Cowboy Gene Autry used to sing to the LA River.  A museum now looks up to Griffith Park and the hillsides are dry.  Near to Atwater Village, River Kayaking and our recreation and parks, the GLOBE conference will convene this week.  KPCC talks about stressed and dying trees and shrubs.  Children will raise their voices to encourage teachers, parents and other kids to discover the world around them and delight the visiting guests gathered to share ideas and learn about new classroom opportunities.  We are meeting to look at health, happiness, and skills provided by teachers, water and rocket scientists, new tools, and new satellites for teachers.

While California is dealing with rules about watering lawns and other states have been hot, dry, or even flooding, LAUSD students will sing with Globe.gov, for LAUSD, and local and foreign guests.  Coming from 34 countries, children are gathering with Elliott and Lebo to provide a small presentation by children from the KidsFirst at Hamlin Charter Academy presenting one element of the WaterBuddy Curricula at the GLOBE Annual Conference convening in Los Angeles at the Universal Hilton.

While NPR is talking about dying trees in Griffith Park and the Frog Spot and FoLar gather aware citizens below (see notes below on gatherings and education programs along the LA River).  Poetry leads the story in saving trees and making people aware that trees faint and die when watering is curtailed to neighborhoods and to parks, New Education Options is preparing young students to sing about our riparian habitat along the 101.  In the news this morning and this week, the park, the Drought, the River, and the Corps of Army Engineers are reworking our city, our reservoirs, our relationship to water for recreation and with our urban/suburban/and rural connectivity.

At the GLOBE Banquet, Bo Lebo and William Elliott expect to share their "World Around Me" song from Elliott's "Wind in the Willows" musical theatre adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's famous book.  They are using trees to develop awareness of weather, water, the Arroyo Seco, Theodore Roosevelt and school motivation. Singing to the water started nearby in a video for the UN at the Toad Gate and continues in 3 schools nearby.  Toad in Space started across all 15 school districts in 1999 and today the Mindspan Project has evolved to become WaterBuddy and Grahame's characters are mixed with deer, reeds, bobcats, and bears from our local campout and walking experiences.

Although the musical won Parents Choice Gold, and was featured by Publishers Weekly the songs are more often heard in PK-5th grade settings.

During California's Drought, New Education Options uses music to entrain children, educators, and parents into saving water, using it wisely, and learning new words that will improve school comprehension and vocabularies that will make words and nature more meaningful.

While NPR and Q are tolling the death of the American lawn as a cultural integrator on radio, the Drought is driving a new sense of regulated neighborhood morality and exploration in many settings.  With this new awareness, Emma Streets water saving pavers, grey water, and engineering look too cool.  The lighting, the design for rain storms, and asequia like sewells are part with turf removal discounts that join new lawn care rules externalizing in plain sight how our have and have not economy is following the Governor and our Mayor's leads.

"We are being impacted by weather and by changes leading to new understanding of permaculture and how we will share resources and change habits as a new value whose time has come." ( quote from Lawn People…new book from University of Wisconsin…Paul Robbins on Q)

As part of the LA plan, lawns may be changed to succulents long before all our schools discover that with combining Science, Arts, and new research on instruction….the solutions in teaching core studies and empathy have been approved by CDE to teach.

The difference about now and then….New Education Options this week is marrying the state Calrecycle curricula starting with "The World Around Me" to school gardens, new words, and fun work with science.  Kids are able to join the 114 countries that are using the JPL satellite with dirt measurements that measure moisture and study the Drought.

Where there is a need, there is paper, iphones, ipads if not cpus to capture a need for watering that can save local trees.  GLOBE as a partner with LAUSD is poised to train LAUSD teachers how to work with moisture in the ground and how it predicts or prevents circumstances.  This is real science and the singing celebrates how schools and scientists are working near Disney and our new Glendale/LA crosswalk to protect the oceans, understand the Earth, and study weather's impact on agriculture, cities, trees, economy and recreation….all because of water availability. 

English teachers and TESOL teachers have long used the Kenneth Grahame tale brought to the US by "Teddy" Roosevelt.  Although this nature tale published in 1909, is a long cherished chestnut.  This year when Bo Lebo is taking Kenneth Grahame and his pastoral tale to children bringing rural and natural concepts through whimsy and great English writing into classrooms William Elliott's musical is all the more valuable because through it children can make sense of Tommorrowland to failing plants.

