Teacher Potluck Carnival: Memorial Day Edition

Welcome to the Memorial Day Edition of the Teacher Potluck Carnival. While the country is having cookouts and parades, I am pondering the meaning of this day. Our minister today had a bulletin insert on the history of Memorial Day from history.com which I reprint here:

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. On May 5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that:

The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

During the first celebration of Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery.

This 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in several towns throughout America that had taken place in the three years since the Civil War. In fact, several Northern and Southern cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including Columbus, Miss.; Macon, Ga.; Richmond, Va.; Boalsburg, Pa.; and Carbondale, Ill.

In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, N.Y., the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo—which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

By the late 1800s, many communities across the country had begun to celebrate Memorial Day and, after World War I, observances also began to honor those who had died in all of America's wars. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May. (Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor all veterans, living and dead, is celebrated each year on November 11.)

Today, Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also, it is customary for the president or vice-president to give a speech honoring the contributions of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.

Several Southern states continue to set aside a special day for honoring the Confederate dead, which is usually called Confederate Memorial Day.

While you pray for our soldiers, please add prayers for those who have suffered at the hands of our government and its policy.

education

Heather Johnson presents Guest Writer: Teaching With Google Earth posted at Successful Teaching. I have to add that this is one terrific post with links to great ideas.

Heather Johnson presents New Learning Management System: Haiku LMS posted at Education and Technology.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Research Interview Series posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution, saying, "Check out these interviews with leading neuroscientists and psychologists on a variety of topics: learning, brain health, happiness, memory..."

One Language presents Learn English Articles » Blog Archive » Some Low Cost Ways to Learn English posted at Learn English Articles, saying, "A few ideas for learning to speak english cheaply!"

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Health Business Grows With Research and Demand posted at SharpBrains, saying, "An in-depth look into the "brain training" field and future directions."

A.Lee presents The Artist’s Mother posted at eArtFair . com, saying, "In this post I examined how world famous artists depicted their mom. And I realized what a great teachers' resource this post has become for a fabulous class project on 'portrayal'. Beautiful illustrations are inspirational. Ideas for photo projects, collage and paintings."

Jason Isbell presents Summers coming up, what are you going to do? posted at Shabam School, saying, "How are you going to help clear your mind and get tuned up for next year?"

Alvaro Fernandez presents Word game: stimulate your temporal lobe posted at SharpBrains, saying, "some food...for the brain."

One Language presents The Advantages of Learning with Phonics posted at Learn English Articles, saying, "Even if you know some of the basics of English, you might find it helpful to review some materials on phonics."

Heather Johnson presents Going back to school: A shock to the system posted at Piggy's Blog.

food

lalaine y. manalo presents Spaghetti Pizza posted at thecookmobile.com, saying, "kid-friendly pasta recipe combining two kiddie favorites~pizza and spaghetti!." This recipe really does look fun, guys!

Kay presents Miscellaneous thoughts and pictures… posted at Kitchen Scrapbook, saying, "Ideas and pictures for a potluck and teacher's gift!"

FitBuff presents Guest Chef Video - Healthy Chicken Tacos posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "Watch my amazing video tutorial on how to make fancy-shmancy chicken tacos. Emeril, watch out!"

Bobby presents Shrimp Scampi Recipe posted at Free Online Recipes | Free Recipes, saying, "shrimp scampi, what could be better?"

Barbra Sundquist presents Edible Creations: How to Make a Fruit Bouquet posted at Edible Creations, saying, "Fruit Bouquets can be one of the easiest edible creations to make. The trick is to avoid the fancy cutting required by some edible creations design instructions. This article shows you how to make an attractive Fruit Bouquet using small fruit (plums and strawberries) wrapped in cellophane and wired to look like flowers on stems."

Raymond presents Healthy and Frugal Boca Veggie Burgers posted at Money Blue Book.

Sam presents Coffee and Espresso. A Really Good Cup ! Surfer Sam posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, "Coffee and Espresso. A really god cup. Have it your way, a cup of hot, freshly brewed coffee, a frothy latte, a slowly sipped espresso. We love this magic bean. It’s stimulating and satisfying and incredibly popular. Find out more about shade grown and fair trade coffee."

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That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the Summer Edition of Teacher Potluck Carnival on June 29 using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. These submissions have been very commercial. Hopefully, more teachers will see that the Potluck Carnival is back and will contribute!

WHERE THERE ARE TEACHERS, THERE IS FOOD!

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