SURPRISE VACATION

The time is almost here! I've planned a surprise vacation for my children and I to go to California on Spring break. The last time that I visited was about 15 years ago. The night that I booked the flights I could not sleep. It was a feeling I had never felt before. I'm not sure if it was the anxiety of flying or the excitement of planning a trip without my kids knowing. And trust me, its hard keeping a secret from my two. They hear everything and tag team to try to figure things out, but not this time. My plan is to tell them that we are going to the airport to drop off grandma, and once at the terminal tell them we are leaving :). I'm not sure if they also will be excited or nervous. I've kind of instilled fear in them since our last visit to NYC when we visited the One World Observatory. I explained to them what happened during 911 as they noticed peoples names engraved on the stones, and how we should be grateful and recognize those people that lost their lives on that day (not such a great idea before planning a trip). 

As mentioned in my previous blog I have a big family, many of which live in different cities of California. I plan on going to Disney Land, Hollywood, Santa Monica Pier, and who knows might even drive to Las Vegas! I figured since my son's birthday is in March, and my daughter's birthday is in May, April was the best month to travel, right in the middle of both. I'm taking a break from planning parties until I'm done with school. I hope this vacation is everything I expect it to be and much more. WISH ME LUCK!

                                                 
VOCABULARY:
Instilled-( verb) thoughts in to the mind
Engraved- (verb) letters on a hard surface
Booked- (verb) reserve or make reservations
Anxiety- (noun) feeling of fear
Observatory- (noun) building where things can be viewed
Terminal-(adj) where passengers are able to get on and off of an airplane

VOCABULARY EXERCISE: Draw a picture to match each vocabulary word.

GRAMMAR POINT: FUTURE



GRAMMAR EXERCISE:  Complete the paragraph about a place you would like to visit in the future.
I would like to visit ___________ in the future.
The reason why I would like to go to ________ is because ______________.
Once there I would like to do __________ and ____________.
I would also like to try_____________.

PARTY PLANNER/DECORATOR

I'm not sure if this comes with age, but I woke up one night planning on starting my own business as a party planner/decorator. This is something that I've always loved to do, especially after I had my own two kids. This love for DYI (do it yourself) projects has gotten me into trouble (financially). I always say to myself, "okay this year I'm going to do something small", but it always turns out to be big. When I say "big", I mean big in all the little details. The more time I have to plan, the more ideas I come up with. The fact that I have a million family members does not help the situation at all. Every weekend it's someone's birthday, and of course I offer or am asked to help. One of the biggest parties I have planned has been my daughter 1st birthday. The theme was "Elmo". I took that idea and ran with it. It was no longer "Elmo's World" it was now "Sam's World", which I purchased all letter balloons and arched them as a prop in front of the cake table. Elmo had a goldfish named "Dorothy" of which I purchased about 20 goldfishes and bowls to set as centerpieces (along with fish food for the guest to take home). What's a kids party without the character? Well Elmo did not come alone. Along came Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Zoey! And as if that wasn't enough, I planned a surprise entrance, where Samantha was driven in by her cousin in her new Hot Wheels Cadillac Escalade. Did I mention the clown? It was everything I had expected it to be.

VOCABULARY:

Business- (noun) profession (job)

Planner- (noun) a person who plans different parties or events

Decorator- (noun) a person who put things together such as setting up the tables, balloons, etc.

Financially- (adj)  dealing with money

Details- (noun) small part of something big

Situation- (noun) the position that someone is in

VOCABULARY EXERCISE: Unscramble the words

CINFLYANILA: _________________

SIBUSNES:______________________

OTDAEORCO:____________________

IDTSEAL:________________________

USONTIAUN:_____________________

ANRENPL:________________________

GRAMMAR POINT: Time Expressions

In, on, at; These tell you when something is happening.

Ex: Please arrive at 1pm.

GRAMMER EXERCISE: 

Please create an invitation where you are inviting someone to your birthday party, include:

Time:

Place:

Phone Number:

CAMELBACK MOUNTAIN INDOOR WATERPARK RESORT

From my previous blogs, you may have gotten to know that I enjoy going out and exploring new "kid friendly" locations. I usually tend to run out of ideas in the winter, because I do not enjoy being out in the cold. Last summer we visited Camelback Outdoor Waterpark and it was such a great experience. We did not did have to wait on long lines to go on rides and the price for food was reasonable. This first visit to Camelback, led me to book a weekend at the Indoor Waterpark. Previously, I had a bad experience with a nearby waterpark know as "CoCo Key". It was nothing that we expected. It was my son's 3rd birthday and trip was his birthday gift. All I remember was walking in and being drawn back by the smell of chlorine. I thought to myself, "ok, at least it's clean". But the smell was so strong that we did not get to enjoy ourselves. The location itself was small, and there weren't many option for the kids to choose from. At the end of the day, we felt sick. The rest of the time there we stayed in the hotel room or went out exploring the town.

