I'm using my husband's laptop to let you know that I may not be able to post the homework assignments for a few days. Check in again soon.
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It was encouraging that there were 15 students in my class today. Let's keep our fingers crossed that the class will keep growing.
I'm thinking of joining a Zumba class. The music is great and it doesn't feel like exercise. I'll check it out next week. My classes are still not filling up, but I hope we get more students this week.
Good news: My house now has a much faster and reliable Internet connection. We went with Charter's bundle because it was easier to set up than Verizon FiOs. The great thing is now I can watch videos right away, no waiting for it to load or buffer. Please check out the "Homework" page and leave feedback. I'm so sorry that I haven't kept up with this website. I will say this in my defense: I have had a lot of technical problems lately.
Sometimes I think my house and all the appliances in it are cursed. Anyway, the fall term is ending and then there will be a winter break. I have a long To Do list for this time. Check back soon. Well, I wasn't able to keep Monday's class open. Now I only teach on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I guess I should be grateful that I still have a job. I could get used to four-day weekends!
I'm a bit disappointed with the low attendance in my classes this week. Even my Wednesday Speech class was only 21 students and I've had over 40 in the past. The Friday ABE/Speech class is seldom a big one, so I wasn't surprised that it was cancelled. My biggest surprise was that ABE did not have at least 16 students on Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday. Let's hope more students find their way to my classes next week.
Hello, students! That was a long summer. In case you think I was relaxing all summer...actually, I was! Since I didn't teach much in July, (one day a week) and my daughters and I all had the time off, I spent the summer doing things just for fun and some things because I had to.
FUN THINGS First we went to Northern California for some sightseeing and fun. Back at home, we went to the movies several times and saw a lot of Shakespeare in the park. I also spent a lot of time watching TV: murder mysteries and Jane Austen, mostly. There were some really hot days in which our AC (air conditioning) broke down and I didn't feel like doing anything at all. THINGS I HAD TO DO We got new AC and we also got the house fumigated for termites. That was a lot of work; it's almost like moving. Speaking of moving, my son changed apartments over the summer and I helped him out with packing and shopping. I tried to keep up my workout schedule, but sometimes I just skipped it. PLANS FOR SCHOOL YEAR Don't think that I forgot all about you, my students. As Willie Nelson said, "You were always on my mind." I have some excellent lessons planned for the month of September mostly focusing on the 9-11 tragedy. Later in the semester, we will continue with our textbook, Touchstone, 3 starting with unit 5, Food Choices. I will be giving out the usual "Victoria Dollars" for you to buy prizes with in weeks six and eleven. I hope I will see you and many new students in class starting on September 12. The summer session starts tomorrow. I always enjoy this class because it goes fast, and I don't burn out as I tend to do in longer sessions. I especially hope to keep updating this website.
I spent a very enjoyable Sunday in Koreatown volunteering with an organization called Food Forward. We were harvesting three big grapefruit trees and handing out slices of fruit to participants in CicLAvia, a day of walking and bicycling, running, etc. on about seven miles of streets that were closed to cars. I strongly encourage both of these ideas. Her are some pictures that a friend took. You can see videos and more at the CicLAvia website.
I can't believe I didn't post anything in March. I guess the transition from winter to spring semesters kept me pretty busy. I also had a birthday in March, which I don't like to talk about. I know lots of people say they don't want anything special for their birthdays, but I REALLY don't want anything.
So the spring semester is going well. My Friday class didn't go because of low enrollment, but that's OK. I plan to use the free time for other things I've been neglecting like my mom, working out, and keeping this website current. I was informed that I can no longer keep a fridge in my classroom (to save energy), so I donated it to the Goodwill Store. I think this is another opportunity to get more organized. The space on the counter can be used for something better. Since April is National Poetry Month, I'm introducing some formula poems in my Thursday class. I love it when students realize that they CAN write poetry. You can read some examples of past students' poetry here: http://victoriabanuelos.weebly.com/spring--summer-2010.html. I think it's really good. The most recent Vocabulary and Idioms worksheets for spring, 2011 can be downloaded by waving your cursor over the appropriate day of the week and then the lesson you need. I want to share this great website with you: http://inogolo.com/ I had planned to use it mostly for the pronunciation of names of US states, but I think anyone who wants to hear a good example of North American pronunciation can benefit. |
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