Mother's Day Scapbook and Marine Homecoming!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL

Our Mother's Day 2011 celebration has proven to be one of the best days of my life.  I finally got to see my grandson, Michael, after his time stationed in Afghanistan.  He looked fantastic with his new muscular body and sun tan.  He has matured into a man who thinks of others first!  Thank you United States Marine Corps!

My daughter, Stephanie, presented me with a beautiful Mother's Day Tribute in the form of a scrapbook.  As you can see by the photos of just some of the pages, it is full of great family photos and beautiful seniments.  I cried.

I was a single parent most of my life and always worried that my daughter wouldn't get all she needed to grow up properly.  She has grown into an amazing woman, wife, and mother.







We used to sing, "You and Me Against
the World," and dance around the living room. 

So much changed when my daughter became a mother herself.  She's a fantastic mother!

Here's my daughter with each of her children.

My beautiful granddaughter, Tori, wrote me a poem. I'll post it in the next post.

On the left is my other daughter, Chali and her husband Doug, then Jeff, Stephanie's husband, my husband, me, and my granddaughter Tori.

             At times our family is a little silly as you can see by these photos.

My grandson graduating from Marine boot camp. 



Here he is showing off his muscles.

This is the part that made me cry!

This is my terrific dog, Lucy.   

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Summer Songs and Poems

INSECTS!!
(Sung to: She'll Be comin' Round the Mountain)

They'll be flying 'round the flowers in the yard. Buzz buzz. (flap hands)
They'll be flying 'round the flowers in the yard. Buzz buzz.
They'll be flying 'round the flowers; they'll be flying 'round the flowers;
They'll be flying 'round they flowers in the yard.

More verses:
They'll be slurping up the nectar when they come. Gulp! Gulp! (pretend to swallow)
They'll be scooping up the pollen with their legs. Fun! Fun! (Stomp twice)
They'll be feeding all the babies in the hive. Eat! Eat! (pretend to rock baby)
They'll be cooling down the hive with their wings. Flap! Flap! (flap arms)
They'll be making lots of honey that we'll eat. Yum! Yum! (rub tummy)

When the Bugs Come Out in Spring
Tune: When the Saints Come Marching In

Oh when the bugs come out in spring
Oh when the bugs come out in spring
I want to be outside marching

When the bugs come out in spring
I'll see some crawl; I'll see some fly
I'll count how many go marching by
I'll watch and see how many I know
Of the bugs that come out in spring


I'm A Little Turtle
(sung to the tune of "I'm A Little Teapot")

I'm a little turtle with a shell,
I have four legs, a head, and a tail,
When I get so scared I want to hide,
I pull my head and legs inside!

A New Itsy-Bitsy Spider

The itsty-bitsy spider
Crawled up on Jordan’s head.
He crawled all around, then used it for a bed.
He crawled down his back
and jumped down to the floor.
Then the itsy-bitsy spider
Crawled underneath the door.


DO SPIDERS STICK TO THEIR OWN WEBS?

The spider weaves a sticky web
To capture bugs to eat.
What keeps the spider's sticky web
From sticking to her feet?
Spider webs are very tricky
Because not all the strands are sticky.
Unlike the passing hapless fly,
The spider knows which strands are dry.
But if she accidentally stands
Upon one of the sticky strands
She still will not get stuck, you see-
Her oily body slides off free.

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HAPPY 4TH OFJULY: POEM

INDEPENDENCE DAY


In the year of 1776

That paper was decreed -

They were tired of oppression

And wanted to be freed .



They wrote a Declaration

So the whole world would see

This was, "the home of the brave

And the land of the free".



They signed that piece of parchment

The leaders of this land

Knowing, divided they would fall

But, together they could stand.



A new world lay before them

Untamed from shore to shore -

They swore they would protect it

If it meant going to war.



Battles have been fought

And many lives have been lost -

So sad something so basic

Has such a high, high cost.



Seems freedom is a luxury

There's some would bind us all -

Like then, together, we can stand

But divided, we will fall.



