Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Thanksgiving is one of the most celebrated festivals in America.
Americans celebrated this festival on the fourth Thursday of November (this year it is on the 26^th).

Schools and businesses close, so many people have a four-day holiday to spend time with their families.


 

Traditionally, Thanksgiving was a day when people gave thanks for the year's harvest. The first Thanksgiving celebration was in 1621 when the early European settlers said "thank you" for their successful harvest in America.



BBC Thanksgiving Quiz
  




In September 1620, a group of English people called the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Plymouth, England across the Atlantic Ocean, in a ship called the Mayflower, to Cape Cod in North America. They went away from England because they did not agree with the religion in England. They wanted to make a new life in a new country.
They sailed for sixty-six dangerous days across the Atlantic Ocean. When they arrived, they called their new home New England, but they were not the first people to live there. The Wampanoag were the first people. 

 

Sometimes the Pilgrim Fathers fought with the Wampanoag, but they also learned a lot from them. The Wampanoag taught them to live from their new land, and to grow and cook new kinds of fruit and vegetables.




The first winter was difficult. Many of the Pilgrim Fathers died because it was very cold and they had little food. In the spring they started to grow food, with the help of some friendly Wampanoag, and in the autumn of 1621 they celebrated their first harvest. They gave thanks, not only for the harvest, but for their new home, new life and new friends.

 

Black Friday started as an American tradition the day after Thanksgiving each year.  It is a day when shops offer fantastic discounts and deals on loads of products and is seen as the kick-off to the Christmas shopping season. Nowadays, Black Friday is also a popular day for bargain hunters in different countries around the world including Canada, Mexico, India, and the UK. 

Thanksgiving - Black Friday : wikisaber tu colegio 2.0

Diwali - Festival of Lights

In India, one of the most significant festivals is Diwali, or the Festival of Lights. It's a fiveday celebration that includes good food, fireworks, colored sand, and special candles and lamps. 




Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects us from spiritual darkness. This festival is as important to Hindus as the Christmas holiday is to Christians.



Diwali, celebrated in October or November each year, originated as a harvest festival that marked the last harvest of the year before winter. 
The festival marks the victory of good over evil. 

 

Five Days of Diwali

On the first day of Diwali, housewives consider it auspicious to spring clean the home and shop for gold or kitchen utensils.

On the second day, people decorate their homes with clay lamps or diyas and create design patterns called rangoli on the floor using colored powders or sand.

The third day is the main day of the festival when families gather together for Lakshmi puja, a prayer to Goddess Lakshmi followed by mouth-watering feasts and firework festivities.

The fourth day is the first day of the new year when friends and relatives visit with gifts and best wishes for the season.

On the last day of Diwali, brothers visit their married sisters who welcome them with love and a lavish meal.



  
For kids that live in India, Diwali is like Christmas, except earlier. They get a week's vacation from school, receive gifts from their parents and other relatives, wear beautiful clothes, eat great food and get to play with fireworks! 
It is no wonder that most kids consider Diwali the best festival of all.
 

Troubles as light as Air, Love as deep as the Ocean,
Friends as Solid as Diamonds, Success as bright as Gold…
These are the wishes for you and your family on the eve of Diwali.

 

For this special time family and friends gets together for fun. Wishing laughter and fun to cheer your days, in this festive season of diwali and always…
Happy Diwali…

 

May The Millions of Lamps Illuminate Your Life With Endless
JOY, LOVE, PROSPERITY, HEALTH, WEALTH AND HAPPINESS.
Wish you and your family a HAPPY DIWALI!
 

A festival full of sweet childhood memories,
sky full of fireworks,
mouth full of sweets,
house full of diyas and heart full of joy.
Wishing you all a very happy Diwali.

"Unidos por un sueño" - "Lessons of a Dream"

La entrada de hoy va dedicada a todas las familias y lleva el título de una película que me recomendó una amiga, le había gustado porque había podido hacer pinitos con su recién estrenado interés por el inglés. Gracias, Mariche ;-)




¿Os imagináis un país en el que no se conozca el fútbol?
¿Y si os digo que ese país es Alemania?
Seguro que os quedáis boquiabiertos como en el cole hoy cuando lo hemos comentado en clase.
¿Y os podéis imaginar que este deporte que tantas pasiones despierta sirviera para estrechar relaciones entre diferentes países?



Os propongo que veáis relajadamente la película y que la comentemos luego.
Acomodaros en vuestro sillón preferido , preparar las palomitas o un "calentito" y disfrutar de este viaje a otra época muy diferente a la nuestra en muchos aspectos. Nos trasladamos a Alemania en 1874 y vamos a conocer a Konrad Koch, un profe un tanto particular en aquel entonces.

En el primer video podéis ver el trailer para abrir boca, en el segundo la peli y por último una de las canciones de la banda sonora que es muy popular en Inglaterra y que la cantan para dar la bienvenida al año cuando suenan las doce campanadas. Seguro que os suena la música y que más de uno ya la conocéis.











Lyrics English and Spanish

Lessons of a Dream

Germany without football is hard to imagine, and yet the beautiful game may never have taken root there were it not for the enthusiasm and determination of one man ­ Konrad Koch. German-born but Oxford-educated, Koch was hired to teach English by a strictly-run German boys school in 1874. A visionary teacher, he introduces football ­ well established in England, but unknown in Germany ­ to teach the boys English, self-esteem and good old British values of 'fair play'. Needless to say, this progressive curriculum gets him into all kinds of trouble with parents, administrators and other teachers … 

Bioparc Valencia - A zoo of new generation

Bioparc is the new space for animals that the city of Valencia has situated in the park called Parque de Cabecera, to the north of the garden of the old course of the River Turia.

