131/180 BE THAT TEACHER

Walking into the parking lot,  E sees me. 

She's here to pick up the spring baskets with her Dad.

I tell her the baskets are in the office waiting for her.

Without warning,

She runs towards me

and rushes in for the hug.

I give her one.

Don't worry,

We were masked and I sanitized afterwards.

I want to be the kind of teacher that students feel safe enough 

to rush in for a hug,

and know they will not be rejected.

I want to be the kind of teacher that smiles each morning

because I truly am happy to see my students.

I want to be the kind of teacher that makes sure each student

hears their name called during check-in

even if I have to sing all their names by myself.

I want to be the kind of teacher that sets goals for spring break

and meets each one,

or at least tries.

1. The Garage

2. Visit Nature with the Boys

3. Take time each day for some self care

4. Limit carbs and sugar

5. Write an essay for Connections

6. The Garage

6. Complete the TOY Application even though it's a lot of work and I don't really like the competition aspect of the whole program.

7. Watch the Dodgers' Opening Day game.

8. Watch Clippers game.

9. Watch March Madness.

10. The Garage

130/180 Some Days...

Some days are just hard.

Not from teaching,

but parenting.

Thanks to two generous friends,

I have 6 blue tables for individual work.

The floor mat will come later.

One day left till Spring Break.

Tomorrow is material pick up

and delivery day.

Tomorrow is Covid-Testing.

Tomorrow is Open House.

Tomorrow we will see if the 8th grader completes his assignments.

I'm not looking for a fight with a teen.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

129/180 Building On...

Teaching math virtually has been interesting.
Young children need concrete experiences first

before they get into the more abstract ones.

They also need repetition and practice,

so for the past several weeks, 

we have been making bubble maps of numbers.

Today we got to 10.

The routine has really helped them grow each day.

It's very directed, 

but they are rolling along.

Tomorrow is a big day!

Burger gets to take off his cone

and get his "teeth" checked.

I'm sure he's been waiting for this day for the past 2 weeks!

128/180 Money Monday...

What does $1307 buy?

In "normal" times,

It will buy you a round trip on an LAUSD school bus

from East LA to Irvine,

and admission for 3 classes to

pick vegetables and strawberries

at Tanaka Farms.

Since it's NOT normal times,

$1307 will buy you...

Art kits from the Skirball Cultural Center

so that each child can create a kinetic animal, 

cape with a message, and memory boxes,

Three sets of Legos from Costco 

so that you can sort them and make individual 

baggies for creating and constructing,

A storage unit big enough to store

crayons, scissors, glue, and pencils,

and bins for each child to store their

crayons, scissors, glue, and pencils

in that storage unit,

and 6 tables in blue

so that each child that returns to school

will have his or her own space.

That's what $1307 will buy...

Well, actually it won't. 

I went over a little bit.

#thankyouFedCoGrant

127/180 Final Friday

It was a long week,

but a productive one.

We passed out materials on Wednesday

and will pass out more next Wednesday too.

Parents were generous and donated baskets,

eggs, treats, and snacks.

My friend Liz donated cool baseball packs.

It's not the same this year,

but it will be okay.

My students will still be happy.

Friday is weekly testing.

It's something that is a part of a routine now

Today, free bottle of hand sanitizer.

I remember a year ago,

finding hand sanitizer was like striking gold.

Friday Daniel was able to get his first vaccine.

Regional Center clients and other adults with special needs

and their caretakers

were able to get vaccinated.

One thing to check off the list.

This week I got #2.

Another thing to check off the list.

4 more days till spring break.

#ready

126/180 Rainbows and Cookie Sheets

Yesterday was materials pick up,

and delivery day.

Every tote was picked up or delivered,

except 1.

*Parent never contacted me.

I have made it a personal mission this year

to ensure that each student has the same supplies.

I never want to exclude anyone from an activity 

or project because of they didn't have materials available.

Today, my bucket filling moment was watching my students string fruit loops into a pipe cleaner using their thumb and pointer (an exercise we practice in OT), and the smiles on their faces when their rainbow were done. Extra special highlight: seeing P smile proudly. *Reason why I drove all over East LA yesterday after class.

