin’ no time to sno’.
Daylight all a-shinin’ in
Wile you sleep—w’y hit’s a sin!
Ain’t de can’le-light enough
To bu’n out widout a snuff,
But you go de mo’nin’ thoo
Bu’nin’ up de daylight too?

‘Lias, don’ you hyeah me call?
No use tu’nin’ to’ds de wall;
I kin hyeah dat mattuss squeak;
Don’ you hyeah me w’en I speak?
Dis hyeah clock done struck off six—
Ca’line, bring me dem ah sticks!
Oh, you down, suh; huh, you down—
Look hyeah, don’ you daih to frown.

Ma’ch yo’se’f an’ wash yo’ face,
Don’ you splattah all de place;
I got somep’n else to do,
‘Sides jes’ cleanin’ aftah you.
Tek dat comb ah’ fix yo’ haid—
Looks jes’ lak a feddah baid.
Look hyeah, boy, I let you see
You sha’ n’t roll yo’ eyes at me.

Come hyeah; bring me dat ah strap!
Boy, I’ll whup you ‘twell you drap;
You done felt yo’se’f too strong,
An’ you sholy got me wrong.
Set down at dat table thaih;
Jes’ you whimpah ef you daih!
Evah mo’nin’ on dis place,
Seem lak I mus’ lose my grace.

Fol’ yo’ han’s an’ bow yo’ haid—
Wait ontwell de blessin’ ’s said;
“Lawd, have mussy on ouah souls—”
(Don’ you daih to tech dem rolls—)
“Bless de food we gwine to eat—”
(You set still—I see yo’ feet;
You jes’ try dat trick agin!)
“Gin us peace an’ joy. Amen!”

We sure had fun!!

Might as well teach it right the first time!!!! Here are links to two of my favorite spelling sites!!!

K12Reader.com
This is a really great resource for parents/teachers. Covers Spelling, PLUS Reading, Reading Comprehension, and some Grammar for grades 1-5. FREE!!!!!

And this one, Spelling City, even has an iPad App.!! Lots of games, good teaching, predefined word lists, animations. Oh, and did I mention it’s FREE?

<a

Vinegar, baking soda, food coloring

Powdered sugar, vinegar, and oil

Summary: ClickScholar Esther recommended this commercial website that offers “The World’s Fastest and Easiest Method to Learn the 100 Basic Multiplication Facts” for FREE! As explained at the website, “The Dean Vaughn Total Retention System is the world’s leading commercially-successful memory system…for elementary education to the field of medicine.”
Description: You can access the full multiplication course (offered as a public service) that is presented through videos and accompanied by practice worksheets.

When you get to the site you’ll see an introduction. Click on “Click to Start the Course.” A new page opens with some tips for how to achieve success with the course. Click on “Click to Begin Lesson One Video.” A new page opens where you can watch the first instructional video and download the activity sheets.

Then, continue the course that uses mnemonic devices to improve memory retention of the “Times Tables” at your own pace.

When you have completed all 26 lessons, you can print out a “Final Exam” to test what you’ve learned.

Of course, you’ll see an occasional pitch for the company’s learning and memory software as you make your way through the course. But you don’t have to buy a thing to access this learning tool.

How about a little practice? Chess boards are great for discovering patterns, square numbers, and for spatial exercises. How many squares can you and your child find on a typical chess board?

Are you thinking, “That’s too easy?”

Think again.

Although this investigation from “Teaching Ideas” seems quite simple, it requires a methodical approach if the correct answer is to be attained.

As the title suggests, the investigation involves children finding out how many squares there are on a chessboard. You might think that there are only 64, but you would be wrong…

Click here to open a chess board image that you can use for this exercise, or use an old chess board from home (make sure it’s old, because they’ll probably end up writing on it to keep track of different squares!)

Other equipment:

Colored pencils or markers

Scrap paper to keep a running total (good opportunity to demonstrate this by helping your child keep score!)

Of course, I’ve included the How Many Squares Answers, but try not to peek!

