savor it

2014 was a big year for us. We dove into our third year of teaching. We finished up grad school. We found out that we are expecting a new little adventure buddy in May of 2015. With all of the amazing things that have been going on, it has been easy to just let the time slip by. 

It would be easy to continue in this manner too. Even though we will no longer have grad school taking up whatever free time we thought we had before, we will always find ways to fill our time - with adventures, with good books, with creating, with long runs - but will we be approaching each of these activities with purpose? Will we be living in the moment, or letting the moments pass us by? 

These past couple of years we have taken advantage of our location and have ended one year and begun the next by doing something that we love - running (or walking, or hobbling, depending on the time of day). We have surrounded ourselves with a community of crazy runners as we ring in the New Year as a part of Aravaipa Running's Across the Years 24-hour event. This is a great opportunity to meet other runners, have thought provoking conversations, and push yourself to the limit. During these past two years I have had the opportunity to engage with some very interesting people, and this year I was left pondering two words: savor it. 

Throughout the first 15 hours of the event I found myself chatting with a fellow runner, Cliff, whenever our paces matched up. Cliff is full of motivational wisdom, and at one point he shared the story of his first 50 mile race and being told to savor the final 1.5 miles (or so). This sounded as odd to me as I am sure it did to him when he first heard the words, but as he explained what happened during those final footfalls of the race, no two words have ever sounded sweeter. He savored those final miles and as a result, the time flew by and he was finished before he knew it, leaving the pain of so many completed miles behind and taking in the experience as opposed to suffering through it. After all, as he later pointed out, there isn't anyone forcing us to do these crazy things that we do (such as signing up for 24-hour events), so why not savor the moment?

speaking of crazy... midnight in the cold... before running my first mile of the new year

 As I continued moving through the event, I found myself returning to these words over and over again. However, I was not thinking of them with regards to the race itself, but with regards to life. How often have I been guilty of pushing through or suffering through, and not savoring the blessings that have been laid before me? As I pondered these words, I thought about the year to come, about living with intention, and about being in the moment. I thought about other wise words that have been shared with me by friends and the conversations that have arisen as the result of my pregnancy. I thought about books that I have read that portray women suffering through their pregnancies and not savoring the miracle that their body is capable of creating. After all, when you're walking around in the middle of the night you have a lot of time to think.

And so, I now find myself approaching this new year with a new outlook - savor it. What a simple mantra to bring me back to the moment. As we meander through life we can never experience the same moment twice, so why not savor each and every one. The good and the bad. The celebrations and the challenges. The ups and the downs. After all, the good wouldn't be quite as good without the bad, and we learn more about ourselves and about life when we encounter struggle. And with these thoughts (if you have managed to suffer through my ramblings up to here), I challenge you to savor it. Savor the moment, the day, the year, your life. After all, we only have one life, why not savor it?

pausing to savor the first sunrise of 2015

love

This afternoon I opened up a National Geographic catalogue that I got in the mail and turned immediately to a page that was selling Kanji birthstone necklace pendants. I spotted April's and thought, that looks familiar. And it was. The symbol for April was love.

Once upon a time I broke up with my high school sweetheart and my amazing friends in college bought me a necklace with the Kanji symbol for love on it. I loved the symbol and the simplicity of the necklace and wore it day in and day out for the next five years (with a brief respite where I wore a turtle necklace that I got on a trip to Hawaii because my sister's favorite animal is a turtle and it made me feel close to her at a time when I moved across the country). Then one day my necklace broke.

My necklace broke on January 3, 2006. I know this because it happened when I took off a hoodie before bed on the day that I began my Team Leader year of AmeriCorps*NCCC. I'm not generally a superstitious person, but I will say that I find it coincidental that the day that my Love necklace broke was the day that I met my mister. Perhaps it was the universe's way of saying that I didn't need a necklace to remind me that I was loved anymore. 

