The $2,350 Trophy

A little more than 3 years ago I enrolled Sabi in a gymnastics class at a kid gym nearby. I really liked the gym and the classes. The classes were very well structured as far as athletics are concerned and it was a safe and non competitive environment unlike another local establishment. It was a bit on the pricey side at $57 a month but she was having fun and getting a lot out of the class.

About a year and a half into it Sabina asked if she could take a dance or karate class offered at the same place. After some inquiry I found that it would cost me another $50 and I told her that she had to choose. 6 months later she told me that she wanted to try dance out instead of gymnastics. I was glad to make the change. Gymnastics looked like a lot of fun but it was frustrating to Sabina because the bar work in gymnastics didn't come very easy to her. The rest of the girls in her class were so petite and tiny and were able to to fly over those bars with great ease. That just didn't work for Sabi. She couldn't figure it out and she came home crying several times.

Dance has been awesome. The teacher is so energetic and supportive of the kids. Even better, Sabina loves to dance and is good at it. She has a lot of confidence with it and gets an even harder workout from it than gymnastics!

Sounds great, right? Here is the clincher...

In December, the teacher told the parents that a recital would be coming up soon and that we parents might want to privately start looking for sponsors for our own kids' costumes to wear to the recital. I just laughed this off and thought it must be a joke. WRONG!

In February, the "costumes" for each dance class were posted with prices and the kids had to be measured. Sabina's class will be performing 2 dances and guess what? Each dance has a different costume!!! The total for both outfits is $133. Whoa! I thought it over for about a week and went back and forth on whether or not I would go ahead with the recital. $133 for 2 outfits? That is just ridiculous. I finally agreed to do it since Sabina really wanted to do it and she had never done one before. I am not completely happy with that decision but the my tax refund came around the same time and I just went for it.

Today, at class, we parents had another surprise. A sign was posted letting us know that we need to purchase tickets to have the privilege of watching the damn recital. (yes, I am angry by now!) The tickets are a whopping $8 for kids and $15 per adult. This is just outrageous. I, of course, have no choice but to buy the ticket but I am not going to have any other family members come. What a racket!

At the end of class today Sabina's teacher made an announcement to the entire class and group of parents. She had a trophy in her hand and said "May I have your attention. We have a student here who has been with us for 3 years. We here at ********** like to acknowledge this achievement with a trophy!"

The dad next to me started laughing and said "that is one expensive trophy!" No joke....that crazy trophy cost me $2,350!

Never Too Old

Yesterday we spent the day in Oakland. We started out at The Grand Bakery. It is the closest kosher bakery to our house. Now we didn't really need any baked goods but we stopped to splurge on some goodies. They bake some wonderful challah there. I LOVE it. We also picked up some borekas and cherry filled hamantashen. YUM!

From there we went on to Fairyland in Lakeside Park. We haven't been there since Sabi was 4. My mom and I were both a bit worried that Sabi would be too old for this play park but we were wrong. She LOVED it!!! Sabi was like a kid in a candy store. It was very fun to watch her enjoying all of the fairy tale stops. I guess that you are never too old to have fun, right?

The day was beautiful. When we were done at fairyland we hung out for a bit in Lakeside Park and then ended our trip at Oakland Kosher Foods in search of Passover food.

Bajo La Misma Luna

This movie is great. I couldn't believe that on the 2nd day that it was out, less than 20 people were in the theater. What a shame. Go see it and then tell me what you think.

Former Student Encounter

Today I went to Jamba Juice and after taking my order the cashier asked "aren't you Ms. V?" I told him that I was and he said that he wasn't in my class but he remembers me from "WAY" back when he was 7 or 8. (He put a lot of emphasis on the WAY back part!) He was very excited to see me and asked me how the school is doing now that he has been gone for so long.

So he made me feel a little bit old hearing the "WAY" back comment and also thinking that when this now 18 year old knew me, I was 10 years younger!

On the plus side, this young man seemed very well adjusted, and he is a contributing member of our society who is gainfully employed. (He also makes a very good Orange Berry Blitz!) It was kind of cool to be recognized and remembered fondly.

Cool indeed!

Obama's Speech Today

Wow! What a speech. Obama brought up so many important issues in his speech and handled them wonderfully. If I weren't already pulling for him this speech would have done it for me.

Peace Vigil

We are attending a peace vigil tomorrow in our hometown. If you are interested in joining one in your neck of the woods, click here.

Summer Trip

I am planning my summer Panama trip right now. I want to hit the usual spots, El Valle de Antón, El Decamerón and of course, my dad's place, Keruasa. This time though I would like to see some other places that I haven't been to at all or in a long time. I am thinking of possibly going to Coiba, Darien and Gamboa. What would REALLY be awesome is to go to one of the Smithsonian Institute's research-education centers such as Barro Colorado, Galeta, or Culebra.

Question:
Have you been to any of these places? What do you recommend?

THe Week in Review

Here is what I am up to when I am "off track." (on vacation)

Monday:
Visited a prospective school for a student of mine. As per his I.E.P., he will move to an SH classroom. I went with his mom to see what the school and class were like. I also acted as a translator for her. It was a sad day for me because I am really going to miss this boy. He was a hard case to start with but he has come so far and he melts my heart each and every day.
On Monday night we went to shiva for a friend's mom. That was very hard.

Tuesday:
Drove Sabina to school (20 miles from home) and then turned around to go to Stockton for a coach meeting. (40 miles from Sabi's school) Once that was over I turned around to go back and get Sabi and then go back home. I drove too much that day and was exhausted.

Wednesday:
Worked with my grade level team on a collaboration day. We put in 7 hours of work focusing on all of the subject matters that we teach and planning for the last trimester. I am a bit stressed since there is so much to still cover and we have to test in May.

Thursday:
Another collaboration day with the grade level. This day was centered on what we do for our English Learners. It was a long day of reviewing writing samples and trying to figure out how to tweak our current program to make the best impact for our students.

Friday:
No plans were on the calendar - YAY! I decided to stay in town where Sabi goes to school and work in my classroom since gas is just too expensive for me to run around while Sabi is in school. I cleaned for a couple of hours and got some reading in too. Sabi had a minimum day so I didn't stay in town too long.

I waited in my car as Sabi's bus dropped her off at my school. She saw me waiting in my car and she got so excited to see me and started waving like crazy at me. Can you believe that I got goosebumps from that. It was so sweet and it just tickled me to see her do that. She is still my baby! She spent the ride home telling me about their Pi day celebration and about a glutonous pizza party that her class won. She was going a mile a minute and I loved every second of it!

When we got home, we stopped by the mailbox and Sabi's report card came in the mail. Sabi asked if she could see it first. Within about 10 seconds the screaming began. She had a fabulous report card. We celebrated with one of her favorite dishes, salmon. We also all ate together at the dinner table. That was a nice change considering that due to our busy schedules we don't all make it to dinner at the same time. We rounded out the night by watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Saturday: (Today)
Went in to WW and I only lost .8 lbs. That makes my running total 11.6. I guess that is ok. WE are going to keep busy with laundry and housekeeping today.

