111/180 New Pet Peeve or Teaching Tool?

After nearly 100 days,

my students' iPads finally came in.

It was their turn.

Trading a simple Chromebook

for a new, fully-loaded iPad with internet already in it

seems like an easy choice.

For students maybe...

Found out last week,

apparently with the new iPads

you can draw on your teacher's Zoom screen

if the teacher forgets to turn it off.

Apparently, J wants to co-teach with us.

It can be annoying when you're teaching 

and suddenly

your shared screen has a happy face on it 

or some circles, 

Or you can just go with the flow 

and use it as an assessment tool

to assess if J can write his name.

HE CAN!

He can also finish up a face you started

when N asked you to draw her Pluto.

We began our Pets Unit

and Pluto is a pet.

Great tool.
Now to figure out how to use it without driving me nuts!

Apparently,

the difference between Santa Monica

and West Covina dental surgery

is the price of a new bike hitch?!

110/180 Challenge of the Day

Wednesday Update: No major side effects, a little sore arm.

I delivered materials to each of my students.

My TAs and I carefully filled them with materials

we will use in class.

We put them all in a backpack just their size.

Donors blessed us with a variety of art and sensory materials.

All my students got these materials,

and more.

But not all of them will have the materials 

when we need them for class.

Today, I introduced the art of Brian Pinkney.

I had taken some of my students (early 90's)

to meet him and get an autographed copy

of Happy Birthday Martin Luther King.

I still have that copy somewhere in the garage.

As an extension,

I wanted students to create scratch art pictures.

This would normally be an easy task at school.

We would have students work in small groups

with all the materials provided.

This task becomes more challenging at home.

It didn't surprise me when some students said 

they didn't have the scratch paper in their backpacks.

The usual suspects won't have the materials 

because they have used them, lost them, or 

baby cousin has taken them out.

But it did surprise me when I saw G burst into tears.

He usually always has everything he needs.

His mother sees to it.

But not today,

at least not for the first few minutes.

Thanks to a quick demonstration,

we showed students to create their own scratch paper.

This has been one of the hardest challenges to overcome in virtual teaching.

You try to provide everything they need

or just the basic essentials

but no matter how hard you try to make sure

that every child has the same access to learning materials

not all of them will have them when needed.

It drives me crazy!

It's not the students' fault.

it's not their family's fault.

It just is.

So as teachers,

we learn to adapt and

look for quick solutions and alternatives.

Sometimes it works,

sometimes it doesn't.

We can just do our best,

and for this year,

our best is good enough.

Before we ended our day,

three more students managed to locate

those pieces of scratch paper.

G was one of them.

109/180 I'm Not Going to Throw Away My Shot

One of my goals this year is to keep up daily posts during the week.

It didn't happen this week.

Tuesday was crazy.

Just one of those days where every minute was planned.

Another goal this year is to stay on a daily routine during the week.

Burger gets his walk before I sign onto Zoom.

It's a nice start to our day when we do,

and helps with the stress of having a teen in your home.

Today's highlights...

8:20 Waking up teen who doesn't want to wake up.

9:00  Teach, encourage, sing, dance, and crawl 

because it's OT day.

Try crawling when it's your 34th year of teaching.

Not easy getting back up let me tell you!

12:00 Grab a quick lunch

because one of your intervention students can't come at 2:30

because she's at child care,

so you take her for some 1 to 1 tutoring at 12:30 instead.

You find out she knows so much more 

because in Zoom, she doesn't talk much,

but alone, you discover who she really is.

Followed by office hours, planning, answering parent messages

and updating your SeeSaw assignments.

Quick break to schedule a vet appointment

because your senior pup 

needs to remove a mouthful of teeth

and knowing that's where your tax return will go this year.

2:30 Intervention session number 2.

Where you get to really focus on your students

and their needs.

Lets start with A.

3:00 Intervention session number 3.

Where you get to follow your students

and let them guide you to where they need to go next.

3:30: Quick email check to find requests to post flyers and 

school information on social media sites, 

and remembering that you need to create a week of events

for next week's Virtual Read Across America.

Web search for ideas on creating a week of events for next week's 

Virtual Read Across America. 

4:00: Monthly STAC Zoom Meeting. Collaborating and sharing ideas

with the amazing Skirball Cultural Center Education staff and other 

classroom teachers.

