Nursery Rhymes

I had a discussion this morning with a student of mine about English nursery rhymes. A nursery rhyme is a short poem or song for children. Here is an example of one of my favorite nursery rhymes:

All around the mulberry bush
The monkey chased the weasel;
The monkey thought it was all in fun.
Pop! Goes the weasel.

A weasel is a small, squirrel-like animal. A mulberry bush is an American fruit bush. The story doesn't make a lot of sense, but there is a lively melody. In fact the melody for "Pop Goes the Weasel" is often played by ice cream trucks and carousels in the United States.

ELI Game Night

Last Friday, we had "Game Night" here at the ELI. Students, teachers, and tutors played card and table games including Jenga, Spoons, Mastermind, Boggle, Trivial Pursuit, Blurt, Bananagrams, Scrabble, Checkers, Chess, and--my own childhood favorite--Connect 4 (see above). The event not only let students have a good time with their friends but also taught them about games that have been a big part of American leisure for many years.

Personally, I enjoyed game night but wish I could have done better. I made it to the last round of the Jenga tournament but faltered when one of Ken's witticisms distracted me, and the tower came tumbling down. I also had an (unlucky) stint as a Tarot reader, and got gollywopped (beaten badly) in a game of Spoons.

Oh well, better luck next time.

Welcome Back!

As a new ELI session gets underway, this week I would like to welcome back returning ELI students and give a warm welcome to all our newcomers from countries diverse as Uzbekistan, Brazil, Kuwait, China, and Saudi Arabia.

New students can check the map below to see important ELI locations.


View Important Eli Places in a larger map