Let's get back to Camelback. Our check in time was at 4pm, but we had access to the park at 12. Upon arrival at 11:45am we were told our room was ready. Great! We quickly got ready and headed down to the indoor waterpark. My kids were excited. The best part of our stay was the outdoor hot tub. Our least favorite part was the snow tubing. We were prepared with snow suits and all the gear possible, but we were still freezing. We went down the mountain once and quickly got back on the shuttle back to the hotel. I will definitely revisit this resort next winter!

VOCABULARY: 

Explore- (verb) discover new things

Waterpark- (noun) a park with swimming pools, water slides, and other water activities

Reasonable- (adj) good price

Chlorine- (noun) poisonous gas

Access- (noun) permission to enter, speak with, or use something

Gear- (noun) get ready for future event

VOCABULARY EXCERCISE:

Create a sentence for each of the following:

Explore-___________________________________

Waterpark-_________________________________

Reasonable-________________________________

Chlorine-__________________________________

Access-___________________________________

Gear-_____________________________________

GRAMMER POINT: PREPOSITIONS

A preposition is a word or set of words that indicate location or some other relationship between a noun and pronoun.

Ex: At the end of the day..

End is the preposition, and day is its subject.

GRAMMAR EXERCISE: Highlight the preposition

DISNEY WORLD

It was June, 2015, and I kept my promise! I had promised to take my children to Disney World after I graduated college. It did not make up for the time that I spent away from them while I attended school and work, but it was definitely something they looked forward to and enjoyed. We were finally in Disney World where the "Magic Happens" and "Dream Come True"! They had a great time, as you can tell by the look on their faces. I would have to say that my daughter enjoyed the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique the most. Not only was she able to pick out her favorite princess dress and accessories, but she also received a royal head-to-toe transformation. As for my son, his favorite part of the trip was seeing his favorite Transformer "Bumble Bee" and take a picture with him. We spent five days in Florida. The resort in which we stayed was only a half an hour drive from Magic Kingdom. There was also a nice small water park at the resort making it convenient to entertain the kids while the adults relaxed poolside. I would have to say the overall experience was great, except for the extreme hot weather. When we decide to re-visit Disney I will make sure to plan it when the weather is comfortable enough to walk around without having to stop and hide in the shade for a little bit. 

VOCABULARY:

Graduated- (adj) to complete a course of study

Attended- (verb) to be present at

Definitely-(adverb) in a clear manner

Boutique-(noun) small shop that sells clothes and accessories 

Royal-(adj) of or relating to a king, queen, or other higher position

Resort-(noun) place where people go frequently to relax

VOCABULARY EXERCISE:

Match each word to the correct definition

1. Resort                               __ place where people go frequently to relax

2. Graduated                         __ to complete a course of study

3. Royal                                __in a clear manner

4. Definitely                          __small shop that sells clothes and accessories 

5. Boutique                           __of or relating to a king, queen, or other higher position

6. Attended                           __to be present at

GRAMMER POINT: Articles "a, an, the"

An article is a word used to modify a noun. There are two types; definite and indefinite.

"The" is a definite article because it refers directly to a specific noun or groups of nouns.

EX: The freckles on my face.

"A" and "An" are indefinite because they are not used to a specific person, place, object or idea.

EX: An event in history.

GRAMMAR EXERCISE: Complete the worksheet

The Best Experience of My Life

Aside from the birth of my two children, I would have to say the best experience of my life was the day I graduated SUNY College at Old Westbury, in May 2015. It was a dream come true! I graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Special Education and General Education Grades 1-6. Although life itself brought upon many obstacles, I was still able to overcome them and complete my degree. I was fortunate enough to gain motivation from my own children, and the support necessary from my family members. My parents came to this country with only the clothes on their backs, therefore they were and still are beyond proud of my accomplishments. I grew up in an environment where the only option was to work hard for what one wanted, and that's exactly what I did. My drive did not stop there, as I am presently completing my 3rd semester at Molloy College in the TESOL Program. I  plan on becoming an English as a New Language Teacher to work with all students at any level of proficiency.

