3rd Grade Summer Slide Spelling Words Week 1

I have an incoming 3rd grader who needs to stay on top of what she learned in 2nd grade. Summer slide in general is a program that is aimed at preventing the academic regression that takes place over the summer. Many children don't have issues with forgetting what they learned the previous year and do well with the usual review that takes place the first month of the fall school quarter. My children are not a part of that group.

If your child needs to stay on the grind like mine, feel free to follow my blog to stay up to date on useful links and assignments to prevent the summer slide. Each week I will post a new spelling list like the one below. Your child should be able to read, spell, define and use each word in the list. Tailor the list to your child's needs. If your child is reading at least two books per week like my own, you can create a list of your own using the words in the books.

There are five lessons per list:

1. Write the spelling words 3 times each.
2. Alphabetize the words.
3. Define the words using a dictionary.
4. Create unique sentences using the words.
5. Fill in the blank using the words.

A weekly spelling test is optional. The goal is to expose your child to as much new vocabulary as you can before school this fall. This makes reading comprehension easier and reduces test anxiety and frustration during the school year. If test anxiety is an issue for your child, I would advise a weekly test. This will help your child develop a tolerance and a system of preparation for test taking.

Week 1- Short a/e sight/vocabulary words

1. high
2. every
3. near
4. west
5. dress
6. best
7. next
8. else
9. checked
10. grand
11. stand
12. punish
13. monarch
14. migrate
15. butterfly
16. nectar

As you can see, with the above list the main topic is butterflies. I recommend reinforcing this list with a child's non-fiction book on Monarch butterflies.

5 Reasons Black Women Wear Weaves That have Nothing To Do With White Women

1. We look great.

The most probable and rational reason we wear weaves is the same reason white women wear weaves. We look great. We saw a look we wanted to try and didn't want to wait to grow our hair out, or have to cut it to try it. We saw a color we wanted without the commitment. It doesn't matter how we reached the conclusion, once we've decided it was a good look we did it. Nope, nothing to do with wanting to be like white women.

2. We're protecting our natural hair.

Relaxed and heat treated hair is especially fragile. It becomes more fragile during the summer months when the sun acts like a heat dryer and the chlorine acts as a hair bleach. Having our hair protected under a braided weave eliminates the heat damage our hair suffers which reduces breakage and hair loss. No white people, that doesn't mean our hair does not grow. It means it grows better when its being protected. Still nothing to do with white women.

3. We're eclectic.

I may be emo the first week of June and pop star on the third week of June. I have a range of personality quirks that need to be individually expressed. Its humanly impossible to do so with my own hair. Weaves make that possible. Nope, still not trying to be white. Just trying to express myself artistically.

4. We're pressed for time.

The twist out/braid out method takes time to achieve. So does straightening. Between work, philanthropy, children, a husband and two large dogs, I don't have time to do my hair daily. I'm often too exhausted to remember to put on my bonnet at night. A weave makes my life easier by saving time. Surprise, surprise, still not trying to be white.

5. We're hiding a mishap.

Sometimes the stylist cuts my hair too short when all I asked for was a dust or a trim. Other times, she got the color wrong. Or maybe I left the flat iron on or the relaxer in too long. Maybe I need more time to pull off the Big Chop. Any of the above will result in me needing an immediate cover-up until I can once again be presentable in a way that makes me comfortable. You guessed it, nothing to do with white women.

So why this persistent assumption that black women wear weaves solely to assimilate to whiteness? The evidence often presented by white people and black hoteps alike is that black women don't have blond hair or straight hair. But this is categorically false. It has been proven numerous times that dark skinned black women have been known to have all hair textures and eye colors. Yet, still this false stereotype persists.

Are we even going to address the fact that white women themselves learned about weaves from black women? Show me a white female celebrity, and I'll show you a celebrity with a weave. Is anyone going to accuse them of trying to be black? No? Didn't think so. When we do it, we're assimilating. When they do it, it's fashionable.

I'll leave you with this one freebie. The only time a black woman wears a weave to assimilate to white standards is when we are applying and interviewing for a job, or are facing a judge. The reason is because we have learned that Keisha with the purple braids won't get the job but Keisha with the 14" yaki straight center part will. We know that Tenesha with a fro will be charged with a felony but Tenesha with an 18" wet and wavy blond ombre will be charged with a misdemeanor. So congratulations white women, there is one instance when black women will wear a weave to be more like you, survival.