We're Back!

DSC00042
Originally uploaded by kjerringa1

We had a great time but are glad to be back.

I am so glad that I am off track and can just relax. Woo-hoo!

Go See This Movie

I haven't seen much of Monterey yet as I was in my math workshop for the majority of the day. This evening we went out to Monterey for dinner at Turtle Bay and then on to the mall to see College Road Trip. Go see this movie. It is really fun! It is funny and engaging for all ages. Sabi, my mom and I saw it together and we all enjoyed it. (We may even go see it again!)

And We're Off!!!

We are spending the weekend in Monterey. I have a math workshop to attend tomorrow until 2 but the rest of the time will be for play...Yay!

Have a good weekend everyone!

You Know You Are Getting Old When...

This week I am teaching Intersession. Intersession is basically a summer school type of program that runs while our school is off track this month. During Intersession we don't have aides around to help out with cafeteria and recess duty so I am with the kids every single minute of the day. It really is quite fun.

At recess today, I was watching the kids play. The girls were busy in a game of jump rope having a grand time. I listened carefully to their song. Here are the lyrics:

"Ice cream soda, cherry on the top. Who's your boyfriend I forgot?"

Then they start to recite the alphabet. Whatever letter the student stops at is the first letter of her boyfriend's name.

I had to stop that nonsense right away. I told them that they were in second grade and were too young for boyfriends. I also said something like "who needs a silly boyfriend anyway? Why don't you say something like: 'Ice cream soda, cherry on top. What's your favorite fruit, I forgot?" The girls looked at me for a second and rolled their eyes as they smiled at me. Nonetheless, the girls spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out names for fruit starting out with different letters of the alphabet!

Yeah, yeah, I am an old fogey...I know this and am ok with it!

Tear Jerker Movies

I just watched The Joy Luck Club for the millionth time. Every time that I watch it I end up in serious tears at the end when June meets her sisters in China. The same hold true for The Color Purple. I start crying when Shug walks into her father's church singing through the end when Celie's kids and sister come home. I am a serious mess when I see those flicks.

What movies make you cry?

WOW!

Last weekend I re-joined Weight Watchers.The first two days were kind of tough because I am a food addict. I never ever felt hungry but I was craving for a food fix. I am so used to just nibbling away all day long so I had to retrain myself a bit.

To help myself out throughout the week, I bought some frozen meals that are similar to the Weight Watchers meals. I also bought some fruit, and lots of good veggies to use in salads. My meals were tasty and filling. I was careful about the food I took in but I did have some fun foods such as chocolate, cheese and bread! I never felt hungry or deprived this week.

Today was weigh in day and I lost 10.8 pounds. WHOA! I couldn't believe it. Let's see if I can keep it up!

Obama '08

American Spirit Day

Every month Sabi's school has a special spirit day in addition to the once a week school spirit day. The special spirit day is a theme based day such as Disney Day, Hat Day and Hawaiian Day. Today was American Spirit Day. Sabina ended up wearing her school spirit shirt, a red turtleneck and jeans for the red, white and blue colors because that is all that she had to match the color scheme. Sabi loves spirit days. She likes the idea of everyone doing the same thing, schoolwide. She also likes helping her class out by dressing up because if they have the highest percentage of kids dressed up, they win some kind of prize.

When Sabi got home she told me that the whole school wrote letters to soldiers today. I started to get a little bent out of shape at hearing this news but calmly asked her why they would be doing such a thing. She responded that since it was American Spirit day the kids were all to make a cut out of their hands and then write a note on them to send to soldiers. I went on to ask her what she did. She told me that she told her teacher that her family doesn't believe in the war and think it is ok. She asked her teacher if it would be acceptable for her to opt out of the project. Her teacher told her that it was ok and that not everyone supports the war and she had the right to opt out.

This brings up some issues for me.

On the negative side...

1) I am really upset that the school would have the entire student body do this activity. It is an endorsement of the military and the war. There is no place for this in a public school. If teachers or administrators want to do something to show their support, by all means they should act. They should not however pull their students into it though.

2) Why didn't the school inform parents about this ahead of time? They made the false assumption that everyone would support the letter writing. I didn't even have the opportunity to opt my daughter out of the activity.

3) What about the educational time lost today when the kids were busy letter writing? With the standards/test prep driven trend that we are currently in, how can time set aside for this be justified?

On the positive side:

3) I am comforted that Sabina's teacher responded so appropriately to Sabina. (Not that I am surprised because she is FABULOUS!) It is quite clear that she has an extremely approachable style that has made her students feel safe about speaking their minds because Sabina had no problem discussing this assignment with her.


4) I was really impressed at Sabina's response. When she told me how she reacted, she was heartfelt and not looking to seek my approval for her behavior. She is really becoming an independent thinker and is not afraid to speak up and make decisions that may not be popular. In my opinion, that is true American patriotism.

La Familia Telerin

I just found a blast from the past on You Tube. When I was little and lived in Panama I used to watch La Familia Telerin sing their good night song. I think that I hadstickers of La Familia Telerin on the headboard of my bed. I particularly remember the blue-headed girl. how fun to run across this again!

Para Ganar Obama

I saw this over on Latinopundit's site and had to share. Love it!

Science Fair News

Sabina had to work on a science for school. It was her first time and she had a rocky start. The hardest part for her was deciding on her project and figuring out how to put the idea together since she didn't see the big picture. For me, the hardest part was trying to not do the project for her. I did help her with the rubric and showing her how to check the rubric to make sure she included everything that was required. It was a stretch for both of us. She had to learn about the process as well as stick with the project for extended periods of time. My patience was tested many times over. When the day to turn the project in arrived I don't know who was more excited, me or Sabina!

The science fair came two days later. It was very nice to see all of the projects in one room. There were some really great projects. To make the night even better, the StarLab was onsite and available for the kids to go in and learn.

This week Sabi found out that she won first place. This qualifies her to go on to the County Science Fair. Pretty Cool!

Weekend Update

Sabi and I are beginning our five day weekend today. Yay! We will be heading down to Southern California tomorrow with my mom and brother to spend some time with my aunt and uncle. While there we will also go watch The Color Purple. I just opened up a weather update from my aunt and we are looking at weather in the mid to high 70's while in LA. WOW! That will be just FABULOUS! I can't wait!!!

How are you spending your President's Day weekend?

What kind of High School Kid Were You?

All American Kid

Popular but not plastic. Athletic but not a jock. Smart but not a brain. You were well rounded and well liked in high school.

Who Were You In High School?

Election Notes

Once again, my polling place was not all that it could be. I was at the polling place within the first 10 minutes of it opening and the people running the place really didn't know what to do. Most annoying though was that the ballot machine didn't work. I have yet to vote in an election where the machine actually works while I am present. 3 hours later I visited the polling place at my school with my students and their machine was not working either. What is going on?