4:45: Excusing self to make 5:10PM appointment.

5:07: Arrive at CSULA

5:30 Waiting in Lane 10.

5:45 Still waiting in Lane 10.

6:00 Still waiting in Lane 10.

6:16 Shot in arm. Thank you National Guardsman.

6:33 Done!

Coffee and Matcha Green Tea Latte break

with one of my favorite people

catching up on life, school, and possible side effects.

8:30 Late dinner for teen.

9:30 Time to work.

1:15 Time to call it a night.

At least my Virtual Read Across America flyer is done... in English

and Google Translated Spanish. It will have to do for now.

Until tomorrow...

108/180 Monday Madness

Mondays are always long.

This Monday was no different.

My work space keeps getting more cluttered,

but I need stuff

and my students need stuff.

I need to keep them engaged as we move towards are last trimester.

(BTW: Mug and spoon was part of my instructional materials today... think syllables😙)

After professional development and staff meeting,

I listened to our superintendent's weekly address.

There's a goal of opening schools in April.

We are one of the school districts in our area that has NOT vaccinated teachers.

How does this make sense?

I also know that most essential workers have not been vaccinated 

and they have not stopped working since March.

Is there really a fair way of doing this?

But when the opportunity knocks,

you just take it,

ready or not.

I'm ready to go back...

maybe.

107/180 What I Miss Most

Friday Highlights:

We shared what we love...

And using construction paper (most everyone found their packet of color construction paper),

we created buildings in small groups. 

So colorful and beautiful!

Love shapes, color, and lines! #elementsofart

We usually say our goodbyes and end class

after our Family Chat,

but on Friday,

I got the feeling some students weren't ready,

I wasn't ready either,

so I stayed on.

N wanted to talk.

She always wants to talk

and I love to hear her talk,

even if it's off topic,

which it is most of the time.

We cleared up the fact that the dog she was talking about today

was NOT the dog I usually see guarding her home.

Then, J and I played virtual filter challenge.

He laughed and talked with me.

He usually isn't very engaged in class, 

but he loves his newly discovered filters!

I don't get the chance to play or chat with N and J during class time.

My buddies and I have been talking a lot

about when and where we can get our

covid vaccines.

Some teachers in other districts have already

completed their two shots.

We are waiting.

As schools, districts, teachers, and parents 

begin to think about the possibility 

of returning to face to face instruction

or not,

I want to focus on what I miss most.

Teaching virtually really doesn't allow you the time you need

to get to know your students on a more personal level. 

You get to know a little about their personalities, 

interests, and some strengths and challenges,

but you are basically "ON" teaching mode 

from the time you sign in until you end class,

and there isn't any 1 to 1 time to chat and establish relationships

like you do when you're at school face to face.

I miss interacting with students when they play on the yard.

I miss drawing with them and chatting about their families.

I miss our conversations about what they want to do when they get home as they paint.

I miss talking to them about their lego, block, and magnetic tile creations.

I miss hearing about their day during writing groups.

I miss learning about what they like and don't like during morning circle.

I miss hearing about their cousins, grandma, tias, and birthday parties.

I miss getting to know who they are a little deeper.

So Friday after N and J signed off,

D showed me what he had been working on 

while I chatted with the others.

It was Sonic.

Then I had to...

I challenged him to write a sentence to go with his picture.

He took the challenge.

I guided him through the process of how to write sonic

using sounds he knew

and NOT to worry 

about the ones he didn't. 

He was able to read it back to me!

I discovered from mom that he draws and draws at home.

He told me that he can draw all the characters

and learned it by watching his cousins draw.

I told him to keep watching and practicing

because he could be an artist when he grows up.

We had a nice conversation about something we both love,

art.

Making connections.

I dropped off an extra sketch pad I had lying around in the house

later in the afternoon.

Every artist needs a sketch pad.

106/180 Just Dance

As we were dancing to that sunflower song from Spiderman, 

the Miles Morales one,

David yelled out to me that he had fun today.

That was huge.

David is a hard cookie to impress.

He participates in class most of the time,

but tends to wander off to grab a toy

or do his own thing.

Today he had fun.

What did we do today?

We danced,

We sang,

We made a book,

We looked for things that started with the letter Ll

We danced,

We counted,

We made paper balls,

We talked about a story,

We danced,

We formed letters with playdough, popsicle sticks,

and slime.