Whatever the case, the mister and I started going on runs together (probably the fastest I have ever run in my life and the slowest he ever ran willingly), going on hikes, and throwing the occasional date night in to get away from our campus. And while we may not run together very often anymore, we do still go on hikes and have an occasional date night to get away from teaching and grad school. 

And here we are, eight years later, and I still don't need a necklace to remind me that I am loved. I am reminded every day by my amazing mister. But sometimes it is nice to be reminded of where you came from and how you got to where you are.

Life is an adventure. It is not about everything always fitting neatly in a box or about following a plan to the T. It is about embracing what you encounter, living in the moment, and being willing to take on whatever comes your way because in the end every moment of every day shapes who you are and how you view life. And I choose to embrace my adventure in love and all of the amazing things that have happened in my life because of it.

colorado

Upon our departure from Nebraska, we moseyed down to Colorado to spend some time with Sarah and James (and Lucy, Monkey, and Milo). It was nice to get some more relaxation in, eat some delicious food (if you have never grilled romaine or peaches, do it, now), and just catch up.

grilled peaches

On Monday morning we went out to Chautauqua Park to explore. This is one of our favorite city parks of all time. The mister was able to run Green Mountain, and I hiked and ran all over the place. With the Flat Irons looming over you, nicely groomed trails under your feet, and friendly outdoorsy people all around, it is hard to not have a smile on your face the whole time you are on the trails. It also helps that during the summer there are fun summer programs going on, like play sword fighting, in the green space.

the flat irons

the mister at the top of green

spotted on my run/hike

That afternoon we went south to Golden to meet up with my friend Michelle and get in an afternoon hike. We played around at Mount Galbraith Park and had a great time on the lollypop trail there. The views were amazing and it was nice to catch up after not having seen one another for a year. Plus, Michelle had just helped one of her aunts clean out her classroom and she gifted me with some items that have already been put to use in my classroom!

the mister playing around on mount galbraith

me and michelle

After our day of exploration, we met back up with Sarah to go out for sushi. We waited forever, but our rolls were pretty tasty. It was fantastic to sit, talk, and spend time together. After eating fantastic food, we had some pretty awesome milkshakes from Sonic (for half off since we were there late). It may not be an everyday thing, but those milkshakes were awesome (and served as a mid-morning snack the following day as we made our way to New Mexico).

aren't they cute

nebraska

Oh, the good life. There's just something about Nebraska that feels relaxing and comforting. Perhaps it is because our time there is always spent with family and friends. As our summer came to a close, it was fantastic to once again connect with family and to spend time with friends.

Alice loved taking selfies

Our time in Nebraska began on the east, where we were able to spend a night with the Blair Halls. We played with Alice, ate good food, and rode our bikes out for ice cream. Heather and I stayed up for hours on end chatting, and JD made a delightful breakfast of crepes in the morning. As always, our time quickly came to a close, but it's nice to have those moments to connect whenever we can.

photo by Heather Hall Photography

After Blair we began to work our way west. We stopped in Omaha for lunch with friends and then moved on to Lincoln for dinner, ice cream, and a night of walking the city. We had a lot of catching up to do, and we got as much done as possible with non-stop conversation. 

Leaving Lincoln, we made a turn south to Beatrice to visit the Homestead National Monument. It was a little out of the way, but it was well worth the trip. We saw a traditional homestead, listened to an interview with the last homesteader (1974), and walked through the prairie. We saw the tools that were used when individuals worked on their claimed property, learned about the hardships faced, and gained a better understanding of life as a homesteader. 

the proportion of land in Nebraska that was homesteaded

Finally, we really made our way west. We rolled into Ogallala in the late afternoon and once again relaxed with family. We were bombarded with great food (as usual) and were able to catch up on all that has happened since Bruce and Linda visited in June. Chris busied himself with yard work throughout the visit, but took a break to introduce me to some of his high school friends at his class reunion. And then, on Sunday it was time to take off again.

hanging out in the grasslands

The problem with summer is that it comes to an end. And this summer it has meant cutting things short thanks to a late start on our road trip. But, that's the way things go sometimes and all that we can do is make the best of it (which I think we do a pretty good job of doing).

new york

Start spreading the news... I'm leaving today... I want to be a part of it... New York, New York

New York was a week full of family and fun (and a little bit of friend time too). Our time in the big city (of Canandaigua, not New York City) was spent with great food, fantastic conversation, and a bit of exploration and adventure. We hiked to waterfalls, did some trail running in the rain, stayed up late, talked about everything under the sun, soaked up family time, and even managed to relax a little bit.

