Happiness – Rita Moreno
10
05, 2023
8
05, 2023
How to Keep Your Brain Cells
I received a thank-you email from Anita Gianakas, a library media specialist in Knox County, Maine recently.
She’d discovered my 2013 MENSA blog while working on their media center’s Brain Busters and Mind Puzzles guide for the library Educational Learning series.
The blog suggested things like jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, Sudoku, Scrabble, and trivia mind games to keep your brain active, and provided online links to sites like these:
One of her students, Lily, suggested some fresh additions to that original list.
- http://brainpages.org/row-swap-puzzle/ CAVEAT: If you don’t like snappy music, you may want to turn off the sound on this one.
- https://www.typing.com/student/game/keyboard-jump
- https://www.puzzleprime.com/category/brain-teasers/
- http://brainden.com/logic-riddles.htm
Rather than update the old blog, I decided to do this reminder blog because too often we forget to challenge and train our brains regularly.
It is so important that we keep our brains alert because brain cells do die off.
As a classroom teacher, I used a thinking warm-up—puzzles, logic problems, and review questions from lessons. Interestingly my students always preferred puzzles and thinking problems over reviews.
My source for those daily thinking warm-ups was Matching Wits with Mensa. I still use the book to refresh my brain periodically
It’s not necessary to be a MENSA member to keep your brain stimulated. Our family enjoys challenging each other all the time. Brain teasers, card games, puzzles, all these help us keep our brains sharp.
Check out the old MENSA blog for more suggestions or try some of Lily’s new suggestions above if you want to test or challenge your brain daily.
Want to practice first? Here’s a brain warm-up and put your answers in a comment.
EXAMPLE: 7 D in a W = 7 days in a week
#1 – 7 W of the AW
#2 – 8 S on a S S
#3 – 64 S on a C
The first commenter with correct answers will receive a free copy of their choice from my book options. Good Luck!
5
05, 2023
Full Circle
A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
I had my Spring Piano Recital this past weekend. I usually have two recitals a year and over the past few years they have become more informal. My goal is for the students to perform in a supportive environment.
When I first started teaching, I held my recitals in an art gallery on the Texas A&M University campus. There was a beautiful nine-foot grand piano and the sound was wonderful.
I held many recitals there and my mother and I played a duet on that piano at the Christmas Recital one year. It was the same year our daughter also played.
When the building that housed the gallery was renovated, the piano was put into storage. I had to find other places to hold my recitals. The pianos were not as impressive but the goal of having fun was always achieved.
The piano was recently relocated to a church near our house and was once again available for recitals. This is where the recital was held this weekend. The sound was better than I remembered and my students all sounded amazing!
It was somewhat bittersweet.
One of my students is a senior this year so this was her last recital. She is the youngest of three siblings I have taught since moving back to Texas. In fact, she attended recitals in the art gallery as an infant while her sister played. She was able to finish her time with me on the same piano her sister had begun her lessons.
Things have come full circle. It may be time to retire…….or not! There are still many students who need to learn that playing the piano is fun!
3
05, 2023
1
05, 2023
Quotable Conversation
Everyone in our family from the youngest to the oldest has a quick wit and a long memory. This makes the conversation around our meals and family get-togethers lively and always brings tears of laughter when someone blurts out a family quote.
Rarely does a family mealtime go by without a great burst of laughter when someone says, “Mowing the grass.” I’m not even sure if younger family members remember, or know, the full story, but they still join the laughter.
Some sayings relate to events that happened in our lives. Like “mowing the grass.” Other times the speaker will quote from TV and films, or books.
If you spend much time with any of us, you’ll discover that without these quotes our collective vocabulary would be greatly reduced. In fact, we’d all be pretty much wordless without using those and/or the uncountable song lyrics, movie and TV lines, and book quotes that we all know.
Recognize any of our quotables below? Can you identify which are movie or book quotes?
- Like a herd of turtles.
- If I had a nickel.
- We’re not in Kansas anymore.
- Houston, we have a problem.
- Show me the money.
- There is no try, only do.
- Shaken, not stirred.
- Hasta la vista, Baby.
- We’re rich.
- Help me, Obi Won Kenobi.
- To infinity and beyond.
- Beam me up, Scotty.
- Bob’s your uncle.
- You can be my wingman any day.
Do you use quotable dialog in your family conversations?
It certainly livens conversations up, at least in our family.
28
04, 2023
Templeton Eggs
A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
My NAP (not a pet) chicken has grown accustomed to roaming the backyard. She has wandered all the way up to the back porch and even follows me into the shed to get food.
Things were going fine until Beekeeper Brian made an alarming discovery under the shed.
The silly chicken has been laying eggs under the shed.
They are completely out of reach and so far, are all intact.
I thought about Templeton, the rat in Charlotte’s Web. The goose gave him an egg that was not going to hatch so he would leave the goslings alone.
Avery, Fern’s brother, accidentally breaks the egg sending horrible fumes through the farmyard.
The children run away, forgetting all about their plans to catch Charlotte. So, I guess, in that case, the rotten egg served a good purpose.
I just hope the eggs under our shed stay in one piece. We have no spiders or pigs to be saved on Miller Farm.
26
04, 2023
24
04, 2023
Is Poetry a Waste?
It’s National Poetry Month again. The Academy of American Poets set up April’s month-long focus in 1996 to celebrate poets’ role in our culture and promote how poetry matters.
“Over the years, it has become the largest literary celebration in the world, with tens of millions of readers, students, K–12 teachers, librarians, booksellers, literary events curators, publishers, families, and—of course—poets, marking poetry’s important place in our lives.”
And poetry is not a waste. Research confirms that reading or writing poetry can support our mental acuity and potentially reduce our risk for dementia over our lifetimes.
Who doesn’t want that?
These are some of my favorite poems if you want to celebrate National Poetry Month with me.
The Tale of Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash – A favorite of my children and grandchildren. I read it over and over to all of them. https://allpoetry.com/The-Tale-of-Custard-the-Dragon
Go Down Death by James Weldon Johnson – a funeral sermon in rhyme. I memorized this poem for a speech class in high school – a long, long time ago. https://allpoetry.com/Go-Down-Death
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein – I used this story poem often in my classroom. https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-giving-tree/ It’s also available as a storybook, a wonderful gift for any age.
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost – I’ve loved this poem since I memorized it for English class in high school. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42891/stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening
My list could go on and on.
I hope you have a favorite poem too and pause sometime this month to read a poem or two.
21
04, 2023
Examples from Nature
A Blog by Chicken Wrangler Sara
I found a song in one of my old music books about a bee that I have incorporated into my Spring lessons every year. It tells about a bee working in the clover, resting on a flower, and hurrying home. It allows for movement and the kids really enjoy it.
I always start by explaining what clover is and how bees will fly from one flower to another gathering pollen to make honey. There are dots on the floor where I teach so I use those as the “clover.” I must confess, my favorite part is when they rest on the flowers. Anytime I can get a group of 4-year-olds to sit still, I consider it a win.
Our playground is covered in clover and right now, the bees are working in the clover just like the song says. I managed to take some pictures of them to show the kids.
I tried to be very discreet when taking pictures so as not to attract attention to the bees.
Singing about them in music class is one thing but I’m not sure the students would be excited about sharing the playground with them.
19
04, 2023
