December 1998 Newsletter

Thanksgiving Day has come and gone.  The first Christmas party of the season was held at a fellow staff member's house on Friday.  Report cards have been typed and printed off.

The end of the first term is upon us!
Let me wish all of you Season's Greetings and all the best for your Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa and Ramadan celebrations.
 
"Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery and Today is a gift:  that's why we call it The Present." To add a new email address please go to: http://www.thebusyeducator.com/
Marjan Glavac editor
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In This Issue:
* BEN AND JERRY'S YULE SITE
* CLAUS.COM
* WORLDVIEW
* FREE PINT
* THE EVOLUTION OF MOM
* ONLINE CHAT
* BUSY EDUCATOR'S AWARD
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BEN AND JERRY'S YULE SITE
http://euphoria.benjerry.com/yule/index.html
Ben and Jerry, the ice cream guys from Vermont U.S.A. have added a new flavour to their roster: Yuletide Stuff.  Read about the origins of Christmas and how evergreens, holly and mistletoe came to be a part of the celebration; Find out why Hanukkah is also spelled Chanukah and why it is more of a celebration than a religious holiday; Learn how Kwanzaa  an African-American holiday started in the United States in 1966; and what exactly is meant by the Winter Solstice.  Great links to other sites for more info.  "Habari gani" anyone?
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CLAUS.COM
http://www.claus.com/
Here's the place to find out if you've been naughty or nice.  Just type in your first or
 full name and an instant report of what Santa Claus has written about you on his naughty or nice list appears. You can also learn the top ten ways to make the naughty list, and the  top ten ways to make the nice list.  Go over to Mrs. Claus' kitchen and find out elf bedtime snacks, Santa's favourites and reindeer cravings.  Send Santa a letter, then click on the Santa tracker and find out where's he's been and when he's coming to your house.  But, you better be nice!
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WORLDVIEW
http://christmas.com/worldview/
A clickable world map greets you at this site with links to how Christmas is celebrated in 45 countries around the world.  Other links take you to recipes, music, Christmas ornaments, the origins of Christmas and more.
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FREE PINT
http://www.freepint.co.uk/
Free Pint is a regular free email newsletter with tips and articles on using the Web more effectively.  Information professionals give advice on searching and review quality Web sites. A lot of this information is not available elsewhere. See the archive of past issues and reserve your free copy at http://www.freepint.co.uk/
or send any email to <auto@freepint.co.uk> to receive the latest issue.
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The Evolution Of Mom
I know many of you who are parents will definitely relate to this article!  Thanks to
Cheryl Smelser for sending it to me.
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Yes, parenthood changes everything.  But parenthood also changes with
each baby.  Here, some of the ways having a second and third child
differs from having your first:
Your Clothes
- -1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN
   confirms your pregnancy.
- -2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
- -3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.
The Baby's Name
- -1st baby: You pour over baby name books and practice pronouncing
   and writing combinations of all your favorites.
- -2nd baby: Someone has to name his or her kid after your great-aunt
   Mavis, right? It might as well be you.
- -3rd baby: You open a name book, close your eyes, and see where your
   finger points.
Preparing for the Birth
- -1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
- -2nd baby: You don't bother practicing because you remember that last
   time, breathing didn't do a thing.
- -3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your 8th month.
The Layette
- -1st baby: You cherish your newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them,
   and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
- -2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard
   only the ones with the darkest stains.
- -3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
Worries
- -1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown -- you pick up
   the baby.
- -2nd baby: You pick the baby up when his/her wails threaten to wake your
   firstborn.
- -3rd baby: You teach your 3-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.
Activities
- -1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby
   Story Hour.
- -2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
- -3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.
Going Out
- -1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter,  you call home
    5 times.
- -2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a
   number where you can be reached.
- -3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees
blood.
At Home
- -1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
- -2nd baby: You spend a bit of every day watching to be sure your older
child
   isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
- -3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.
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ONLINE CHAT
http://www.teachers.net
The wonderful people at Teachers.net have set up the following online chat Dec.11.
for me to discuss the following topic:
Internet tips, ideas and projects for the K-12 Classroom.  Hope to "see" you online
(Thanks to Kathleen Carpenter for setting this up.)
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BUSY EDUCATOR'S AWARD
Thank you for all the great web sites that a lot of you e-mailed to me.  I'm slowly
evaluating the sites and have included some of them in this issue. If you have a web site or know of one that you feel merits the Busy Educator's Award, please feel free to send me your suggestions.  The award is given out to web sites that contain excellent content for busy educators.
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Send us those tips, insights or web sites that have helped you with your
class and students. We will share these in future updates.
Please send to: marjan@glavac.com
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Reciprocal links to the web site are much appreciated!  Thank you for your support.
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Mr. Marjan Glavac   author of  "The Busy Educator's Guide To The World Wide Web"
LONDON, Ontario                    ISBN 0-9683310-0-9
Canada                                           200 pages
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