Tag Archives: england

New Family-Friendly Theme Park—“READ” All About It

It’s a place where literary classics come to life. If you are a fan of famed author Charles Dickens… and you love water rides then consider adding London to your list of summer vacation hotspots. Next month, a new $125-million theme park inspired by the works of the acclaimed author opens in a 70,000-square-foot warehouse in Chatham, 35 miles southeast of London. If you have voracious young readers in your family who can’t get enough of titles such as “The Pickwick Papers,” “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” and “Oliver” you may want to forgo Disney World and head straight for … Continue reading →

Homeschool Curriculum Glossary (Early Bird -Exloring America)

Early Bird Start up Science consists of four books with a total of 29 exercises. The books are filled with science facts and activities that young people will enjoy. These books are geared toward 7-8 year olds. “Easy Grammar texts use the prepositional approach combined with effective strategies. This helps students to understand grammar, a tool for speaking and writing properly.” These books are reproducible and come with a money back guarantee. These books are designed for a teacher to use in instructing students. Easy Grammar is supplemented with daily grams, a 5-10 minute daily review workbook. Easy Spanish is … Continue reading →

Crufts: England’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

The later part of the 1800s sure saw a rise of interest in dogs. It seems that showing off a dog’s talent and/or beauty became quite fashionable, and as a result so did dog shows. The precedent of which continues today. There’s always been a variety of shows, but some are more prestigious than others. In the United States, it’s the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. In England, it’s Crufts. Beginning today through March 11, the “World’s Greatest Dog Show” as it’s billed, gets underway. Here’s a little history on how it all came to be, and what it’s since … Continue reading →

The Widow of Larkspur Inn – Lawana Blackwell

The first Lawana Blackwell novel I ever read was a contemporary piece which I included as a blog toward the beginning of my career here at Families.com. I found this novel, “The Widow of Larkspur Inn,” at the library last week and was glad to find it, although it’s not what I usually choose to read. It’s a period piece set in 1869-1870 in England, and is a romance/drama. Julia Hollis has just been left a widow with three children to care for. In the midst of her grief, she finds out that her husband has left her with considerable … Continue reading →

Crazy Bride? Crazy Mother?

What would you say if I told you that a woman (a reportedly sane woman) walked down the aisle only 11 hours after giving birth to her first child? Would you call her decision crazy? I did. But you can judge for yourself. According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, Nicky Heys, who resides in southwest England, went into labor three months early–the night before her wedding day. At first she thought her stomach pains were pre-wedding jitters, but when they worsened she was rushed to a local hospital. A few hours later the 35-year-old secretary gave birth to a son, … Continue reading →

A Haunted Hotel?

Just in time for Halloween the Gleneagles Hotel, recently staged a gala reopening, boasting of its reputation as “Fawlty Towers,” England’s most frightful hotel. Do you believe in ghosts? Haunted spirits? Or, poltergeists? If you do, then you may want to consider booking a room as soon as possible. Hotel managers say they are expecting a record number of people to visit the property in the coming weeks. “We decided Hotel Gleneagles is always going to be famous for inspiring ‘Fawlty Towers’ (which some consider a television comedy masterpiece) so, rather than being embarrassed about what has happened, we have … Continue reading →

What Your Eighth Grader Needs To Learn

Today is the last posting in this “What Your (fill in appropriate grade)Grader Needs To Learn series. I hope you have found some useful information that will be helpful for both you and your student. The following is a brief list of subjects that your eighth grader should learn by the end of the school year. Unfortunately, the series titled “What Your _ Grader Needs To Know by the Core Knowledge Foundation only goes through sixth grade. The organization also has a teacher/school resource titled “Core Knowledge K-8 Sequence” that gives detailed information about what to include in the curriculum … Continue reading →

Charles & Diana: A Love Story?

Posted on by

We’ve been talking about marriage and wedding planning here at the Marriage blog this month and I don’t think any wedding planning would be complete without talking about some of the great weddings of the last century. And I do mean the last century, not the current one. When I think of the great weddings of the last century, one of the first weddings to come to mind is that of Charles, Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer. I was just nine years old when they were married in the summer of 1981. I remember my mother waking me … Continue reading →

Arizona English Language Learners – Part II

As I touched on this subject back in February, more information and decisions have become available and since my new home is Arizona, I am now reading the local papers about the English Language Learners debate. Arizona is known for having many children and adults whose first language is not English. Many are of the Hispanic race and their first language is Spanish. Due to this, many students do not succeed in school and cannot go to college because of the language barrier they face. According to The Arizona Republic, 175,000 students are considered “at-risk.” This means they will never … Continue reading →

Writing Workshops

Many students at any age feel their writing skills are not strong. Part of the problem is that students compare themselves to published, well-known fiction authors who have editors and publishers who revise and edit before any copies hit the book shelves. Students need to be made aware sometimes a book can take 5 years to complete; sometimes even longer! How do writing workshops help? Anytime a student writes an essay, regardless of grade level, a good technique which can be used in a classroom is to “workshop” their writing. What this means is after the student feels their rough … Continue reading →