You can easily translate the web content to your language with the Google Chrome.
Do szybkiego tlumaczenia na Twoj jezyk, polecam uzywanie przegladarki Google Chrome.

Friday, March 20, 2015

The First Day of Spring, Snowman by Basia and "Glazing Globes" by Paula Hayes, NYC 2015

Astronomical 2015 spring officially arrived on Friday, March 20, 2015 at 6:45 p.m. EDT, but millions in the Northeast, US had to shovel the snow brought by winter “Storm Ultima.”
 
Spring in NYC, March 20 and 21, 2015
March 20, 2015, NY
While every season is different, the season's last accumulating snow typically falls from late February as far south as the Nation's Capital, to late March in southern New England, to April in Maine.
NYC, March 20, 2015
NYC, March 21, 2015

Short Definition to Have a Better Understanding of the Spring Season
  • SPRING is one of the four seasons, following winter and preceding summer.
  • Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and also to ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth.
  • The technical definitions of spring varies according to local climate, cultures and customs. When it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it will be autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • At the spring equinox days are approximately 12 hours long with day length increasing as the season progresses. Subtropical and tropical areas have climates better described in terms of other seasons, e.g. dry or wet, monsoonal or cyclonic. Often the cultures have locally defined names for seasons which have little equivalence to the terms originating in Europe.
  • In terms of complete months, in most north temperate zone locations, spring months are March, April and May, although differences exist from country to country. (Summer is June, July, August; autumn is September, October, November; winter is December, January, February). Most south temperate zone locations have opposing seasons with spring in September, October and November. 
  • The beginning of spring is not always determined by fixed calendar dates. The phenological or ecological definition of spring relates to biological indicators; the blossoming of a range of plant species, and the activities of animals, or the special smell of soil that has reached the temperature for micro flora to flourish. It therefore varies according to the climate and according to the specific weather of a particular year. Most ecologists divide the year into six seasons that have no fixed dates. In addition to spring, ecological reckoning identifies an earlier separate prevernal (early or pre-spring) season between the hibernal (winter) and vernal (spring) seasons. This is a time when only the hardiest flowers like the crocus are in bloom, sometimes while there is still some snow cover on the ground.
  • During spring, the axis of the Earth is increasing its tilt relative to the Sun, and the length of daylight rapidly increases for the relevant hemisphere. The hemisphere begins to warm significantly causing new plant growth to "spring forth," giving the season its name. Snow, if a normal part of winter, begins to melt, and streams swell with runoff. Frosts, if a normal part of winter, become less severe. In climates that have no snow and rare frosts, the air and ground temperatures increase more rapidly. Many flowering plants bloom this time of year, in a long succession sometimes beginning when snow is still on the ground, continuing into early summer. In normally snowless areas "spring" may begin as early as February (Northern Hemisphere) heralded by the blooming of deciduous magnolias, cherries and quince, or August (Southern Hemisphere) in the same way. Many temperate areas have a dry spring, and wet autumn (fall), which brings about flowering in this season more consistent with the need for water as well as warmth. Subarctic areas may not experience "spring" at all until May or even June.
Madison Square Park, NYC
Paula Hayes, "Gazing Globes", Feb.19-April 19, 2015


Basia Fascinated by Paula Hayes “Gazing Globs”, NYC Art, 2015

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Family Fun Time

Many dads spend most of the workweek away from their kids. They see each other in the blur of mornings and the circus of evenings, so when Saturday comes, many of dads commence their mission to make this uninterrupted kid time insanely entertaining. It's a preposterous stereotype - moms are nurturing, fathers are fun. And that is when the trouble begins. To avoid it do family time as often as it is possible. 
 South Street Seaport, NYC, March, 2015
With Bill Gordh, Storyteller 
at Brookfield Place, NYC
Morning Walk, NYC, 2015
It doesn’t have to be an expensive theater day out or a nature weekend camp but just a fun store visit or a neighborhood walk.      
Toy"R"us, March, cold, weekday evening, 2015
Time Square, NYC, March, 2015
  
