Happy Holidays!

Have a wonderful break -- remember, you can continue to listen, read, and do activities here in cyberspace!

We're Finishing the Book....

Read it and listen at: Our Stories
TRY TO DO SPELLING CITY FOR EVERY CHAPTER!
A LINK TO THE KWANZAA WEBSITE - another Winter Celebration: KWANZAA
AND, FOR FUN:

OUR LAST FULL WEEK!

R....KEEP READING, KEEP WRITING, KEEP SPELLING....!!!
(Tuesday: READING TESTS!)
This week, please find time to fill out the course evaluation at Fall Survey. THANK YOU.
Do you know what this is??

Welcome back!

I hope you had a refreshing holiday! Please write a few things that you did on your blog, using "had + past participle +plain verb.  For example:

I had planned to teach on Monday and Tuesday but instead I watched the hummingbirds in our yard.
I had wanted to send the knitted squares to South Africa last week but I had to wait until this week. 

I had bought some food for a big dinner on Thursday but we celebrated on Saturday instead.

I had hoped to do some yardwork but instead I watched it snow.

Please listen to the first chapter of the story, "My Name is Maria Isabel" here: Our ESL Stories

To work on your verbs, watch this video....Listen and REPEAT!

Everyone: Please check your comments at your blogs -- some of you have not done the edits I have asked you to do. Please do them. EVERYONE should be writing in their blog AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK. If you don't know what to write, then type one of our dictation paragraphs.

If you finished Part I, please do part 2 of irregular verbs: "60 Useful Irregular Verbs" (Part 2) at the Grammar (Quia) website.

Did I take your picture for the video? You can put it on your blog or use it for your profile picture - photos can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/lizzyesl/PhotosForVideo#

BLOG OF THE WEEK! LARISA is the winner of the BLOG OF THE WEEK. Congratulations, Larisa.

She has been writing often in her blog, and if you read it you can see a lot about her feelings and life. She also spellchecks her posts! Remember: You don't have to write a LOT, but it is important to write OFTEN.

Blog of the Week!

BLOG OF THE WEEK!
Denise (a.k.a. Xuan) is the winner of the BLOG OF THE WEEK. Congratulations, Denise!
Denise has written a lot on her blog, and has uploaded some of her own great pictures. Please visit it, scroll through it, and leave a comment.
WHO WILL BE NEXT WEEK'S WINNER???

Blog of the Week!

BLOG OF THE WEEK!
Arturo is the winner of the BLOG OF THE WEEK. Congratulations, Arturo!
Arturo has some very interesting stories on his blog. Please visit it, scroll through it, and leave a comment.
WHO WILL BE NEXT WEEK'S WINNER???

Nhan's Farewell Party...

Nhan's Farewell Party


Take Me Home Country Roads...

Blog of the Week....and more!

BLOG OF THE WEEK!
Dalong is the winner of the BLOG OF THE WEEK. Congratulations, Dalong!
Dalong has put a lot of work and thought into his blog. He makes great use of photos to illustrate his words. Please visit it, scroll through it, and leave a comment.
WHO WILL BE NEXT WEEK'S WINNER???

EXPAND YOUR VOCABULARY BY 20 WORDS! Tonight's challenge: cut and paste these words from yesterday's article into the spelling site, and practice typing them correctly.
http://www.esldesk.com/spelling/word/
acupuncture
popularity
technique
needs
special
flow
energy
pain
painful
ancient
beneficial
therapy
recommend
problems
relieve
improved
conventional
understand
massage
depression
If you don't understand a word, use an online dictionary to help. Good luck!

How many words can you make?

Tonight we will be talking about the upcoming traditional celebration,
Valentine's Day.

We have a one-hour contest: by 7:00 PM tonight, how many words can you make from
"Happy Valentine's Day"?

(for example,
let
ate
ten....
Make a list at your blog. At 7:00, stop and print the first page of your blog.

Have fun!

CPR CLASS: ADULT CPR

Tom Homan led our second CPR Class at Worksource Renton. Can you answer these questions? What are the "ABC'S" of CPR? What is the first thing you should do if you see someone who is unconscious? What should you do if someone tells you they have chest pain or severe indigestion? How much does it cost to call 911? How long does it take for the brain to die after the heart stops beating? How many times should you press on the chest? How many times should you breathe?
You can see a short summary of adult CPR here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPTMDhHidzE

Groundhog Day 2010: Six More Weeks of Winter!

Here is a video of Phunxsutawney Phil, American's most famous groundhog. What do you think?

Mooncakes, moonlight.....

We had an interesting class with a moon theme! Thank you Nhan and Xuan-Dung for the MOONCAKES!

TRY THESE SITES FOR ADJECTIVE PRACTICE:
Pretty Easy:
http://www.grovetoenglish.com/opposites.htm
A little difficult:
http://www.grovetoenglish.com/personality.htm

Comparing Things

Class! Please use your recent adjective list to write 3 sentences.
1. Compare two places.
2. Compare two people in your family.
3. Compare two people in the class.
Example: My hometown is bigger than Renton. I am taller than my sisters. Viktor is more talkative than Yuriy.
ILLUSTRATE your words with an image.
Portland, Oregon

Last Weekend

Last weekend, I relaxed at home. I baked some cookies and cleaned my kitchen. I exercised at the community gym. I took my son to work, and then I went to the mall. I walked around and looked at all the people. I like to "people-watch." I also talked to my sister on the phone for over an hour! On Sunday we ordered pizza and ate it as a family. As usual I ate too much. It was a great weekend!