80: Finally!

12/17/21

One...

I made my first breakfast casserole.

And a batch or two of peanut butter fudge.

We had a special breakfast

and sat at the kinder table + one.

Then the highlight of our year took place,

in the form of Ms. Perello,

and her quest to bring joy to students...

It also brought joy and laughter 

to her colleagues as well!

Click for the Tic Tok Video!

Run Gingerbread Man! Run!

Cashed in on my Starbucks bonus points...

Admired a mural created with love

for someone we lost too soon.

May everyone have a peaceful and happy holiday.

May 2022 bring new beginnings, joy, and health to all. 

79: Traditions Continue

TWO...

Last year I didn't get to make fudge with my students.

Fudge and December

are a tradition in my classroom.

The tradition continues...

When your teen appears on stage

and realize that's not the way you dropped him off

an hour ago.

#untucked
 

78: THREE...

When you forget

your laptop at school,

and are running on fumes,

and realize it shows on your face.

Ugh!

We continued our Sweets Week.

Today: Marshmallow Snowmen

My go to chocolate store closed down

so I found a mom and pop store in East LA.

Tiny shop, but happy to support.

And finally wrapped all those fish and books!

Thanks Mere for the fish.

Thanks Toyota for the bags.

Thanks Kohl's for the discounted books.

77: Rainy Days and Tuesday Before Winter Break

Four...

It was wet today.

We had to stay in all day.

So students got a chance to play

and I got a chance to make observations.

My center was focused on fine motor development 

using slime and gue.

I supplied the materials

and they supplied the innovation!

One of my students created a basketball game using the gue.

He found it fun and entertaining,

he didn't know he was helping develop the muscles

in his pointer and thumb,

but I did.

Funny thing when you just let go

and let students create their own activities.

Damian decided to make the entire alphabet

using slime on his own.

He used the resources around the room to help him.

and the Holiday Sweet Activity of the Day is.... 

Driving Daniel home today there was a beautiful rainbow in the sky.

Hoping for a sign of a more peaceful home life during break.

76: Countdown to Winter Break

 FIVE...

It's going to rain tomorrow.

Students are sick,

but they still come to school.

I need to take my vitamins.

Thank goodness I got 10 cases of ImmuneMax.

Let the sweet holiday treat activities begin!

Monday: Snowmen on Sleds

75: December Birthdays

Today we celebrated the birthday of our dear friend Diana.

It was the first birthday without her here,

but she was here.

As the children sang happy birthday to her,

and Daniel held her picture up,

the glass from the frame slid out

and shattered on the floor.

She was there.

It was are first Winter Program-

Covid-19 addition.

We recorded it in one take.

And will watch it together next week.

Same excitement and joy in performing,

just a little different.

After lunch,

my students made a Santa decoration for their home.

It's the same Santa decoration activity

I have had my students make 13/14 years

since Daniel brought home his Santa decoration

from Ms. Cuevas' first grade class.

I still hang it up every year...

and will continue to,

even if he is 21 now.

#lucky21yearold

#birthdaydonuts

#gratefulforkindpeople

74: Rainy Days and Four Year Olds...

Well, 

I don't think I am the only one that is glad our first rainy day is over.

It wasn't totally bad,

just a little stir crazy and LONG...

Days are LONG when you keep 4 year olds indoors all day.

But it wasn't all bad...

It was holiday hat and sports jersey day.

I got to wear my Kawhi Leonard jersey.

Students completed another keepsake.

A sweet high schooler read a classic over Zoom.

We got a new gift that almost caused a fire, 

but is up and running. 

Thanks to Donorschoose, 

Anyelo won't have a reason to come into the bathroom to use our dispenser!

I put Daniel to work reading L's favorite book.

We completed a 2022 setting goals bulletin board,

complete with student goals,

for the empty, hallway display case.

And I caught L with a smile in a selfie too!

73: Wonderful, Weird, Science Wednesday

 Sometimes,

the most wonderful learning

comes from the students themselves.

Free play is essential in early childhood.

I'm not just saying for preschool,

I firmly believe play is for everyone,

but especially children 0-8.

Today during outdoor centers,

a group of scientists and engineers 

decided they wanted to create something

amazing.

Rain is in the forecast tomorrow (rare, but it's on the way)

and it gave them an idea.

Lets trap a spider...

why?

Because there's a water spout in our yard

and we all know that rain will wash the spider out.

They even created a trap for the spider,

complete with "food" along the way,

to entice the spider to crawl into their trap! (See Above)

The wonderful path,

and trap,

were not enough,

so they decided to add a "Watch Tower," 

to spy on the spider,

that would surely appear from the spout

tomorrow, 

after the rain.

When it was time to clean up,

we did what every good scientist and engineer does--

we set out to test our design.