  
Broadway, NYC, March, 2015
Check some suggestions:
How to Be a Fun Dad but Still Be in Control

Basia's New Friend - Dog “Spotty” / “Pies Łatka”

Dog “Spotty” / “Pies Łatka” created in March 2015
Basia's New Friend - Dog “Spotty” / “Pies Łatka”, March 2015
New Friend - Dog “Spotty” / “Pies Łatka” created in March 2015
 Pattern for Dog “Spotty” / “Pies Łatka”
Dog “Spotty” / “Pies Łatka” Created by BP

NYC Subway Facts - Social Study


Subway Art
Subway Study, 2015
As a parent, we are our child's first and most important teacher. When parents and families are involved in their children's schools, the children do better and have better feelings about going to school. There are many ways that parents can support their children's learning at home and throughout the school year. Helping to gather materials and pieces of information for a social study is one way. In no-time you would see a marvelous outcome.

Check some interesting facts about NY Subway we found.
1. If all of the tracks that make up the NYC subway were laid end to end, they would stretch from NewYork to Chicago.
2. The greenor red globes at many subway entrances actually mean something. As a general rule, entrances with red globes are closed at night, while those with green globes are open 24-7.
3. Only 60% of the subway system is underground.
4. All of the top 10 busiestsubway stations are in Manhattan. Times Square takes the No. 1 spot with more than 63 million riders per year.
5. Though the New York City subway is by far the busiest subway system in the United States with 1.7 billion riders annually, it’s only the seventh-busiest system in the world. Tokyo, the world’s busiest system, sees nearly twice as many riders a year.
6. According to the 14th annual “subway shmutz” survey, passengers named the D train the dirtiest line, while the L was the cleanest.
7. The deepest subway stop is the 191st Street station where the 1 train stops. The platform is 180 feet below street level.
8. The Smith-Ninth streets station is the highest at 88 feet above street level.
9. There is a black-and-white striped board in the middle of every subway station. The conductor needs to point at it to assure that the train has stopped in the right place.
10. There is a tongue-in-cheek, but fairly accurate, economic principle known as the New YorkPizza Connection, which states that the average price of a slice of pizza matches the cost of a ride on the subway. When one increases, the other tends to follow.
11. Putting your feet on the seat isn’t just rude — it’s a crime that cops can arrest you for.
12. When New York’s first subway system opened in 1904, Mayor George B. Mc Clean was supposed to ceremonially start the train, then turn over control to a professional motorman. However, the mayor declared that he was “runningthis train,” and ended up driving for most of the journey.
13. A worker excavating under the East River in 1916 survived being sucked through the river and shot up into the air after the pressurized tunnel he was digging cracked.
14. The first female subway conductor was hired in 1917.
15. The worstsubway accident in New York’s history occurred in 1918 when a conductor who was filling in for a striking motorman lost control of his train while entering a tunnel on Brooklyn’s Malbone Street. The crash killed 97 people and injured more than 200 others.
16. The subway started taking tokens instead of coins in 1953 when the fare was raised to 15 cents, as the turnstiles couldn’t accept two different types of coins.
17. In the days of tokens, criminals would often intentionally jam turnstiles and then usetheir mouths to suck tokens out of the slots.
18. In response to this disgusting form of theft, token booth clerks would often sprinkle chili powder or mace into the slots to deter thieves.
19. Despite the prevalence of MetroCards, it was still possibleto use tokens until spring 2003, when they were officially deemed obsolete and invalid after 50 years of use.
20. MetroCard swipes are tracked and have successfully been used as an acceptable alibi to acquit people accused of committing crimes.
21. The first air-conditioned subway cars weren’t introduced until June 1967, meaning summer in New York used to be even worse.
22. The 7 train was the last train to get AC. By 1993, 99% of the cars were cool.
23. In an attempt to combat rampant graffiti on the subways, officials painted 7,000 subway cars pure white so as to dissuade potential vandals. However, graffiti artists merely viewed “the great white fleet” as a much-needed fresh canvas, and the plan failed horribly.