Election Day Tips

Today, Californians are voting in their 2018 Gubernatorial election. A large number of voters have chosen to vote by mail. For those who are still heading to the polls today, here are some tips to consider.

1. Unopposed candidates shouldn't get your vote by default.

Incumbents in certain offices tend to run unopposed. County District Attorney, Tax assessor, and County Property Assessor are a few positions that tend to have no challengers. This doesn't mean that the candidate should automatically inherit your vote. You have two options when faced with this scenario. You can write in a candidate's name or you can not make a selection at all. If you choose to write in a candidates name, first research the position to see if there happens to be a challenger who entered the race late. Writing in this candidate's name will reduce the percentage of the total vote that the incumbent or unopposed candidate earns. That can send a message to the candidate that may inspire a change. The other option is to abstain. This has the same effect and will also cause the candidate to re-evaluate their course of action while in office. This also sparks the drive of another potential candidate come the next voting term. The likelihood of the incumbent running unopposed more than once will be greatly decreased.

2. Your political party doesn't define you.

Choose the candidate with the best resume. Be clear and focused on what policies and qualities you need from the candidates to best represent you, your district, city, county, and state.

3. Research the candidates.

Campaign ads and commercials are methodically planned PR productions. Don't base your opinion of a candidate on them. Take the time to investigate them, their voting trends, their professional and educational backgrounds and their public statements. Race and political party affiliation is irrelevant. Be wary of a client that depends on name dropping, party representation, or race to help sway your vote.

4. Read the voter guide as a time saver.

When it comes to propositions, the wording can be misleading. You think you're voting for something that accomplishes one goal but it turns out to be something completely different. Read the pros and cons and take note of the organizations and individuals supporting or opposing the ballot measures.

When it comes to voting, you want to make informed decisions not emotional ones. Research, investigate, make the best choice possible and abstain if necessary.

Happy voting!

How Get Out Made Me Hilariously Paranoid

Get Out is a surprise box office hit by Jordan Peele, that has grossed over $100 million dollars. If you have not seen the movie, STOP. DO NOT READ THIS POST. Go watch it first, then come back to this blog and any other blogs that reveal all of the Easter eggs in the movie. Then go watch it again. Since I saw the movie, certain things in pop culture seem suspicious to me now. Things that made perfect sense before, no longer add up. I feel as paranoid as a conspiracy theorist now.

Men In Black

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones starred in this sci-fi comedy along with appearances by Tony Shalhoub (Monk) and Vincent D'Onofrio. The basic premise is that aliens are hijacking human bodies and are walking around Earth in disguise. The MIB have to capture these "illegal aliens". Sometimes, humans see the MIB doing their job. In this case, the MIB use a pen-like device that flashes and clears the human's memory. Their memories are later reprogrammed to remember whatever the MIB planted into the person's head.

If you've seen Get Out, this almost seems like a foreshadowing. Strange people, take over the bodies of black people. However in this case, the flash of light doesn't make the inhabited person forget anything, it helps them remember. Still, they are hypnotized just the same. At which point, any requested thoughts or behaviors are transplanted into the victim's brain.


Spill the tea

This phrase is most commonly used to request more juicy gossip. But what if all this time, the black person being asked to spill the tea was in fact receiving a warning from another black person who was already victimized by those evil body snatchers?

Tea shops

Have you ever noticed how much white people LOVE tea? Like, they love it more than the people who made it in the first place. There are even stand alone tea shops that are as popular as Starbucks. They take a traditional herbal tea from a particular ethnic group or indigenous region and totally revamp it into something no one can resist. There is definitely something suspicious there.

And lets not ignore the fact that they invented tea parties. They had so many, they have to have special China to serve it with. There's an entire etiquette designed around tea, when to drink it, how many times to stir it, tapping the spoon before putting it on your saucer. Perhaps these are instructions for hypnotism.



Skeleton Key

Someone sort of ruined the movie Get Out for me by telling me it was just like a reverse Skeleton Key. Of course this was black people occupying white people with hoodoo, but the premise was basically the same. At the time Kate Hudson starred in the Skeleton Key, black people were still attempting to assimilate to white standards. Our skin prevented complete assimilation, so the idea of a black person becoming a white person against their will was particularly terrifying for a white person. With Get Out the tables were turned. White people wanted to become black people. Perhaps this movie was trying to tell us something.