And we danced some more.

It's been tough at home.

It's been tough policing at home.

Teens can be tough,

so it's important to take care of yourself.

That's why I NEED to walk Burger 

every morning, 

every day,

just to get some fresh air

and spend time alone,

stressfree.

I get to admire the colors of the bougainvillea

in someone else's garden,

,

I remember that pitchers and catchers 

reported to camp yesterday.

Baseball is around the corner.

And I have to remember to breathe

and know that someday soon,

maybe,

I can escape and spend several hours

taking in a ballgame.

Until then,

I'll just keep dancing.

105/180 After School School

Daniel's room was to be a guest room when he moved into his apartment.

Then it was to become Bryce's work space for school.

It ended up being my classroom this year.

Even though it's small,

I still can't find things when I am teaching.

It's hard to fit a classroom into a small room in your house. 

The great thing about my "classroom" is that I am learning a lot myself in here.

Everyday the kids teach me something new about teaching.

And sometimes,

I get to be the student in here.

Last week I went to an amazing workshop on dance and storytelling.

Today I got to learn from the fabulous Dr. Jean.

I took notes everywhere!

Some of my favorite take aways today from Dr. Jean:

If you're not having fun, the kids won't have fun.

Have them watch you do it first, then have them do it.

Make your brain work. Kids need brain breaks every 15 minutes.

Kids learn by doing.

You don't need to buy anything, you can use whatever you have to teach.

Young children need to have experiences crossing the midline.

Just sing!

I do sing.

I will keep singing.

And I have a lot of fun everyday.

104/180 To Open or Not to Open

This is how I left our classroom at the end of December. 

We were told to have it "ready" for students when we get back.

We removed the rugs.

We put the manipulatives in our shed.

We took toys home.

We put playhouses away.

We gave away books.

There is no more library corner.

There isn't much left.

Since December, I have been teaching from home.

Teaching is not hard for me.

I live it,

I love it,

it's me.

What is hard

is teaching at home with a teen in the next room.

A teen that reminds me every single day that he is unhappy,

being a teen living in a pandemic,

A teen that has lost interest in learning,

A teen that lacks motivation

and could care less about attending classes online,

a teen whose only 14th birthday wish

is to spend some time with his best friend

that he hasn't seen in a year.

A teen that constantly reminds me that

no adult could possibly understand.

So when this hit the news last night-

my first thought was,

parents are going to think school will be opened.

We are not.

We have a Superintendent 

and a teachers' union 

that won't let that happen 

until safety measures are met,

and school staff is vaccinated.

Other school districts have been or will open now.

As a teacher, 

and a parent,

I am torn.

I want to teach.

I want to teach in person.

I want to support students,

I want to support families,

I want my child to been able to see his friends.

I want him to feel normal again.

but I don't want schools to open

and shut, and open and shut again.

I don't want students to get sick,

I don't want my child to get sick,

I don't want to get sick,

I don't know how this will end.

Until then,

I will keep on teaching,

from a distance,

doing all I can,

to keep my students interested,

happy, and motivated to sign in each day,

and hope that someday soon

my teen will feel normal again.

103/180 It's the Year of the Ox

 Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day, and Presidents' Day

 all fell within 4 days of each other this year.

And 100th Day was two days before.

Sometimes less is more.

Since I signed us up for my local district's Lunar New Year Art Festival

LD East Virtual Lunar New Year Festival

Room 27's CNY Presentation

I wanted to focus on that more.

Virtual teaching time limits what you can do

but I still want my students to experience as much as they can.

We did not give out Valentine's this year.

But we did dance, sing, and eat noodles.

The students learned a little about another culture,

my culture.

Once I taught a class with 11 different languages 

and many cultures.

It was wonderful,

and we shared and celebrated each other.

I teach at a school where this is mainly one, 

maybe two cultures.

We celebrate our students' families

and traditions,

but I also want my students

to know and appreciate cultures outside

of their community.

One year,

as we were learning about Dr. King,

an African American visitor walked passed our playground,

a few of our students ran to the fence

and greeted him by calling him Martin Luther King.

The man was not amused.

Our students were not being rude,

for them, 

he was someone who looked like Dr. King

and there were no other African American 

men or women in our school community.