24. In 1993, 16-year-old Keron Thomas posedas a train conductor and drove an A train for three hours and safely delivered passengers to their destinations before he accidentally triggered an emergency brake on a fast curve.
25. In 2008, 44 old subway cars were dumpedinto the ocean off of the coast Maryland to serve as an artificial reef.
NYC Transportation Timeline
Drawings by BP, 2015
NYC Transportation, diorama by BP, 2015
Other Facts
1. In 2013, the average weekday subway ridershipin New York City was 5.5 million. Annual ridership was 1.7 billion. However, that doesn’t match the all-time annual ridership record which is 2.1 billion passengers set back in 1946.
2. The A train is the longest line in the subway system, logging 31 miles from 207th Street in Washington Heights to Far Rockaway out in Queens.
3. There are 660 miles of track in use for passenger service. If you include service tracks, there are more than 840 miles. Laid end to end, NYC Transit train tracks would stretch from New York City to Chicago.
4. In 1993, a 16-year-old assumed the seat of a motorman on an A train without anyone noticing. He successfully operated it for over three hours until he rounded a curve too quickly and tripped the train’s emergency brakes.
5. People used to suck subway tokens out of the slot. In return, MTA police would spray the token slots with chili powder for a nasty surprise.
6.  The MTA has the largest subway car fleet in the world with over 6,300 New York City subway cars. Combined, the entire fleet traveled 345 million miles in 2013.
7. There are 468 subway stations in operation, up from 28 when the subway system was opened in 1904. Most of the stations were built by 1940.
8. The subway lines use so much electricity, it could power the city lights in Buffalo, NY for an entire year.
9. Three railroad companies merged to create the MTA — the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) and the city-owned Independent Rapid Transit Railroad (IND). You can tell who built what because of the size and length of station platforms are all different, as well as the widths of the subway cars. The thinner the cars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 trains), run on the former IRT lines. The wider cars (A, B, C, D, E, F, M and G), run on the IND lines.
10. The 4 train was once considered the worst train to be on in the 70s and 80s, especially during the night. People referred to it as “Mugger’s Express.” Crime became so bad that people took matters into their own hands to form the Guardian Angels.
11. Michael Jackson and Martin Scorsese filmed “Bad” at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station (A, C and G) in 1987.
12. New York City’s subway system ranks #1 in the Americas for annual ridership. It ranks 7th in the entire world behind Guangzhou, Moscow, Shanghai,  Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo (which is #1).
13. All New York City subways currently in use have a ‘ dead-man feature.’ This feature automatically stops the subway rail if the operator has passed out or let go of the controls.
14. Between 1904 and 2014, a single fare ride rose from 5 cents to $2.50 – a whopping 5,000 percent.
15. There’s a moving walkway at the Court Square stop (E, G and 7).
16. If you ever visit the 58 Joralemon St., you’ll find a fake townhouse that’s secretly housing subway equipment.
17. In 2006, a mentally unstable man found electric saws in the 1 train 110th Street station and attacked a postal worker on the platform.
18. When not filled with masses of people, an empty R160 subway car weighs 85,200 pounds and spans 60 feet in length
19. A drunk conductor was at fault for the derailment of a 4 train in 1991. He was charged with five counts of manslaughter and operating under the influence.
20. The busiest New York City subway station in service is Times Sq, with over 63 million annual riders.
21. Only 77 stations out of 468 have open restrooms. (We still wouldn’t use them)
22. There’s an abandoned secret loop under City Hall that is part of the line 6 train.
23. The highest-elevated train station is Smith and 9th Street (F and G) in Brooklyn, at 88 feet; and the deepest train station is the 1 train 191 Street station in Manhattan, which is located 180 feet below street level.
24. Line and service are not interchangeable in the MTA. The service is the route that the train takes along lines. The line is the physical track the train runs on.
NY Subway

Monday, March 2, 2015

Polish Phonetics for Speech Evaluation

If you have to evaluate a Polish speaking child you might find useful the Phonetic Inventory below.

