114/180 Double Digits!

Today Bryce turned 10.
Yesterday he lost his life size project of Tom Kenny... which was due today, his birthday.

Luckily, he found it in the office today.
Can't believe he's moving into another stage of his young life.
Time goes by so fast.
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10...

Today we put up an impromptu art gallery on the chained linked fence...

Today one of my friends played with others and
cooperatively helped clean up with them.
Small steps...

Today we read Ten Apples Up On Top and then... 

113/180 Monday

Mondays are hard.

Even harder when you have been sick for over 2 weeks

and your weekend was busier than your work days.

Here are some things that made me happy in the past 24 hours...

When teachers are thanked. It was the first think he said when he accepted his award. Nice.

It is the beginning of Read Across America Week.
Day One: Crazy Hat Day
Love parents who get creative with theme (hat) and the kids who wear them! Go Jesse!

Love when kids make connections naturally.
My center was letter formation.
I usually hit it about 2x a month.
After we had practiced the V, W, G, and J the kids got a chance to "play" with their boards.
Vanesa came up with this.

112/180 Second Round: ETK Student-Led Conferences

This morning my team partner informed me he had pink eye.
Yup, just another hazard that comes with the job.
Glad I have my glasses on full-time now...
Wait, he wears glasses too!
And we were also down one TA,
but luckily, we have the two best teaching assistants around,
so we were able to get through the day... and complete 11 conferences!
#yayus #smallgroups #itsFriday

Anyway, it's conference time again.
This time we planned different PLF (Preschool Learning Foundation) skills to showcase.
Like everything, it's live and learn.
After one day of using these, I already want to revise/modify the math station.
Maybe more guided (step by step) directions.
Not too many understood task...

 This one worked well for discussion...

 Also an excellent way to demonstrate the importance of oral language... especially when they don't say anything! Helped parents to understand what they could do to foster verbal skills at home.

 Even though students are expected to know 1/2 of the letter names and some sounds. Wanted to give parents a few strategies for games they could play at home to help with learning the letters and sounds.

 I'm sure next year the stations will be tweaked again.
Forever trying to get it better...

111/180 Public Speaking 101

Today was our Talent Show.

I signed up the class to perform spoken word and a song.

Nearly half of my class receives speech and language services,

Promoting and using oral language is key in ECE and especially for students with speech issues.

Another reason why I like to "push" my students to perform publicly is because I grew up very shy.

Public speaking or even speaking up, was not something I was comfortable doing.

It has taken years of practice to gain confidence in myself as a public speaker.

I want my students to start developing that skill now.

While some of my students are confident and outgoing, 

many of them are not. 

Some will not speak up when they need help.

Some are not able to express themselves.

Some choose to pass on their turn to share.

I want to create strong, confident, and verbal students.

*I would have video taped the following, but needed to direct them on stage. Oh well.

"Martin Luther King, Jr had a dream."-Victoria proudly states.
"We have dreams too!"-Julian adds.
Every student was asked to share their dreams with the audience.
(I did not influence or change their words... after all it's their dream!)
We got a lot of ... "I want to be a mermaid!" "I want to be a Power Ranger." and a few "I want to be a vampire."  The audience was amused, after all, they are 4 and 5 year olds... let them have their dreams!

Other favorites of the day included:
"I want to be a pizza maker."
"I want to ride a horse."
"I want to make cakes."
"I want to be a princess and a singer."
"I want to be a power ranger and a lawyer." -I think mom might have added the later.
"I want to be a rock star."

Then they sang a song about Martin Luther King, Jr.
After they had completed their performance, they wanted to do it again! ... confidence.
Next up, International Day Dance!

After school, I drove across town (about 20+ miles) to Santa Monica to speak at the Milken Family Foundation. Was happily surprised to make it in 30 minutes. (Different story on the 2 hour drive back home!)

I was asked to share the impact the Milken Educator Award had/has on my life.
I was asked to speak for 10-15 minutes, but since my friend Shannon was ill, I could take as much time as I needed. For someone who has been sick for nearly 2 weeks and had a coughing attack during lunch, I wasn't so sure that 10 minutes would be a good idea.