In addition to taking my students to the polling place I gave them a brief overview of the election process. I asked them if they knew that we were voting on a potential president? Only 1 or 2 knew that. I then asked if they had heard any of the candidates names. When I mentioned Paul, McCain, Romney and Huckabee they looked at me with glazed over faces. When I mentioned Obama and Clinton they became animated and did indeed recognize the names. I told them that I wanted them to watch the news that night and come back on Wednesday with some type of election night news to share with the class. Guess what? One brought a piece of paper with some election results the very next day. The paper listed Clinton and Obama's names and mentioned some states that they had each won. I was so happy that one of my kidlets actually took the time to do it. Today, one more slip of paper showed up on my desk. It said Jilari Clinton #1. The girl who turned it in didn't say too much about it but she was proud to turn it in to me!

Reggaeton Obama

Yesterday afternoon I heard a reggaeton campaign song for Obama and it stuck in my head! Here is the link to the site where you can hear the song and download it, if you like.

Don't forget to vote today folks!

I Stand Corrected!

My mom informed me this morning that my latest blog was incorrect. She did not walk/run 60 miles last month. Mom walked/ran 75 miles. Excuse me! Go MOM! :-)

End of the Month Resolution Check

The resolution for this year was to move more. My mom, my youngest brother and I are all working hard at this resolution. Yesterday was the end of the month and we all met our goals. I walked/ran 30 miles. That is 5 more than I set for the month. It isn't huge but it is more than I did in any month last year! I think my mom walked/ran 60 miles. The big number came from my little brother...100 miles! You go boy!

I hope we can keep this up!

Today's Forecast...YUCK

I have a field trip today to watch a play at the local college and then take the kids on a campus tour. Sounds good in theory but let's remember that it is with 100 kids! To add to the extreme fun, it is raining now and should be raining all day.

Let's do the math:

Lots of kids + field trip = craziness.

Lots of kids + field trip+ rain= chaos!

Can it get any better?

Help!!!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Art
Originally uploaded by msabcmom

For the last two weeks I have been weaving MLK Jr. into the curriculum. This year, I was amazed at how much my students knew about him. We had some great discussions, wrote some good paragraphs and made great art.

May we all keep working hard to make Dr. King's dream a reality.

Fabulous Foolishness!

Miriam got me hooked on this show. Who else loves this show? I can't get enough of it. Niecy rocks...HMM!

Resolution

This year I didn't make the "lose weight" resolution. I want to lose weight but I think I need to have a different focus. Moving more is my resolution. My brother is on an exercise kick and he encouraged us to exercise along with him.

We each set a goal of a certain amount of miles per week. (elliptical, running, walking, biking, etc) We can track our progress on a cool excel program that my brother sent us. I chose to go with a minimum of 5 miles per week. I hope to go over that but I didn't want to set it so high that I would break the resolution and just stop completely.

So far I am on week 2 and I made it both weeks. Yay!

Student Success and Challenge

Let's start with the success first.

Student 1:
V is an average student. He has been working at grade level up to recently. He made a sudden drop in math when we started double digit subtraction with regrouping. He went from scores in the high 80's to scores in the 20's and 30's. He was just lost. I worked with him and he got it one on one but then could not perform on his own. On Tuesday morning I was mentally planning the phone call I was going to make to his family to ask for their help with him. That afternoon he surprised the heck out of me. We started an even more complicated task that day mixed addition and subtraction with and without regrouping. I started the class off and then made a beeline to his desk to get him going. By the time I had made it to his desk he had already completed 5 problems and they were all correct! I looked around him to see if he might have copied the answers but the kids next to him hadn't even done as many problems as he had. He then went on to finish the page and the rest were also correct. I asked him what had changed...how he had finally understood the concept. He told me that his mom kept looking at his math pages and said that they needed to do something so she went out, got a math book and worked with him at home. I told him to give his mom a big hug and kiss and thank her for helping him and he looked at me with the most serious face and nodded while telling me "I will Ms V.!" I wish all parents were as dedicated as V's.

Challenge
Student 2:
Y is one of my older students. She is actually Sabi's age, fourth grade age, but she was put in school late and then retained. Y is interesting. She appears to be at least average but she really isn't. Verbally she is high. She is also very mature with regards to responsibility. Y is the second oldest in her family but she is the only girl. As the only girl she has assumed responsibility for caring for her first grade sibling as well as her 3 year old sibling at home. I have yet to meet the mom, despite numerous calls made by me to request a conference. (They live across the street from school)
Academically Y is on track in math but in language arts...ouch! Y can barely read first grade text. What she can read is not fluent not usually accurate. This week when Y was reading with me I just couldn't take it anymore and told Y that we have to do something about her reading difficulties and do it fast. I told her that I understood that she doesn't have anyone who will help her at home and that she has many responsibilities that await her once she is home. I told her that I wanted her to either come in before school or stay after school and work with me or my student teacher one on one so she can make that jump and catch up. Y nodded at me and said that she would do it but she was worried about her little brother, she is responsible for him after school. i told her to bring him over too. If it will allow her the time to learn, so be it. I also thought that I should just work with the little brother because he will be a second grader next year so I might as well get a jump start on working with him now!

Y has been on my mind all week. Why? I am so saddened about where she is academically. She is really quite a remarkable kid. I look forward to seeing her everyday. She is funny, sweet, responsible and she gets my jokes! I am also saddened about the fact that there is no adult at home who is willing to work with her or even cares about where she is academically. I can't understand why her mom hasn't come in to see me. Mom doesn't work and is available. There are always many cars in the driveway. When I have made calls home I have been given many excuses as to why mom couldn't come. The last time I called home a man answered and I was told that I had the wrong number and that I needed to stop calling. (I did hear mom in the background)

I am hopeful about my study sessions with Y. I know that she will be successful. I also know that she will be very grateful for the help and thank me for it. I am worried about her future though. Who will care for her and help her in the years to come?

Whoa!

I checked Poplicks' blog this morning and was surprised with the video of my brother jumping off the Macao tower as today's post! I didn't know that my brother posted the video! I'm posting it here too. It is wild. I can't believe he did it! Crazy!

Back to School

Today Sabi and I went back to school. Yesterday, we didn't want to even think about going back to school. Today was another story.

Me:
I woke up happy thinking about my students. I was eager to see their bright little faces. The day was fabulous. I had to be a little bit on the strict side with two students to remind them of our rules but it was really a super day. My student teacher took over more planning and she was fabulous too. She is a natural born teacher.

Sabina: We arrived at my school and as soon as we pulled up Sabina got very wide eyed and excited and asked if she could go straight to her bus stop and not wait for a while in my room. I asked why and she said "I just can't wait to hear my friends' voices! I want to hear them as soon as possible!" How cute! When she returned from school she was so excited telling me all about her friends and how they caught up.

Today was a good day!

Vacation is Over!

I can't believe that today is my last day of vacation. Where did the time go? Here is a list of how I spent my vacation:

1) Hosted my aunt and uncle for a few days: It is always fun to have them visit. We get to hear them play some good music, have nice talks and play board games! On this trip, they brought their digital recorder and recorded a live performance of themselves playing with Sabina!

2) Spent time with my dad: Dad came to visit us from Panama. Even though he knows what out weather is like here, it was still a shock coming from the tropics! We had some good times and good food!