Check also Polish Tongue Twister according to Milosz

Here is the Phonemic Inventory for Polish Language:
http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_native.php?function=detail&languageid=50

As suggested by the other speech language pathologist I used "Learner English" book which covers the basic structure of many languages. There is a chapter on Polish language here that shows some of the pages:
http://books.google.com/books?id=6UIuWj9fQfQC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false 

Polish Tongue Twisters - Ćwicz język – Życzę Połamania Języka!

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Looking For Inspiration - “Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power”

 
Winter break was a great occasion to discover the New York City again. This time Basia has participated in an art program organized by The Jewish Museum. http://thejewishmuseum.org  
The kids were guided through “Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power” exhibition to explore the ideas, innovations, and influence of the legendary cosmetics entrepreneur by Helena Rubinstein who helped break down the status quo of taste by concealing boundaries between commerce, art, fashion, beauty, and design. Through 200 objects the exhibition shown Helena Rubinstein’s unique style and pioneering approach to business and heralded a modern notion of beauty.
View of the exhibition “Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power,” October 31, 2014 – March 22, 2015.
Helena Rubinstein (1872–1965) was the great 20th-century cosmetics entrepreneur. She changed the way women saw themselves, using her own remarkable life and spectacular art collections as a model. Helena Rubinstein broke free from the constraints of her 19th-century, small-town, Polish Jewish background to become a giant of the beauty industry and an international household name. Through her conception of the beauty salon as a place of modernist display, she empowered the modern woman to define herself through her choices in taste and decor.
Most interestingly for us Helena Rubinstein rooted form Poland. She was born in 1872 and lived in Krakow, Poland. She was the oldest of eight daughters in a lower middle-class, Orthodox Jewish family, and from an early age she had a rebellious personality. When she refused an arranged marriage that her parents planned for her, she was sent to live with an aunt in Vienna. There she learned about fashion and retail through the family fur business.
In 1896 Helena Rubinstein moved to Australia to live with relatives. Noticing how many Australian women had sun-damaged skin, she began to sell a facial cream that a local chemist helped her to concoct. By 1903, she had already established Helena Rubinstein & Co., starting the international brand. The facial cream, called Valaze, was an early cornerstone of her beauty empire. Building on its success, Rubinstein opened stores in Melbourne and Sydney, then in London. After the outbreak of World War I, she and her American husband, Edward Titus, and their two sons, Roy and Horace, moved to the United States.
"Beauty Masks" by BP, February 2015
Inspired by an African sculpture.
 
African Sculpture from Helena Rubinstein's Collection
Besides to her career as a cosmetics magnate, Helena Rubinstein was a bold art collector. Inspired by time spent in Paris, she purchased works by artists of the avant-garde, including GeorgesBraqueMax Ernst, and JoanMiro; on a visit to Mexico, she befriended DiegoRivera and FridaKahlo. At a time when African sculpture wasn’t yet considered fine art by most Europeans or Americans Helena Rubinstein enthusiastically collected them.

  
"Self-Portrait" by BP, February 2015
Draw a portrait without lifting your hand. Project at the museum.

“Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power” traces the path of this remarkable early feminist and visionary art patron. In Rubinstein’s world, art and commerce blended effortlessly. She decorated her salons and homes with fine artworks - Surrealist murals, modernist portraits, Art Deco furniture, Venetian mirrors, and one of the era’s great collections of African and Oceanic art. Her understanding of beauty was equally expansive and democratic: she saw the face as the site for self-expression and the exploration of identity. The Rubinstein beauty program thus included not only makeup and hairdressing, but also lessons in health, deportment, and culture. Such features, innovative at the time and wildly popular, today provide a fascinating glimpse into popular culture as it affected women in the 20th century.
"My Family" by BP and mom, February 2015
Project at the museum.
Read from the Press




Read more about her love for the art

Pictures:
African mask - Punu face mask (mukudj) Gabon, (date unknown). 
Sketches - Pablo Picasso Portrait of Helena Rubinstein XIX 27-11-1955, (1955). 

HR in a red Latino dress - Graham Sutherland Helena Rubinstein in a Red Brocade Balenciaga Gown, (1957).