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

back to school

It is hard to believe that summer has come to an end (at least in teacher terms). Teachers started back on Thursday and our kiddos will show up bright eyed and bushy tailed (right?) on Monday. I personally started back about a week before it was mandated in an effort to get my classroom together. It isn't finished yet, there are some things that will require student involvement in order to get our walls filled up, others that will require teaching, and others still that simply require me to have more time. Until that time comes, take a look at my classroom as the students will see it on Monday morning (minus the changes that happened this afternoon when I stopped in for about an hour with the mister in tow).

dc [and surrounding areas]

After our fantastic time in the wilds of Maine, the DC area came as quite a shock to our small town selves. While the city is impressive, city living is not for everyone. We are not city people, and this became quite apparent during our brief stay in the greater Capitol region. Though, I will say that cities that have public transportation figured out do have that going for them. And DC seems to have it figured out (based on our limited interactions with the transit system).

We did manage to merge one of our joys - camping - with the big city. The city of Greenbelt is home to Greenbelt Park, a nice little NPS parking that boasts affordable camping and a couple of nice trails just a mile and a half walk away from the College Park metro station. We camped, did some trail running, and eventually made our way to the metro. We rode into the city and walked the day away, taking in the sights.

sculpture garden

Throughout the day we meandered through a variety of Smithsonian Museums and through the National Mall. We saw the popular monuments and memorials that are scattered around the mall and then hopped off of the Mall walkways and checked out MLK, FDR, and the Jefferson Memorial. For future visits, I think I would be happy just seeing MLK and FDR. Both really strike me as being memorials that our lives are modeled after - working to provide opportunities for all, regardless of their life circumstances. 

MLK memorial

The following day we made it to Teddy's Island and added a third site in the city that we would be happy to return to. Theodore Roosevelt helped to expand the National Park Service and for that we are forever grateful. We think of him every summer when we travel, and try to live a lifestyle that promotes conservation and ecological awareness. 

our friend teddy

Our time in the DC area ended with some time with friends. We had a great lunch with our former country director from Peace Corps and then made our way north to Baltimore (which took far longer than it should have - really, city people, if you have public transportation, use it!) to visit friends that we met during Peace Corps. It was a nice way to break away from the overstimulation of the city.

from our wanderings at ARTSCAPE in baltimore

ack

Life has been beyond crazy since Spring Break. We enjoyed a nice week outside, camping, hiking, and playing by the Rio Grande in Big Bend National Park. We finished up the week with a race in the Tijeras Mountains outside of Albuquerque and then jumped right back in to the remaining weeks of school.

Since that time, we have wrapped up all final projects for the spring semester of graduate school, finished our district mentoring binders, have been assigned new principals, and are gearing up for the final weeks of school. It has been a non-stop effort to keep things moving in the right direction. 

It is my hope that one day soon I will really be able to update things here and get everyone back in the loop of the adventures that make up my life in the classroom and our lives outside of the classroom. Until that moment however, enjoy the weather! Spring is here!

a spring break selfie until I am able to get a real post from those adventures written

bummer

Well, it is looking as if our summer off from grad school will be no more. Our beloved professors are both moving on in their lives - one is retiring, the other is moving north to be closer to family. As a satellite campus for WNMU, this means that we are unsure of what classes will be available to us in person in the coming year. As a result, it looks like the mister and I are going to jump on the opportunity to take one of our three remaining classes this summer while it is being offered online. It isn't ideal, but it will get things done. That means next school year we'll be looking at two remaining classes - how we'll earn those credits is to be determined. Hopefully they won't only be available online, but if they are, at least we tripled up this year so that we don't have so many classes to worry about in the future. The good news is that the University has stated that we will be able to finish our degrees. Thank goodness for that.

beyond crazy

Wow. Last week was C-R-A-Z-Y. 

Most three day weeks are a little crazy. They start out well for me because I have a long weekend. I enjoyed some nice runs and a short hike with my mister. I knocked out a lot of work that had been piling up, and I relaxed some. It was nice.

