Hercule Poirot
Returns in the novels by a British author
Sophie Hannah,
In:
“Monogram Murder”
“Closed Casket”
“The Mystery of Three Quarters” and
“The Killings at Kingfisher Hill”
With the blessing of the Agatha Christie Estate and
Dame Agatha's grandson, Matthew Prichard.
Check
the author’s website for her other books
whether it was a question, an idea, or a critical suggestion.
A big thank you!
“With
an enormous computer presence in schools, the question is no longer whether to
teach keyboarding but when to teach it.”
Is Touch Typing a multifaceted ability? The answer is Yes.
Research has shown that learning to type
early on, in the first few years of schooling, can benefit a student’s reading
and comprehension. With a lower percentage of our attention directed at
the keyboard, a student is able to concentrate more fully on his work and the
concepts being taught.
What Touch Typing helps with?
Touch Typing teaches a student how to decode and break down words and sentences. That can greatly help with spelling skills. As we learn to type we become used to the pattern of the QWERTY keyboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTY and the structure of the letters, muscle memory alone can help us remember how to spell!
Learning touch typing leads to a natural fluency when using a keyboard and faster typing speeds on average than someone using the ‘hunt and peck’ method (an improper form of typing where the user looks (hunt) at their keyboard for location, then presses (pecks) the key, generally using only their index fingers.)
For more info check:
Nessy
Fingers (Teaches touch typing while improving spelling.)
https://www.nessy.com/uk/product/nessy-fingers/
Education World https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr076.shtml
At the end of 2020, I wanted to stay on the bright side and look just at the Pros of COVID-19
What are you saying?
Tips after The National Institute on Deafness and
Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Is
the person you’re communicating with having trouble understanding you?
Ask
and adapt if needed.
Face
coverings block visual cues and muffle sounds that help us understand speech.
It
can make interactions frustrating.
Consider
how physical distancing might affect your communication.
As
distance increases, sound levels decrease, and visual cues are more
difficult to see.
Speak
up, but don’t shout.
Focus
on speaking clearly.
Consider
wearing a clear face covering, if possible.
If
you’re having trouble understanding, ask the person you’re talking with to
speak louder.
If
you lip-read, ask those you interact with regularly to wear a clear face
covering.
Background
noise can make conversation especially hard.
When
possible, move to a quieter spot or turn down the sound.
Use
a smartphone talk-to-text application or writing tools to communicate.
(Paper,
pen, whiteboard, etc.)
Ask
if your message has been understood.
If
it’s essential that you comprehend important spoken details,
During
a discussion with a health care provider, an office worker, or a teacher.
Consider
bringing a friend or family member with you.
Or,
offer to come along to listen and take notes,
When
a friend has an important appointment or meeting.
Open the link below for the full article:
Read ASHA articles related to hearing deficits, communication, and face masks during COVID-19:
ForSpeech Sounds, 6 Feet With a Mask Is Like 12 Feet Without
PediatricHearing Loss Effects Are Anything But 'Mild' During COVID-19
Media Spotlight: Masks and Communication
Find "Hearing Disorders – Resources" on Motivated Parent - Successful Child:
https://slpzone.blogspot.com/2014/01/hearing-disorders-resources.html
How to Manage Stress Under COVID-19
How to Manage Anxiety Under COVID-19
How to Manage a Meltdown
https://www.drlisadamour.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Damour-How-to-Manage-a-Meltdown-1.pdf
English
https://www.drlisadamour.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Damour-Co%CC%81mo-Manejar-una-Crisis.pdf
Español
When a Teens Friend is In Crisis
https://www.drlisadamour.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/When-a-Teens-Friend-is-In-Crisis-English.pdf
English
https://www.drlisadamour.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/When-a-Teens-Friend-is-In-Crisis-Spanish.pdf Español
Lisa
Damour
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Damour
How about I can't hear a word you are saying?
“Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood”
by Lisa Damour
Lisa
Damour, Ph.D., “pulls back the curtain on the teenage years and shows why your
daughter’s erratic and confusing behavior is actually healthy, necessary, and
natural. Untangled explains what’s going on, prepares parents for
what’s to come, and lets them know when it’s time to worry.”
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25614847-untangled
Art by BP
“Under Pressure: Confronting the Epidemic of Stress and Anxiety in Girls”
by Lisa
Damour
“An
urgently needed guide to the alarming increase in anxiety and stress
experienced by girls from elementary school through college, from the New
York Times bestselling author of “Untangled”
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40242278-under-pressure
Art by BP
The more we get together
Together, together
The more we get together
The happier we'll be…
I’m not saying it is easy. It has been three years already and I’m still learning my third/fourth language - Spanish. Polish is my first language, English is my second, now Spanish is my third, and Russian is my distant fourth.
My husband and I were traveling to the South and
Central America a lot and when our daughter joined us one day we decided that “enough
is enough” and that we have to be able to converse with the locals we meet
there. We also wanted to feel more a part of the culture, not just the tourists.
We started learning Spanish with absolute “0”
knowledge of the language in summer 2017. We immersed ourselves in Antigua, a
small town in Guatemala, signed for a Spanish language program, Monday to Friday,
8 am till 12 pm for one-to-one instructions and afternoon group activities. We
lived with a local family who did not speak a word of English. At first, we used google translator to ask basic questions. It was
really tough at the beginning and hard to do even simple homework. Yes, I
know, I’m an educator but when an educator becomes a student, it’s not an easy
adjustment.
After one month of studying and
interacting with the locals, we were able to order food, pay the bill, take a
bus, visit nearby attractions, or have a simple conversation with our host
family. We repeated the immersion program two more times, once returning to the
same school and family in the summer of 2018, and the second time a similar arrangement
in Quito, Ecuador. Since the beginning of our adventure with Spanish, we connected
with the native teachers by taking skype classes weekly, doing Duolingo daily, or conversing with locals during our trips to Peru, Spain, and Columbia. Fast
forward three years and I can understand a simple conversation, read a passage,
or write a message. Not impressive, I know. I am still a long way from feeling
comfortable using Spanish.
Learning a language later in life is a
slow process but it is one of the best ways to power your brain. It’s known
that learning anything new is very good for the adult brain. Sadly I often
forget vocabulary, I look for a particular word during an important conversation,
lose a point I am trying to explain. On the bright side, if you know two
languages well learning a third or fourth is supposed to be easier. That gives
me hope that one day I will have a flourished conversation with a native
speaker and enhances my joy of learning. In the meantime, I look forward to our
next trip to a Spanish speaking country.
At this point, I can happily say I am reasonably comfortable to ask questions, get directions, share my favorite recipes, or exchange a book recommendation in Spanish. After returning from our last trip to Columbia I feel like there were days when I spoke a decent amount of Spanish. It amazes me that so many Americans who travel to South or Central America speak no or little Spanish. Enough to say my daughter who is an 8 grader in NYC is not being taught Spanish as a second language. What is there about Americans that makes them think that knowing their own language is all they need? Spanish is the second language in the USA. There are 52 million Hispanophones who speak Spanish as a first or second language in the US making the United States the second-largest Hispanophone country in the world after Mexico. There are about 500 million Hispanophones worldwide. (Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanophone)
My and my husband’s goal now is to help our daughter to reach the proficiency level in the Spanish language. I can’t tell you what a joy it is to hear my daughter conversing with the native speakers, chatting with the local scouts, or playing games freely where the Spanish language is not a barrier anymore.
A long term goal for myself is to read books in original. On my, list I have “Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel GarcÃa Márquez, “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel, “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, “The Green House” by Mario Vargas Llosa or Falcó novels by Arturo Pérez-Reverte Gutiérrez.