On Saturday we stayed up late talking. On Sunday we climbed on waterfalls and walked through streams. On Monday we surprised my Gramma Dilli and Grandpa Bill. On Tuesday we caught up with a variety of friends. On Wednesday we went for a bike ride and made enchiladas for dinner. On Thursday we ran in the rain, went kayaking, and met up with the Hansen side of the family. On Friday we celebrated the Fourth of July at the lake. On Saturday we celebrated my grandparents' 60th anniversary and 80th birthdays. And on Sunday we were on the road again.

waterfalls!

surprise!

riding bikes in the rain

kayaking

hansen family gathering

celebrating gramma and grandpa

it's not a family get together until there are wheelbarrow races

my family!

The week flew by. There is only so much that you can squeeze into one week, but I think that we managed to get a lot done. Granted we didn't get to see everyone that we would have liked to have seen or do all that we would have liked to have done, but we had an amazing time. And, the Maine woods were calling our names.

can i read

Earlier this year I was told that when my students are completing a task, they need to walk away with something. I followed the advice that was given to me by a veteran teacher, for a while, and found that this is not always the case.

When I received this advice, it was following an observation of my language arts class. For an hour, during this class, my students rotate through centers, spending fifteen minutes at each center. One center is independent reading. The observing teacher informed me that my students should not be reading just because, that they needed to walk away from the center with a finished product. I tried having them write in journals for a while about what they read; I tried having them do partner reading; in the end, I realized what their finished product truly is.

They love to read. 

My students will come up to me whenever they finish an assignment and ask, "Can I go to the library?" or, "Can I go to books?" or, "Can I read?" They may not be walking away from their fifteen minutes with a paper in hand, but they are walking away with a love of reading. They are gaining confidence in their skills and they get so excited when they can complete a smooth read of a book. 

Our classroom library (rather, a third of it!)

For me, the finished product is that I am helping to develop a new generation of readers. 

explosion

Not to worry, there haven't been any literal explosions. But, figuratively, my life has exploded. This semester is taking over my life with the addition of 20 hours of service work added to my graduate course load. Additionally, the school district has decided that all of the teachers should take an online course in assessment. I'll mention only briefly that I took a three hour graduate course in assessment this summer. So yes, it is easy (as my principal said it should be if I have just taken a class), but it takes up that little bit of free time that was nonexistent to begin with.

While life has taken a turn for crazier, I will say that I enjoyed my first afternoon/evening of volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club on Friday. I was immediately roped into painting nails and I was able to talk to a lot of fourth and fifth grade girls about what they like to do. Surprisingly (or not), it's not that different from what my kindergarteners like to do - with the exception of liking boys. As much as I'm dreading the loss of a little bit of me time, I am looking forward to getting to know this different group of students. Life will resume again in a couple of months - but until then, blogs may come at a very limited rate.

sentences

My kinders are gradually getting the hang of the idea that letters make up word and that words make up sentences. Then, I had to go and throw number sentences into the mix.

Today we began to move beyond basic addition stories to interpreting the stories into number sentences. We began our lesson by reading a basic sentence, "I have a little cat." Then we put some magnets up on the board to compare to the sentence. We talked about how our numbers were like words and the mathematical symbols were like punctuation. Granted, the symbols are a little out of place, but seeing as my kinders are super smart, they got a hang of it pretty quickly.