I won't go into everything now but just know...
I will always say yes, if possible, to the Milken Foundation.
They are family.
I will promote teaching every chance I get.
It's easy to talk about what you do and love, and the people that inspire you.
It's a privilege and honor to represent my profession...
And I get a bit better at public speaking the more I practice.
I think I took up a good 18-20 minutes and I didn't even cough!

110/180 Still Coughing... but Grateful

We have new homework bags!

I use to spend thousands of dollars every year.

Well.. I still spend a lot, but now it's a lot less because of Donorschoose.

Grateful for friends, former students, and strangers that donate to fund my projects. Today it's home bags to replace the ones that were falling apart.


Last week it was for the wonderful Wobble chairs for my special friends...

 Before that it was a wonderful drum set for music learning!

And real canvases and acrylic paints for young artists to experience what grown up artists use!

And last year the husband of a dear friend of mine championed not one, but two projects for technology! And we continue to use those tablets every afternoon at center time...

I still spend a lot of money out of pocket, but now there's a place where I get supported too. I'm lucky and my students are lucky! Next up, Chromebooks! #Grateful4generouspeople #donorschoose.org #teachersneedsupplies #taxdeduction4all

109/180 Second Trimester Time...

It's that time again... progress reports and parent conferences.

In ETK, we have 56 measures we need to input for our students.

That's a lot of information for parents.

So until they (powers that be) create a progress report card for us to us...

We will create one of our own.

It's standards-based (Preschool Learning Foundations).

We made it parent friendly.

We hope that it will be useful.

It will be used in conjunction with our 4 Student-Led stations (upcoming share).

108/180 STORMY FRIDAY...

Another rainy day schedule.

Still struggling, but made it through the day.

Today, I wanted to focus on art.

Art comes in many forms. 

I know that when I do guided or directed art lessons (drawing or making something)

that is is not truly a freedom of expression.

Students can add their individual touches, 

but we are really dictating how to "do" the activity.

Case in point: Zero the Hero.

They all look unique, but were give the same directions.

It's part art, but mostly following the directions.

Now, if I were to just supply the materials and tell them to create a Zero without directions,

that would be art.

When we do art (tools, materials, forms) activities tied to letters, 

it's focus is more on literacy development.

My TA's create activities every week tied to a letter sound.
The students remember every time they see Elmo, that he begins with an E sound,
or R for rainbow.

Today, I just put out materials that we had around and let the kids take over.
No directions.
No teacher leading.
Just stuff...
 And they created some pretty cool pieces of art!

107/180 SICK DAY

I hate using sick days when I'm sick.
I tried this morning.
But my body said NO.
And the biggest storm in years is going to hit tonight... oh joy!
#sickteacher #almost3dayweekend

106/180 Experiences Matter!

Today was the first of five field trips we have scheduled until the end of the school year.

I know my students are preschoolers (with a few worried parents).

I know that I spend extra time each summer and beyond to write grants to fund field trips.

I know that I have amazing friends that will sit at a computer to input data for me while I am teaching summer school so that I might have a chance to earn a field trip.

I know that some teachers would rather not go on field trips. ("They are too stressful.")

I know that there are times when you might spend nearly 1 1/2 hours in freeway traffic, with a busload of preschoolers, waiting to make an appointment that you know you are already late for, but don't mind getting time cut shorter because you know it's worth it.

Today we spent nearly 1 1/2 hours on the 10 Freeway. We missed 1/3 of our time at the Noah's Ark Gallery at the Skirball.... 

But it didn't matter once we got there. 

The experience of visiting a faraway museum, in an area of the city that is completely new to you, and learning through music, dance, play, story, and discovery is priceless.

I hope my students come back and use their free tickets with their families.

I hope my students know the possibilities out there in their city.

I hope my students continue to travel and experience new places.

I hope my students will remember this experience.

I think they will. 

Not to be a back seat driver or anything, but he stayed in the same slow lane for nearly 15 miles... 

Making lightning in the weather room!

Making music together!

Exploring the room and many materials to play with!

The joys of singing, dancing, and imagining! #ThanksSkirball!

105/180 Long Journey into Night...