On Tuesday, I was able to get 14 out of 18 parents through the parent teacher conference process. In the meantime, Mrs. S and I managed to tear all of the pages out of student workbooks and get them organized by week for the remainder of the school year. I hate tearing and sorting the pages, so this was amazing. I usually do it all by myself, now I don't need to worry about it again until next year. Oh yeah. Awesome.

Then the kinders came back on Wednesday. We started out exceptionally well. Then an announcement was made, "Attention teachers and staff. We might have an assembly at 9:00. We'll let you know." Then the health assistant came into the classroom, "The nurse is at our school today, she needs to do a hand washing presentation with the students." When 9:00 rolled around we were called to the auditorium. For a laser light show. It is science, sure, but on a short week? Apparently our old principal scheduled it before she left and didn't tell anyone. So, we lost an hour of instruction on an already short week. Then we were called to the nurse's office for the hand washing presentation. Needless to say, kindergarten cancelled our morning recess so that we could get a little bit of learning in. The rest of the day went pretty well, thankfully.

We squeezed a whole lot of learning into Thursday to make up for lost time, and in order to be ready for Friday assessments. The kiddos did a great job, they loved our story of the week, they picked up on the basics of base ten relatively well, and we had computer lab. My students love computer lab. It was a success. Unfortunately, I also had to come up with sub plans for Friday because this lucky teacher was called for jury duty. 

What an end to the week. Not only was I called, I was selected. So while my kinders were working away on their assessments, I was listening to a new attorney defend what was possibly his first case. It was somewhat interesting, but the lawyers unfortunately used what us jurors came to call turtle talk. They spoke more slowly than I do with my kinders. Now, that's saying something. All in all, we spent 12 hours in the courtroom. At 8:15 we decided that the defense had presented enough information to make us reasonably doubt the guilt of his client and wham-o, said lawyer won what was possibly his first trial. (I will say that a positive result of the experience was that I was able to crochet during every break we were given and finished half of a case to organize my crochet hooks!)

The court was nice enough to bring us dinner while we were in deliberations. At that point we were all okay with a burger and fries. However, a couple of hours later either the stomach flu that has been going around school caught up with me or the burger just didn't sit right. Either way, I spent the night on the bathroom floor. Super awesome end to a super awesome week.

Now we have arrived at Monday. Sweet, sweet Monday. A day of new beginnings and fresh starts. Some kiddos did end up in the office, but I'm positive that this week can't be any crazier than last. Here's hoping!

survival

It's what Valentine's Day is all about. Survival of the fittest. Otherwise, the kinders will eat you alive. They came in this morning flying high, ready to pass out their Thanksgiving cards (for some reason, they know it is Valentine's Day, but they think they are making Thanksgiving cards, I'm at a loss). They then ate sugar filled waffles for breakfast. And I had to calm them down enough to get our Friday assessments in before allowing them to slip into party mode. Lets me say, assessments on Valentine's Day are not the best idea on earth, the results were dismal. Oh well, sometimes we just need to roll with the punches. We'll keep going over the material during interventions until they get it down pat.

While Valentine's Day may not be my favorite, I am very thankful that my parents are listening to my request for healthy treats this year. Last year each student went home with a plate with a dozen of assorted cupcakes and cookies. This year, the treats that were provided were chips and crackers (better than cookies and cupcakes), homemade jello, bananas, and mandarin oranges. Success!

Or, so I thought. When the kiddos started handing out their valentines, packed away in their bags were cookies. Then a mother brought in cupcakes and bags of candy. And she didn't leave.

Since this mother didn't leave the classroom, she was able to see her child acting out and receiving warnings of being sent to the principal's office instead of being able to participate in party activities. She reminded her child several times to follow the rules. Then the kinder received a final notice and we walked to the office together.