It is an innovative project that offers visitors the opportunity of entering in wilderness habitats where animals live in social groups of their own kind and coexistence with other compatible species, as occurs in nature.

BIOPARC Valencia is an animal park that has been designed under the concept of zoo-immersion. The incorporation of multispecies enclosures and depth of vision contemplate possible from one point different spaces and to enjoy a unique experience only noticeable in the wild nature . As a result we get closer to the animals without visible barriers like we were in the places native species.

 

Strolling through BIOPARC Valencia is like stepping into the animal house with all the security for them and the visitor, this creates a unique experience. Nothing can replace the visit, no photos, no videos or stories. But most important of all is undoubtedly the intended purpose: move through beauty. Impress with aesthetics to make us aware of preserving provoke a change of behavior that motivates us to live  in harmony with the planet .

In this new conception of zoo we can find interesting recreating  African ecosystems:

AFRICAN SAVANNAH

Savannah meets the highest concentration of large herbivores on the planet and its vast plains are the scene of long migrations in search of water and food linked to the passing of the two stations of this biome: the dry season and the wet season .

 

EQUATORIAL FOREST

The primary rainforests of equatorial Africa are home to many different habitats and ecosystems , being able to observe the contrast between life in the vaults tree and the bustling activity that takes place in the forest floor .

 

African wetlands: Kitum Cave

 

Kitum Cave juts about 200 meters inside Mount Elgon , in the  Mount Elgon National Park in Kenya .

They count the legend that these caves were excavated by elephants , for hundreds of thousands of years, using their fangs. The reality is that Kitum cave was formed by the volcanic activity of Mount Elgon made ​​between 8000 and 12,000 years , and has been expanded by the elephants with their tusks to dig for minerals, essential salts and lacking in your diet for its herbivorous condition.

Madagascar

The fauna and flora of this island in the Indian Ocean , separated from Africa 160 million years ago , has evolved in isolation, so the 80% of the species are endemic , meaning only found in this part of the planet.

Bonfire Night - History or Fun?

Bonfire Night is an annual event in the UK which ‘celebrates’ the foiled Gunpowder Plot. The origins of the celebration are not as important nowadays, but on November 5 people across the UK enjoy bonfires, firework displays and special food. Some towns and cities also organize torch-lit processions through the streets. 


The “Guy” (effigy) is made out of old clothes stuffed with paper or straw and is a reminder of Guy Fawkes, who was one of the leaders of the Gunpowder Plot. The fireworks that are set off that night represent the gunpowder Guy Fawkes hid in the cellars of Parliament which he hoped to destroy and kill the King. 




SOME OF THE TRADITIONAL FOOD ON BONFIRE NIGHT INCLUDES:

-Baked potatoes wrapped in foil in the bonfire 

-Soup to keep people warm as they watch the fireworks

-A sticky cake made from oatmeal, ginger and syrup called Parkin Cake  

 

-Sausages and marshmallows roasted on the bonfire
 


-Roasted chestnuts

 

-Toffee apples 


BBC GUNPOWDER PLOT INTERACTIVE GAME

In this nicely animated, interactive game you can try to find the hidden barrels of gunpowder in the cellars of parliament and stop the plot by answering multiple choice questions correctly.


 

 

Autumn Poems - Bonfire Night - Singing in the Rain

A LITTLE ELF

A little elf sat in a tree 
Painting leaves 
To throw at me. 
Leaves of yellow 
And leaves of red 
Came tumbling down 
About my head. 

Author: Unknown 

 

THE EARTH IS GOOD TO ME

Oh, the earth is good to me
And so I thank the earth
For giving me the things I need
The sun and the rain and the apple seed
The earth is good to me.



NOVEMBER

No sunshine, lots of rain,
No warm days, snow again!
No bugs or bees
No leaves on trees.
You must remember
This is November!



I Love Fall
I love fall! Fall is exciting.
It's apples and cider.
It's an airborne spider.
It's pumpkins in bins.
It's burrs on dog's chins.
It's wind blowing leaves.
It's chilly red knees.
It's nuts on the ground.
It's a crisp dry sound.
It's green leaves turning
And the smell of them burning.
It's clouds in the sky.
It's fall. That's why...
I love fall.

Some called it Autumn, some called it Fall

 


Bonfire Night

 

Fireman Sam - Safety Tip 1
When making a bonfire make sure you build it well away from houses, garages, sheds, fences, overhead cables, trees and shrubs and always away from fireworks. 

Safety Tip 2
When you build a bonfire ensure it is stable and remember to never light it with a flammable liquid.

Safety Tip 3 
Keep everyone well back from open fires and ensure children are supervised at all times.

Safety Tip 4
When building a bonfire always ensure you have a bucket of water or fire extinguisher handy in case of emergencies.

Safety Tip 5
At the end of your bonfire party, pour water on the embers before leaving.

Safety Tip 6
Always keep your fireworks in a closed metal box and take them out one at a time. And remember children should not have access to or be near fireworks. 

Safety Tip 7
When using fireworks always follow the instructions and if it is dark always read them by torchlight and never by a naked flame. Ensure you only buy fireworks from reputable retailers. 


 







Singing in the rain. 
We're singing in the rain. 
What a wonderful feeling. 
We're thumbs up ...

Cheecha cha cha cheecha cha cha cheech cha cha. Now sway.

...shoulders back
...knees together 
...bottoms out
...tongues out
...eyes closed

Cheecha cha cha cheecha cha cha cheech cha cha. Now sway.