Lunchtime Conversations: MLK, Jesus, Race, and Jokes

     Today, at lunch, my husband asked our boys if they knew what day it was.  My youngest ran to the calendar and said, “Martin Luther King Day.”  My husband asked him if he knew who Martin Luther King, Jr. was.  He replied, “A president?  Jesus?” 

     “Jesus?!  Why in the world would you think he was Jesus?”

     “I don’t know.”  (Personally, I think he was giving the Sunday School answer – when in doubt, say “Jesus.”)

     The conversation continued with a short history of the Civil War, segregation, and Martin Luther King, Jr.  My husband ended by saying something about not looking at someone’s outside or their race.

     “What is ‘race’”? my youngest asked sincerely.

     We looked at each other, wondering, “Is that a good thing or a bad thing that he doesn’t know what ‘race’ is?”

     After an explanation of “race,” my husband said, “That’s why we should never tell jokes about someone’s race.  It’s not funny or kind.  Have either of you ever heard someone make jokes about someone’s race?”

     My youngest piped up.  “Oh dear.  I’ve heard one.  If you’re an American in the living room, what are you in the bathroom?”  Pause.

     “European.”

     I exploded in laughter, and well, that was the end of our history lesson!

     Ahhhh, life with boys.

     On a more serious note, here is a link to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.  He was an incredible speaker!

I Was Sad -- A BAD Paragraph: A Writing Lesson

     I am up to my neck in writing.  My head is swirling with thoughts about writing.  My brain is exploding with writing thoughts.  I have little scraps of paper everywhere.  They say things like, "Exposition -- what we do most" and "must PLAN" and "same persuasive letter -- 2 audiences" and "the best way to get better is to DO ie. piano, math, instrument, writing."  

     You see, this Friday, I begin teaching two writing classes to intermediate students at our homeschool co-op.

     Today, I typed up our first activity.  Sometimes the best way to teach a subject is to show the students what NOT to do.  I had so much fun with it that I had to share it with you!  Feel free to use it with your own students.

     Have the student read the paragraph out loud, and then do the activity at the bottom.

I Was Sad

By Mrs. Mullin

     I am supposed to write about a time I was sad recently.  Here goes,  Today, I took down my Christmas tree.  that made me sad.  I took off all the ownamants.  There weas a lot of them.  It was empty.  I looked at the tree.  It made me sad.  It was bare.  And plain.  Just green with lights.  Other people were watching football.  It reminded me that i have to wait a long time until christmas comes back.  Isn’t that sad?  No more family time.  My in-laws came for the holidays. No more free time.  School is starting back, too.  Oh, and the presents.  I have to wait to get more presents.  I can’t wait until my birthday in February.  So, that’s why I was sad recently.

January 7, 2013 

The End

This is a BAD paragraph.

*How many “sentences” are in this paragraph?  _______

*Circle any mistakes that you see.  (Grammar, usage, mechanics)

*Which sentences are completely random?  Write “random” boldly above them.

*Underline the fragments?  A fragment is not a complete sentence. 

*Create a better title.

*Rewrite the pitiful topic sentence: 

*In your group, rewrite this paragraph.  Combine sentences.  Eliminate random thoughts.  Expand sentences.  Add some interesting details.  Oh please – fix this paragraph!

Say What? Advent, the Incarnation, and a Zombie Apocalypse?

     
     This year, my husband has been leading us in advent devotionals.  It's a time where we sit together quietly on the couch and meditate on the coming of Christ and all that means for us.  We have serious discussions that are profound and instructional.  Take last night, for example.  The conversation went like this:

Oldest son-- "So if "incarnation" means "becoming flesh," does "carnation" mean "flesh"?"


Miles-- "A carnation is a flower."

Oldest son-- "Hmmm... Maybe a carnation is a flesh flower. So if we have a zombie apocalypse, we can feed them carnations."

Miles -- "Actually, a carnation is a nation where everyone has a car. AND if all the cars are pink, then it's a pink carnation."

Youngest son -- (giggle, giggle, giggle, giggle......)

     Somewhere in there, my husband threw out the Latin definition of incarnation.  My youngest giggled the entire time at the clever plays on words.  Me?  I was sitting there incredulous that we went from the incarnation to pink cars and zombie apocalypses.

     I'm still chuckling this morning.  My wonderful husband and creative sons left me with a very fun memory, and I'll bet they will never forget what "incarnation" means.  

Hallelujah!

I love this video! Cracks me up, and yet, the message is awesome!