The principal asked mom to come to the office, the student was sent home for the day, which meant no party. Mom came into the classroom and yelled at me, saying that I was unfair to her child. We walked into the hall, and after she started swearing at me and saying she wanted her child pulled from my class, we went to the principal's office so that there was a mediator (and a witness) for the ensuing conversation (thank goodness for assistants).

In the end, the principal and I got mom calmed down, let her vent about her relationship with the student's father, and have a promise to have her reconsider wanting to take her child out of my classroom. On Tuesday, at parent teacher conferences, we will see what she has to say.

Whoever decided that holiday parties were a good idea was not a teacher. Thank goodness this was the last major party of the year.

figured out

Well, yesterday afternoon I worked on getting all of the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) junk cleared up. It turns out that the district office had lost all of my paperwork for everything - my application for working toward my TESOL endorsement (meaning they also didn't have me in the system for a TESOL stipend) and my application for TESOL course reimbursement. As a teacher I don't make much money, and as a grad student, the money that I do make is spent on tuition. Hopefully having these issues straightened out will help out a little bit.

As for now, it's back to the grind. Another grad school class tonight. This week is feeling really long already. I'll be thankful for our day off on Monday, from both teaching and grad school (it will mean I can do work for teaching and/or grad school).

new new new new

It's a new year, with new instructional strategies, tomorrow, a new student, and at the end of the month, a new principal. Life is never boring, that is for sure.

Today we had a lot of fun with the new year during calendar time. My kinders, bright as can be began telling me what each of the following years will be. They said, "next it will be 2015!" I replied, yes, when you are in first grade, it will change to 2015 in January." I then cursed the moment that those words came out of my mouth as we spent the next several minutes with them saying, "and in second grade it will be 2016, and in third 2017, etc. etc." I've got some good ones, no questions.

We shifted our language arts centers around a little bit today, and things seemed to go well. I have moved from three centers to four. This way, groups are smaller and I have added accountability to my reading groups. Now, advanced students partner read with lower level students, assisting them with sounding out words or using context clues to determine what is happening in their stories. Their next center is reading reflection where they write in their journals about one story that they read. Right now, this consists of "I read...". As the semester progresses, I think that my more advanced students will be able to add on a little more detail.

Our anchor chart for partner reading

"I read Can Melvin Scoot. Rita Ran to Rosie" One reading reflection with a picture of happy partners reading together!

At the end of our new center rotation, we debriefed how everything went. Overall, the kinders loved it. They liked reading with partners and they really liked writing about their books and drawing pictures. As of right now, I think we have a winner. We'll see how things go when they aren't so new anymore.

Another new for today was finding out that I will have a new student starting tomorrow. From Nepal. Now, between Mrs. S and I we can take care of English, Spanish, and Navajo languages. Neither of us speak Nepali though (surprising, I know). It will be a new adventure for the new year. One that I am both excited and frightened by. I'll be challenged by the fact that this little girl does not speak English and that the traditional alphabet for Nepali is Devanagari (say what?). But, I like challenges.

Does anyone out there understand the Devanagari alphabet?

My final new for the day was my principal announcing that she will be retiring in two weeks. Between state/district shake ups and family commitments, she decided that it would be best to leave now before the district requires principals to commit to five to seven more years with the district in conjunction with a turn around plan that has been set up. For now, our head teacher will be completing an internship as our interim principal, which is great. As for next year, there is no telling who might be walking through those doors with the title of principal. But honestly, as long as I am allowed to teach my kinders, I'll be able to go with the flow pretty well - but I am hooked on my kinders and don't want to leave the grade level any time in the near (read years) future.

And so, I'm heading out from school early-ish today and soaking in the new. Tomorrow I'll tackle the endless pile of paperwork/planning/organizing that comes with teaching.

end of year adventures

We try our hardest to live life to the fullest in the Hall house. That typically means that we do not allow ourselves much down time, because there is so much out there to see, do, and explore. This year we have crammed as much as possible into our two-week winter vacation.