Once I put the magnets on the board, my students used their previous knowledge to compose a number story about what they saw. Four magnets plus five more magnets equals nine magnets. Then we transferred that information into number sentence form. This is where things got a little tricky. While their stories were good, the idea of symbols and punctuation being the same made them want to put all of the symbols at the end of the sentence.

This is where my sentence came into play. We put the number sentence directly under the language sentence. I rearranged the words according to how the students tried to write their initial number sentences. This resulted in our original sentence reading, "I a cat have little." We talked about whether or not this made sense. All of my kinders were laughing because we have been talking a lot about sentences that make sense. This sentence did not. We talked about how the number sentence needs to be written in the right order, just like a language sentence, otherwise it wouldn't make sense.

By the end of the lesson, number sentences were making more sense to most of my kinders, but it will take some more practice for sure. At the very least, the foundation has been laid, and I think that it was a pretty good one (if I do say so myself).

six is six

When it all comes down to it, six year olds are simply that - six years old. It does not matter where they are from, what their background is, or what language they speak. They all want to have fun, make new friends, and explore everything in front of them. 

Today my new Nepali friend joined my classroom and my above statement fits her perfectly. The day started with two of my kinders coming in and saying "We're going to have a new student!" I had not told anyone yesterday about our incoming classmate because you just never know for sure if someone is going to show up. It turns out that my newest kinder's grandparents live next door to one of my students and they had spent some time jumping around on the trampoline together. Friends were made before my classroom even came into play.

My new kinder is simply amazing. She is a sweetheart and is excited to learn. She has lived in the United States for a whole 23 days and despite any worries about culture shock, she seems to be adapting quite well. While she has a thick accent, she has a solid base in spoken English and her written understanding of the language is quite phenomenal. While she may not be reading yet, she knows a lot of her letters and some of the sounds. She knows a lot of basic three letter words though and shocked Mrs. S today during centers by writing the entire word for each image on a worksheet when all that was needed was the first letter. I think we'll be getting along quite well.

As I mentioned earlier, friends were made rather quickly so my only real concern now is keeping the chit-chatting of new best friends to a minimum and to squelch the constant hand holding among said friends (the group reached six today) as it makes forming a line and walking through the hall rather difficult. If these are my biggest concerns right now, I'll take it.

welcome back

Today we returned to school from our week-long Thanksgiving holiday. It was a fantastic break. My parents came to town and we galavanted all over the southwest. I'll write more on that later though, when I have time to organize all of those happenings in my mind so that they can make sense to others.

This morning during sharing time we talked about what we did over Thanksgiving break. When it was my turn to share I was able to squeeze out an, "Over Thanksgiving break, I..." before my kinders shared with me just how well they have gotten to know me this year. They shouted out:

"went running!"

"made presents!"

"put up your Christmas tree!"

"decorated your Christmas tree!"

They've been listening, that's for sure! I also shared with them that I hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and then had to climb all of the way back out. They got pretty excited about that, until someone reminded them of sharing limits and said that we had to listen to our next friend share. They're just precious. I'm glad to be back with them - even if it was only for a half day.

Beyond sharing time, here is a peek at our math centers from today:

Everyone hard at work, figuring out different ways to make 4 & 5.

five little jack o lantern ghost witches

Oh goodness. Next week is Halloween. The kinders are super excited. Lesson planning for next week is rough and plans this week have gone out the window. Thank goodness it is only a three day teaching week.

Next Thursday, all of the kindergarteners from my school are going to the local nursing home to provide some entertainment for the residents. That means that starting today we have roughly 7.5 hours of practice time that we were able to fit into our schedules. This means that I have crazy Halloween songs going through my head all day, we have props to make, and the kinders are going to complete some art projects to decorate the halls of the home. 

Everyone is excited about meeting the "special grandparents that live in the special home" and so in the time leading up to and immediately following our song practice sessions the kinders are amped. That means our learning takes a hit. But, they are loving it and I think that the folks that we visit will love it too. In the meantime I have jack-o-lanterns, witches, ghosts, and Frankenstein running through my head. 