The WaterBuddy Initiative (a training and awareness program for kids, teachers, and parents) is hard at work to work with teachers and children to inspire a love of English and a fondness for understanding new water words. With WaterBuddy at school sites or events, the program (with its primer, scrabble book and SMAP protocols) is blending fun instruction into relevant issues with rigorous results).  English learning and science or math have never been so accessible.  Linking dreams from Earth to the sky never more tangible.  WaterBuddy and the LA River can with school gardens or saving neighborhood tress become projects like butterfly habitats for youngsters. Who knew that "Toad would go into Space?" and in the process link classrooms and countries?  Hands on science can lead to further community service, ideas for careers, and focused subject studies that emerge in Middle School (check out the League of Women Voters new Yes movie released by Cleveland Media Academy on youtube).

Singing using STEM awareness fits the goals of the school districts and brings the arts into daily studies.

Each session builds familiarity with SAE (Standard Academic English) in new interdisciplinary contexts. The Soil Moisture Active Passive Satellite protocol includes planning, preparation, evaluation, and assessment of a small area nearby and uplinking it to the 129 Million measurements from 129 schools.  Tying it into inputting from cpus, consumer electronics and phones since this Spring means that it is easier than ever to look at preventative acts to save neighborhood, park or schoolyard trees.

Working with others now aware that new neuronal pathways lead to the "30 million words" Carl Hart from Columbia University and other ERIC or USDOE OERI labs and Universities, New Education Option's WaterBuddy in valley schools is working with KidsFirst at Hamlin and Gault elementary schools to raise renewed school interest and retain students through arts education.  They expect great things that "The World Around Me" curricula, WaterSense, home water audits, shorter showers and dictionaries can be affordable and innovative strategies for stabilizing ADA and motivating students.  During our Park centennial and our Drought, GLOBE activities with STEAM is an anchor for using best practices new and old.  Reducing, recycling, reusing are themes for the EPA who is working with FoLAR, Treepeople, and CREEC teachers.  We want to prevent fires and know how to be safe  when there is a crisis or act for healthy environments when there isn't…GLOBE has an important series of picture books that bring new vocabularies and analysis skills to young developing minds.  Ideas about migration, soil, clouds and weather are woven into attractive stories.

With the authorization for new studies by the Army Corps of Engineers to prepare for new restoration of the LA River and its 11 miles to pilot new development, these books can inspire science in the younger grades as kids begin to walk, bike, swim, and plant this Fall in learning about water, conservation, hygiene, and conservation.

Grahame's small tale with a great literary history, like Harper Lee's "new old book" brings ideas of friendship, saving, and adventures to children.  Its ideas and new values have new currency in California and with GLOBE new STEM objectives for school equity, experience and neighborhood or regional cultural needs.

Music first…may describe NEO's take on brain research with its goal for children to rediscover their love of learning.  Neo's programs bring spontaneous, equity based, instruction into a playful take on attention and immersion.  With WaterBuddy,  children discover Mole and Ratty.  These attractive characters have brought many generations to the library and bookstores.  Grahame and "Mouse" would be amazed that in California and in England because of habitat and conditions, children are taking an interdisciplinary approach to Science, their senses, and 21^st century learning.  In LA and the San Fernando valley, low to moderate income children and struggling students are able to join other children in many countries through GLOBE's Star measurements and either catch up, or join others in wondering about the future and choose involve themselves in new outcomes at school, at home or along the LA watershed. 

As we pick up after ourselves in the River Cleanups or walk the new Emerald Necklace trails, look at Catalina's plant gardens or visit the beaches, children are able to take their science with them and apply it.  This weekend during the GLOBE annual conference at Universal Hilton some of the teachers, scientists and researchers will see our glorious "world around us" and the diversity of a Mediterrean Bionome filled with freeways and millions of people.

From new media access to GLOBE to singing to read programs and new computers, it looks promising to be in K-12 right now. 

It's better that we save Ratty than give up and give in.  You can look at the preview of the Tommorrowland film to conversations to save the Water Vole in the U.K. on the web.  Whether eco-villages in China or students at schools in Monterey Bay or Hawaii, you can check out all the ways of teaching that can include words from agriculture to geography as well as Calrecycle's classroom units, LACOE CPIN science words cd, or KidsFirst.la.

There are links below that support the facts that Grahame's tale is still relevant to capturing young imaginations and providing fascinating instruction. On national ice cream day, what a treat to say that stories still make us rich and build vocabulary.  New Education Options is looking forward to some fun singing at the banquet to link our wet and dry weather to new tools and new classrooms to making eating ice cream and informal to formal science all the more "sticky" and GLOBE an app on phones, tablets, and androids….just a thought away.