3) Spent the entire vacation being sick! I started with a sore throat and no voice, got somewhat better and then got another throat bug...yuck!

4) Baked and cooked: My favorites include the stained glass cookies, Ruben's empanadas and making homemade cranberry sauce.

5) Read: I was able to get in some good reading time over the break. I just finished this good book. Check it out if you like murder mysteries! Sabina has been enjoying this book. (I must admit, I like her book too!)

6) Went back to the gym! Aaron got us on a new idea. We have set a monthly goal for miles to walk, run, bike, etc. He sent us a program to track our miles and we will make our way around the U.S. Cool!
*************
I really like this whole vacation thing. I do not want to go back to work but I guess it will take me one step closer to my next vacation!

Political Compass Test

I saw this test over on POPLICKS last week and then had it mailed to me today. Here is how I rated. Take the quiz...it is fun!

Your political compass

Economic Left/Right: -6.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.15

Help for the Homeless: Ideas Wanted

As I walked into service last night passed through the foyer. One wall of our foyer is a huge window. Outside the window there was a LOT of stuff. When I looked closer I could see that the "stuff" was a makeshift shelter for 4 people. There were 4 people sleeping in sleeping bags and blankets under the eaves and all of their belongings were gathered in several shopping carts, wagons and strollers.

I remembered seeing some homeless people in the same spot several months ago on a Sunday morning. From talking to others, I found that they come to this spot regularly but usually leave before we come around on Sunday morning for Sunday School. I had never seen them in this spot on a Friday night before though. What brought them to this spot was most likely the horrible winter storm that went through here yesterday. We had non stop hard rain all day long with winds around 20mph. They were trying to find the dryest place possible.

The rabbi's sermon last night was off the cuff. He talked about our brothers and sisters who were taking up residence just a few feet away from us outside and asked what we could do as a congregation to help them.

After every service we have oneg, refreshments. One of the kids brought up the fact that we have plenty of food and could share it with the people outside. The Rabbi another congregant and myself made up a large plate of food, wrapped it up with some napkins and forks and brought some bottled drinks to the people outside. The Rabbi had to speak loudly to wake the people up. He told them that he was sorry to interrupt their sleep but that we were celebrating inside and wanted to share with them. We weren't sure if they would accept our food because earlier that evening someone had asked them if he could give them something but they kindly refused. Well... they accepted the food. They were kind of groggy because they had been awakened from their sleep. They didn't say much more and we went back inside. In the meantime, I was checking out their setup. I was thinking about how lucky I am to have so many comforts in life. When you don't see first hand the hardships that others have to go through, you really don't even know what it is like. When someone talks about the homeless, you tend to think of it as a concept, not as an actuality. I am not trying to say that I truly understand what it is to be homeless. I know that I only peered into the world of the homeless last night.

I left with Sabi shortly after that. I gathered my things and walked back through the foyer, past the makeshift home right outside that window. One of the men who was sleeping in front of the window raised his head up and smiled at us and waved as if thanking us for the little bit of food that we shared. This touched me.

So...back to the Rabbi's question "What can we do to help these people?" At my grandmother's church, they have a portion of their church set up for this very thing. They have bathrooms with showers, a kitchen and a place to sleep. One of their congregants stays overnight with the visiting guests and helps them with meal preparation and any other needs they might have overnight. During the day, there is a van to take them to look for work and to take the children to school. Her church is in a network of other churches that does the same thing. It is an amazing system.
Our synagogue is not set up like this though. We can't offer anything like that. I know that we could do something though...we just need some good ideas. That is where YOU come in!!


QUESTION:
What does your synagogue, mosque, church, temple, place of worship, community center etc. do to help the homeless? What ideas can you share with us?

Thanks for your ideas!

Shabbat Shalom.

Forecast: RAIN!!!

We are in for a LOT of rain for the next few days. I am so glad to be on vacation for this little weather system. I hate to work and drive to work when it rains. I had originally planned to go in to work and prep for school next week but the plans have changed. Now, I am looking forward to hanging out at home on the couch, in front of the fire with a good book and hopefully some Monk, and Law and Order SVU or CI reruns.

Right now, I am sitting in front of a pretty fire in the fireplace and enjoying a movie to the sound of rain falling outside. I love it!

For all of you who have to be out and about in this weather...sorry! Drive safely and hang in there.

Hip Hop Celebrity - Updated

Sabi's Hip Hop class is being taped live this morning for a local news show. We have to be there at 6:30 am for a live taping at 7:00 and then again a 8:00.
Coolness!

Update:
Here is the link to a video from the taping this morning.

Stained glass cookies

Stained glass cookies
Originally uploaded by msabcmom

Yesterday I made stained glass cookies. I was inspired by Chef Paz who made some recently.

The cookies are are procedurally fairly simple to make. You make a sugar cookie recipe, cut out shapes in the middle and then fill the cutouts with crushed hard candy. When the cookies cool, you have a sugar cookie with a hard candy center. The cookies and pretty to look at and tasty too.

Random Act of Kindness

My grandmother called me today after she went to church to check in. She said that after church was over she and a friend decided to go out to eat lunch at a nearby restaurant. When it came time to pay for the meal they were informed that their meals were covered by "that couple over there!" My grandmother said that she and her friend looked over at the young couple and didn't recognize them. Perplexed, they got up to leave and thank the couple but by the time they made it to the table, the couple was gone. My grandmother still doesn't know who did this for her but left with good holiday spirit as well as a full stomach!!!

That story made my day.

Happy Hanukkah!

I'm Spicy!

I saw this link over on Xolo's site. Go on...try it... it will spice up your life!

Your Score: Saffron

You scored 75% intoxication, 50% hotness, 75% complexity, and 25% craziness!

You are Saffron!

Those other spices have nothing on you! You're warm, smart, and you make people feel really good (and with no side-effects!). You can be difficult to get to know and require a lot of those who try, but you're so totally worth it. *Sigh*

Link: The Which Spice Are You Test written by jodiesattva on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Second Night of Hanukkah

Another busy day. I haven't made it home yet. I'm at a tech class now and playing around!

Photo: Second Night of Hanukkah
by: Hotzeplotz


Video: Swinging Dreidel by Kenny Ellis.

Happy Hanukkah!

Today was so busy and I thought Sabi and I would never make it home to celebrate Hanukkah. We finally got home around 7:30. My mom was busy with adjunct duty at school so we were expecting to not celebrate the first night with her. Miraculously, my mom got out early and came home at the same time we did. That was our Hanukkah miracle! We ended up having enough time to light the candles, watch them burn and even play dreidel!

Chag Sameach!!!

Gelt Melts by The Leevees

Gelt melts
Gelt melts
Gelt melts

Just because it looks like funny money
In your pocket it's chocolate runny
Heat's the enemy, it's not your friend
Golden coins melting in your hand

Everyone knows chicks love chocolate
Fires them up like a bottle rocket
Rip the tin off right away
I think you know what we're trying to say

You gotta get it while you can
'Cause it won't last long
We don't claim to understand
But we're not wrong
And your good thing will be gone

Gelt melts
Gelt melts
Gelt melts

Don't throw it at your baby brother
Better run now, here comes your mother
Comin' at you with a wooden spoon
Still covered with her chicken soup

Grandma's couch with the plastic coating
Fifty coins later, stomach's bloating
If goys can eat a chocolate bunny
Why can't we eat chocolate money?

