A princess and a dog, we are ready to trick-or-treat.
Sweet little puppy... I am pretty sure he was traumatized!
And we are at it.
But who could leave out that Avery just didn't want to wear the hat.
Happy Halloween 2012.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Day 18-22
Day 18: Dress as a Harlem Globetrotter for our awesome Halloween Party
Day 19: Take Magdiel shopping (I hate shopping with other people)
I can gladly thank my mom for the "I hate shopping with other people" gene. I remember when we were kids, we would go shopping and I swear my mom had an invisible stop watch in her hand. She would step one foot in the store and power shopping began. We walked fast... practically ran, we shopped fast, I think we might have even talked fast.
We would go straight to the department and get right to work finding exactly what we needed. It was always designated before: Today, we are buying jeans. Today, we are buying a winter coat. There was always a mission.
So I didn't exactly realize I had this "problem" until, I would attempt to go shopping with other people and instantly become annoyed. So I basically quit shopping with other people.....
Until
Magdiel asked me to take him shopping, my gut check reaction was "I hate shopping with other people!" But, how bad could it really be? I love him to death, so it couldn't be that bad.
About 15 shops and a delicious lunch later, we... I should say, I survived shopping together. Mission complete. But don't expect me to run out and go shopping with people again. These trips will be far and few between.
Day 20: Give the men of my house facials
Day 21: Research how to publish a children's book.
A dream in the making.... stay tuned.
Day 22: Try a new dessert with my friend Amani.
One of my committed followers of my life and project is my dear friend Amani. We met while playing soccer in Southern California and quickly bonded over soccer, music and shoes. He has been a wonderful friend and I was excited to share one of my "things" with him.
We have often talked about ice cream and desserts. So we decided to help me fulfill my "thing" of the day, we would attempt either a new dessert or flavor of ice cream.
We decided on the deep fried cheesecake bites with strawberry and chocolate sauce.....
Harlem Globetrotters: M.S., S.J, and Luna
Can't forget about Sol... the only man on our team. Nice muscles sol!
Day 19: Take Magdiel shopping (I hate shopping with other people)
I can gladly thank my mom for the "I hate shopping with other people" gene. I remember when we were kids, we would go shopping and I swear my mom had an invisible stop watch in her hand. She would step one foot in the store and power shopping began. We walked fast... practically ran, we shopped fast, I think we might have even talked fast.
We would go straight to the department and get right to work finding exactly what we needed. It was always designated before: Today, we are buying jeans. Today, we are buying a winter coat. There was always a mission.
So I didn't exactly realize I had this "problem" until, I would attempt to go shopping with other people and instantly become annoyed. So I basically quit shopping with other people.....
Until
Magdiel asked me to take him shopping, my gut check reaction was "I hate shopping with other people!" But, how bad could it really be? I love him to death, so it couldn't be that bad.
About 15 shops and a delicious lunch later, we... I should say, I survived shopping together. Mission complete. But don't expect me to run out and go shopping with people again. These trips will be far and few between.
Day 20: Give the men of my house facials
Be one with the facial Kyle!
Yes, it is cold, but deal with it.
Two happy boys, with baby soft skin..... You're welcome!
Day 21: Research how to publish a children's book.
A dream in the making.... stay tuned.
Day 22: Try a new dessert with my friend Amani.
One of my committed followers of my life and project is my dear friend Amani. We met while playing soccer in Southern California and quickly bonded over soccer, music and shoes. He has been a wonderful friend and I was excited to share one of my "things" with him.
We have often talked about ice cream and desserts. So we decided to help me fulfill my "thing" of the day, we would attempt either a new dessert or flavor of ice cream.
We decided on the deep fried cheesecake bites with strawberry and chocolate sauce.....
Yummy!!!
Smile Amani!
Thanks to my dear friend Amani for sharing in one of my "things". It is an honor to have such an awesome friend like him!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Days 14-17
We all knew that my life was going to get crazy busy and my daily posts were going to stop. So I apologize that I packed 4 days into one post.
Day 14: Learn to write my name in Chinese. I would like to say that I have mastered my name in Chinese and I am signing my credit card receipts with it... But I am not. It is still cool to know how to write it.
Kate 凯特
Day 15: Take a dare from my students: eat Tajin seasoning straight out of the bottle.
So if you know kids, you know they go through these weird phases. One of these trends or phases always has to do with food. One of the most popular foods (if you can even call it that) are:
My students eat it by the handful. I mean kids do weird stuff. So after confiscating my fair share of bottles. I decided to have a sit down with my students about how disruptive it is to be secretly eating seasoning during class. All they got out of the conversation was, "But Miss Kate, you gotta try it!". Oh brother.....