Following our brief stay with the Nebraska Halls, we embarked on yet another adventure, to make sure that 2013 ended with a bang. We began by stopping off at Fort Union National Monument in northern New Mexico on our drive home. We were both unaware that the Civil War took place this far west and enjoyed the little history lesson that we got there. We spent a lot of time talking about how differently historic structures were made, comparing the longevity of Puebloan sites and these Anglo sites. The Puebloan structures have withstood the tests of time and the elements much better than their Anglo counterparts. It's worth checking out and comparing them yourself if you are ever out west. New Mexico has a good supply of both kinds of historic sites.

Fort Union National Monument

Fort Union National Monument

Our next adventure took place in the outskirts of Flagstaff a couple of days later. We visited Sunset Crate Volcano National Monument and Wupatki National Monument, enjoying a variety of landscapes and nearly every type of ecosystem on the 35 mile loop road between the two sites. At Sunset Crater we were amazed at the towering mounds of cinders. At Wupatki we were once again taken away by the structural integrity of Puebloan buildings. The two locations were breathtaking in different ways and left us wishing that we had had more time to explore, but alas, we had one more adventure to squeeze in before the end of 2013.

Twisty Trees at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Wupatki National Monument

It's a good thing we're not very big people!

Wupatki National Monument

Upon leaving the Flagstaff area we drove south to Glendale, home of Camelback Ranch, the spring training site for the White Sox and the Dodgers, and of course to Across the Years! Our final adventure of the year was to test ourselves in the 24-hour endurance run at this fantastic event. We got into town Monday evening and camped out (another bonus! one more night of camping in 2013!) before the 9AM start on Tuesday morning.

As the name suggests, Across the Years is a run from one year into the next. The event consists of 24-, 48-, 72-hour runs and a 6 day run. We clearly took the easy way out by only doing the 24-hour event! Everything was incredibly well run (no pun intended, but it is there none-the-less) and I was impressed by the thought that the Coury family and Aravaipa Running put into every component of the week-long event. The food was fantastic, warming tents were available, and the first aid support was by far the best I have experienced at a running event.

The start of the 12/31 24-hour event

Motivation from the families/friends of runners 

Inspiring race participants

For me, the beginning of the 24-hours was fantastic. Going from our home elevation of 6500 feet to the nice thick air at 1100 feet was a blessing and a curse. I knocked out some quick for me miles, walked some, and ran some, and walked some more. Until I simply could not run any more. Never having run in an ultra event, I hadn't really come in with a great strategy for doing anything in particular. Mostly I had just wanted to cover 50 miles. I did achieve that goal. I had also decided that I wanted to move for the whole 24-hours. I made it close to that one. My lack of planning early on left me with super tight hip flexors which rendered me nearly motionless as I embarked on my final lap of the event. I had decided to push on, but my inability to move very well meant that I was not staying warm and the shivering that commenced made my hip flexors even more painful. An hour and a half and one mile later I crawled into the warming tent and called it quits at 21.5 hours and just under 57 miles. I learned my lesson and have a better idea of what I can do next year to make things go more smoothly (hopefully). The mister ended up with just over 71 miles and lessons learned as well. 

Ready to toast to the New Year! Sparkling cider and champagne for all!

Happy New Year!

Yes, the New Year did happen to fall on hump day - thanks to the support crew at this table for evoking smiles

We're now home and recovered and preparing ourselves for the second half of the school year as well as a whole new year of adventuring. Time flies when you're having fun!

This is what my recovery looked like shortly after arriving home

Happy New Year to All!

[belated] thanksgiving

Once upon a time I mentioned that I would write about the epic adventure that occurred over Thanksgiving vacation. Since that time life has been quite crazy, a little out of control, and of course, full of adventure. Now that things are slowing down a little bit, here is a glimpse of the adventuring that took place when my parents came to town.

