I found a really great site for a free timer for your computer. The catch is you must be connected to the internet to use it.

http://www.online-stopwatch.com/large-stopwatch/


April is National Poetry Month. Check out Poets.org for cool stuff.
http://www.poets.org/

Prepare Now - Poetry Month is Coming

www.poets.org/

Prepare now -April is National Poetry Month and each year Poets.org offers free posters. If you would like to order one the link is listed adjacent to the 2010 poster for this year. The web site offers wonderful resources to share with the students and teachers we serve.

Plus, Valentines Day is close at had and for the cupid in you, the site offers free poems to share.

Carpe Diem.

PBS Teachers offers a series of FREE monthly webinars featuring leading education technology experts and PBS producers sharing resources and strategies to help teachers use digital media to engage students in rich learning experiences. The next one is October 7, 8-9 PM, Teaching about Place with Ken Burns' "The National Parks: America's Best Idea.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/webinar/?utm_source=Edutopia&utm_medium=ad&utm_campaign=onlinebanner

Such Stuff as Dreams are Made of...

Poetry. Could any other genera be deemed so trivial yet thousands upon thousands of quotes are used daily:

-Do not go gentle into that goodnight, Dylan Thomas
-Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less traveled..,Robert Frost
-What's in a name...Shakespeare
-All the world's a stage - Shakespeare

I could go on, but poetry is the soul of man. Poeple love poetry but how indulgent are we if we sacrifice precious time to reading a book of poetry. Yikes. On a whim we might glance at a book or two in the bookstore, but when was the last time you purchased a book of poetry?We teach our children to express themselves very early on, but somewhere between high school and adulthood poetry is given a bad wrap. Let me suggest: Anything by Robert Frost or Walt Whitman, Sandra Cisneros', Loose Woman and My Wicked, Wicked Ways. (Some of my personal faves)

The Academn of American Poets is presenting a Poets Forum on Contemporary Poetry in New York City, October 15 - 17. Highly frivilous to travel to, but delightfully fun to listen to in a PodCast. Or better yet tune in to hear the POETCAST sponsored by Poet.org. The two links below should be of some interest.

Think of poetry as " Such Stuff as dreams are made of" - Shakespeare.


http://www.poets.org/state.php/varState/TX

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/3444

Learning Through Music

You know how we all learned the months of the year, 30 days has September, April... and so on. Although this is nothing new I found an interesting web site that uses song to teach grammar and other literary devices. . http://www.suzyred.com/music.html
It is a bit elementary, but those of us in secondary ed have learned much from our elementary ed colleagues.

Early Childhood Symposium

Wow! What a great gathering. The ECH team really out did themselves. Lovely job. Being secondary I learned so much and had a great time in the process. Great Job ECH.

Summer Rain

Rain inspires one to write. Enjoy this summer rain via this choir.