Kindergarten Skills to Master by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Kindergarten Skills to Master by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

When I lived in Wisconsin children attended ½ day kindergarten.  I worked as a substitute teacher at my daughter’s preschool until I was offered a full-time position.

I went back to school to obtain an Early Childhood Education certificate from Madison College and studied French literature for children and francophone children’s culture in former French colonies at Edgewood College.

I taught the following skills to children in addition to themed activities for literature, math, and social studies found in preschool management books.  I let parents know what classroom goals were with a daily activity sheet posted on a weekly basis and asked them to do homework in the following areas to reinforce what they were learning at school:

1-Tying shoes so that they stay securely fastened

2-Telling time – knowing hours, quarters, half, minutes, am, and pm

3-Left and right difference

4-East, West, North, and South directions using a compass and paper plate compasses

5-Painting knowledge – color names, mixing primary colors to make secondary colors, color wheel work, adding in black and white

6-Fabric book work to learn qualities of different fabrics, their names, and care

7-Hoola hoop to music to build abdominal muscles

8-Play Twister to learn colors

9-Sing the alphabet song

10-Count 1 – 100

11- Play Concentration with two decks of playing cards to memorize numbers 1 – 1- and build matching skills

12-Write numbers 0 – 10

13-Write alphabet to strengthen fingers

14-Use silverware to eat like an American and a European

15-Learn to use chopsticks – Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese

16 - Learn to button a coat or shirt

17 - Learn to zip up a coat

These activities take time, but children can master them with repetition and gentle encouragement by parents and teachers alike.

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Fundraiser Ideas for Arts Organizations and "gig" Ideas for Speakers by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Fundraiser Ideas for Arts Organizations by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Arts organizations might wish to expand their traditional fundraising methods to untapped audiences with fundraising lectures that are introductions to various kinds of “arts” in their communities and beyond.

These lectures could be held in venues such as:

-the arts center itself

-shopping mall community rooms

-restaurant private rooms with a box lunch and lecture format

-city auditoriums

-grange facilities

-condominium community rooms

-library community rooms

Building managers can let you know if the room is zoned for fundraising activities for non-profit organizations.

The session itself could be a 1-hour lecture with slideshow with ½ hour before and after the session for “meet and greet.”

The tickets should be the money for the fundraiser with extra donation and idea solicitation forms left out on tables by the entrances with volunteers to answer questions and/or take memberships or donations.

Using the community I live in – Monterey County California – these are some of the ideas that I think various cities in our county might be interested in for fundraising:

-Spanish adobe architecture and garden design

-Spanish Christmas posadas explanation and slideshow

-English garden design at various points around California’s first capital in the city of Monterey

-English domestic architectural styles around Monterey Country

-Rose gardens around the world and varieties of rose

-Quincenería (16^th birthday) traditions including mariachi music demonstration

-Sicilian puppet shows

-Portuguese fado singing

-Spanish guitar concerts

-Messiah choir singing with Christmas market

-Christmas carol singing with market

-Russian Easter celebrations and slideshow of St. Isaac’s in St Petersburg

-Mexican landscape architecture

-Western fashion – 1960s to the present

-Japanese bansai tree technqiues

-Japanese ikebana

-kimono decoration through the decades

-tea ceremony essentials

-Chinese bronze vessels through the millennia

-Tibetan monastic schools art and symbols

-Theatre overview –

US, England, France, Spain, Germany, and Japan in separate lectures

-Opera overview –

Italian by city and French

-Arabic alphabet and calligraphy styles

Fundraising ideas for organizations and gig ideas for speakers for the weekend!

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Pharaoh Hatshepsut: An Ancient Egypt Reading List Suggested by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Pharoah Hatshepsut:  An Ancient Egypt Reading List Suggested by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

This reading list is named after one of ancient Egypt’s female rulers, Pharoah Hatshepsut. 

Movies have made Cleopatra more popular, but perhaps there is a film to be made about a ruler like Pharoah Hatshepsut who has a mountain tomb and statues to make her bust look like the sphinx.

