179-180/180 And That's a Wrap!

Well it's finally here,

the final day to an unbelievable school year.

A day that my first group of kiddos at Belvedere culminates and moves on 

to their next destination.

The day to celebrate and say goodbye 

to the most incredible group of kiddos,

and their families.

Mamas, Dads, grandparents, caregivers,

and a few amazing big sisters,

who signed on to a computer screen 

each and every day,

or went the extra mile,

to get a swab swirled around

in their noses,

just to be in our class.

It was an honor.

A day to celebrate our last birthday a week early

with our favorite Nutella cake.

A day I got to tell each and every Zoomie

how much they meant to me and 

what made them each so special.

A day when calories don't count when you order

your favorite chicken tequila pasta dish.

A day you get to have dinner with your favorite people 

to celebrate and catch up.

It was quite a day

to end quite a year.

Goodbye #34

 

178/180 One Day More!

It was Sports Day!

We are trying to pack, organize, test, and teach all at the same time.

This is what happens when your kiddos see you packing up a ring light away.

They called said it was used for Tik Tok!

I said I didn't watch Tik Tok, 

but they could use it if they wanted to.

This is one of the photos they took.

Took a 8 minute walk to our local Starbucks.

#Classof2021culminatingtomorrow

When you dance all day in class,

you complete your circle before dinner time.

And you take a nap when you get home.

Man, I need some wrinkle cream on my forehead!

#whenyouplaywithapps #ETKteam

177/180 Culmination Part 1

Today was Day 1 of 5th grade culmination.

Due to social distancing,

it was divided into two days.

Lovely set up and bittersweet for me.

The kiddos culminating were the kindergarteners

that I had my very first year at Belvedere.

It was a tough decision to make changing schools

after opening up a brand new one and teaching there for 12 years,

but the decision was family based.

I miss the resources in Expo Park.

I miss the friends I taught with.

I missed the students, families, and community too,

but never regretted choosing to be closer to home,

spending the last 6 months caring for mom,

being close to home when Daniel entered high school,

and cutting my commute to 13-15 minutes.

It was hardest for Bryce.

He is still working on issues that decision caused.

Someday soon,

I hope he will understand my choice to move.

Congratulations Class of 2021! 

You are amazing!

Make good choices 

and know that we believe in you!

176/180 Promotion Day!

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

So excited!

For the first time in 176 days, 

I got to see all my students today!

Not at the same time, 

but the same day!

#proudteacher

Took selfies with each of them!

Beautiful background by my talented TAs!

We saw some of our students for the first time!

J was the first to arrive.

I was so happy to see him because he is one that we don't see for material pick up.

It was a great day!

"I only blow dry and flip for special occasions. Today was a special occasion." -Me to Roomies.

2021 is almost over,

I'm tired!

175/180 Last Week...

I think I am off by a day. 

I don't know where it went, but we are suppose to be on 176.

Oh well.

Last Monday of this interesting school year...

Roomies made our puppets for Action Theater.

Noticed some beautiful flowering plants added today to Ms. Rodriguez's Reading Bench.

Always feel she's there when I pass by.

Lunch time Starbucks run.

I'm trying use up all my bonus points before summer health goals kick in!

#matchagreentealattewithsoy

We made our "self" puppets today in Zoom.

Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to go into Breakout Rooms

and practice introducing them before we present to the whole class.

Our puppets!

I added highlights to my hair.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

Excited to celebrate this year with my kiddos!

174/180 Donuts, Puppets, and Paint Night

It was National Donut Day!

I can't get out early enough in the morning,

so I went the night before. 

I made them work for their donut!

#conceptofprint

Thanks to Donorschoose,

my students got to make their own puppets.

I love watching N's intensity.

She has puppets of her own, 

but she was so focused on creating one too,

even living in a new household an hour away.

One of the positive outcomes of virtual instruction

is that some parents get to spend time working with their child.

Early on, 

you realize that some students will always get support

and some won't,

but you just have to move on and concentrate on the positives. 

We had our first Family Paint Night.

We have had a couple of Staff Paint Night,

so why not try a family one.

There weren't as many families as I had hoped for,

but it was still a great turn out!

Lots of wonderful artists!

#artmatters

173/180 "Interesting!"

I attended a workshop years ago at the Natural History Museum.

I don't remember what it was about,

but I do remember something that the presenter suggested.

She said to try to replace the screams and yucks,

with the word "interesting."

Today we looked closely at snail poop... "interesting."

Today some of us had snails crawl around our hand... "interesting."

Today we were slimed... "interesting."

I also learned that as a teacher,

I need to show my students that things that seem yucky

are actually interesting.

When you get to see the parts of a snail up close...

it makes it easier to reproduce them in art.

We are reviewing letters and sounds.

The letter was Ff.

The sound was F-f-fung.

I thought D drew me in Lakers purple and gold

but he said it was pure coincidence. Hmmmm?

A few things to celebrate today:

1. Bryce got on the right bus and made it home without getting upset.

2. Shot #2 complete!

I have saved every single class photo since I began teaching.

Last year, we didn't get ours.

I contacted the company and they said they would try.

This year has been challenging and different,

but I still wanted my students to get a class photo to save.

I made one earlier, but was missing several students.

Thanks to my team partner and a talented Etsy seller,

I will have a 2020-2021 class photo!

 

172/180 What I like least about being a teacher...

You know what I don't like about teaching?

I'll tell you,

It's spending hours and hours of my classroom time-

sitting in front of a laptop,

signing in and out,

trying to assess 5 year olds

on how well they understand English.

That's what I did pretty much today,

and I am not nearly done,

because we have to go back and 

make up assessments not done at the beginning of the year.

So, 

as I sat alone in the former primary science lab,

waiting for kids to sign on,

I realize that there was actually something I didn't like about being an ETK teacher.

Something I do love about being a teacher

is having a former 4 year old student 

drop by on Memorial Day 

with my first bouquet of peonies.

I know, I know,

it was my first,

and they smell incredible!

Never realized how wonderful they were.

Thanks Mrs. Larsen. 

You are a good Student-daughter

and an even better daughter to your mama.

171/180 Fine (Motor) Tuesdays

 Today's OT activity: LadyBugs and Bees!

1. Draw stripes (bees) and spots (ladybugs)

2. Cut paper in strips. Then cut into squares.

3. Mix the papers and grab some tape!

4.Now try to capture the ladybugs and avoid the bees!

5. Take them the ladybugs off the tape and count them!

As a tribute to Eric Carle,

we listened to the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Added in some simple ELD vocabulary and comprehension activity.

#RIPEricCarle