So at recess I broke down and was given a handful of it. All I could think was, what am I doing?!
I will spare you the agony of eating Tajin seasoning ALONE. But it is awful, if you eat it alone.
I have yet to put it on fruit (which apparently is amazing), but since I have about 5 bottles that I confiscated from my students, I am sure, I will try it at some point.
Day 16: Make up a secret handshake with my students.
If my students knew I was telling you.....uff I would be in trouble ;)
But in all seriousness, we are trying to build a great community environment in our classroom and so I decided to let my kids create a secret handshake that only our class knows.
We voted on what movements to do and if we had any sound affects (I put the kibosh on sound affects REAL fast!). We worked together, which to me was the most important part of the activity.
But, by the end we were all laughing, even my most resilient student was excited to do the handshake with me.
I say success!
Day 17: Take a mindfulness course.
Mindfulness is a form of meditation. It is a way to maintain calm awareness of the body and mind.
Mindfulness is often associated with Buddhism because it is one of the 7 factors of enlightenment. But pushing aside religion, I was introduced to mindfulness at school. I was told it would be really good for my students to practice, especially since we have an extremely full day. But before I could introduce it to my students, I would have to try it out first.
I did two forms of meditation, one focused on my body and releasing the tension and the second was focused on my breathing.
WOW!
If I wasn't a believer before, I was definitely after. It was amazing. I felt much more calm and relaxed....
Next time my kids are running amuck in the classroom, I am just going to lay down and begin mindfulness:
Meditation, the state of being.
Oh I can imagine my student's faces now!
Day 14: Learn to write my name in Chinese. I would like to say that I have mastered my name in Chinese and I am signing my credit card receipts with it... But I am not. It is still cool to know how to write it.
Kate 凯特
Day 15: Take a dare from my students: eat Tajin seasoning straight out of the bottle.
So if you know kids, you know they go through these weird phases. One of these trends or phases always has to do with food. One of the most popular foods (if you can even call it that) are:
Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Kids beg, plead, and trade for these things!!
But strangely enough the "Cheeto obsession" has died down. The more recent one is eating Tajin seasoning:My students eat it by the handful. I mean kids do weird stuff. So after confiscating my fair share of bottles. I decided to have a sit down with my students about how disruptive it is to be secretly eating seasoning during class. All they got out of the conversation was, "But Miss Kate, you gotta try it!". Oh brother.....
So at recess I broke down and was given a handful of it. All I could think was, what am I doing?!
I will spare you the agony of eating Tajin seasoning ALONE. But it is awful, if you eat it alone.
I have yet to put it on fruit (which apparently is amazing), but since I have about 5 bottles that I confiscated from my students, I am sure, I will try it at some point.
Day 16: Make up a secret handshake with my students.
If my students knew I was telling you.....uff I would be in trouble ;)
But in all seriousness, we are trying to build a great community environment in our classroom and so I decided to let my kids create a secret handshake that only our class knows.
We voted on what movements to do and if we had any sound affects (I put the kibosh on sound affects REAL fast!). We worked together, which to me was the most important part of the activity.
But, by the end we were all laughing, even my most resilient student was excited to do the handshake with me.
I say success!
Day 17: Take a mindfulness course.
Mindfulness is a form of meditation. It is a way to maintain calm awareness of the body and mind.
Mindfulness is often associated with Buddhism because it is one of the 7 factors of enlightenment. But pushing aside religion, I was introduced to mindfulness at school. I was told it would be really good for my students to practice, especially since we have an extremely full day. But before I could introduce it to my students, I would have to try it out first.
I did two forms of meditation, one focused on my body and releasing the tension and the second was focused on my breathing.
WOW!
If I wasn't a believer before, I was definitely after. It was amazing. I felt much more calm and relaxed....
Next time my kids are running amuck in the classroom, I am just going to lay down and begin mindfulness:
Meditation, the state of being.
Oh I can imagine my student's faces now!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Day 13
You know you're an adult when you buy yourself an adult gift....
Before you think this is taking a turn for the worst. Let me clear the air.
I bought myself a watch, an actually nice watch. I know what you're thinking, really....? This is Kate's "new thing for the day?"
Yes, it is my thing of the day. I was in desperate need of a new watch.... so I decided to splurge and actually buy a watch.
