So this is techy Christmas!

It's that time if year again. If you have you're own children you must figure out the right presents for them. What do you purchase from the Christmas list, and what do you leave out?
In. my case I have a 5th grade daughter and 2nd grade son. Daughter already has a laptop and wifi galaxy mp3 player, so we're going light on her this year. She's not asking for much any way! The son, however, is eying all those things she already has, plus a couple video games.  We're not going to get him a lap top, but were considering the mp3 player. Oh, he also asked for a 3DS, but we're not entertaining that idea. Then I got to thinking... His computer is old, handles most of his school needs but not holding up well for other things. I wonder if a small notebook would be a good alternative? It's got the mp3 stuff covered, and can handle most of the PC and laptop needs for an 8 year old. Plus, we don't have to shell out the kind of funds necessary for a laptop! Then I see this;
Infographic: Tablets top holiday shopping list | TechRepublic.
Maybe this will be his year for something not on his list, but just a good alternative......Here's another post.

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is here, it's really here! I have so much to be thankful for! I will be visiting family in a couple hours. It  should be a wonderful feast, and best of all it will be with wonderful people! We are watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade while we relax a bit before the drive.

Here's a link to one dish I made for Thanksgiving.

This year I had the great pleasure of seeing my son's 2nd grade class present to their book buddies in fourth grade. Just another fabulous reason to volunteer in your child's classroom! The class of approximately 30 students was separated into groups of 4-5 children. Each group was provided a region of native Americans to learn about. They all researched, put information together, printed it out, cut it out, and created their own projects on pasteboard. All with no help from us parents! Each group presented their projects to the entire fourth grade class. They also sported some conduction paper head gear, beaded necklaces, and they created some adorable kachina dolls. The teamwork was fabulous, and the presentations were wonderful!
Here's a link about Native American dolls.

What is included in educating students about thanksgiving in your school, class or home? What traditions do you follow at this time of year? Do you have anything you are really grateful for this year?  You can post comments in the comment section below.

Bullying post from another blogger.

Bullying is Broken | The Hero Construction Company I came across this on another blog. It's right on about not having a clear definition of bullying, each person having varying views. However, I don't see banning the word as an option, rather we should try to find a more concise definition that most within the school can come to some agreement on. We also need to clarify what it means to each person.

The insistence on zero tolerance policies are not going to fix the problem, and make no attempt at working at the roots of the problem. They are inflexible, and often unconscionable. Also, though some things in the list on the blog may seem small and petty, not important enough to consider bullying, when done often enough, demeaning others, and diminishing their feeling of self worth can cause serious severe harm. We also need to remember that emotional damage can cause far more lasting problems than some physical damage, and all of it has an emotional attachment which can remain long after the abuse stops and the bully is gone.