We were fortunate to have the whole week of Thanksgiving off, which meant that we were able to squeeze in quite a bit when my parents visited. Their first full day in town we took it easy, thanks to being snowed in more or less. The mister and I went for a snowy morning run, and then we all went out for a delicious breakfast at the Plaza. If ever you are in Gallup and it is breakfast time, I highly recommend stopping by either location and ordering the french toast, or the huevos rancheros, or an omelette, or a burrito, really, it is all excellent. They are famous for their french toast though, it is out of this world. The rest of the day progressed with movie watching, game playing, and catching up after not seeing each other for a long time.

On Monday morning, we ate some breakfast and then hit the road. We headed west with the Grand Canyon as our destination. Our journey, however, also included a visit to Petrified Forest National Park. An hour outside of Gallup we hit our first stop. Mom and dad were introduced to the painted desert, we met a cool park ranger, we did a little bit of hiking, and hit up old Route 66. 

Painted Desert

Route 66 (in case you couldn't guess)

Dad on Route 66

In front of one of the massive petrified trees at the park

After leaving the "forest," we continued our journey west and took the scenic route from Flagstaff up to the Grand Canyon. Even for being late in the season the park was packed. We got a quick peek into the canyon before the sun went down and then had dinner at the Bright Angel Lodge. The service wasn't great, the food was mediocre, and I guess that was a good predictor for the rest of our stay at the park.

Tuesday morning we were all up dark and early to embark on our most enduring adventure of the week. For mom, dad and I, the destination was the Colorado River. For the mister, the goal was Rim to Rim to Rim. As the sun began to show itself we snapped some quick photos and then began our descent. The mister took off and the rest of us took it all in. The canyon is deep, that is for sure. Beyond that, I cannot honestly say that I think it is so grand. Perhaps after all of the adventures and amazing places that the mister and I have had the honor of experiencing, this was not on the top of the list. Maybe it is because the park is so commercialized and overrun with people. I don't know (though I will say, since our visit we have seen photos from other parts of the park, and maybe we were just in the wrong place?), but we still enjoyed ourselves, so I can't really complain.

Ready to hike! (and run as the case may be)

We were all on the Bright Angel Trail which goes down, and down, and down, as you would expect when dropping into a canyon of immense proportions. We watched the strata in the rock change as the age of the formations changed. We enjoyed watching the colors changes as the sun continued to rise high into the sky. We talked, and laughed, and had a great time being together. Before we knew it we had hit our stride, were passing other groups that had left before us, and the Colorado was in sight. Checking our watches we decided to push for the suspension bridge and have lunch on the river bank before beginning our climb out of the canyon.

Mom and Dad at the Colorado River

On our return hike we kept a slow and steady pace, allowing us to complete the ~18 mile round trip adventure in about 11 hours. We were happy to see the top after what seemed like an endless climb and were excited when we sat down to dinner, though a little concerned for the missing mister. We filled our bellies though and while we were waiting for dessert I went out to investigate some "really awesome lights down in the canyon" that a kid at another table was talking about. Sure enough, I could see the mister's lights making progress up the trail and went back in to enjoy my sundae. As we wrapped up the meal, the mister was at the top and I had his dinner, hot from the oven, ready to take back to our room.

Almost to the top!

Chris finishing his R2R2R adventure

The next morning we grabbed one last meal at the Bright Angel Lodge and then began our return to civilization. Our first stop was at Walnut Canyon National Monument, just outside of Flagstaff. It is a small canyon, but incredibly impressive and historic with the remnants of cliff dwellings all around. We stretched our legs by climbing around in yet another canyon and enjoyed the breathtaking views. Upon completing our visit there, we stopped in Winslow, Arizona for lunch and to check out The Eagles landmark.

Walnut Canyon 

At Standing on a Corner (in Winslow Arizona)

One might think that this is where our adventures ended, but no. They continued once we got back into Gallup. On Thanksgiving we worked up an appetite by running in a Turkey Trot and then climbing Pyramid Rock. Then we had a traditional New Mexican enchilada dinner (it was the easies thing to do and accommodate gluten-free and vegetarian diets). More games followed before digging into our garbanzo bean and black bean brownie sundaes. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day.