 

125/180 Wishful Wednesday

We are "scheduled" to open up next month.

As I look around my semi-empty room,

I wonder where my students will sit.

No more kidney tables.

No more carpet.

No more long tables for group work and play.

The school has student desks,

but they are not really appropriate for my students.

So I found these:

I actually had two of them I bought from Costco,

but during online learning, 

I gave them away to families.

I don't think they will come back.

I think the table makes is more kid friendly.

I imagine my students reading, writing, drawing, 

and playing.

They won't be at the same table with their friends,

but they will be nearby playing together while being apart.

Funny

what things come into your mind.

I have a grant I can use,

as long as I put up the funds and purchase it first.

Maybe I'll stimulate the economy next week!

124/180 Filling Buckets

Today I introduce students to the concept of filling buckets,

their buckets.

It's an invisible bucket we all have inside

that needs to be filled daily to be happy and healthy emotionally.

We fill our buckets by doing things that make us happy '

and feel good about ourselves.

We fill other's bucket by doing nice things for them

at the same time filling our buckets too.

Thanks to Donors,

each of my students will get their own copy of the book,

and of course,

their own buckets.

I realize that I need to remember to fill my bucket each day too.

Today, I got to see two dear friends and catch up,
if even for a few minutes.

Today, I bought K a princess book because she asked for one
and I know it will make her happy.

Today, I read a story about Blaze to J because it's his favorite character
and I did some research to find out who he (it) was and ordered a book
to surprise him.

Today, I bought some calming oils and dispenser for a friend in need
and hope that it can fill her bucket, 
even if just a little.

Today, I found out that my book project was funded by friends and
kind strangers.
Now my students will get a beautiful, hardback book
with a strong message.

My bucket was full today.

123/180 Rainy Days and Mondays

Woke up to a wet Monday.

I knew I should have bought that umbrella last week.

Live and learn,

but I have a cool, red raincoat I can wear. #thankyouDom

I didn't buy an umbrella

but I did find some LOVE bags for a special pick up Wednesday.

I wanted to take a photo of the before picture.

Room 27 has not had a class in it for a year now.

It will soon,

but it will look different.

Time to get rid of stuff and set up

for hybrid.

New adventure coming soon.

Things you notice walking out of school...

stickers on the floor,

signs on the door,

wonder what these are for?

(I pretty much know, but needed a rhyme)

No matter what is going on in the word,

all the unknowns,

there's one thing I can always count on,

after the storm,

there is always blue skies.

122/180 Five Hundred Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes

A year ago, my students were painting pink shapes,

colorful rainbows, and playing outside.

We sent students home that day

with two weeks of busy work,

something we wouldn't have done,

but we were told that

it would probably be about two weeks before we could return again.

We never did.

Today my students painted colorful shapes.

They played with slime,

danced, sang, and played ukulele too.

Same beautiful faces and smiles,

but different.

Today I went to get my weekly Covid testing.

Today, I uploaded a new app.

Today, I taught in my classroom.

Same, but different.

Just like the past 525,600 minutes.

I wonder what the next 525,600 minutes will look like.

121/180 Zooming Through the Day

Zoom 1:

We looked for shapes with four sides today.

Since the kiddos had experience creating shape art yesterday

they were ready to fly today.Triangles tomorrow!

Zoom 2: Conference 1

Zoom class is a family affair. 

You never know who will visit from day to day,

baby brothers, newborn sisters, cousins, too.

Today G's little brother wanted to paint too.

He was very upset when G told him no.

With some convincing,

they shared. 

I think.

You can't really tell sometimes,

but during conferencing I found out little bro is 3.

Which means next year he will be 4,

and he could possibly be in my class my retirement year

the following year.

Yes, I am always recruiting.

Zoom 3:

When you have to attend a mandatory PD

it could be hit or miss.

Luckily, I'm in Early Childhood Education

and we have good people leading our department.

Racial Sensitivity is not an easy subject to address

but the presenters did it in a respectful and engaging way.

Tough conversations we need to have if we are to 

be better educators and human beings.

Zoom 3.5: I discovered that I can actually be in two zoom rooms at the same time,

even if for a few minutes between ending of a PD (2:30pm) and 2:30pm Intervention.

