Punctuation Hilarity

Shared by a friend on Facebook.  I laughed obnoxiously and loudly when I saw this and has made me smile after having to say goodbye to my mum.

It's Been A While...

since I posted any grammar humour... and grammar humour makes me (and Megan and Sheba) soul happy.

Not sure of the source - saw it on Facebook.  Laughed until I snorted.

My Love For Grammar Is NOT Misplaced!

Today, we were all VERY tired in class after returning from our overnight trip yesterday.  We were all a little bit fragile and titchy, but we made it through okay.

ED (one of my students) got a letter from a former classmate, AE, who went on to another school for her intermediate years.  AE is a gifted student and an excellent writer with a great sense of humour and a flair for the dramatic.  She has a fabulous way with words, and I wouldn't be surprised to see her name in print sometime in the future.  So ED read the letter from AE out to the class.  It was one of my happiest teaching moments when I heard:

I have two badges; one for ***** and one for chapel (did I use the semicolon correctly there, Tez?)

and

PS - I miss having a grammar loving teacher.  Mrs D***** always writes things on the board and spells them wrong with incorrect grammar.  It drives me insane!!

There is hope for grammar and punctuation yet!  I can do it, one child at a time!  

source

A big, belly laugh...

I laughed so hard, I couldn't breathe for a second or two - I can always look to Megan's blog for interesting bits - either funny or very thought provoking. 

Thanks Megan... to you and your wonderful, grammar loving readers!

An Alphabet of Gratitude - 'a'

I've been mulling over this post in my head for the better part of a month. How to lay out my Alphabet of Gratitude, what to say and how to say it. Faced with a number of choices, I did my usual trick of ignoring it all and deciding not to do anything at all. For example, right now, I should be working on my Year Overviews, but I am obviously... not.

Anyhow, I was trying to decide what should be the proper platform for my musings on gratitude. Should it be alphabetical? Should each letter be a post? Will I have enough to say for each post? What will I be thankful for when I get to 'x'? (I've got something in mind, don't worry.)

I haven't got the answers to most of those questions, but as Faiza pointed out to me when I was home, everything doesn't always need an answer or a solution. I'm slowly learning that it's okay not to have an answer and sometimes, it can be kind of fun not to know.

So what spurred me into action? Tyra's 2009 Valentine's Day show (the season is a bit behind in New Zealand.) She was playing matchmaker and all the men were wearing t-shirts that said "Take me I'm your's."

So my Alphabet of Gratitude begins today with the humble letter 'a.' An indefinite article on its own, but it is also the first letter of one of my favourite things - the apostrophe. Today (and every single day), I am thankful for the apostrophe.

My head actually spins when I think of how much I have to say about the apostrophe. What makes me feel marginally better, is that I'm not alone. Once you come out of the I-love-to-use-apostrophes-correctly closet, a lot of other people come out of the woodwork. Other people actually feel as strongly about this as I do. It's reassuring and I feel a certain kinship with them. There is actually an Apostrophe Protection Society (which makes my heart smile) and I am also a fan of Apostrophe Abuse - they have a list of links along the side, which simply proves that I am not alone.

Phill indulges my obsession and bought me the best Chistmas present ever - an illustrated copy of the book, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. This book is filled with wonderful and funny gems about punctuation, such as "Why did the Apostrophe Protection Society not have a militant wing? Where do you get balaclavas?" The woman is brilliant. Her children's book, The Girl's Like Spaghetti is pure genius.

I'm not sure that everyone understands how passionate I am about the apostrophe. They know, but they don't seem to understand why it is so important to me. I'm not sure I can explain it myself, but I do know that it makes me smile when people properly punctuate a plural possessive... and that, I am grateful for.