Two hundred thirty-four years

Have past by since that day

That each of us celebrate

In our own different way.



We should be proud and thankful

Pay our share of the cost -

Not take freedom for granted

For it easily could be lost.



Del "Abe" Jones


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MOTHER'S DAY POEMS BY DEL "ABE" JONES

Military Moms

This year on Mother's Day
We should think of offspring lost
And Mothers of all those Troops
Who paid the ultimate cost.

They've watched Sons and Daughters
Sent off to a foreign land
To fight wars and give their all
In some conflicts so ill planned.

But no matter what the reasons
They've always stepped up to the line
To give their lives for Freedoms
Enjoyed by all of yours and mine.

We must Honor all those Mothers
Of all those who have Served
And Sacrifices that they made
With our, "Thanks!", so well deserved.

It takes a very Special Lady
To let Her Child go off to War
Or just to join the Military
With the pride and fear and more.

There's too many Gold Star Mothers
And if you might know of one
Please send Her a special wish
To praise Her Daughter or Son.

Military Moms are the Greatest
With a strength beyond compare
Who hope and pray their loved one
Comes Home safe, from over there.

So, let's keep them in our thoughts
And hope their prayers come true
All those Moms and all those Troops
Who stand Strong and Proud, and True.

Del "Abe" Jones

Mother's Day

There were some different beginnings
To what we know as, "Mother's Day"
One woman, Anna Reeves Jarvis
"Mothers' Work Day Clubs", her way.

They focused on sanitary conditions
And provided medicines for the poor
They promised to care for all Soldiers
From both sides in the Civil War.

After that War that had divided
The new-found peace would take her
To healing families and friends
And she became a real peacemaker.

Then, in the Eighteen seventies
Something we could sure use now
"Mothers' Peace Day" was started
By, Julia Ward Howe.

A famous woman of the time
Reformer, lecturer, and writer of note
"The Battle Hymn Of The Republic"
Is something that she wrote.

A woman' suffrage association
Voted her their first President
And hers, the first suggestion
To have a Mother's Day event.

Then there was Frank Hering
In the year Nineteen ought-four
Of the Fraternal Order Of Eagles
Who claimed to open the door.

In Nineteen fourteen Woodrow Wilson
Recommending a Federal Mother's Day
Signed a joint resolution
That we now observe each year in May.

No matter who takes the credit
It was a long time overdue
To honor all those Ladies
Who gave life to me and you.

So, those who still have theirs
Should remember those times passed
And thank Her now for all those things
She's done for you in the past.

For those whose Mom is gone
It's a time to reflect and say,
"Mom, I love and miss you,
On this, and every other day."

Our Mothers shape our being
And have an endless wealth to give
And She will be a part of us
For as long as we may live.

Del "Abe" Jones

More poetry here-
http://iwvpa.net/jonesd/index.php
http://www.scribd.com/documents

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MOTHER'S DAY POEMS AND SONGS

Mother's Day
by Sherry

The kindest face I'll ever see,
The kindest voice I'll ever hear.
The one who cares the most for me
Is my own mother dear.

All through the year
I'll try to do
The things that show
My love for you.
And not be happy just to say,
"I love you, Mother," on Mother's Day.

Take an angel from the sky
And send her down this way.
Then send some little boys and girls
To keep her company.

Then fill her heart
With Mother love,
Give her a smile of cheer.
And you'll have a kind of Mother
Just like my Mother, dear.

Mother’s Day Song (Are You Sleeping)

We love mothers, we love mothers
Yes, we do; yes, we do.
Mothers are for hugging
Mothers are for kissing
We love you; yes, we do.
Only One Mother

Poem
by George Cooper

Hundreds of stars in the pretty sky,
Hundreds of shells on the shore together,
Hundreds of birds that go singing by,
Hundreds of lambs in the sunny weather.

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.

Song(tune of "Bing-O")

There is a woman that I know,
And Mommy is her name-O.
M-O-M-M-Y!
M-O-M-M-Y!
M-O-M-M-Y!
And Mommy is her name-O!