You gotta get it while you can
'Cause it won't last long
We don't claim to have the answer
In this song
But your good thing will be gone

Gelt melts
Gelt melts
Gelt melts
Gelt melts

Wax On? Wax Off?

I collect Hanukkiah's. (Hanukkah menorah's) I didn't mean to collect them but little by little, the collection grew. It is beautiful to see all of the hanukkiah's together when they are lit. The one thing I don't like dealing with though is the wax. In an attempt to save money on candles (I need a lot since I have so many hanukkiah's) I bought cheap candles instead of the dripless kind. WRONG MOVE! The wax build up was so bad. I used tons of hot water and spent a long time cleaning the wax off of the hanukkiah's since I like the surfaces to be clean and spotless.

Last year I heard someone say that they don't remove the wax from their hanukkiah because the wax is a reminder of Hanukkah's past. That was a new concept for me. It would be a lot easier to live that way...no cleaning... I don't think I could handle it though.

If you celebrate Hannukah, tell me, do you leave the wax on or off? Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Hanukkah's Coming...

Hanukkah is coming soon...December 4th. Here's a clip of Sabina playing s'vivon (dreidel in Hebrew) last year.

What I Love About Fall

The crisp, cool weather.

The changing colors of leaves on the trees. (and ground)

The need to wear a light coat or jacket.

Listening to the wind blow through the leaves .

Driving around town with leaves falling from the trees like rain.

Flat Stanley Blog

I started a Flat Stanley Blog to track the adventures of our dear friend around the globe. Check it out here: Room38is great.

Guess Who???

Guess who only has one more day of Intersession?

Guess who will officially be on vacation at 2:00 tomorrow?

Guess who is looking forward to not being on a schedule?

Guess who is going to just hang out and "chill?"

ME!!!!!!!!!!!

3 de noviembre

Panamá

November 3rd, Panama's Independence Day

With English translation on the bottom...

Bully

I have a bully in my room. He is just plain mean to the rest of the kids in my room. He pushes, hits, says mean things to others and lies about it all. When he is confronted about his behavior by an adult, he cries very convincingly and blames it on the other kid.

I have tried all kinds of things with this boy. I have done class meetings trying to focus on good behavior, being kind, etc. I haven't focused on the bully, just talked/problem solved about these topics as a group. I have also contracted with him, talked to the counselor and his grandma, hi caretaker. All of these have been useless.

The bully's behavior has been escalating. He has chosen one victim in particular to harass, another boy in my class. He threatens that he will get him in trouble and he uses him as a punching bag regularly. The victim is obviously scared to come to school and is beginning to hate school.

On Monday, the bully was finally suspended. What a peaceful day that was. The next day he came back with a vengeance and found his victim. He blamed him for his suspension and started to verbally harass him again. I immediately sent him to the office. It was our last day of school so he wasn't suspended but he also didn't return to class. What a nightmare.

After school, I went to talk to the victim's mom. She has been so amazing through this entire process. While she is concerned and protective of her son, she also is concerned for the bully. I told her about the day's happenings and she told me that the day before, the day that the bully was suspended, her son came home so happy because the bully was not at school. He of course didn't know the real reason why the bully was absent so he drew his own conclusions. Right before bedtime he told his mom that he wanted her to help him pray to G-d to make sure that the bully didn't come back to school. The mom responded by saying that she would pray to G-d but that she would instead ask G-d to help the bully to be happy and able to play well with her son and all of the other children at school. She told her son that all children have to go to school, even the children who have problems. What a nice response.

As for the bully, yes, he has lots of problems. He lives with Grandma because his mom is in prison and he dad checks in when he feels like it. He is left alone with video games and tv because grandma can't be bothered. I hate to call home when he misbehaves because I know that he will get a huge beating.

I have requested that the bully receive counseling services. I have also asked to have the bully removed from my room and placed in another classroom so that the boy being victimized doesn't have to live in fear.

Flat Stanley Update

Our Flat Stanley's have all been sent out. Many friends and family members volunteered to host our story book character. THANKS!

I am going off track in a few days so I will see if I can make a new website to track Flat Stanley's travels. In the meantime, check out Shelli's FLICKR to see Flat Stanley in Brooklyn and Guusje's blog to see Flat Stanley's amazing adventures with her. He has been getting around!

Here are some other places on Flat Stanley's itinerary:

Outside of the U.S.
Mongolia
The Cayman Islands
Panama
Japan
England
Greece
Fiji
Germany
Australia

In the U.S.
All over California
New York
Texas
Michigan
Illinois
Florida
Ohio
and more... (I just can't remember them all right now!)

I've Been Robbed (Again!)

Remember when this happened? Here is more on that event.

Well, it happened again. I walked in my room this morning to find that my newest computer was stolen. Interestingly enough, all of the cables were left behind as well as the printer, older computer, laptop, document camera and projector. The only other missing items are some CD's from my ELD program and my Core reading program.

The school will be replacing my old computer and CD's. As for who robbed us, I don't know but it looks very shady. My windows have metal rods in the frame to keep people from opening the flimsy windows from the outside. They can only be opened from the inside. Guess what? The rods were out. The alarm didn't go off either. That means that the theft was an inside job. The only other people who have access to my room are the night custodians otherwise known as Team Cleaning. This group of people changes from day to day. There are always different people in and out of the room. Too suspicious for me...

What to do?

Happy Birthday Little Brother!

Aaron 20 some years ago....

Appreciation

Two weeks ago was National Custodian's Day. To celebrate that day, my class, and the rest of the second grade classes wrote a letter to our custodian, Mr. Bobb. I made up a template where the kids could draw a picture as well as write about 5-6 lines about our custodian. When all of the letters were done, I bound them into a book and the kids presented it to Mr. Bobb that afternoon.

This week Mr. Bobb found me and told me how much he appreciated the book. He said that he took it home and read it with his wife and they had the most wonderful time reading the letters. These were his comments:

"The kids wrote such hard words. They weren't spelled correctly but they really tried their best to write really hard words like appreciate." (spelled uprishayt)

"The letters made me feel so good. They gave me great hope for the future."

"I told my wife that when I die, I want these letters read at my funeral."

Mr. Bobb was so moved by the book. I am glad that the kids were able to express their gratitude for our wonderful custodian. I am also touched that he found the book to be so meaningful.

Why?

Around 1:30 this afternoon one of my students told me that one of our classmates would be moving on Monday. I went over to talk to the boy in question and he didn't want to talk in front of his friends. I then walked outside with him and asked him and he burst into uncontrollable tears and grabbed on to me and said "I don't want to move Ms. V." After he and I both wiped our tears away I left him, and the class with my student teacher and I went to the office to investigate. The secretary checked her inbox and found a memo from a secretary at a school across town and sure enough, this young man was leaving and today would be his last day.