Mom and Dad made it to the top of Pyramid (even with snow, ice, mud, and slippery junk)

Dad's gluten-free vegetarian Thanksgiving (and he was FULL after!)

On Friday, we drove south and visited El Morro National Monument in Ramah. This historic landmark holds the inscriptions of those who passed through the area once upon a time. We were also able to check out some of the Puebloan structures that have been being excavated. We followed our hike up with delicious eats at the Ancient Way Cafe - another place that I highly recommend trying out if you are ever in the area. Everything is phenomenal. On the way home we stopped in Zuni where mom did her Black Friday Shopping (for herself - you can't pass up the amazing deals that she got on some pottery). Then we returned home for some more game time (no, not football, board games).

Checking out El Morro National Monument

On Saturday, mom and dad were scheduled to leave town in the afternoon, which meant that we had time to squeeze in one more hike! We went out to the High Desert and hiked through some amazing freezing fog. Everything was crystalized and beautiful. We enjoyed the quite morning surrounded by nothing but nature. That was heavily contrasted later on when we went to the flea market, but that is what Gallup is. A mix of serenity and crazy. We got both in just a few short hours. One more meal, and then we had to say our good-byes. 

One of the beautiful aspects of hiking in frozen fog

It was a whirlwind of non-stop adventure, and I wouldn't change it for anything. I am so fortunate to have crazy adventuring parents that will go out and squeeze the most out of every day when we only get to see each other about once a year. Granted, after they left I think we all had to take some serious naps, but it was worth it!

friday

It's Friday. More importantly, it's a Friday before a long weekend. The kiddos were acting as if they were ready. So we did what all kindergarteners should do. We played blocks and kitchen and made the most out of the final 20 minutes of our school day.

oh hail

Literally. This afternoon my kinders kept on telling me that it was going to rain. In the desert, you can smell it coming. Today we had a bitter chill though, so when the rain did come, at student pick-up time, it was not liquid, but solid. At first everyone was excited because it appeared to be snow. Then it came down harder. So hard, in fact, that it hurt. We rushed all of the kiddos inside to look for their rides and signed them out from the warmth of the building.

I hope that this weather doesn't continue through the evening. While I would appreciate a late start, I really don't want it to be tomorrow. With two thirty minute practice sessions a day for our trip to the nursing home tomorrow, I really want to make sure that it happens. The kiddos are so excited about performing and riding the bus. Right now the fact that they get to trick or treat while we are there hasn't even crossed their minds. They just want to meet the special grandparents. 

Fingers crossed for a whole day of Halloween havoc tomorrow.

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!

go away

Rain, rain, go away. I never thought that I would say that in the desert, but seriously, I have seen more rain in the past month than I did in all of last year. Today, it really hit the kinders. No outdoor recess means crazy kiddos crammed into a small space. That also means crazy teachers! 

My assistant and I did all that we could to keep our little learners engaged. Some of our strategies worked. Some did not. Mostly, our kinders just needed to go outside and run it out - which they could not. 

One strategy that worked wonderfully for about twenty minutes was the reveal of a newly delivered book order box. This was a first for my class this year and I had them try to guess what was in the box. When they guessed books, I opened it up for them to see. I explained that when they ordered books on the monthly book order forms they got books and our classroom got books. Our student who ordered books in September received her order and we clapped and cheered because our classroom earned fourteen books thanks to her! 

After our cheering subsided, we looked at the titles and covers of each of the books that our classroom received. The students oohed and aahed and then they were able to tell me which one they wanted to listen to. After their choices had been voiced, I pulled the named books out and they were able to vote. When the votes were tallied up, the winner was...

They LOVED it! They laughed, they predicted, they elaborated, and they retold the story. It was glorious. Then things fell apart again until the next strategy that worked for about five or ten minutes, and so the day progressed. But, for twenty minutes, they were mine. They were in love with a book. They were my little kinders. Hopefully the weather will improve and they'll be my little kinders all day long when I see them again on Tuesday!