Zoom 4: Intervention Group A

With my EL group,

we worked on story and characters,

and I snuck in the sight word the.

Zoom 5: Intervention Group B

I love hanging out with these kids after class.

They are so enthusiastic,

even when they don't want to be.

It's a long day, but I try to make it fun.

Zoom 6: District Parent Meeting

I'm very proud of myself,

I didn't volunteer to serve on a subcommittee tonight.

It was to review a survey.

I didn't need to do that,

I've got other things to do.

Zoom 7: Parent Conference at 7:00pm

The best thing about Zoom is that I can sign on from home.

No more waiting in the classroom after sunset

for late conferences.

I have never met J's mom face to face;

she works long hours,

but I wanted the chance to tell her 

thank you for raising such a wonderful son.

J always signs on with a 

smile on his face ready to learn.

I wanted to tell her what a joy he was 

and how proud I am that he is doing well

in such a challenging year.

I was able to give his big sister a shout out 

for her help with him when he is in class

and intervention. 

She's a college freshmen.

Not the way you would think you would spend your

first year in college, 

and I appreciate it.

I appreciate a lot of things this year.

120/180 Two-Thirds

 Today marks the 120th day of school,

which means this school year is 2/3 over.

In 3 days it will be a year since we said 

goodbye to our students and sent them with

two weeks of "work" to do at home.

But it was a good day.

Burger got most of his teeth pulled

and he seems to be okay. #grateful

Tired and probably a little mad at me

but it's for his own good.

We did art today.

Real art,

not a project,

with a predictable

outcome, 

but elements of art.

Color, Lines, Shape

We focused on circles 

and let them loose. 

Those are my favorite moments.

Pure joy for me watching them create

without boundaries or rules.

After conferences at school, I rushed home

for intervention.

I took my document camera back to school.

So when I teach using the camera on my laptop.

It makes for some strange maneuvering.

But it worked. 

I love smaller groups.

I get to know the kids

and see what they really know.

In school, we would have some materials prepared

and leave the rest for the students to do,

but in Zoom,

the students get to do all the work.

It's a great way to assess many different

skills and concepts.

Wednesday is math,

but I observed so much more...

-following directions

-fine motor skills

-measurement

-number sense

-sequencing

-vocabulary

-shapes

-counting

-sorting

-comparing

-oral language

all in 30 minutes!

Tomorrow, we focus on reading comprehension.

So many books,

So little time.

119/180 Tuesday X 2

 Just when I thought my Mondays were long,

Here comes Tuesdays.

It's not a bad thing,

just an exhausting thing.

I love observing the OT teacher.

I continue to learn so much about how to build fine motor skills

and addressing sensory needs in simple ways.

Today, we shredded paper.

The weekly flyers in your mail work well.

I didn't have any in the classroom,

but I found some copies I won't be using.

Just tearing paper.

Simple.

Then students "hid" their favorite small animal

in a box or container.

Seek without sight.

Simple.

Effective.

The school seems so quiet these days.

I was the only teacher there today.

I like teaching from my classroom.

It gives me space to crawl, jump, and dance,

but I miss the sounds of kids and colleagues.

Soon. 

Maybe.

The special reader of the day was me.

We are doing a Pet Study.

We read books about Pets.

But,

I miss reading random books that I love.

Last week made me realize how much my

students have missed from being in school

for only a limit time each day 

and how our schedule can be so jammed packed

with things we need to do,

that sometimes,

we forget what to do.

I wore a shirt I bought recently.

It reminded me of someone special.

My friend Diana use to have a shirt like that.

She loved Piggy and Gerald too.

Knowing her,

she'd be back at school teaching too.

I miss her.

I know I am not the only one.

Rushed home for a few conferences.

Grabbed Indian take out and almost ended up in the hospital,

but I caught myself before I fell in front of the workers.

Embarrassed, 

but I got my saag paneer.

Intervention till 3:30

Phone interview till 4:30

Check on teen.

Still breathing and eating behind his bedroom door.

Conferences at 6:00pm 

and one at 7:00pm.

Maybe tomorrow will be easier,

but then I remember 

it's Burger's big day.

Goodbye teeth.

Hello soft food.