By the time I made it back to class we had about 30 minutes left with our soon to be gone friend. Right before the kids went home I told the class and asked them to say some nice things about him. I also assured him that we would write and I would try to visit him at his new school. He smiled. When the bell rang, he just hung out for a while and then when I told him that I would walk him to the after school program he started bawling again. He was so sad! He cried, I cried, my student teacher cried. What a mess. When I took him to the after school program, I had to tell them what the deal was and they too started to cry.

Why on earth would a parent move a child and not tell the teacher? The one and only time I saw this mother was earlier this year when her son broke his arm and she came to pick him up. That is it! I have had no other communication with her. Her son is such a fabulously wonderful, sweet and caring young man. He at least deserved the chance for a proper good bye from all of his friends and teachers. I am going to miss him greatly. I hope that his new teacher will see appreciate him as much as we do.

You Tube Blogging

Two of the blogs I read posted great You Tube clips. I had to post them as well!
*********************
One Semester of Spanish Love Song:

I saw this over on Chuchería and had to post it as well!

SO FUNNY!!!



The Mom: (Via Shelli at Hydrangeas Are Pretty)

Flat Stanley Host Families Wanted!

Hello all!

My class is doing a Flat Stanley Project. We read the Flat Stanley book and are now writing to "host families" for Flat Stanley. The host families would need to receive Stanley and then write about their adventures with them. When Flat Stanley's visit is over with the host families, he can be sent back to our class for a geography lesson. So far, we have the following places covered in the U.S: California: Riverside, Laguna Beach, La Verne; Texas: Houston, Fort Worth, New York: New York; Massachusetts: Holbrook; Arkansas: Midway. We also have a few Flat Stanley's traveling to Panama City, Panama, the United Kingdom and possibly Japan.

We have a few more spots left. Would you be able to help us out? It would be great if we could cover all of the continents!

Let me know!!!

Vocabulary

Everyday I spend about 10 minutes with my second graders working on a new vocabulary word of the day. The kids have a vocabulary journal. For each new word they write the definition, a synonym and antonym for the word, draw a picture and then use the word in a sentence. The words we have learned so far are commotion, elated, exuberant, lovely, fiction and plethora. I take the words from any of the core texts, from our read aloud stories or I will just open the dictionary to a random page and find a word. In the process, students learn new vocabulary but they also learn 3 other 2nd grade standards, synonyms, antonyms and dictionary skills.

I have been encouraging the students to use their new words right away so that they can incorporate them into their everyday vocabulary. I have also put out a little incentive for the kids. I told them that if they used the words in their journals and also when speaking to us at school, I might give them little tickets. (Tickets are placed in a jar and then at the end of the day I pull several and the kids pulled gets small treats)

The kids were of course very motivated to get treats. This week I have heard and seen LOTS of very simple sentences using our new words. That was rewarding to see. The most impressive use of newly learned vocabulary came yesterday from one of my students. Ramon is a tiny little boy who is still at the very beginning stage of English Development. He is limited in his abilities in English. We were in a kind of chaotic part of the day, during a transition, and he turned to me and said : "Ms. V., there is a plethora of commotion in our classroom!" It was so sweet, cute and wonderful that I just wanted to bend over and kiss him! I opted to congratulate him on his good use of vocabulary and of course, give him several tickets!

One of the Reasons I Love Teaching...

Today something wonderfully sweet happened that reminded me of one of the reasons that I love being a teacher.

I teach ELD (English Language Development) in a rotation with the rest of my second grade colleagues. Our students are divided up by proficiency level in English. My group is the beginners. Many times these kids are the newcomers. This year's class however was not comprised of newcomers though. The kids all speak basic enough playground English to get by but really struggle. Today, I got my first newcomer of the year.

"Karina" came to class somewhat nervous. She was confused because she didn't understand the whole rotation thing. I usually only speak in English during ELD time but today, I made an exception since I didn't want to stress Karina out even more. I conducted the lesson in English first and then in Spanish. That was quite a task for me since the lesson was on condensation. I didn't know the academic language in Spanish for condensation but I could explain the process. While Karina was nervous, she really jumped right on in repeated many phrases and got some English content vocabulary correct as well. Throughout the lesson I kept walking past her desk dropping off lots of positive praise or setting her up with kids seated next to her to play with her at recess and lunch. She smiled at me but didn't say much. Even though we didn't have much reciprocal communication I just had a good feeling about this girl. I was a bit sad that my homeroom class was full because I would love to have her in my room. When the rotation was over I told her how happy I was to meet her and that I would see her tomorrow.

I got to see her sooner than that. Karina came by a couple hours later during math time for a Spanish version of our math text. She came with a classmate again. The classmate handed me the note from her teacher asking for the book. I then turned to Karina, smiled and asked how her day was going. Karina then walked over to me and gave me the BIGGEST hug and just smiled at me and said she was fine. That just melted me.

As a child, I went to 6 different elementary schools and 3 different junior high schools. I know what it is like to be the new kid. I really do everything I can to make kids feel safe and comfortable when they are new. That enormous hug from Karina told me that she was thankful for my help and that I did my job well. I couldn't help but get teary eyed.

I love my job!

Techology Meets Room 38!

I found out on Friday morning that I "won" an Elmo (digital document camera) and a projector for my classroom. I was so excited. I spent the morning trying to set it up and by math time I was rolling. It is so, so awesome. Gone are the days of overheads...I don't need them. I simply place whatever I want to show the students under the camera and it shows up...amazing!

On Friday I also signed up for a Technology in the Classroom course. The class is about podcasting with your students. My big project for the course will be designing two lessons based around podcasting. It sounds like a lot of fun.

Teachers: Have you podcasted with your class before? If so...what did you podcast about?

Al Otro Lado

Today while browsing through movies at Hollywood Video I cam across the movie Al Otro Lado. I have seen this movie advertised for what seems like more than a year on Univision, Telemundo and Telefutura. I broke down and decided to watch it to see what all of the hype was. I am so glad that I did.

This movie is such a touching story of immigration and the story of the people who are left behind, mostyly through the eyes of children. Al Otro Lado follows 3 different children, one in Mexico, one in Cuba and the last in Morocco. I don't want to give more of the movie away but just want to recommend it to all. I really enjoyed it and am glad that I finally broke down and watched it.

Dirt and Worms

Every year, in my ELD class I teach a farming/plant unit. It is a lot of fun. The academic focus of the unit is food vocabulary and basic sentence formation, both written and oral. It is a fun unit packed with lots of songs and chants as well as good fiction and non fiction paired readings in the texts. My favorite (and the kids' favorite) song is Dirt Made My Lunch by the Banana Slug String Band. On the last day of the unit I make Dirt and Worms with the kids. It is so much fun.