The suggested books for high school and college students who would like to know more about ancient Egypt follow:

1-Ancient Egypt: A Social History by B.G. Trigger; B.J. Kemp; D. O’Connor; and A.B. Lloyd

2-The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt by Ian Shaw

3-Red Land, Black Land: Daily Life in Ancient Egypt by Barbara Meertz

4-Daughters of Isis: Women of Ancient Egypt by Joyce Tyldesley

5-Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Complete Beginners by Bill Manley

6-Cleopatra: Her History, Her Myth by Francine Prose

The Roscrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, California offers ancient Egyptian make up, perfume classes, and sent game throughout the year.  Check with the museum for times and schedules.

There are two ancient games that summer reading participants could learn to play after reading as they discuss these books: mancala and senet.

Have fun reading!

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Dukes of Brittany (France) Touring Game Created by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Dukes of Brittany (France) Touring Game Created by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Background

Peninsular Brittany in northwestern France extends out into the Atlantic Ocean.  The Bretons are famous for their fishing fleets and solo transatlantic sailors like Florence Artaud.

On land, the Bretons are famous for the following foods:

-belon oysters

-roast salt prairie lamb with vegetables

-far Breton cake with prunes previously soaked in cognac

-sweet crêpes

-savory crêpes called galettes

-apple cider

The Dukes of Brittany are related to British nobility through Henry II of England, who invaded Brittany in the 12^th century.  After signing a peace treaty with the French Duke Conan IV, Henry II became the County of Nantes.

Henry II’s son Geoffrey became Duc Geoffrey of Brittany.

The Dukes of Brittany ruled Brittany until 1448 when the last Duke had no male descendant.

Anne of Brittany was the last descendant of the Dukes of Brittany.  She was married to an Austrian nobleman, but was forced to annul her marriage.

Anne became Queen of France twice by marrying cousins.  Brittany definitively became a part of France when Anne’s daughter Claude became Queen of France by marrying the Valois king Francis 1^st.

What Kinds of Tourists Might Like Brittany?:

People who like:

-sailing

-traveling with their families

-pristine beaches with daily water quality controls

-easy-to-buy-and-prepare produce, seafood, and lamb

-walking by the ocean

-public gardens

Traditional Souvenirs to Buy in Brittany:

Almost all towns in Brittany have souvenir stores where you can traditional products such as:

-lace doilies

-lace collars and cuffs

-bigoudin Breton headdresses

-embroidered tablecloths and napkins

-cookbooks

-gardening books

-lyric books

-Celtic instruments

-Quimper faience – heavier than porcelain with scenes of sweet couples and happy families

-CDs of French Navy music

-Alan Stivell CDs – Breton folksinger and Celtic harp player

-butter cookies in decorative tins

Home Base City: Rennes, Capital of Brittany

Travelers can take a TGV (High Speed Train) from Paris to Rennes to explore the family-friendly city of Rennes in Brittany, France.

Rennes has cathedrals, museums, chateaus, and gardens that date back centuries.  Michelin and Lonely Planet guides amply describe these places.

After families have visited all the cultural places in town, junior high school students might enjoy visiting kid-oriented sites around town or those sites that can be visited in short periods of time.

The following 5 places in Rennes look especially interesting for junior high school students:

1 – L’Espace des Sciences

Learn-by-doing site with robot presentation along with planetarium shows.

2 – Ecomusée du Pays de Rennes

This museum is located in a 500-year-old farm that shows how agriculture, business, nutrition, and technology have changed within that time span.

3 – Parc du Thabor

There is a rose garden at Parc du Thabor that has 2,000 varieties of roses in it.

There is also an aviary with many parrots, doves, and songbirds.

4 – Marché des Lices

The high-quality produce of Brittany is on sale at the Marché des Lices and makes for a colorful field trip during a trip to France.

Several items that tourists could buy for snacks include:

-Reinette apples

-baguettes (French bread loaves)

-sea salt flavored butter

-cheese from nearby Normandy

-sweet crêpes

-savory crêpes called galettes

-Breton cider

5 – Centre Alma – the big mall in Rennes

The Centre Alma sells modern souvenirs like clothing and cotton candy called “barbe à papa” or “dad’s beard.”

Day Trip Suggestions:

-Brest

-Quimper

-Lorient

-Vannes

-Saint-Malo

-Saint-Brieuc

-Nantes (I have a blog up on this city for September 8, 2018)

Lunch, souvenir shopping, and historical walks by the ocean are the main draws of these photogenic towns.

Happy Touring!!!

By Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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