There is a woman that I know,
And Mommy is her name-O.
(Clap)-O-M-M-Y!
(Clap)-O-M-M-Y!
(Clap)-O-M-M-Y!
And Mommy is her name-O!

There is a woman that I know,
And Mommy is her name-O.
(Clap, Clap)-M-M-Y!
(Clap, Clap)-M-M-Y!
(Clap, Clap)-M-M-Y!
And Mommy is her name-O!

There is a woman that I know,
And Mommy is her name-O.
(Clap, Clap, Clap)-M-Y!
(Clap, Clap, Clap)-M-Y!
(Clap, Clap, Clap)-M-Y!
And Mommy is her name-O!

There is a woman that I know,
And Mommy is her name-O.
(Clap, Clap, Clap, clap)-Y!
(Clap, Clap, Clap, clap)-Y!
(Clap, Clap, Clap, clap)-Y!
And Mommy is her name-O!

There is a woman that I know,
And Mommy is her name-O.
(Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap)
(Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap)
(Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap)
And Mommy is her name-O!

MILITARY MOMS
Del Abe Jones
5-10-2006
MOTHER'S DAY

This year on Mother s Day
We should think of offspring lost
And Mothers of all those Troops
Who paid the ultimate cost.

They ve watched Sons and Daughters
Sent off to a foreign land
To fight wars and give their all
In some conflicts so ill planned.

But no matter what the reasons
They ve always stepped up to the line
To give their lives for Freedoms
Enjoyed by all of yours and mine.

We must Honor all those Mothers
Of all those who have Served
And Sacrifices that they made
With our, Thanks! , so well deserved.

It takes a very Special Lady
To let Her Child go off to War
Or just to join the Military
With the pride and fear and more.

There's too many Gold Star Mothers
And if you might know of one
Please send Her a special wish
To praise Her Daughter or Son.

Military Moms are the Greatest
With a strength beyond compare
Who hope and pray their loved one
Comes Home safe, from over there.

So, let s keep them in our thoughts
And hope their prayers come true
All those Moms and all those Troops
Who stand Strong and Proud, and True.


Kathy Stemke's websites:
Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html
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SPIDERS!

Click on the image to enlarge, copy and print.

Spider Facts

Spiders are not insects. Insects have three body parts and six legs.
Spiders have eight eyes, eight legs, two body parts, outside skeletons, and fangs. They do not have antennas or wings. Males are smaller than the females.
Spiderlings are baby spiders that hatch from silk covered egg sacs. Each kind of spider knows how to spin a certain pattern of a web when it hatches.
Spiders eat millions of insects a year. They create beautiful webs and are useful.
Not all spiders spin webs.

Spiders are oviparous, which means their babies come from eggs.The Spider Poem

Spiders are not insects,
Spiders have eight legs,
Spiders have four pair of eyes,
Spiders hatch from eggs.
Spider webs are sticky,
Spiders weave them tight,
Spiders spin that silky string,
Spiders weave webs right!

I'm a Little Spider
(sung to I'm a Little Teapot) by Sue Brown

I'm a little spider, watch me spin.
If you'll be my dinner, I'll let you come in.
Then I'll spin my web to hold you tight,
And Gobble you up in one big bite!

"Crawl Like a Spider" (sung to the tune of "Ten Little Indians")

Crawl, crawl, crawl like a spider.
Crawl, crawl, crawl like a spider.
Crawl, crawl, crawl like a spider.
Crawl around your web.
Replace the action word with: jump, run, creep, sneak, pounce

Crafts

Spider Marble Painting

Place an 8x8 inch square of black construction paper in a box lid. Dip a marble in white paint and drop it onto the paper. Roll the marble around by tilting the lid. Continue until you have a spider web.

SPIDERS HAND PRINT

If you have the children trace their hands with white crayons on black paper and you cut off the thumbs you will have eight legs by gluing the two palms together. They can create the faces on their own or you could take their photo and cut their face out for the spider face.