So we gathered our things to go home

and walked out the other gate,

being extra careful not to disturb our Spider Trap.

Spider or no spider,

it's not about the outcome

as much as it is about the process.

There were so many creative, problem solving,

science, math, social skills, and processes 

demonstrated by my kiddos today.

The best part was-

I had nothing to do with it.

It all came from them.

#letthemlead

#experiencesmatter

#thingsthatmakemyhearthappy

72: Some Days

Even though I am not L's teacher on record,

I still have goals I want him to accomplish.

Goal: For L to join our class as much as he can

rather than sitting away from the group doing his own thing.

We moved him closer to the mat where his friends sit 

and now he sits near us,

creating incredibly detailed dry erase drawings 

and collecting Eric Carle books

while reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear to himself.

I know when I play a favorite song,

he may or may not come to the mat to dance.

It's a process

and he has made progress.

Today, he completed all three group tasks.

He may have needed 1 to 1 guidance,

but he was able to understand and complete the work.

#Proudteachermoments

Goal 2: Interact and play with others more.

#sisepuede

One step at a time.

71: Measuring Monday

 I usually focus on art Mondays,

but today I decided to work on math

with a touch of art.

Gave each child 4 strips.

Asked them to identify the longest.

Then the shortest.

Then shorter vs longer.

After that,

it was up to them how they wanted to decorate.

A few days ago a teacher in one of my groups

reminded me of a favorite holiday gift for parents.

So after some searching...

11 cents each per 4 x 4 tile.

Left over Modge Podge.

Printed photos with class ink jet.

A black Sharpie

and some acrylic paint.

I love coasters.

70: The Hardest Job in the World

On Monday, he got on the wrong bus

and had to walk 4 miles home from ELAC.

On Tuesday, 

he left his backpack on the bus

and told me there was nothing in it 

but some LAUSD certificates.

On Wednesday,

he went off campus before he was off

and lied about it. *Thank goodness for tracking apps.

On Thursday,

teen had to wait in the cold because the library was 

not open like it was posted while I was in an ADHD

parent group.

On Friday,

he came clean and said there was something

left in his backpack on the bus. #goodbyenintendoswitch

But,

on Friday we also had a great first rehearsal.

And we begun work on a beautiful mural

for a beautiful friend.

And the teen didn't get upset

when his bus didn't come for 90 minutes...

and a Starbucks Peppermint hot chocolate

was all it took for him to wait for me to pick him

because I was already across town 

delivering orange juice to an 86 year old.

And on Friday,

I got to watch the Clippers

beat the Lakers

on that huge screen TV that 

Raul said I needed.

It's easy being a teacher.

Well, not easy, 

easier.

And more second nature for me.

It's not easy parenting.

It's the hardest thing I have ever had to do.

Each day I struggle to figure out how to do it better.

But there are times,

every now and then

where it's okay,

because it's worth the effort.

The weekend was better.

69: Friday Eve

Thursday is Covid Testing Day.

We practiced swabbing our noses today.

The goal is for our kiddos to be able to test themselves. (2021 Skill)

A few did today!

Small Group Thursdays focuses on reading.

I love watching beginning readers learn to read.

It's magic!

The sound of a child learning to read is music to my ears!

The sound of a child monitoring his reading and self correcting is even better!

68: Wonderful Wednesday

Three of my favorite things happened today:

1. Students created artwork!

2. Students practiced early reading: directionality, 1 to 1 correspondence, high frequency words, and my favorite MONITORING!

I had to highlight to the class, and E (the reader), 

that I noticed he was able to monitor the print 

when he saw that the word changed from a to the. 

So excited when they monitor!

I have a very active and wild bunch this year,

but they are also kind and helpful.

Love how they helped our reader figure out words.

I believe every child should be the center of attention when they want to be,

even if they don't know all the answers.

They will get by with a little help from their friends.

3. And it was Writing Workshop!

Oh, if only my home life could focus on the same things with such joy and motivation!

67: C is for Cookie

C is for cookie.

Brown is for cookie.

Six is the magic number.

So why not combine all the things we are working on this week into a single activity.

Add...

Drawing a circle.

Cutting with scissors.

Fine motor practice (dot sticker peeling)

Counting in order.

1 to 1 correspondence.

Writing your name 

and following directions.

*This one was extra special because I discovered today that Xavier has learned to write his first name! These are the BEST moments of teaching! I am so proud of him!

66: The Good and the Bad

Was greeted this morning with toys scattered all over our yard,

a broken table,

and our seed bags and pumpkin cups

pull off the window and thrown.

But on the bright side...

the seeds and beans in our baggies were sprouting!

and they (probably teens),

didn't touch our rotting pumpkin experiment!

And during group time,

I noticed many of the students'

fine motor skills are improving...

Happy Chanukah!