Made it through another day struggling with this bad cold... not just any day... candy, cards, and cupcake day, aka Valentine's Day!

Maybe my memory is cloudy, but I don't remember Valentine's Day being such a candy fest. I thought you just exchanged cards and if you were really lucky, one or two cards would have a lollipop attached to it.  Now it's the rule to have "something extra" added to your card!

Favorite card today: Justin- No card, just full size Hershey Bars! YIKES!

 When your favorite ice cream only comes once a year... you kind of have to buy a handpicked quart to take home... am I right? #LovePotion31

 Block play is so cool! You can build a castle right next to your friend's house!

104/180 Stuffy Nose and a Generous Gift

Quick post.

Sick.

Long Day.

Tomorrow Longer.

Field Trip on Wednesday!

And on a day where my team partner couldn't come...

Our simple 100th Day Wall!

We take a lot of artwork home!

I got the flu shot.

I got sick!

Nose, throat, energy.... it's that time again.

It was a long day.. made longer by the fact that both boys were off, and since there would be no running water at home, they came to "help" me, ended on a softer, more happy note... Ms. Gaiter donates 12 Wobble Chairs! Yay! What great friends I have! 

Mom said there would be days like this... even in Australia.

BUSY SUNDAY...

Early Morning 5K!

We've done the Firecracker Run for over a decade and beyond! Always a fun time in support of the community. My nephew, spending the night, was whisked out of bed and completed it too! #Dadasleepover #YearoftheRooster

Post race photos! The Royal Pagoda Motel holds a special place in my childhood. It's where my hard working class, immigrant parents, siblings, and I would stay whenever we made it on vacation to Los Angeles from Fresno. They didn't speak much English. They didn't drive or own a car... but somehow managed to find their way to Los Angeles and take their kids to Disneyland when we were young. And that "hotel"-motel was were we got to feel what it was like to be on vacation away from home. #childhoodmemories #Etickets #grateful 

To end the Chinese New Year celebration period (2 weeks), Romy and I took boys, and older kids (off springs of our high school buddies) to Sam Woo. Fish for prosperity and noodles for longevity... Good luck and happy wishes for this year year!

Last stop to Nana's with Valentine treats! As usual, I called to ask what she was craving...I thought Italian might be nice, but she chose El Pollo Loco! So there you go! A request for Oatmeal cookies and yellow cake because she knows we will be armed with sweets! (luckily fresh oatmeal cookies came out just in time, but yellow cake is harder to find! We substituted a pink celebration slice instead).  Always hard to leave for Bryce because he is in LOVE and has been in LOVE with Cassie since before we found our two pups.

Weekends go by so fast! So much to do... so little time to do it!

540 MILES & 20 HOURS LATER...

It's 4th Grade Mission Project time! Of all the Southern California missions Bryce could have been given, he was given one more remote in central/northern California! And the only basketball free weekend we have before the project is due... just happens to be a rainy one! #Roadtrip! #2boys2Dogs

Flat Stanley is with us until April, so he tagged along as usual.

We arrived more than an hour before it opened and just decided it wait at the locked gate because it's on a really long, off beaten road, in the middle of no where! Luckily, a woman who worked there opened the gate and said we are welcome to walk around.

Yoda and Burger got a nice hour walk around history!

See that mission in the background? Now how do I replicate it with Bryce?! (#Nomodelsjustimagination)

Old dinner bell that someone had to ring!

Beehive oven where they use to bake bread.

On original pomegranate tree preserved from mission days.

We found a grave site for a couple. This is something the model kit would have included! We will!

Original olive tree still standing! "I didn't know olives grew on trees?"-city boy.

New addition in the back that is used for as a retreat center. Families can spend the night there! So cool!

Courtyard so peaceful and beautiful.

The church is still in use for Sunday Mass. It is beautifully preserved and the details are nearly all made of wood. There was a soothing chant playing inside. Made it seem like the place was still alive.

View of some of the wonderful, untouched grounds.

Mission Father Junipero Serra Statue...

The Rose Garden courtyard with new souvenirs.

Absolutely beautiful day to visit California history...

#SubaruRoadTrip