]]> http://rifleprojectlearn.com/2012/09/13/how-many-squares/feed/ 0 rifledc colorfulboard http://rifleprojectlearn.com/2012/09/13/comcast-helps-families-afford-high-speed-internet/ http://rifleprojectlearn.com/2012/09/13/comcast-helps-families-afford-high-speed-internet/#comments Thu, 13 Sep 2012 07:54:45 +0000 Project Learn Enrichment Academy http://rifleprojectlearn.com/?p=168 ]]> SPREAD THE WORD!!

Good news for families with children who receive free or reduced lunches.

Click here to learn more!

If your child qualifies for free or reduced lunches, this may be for you!!

This article discusses Jiji, but any math, logic, or problem-solving (strategy) games you play with your child will lead to real growth and mathematic understanding.   Academically speaking, children will not fear the subjects they think are fun!

MIND Games Lead to Math Gains

Feb 03, 2012 , (www.MathandReadingHelp.org)

Imagine a math teaching tool so effective that it need only be employed twice per week for less than an hour to result in huge proficiency gains. Impossible, you say? Not so…and MIND Research Institute has the virtual penguin to prove it.

Spatial Temporal Approach

Meet Jiji. Jiji is a cartoon penguin and is the ‘star’ of MIND Research Institute’s visual games that teach math through a spatial temporal approach, known as ST Math. This approach teaches math concepts in a nontraditional way.

‘What ST Math does is that it explains without words why two plus two equals four,’ Debra Ashby, public information officer for Colorado Springs School District 11, which is one of many districts across the country that has integrated MIND’s software into their elementary curriculum, told The Colorado Springs Independent.

The programs start off simply, with students clicking on boxes and solving visual math problems to help Jiji move across the screen. Later, language, numbers and symbols are introduced to help students work out more difficult problems.

For instance, in one exercise ‘x’ is introduced as a variable, with four numbers listed across the bottom of the screen. The ‘x’ represents how many boxes are needed to fill in a gap over which Jiji must travel. Students must click on the correct answer from the list of numbers to solve ‘x’.

Teaching Without Words

One of the things ST Math shows is that language can in some ways be a hindrance when learning math concepts.

Matthew Peterson, co-founder of MIND, says he developed this system in part because he had struggled learning math in the traditional way due to dyslexia. He speaks of an autistic boy with language difficulties who showed a gift for math after using the system, a gift even his teachers never realized.

To further illustrate the effectiveness of spatial temporal reasoning and math, we can look at the published results of a study by University of California Irvine in 1999. Those results showed that music training had a strong effect on spatial temporal reasoning.

The study concluded that children given piano keyboard training scored higher in math when using a Spatial-Temporal Math Video Game than those who used the video game without having previous music training.

Consistent Results

So how effective are MIND’s games?

Only this much: the math proficiency gains displayed in schools in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas and Las Vegas that have used the system are double what they were previously. And these results have been produced consistently. In other schools, substantial gains have been made by students utilizing the ST Math approach, while groups in the same schools using standard approaches had unchanged or even declining results.

One should remember that these types of gains are being realized by students who are using the software only twice per week for about 45 minutes each session. What might we see if the games are even more fully integrated into math curricula across the country?

Over the past few years, all eyes have been on improving STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education, a major emphasis in President Obama’s education plan. It is hoped that students in the U.S. can one day equal or rival those in many other countries, where math skills are notably stronger. Quite possibly, Jiji can help to get them there by making math as easy as 1-2-3.

The Octopus, by Ogden Nash

Tell me, O Octopus, I begs
Is those things arms, or is they legs?

RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH! Can you find the answers to these eight questions?

1. Well, what are those long curly thingies?
2. How many ____________________ does an octopus have?
3. Can you find the origin of the word Octopus?
4. What does “Octo” mean?

Tougher questions. . . Ready?
5. What is the Kingdom, Phylum, Class and Order of an octopus?
6. How many hearts does an octopus have?
7. How many suction cups might an average octopus have? (Hint: about 250 per ____________)
8. What are the plural forms of the word “octopus?”

]]> http://rifleprojectlearn.com/2012/09/10/eight-of-everythingplease/feed/ 0 rifledc 20120909-053254.jpg