As an added bonus though, this field trip will also count toward a service learning project that I need to do for grad school. Sure, it may be double dipping, but my students are being reminded of the Navajo tradition (and hopefully every other culture out there's tradition) of respecting and honoring their elders. I think that this is an important tradition to instill in our youth, and so we're talking about why we're visiting the home - it really is about more than the fact that we get to trick or treat while we're there and show off our fancy costumes.

Oh life, sometimes you work out so well!

inspiring

Today we had parent teacher conferences at my school. It was a busy day, with parents missing appointments then squeezing in later in the day so that I had a line down the hall. In the grand scheme of things though, 15 out of my 18 students' families showed up for the big day (I even completed my final conference in Spanish - always exciting for me). My other three students ended up having to go out of town for family emergencies and so I will check in with them tomorrow afternoon since they are all pick-ups.

When I was talking with my neighboring teacher during a break from the madness, she told me one of the most incredible stories ever. Below is my paraphrasing of this story.

My student's grandmother came in today for her conference and expressed how excited she was that her granddaughter was learning how to read. The grandmother had gone to school and struggled to complete the third grade. When she stopped going to school she also stopped reading.

Now that this woman's granddaughter wants to read, she is needing to learn how to read once again. She pre-reads all of the stories that she will read to her granddaughter and then walks the 1/4 mile down the road to ask her neighbor what the words are. Then she practices so that she can read her granddaughter a bedtime story. The woman expressed that she is beginning to remember the words now and that she is learning how to read again.

How amazing is it that a kindergarten student can inspire an elderly woman to take an interest in reading and re-learn this valuable skill? I feel inspired, to say the least.

success

On Friday we left town and began our Navajo adventure. We began our journey by stopping in Window Rock, AZ, the capital of the Navajo Nation. We walked through the zoo and enjoyed seeing some of the animals that live in our area - porcupines, owls, elk, mountain lions, black bears, wolves, and bobcats (to name a few). The Navajo Zoo has done a good job of providing the animals with the space and natural environment that thrive in as the park is build into one of the numerous canyons in the area.

Porcupine!

Horned Owl

After leaving the zoo we continued our journey to Chinle, AZ, the home of Canyon de Chelly. The mister checked in for the race and then we set up camp. Thanks to dual management of Canyon de Chelly, we were still able to camp near the mouth of the canyon and the start line of the race. Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation has stepped up in this time of the government shut down and has kept activity in the monument running smoothly. We were able to explore the north side of the canyon after setting up the camp, enjoying that none of the overlooks had been closed as we have heard happening in other areas managed by the National Parks Service.

After our quick tour of the north rim, we returned to the park for the pre-race meeting and an introduction to the Navajo culture by the race director, his father in law, and a resident of the canyon (at other times, a park ranger, but for now, just a resident he pointed out). The Navajo tradition of running was explained to the race participants and their families, a brief history of the canyon and its significance to the Navajo people was described, and a fair number of jokes were shared, and everyone had a great time.

We all retreated to our tents, campers or hotel rooms and prepared for race day. The mister and I ran into town to get some food and then climbed into our tent for a fantastic night of sleep in the cool fall air. When the alarm went off in the morning we were ready to roll. 

The race began with a blessing and prayer ceremony around a bonfire. The racers gathered around to keep warm and to receive a blessing to stay with them throughout their journeys into and out of the canyon. The race course went 17 miles into the canyon, ending at the top of bat trail, and then came back out of the mouth where racers were greeted with mutton stew and fresh fry bread.

Preparing for the blessing and prayer ceremony

At the starting line

The race began at roughly 7:00AM, with the rising of the sun and a great yell by all of the runners. In Navajo tradition, the Gods come out with the sun, and so the people run to greet the Gods. The great yell is a way to clear the lungs after a night of sleep and to present yourself and say, "I am here."