Spider Mask

What You Need: Paint Paper Plate Yarn Garbage Bag

Paint a large paper plate black, next hole punch 4 holes 2 on each side of the mask near the edge of the plate. Then from a clean black garbage bag cut four 16 inch strips. Help the child thread a strip through each small hole in his plate and tie the strip in the center, it will make the spiders eight legs, glue a large craft stick on the back of the mask.

Cooking

Marshmallow Spiders For each spider, use one large marshmallow for the body and one small marshmallow for the head (attach with 1/2 a toothpick). Make eyes from mini M&Ms, legs from pretzel sticks. Cover with chocolate sauce, if desired.

Math Project

Give students a blank spider web with a number on the side of the sheet - 1-10.
Kids make the same number of spiders on the web. They use use their thumbs with an ink pad and then add eight little legs.

A to Z Teacher Stuff: http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Printables/Spiders/index.shtml

Kids Zone (spider activities): http://www.kidzone.ws/lw/spiders/activities.htm

Miss Spider
http://www.noggin.com/shows/miss_spider.php?source=SEO_SSP_Y&sem=SEO_SSP_Y

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TWO WINTER POEMS by Robert Louis Stevenson

Picture Books in Winter
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Summer fading, winter comes--
Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs,
Window robins, winter rooks,
And the picture story-books.

Water now is turned to stone
Nurse and I can walk upon;
Still we find the flowing brooks
In the picture story-books.

All the pretty things put by,
Wait upon the children's eye,
Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks,
In the picture story-books.

We may see how all things are
Seas and cities, near and far,
And the flying fairies' looks,
In the picture story-books.

How am I to sing your praise,
Happy chimney-corner days,
Sitting safe in nursery nooks,
Reading picture story-books.

Just click on the Christmas tree puzzle to enlarge and then copy it.



Winter-Time
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,
A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;
Blinks but an hour or two; and then,
A blood-red orange, sets again.

Before the stars have left the skies,
At morning in the dark I rise;
And shivering in my nakedness,
By the cold candle, bathe and dress.

Close by the jolly fire I sit
To warm my frozen bones a bit;
Or with a reindeer-sled, explore
The colder countries round the door.

When to go out, my nurse doth wrap
Me in my comforter and cap;
The cold wind burns my face, and blows
Its frosty pepper up my nose.

Black are my steps on silver sod;
Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;
And tree and house, and hill and lake,
Are frosted like a wedding cake.

Use this jigsaw template for any winter picture. Just click on the image to enlarge and copy. Have fun!

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MORE ON AUTHOR HELENA HARPER!

Here are some excerpts and reviews of Helena Harper's book, A Teachers life..!

For all the whimsy and lightness, Harper is at her best in her reflections of her role as a teacher and its significance. An example is the concluding passage from the "End-of-Year-Bash" quoted above. In a poem called "The Workroom" Harper describes the chore of lesson preparation with her colleagues. The poem concludes with an almost mystical passage of the unity of purpose that binds those in academic life:

"Unrelated they may be,
but an invisible strand,
like the air each breathes,
ties them together
and makes them as one -
no longer separate beings
but different aspects of
an indefinable whole -
a close, invisible
community of the soul."

In a poem called "The Lesson" describing the difficulty of classroom teaching, Harper again concludes with a meditative passage:

"that's the reward
for hours and hours of work
and patience,
a reward of infinite measure,
a priceless, unlimited treasure."

As a final example, at the conclusion of a poem called "The Exam", the students complete their work, the docents receive the exam books, and Harper reflects on the process:

"The teachers follow,
and silence reigns once more,
broken only by
the great illusion of time,
ticking indefatigably
in the phantom human mime."

In a short, light way, Harper's book explores the frustrations of the teacher's life. Through the short-term difficulty and travail, she captures something of its significance as well. This is a delightful little book.