Vocabulary:

Graduated- (noun) completing a course of study

Obstacles- (noun) something that slows down progress

Fortunate- (adj) luck

Motivation- (noun) providing a reason to act in a certain way

Overcome-(verb) to overpower a hard time

Accomplishments- (noun) something that has been completed

Vocabulary Activity:

Write a sentence using each of the vocabulary words above.

graduated:_________________________________

obstacles:__________________________________

fortunate:___________________________________

motivation:__________________________________

overcome:__________________________________

accomplishments:____________________________

Grammar Point: Interrogative Words

Answering wh-questions for information.

*where for place

*when for time

*how for in what way

*why for what reason

*who for person

Grammer Exercise:

After reading the paragraph answer the following questions:

Who was the paragraph about?

Where did the person graduate from?

When did the person graduate?

How was the person able to accomplish this?

Why has the person chosen to do this?

The Worst Experience of My Life

I've never really had the time to sit down and think about the worst experience of my life. Although I've experienced several that replay in my mind, there is one that stands out the most, and that's the time when I visited the Adventure Park at Long Island in Wheatley Heights, New York. From the name of the place one would think that it would turn out to be an exciting event, but in my case it was not.

I had done some research prior to heading to the park to familiarize myself with what was forthcoming. Upon arrival we checked in, and the staff members began to assist us with properly securing the equipment to zipline and work our way through the obstacle courses (10ft.high). Everyone was anxious to begin.

Being that I was the oldest, and I wanted to make sure that everyone was safe, I told my nieces and my daughter to go ahead, and I would follow behind. The first two obstacles were easy and little by little they became challenging. I literally began to feel afraid for my life. The fact that I was securely fastened by ropes and metal clips did no justice to how I was feeling. The most difficult part was to not let anyone know that I was scared, or I would worry the others. It all went downhill when it was time to zipline. My daughter must have seen the look on my face and all I can remember is watching her run towards me in the bushes trying to grab my leg to help me, as my nieces laughed. I felt embarrassed.

There came a point where I almost cried, and called for a staff member to help me get down. I felt like a failure at the time. It has become a joke that my daughter enjoys to tell. Every time I tell her not to be afraid of doing something, her response is "Remember the time at Adventure Park..."

                                  (this picture was taken before we began the obstacle course :) )



Vocabulary

Experience-(noun) doing and seeing things

Research- (noun) discover facts

Familiarize- (verb) to make something known

Forthcoming- (adj) something that is about to happen

Challenging- (adj) testing one's ability to do something

Vocabulary Exercise

Grammer Point: Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns are use to express ownership (possession)


Grammar Activity: List the possessive pronouns in the paragraph above.

WELCOME!

Welcome!😊

Just a snapshot into my life: My name is Evelyn Portillo, and I am Kindergarten teacher ( I love kids). I have two children of my own. As with my students, I also put a great emphasis on education with my own children because I feel as though education is the key to life. I like to make learning a fun and engaging experience. My plans for the future are to become an ENL teacher, so that I can guide students through the journey of learning a new language. I can't wait to meet and get to know you all. This blog will be our way of communicating. You will get to know about the many adventures that I have experienced alongside my family. Feel free to write about anything that comes to mind, and I will be more than glad to answer and provide feedback on any topic. Please respond by quickly introducing yourself and what you expect to learn throughout our sessions.

VOCABULARY
snapshot (noun)- quick view
emphasis (noun)- special importance
engaging (adj)- pleasing

experience (noun)- doing and seeing things

ENL(acronym)- English as a New Language
communicating (verb)- give information
feedback (noun)- responses to information 
adventure(s) (noun)- joyful or scary experiences

VOCABULARY EXERCISE
Fill in the blanks with the correct vocabulary word.
1. The professor will give a ______________ of the semester on the first day of class.
2. You must put ____________ on studying for your test.
3. The best way to solve a problem with a friend is by ________________.
4. When you participate in classroom conversations you are giving your_____________ on a topic.
5. As a teacher I like to go on many ______________ with my family.
6. You will _______________ many new things in America.
7. If you are listening and paying attention you are ____________ in the classroom.
8. I hope to become a _______________ teacher to help students develop their second language.

GRAMMER POINT 
Conjunctions are words that connect sentences and parts of a sentence.
Conjunctions in English include:

and
but
or
so
because

GRAMMER EXERCISE
Please locate the conjunctions and write a sentence using each one.


                      


                                                            Conjunction Song