After the runners took off, I drove out to White House Ruins, and hiked down into the canyon where I would be able to see the mister as he came through mile 5.5. He was looking good as he ran through the water and subsequently through his clothes from the cold morning start at me. He continued his journey into the canyon and I stayed at the Ruins for a while talking to the family members of other runners and cheering as more people splashed through the muddy water at the bottom of the canyon.

The mister running at 5.5 miles

White House Ruins

After I while I climbed back out of the canyon, only to hear Shaun, the race director finish up a conversation with two of his cross country athletes - the truck for the next aid station had gotten stuck trying to go up a hill and was only about halfway to where it needed to be. He quickly made a plan with his runners and sent them running back to the truck to execute the plan for providing aid to the runners as they progressed through the canyon.

I climbed out of the canyon and drove further down the south rim and pulled into the Spider Rock overlook. I hiked down to the edge of the rim and stood with a Navajo family for a long time, cheering on the ant sized runners as the passed the base of Spider Rock. I believe that cheering from this location was one of the most enjoyable cheering experiences that I have had at a race. From the top of the canyon you cry out your support and then hear it echoed back about 10 seconds later as it makes its way into the canyon and to the runners. It was fantastic!

Spider Rock

After spotting the mister's bright red cap running back from the turn around I returned to White House Ruins. The hike is so beautiful that it was hard to resist another chance to descend into the canyon. My efforts were blessed with these views:

As I waited at the bottom of the canyon for the mister to come running back through, I kept checking my watch. Based on the times that I had seen him running earlier, his pace had fallen off. At first I had thought that perhaps I had been too slow and missed him coming back through, but I checked with the Navajo family that I had been cheering with earlier and they said that all of the runners that they had seen come through were wearing shirts, so I knew the mister was still out there. He eventually came through, but was hobbling along thanks to an old knee injury that had flared up. However, he pushed on, and eventually made it out of the canyon, rounding out the top third of runners.

The mister coming through the finish line

Receiving his hand beaded turquoise finisher's necklace from Shaun, the RD

After the runners crossed the finish line, they received hand beaded turquoise necklaces. Shaun's (the race director) grandmother made all of the necklaces, with some help from Shaun and other family members. All of the prizes were created by family members and included moccasins, star quilts, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and photographs of the canyon. After all of the prizes were handed out there was a traditional toss out of other gifts to the runners, including magazine subscriptions, runner's vests, posters, and t-shirts. Not to be forgotten, all of the runners also received their fill of homemade mutton stew (or vegetable stew) and fry bread. Family members could also enjoy these delicious creations by giving a donation to the local cross country programs.

All in all it was a fantastic event, culturally rich and centered on the community. All of the proceeds from the race are going to the local cross country programs, and thanks to some amazing sponsors, I believe that the programs have been really blessed by this event. We cannot wait to go back next year, and I am already thinking that I want one of those finisher's necklaces too. We'll see!

As a follow up to my post prior to our trip, the federal government shutdown has not been able to shut down the Navajo Nation. In this we were truly blessed on this adventure, and look forward to exploring many more cultural landmarks throughout the nation.

the things they say

Today my students began brainstorming for a week long writing project that will end in an illustrated piece that answers the question, "If you could be anything little, what would you be?"

As I sat down with my most advanced students, I happened to yawn. One of the students commented on the fact that I must be tired and I replied, "Yes, I am a little bit tired." Almost immediately after I sat down I described the prompt for the morning's center. One of my bright little kinders looked and me and said, "I am a little tired." It took me just a moment, these little guys are too fast sometimes. I had been thinking they would reply like the lower students in class, "I am a little butterfly," or "I am a little fire truck." No, this one spit my words back at me and had me laughing. I love their sense of humor and how quickly they catch onto things.

Happy Monday!

half time

Today we had our first early release Monday of the school year. In my school district we have one day a month that is set aside for early release so that teachers can participate in professional development. This morning when one of my students walked in she excitedly declared, "Today we have half time! We get to go home after lunch!" This little kinder of mine started playing recreational soccer a couple of weeks ago and has clearly caught on to the lingo. As a former soccer player myself, I love that she referred to today as having half time and that she was able to connect the concept of half to something in her life outside of school.

