Fear
The first fear I felt, the first real fear, was when I held my brand new baby boy in my arms for the first time. That is when I knew fear. Cold fear. Fear that started in the pit of my stomach and ran in an icy flow throughout my body so that I couldn't breath. Suddenly my life meant more than an overseas adventure.
Meteora For Kids
The next day we woke up to mist with Meteora peeking out between the shifting clouds. We drove back up to a lookout point. Completely white. It felt like standing on the edge of the world. Slowly the mist shifted and monasteries emerged. (excerpt from Jenn's journal)
Cathar Castles
The Cathar castles were fortifications and buildings built for lots of different reasons. A lot of them were already built before the Cathar Crusade, but were used by the Cathars as protection. A lot of the original castles were left to degrade, or were replaced by better fortifications. Some of the castles that are called Cathar castles today were not even around during the crusade! They were built in the same region to protect France from Spain.
The Cinderella Castle of Germany (for kids)
It’s a good thing that King Ludwig built his castle, because it helped inspire the design for Walt Disney’s Cinderella castle. Now lots of people visit Neuschwanstein castle every year and get the chance to feel like a prince, princess, king, or queen for a little while.
How Smart is a Goldfish?
Rory Stokes proved the 3 second myth wrong at only 15 years old. He knew better than to believe everything he heard, and so he conducted an experiment. He put a red Lego block in his goldfish's tank every time he fed it. It only took three weeks before the fish caught on and started to swim to the Lego block looking for food. He stopped using the Lego block, but a week later the fish still knew that the block meant food!
ASCLEPIUS FOR KIDS: The Greek god of medicine
Asclepius was the son of the sun god Apollo and a princess named Koronis. Instead of being raised by his parents, Asclepius’s caregiver was a centaur. The centaur taught him how to practice medicine and Asclepius got so good that he could bring people back from the dead! If Zeus hadn’t intervened and stopped Asclepius from bringing back the dead we might all be immortals today!
EPIDAURUS FOR KIDS: The ancient healing site
Epidaurus was an ancient healing place. It was a beautiful place in nature that let people who had been injured in war or had gotten sick to escape from the city and heal. Epidaurus was dedicated to Asclepios. Asclepios was the god of healing and medicine. He was not as famous as Zeus or Athena, but he was still very important. The patients believed that Asclepios would visit them at night while they were sleeping in the form of a snake! If Asclepios visited them they would wake up healed!
Online Preschool Classes
The first five years of a child’s life is the most critical time for their development. In the first five years children learn language, begin to read, and set a foundation for all of their future learning at school. It is important to build resilience and foster positive life long habits at an early age. Access to good quality preschool can be expensive and with Covid 19 policies, even harder to find than usual. Online classes allow young children access to a preschool like environment without having to leave the home.
Virtual Travel Classes
Travel broadens the mind, deepens empathy, and encourages lifelong learning. Children will get the chance to view the world without leaving their home.
Develop a Growth Mindset
“Growth Mindset” is based on the scientific evidence that the brain is flexible and plastic. The brain wires itself based on its experience and has amazing capabilities to adapt when facing challenges. By learning about the brain children will understand why their brain health is as important as their body health. They will learn how to keep their brain healthy, and how to increase their resilience, and how to conquer their challenges.
Blooms Taxonamy in Relation to VIPkid Curriculum
I circled the image of a woman on the Power Point Presentation (PPT) that I was using to teach my English language student, said “Mom,” and held my hand to my ear. As I waited patiently, my student repeated the word “Mom” after me. I then circled the word Mom that was written in a line of text above the woman, held my hand to my ear and waited until my student once again repeated “Mom”. Now that we had practiced the word with careful pronunciation, it was time to have some fun. I moved my arms in a little dance and sang “Mom, mom, mom!” My student repeated in the same musical tone, “Mom, mom, mom,” then giggled.
Aux 2 Pianos Open Mic
A couple came up to sing a duet, the woman skipping around as she sang her part, and the man leaning in, giving her fleeting glances when he sang. They both laughed on occasion as they stumbled with the lyrics and had to refer to their song sheet to get back on track. That was the spirit of the whole night, jovial, accepting, and fun. There was a lot of talent in the room!
Who Are You?
If you try to put your personality into words you might find it harder then you think to encompass everything that you are. That is because you have depth. You were born with a personality and certain behavior patterns will follow you throughout your life from that and your early experiences, but there is more to you then that. There is a plethora of experiences that have added up to shape you and make you who you are today.
Now and Then
I’m smiling in the picture, but you can also tell that I’m tired. This photo was taken right at the beginning of another stretch of teething symptoms. On top of that I had finally cleared the “first trimester” nausea that had persisted well into my second trimester. With a burst of energy and motivation I had ambitiously signed up for a writing course and started the application process for a new online teaching position! With teething came earlier mornings, busier days (my son gets this weird energy when he’s teething) and bigger meltdowns.
Getting Up: Life With a Toddler
Felix is lying with his face on his pillow. His skin is red and blotchy from crying giving the impression that he has just had a severe allergic reaction to something, and his blue eyes are puffy. When he sees me he springs to his feet, “Hi,” he says, a huge grin on his face.
“Good morning,” I reply walking over to his crib and pulling on the string next to the window to open the blinds. Felix points out the window in excitement, “Do you see your house?” I ask.
So you want to write about yourself, but what are you writing
Congratulations on partaking in one of the most meaningful and challenging journeys of your life as you write your story down on paper. You know you want to write about your life, and you may, or may not know if your end goal is to have a private record for your family/ friends, or a published book. Regardless it is nice to be able to explain to those closest to you exactly what is eating up all of your time. Naming your project will also help you find more relevant advice on how and where to start.
Memories and Global Events
We were a bunch of teenagers stuck on a bus together for 24 hours. Some of us had decided to stay up all night, while others opted to attempt to sleep in their cramped seats. Kailey and I probably pulled a few too many pranks on our coach than necessary, but he managed to prank us back, so I felt like we were even. It was the spring of 2005, I was sixteen years old and I was so excited to go to Florida for the track and field meet. At the time Florida seemed so distant and exotic. I watched out the bus window as the snow became less and less, until the sun went down, and I remember waking up to green grass and bushy trees full of leaves. Once I was up, I returned vigilance to the window, watching the changing landscape and completely amazed by my first glimpses of palm trees! Kailey tried to climb one at our rest stop, but it had a spiky trunk and she did not make it very far.