Happy Easter!

There is great rejoicing in the Tweet family and among their Twitter bird friends today.

Tweetelle’s caterpillar pet which was thought to be dead only a couple of days ago has emerged from its chrysalis as a beautiful Monarch butterfly!

It has been photographed by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson and the image included in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly

And Tweetelle has been promised that she can have another caterpillar pet.

“You know,” said Pastor Twitter Bird “This happening has many similarities to the events of Good Friday and the first Easter Sunday!”

You can read all about it in The Holy Bible
Matthew Chapters 27-28
Mark Chapters 15-16
Luke Chapters 23-24
John Chapters 19-21

If you want to read the Bible online offering numerous versions, passage lookup, keyword search, topical index and links to additional resources see Bible Gateway at http://www.biblegateway.com/

Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed!

Happy Easter!

Tweetelle’s caterpillar pet

Global GT Chat on Twitter

All the characters at Sprite’s Site love the Global #gtchat sessions on Twitter as much as I do!

#gtchat is a discussion group on Twitter for parents, teachers and gifted advocates from all over the world to share resources, ideas, experiences and new ways of thinking about gifted issues #gtchat was founded by Deborah Mersino of Ingeniosus website

In 2012 Deborah Mersino, passed the moderator baton of #gtchat to the very capable hands of Lisa Conrad. GT Chat is now powered by Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented and all the details can be found on their page at http://www.txgifted.org/gtchat

Transcripts of the #gtchat sessions are now created in Storify http://storify.com/  and shared at http://www.txgifted.org/gtchat-transcripts

Lisa Conrad has also created a blog Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT http://globalgtchatpoweredbytagt.wordpress.com/ where she gives an overview of the session including any links and other resources that were shared and announces future session topics and guest experts.
GT Chat also has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/gtchatmod?fref=ts

Recently #gtchat celebrated the 1 year anniversary of #gtchat being powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented and discussed The Value of Twitter Chats http://globalgtchatpoweredbytagt.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/the-value-of-twitter-chats/

Twitter provides excellent opportunities for sharing ideas and resources.

In a wonderful, amusing and thought provoking blog entry on Dr Jeff’s Blog on the Universe astrophysicist, Dr Jeff Goldstein, the Center Director for the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, explains why Twitter is so much more than a place for announcing the tuna sandwich you ate for lunch.

http://blogontheuniverse.org/2010/05/05/tweetisms-for-the-21st-century-on-science-education-and-the-human-condition/

Dr Jeff says:
Twitter is a water cooler for the 21st century. At this cooler you can meet fellow human beings from across the planet, and share thoughts about life, our world, and our children—common thoughts that bind us all, regardless of nationality. In an age when as never before humanity faces a perfect storm of global problems, it’s precisely this kind of water cooler you’d like to see, and to frequent.

Best Australian Blogs 2013 No 2

Sprite’s Site has been nominated in the Australian Writers’ Centre Best Australian Blogs 2013 Competition http://www.writerscentre.com.au/bloggingcomp/index.html

Despite Sprite’s complaint that I had not given her much notice, today I found that her preparations were progressing well.

She had posed for a portrait at Flashface http://flashface.ctapt.de/  (as she did last year https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/avatar-album-2/ )

And she had created a campaign poster using a Wee Me avatar created at http://www.weeworld.com/

She had also already considered the judging criteria for this year’s competition

And she had decided that this year she would highlight Sprite’s Site social media interaction and involvement in Blog Tours, Webinars, Online courses, Facebook groups and Twitter chat sessions. She had organised for a signpost to be made.

With this in mind she had also created another poster this time using an avatar from Reasonably Clever http://www.reasonablyclever.com/mini-mizers/classic-kid-safe-mini-mizer/  and was now trying to decide which poster to use for her campaign.

