I really need to frame it somewhere to read it first thing in the morning as a reminder and definitely, before teaching certain groups of students.

I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.”

Haim G. Ginott, Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers

“What do we say to a guest who forgets her umbrella? Do we run after her and say “What is the matter with you? Every time you come to visit you forget something. If it’s not one thing it’s another. Why can’t you be like your sister? When she comes to visit, she knows how to behave. You’re forty-four years old! Will you never learn? I’m not a slave to pick up after you! I bet you’d forget your head if it weren’t attached to your shoulders.” That’s not what we say to a guest. We say “Here’s your umbrella, Alice,” without adding “scatterbrain.”
Parents need to learn to respond to their children as they do to guests.”
– Haim G. Ginott, Between Parent and Child: The Bestselling Classic That Revolutionized Parent-Child Communication

Are in the mood for singing a Christmas Carol? Wouldn’t you like to be Christmas shopping and hear Jingle Bells or White Christmas and be able to sing along?

Christmas Shopping???? Don’t panic or yes… start panicking !!!!If you’re just like me , as soon as I hear the first Rudolph the Red – Nosed Reindeer in  the shopping center , I know  the countdown begins. Only two weeks until Christmas and I haven’t even started thinking about what to get for my family , let alone gone gift shopping . I slowly begin to panic while my sister keeps pestering me , claiming  that she has already bought everything in September and that everything my children will want might already be out of stock by the time I make up my mind to go shopping. And then , every single year I promise myself (and my sister) that next year I’ll go gift shopping in summer even though the only thing I might be able to buy is a summer hat!

Well, I’ll stop rambling now and tell you that I learned about this site Esolcourses.com through one of my colleagues Rosa Valdés. I am planning to dedicate one session to singing Christmas Carols with my  students. The added bonus for my students  is that the Christmas Carols are sung by  famous singers such as lady Gaga, John lennon or Christina Aguliera , and the added bonus for me is that carols are already sorted into levels with their corresponding activities.

This is one of the videos we can find on this site. Thanks for sharing Rosa!

Anyway, the website has also got a very good listening section , which I highly recommend.