Countdown to Cow Town

As I create this post, there is exactly 16 hours until I leave for Calgary!! This is something I'm extremely excited about! Ever since I found out that I'm moving to Calgary in August, it's been hard to stay away. So, Keith Urban travelling ALL the way to Calgary is a good excuse to be getting in the car and going on a road trip! Of course shopping, boys, the mountains, boys, the bar, and boys are good reasons to be going as well! In lieu of the unhappy and negative blogs people have been posting, as well as myself, I figured I should post something happy!! Yeah for Cow Town! But I still have to keep the Rider Pride alive! Go green!

PS- George porgie, pudding and pie, I might be running into you!! I feel like I'm meeting someone I met on the Internet! lol The things Calgary does for people!

Stuck in a Rut...Literally!

Let's all talk blonde moments here. I am the queen of keeping that stereotype alive. Finding a parking spot downtown is not exactly the easiest thing to do. Especially if you do not want to pay! Which is me. Why would I spend money on parking when I could invest it in a large cup of fresh Tim Horton's coffee?? Exactly!! :) So, I attempted to steal the last free parking spot on Smith St. at 7:45 am. I understand why it was still open! As soon as I backed in, my car sunk! Now, for those of you who know, my car is already quite low to the ground! I tried to move forward...no luck. I tried moving backwards...no luck. I had no clue what I should do, so I got out and went into the gym. The whole workout I spent worrying about getting home. Then it hit me! Take one of the thick wedding magazines and place it in front of my tire, and drive. Well, I relaxed and enjoyed my workout then, thinking that I would definitely get out this way. As soon as I left the gym and placed the magazine under my tire, I was ready to roll. My tires that is! That car was not going anywhere!! I was almost to the point of frustration, water splashing all over my car, and my tires spinning like crazy. Not to mention the embarrassment! Oy!! But I did it! Who knew that I would be able to get myself out of this rut! The girl who got stuck at the bottom of her driveway last winter, was successfully able to save herself without the help of her daddy or CAA! Could you imagine?? Anyways, thought I would give you all a reason to laugh at me! This is why I should stay in bed until noon!

Proud to Be...

We all watched Joe profess his love for being a Canadian (Molson Canadian commercial). Loving everything this country has to offer. Every time I watch that commercial, chills run down my spine. Because, yes, I am "Proud to Be Canadian!" There's more to it than that though. I'm not proud to be Canadian because I was born into Canadian culture. I am proud to be Canadian for the fact that this country has so much to offer. The fact that Canada is so diverse and promotes this diversity. That is what I am proud of. If I look at myself, I would be considered a mutt. A little bit of everything makes me up. I'm Irish, English, Hungarian, French, Iroquois, Jewish, etc. All of this makes me into a true Canadian. The fact that it would be almost impossible to trace back my family history because my family is from EVERYWHERE! I look around this country, and the diversity is what makes it so beautiful. Embarking on a career in Education allows me to continue to see, grow, and learn from all that this amazing country has to offer. When it all comes down to it, I am extremely proud to be, everything that makes me ME!

Tech Task #6

Alright guys. Here it is! The amazing Hot Potatoes project! I'll drop it on you before I burn myself!

http://uregina.ca/~greenbes/HotPotatoes/pros.htm

Check it out! It's quite pathetic and juvenille!!

PS - I think this is a great tool and would definitely use it in my classroom.

Tech Task #5

I found an amazing telecollaborative project at http://www.friendsandflags.org/ The name of the project is called "Friends and Flags". The idea behind the project is to "create multicultural awareness". It is free to Register, and students in over 50 countries are participating. It's quite simple. Your class puts together packages so that students in other countries of the world can see what the culture from your country is like. The packages can contain organized binders or CD-Roms. You can include anything you would like that represents your culture. Along with this package, each student is to bring a bead from home that represents themselves as an individual, within their culture. The project is focused on creating the largest bead necklace in the world. This necklace is to be a symbol of peace. 'Every bead is a symbol of a human and they are on one chain. The chain is our world. We do not want it to break" I would definitely use this project in my classroom. It fits the grade 5 Social Studies curriculum perfectly and I know the students would have an amazing time doing this. It would also be simple to integrate technology into this, having students use different programs to create culture information packages and then burn them onto one CD to send. There are many interesting telecollaborative projects out there, but because I love multiculturalism, I decided to choose this one. I hope that some of you will find this useful for your classrooms in the future. Don't be shy! Check it out!