When discussing that we had an early release/half day, later in the morning, I asked my kinders if they knew what the word half meant. The jumped on the question like the pepperoni pizza that I drew on the board to help them visualize half. One student helped to draw a line down the middle of the pizza. Other students declared that the two parts were halves. And even more impressive, they used our math vocabulary from the first couple of weeks of school and said that the halves were equal. 

Have I mentioned before how bright these little learners are? Knowing that I get to work with them every day just makes me smile. I cannot wait to see where we go as a community this year and how we are able to push one another to grow as students and teachers so that we get the most out of our kindergarten experience.

Happy Monday!

yo hablo español

One of the joys of having a couple of Spanish speakers in my classroom is that I am able to use the language that I grew to love in Costa Rica. Earlier this week, the grandmother of one of these students came into school to visit during lunch. She came up to me and immediately began a conversation in Spanish. It was fantastic. At first I had to make the connection between what she was saying and what language she was speaking, but after a brief half-second we were on our way to catching up. 

When we first found out that our placement for Peace Corps was going to be Costa Rica, I was a little hesitant. Costa Rica, the land of beautiful beaches, volcanoes, and a tourist hot spot? Did they really need Peace Corps volunteers? While I left the country still unsure of my response to that second question, I left knowing quite a few other things for sure. I knew that I wanted to begin my career as an educator (preferably in the younger grades) after endless hours spent working with the pre-K through first grade students in our community. I knew that I had met and befriended people that will always be a part of me, and that helped to change my outlook on life. I knew Spanish. 

There are a lot of people that serve in really unique places during their Peace Corps commitment. They learn unique and obscure languages. They become a part of communities where foreigners may not otherwise be accepted. And while they generally leave their communities at the end of their service with a better idea about what they want to do with their lives and having had their lives changed by the people that they came to know and love, the language skills that they acquired may never be used again. I am fortunate to say that Spanish is not a language that falls into that category.

I am so thankful to have this language skill. While I may be speaking with a Costa Rican lilt, using some of the local idioms that roll off of my tongue, and using a word that is more Tico than Mexico, I am able to communicate with these families that have come from across the border. Through language I am able to form the connections that will help the families have a positive experience within the school community, and I am able to help these students when they do not understand the common phrasing in English. 

I speak Spanish. Yo hablo español. 

sort it out

My little learners working on classifying and categorizing

The list of things that kindergarteners (rather, all students) need to learn is incredibly long. As a teacher, this means that I need to find innovative ways for the students to make connections to the material that can sometimes be a bit dry. I follow the curriculum laid out by the school district and use the basic materials that they tell me to, but I also try to build upon those basics so that the students aren't spending all of their time listening to lecture and doing worksheets.

This week, our focus in language arts is classifying and categorizing. In layman's terms, we're sorting. However, I need to stress this academic language, which confuses the heck out of their five (and now six) year old brains. I'll get to add to the confusion later this year when we change the academic language to compare and contrast. What it all comes down to though is we are sorting the heck out of things.

Today I broke out my sorting plates (which I purchased for very little at the Jumble Shop while visiting the mister's family in Nebraska last year) and seashells (given to my by my friend Emily). The more advanced students were able to decide how they would sort the shells into groups. My on level group sorted their shells by size. My students that still struggle a bit did some guided sorting by color (I would choose a color and demonstrate how to make a group, then they would follow suit). It was a fantastic hands on activity followed up by a worksheet that is somewhat similar to that which we will do for our weekly test tomorrow. It seemed to go well. Tomorrow we'll see just how well the connection stuck.

take it easy

I know that for many, Labor Day marks the beginning of a new school year. Here in New Mexico we are approaching our fourth week of school, and this three day weekend was a breath of fresh air. A chance to slow down for a little while and take it easy. Having three days to accomplish what is usually done in two means that you can squeeze some fun and exciting things into the mix (such as Saturday's trip to Albuquerque).