Review by Robin Friedman

"It's a Teacher's Life!" by Helena Harper may be based on the author's teaching experiences in the British education system [specifically a private girls' school], but I think teachers everywhere will be able to relate to the joys and frustrations expressed in this slim volume of poems. I used to teach in a secondary school in Singapore [for 8 years] before moving to the States, and reading this book of poems about teaching made me reminisce about my teaching years.

Ms Harper has arranged the poems in a sort of chronological order - beginning with the school ethos, the new school year and ending with the end of year school party. The poems are witty, often humorous, and at times satirical. "The New School Year" paints a hectic picture of preparations for the new school year with a multitude of meetings [and which teacher is unfamiliar with that?], lesson plans etc. "The Trips" brought to mind my own experience in taking the students out on a field trip - the planning, coordinating, ensuring the students stay safe etc...I could truly relate to the last few lines:

'Remind me next year
that these trips are
definitely,
definitely,
definitely
not a good idea!"

Anyone who has been a teacher or is teaching will enjoy this slim volume of poems written by a teacher herself. Indeed, one will read the poems and think "It is a teacher's life!"

Review by Z. Hayes

PURCHASING INFO. AND LINKS FOR “IT'S A TEACHER'S LIFE...!”

Available in paperback from all major online retailers. Not stocked in bookstores, but can be ordered from any bookstore.

http://www.amazon.com/Teachers-Collection-Poems-Private-School/dp/1847481825/ref=dp_return_2?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Its-a-Teachers-Life-a-Collection-of-Poems-Set-in-a-Girls-Private-School/Helena-Harper/e/9781847481825/?itm=1

http://www.google.com/products?q=1847481825

Email: webmaster@helenaharper.com
Author's website: http://www.helenaharper.com
Authorsden website: http://www.authorsden.com/helenaharper
Blog: http://helenaharpersblog.blogspot.com
Follow her on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/helenaharper

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SNOWFLAKE PEOPLE PUPPETS RECITE POEMS!

Jane Yolen's book, "Snow, Snow: Winter Poems for Children", is rich with short, easy to recite poems about the snow. Beautiful color photographs capture the different moods of snow presented in different locations. This entire book is a work of art, as the layouts vary to add variety to the mostly white images and black text and the poems so perfectly express the picture they are pared with.

Make snowflake people puppets to recite one of Ms.Yolen’s short winter poems. Or after reading the book of winter poems, go out and take snow pictures of your own. Create your own short poem and have your snow puppet recite it to the class.

Make your puppet by first making both large and small snow flakes. Cut out and color a simple boy template with legs wide apart and a girl template wearing a skirt. Use the large snowflakes for the legs and skirt, and use the small snowflakes as hands and hair. Put the puppet on a twig or stick and you’re ready for a puppet poem recital.


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Action Harvest Poems and Songs!

PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN

Pumpkin, pumpkin, on the wall, (reach arms up high on tip toes)
Pumpkin, pumpkin, tip and fall. (sit on the floor)
Pumpkin, pumpkin, roll and rock, (rock side to side)
Pumpkin, pumpkin, down the block! (lay flat, log roll)

WATCH ME GROW (tune: Mary had a little lamb)

We are pumpkins, watch us grow, (squat/ slowly rise up, arms out)
watch us grow, (jump) watch us grow. (jump)
We are pumpkins, watch us grow, (squat/ slowly rise up, arms out)
Straight up don’t you know. (squat and jump up high then sit)

PUMPKIN POEM

One day I found a pumpkin seed. (Pick a seed up off the ground)
I planted it, and pulled the weeds. (Dig, plant, pull weeds)
It sprouted roots, and grew a vine.(Move your arms like sprouting roots)
A pumpkin grew; I called it mine. (Cross your heart and sway)
The pumpkin was quite round and fat.(Open your arms and rock on feet)
The vine, it crept just like a cat. (Walk on hands and feet)

PUMPKIN SONG (tune: I'm a little teapot)

I'm a little pumpkin, short and round.
Here is my big stem, next to the ground.
When it’s time to pick me, don’t you doubt!
Just cut me open, and scoop me out!

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