And it's analog, which is very adult to me, since I have been accused of not being able to tell time because I choose to wear a digital watch. For years, I have used a digital watch, usually the sporty kind made by Polaris or Adidas. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see numbers verse looking at the hands on a watch.
But I was inspired to actually trade in the $30 watch for something that an adult would wear.
And yes I did refer to others as adults....even at 29 I still feel like a kid.
Day 13: Buy myself, my first adult watch (versus the sporty (digital) watches I have always worn)
Before:
Before you think this is taking a turn for the worst. Let me clear the air.
I bought myself a watch, an actually nice watch. I know what you're thinking, really....? This is Kate's "new thing for the day?"
Yes, it is my thing of the day. I was in desperate need of a new watch.... so I decided to splurge and actually buy a watch.
And it's analog, which is very adult to me, since I have been accused of not being able to tell time because I choose to wear a digital watch. For years, I have used a digital watch, usually the sporty kind made by Polaris or Adidas. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see numbers verse looking at the hands on a watch.
But I was inspired to actually trade in the $30 watch for something that an adult would wear.
And yes I did refer to others as adults....even at 29 I still feel like a kid.
Day 13: Buy myself, my first adult watch (versus the sporty (digital) watches I have always worn)
Before:
After:
May seem like a very simple buy. But for those who know me, a watch is a crucial part of my life... and the fact that I actually upgraded to an "adult" watch, rather than my sporty watch, is big step.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Day 12
Apparently, there is a huge zombie following.
I missed the memo.
But luckily, there was a Zombie crawl in Denver, so for all the days and nights I have avoided zombie movies and t.v shows, I was presented with thousands of people dressed as zombies.
Day 12: Attend a Zombie crawl
I managed to rope Lauren into going with me to this bloody fest. We weren't sure what to expect, but basically no words are needed. I will let the pictures do the talking.
Let the madness begin...
I missed the memo.
But luckily, there was a Zombie crawl in Denver, so for all the days and nights I have avoided zombie movies and t.v shows, I was presented with thousands of people dressed as zombies.
Day 12: Attend a Zombie crawl
I managed to rope Lauren into going with me to this bloody fest. We weren't sure what to expect, but basically no words are needed. I will let the pictures do the talking.
Let the madness begin...
No.Big.Deal.
Zombie Gnomes
Cross-dressing, kilt wearing zombies....OK??!?
Take notice of the woman in blue.... 70 year old zombie.
I guess you are never to old to cut your clothes, throw some blood on your clothes and dress as a zombie. Kudos to her.
Zombies crossing the street....
Oh don't worry, there is a zombie crossing guard.
Day 11
What is worse, the deception that everything is going just fine and then being fired or knowing you are going to be fired before hand?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, before you get all worked up thinking I was fired... I wasn't.
But one of my dear friends at my school was.
Let's back up a month or two to paint the picture of a sad moment for me and a group of students who deserve a teacher like Shanna.
When I first started our professional development in July, everything on the outside looked wonderful. We basically "kumbuyad" to the point where we became a tight-knit group, especially the fourth grade team. It was Gretchen, Joanna and myself at the GVR location and Shanna, Hannah and Heather at the OAK location. As time passed, it was clear, Gretchen, Shanna, Hannah and myself were bonding. We weren't drinking the Kool-aide (often refers to the crazies at our school, who love it and think there is nothing wrong with our school environment). We were able to laugh at our crazy life. We had all thought this school was going to be an amazing place to work. Boy were we wrong.
Unfortunately, with each passing week, another staff member would leave. The first to go was Joanna, one of the fourth grade teachers, then it was Lisa, Karen... the list goes on.
But when Gretchen came to me and told me she was quiting, I was devastated. My friend, my confidant, was leaving. I managed to pep talk myself in to thinking everything was going to be OK.
I still had Shanna and Hannah, even though they were at OAK, I still had them.
Fast forward two weeks, I send Shanna an email, telling her that, I am so excited to see her for our weekly professional development.
But 10 minutes before our PD is set to start, I receive a phone call from Shanna, "Kate please come outside, I need to speak to you. I am no longer allowed on school property".
WHAT????
I fly down the stairs and bolt out the front door.
I was met with Shanna's ever strong smile, but tears in her eyes. I knew, at that moment, I had lost another teaching partner.
I cannot explain the dirty details of why she was fired, but basically we are asked to fit into these pretty boxes, where from the outside our teaching looks perfect because the walls look perfect. I will tell you the best thing about teaching, is not fitting into a perfect box. Teaching is messy. Kids are messy and you can't expert it to be perfect. This is especially true in the kind of neighborhood we teach in, where parents are in jail or selling drugs, or there are no parents just grandparents and brothers are in gangs or in a detention center, you know the list of a messy life.