Kardashians

No one is more guilty of robbing black people of their culture like any one of the Kardashian / Jenner Klan. (The "K" in "Klan" was intentional). Each time a Kardashian couples with a black man, they behave more black, having fully absorbed our culture. However, the black man they were once with, is left to become nothing more than a shell of himself. Lamar Odom wound up in a coma. Perhaps his transplant didn't take. With each new black man, their butts get bigger, their skin gets darker, they start cooking soul food, they have black babies. The Kardashians may be hiding in plain sight. This is not a drill.



Master Race

Show me a post about any set of twins where one is black and the other is white, and I'll show you a comment from a reader that says, "the only way to erase racism is to make more mixed kids." It's the creepiest thing I've ever heard. White people who choose a black mate for the sole purpose of genetic engineering may as well have been a scene in the Get Out movie. If no one can fully claim black or white, no one can be labeled inferior or superior. Which was the focus behind the body snatching in the movie.


This entire post is merely a joke I came up with when a Hotep friend of mine got melodramatic about the movie. Just in case he's right about any of this, I want you all to know that you can count on me to be a friend like Rod. I hope you enjoyed my geeky sense of humor. 

Woman Work by Maya Angelou

Woman Work

I've got the children to tend
The clothes to mend
The floor to mop
The food to shop
Then the chicken to fry
The baby to dry
I got company to feed
The garden to weed
I've got shirts to press
The tots to dress
The cane to be cut
I gotta clean up this hut
Then see about the sick
And the cotton to pick.

Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again.

Storm, blow me from here
With your fiercest wind
Let me float across the sky
'Til I can rest again.

Fall gently, snowflakes
Cover me with white
Cold icy kisses and
Let me rest tonight.

Sun, rain, curving sky
Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone
Star shine, moon glow
You're all that I can call my own.

Xfinity vs. AT&T Uverse

Last Friday I made the switch from AT&T Uverse 300 to Xfinity Double Play. There were two reasons why I left AT&T after over 10 years as a customer. The first was realizing that paying over $200 to watch tv, have a phone I never use, and to surf the internet was an act of insanity. The second reason was the substandard customer service. After surveying my friends, the consensus became clear, Xfinity had better rates, better customer service, and faster internet. I was apprehensive about switching companies. I am a person who doesn't like to change once I've made myself comfortable. Yet, I was no longer comfortable with my provider. I had to remind myself that I don't owe loyalty to a company. That is a privilege reserved for humans. If a company has high rates and poor service, I should find another as quickly as possible. So I made the call to Xfinity. 

Customer Service

As I said before, customer service is one of only two reasons I left AT&T Uverse. I live in California. The call center hours changed from 6am-10pm, to 7am-8pm, to 8am-6pm. The wait to speak to a representative averaged 8 minutes per call. I tracked my hold times. This was an unintentional practice that I started once my husband began working as a call center supervisor for a health exchange. At one point I was able to speak to a representative located in the United States. I should state for the record that I am xenophobic in the sense that I don't like strange people but not in the sense that I dislike foreigners. I truly don't care where a representative is, or what type of accent he or she has, so long as we can understand each other and my concern is resolved. This was not the case for AT&T Uverse. All of my calls were routed outside of the country to people who could not understand what I was saying. I understood their accents. They did not understand my California accent. The first 5-7 minutes of every call involved me repeating the pronunciation of my name several times, along with my account number, Uverse phone number, the last 4 digits of my social security number and my 4 digit passcode. Bear in mind, all of this information had already been entered into the automated system. Almost every call resulted in a statement credit due to representative error or flat out rudeness. I was yelled at, cursed at, and hung up on several times. Imagine my frustration having to call back and speak to a voice activated system, only to be routed to the wrong department before finally being transferred to the right place. 

Xfinity customer service was the polar opposite. The first thing I noticed was that I could schedule a call back. There's no waiting on hold. There also isn't an annoying voice activated system that refused to allow me to key in my responses. There was a human, available at a convenient time, who understood what I said the first time and never once mispronounced my name. 