I bring in a bag of ground up Oreo's and tell the kids that I brought a sample of dirt from my house for an experiment. (I don't let them in on the fact that the "dirt" is really Oreo's) I pass the bag around for them to feel. Then we discuss all of the foods we eat and how they one way or the other come from the ground. Then I ask them that if food comes from the ground, then we should be able to eat dirt, right? They of course all say "no!" I then go on to say how I think they are right but my dirt is very clean. I then open up the bag and use a spoon to scoop up some "dirt" and eat a spoonful. They all groan and say "ewww!!!" I tell them that it is really quite tasty and ask for volunteers to taste my dirt. After about the 3rd volunteer it comes out that it is really cookies.

At this point, I pass out a recipe for Dirt and Worms. (I have to get to the standards somehow, right?) We read it, and plan out how we will prepare our snack. Then I pass out the ingredients and the kids "cook!" It is great fun and always fun to watch the kids. They always end up with chocolate pudding faces. How cute!

*******
Dirt and Worms:
1 cup of chocolate pudding
2 teaspoons of ground Oreo's
2 Gummi Worms

Directions:
1. Take cover off of pudding.
2. Mix in Oreo's.
3. Add worms.

Enjoy!!!

Viva Mexico

el 16 de septiembre

Rosh Hashana 2007

It's Rosh Hashana.

L'Shanah Tovah!

Happy New Year!

Parent Support

For the most part, my class is pretty good. Academically, this class is higher than most. Behaviorally, they are pretty decent. I have some squirrelly and talkative kids but nothing too serious. I do have one special needs kid who does take some time and special intervention, but for the most part, he is easy to deal with as well.

That being said, I do have the need to talk to parents from time to time regarding behavioral issues. I like to tell parents right away when there is a problem so that it can be dealt with and eliminated. (as mush as possible!) I try to catch parents as they pick up their kids or call as soon as school is over. The parents are usually very receptive, a bit embarrassed and very supportive.

This year I have two incidents with parents that have bothered me. Last week I had to talk to a parent about very rude behavior by her son towards my student teacher and to me. After several defiant comments and behaviors I told the boy that he would need to apologize or he would have to lose his recess and discuss his behavior with me. The boy refused and then went on to cry for a good 20 minutes and tantrum for an hour after that. I was able to miraculously get him back on track and his afternoon was fabulous. When I talked to his mom about it and asked for her help in this matter she said that he never behaves like this at home and that it must be me!!! I agreed that it must be me. I went on to tell her that I must be the only one making him accountable for his behavior and that I would continue to do just that with her son. (I know that is bold of me but come on, someone had to tell this lady that!) Once I told her that she went on to say well, he didn't sleep well the night before and that was why he acted like that. We went several rounds like this and I just told her that no matter what, her son will not be allowed to be rude and disrespectful to anyone at school, period. She said nothing. She wasn't upset with me at all but she just didn't understand that she needed to take this serious and work with her son on this.

Today, I had to talk with a different parent about her son's extreme disruptiveness in class. This boy talks out too much and often blurts out answers to show off what he knows and not let others answer. I had to stop class several times today and take the boy outside to have a talk with him. When I explained this to mom she said that it was because he had a fever on Friday. What??? I told her that his behavior had nothing to do with a fever and he is expected to follow all of the rules. Mom then turned to me and asked if I had seen a bracelet that belonged to her son. I was lost. She then went on to say that he lost it in my class. This lady could care less that her son was misbehaving in class!!! To make matters worse, she did all of this in front of her son sending him the message that it wasn't important to behave.

How frustrating!!!

Staff Development

Yesterday we had a district wide Buy Back Day. It was not so good. It was the first time in my 13 years with the district that we had a district wide day, Prek-12 including all support staff. The idea to have everyone together was a good idea. The idea to present a one size fits all professional development day didn't work out so well.

Here is a run down of the day:

8-10: Motivational Speaker on Universal Achievement:
We had to sit on bleachers in the gym. (ugh...my butt still hurts!) The acoustics were bad. The parts that I could hear addressed self esteem and how to make kids feel good about themselves. (Gee...I never would have known how to do that!) To make matters worse, the man never smiled and he kind of screamed/barked when he spoke. That wasn't so good for my self esteem!

10:00 - 11:30: Direct Instruction:
The presenters were fabulous BUT 4 of the schools in our district have had intensive training in this so it was a complete waste of our time.

11:30 - 12:00:Lunch
Lunch was provided so that they could keep us hostage. The food was free but it was horrible.

12:00 - 1:30 : English Learners
Hmm...the majority of the population at my school and 4 other school in town is comprised of English Learners. This is all we do. We have had intensive training in this are as well. We could have taught this class!

1:30 - 2:30: Meet with school sites to go over the day.
This was actually the best part of the day. For as much as some of my staff members can get on my nerves, after being around other teachers in the district I found a new appreciation in the teachers I work with.

One of the breakout sessions that I didn't go to was also a flop. A technology workshop that was held in the computer lab failed because the teachers couldn't use the computers in the lab!!! They had to watch the presenter's screen and write down all of the instructions on how to access and use the different websites shown. Ha!

Here is my biggest complaint of the day.
Why would the district want to invest so much money on a day for us teachers that was not educational for many of us? I realize that it is difficult to find something that is just right for all of us with the needs that we have at our respective campuses. However, isn't that what we teachers do in our classrooms? We differentiate our instruction to meet the needs of our learners. The district could have done so much more with their money for us. They could have taken us to a new educational plane by introducing something new to us or deepening our knowledge of something that is already familiar to us. What a wasted day.

2 Lessons I didn't plan on teaching

I work hard at lesson planning for my class. I don't use them so much throughout the week but the actual act of planning for the week helps guide my instruction.

Here are two items that I didn't pack into my weekly lesson plans but I had to run with because the need came up.

1) Fingers do not belong in noses. If your nose itches grab a kleenex and handle that situation. If necessary, wash with soap and water afterwards.

2) If you find that you need to go to the bathroom or that you have a funny gassy feeling in your tummy, go to the bathroom or ask to step outside for a few moments, don't let it go in class.

I know...EWWW...gross! Let me tell you, it has been a stinky funky place in my room these last few days.

Unlike the items in my daily lesson plans, these two necessary lessons were not based on the California Teaching Standards for second grade. They are however crucial to the cleanliness and sanity of my well being and that of the rest of the kids in my class. Let's hope that I get
100 % proficiency in these areas and I don't have to go back and re-teach. (crossing my fingers!)

Green With Envy!

Today I went to see a friend of mine at school and brag about my AMAZING seat at the Alejandro Fernandez concert. After I told her about my experience at the Sacramento concert I asked her how the Fresno performance was that she went to. She just smiled and then told me that when they arrived at the concert she saw an old friend of hers driving up. It turns out that he works for Corona and was promoting the concert. She got to go backstage, meet A.F., take pictures with him, talk with him, hug him and get kissed by him, twice! Oh yeah...A.F.'s photographer was there and he took pictures of them to add to his website.

That is what I get for bragging!

It Has Been So Hot

It's been so hot around here that when I checked today's forecast and saw that it is for 90 degrees, I giggled with glee. Yeah, it is still hot but 90 is a whole different thing than 100-103.

Woo-Hoo!

I think it is pretty close...

I found this link over at Hydrangea's are Pretty. Thanks Shelli!

