Little Little is Here!!

Hi everyone... our "little" family has officially become the Little Family. Mrs. Little gave birth to Mason Edward Little (8 lbs., 11 ounces; 20 inches) this afternoon at 4:03, and I'm the happiest man alive... becoming a father is a feeling that's impossible to describe. He's not really that big, but he's got HUGE hands and feet, just like his daddy. And already lots more hair :(

Here's a few pictures, but don't be surprised if a camera happy new dad goes nuts with a few more in the coming days.

Update: Mrs. Little is feeling very well tonight, though tired. Mason's slept almost all day, except for his routine feeding. You need to watch everything around him, because the little dude might eat it. He might catch up to his daddy by the time he's 13. Think Mr. Dvorak or Mr. Dodd would mind a 6'10" kid on their teams in a few years? :) We're headed home tomorrow, and I'll be a very happy man to have our family at home. Here's a slideshow of a few more pictures... I'll add to it when we get a chance to catch our breath!

Snow + Good Citizenship = SS Extra Credit

As much of our time in Social Studies this half of the year will be spent discussing true citizenship, why not start now? I want you all to go help your neighbors tonight and tomorrow, no matter who they are. If you can do 5 homes (that includes driveways, sidewalks, and walkways to the front door), and get the signatures of those living there, I'll reward your good citizenship with 20 points extra credit. Want to team up and do it with a friend? Good teamwork and friendship can be rewarded as well: I'll give you 20 points when the 2 of you get 8 driveways done together. Simply print this post and have them sign it.

When you do things for other people, you do far more than just relieve them of a task on their to-do list. The feeling of gratefulness that a neighbor (like you!) went out of their way to help them out is something special. Especially for your generation, when you have far more tempting, preventing, and distracting you from helping others. So log off AIM, MySpace, turn off the TV, put aside the Wii, and just unplug yourself in general... and go help a neighbor. Be a good citizen, and make your community a better place. You'll never know when they'll return the favor!

Just imagine... 150 7th graders X 5 driveways each... every home in our district can be shoveled because of your good citizenship!

Parents - if students can't get someone's signature, your signature and note will be a suitable replacement.

In case you need a reminder that the excuse you're currently thinking up to avoid shoveling is lame:

Upcoming Quiz

We're having a quiz very soon... students should start preparing now. This quiz will be approximately 40 questions, and will cover the Map, Timeline, and Vocab of the "Before the Revolution" Unit. I recommend making notecards with photos, pictures, and definitions to help students best learn what's coming up. We've reviewed almost all of the vocab, so students should have correct answers.

Study Guides should be coming out Friday or Monday.

Notes from Class - Thursday and Friday (1/30 and 1/31)

| View | Upload your own

Elections are in 7 Days

This may be a post more for parents, but with elections coming up it's important to know WHAT you are voting for, as well as WHO is campaigning for those vaccancies. The Dupage Board of Elections has published a preview of the choices (please allow time for the pdf to load). You'll have to do a little more homework to decide which candidate you like the best, but at least you know what to expect now. Unless, of course, you've already voted :( Oops!

Great Site for City Comparisons

This is a great website to compare the demographic information of any neighborhood in the nation (by zip code). We'll use this in the future to enhance an already useful activity during our Chicago/IL unit. In the meantime, compare the information of your neighborhood to a few friends or relatives, and bring in an intelligent analysis of it (150 word minimum) for up to 10 points extra credit!

Thanks, Mr. Urbas, for such a great find.

http://zipskinny.com/