Installation

Uverse installation was free the first time I had it. However, when I moved into my new house, I had to pay $99. The technician was scheduled to arrive from 1pm to 4pm. At 6:42pm he had not arrived, nor had he called to inform me that he was running late. I had to go through the customer service, voice activated maze to reach a representative. She flatly responded, "Your technician has until 8pm to arrive." That was it. No explanation, no offer to locate the technician, no apology, no credit for the time I had to sit there. The technician arrived at 8pm on the dot and didn't leave until 9:30pm. I had already been up since 5am that morning. In the end, he needed to schedule a second appointment to complete the installation because he couldn't see what he was doing in the dark. After one month of technician appointments, my phone, internet and cable finally worked properly. I was given a one month statement credit due to being without services for a month. 

Xfinity installation was $89. Unlike Uverse, I was allowed to break up the cost over my billing cycles. My technician arrival time was between 1-4pm as well. If he was late, I would receive a $20 credit. My technician arrived at 2pm and left my house by 3pm. My services have worked flawlessly. 

Cost and Quality of Service

I found that both Xfinity and Uverse were equal in prices. Xfinity offered less channels for the same price. I also had to drop the home phone to keep my monthly rates as close to $100 as possible. With Uverse, I could have phone internet and cable for about $150. My Xfinity Double Play is about $120. Having a home phone wasn't worth the extra $30. It should be stated for the record that the Uverse price is only with a special discount. The actual price would be about $190 a month, $213 with tax, for what I received in the Xfinity Double Play. But again, I would have more channels. 

Let's talk about those channels. The channels I lost were channels I didn't even know I had. So I don't miss them. I do however miss having Cartoon Network West and AMC West. Having Cartoon Network West means that my children can watch a cartoon that normally comes on while they're at school, just before leaving for school in the morning. This is because the channel is on eastern standard time. I am a die hard fan of The Walking Dead. I don't like waiting until 9pm pst to watch. With AMC West, I watched at 6pm with the east coast. I don't have that option with Xfinity Double Play. Majority of my channels are sports channels I will never watch until football season. So, not only am I getting less channels for the price, but also, the channels I have are channels I don't watch. There is a balance to this. Shows that were not available to me on Uverse On Demand are available on Xfinity. I didn't need the apps I downloaded to watch past episodes of Underground or Supernatural because they were all On Demand, unlike on Uverse. This makes up for the fact that there is absolutely nothing to watch in my Xfinity channel line up. Still, I may downgrade to just internet only this summer. 

Then there's the quality. The first thing I noticed about my cable was that it made my eyes hurt. The first time I got an HD tv, my eyes hurt becuase I wasn't used to the high resolution. That happened again with my Xfinity HD channels. Shows I had seen at least 5 times each episode, looked almost like they were in 3D. I was paying an extra $10 per month for lower quality HD channels with Uverse. After the first day or so, my eyes adjusted to the higher quality Xfinity HD channels. Almost every channel I had was in HD. This was not the case with Uverse.  

Even the Xfinity equipment is of a higher quality. I love being able to talk to my remote. It is larger than the Uverse remote but also simpler. Xfinity turned my smart tv into an even smarter tv. Everything is streamlined. When I needed start over with programming my DVR since all of my recordings left with my Uverse DVR, all I had to do was speak the name of the show and press "ok". This was such a time saver. Also, my children are less likely to alter a setting on the tv by pressing the wrong buttons, which happened frequently with my Uverse remote. My 6 year old can record her PowerPuff Girls without waking me up in the morning. 

Conclusion

There are only 3 downsides to Xfinity. The first, I can't preview the shows in the guide. I have to change the channel first to see if the show is on a commercial break or to see if this is a channel I am even subscribed to. Uverse allows a preview of what's on the channel before you click "ok". Tis keeps you from channel hopping because every choice you make lands you on a commercial break or an unsubscribed channel. The second, wifi that is supposed to be available outside of the home, isn't really available in my area. When it is available, the signal is so weak it's pointless to try. The third is that I am getting fewer channels for the same price. 

None of those issues are enough to send me back to Uverse. They offer stellar customer service, streamlined technology, higher quality HD channels and internet speeds. For an example of the frustrations I faced as a UVerse customer, follow me on Twitter, and see for yourself the tweets I posted while enthralled in poor customer service. 

3 Reasons I'm Grateful for Donald Trump's Presidential Candidacy

Like many Americans, I have experienced an ebb and flow of emotions in reaction to Donald Trump's Presidential candidacy. My initial response can be deemed a knee-jerk comical reaction. I felt the same way when I learned of his candidacy as I did when porn stars announced their candidacies for the California Gubernatorial race years ago. I was entertained, and on some level I welcomed the minstrel show. I considered our government a laughable disgrace. The fact that such unlikely candidates were on the ballot was both a protest and a passive aggressive attack. After all the laughter subsided, I truly expected Donald Trump's candidacy to disappear with it. It didn't.