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Peace Patroller, also known as an anti-war liberal or neo-hippie. You believe in putting an end to American imperial conquest, stopping wars that have already been lost, and supporting our troops by bringing them home.

Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com

Alejandro Fernandez Concert

Last night I went to the AF concert. It was incredible. I liked it so much more than the last one. He sang well, was funny and of course, he looked great! Next time I want to take my mom and Sabina. The whole time I was there I was thinking about how much they would have enjoyed it.

One of the highlights of the concert was that I got to meet Susana from The Journey Continues. I was so excited that I forgot to take a picture!!! Oh well...next time!

Here are some concert pics:

The new look:

Another shot:


Best of all: Vestido de Charro

All About Teaching

Igot this from Dree at Chalkdust. Happy Back to School to all of you teachers!!!

I am a good teacher because... I treat my students as individuals. I really try to do what is right for each student. It really burns me up when I see other teachers force their styles on their studnets even if it doesn't work for the child.


If I weren’t a teacher, I would be... a children’s librarian OR a children's bookstore owner. I love books and reading and love to share that joy with others. (I used to think I wanted to be a chef but after watching all of the chef reality shows on tv I realized that I am much too picky of an eater to have that job!)

My teaching style is... energetic, comical, flexible, compassionate, fun, and sometimes noisy.

My classroom is... my other home. Sometimes it can get a little disorderly but I can tell you where anything is at anytime. I fell that it is homey and inviting for me and my students.

My lesson plans are... lesson plans??? Just kidding... My lesson plans are a loose guide of what I teach. They help me to set a focus for the week, month and year but are not fine tuned. The state standards guide my lesson plans and I throw in the CORE texts when they align to the standards. (you would be surprised at how much they are not aligned.)

One of my teaching goals is... to turn my students who are disinterested in school into disciplined and focused learners. This can be very tricky when they don't have the support at home. My other goal is to make my students lovers of books.

The toughest part of teaching is... I can't control many elements that I would like to be able to control. One of these items is silly mandates from NCLB and testing demands. Another big one is home environments. I have to remember that I can only focus on the areas that I can control and not let the other areas eat me up.

The thing I love most about teaching is... the smile on a student's face when they "get it" when I teach something. I also love the genuine appreciation that the students give me. That is priceless.

A common misconception about teaching is... ( I am stealing this answer from Dree because she nailed it on the head!) that anyone can do it. I’d gladly hand over my classroom and all its responsibilities for one day to any non-teacher, just to see what would happen. Another misconception is that teachers get nights, weekends, and summers off. Some people don’t realize the long days and late nights we have with things like Open House and Back to School Night and parent conferences. And they don’t know that we spend our nights writing lesson plans and grading papers and worrying about the one student who doesn’t quite seem to be on level with the rest of the class.

The most important thing I’ve learned since I started teaching is... I have great power over students and I need to use it wisely. Students, for the most part, worship and mimic their teachers. Whatever I do and say is watched carefully by students. If I say I like or don't like something, the students adopt that idea too. I want my students to become independent thinkers so I really try to foster that by not giving my opinions and trying to help students form their own thoughts and learn how to express them.

Happy Teaching All!!

Nine is Fine!

Sabi will be nine tomorrow morning. Time has flown!

Then...

Now...

So Much For Trying to Make A Connection

This school year I wanted to start the year out right. When I opened the door in the morning to let the kids in, I shook everyone's hands. When the kids went home, I had them shake my hands as well. I really liked the tone that it set. The kids knew that I respected them and they were learning a new way to show respect for me and other adults. The eye and hand contact were so important.

Well, that is over now. I am now trying to recover from a nasty virus. I have been sick since Wednesday. My attempt at connecting with my students drove me straight to getting sick despite my efforts to wash my hands after every hand shaking event.

I will have to think of something just as good but with no body contact!

Sabi's New School

Sabi will be starting a new school tomorrow. So far I am happy about everything regarding her new school with the exception of the dress code. There are no uniforms at her new school...YIKES!

I have been shopping here and there all summer long trying to find decent clothing for her to wear to school. Aside from the fact that she is a hard girl to fit, the clothes out there are just plain trashy!!! It is hard to find pants with out words or butterflies on the butt and shirts that are solid or print without sassy sayings on them or without cleavage!

Anyway...tomorrow is the big day. Sabina will come with me to school and then pick up the bus at my school to go to her school. The thought of taking the bus excites her to no end!

Fourth grade ... where did my baby go???

First Day of School

Today was pretty good as far as first days go. The kids were ok and my new student teacher seems great.

The best part of though came about 2 hours after school. I was walking down one of the school hallways in front of the after school tutoring program. One of my new students was being picked up by her dad. She peeked over at me, gave me a HUGE smile and waved. She then turned to her dad and said in a most proud voice...'that's MY teacher!"

That was pretty cool!

Now...I Can Breathe!

This past week has really been rough with school prep. Why must I always insist on rearranging my room each year? My room gets worse before it gets better when I do this. I spent almost the entire week and weekend at school redoing the room, cleaning and trying to do a bit of prep. When I left school yesterday I felt ok but not great about the room.

Today, my student teacher came. She helped me with the final touches on the room. Luckily I made a check off list on the board and as we started crossing off completed tasks, I was feeling much better about life. At the end of our list the custodial crew came in and took away the mounds of garbage that I had accumulated and vacuumed. Bless them! My room looked great with those final touches.

As far as prep goes, I haven't looked at the CORE curriculum yet but I do have the first several days planned out. I also have my Parent Handbook ready (recently updated) for Back to School Night which will be on Wednesday!

I was so impressed with myself and my student teacher. We left school around 3:30 today and I was elated to be leaving at that time. I felt a bit giddy when I looked at the parking lot and I saw almost all of my colleagues were still there working hard to prepare for our first day tomorrow and I was happily jumping in my car. Oh...what a feeling!!!

This evening I spent about an hour here and there getting some last minute stuff done but I really had a super family night. My mom prepared a great dinner and we all just sat around hanging out with each other. Who could ask for more?

I feel so relieved of stress right now...relaxed and ready to greet the new school year.

YAY!

Busy MOnth

School starts on Tuesday. My room is still not ready. I have bulletin boards to do and messes to clean up. On top of that, I have to do some planning and prep for Back to School night which happens on Wednesday. To add to the school stress, I have to get some extra prep done because will have a student teacher.

Outside of school, I am trying to focus on planning for Sabi's birthday party. Since she is going to start a new school this year this year I thought it would be nice to plan a party that all of her new classmates could attend. The party is in 3 weeks so I have to get busy!

The highlights of this month will be:
1) My dad's visit.
2) Going to Monterey next weekend.
3) A Big birthday bash for my brother, aunt, and dad next week
4) Sabi's 9th b-day
5) A Bar Mitzvah

and to finish off the month with a bang...

6) Going to the Alejandro Fernandez concert!

Shameless Sabi Plug

Sabi wants ideas for stories to write about on her blog.

She also wrote a Harry Potter Review.

Check it out!

(Not that I'm counting or anything...)