Faces of Morning

Faces of Morning

preceding daylight.

This is a new day.

Synthesize,

Explore,

Create.

A Time for Hunting

Let the job hunt begin!

Yanick

This boy melts my heart. 
His thick African accent, his goofy mannerisms, his mischeivious smile. 
Every aspect of him is endearing.
Yanick is quick to remind me of the splendor that is youth. His energy spreads through the walls, pulsing through this place of learning. A rhythm that is uniquely his own. 
It's kids like him that make this profession the best kind out there.

John Henry John Henry!

The benefits of readers theatre:
 - Causes readers to work more closely with text to project and interpret meaning into the reading experience.
 - Students gain improvement in vocabulary, comprehension and retention. 
 - Reading in a small group provides reading role models which is also proven to improve reading skills in students.
 - Research has shown that Reader's Theatre can improve reading fluency, word choice and comprehension.

Makes Me Smile

Conversations with Onay

She shares stories of her past,

Her most intimate funds of knowledge.

I sit and listen.

Horrific events of losing her home to flames,

Escaping violent streets.

Making a journey to America.

She possesses a courage and wisdom I will never have.

And I feel so privileged that our paths have crossed and I am able to learn from her.

A day in the life (intervention style)

6:30 a.m. - Rise and Shine!

7:00 a.m. - Ok, really. Cannot keep hitting the snooze button... must get out of bed!

7:30 a.m. - Drive to work (while simultaneously munching on honey toast and sipping tea)

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. - Read Naturally intervention with 20 energetic 2^nd and 3^rd graders

8:45 – 9:15 a.m. – Early Steps intervention with Onay and Alessandro

9:15 – 9:45 a.m. – Next Steps intervention with Karina, Miguel, Juan Carlos, and Brian

9:45 – 10:15 a.m. – Imagine Learning intervention with 11 goofy 1^st graders

10:15 – 10:45 a.m. – Early Steps intervention with Yanick (coolest lil’ guy from Cameroon Africa)

10:45 – 11:15 a.m. – Read Naturally intervention with Malik, Jonathan, Tylee, Josh, Ahmed, and Ridwan (the giggliest 2^nd graders around)

11:15 – 11: 45 a.m. – Quick Reads intervention with Robert, Ivan, Carlos, and Evelyn

11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Story Town intervention with 6^th grade

12:30  – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch Time

1:00 – 1:35 p.m. – Math intervention with Emmah,  Jose, Joseph, Itzel,  and Cesar

1:35 – 2:00 p.m. – Math intervention with 1^st graders Camila, Cesar, Karen, Leandro, and Alessandro (“Ms. H. When is it going to be recess??”)

2:00 – 2:15 p.m. – RECESS!!

2:15 – 3:00 p.m. – ELD intervention with 1^st graders

3:00 – 3:15 p.m. – Planning (so I can do it all over again!)

What we do today matters most

My students work hard, REALLY hard. School is no stroll through the park for these kids. They face challenges that are well beyond their years. They are forced to cope with things that no child should face. 


Many students begin to slip. They slip because they live in a world that sometimes shows nothing but greed, pain, and chaos. It is a harsh reality, and many don't understand how to survive it.


As spring break approaches, I see many of my students crumbling. They are tired physically, mentally, and emotionally. They need and deserve a break. A lot of them are showing signs of giving up. In recognizing this, I have made an effort to make our intervention sessions brighter than normal (literally and figuratively).


Singing. Candy. Prizes. Flowers. Bright Colored Copies. Bold Fonts. Crazy Math Manipulatives (including a new beanie baby named Gumbo). Games. Cheering. Encouraging. Hugging. Trips Outside. Movement. Laughter.


While all of these things are fun, they are really just fluff. In doing these things, I attempt to show my students that each day is new and bright. "It is what we do today that matters most."

Ridwan

Over the past two months working at Escalante, I have am realizing that one of my students is having a profound impact on me, not only as a teacher, but as a person.

Ridwan, a young 2nd grader who I work with daily doing reading interventions in a program called Read Naturally has slowly been teaching me in immeasurable ways.

This is a girl who has faced, and will continue to face obstacles. Yet in the midst of chaos, she approaches life like a young warrior who tries her very hardest, and doesn't forget to laugh along the way.

Every time she practices her reading. Every time she greets me with a smile. Every time she beams and rushes to the computer lab with a glorious energy.

She shows me- dedication, perseverance, grace, gratitude, and joy. 

Her name, meaning good will, captures her spirit completely and wholly.  

This girl has a good heart.

And she is teaching me, everyday.