I have always been one to support the underdog. Naturally, I threw my support in the direction of any unlikely candidate on the ballot. I'm an Independent voter who considered Carly Fiorina, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Chris Christie, Ben Carson and Donald Trump. Basically, anyone but Bush, because my bush is still the only one I trust. But as time went on, the curtains of the sideshow act began to catch fire. There were the Planned Parenthood videos, emails, bridge scandals, potential lawsuits over pensions, and assimilation in the time of Black Lives Matter. Viable candidates began to burn up with the stage. I was left with only serious candidates. You can imagine my confusion when the smoke cleared and Donald Trump was still there. This was no longer entertaining.

I am a realist who teeters dangerously close to becoming an optimist on a daily basis. I try to find something salvageable in every disaster. As November hovers above the horizon, I must come to terms with the terrifying reality that Donald Trump may actually be my next Commander in Chief. I tried to find something good about the possibility. I did my best to seek desirable qualities that were strong enough to mold the useless parts of him into something valuable. I found three, unfortunately, none of these will make me feel better about him as the next President. Still, I am grateful his three greatest accomplishments this election year.

1. He ended the denial of the existence of racism.

People of color know all too well that the denial of the existence of racism is one of our most frustrating hurdles to abound. When Native Americans fought against appropriation of their images as sports team mascots and the term Redskins, White America resisted. They claimed Redskins wasn't a racist term. It was a term of endearment, like the n-word. It is a show of pride and honor. Racism didn't exist anymore and all those rich casino Indians needed to just get over it. Black Americans shouted Black Lives Matter and were told All Lives Matter. They were accused of creating racism where there was none before.

Then along came Donald Trump in all his Seig Heil glory. He attacked Mexicans, then Native Americans and Black Americans. Somewhere in his racial cleansing campaign he even included the Chinese in his xenophobic rhetoric. White America was elated that someone was finally saying what they had been holding in for years. They could be finally be free, free to be their racist selves. Just like that, White America lost the ability to deny the existence of racism. Once they could no longer deny it, White allies began to emerge from places we never expected. There were White Americans in every industry, every state, every religion and political party who could no longer consciously deny the existence of racism. The Black Lives Matter Movement grew stronger. People of Color began to unify and organize to take action. And when a Facebook or Twitter troll attempted to blame people of color for "inventing racism", people of color simply had to point to White America's Presidential candidate and the argument was over.

2. He became the catalyst for the reconstruction of the GOP. 

History tells us that people who are Democrats today, would have been Republican in early America. Somewhere down the line, Republican became synonymous with anti-mercy, anti-womanhood, and pro-racism. Many conservative Democrats were left to choose between embarrassing themselves by joining the Republican party, or suppressing some of their values to accept the Democratic party as a consolation. There were those of us who refused to choose between the lesser of two evils. We became Independents, the most powerful voters this election year.

Now that Donald Trump has presented himself as an ignorant, racist, con artist, anyone who proudly and openly supports him is placed in that same demographic. Donald Trump represents the Republican party, even though most of them can't bring themselves to vote for him. He came in like virus, infecting the entire party and ultimately causing the demise of the GOP. Now, it can be reconstructed in a way that reconciles conservative values with the original mission and core structure of the Republican party. If they succeed in doing so, the result could be the drafting of many conservative Independents and Democrats. It could even result in the construction of a separate political party altogether, further breaking down the antiquated bi-partisan system.

3. He destroyed his own empire. 

During his campaign, Donald Trump went out of his way to suppress and subsequently defend his frequent out of court settlements with disgruntled people. The general public learned of the failed business ventures he hid so well. There was Trump University, steaks, casinos, real estate scams, you name it, there was a scandal and a payoff for it. Win or lose, when this election is over, no one in their right mind will do business with him again. He has been exposed as a broke con artist with multiple bankruptcy court filings. Win or lose, Donald Trump is bad for business, including his own.

Donald Trump is not a great man. Should he become President of the United States, it will be his singular triumph. And as Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "Never interfere with an enemy while he is in the process of destroying himself." Or in this case, his entire political party.