Best Australian Blogs 2013 No 1

“You could have told me earlier and given me a bit more warning!” Sprite said when I told her that Sprite’s Site was nominated in the Australian Writers’ Centre Best Australian Blogs 2013 Competition http://www.writerscentre.com.au/bloggingcomp/index.html

Entries in the competition will close on Thursday 28 March 2013and the Peoples’ Choice voting will launch on Thursday 28 March and closes on Tuesday 30 April. You can follow the centre and the competition on Twitter. The hashtag is #bestblogs13

Sprite’s Site has participated in the competition in both 2011 and 2012 and both years Sprite has conducted an elaborate campaign

Best Australian Blogs 2012
https://spritessite.wordpress.com/tag/best-australian-blogs-2012/
Best Australian Blogs 2011
https://spritessite.wordpress.com/tag/best-australian-blogs-2011/

“You should have allowed me more time to make a campaign poster and plan some events before the Voting Button arrives!” Sprite said “And don’t just tell me you have been busy in your IRL world! We are busy here too, you know!”

“And Tweetelle’s caterpillar pet is really sick. It looks off-colour.  Maybe it ate too much. It is all curled up as if it has a pain in its tummy. But Tweetelle always looks after her caterpillar pet really well. She would not have done anything wrong. So why did it happen?”

“Why do bad things happen to good people?” Sprite asked me.
“That is a really big question!” I said, thinking that the question could provide the basis of a devotional post and beginning to mentally compose it already.
“No time to talk about it now!” said Sprite. “I have to call a planning meeting and make a poster and….”

Qualified to teach

Another consequence of the visit of Trending and her brood was that Retweet began having doubts about her ability to teach her tweetlets herself using NEST Ed.

“I didn’t think NEST Ed was even legal and don’t you have to be a registered qualified certified teacher to teach?” Trending had asked. And then a couple of days later, just to enforce her point, she had sent Retweet a link to a blog post on Cafemom Stir it Rant by Andrew Kardon
Are Parents Who Homeschool Qualified to Teach Their Kids? http://thestir.cafemom.com/big_kid/152471/parents_who_homeschool_arent_qualified

Retweet had assured Trending that NEST Ed was legal. In some states it was necessary to register and some states dictated that certain subjects should be taught but (in her state at least) there were no laws regarding the necessity of having qualifications to teach.

“But what if you don’t know how to teach a subject?” Trending had asked.

“So far that has not been a problem” Retweet had told Trending “I get lots of books from the library and we do a lot of field trips. I know that the tweetlets know all the things they would have learnt with their age group in FLOCK Ed” Mentally Retweet added ‘and lots of extra things too’ but she did not say that aloud.

“Yes, but what about when they get to things you don’t understand either? How can you teach them then?” Trending had asked.

“Well, then I will find a tutor or a mentor or find courses they can attend.” Retweet had said.

She mentioned her concerns to the Psych-Owl-Ogist.

“There are education consultants, tutors and mentors available to help you. There are lots of excellent open access online courses and courses at the community bower. Remember we talked about some of the resources that are available for NEST Ed when we talked about choosing the right flock for the tweetlets  https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2012/08/18/finding-the-right-flock-3/

NEST Ed does not suit every family but I would not have even suggested it as an option if I did not think you were not capable of giving the tweetlets a rich and exciting education using NEST Ed.”

Socialization 2

The Psych-Owl-Ogist listened intently to Retweet’s concerns about the earworm Tweetil had contracted after the visit of Trending and her tweetlets, Promoted Jnr and Popular.

“It seems to me you have a bigger problem than just an earworm” he said. “You remember when I told you https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/the-psych-owl-ogist-2/ how the higher the IQ was the smaller the percentage of the population it represented;
and that this could make it difficult for Tweetil and Tweetelle to fit in and that it was very likely that they would choose older tweetlets and adult Twitter birds for their friends. The problem they have with socializing with age peers is not related to your decision to continue with NEST Ed!”

“What you need to do is try to find some true peers for the tweetlets. I suggest that you join a parent support group or take some courses at the community centre in the subjects they love. You might also find some like-minds at the library, museum or planetarium.”

“For example” said the Psych-Owl-Ogist “when Owls who are interested in folk music want to meet others like them they go to a hootenanny!”

Often you can find great programs being held during the holidays. Humans can find information about holiday programs suitable for gifted children in the Gifted Resources Extension and Holiday Programs Newsletter.
The Autumn 2013 issue can be read at http://www.giftedresources.org/gr/files/newsletter2013/grnewsholidayapril13.pdf

Retweet was delighted to find that the Un-Olympics Bower was offering many interesting courses during their holiday program and that many bright eyed tweetlets of all ages had enrolled.