Shanna is an amazing teacher. She was the teacher who took the messy lives of these kids, put them to the side and actually taught them something. She went above and beyond to help her students and at the end of the day because her room wasn't perfect, she lost her job.
Day 11: Help a friend who was fired, realize she is better than the "We look perfect on the outside" school.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, before you get all worked up thinking I was fired... I wasn't.
But one of my dear friends at my school was.
Let's back up a month or two to paint the picture of a sad moment for me and a group of students who deserve a teacher like Shanna.
When I first started our professional development in July, everything on the outside looked wonderful. We basically "kumbuyad" to the point where we became a tight-knit group, especially the fourth grade team. It was Gretchen, Joanna and myself at the GVR location and Shanna, Hannah and Heather at the OAK location. As time passed, it was clear, Gretchen, Shanna, Hannah and myself were bonding. We weren't drinking the Kool-aide (often refers to the crazies at our school, who love it and think there is nothing wrong with our school environment). We were able to laugh at our crazy life. We had all thought this school was going to be an amazing place to work. Boy were we wrong.
Unfortunately, with each passing week, another staff member would leave. The first to go was Joanna, one of the fourth grade teachers, then it was Lisa, Karen... the list goes on.
But when Gretchen came to me and told me she was quiting, I was devastated. My friend, my confidant, was leaving. I managed to pep talk myself in to thinking everything was going to be OK.
I still had Shanna and Hannah, even though they were at OAK, I still had them.
Fast forward two weeks, I send Shanna an email, telling her that, I am so excited to see her for our weekly professional development.
But 10 minutes before our PD is set to start, I receive a phone call from Shanna, "Kate please come outside, I need to speak to you. I am no longer allowed on school property".
WHAT????
I fly down the stairs and bolt out the front door.
I was met with Shanna's ever strong smile, but tears in her eyes. I knew, at that moment, I had lost another teaching partner.
I cannot explain the dirty details of why she was fired, but basically we are asked to fit into these pretty boxes, where from the outside our teaching looks perfect because the walls look perfect. I will tell you the best thing about teaching, is not fitting into a perfect box. Teaching is messy. Kids are messy and you can't expert it to be perfect. This is especially true in the kind of neighborhood we teach in, where parents are in jail or selling drugs, or there are no parents just grandparents and brothers are in gangs or in a detention center, you know the list of a messy life.
Shanna is an amazing teacher. She was the teacher who took the messy lives of these kids, put them to the side and actually taught them something. She went above and beyond to help her students and at the end of the day because her room wasn't perfect, she lost her job.
Day 11: Help a friend who was fired, realize she is better than the "We look perfect on the outside" school.
Shots in honor of Shanna
Thank you to Shanna who reminded me that teaching is messy, kids are messy. But it is not about if your room looks perfect from the outside, it is about the students actually learning.
Day 10
Teaching has been something I have been dreaming about since I was a little kid. But more importantly, reading has been a life long love. I cannot remember a time when I wasn't curled up with a book somewhere.
Now as a teacher, my love for reading has shifted to getting to know more about children's literature and how to make my students better readers.
I happened to be reading one of my favorite profession books about literacy for 4th-8th grade. When I stumbled upon a page that said, "To be a better reading and writing teacher, you must continue YOUR learning."
This got me thinking about all the ways I can learn more about reading and writing.
Day 10: Join a literacy organization
So in hopes to be better educated for my students. I joined International Reading Association (reading.org).
It gives me resources like lesson plans, podcast, books and journals for ways to be a better educator.
I am looking forward to learning more. We should be life long learners and at an early age, my parents displayed this to me. I am thankful I get to continue to learn on a daily basis.
Now as a teacher, my love for reading has shifted to getting to know more about children's literature and how to make my students better readers.
I happened to be reading one of my favorite profession books about literacy for 4th-8th grade. When I stumbled upon a page that said, "To be a better reading and writing teacher, you must continue YOUR learning."
This got me thinking about all the ways I can learn more about reading and writing.
Day 10: Join a literacy organization
So in hopes to be better educated for my students. I joined International Reading Association (reading.org).
It gives me resources like lesson plans, podcast, books and journals for ways to be a better educator.
I am looking forward to learning more. We should be life long learners and at an early age, my parents displayed this to me. I am thankful I get to continue to learn on a daily basis.
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