I am the only Asian teacher at my school,

so I don't mind representing and sharing

myself, my family, and my culture.

It's important, 

especially in today's climate.

Diversity doesn't always exists in neighborhoods,

but they do in our world.

So we ate noodles for long life and health.

We wore red to celebrate the new year.

We ate oranges in hopes of bringing us more wealth,

And we also celebrate Valentine's Day too.

We have a long weekend,

but on Saturday,

I received a message from one of my families

with a photo...

Connections...

Happy New Year! May it be filled with peace, joy, luck, and good health.

102/180 Follow the Kids, They Know

I don't really do formal assessments often in class,

but I know they will soon enough,

so I try to keep it informal as long as I can.

But there are times when you need information

or it's an expectation for the school,

so we do them.

I created several activities for students

to demonstrate what they know about number sense

and math operations.

My TA's would lead students 1 to 1

on completing each task, 

while I was going to work on letter and sight word review

with the group waiting...

WAS.

Usually, we break for lunch and they sign back in.

Today, I told them they could stay signed on if they wanted to

and I would start a timer to let them know when it was time to come back.

My camera was off, 

but I noticed two of the students were still on.

They started a conversation.

I know I shouldn't ease drop

but listening to students engage in conversation

is one of my favorite things to do.

Besides,

I can use it as evidence for assessing language!

I also know that there is little time for students to build relationships with each other.

They know their classmates' names,

but without that physical contact on the playground

or in the classroom during center time,

it's really hard to practice social skills and build deeper friendships virtually.

Lately kids have been asking to speak to specific friends at the end of class.

Yesterday, N requested G's attention. 

She wanted to share her baby brother with him.

Today, A wanted to invite E to play dolls with her.

So,

I let them play.

It began with the two of them,

then E signed in,

and then J signed in.

They started playing slime together.

A grabbed her doll and so did E.

They played together

conversing back and forth.

It was beautiful.

It was funny.

It was just what they needed.

It brought them joy.

It brought me joy.

Sometimes, 

you just have to let them lead.

E was the last student to complete her tasks.

I loved watching her solve problems 

and marvel at how she makes sense of the world around her,

It was a good day.

 

101/180 PLAY-dough

I love watching my students play.

I love watching them learn, create, and make discoveries while they play.

Today we used playdough again.

I'd use it everyday if we had the time on Zoom.

Luckily, they each have cans of playdough at home now

so they can use it whenever they want.

Today I watched D cut her playdough.

I noticed her improvement in fine motor skills.

She can write her name now

and she can cut using scissors.

Her mom then wrote the letter Dd on the white board

and I watched her trace it with playdough

as if she had done it before.

I so appreciate parents that take initiative 

and extend learning experiences for their children.

Today, Miss N had her "act" together. 

She often works solo with little support

but I am just thrilled she's there.

Lately, I have noticed just far she has come.

She use to appear maybe once a week if we were lucky.

Sometimes she would disappear midway through class.

She rarely spoke.

And she would do her own thing,

create her own activities,

sing her own songs,

follow her own lead.

But more and more she started to ask questions,

express her thoughts,

and needs too.

Last week she informed me she didn't have a red envelope,

she wanted playdough

and paper

and if I could bring her some.

I did.

Today, she found her white board,

wrote her name when we asked.

Today, she took out her playdough,

she cut, rolled, counted, and displayed her work.

Today, she danced in the spotlight when called upon.

She brought me such joy in watching her bloom.

I just love playdough.

Everyone can participate.

Everyone has fun.

Everyone learns!

D cuts, counts, and creates!

K made shapes and pictures with her playdough.

And A actually found his playdough!

We are making progress people! 

100/180 A Different Kind of 100th Day

It was the 100th Day of School today.

No big 100th Day projects.

No Zero the Hero Assembly or visit.

No 100 snack baggies.

No day filled with rotations to visit other classrooms.

But we did celebrate our 100th Day.

We did sing 100th Day songs.

We did count, dance, and exercise to 100.

We did make silly 100th day hats.

We did listen to a 100th Day story.

We did laugh, sing, dance, create, and shared 100 things.

We did make it through 100 days of virtual instruction.

We did make friends,

learn our teachers' names,

and know what routines are.

We did have a nice day.

Happy 100th Day of School!