Socialization

“But what about socialization?” Great Aunt Hashtag had demanded of Retweet “That is the main problem with NEST Ed. Your tweetlets don’t spend any time learning how to get along with tweetlets their own age. No wonder they are so strange!”

“That is not true!” Retweet had replied “They spend time with Twitter birds of all ages.”

But when she thought about it afterwards Retweet had to concede that her tweetlets preferred the company of older Tweetlets and adult Twitter Birds.
She decided to invite her friend Trending whose tweetlets Promoted Jnr and Popular were the same age as Tweetil and Tweetelle to visit.

Retweet had known Trending for a long time but since Trending’s marriage to the entrepreneur Promoted and the arrival of the tweetlets Retweet had lost touch with her.

Retweet found that Trending had not changed very much.
She still kept up a lifestyle of whirlwind social engagements with a very large circle of friends and acquaintances.
She still knew all about popular music and fashion and the lives of celebrities.
Of course she was very proud of her tweetlets
Promoted Jnr was building a powerful social network by attending Fine Feathers as his father had done and Popular was flying with the local flock and gathering quite a flock of followers according to Trending.
Promoted Jnr and Popular had all the latest  gadgets, devices, phone apps, music players and games and prattled on about them non-stop.

Promoted Jnr played one popular nesty rhyme over and over with the volume on the maximum setting. Tweetil listened to it while he bounced on the trampoline but Promoted Jnr did not want to take a turn at bouncing.
Popular did not want to pat Tweetelle’s caterpillar or paint on the easel. Popular was very engrossed in preening but it was a very different style of preening from the Preening 101 course which  Tweetelle had studied and she was not really keen to discuss the details with Tweetelle.

Retweet breathed a sigh of relief when Trending and her tweetlets went home.
Unfortunately the noisy nesty rhyme had lodged itself in Tweetil’s brain and he could not stop singing it.
“You have caught an earworm” Retweet said and contacted the Psych-Owl-Ogist for advice.

“Sometimes I think socializing with age peers is over-rated!” said Retweet.

Rosebud Kite Festival

“You can tell Sprite…” said the Memory Elephant “that calendars only work to remind you about coming events if you actually remember to look at them!”

The Rosebud Kite Festival is being held today and the Twitter Birds are already having fun but Sprite has not checked the calendar which the Memory Elephant gave her for a New Year gift and may not be aware that it is happening this weekend.

I will check the program of events at http://rosebudkitefestival.com.au/worthy2013/ and may go down to the beach to see it later.

Sprite on the subject of Homework!

 

Sprite really dislikes homework and makes up elaborate excuses to avoid doing it!

“Misunderstanding” the set tasks https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/declining-the-table/

Hiding the homework work sheets https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2011/01/28/say-cheese-for-les-souris/

Hiding her computer mouse https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2010/10/02/gtstoogies-14-feast-for-les-souris/

Quibbling about the due date https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/the-ultimate-homework-excuse/

Claiming to not have suitable equipment or materials to complete the task https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/getting-organized-side-steps/

Being unable to find the things she needs. Where’s all my stuff gone? https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/wheres-all-my-stuff-gone/

Her excuses are so elaborate because Imaginational Dabrowski told her she was not allowed to say the dog ate her homework!

Strategies we have tried to help Sprite with her homework include

Homework strategies

Getting organized https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/getting-organized-step-1/

Having a homework place set up for her https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/getting-organized-homework-steps/

Having suitable stationery available https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2010/08/19/getting-organized-stationery-steps/

Trying to maintain a healthy life balance https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/getting-organized-step-2/

But we still have  problems like this!
Critical thinking  https://spritessite.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/critical-thinking/

Fortunately we discussed the topic of homework on #gtchat and the transcript which includes many links to helpful resources has been created on Storify at  http://sfy.co/iG6f

A write-up of the session will appear on the #gtchat blog soon and we can continue the discussion on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/gtchatmod?fref=ts