This morning I got up and did my usual workout before jumping into some grad school work. After a while though, I decided that I needed a break. So, the mister and I decided to head out to our local park and do some hiking (or rather, I hiked and he ran). It was a beautiful respite from work, a beautiful morning in the sun, and some welcome time with nature.

My favorite local hike: Pyramid Rock

Me, at the summit

A Navajo symbol of good luck or fortune: The horned toad

Last year I made a point of trying to hike Pyramid at least once a week in the spring. The last time that I climbed it was last May. It was nice to have a day to take things a little slower, to take it easy, and to enjoy my community. Of course, once we got home work began again, but that's okay. I had my break. Now I can jump back into my classroom full of energy tomorrow morning and cram five days of learning into four!

school is a place

School is a place...

During the last year, I was asked to develop a school is a place project for my students to complete as a part of a grad school assignment. This year, at the end of the first week of school, I asked my students what they thought school was. Most of them had been to pre-school, so they had some idea, but it is always interesting to see how individuals perceive school. My students responded in a number of ways, including: to learn, to read, to have fun, to make friends, to count, to draw, and to use computers. They drew images to capture their ideas.

I took these images and held on to them. Today, I put them out for the world to see. We had open house at my school this evening, and I thought that that was a perfect time for these responses to be put out there for parents to see. I love having this student touch as individuals approach my classroom. For me, it also serves as a reminder that school is about so much more than sitting down and learning. School is a place where my students are learning social skills, are developing oral language, and are testing their limits. As a teacher, it is my job to facilitate this growth, which means that school cannot always be about learning (regardless of what officials who have never been inside of a classroom may say).

I plan on taking this project one step further. At the end of the year, I plan on repeating this activity. It is my hope that at the end of the year my students still have these same thoughts about school. I hope that they still view school as a place to make friends, a place to have fun, and a place to play. I also hope that when they say that school is a place to learn, and read, and do math, that they say so in a positive way. It is my vision that education is fun and engaging and worthwhile. Through engagement, my students should walk away ready for first grade at the end of the year, and not feeling as though they have just been set free from mundane and draining tasks.

What is school to you? What do you think of when I say "School is a place?"

la llorona

This year I have the pleasure of teaching some native Spanish speakers. During class I am able to clarify questions by rephrasing information in Spanish and I can facilitate the sharing of their language. These students share the Spanish translation for words that we come across in stories and we are able to do fun activities like count in Spanish as an entire class.

Yesterday afternoon I was waiting with one of my students and his sister at the end of the school day. In the time that we were sitting outside before their dad came to pick them up his sister asked me if I had heard of la llorona. Thanks to my time in Costa Rica I could honestly say that yes, I had heard of la llorona.

For those of you that do not know, la llorona is a folklore throughout Central and South America. La llorona translates to "the crying woman." La llorona wanders stream and river beds crying out for her lost children. While I was talking to these two children, the conversation evolved toward a discussion about the differences between the Mexican version of the story (their dad is from Mexico and they spend summers there) and the Costa Rican version of the story.

In Mexico, la llorona wanders the river bed crying for her two children, a boy and a girl. The woman has lost her children. My student's sister informed me that she had heard two different versions at this point. In one, the woman had murdered her children; in the other they had been kidnapped, or taken from her in some way and she wanted to find them.

In Costa Rica, la llorona also wanders river beds crying for her child. In this version there is only one child, and if my memory serves correctly she threw her child into the river rapids because they would not stop crying. In return she cannot stop crying as she searches the river banks for her missing child.

It is moments like this one that remind me how fortunate I have been to lead the life that I do and to have had the experiences that I have had. Thanks to learning about la llorona from my Language and Culture Facilitator during Peace Corps training, and having the legend reinforced through conversations with my students in Costa Rica. Yesterday I was able to bring those experiences with me into a conversation with my student and his sister here and build stronger relationships based on a mutual understanding.