_______________________________________________________________

Globe Teacher Application:

https://www.globe.gov/do-globe/globe-teachers-guide

Parks and Hiking and Green Infrastructure:

http://www.arroyoseco.org/HikingAS.htm

http://www.discoverlosangeles.com/blog/la-parks-and-gardens

http://www.amigosdelosrios.org/the-emerald-necklace-vision-plan/

http://www.amigosdelosrios.org/parks/

http://www.amigosdelosrios.org/green-infrastructure-bite/

Visualizing the Future:

https://www.globe.gov/globe-data/visualize-and-retrieve-data

California:

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/drought/index.shtml

Weather from lightening and rain…..to hot weather:

http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/los-angeles-ca/90012/weather-forecast/347625

STEM, k12 curriculum, and a new direction, collaborative science:

http://n-stem.org/

http://www.k12.com/?utm_source=www-k12-org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=parked-domain

Other Globes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/globe-for-ipad/id387435363?mt=8

EPA recycling:

http://www2.epa.gov/recycle

Timely Tommorrowland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWZ7O-RrATY

_______________________________________

Kids First at Hamlin:

www.kidsfirst.la

Yes video and the league of women voters community service film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qNmhkemYFw&feature=youtu.be

Globe:

www.globe.gov

CPIN/LACOE Science Standards Vocabulary Resource CD:

LACOE Science (Chinese, Korean, Khmer, Punjabi, Vietnamese, Hmong, Armenian, Russian, Spanish) 562-401-5486 Anthony Quan for more info.

_______________________________

Trees, views, and people in Griffith Park:

http://www.friendsofgriffithpark.org/GPNHS/GriffithFlora.htm

http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-giving-tree-los-angeles

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2015/07/griffith_park_teahouse.php

Tree story on Sunday NPR Edition audio:

http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=424341975&m=424341976&live=1

Worldwide Water Watch:

http://www.worldwaterwatch.org/

Local and Regional Water Issues:

http://www.sawpa.org/owow/

http://www.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/save_water_summer_infographic.html

http://water.epa.gov/type/rsl/monitoring/monitoringmonth.cfm

http://www.unwater.org/

http://healthyplan.la/the-health-profiles/

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-water-garcetti-reduce-purchases-sustainabili-20141016-story.html

http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20150408/los-angeles-mayor-eric-garcetti-releases-sustainability-plan-for-city

News about the City River Plan and wetlands:

http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/lariver/confluence/arbor-study/feds-okay-1-billion-los-angeles-river-project.html

http://lacity.org/311-directory-online-services/servicedetail/3738

http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/lariver/confluence/river-notes/la-river-habitat-restoration-where-will-the-money-come-from.html

Jpl:

http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/

http://www.nasa.gov/smap/

http://www.nasa.gov/subject/3135/water/

http://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.edu/

Lawn People:

http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/1884_reg.html

Wind in the Willows characters today:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/countryside/10291202/Where-are-they-now-The-characters-of-Wind-in-the-Willows.html

Speaking for the Water Vole:

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/0408ratty

Genetics and Structure and WIW:

http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/news/wind-willows

Willows are grown as energy crops to provide alternative sources of fuel, capture carbon from the atmosphere and fix carbon in the soil. Rothamsted Research holds the National Willow Collection, one of the largest collections of willow in the world.

Alastair (Mouse) and ADA:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/09/100-best-novels-the-wind-in-the-willows-kenneth-grahame

English Teaching Strategies:

Many Translations in Babylon:

http://translation.babylon.com/english/to-spanish/The%20wind%20in%20the%20willows/

Gutenberg:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27805?msg=welcome_stranger

Chinese:

http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Willows-Chinese-English-translation/dp/7510031443

Georgian:

http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Willows-Georgian-Kenneth-Grahame/dp/1511856777

TESOL:

http://4thjuniorhighenglishclass.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-wind-in-willows-by-kenneth-grahame.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/10/books/10willows.html?pagewanted=all

Seminole:

http://translation.babylon.com/english/Seminole/

Lakota:

http://translation.babylon.com/english/lakota/

Using Video about weather or colors and animals to teach Navajo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=37&v=XFayFUiyv20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSMAFNIf-mY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVceGzTaL3s

Other languages:

http://translation.babylon.com/english/The%20wind%20in%20the%20willows/

Using drawing in the classroom:

http://www.graphicclassroom.org/2008/03/wind-in-willows.html

Using production in the classroom:

www.ket.org/education/guides/witw_guide.pdf

The Wind in the Willows- "The World Around me" scene in French:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=31&v=7bPwkrcJ3D0

