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Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems

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A great, relaxing activity for the kids – and maybe you too.  Every weekday, Mo Willems gives a short drawing lesson on YouTube, and it has become very popular.  Here’s the first one:

It’s supported by the Kennedy Center, which also has an Activity Page for each video, that you can download.   [Activity Page for Episode 1]

They also just added English Subtitles [CC] that you can turn on when watching in YouTube.

In case you’re not familiar with his books, here’s a reading of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus:

Quizlet – Vocabulary with English <> Your Native Language

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Quizlet Flashcards are a great way to learn new English words.  There are many flashcard sets that let you study English words – translated from your native language.  Here’s a large set of flashcards (more than 1000!) with English and Portuguese:

If viewing on your phone, it may be better to use the free Quizlet App (Apple, Android).

Here is a vocabulary Quizlet set for Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian

You can find more of these – for any language – on Quizlet.com, or in the App, by searching for “Vocabulary English Chinese”  (or whatever your native language is).

Vacation Week Ideas

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If you have kids out of school this week, or just have extra time for yourself, here are some places to go – to see more of Boston and MetroWest, have some family fun, and practice your English:

Presidents’ Day

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   Until the middle of the 1970s, February 22, the birthday of George Washington who was the first president of the United States, was a national holiday.  Also, February 12,  the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the president during the Civil War, was a holiday in most states.  In the 1970s, Congress declared a single holiday, to be called Presidents’ Day, would be observed on the third Monday in February (Monday February 17th this year) to honor all past presidents.

Here’s a video rap to help you remember their names.

Here’s information about what places are open or closed on this national holiday…

Town/City Hall and other government offices and courts: Closed

Public Schools: Closed (Part of February vacation week)

Senior Center: Closed

Public Library: Closed

Supermarkets: Open

Retail stores: Most are open

No Mail Delivery

What Does This Mean?

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Don’t say: 
– What it means?
– What this means?
– What means this?
– What means [xx]? (such as What means hyperbole? or What means doodle?)

Say this:
– What does it mean?
– What does this mean?
– What does [xx] mean?  such as…
– What does hyperbole mean?
– What does doodle mean?

Remember:

  • When you don’t understand what something means and you want to ask someone about it, start your question with What does...
  • What does this emoji mean?  
  • What does sibling mean?

Groundhog Day

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February 2nd is a small, fun/silly holiday called Groundhog Day.  You may see it mentioned on the news – especially during the weather report.  According to legend:

  • If the groundhog sees his shadow on Feb 2nd, there will be 6 more weeks of winter
  • If he doesn’t see his shadow, there will be an early spring

Did he see his shadow this year?   No, he didn’t see his shadow.  Here’s the ceremony  – in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania…

There’s also a popular romantic comedy movie called Groundhog Day that you might enjoy watching.