99/100 Plus + One

 It's the 99th day of school

things are coming along

and then you get the news that there will be 

a plus one next week.

We are not full this year so there's space for more students

but when you have been "prohibited" to enter your classroom

and your DonorsChoose grants have funded for 21

and now there is a plus one.

I look around my house and I am not sure I can gather all the materials my new student needs.

Furthermore,

I don't remember all the stuff I have given out this year to my students

so...

I  begged to go into my classroom for 5 minutes 

before class Friday morning

to gather all I can find

for him to feel welcome and included in our activities.

His parent is picking up his Chromebook,

so I hope to at least make contact and say hello,

from 6 feet apart of course.

Until then,

I guess I will have to make a playdough, slime, whiteboard run,

among other things.

98/180 Less is More, but Sometimes, it's More!

You can ask any of my students from White House Place and beyond

and they will concur that I like signing my classes up for presentations.

Whenever there was an opportunity to perform in front of an audience, 

I would sign up my class to participate.

I think deep down I am a director.

I love watching kids perform.

I love watching them overcome their fear of public speaking

because I had to overcome my fear of public speaking.

So maybe,

if they had the chance to feel successful

and comfortable performing in front of others,

they will feel confident enough to express their thoughts and feelings in other aspects of their lives.

I was a shy kid.

But I was thrust out on the stage to recite text for our Black History Program when I was 10.

I never forgot that experience.

So I want my students to have lots of experiences they won't forget either.

Our local district's art branch was looking for submissions for a virtual

Lunar New Year theme gallery.

Bringing Chinese New Year into the classroom has been one of the highlights 

of the year for me.

So to challenge myself,

I signed up,

for both visual and performing arts.

It's not that I couldn't teach students about CNY,

it was how to coordinate a performance when we are virtual.

I had grand visions,

like I do in the classroom,

but this year will be different.

So after stressing out the week as the deadline approached

I decided to just use what I had and do the best that I could

to put together something that would not only allow my students a chance to shine

but that would teach them and others

a little more about what CNY means to those that celebrate it.

Having students say a few words was not too bad,

but having an entire class

during zoom,

dance together

on camera

was another story.

In the end, 

it was adorable,

even with kids coming in and out,

little baby brothers dancing into the shot,

and empty tables and chairs.

It is what it is

and I am so very proud of them all.

They did what they could

and it was enough.

Once the link becomes live on the district

I'll post it.

It was quite an experience

but in the end,

it's something that my students and their families will have

to remind them about this very interesting

and different year of school.

97/180 Exhaustion

It was a busy day.

Lots of things to do.

Uploading art work for a district art show.

Creating and directing a short presentation.

I love when students perform

but virtually will be a whole new ball game!

We are going to celebrate Chinese New Year a week early.

So many traditions to carry out,

but it's important students know that people celebrate in different ways.

Made a resource slide deck.

So many more to add.

One day at a time.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vSAWpk3CGWg5xgP1DA87O6sIBWbVPNbEyq-rVIa_pVKOY_95AtBAiJAxA_LWLKGp5atuZbBMXUz9oBO/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=3000

CNY Resources for Teachers in PreK-2nd.
 

96/180 Paint Day in ETK

 For nearly a decade,  I have had my students paint on canvases.

I wanted them to have that experience of creating on something different.

I don't remember ever painting on a canvas until I went to a Paint Party,

There is just something special about it

and I want my students to have that same feeling

of creating something beautiful

on something special,

just like artists do.

It was a long process,

we painted a background,

we mixed colors,

we selected specific paintbrushes,

and we followed directions.

The results were worth the extra time put in,

even with a little help from mom.

Now if we were in class

none of the students' paintings would have been touched

with our hands,

it would have been all their work.

In virtual learning,

it sometimes becomes a collaborative process.

I don't mind it

because the students still learn elements of art

and although I stress that art is never "wrong,"

I'm sure some of the adults in the room still need it to look a specific way.

I'm just glad they are there to support

and students participate some way.

How bad can it be if your parents want to help?

Absolute highlight of my day,

A was able to find his supplies and paint!

He did a wonderful job on background

but then I think someone "helped" him draw the cherry blossoms.

You can't win them all.

I am just so glad he was here and got to participate today!

Slowly, but surely.

He's worth the wait.