Wind in the Willows cassette:

http://www.amazon.com/Wind-Willows-Nell-Blackwell/dp/1880688344

Characters:

http://puppet.wikia.com/wiki/Category:The_Wind_in_the_Willows_Characters

Teaching English with Guitar and chords:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=36&v=nWoE82TmpQo

Singapore:

http://www.sassymamasg.com/event/the-wind-in-the-willows/

Wind in the Willows options for puppetry:

http://www.anxietycare.org.uk/docs/weather.asp

http://puppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Wind_in_the_Willows

http://www.puppetstoreforkids.com/300_4_0684717883_The-Wind-in-the-Willows.html

3-5 Classrooms:

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/wind-willows-extension-activities

All Classrooms- Education and the Environment- Creating Standards-Based Programs in Schools and Districts by Gerald Lieberman-ISBN- 978-161250-629-4

www.harvardeducationpress.org

Using Theatre:

http://www.atlantic-coast-theatre.com/study_guides

BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schoolradio/subjects/english/wind_in_the_willows

Preschool Integration:

http://windinthewillowseureka.com/

Lesson Plans:

http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/wind-in-the-willows/funactivities.html#gsc.tab=0

About Book Rags:

http://support.bookrags.com/entries/20454246-about-bookrags

Nursery (for plants):

http://www.windinthewillowsnursery.com/plant-availability.html

Nasa:

http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

http://www.globe.gov/globe-data/visualize-and-retrieve-data

http://www.globe.gov/globe-community/discussion-groups-directory

http://www.globe.gov/globe-community/community-map

Globe Conference- STEM, STEAM, Science and dialogue during our historic Drought:

http://www.globe.gov/web/united-states-of-america/events/eventsdetail/globe/working-groups-meeting

Note: Program to be Hosted by LA's Unified School District- The structure of Globe Working Groups is to enhance of role of GLOBE U.S. and Country Partners and GLOBE Scientists and Educators in shaping the future of the GLOBE Program and supporting the development and implementation of GLOBE worldwide. 

U.S. Resources:

http://www.globalchange.gov/

Climate in the Classroom in Britain:

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/weather/

https://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org/climate-4-classrooms

http://uk.climate4classrooms.org/teaching-resources

Scotland Changes:

http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/scottishimpacts

Poetry and Fan Commentary:

http://piptalk.com/pip/Forum4/HTML/002469.html

River Long Loneliness (Jazz):

https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrTccxYDKVVkloApE8nnIlQ;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTY4NwRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1tb3ppbGxhLTAwMwRncHJpZAM5Z3lva1UzX1RHUzF2LjFwYXF5aFVBBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMyBG9yaWdpbgNzZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwMwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDBHFzdHJsAzU3BHF1ZXJ5A3RoZSB3aW5kIGluIHRoZSB3aWxsb3dzIHRyYW5zbGF0ZWQgaW50byBzZW1pbm9sZSBsYW5ndWFnZQR0X3N0bXADMTQzNjg4MDMzOA--?p=the+wind+in+the+willows+translated+into+seminole+language&fr2=sb-top-search&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-003

Flash Cards:

http://www.cram.com/flashcards/wind-in-the-willows-222763

Grants:

Native American Writers

http://www.okhumanities.org/grants

Online translators:

http://multilingualbooks.com/onlinedicts-nativeamerican.html

Figurines:

http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/four-coalport-wind-in-the-willows-figures-1310-c-x8rleeihi7

Illustrator:

http://historical.ha.com/itm/books/-charles-van-sandwyk-illustrator-kenneth-grahame-the-wind-in-the-willows-london-the-folio-society-2008/a/6117-45363.s#1177711777133

Other Globes:

http://www.globe.com.ph/about-globe

Fun with words, mountains, and mountain lions (audiofiles and word pictures):

http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/here-be-monsters

Singing to learn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWXUWepSak4

Arts Collaborating on new p.o.v.:

http://www.louisianaentertainment.gov/project/spacedust-ocean-views

Shaping the Way we learn English:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=15&v=kLpwuQsNiLg

Trees and Poetry Foundation Kilmer quote:  Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, dedicated to the poet in 1936, she served in 1918 in WW1 in the Rainbow Division and was killed in action in France, but still reminds us of our reliance on trees and their beauty in schools, libraries, and on radio today.