Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems
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
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).
Pronouncing February
Is it FEB-ROO-ARY? or FEB-YOU-ARY? Both are acceptable, but it is more common to hear someone say FEB-YOU-ARY 
.
Here you can listen to a variety of people pronounce “February” on YouGlish.
And here’s a YouTube video about the different pronunciations…
Vacation Week Ideas
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:
- Feb Fest at the MIT Museum in Cambridge – Feb 17-22
Lots of extra science activities
GPS: 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge - Vacation Week at Boston Museum of Fine Arts – Feb 18-22
Family Art Walk, Performances, Art-Making Activities, Kids’ Tours
GPS: 465 Huntington Ave. Boston
- Vacation Week Activities at:
- Boston Children’s Museum
Engineers week, Black History Month - Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston
- Discovery Museum in Acton
- Animal Adventures in Bolton
- Ecotarium in Worcester
- Boston Children’s Museum
- Untold American Stories – Black History Month
at the Boston Mapparium – Mary Baker Eddy Library Tuesday Feb 18th to Friday Feb 21st
GPS: 200 Massachusetts Ave. Boston - Kids’ Activities at the Boston Public Market
GPS: 100 Hanover St. Boston - Ice Skating– at the Frog Pond on the Boston Common – now open (Video)
- Children’s Winter Festival on Boston Common – Thursday Feb 20th from 11 to 2
- Places to go sledding in MetroWest
- Places to go skiing near MetroWest/Boston
- Places to go for a winter hike
- In MetroWest, there’s Callahan Park – and many others
- Some other good winter hiking places in Massachusetts
- A little farther away:
- Newport Winter Festival – in Newport, Rhode Island
now through Feb 23rd
Music performances, Food competitions, Lots of kids’ activities
Fire & Ice show, Princess Party, Beach Polo - Activities at Trustees of Massachusetts sites all around the state
- Newport Winter Festival – in Newport, Rhode Island
- Lots more to find on…
Presidents’ Day
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?
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?
Thinking Out Loud
If you “think out loud“, you speak what you are thinking. If you sing out loud, you will improve your pronunciation.
The lyrics: Continue reading
Groundhog Day
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.