Today I got a good reminder of Why I Do This. Which I needed, I've been feeling very overwhelmed lately.
One of my second graders has been working really hard on our reading program, and her fluency and comprehension has increased a lot. I started working with her in February, and she wasn't writing complete sentences, she was skipping words and losing her place when she read out loud, and she wasn't motivated to get any better. Since then, I've watched her get excited as she reaches a goal reading rate (usually about 100 words per minute), and she's gotten to see her own growth on the graph we keep.
Today she completed her twelfth story and I sent them all home, with a "Super Reader" certificate. She was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of showing all the good work she has done to her parents.
I was a little hesitant to send home a packet like that - the certificate asks the parents to read and discuss the stories with their students. I was hesitant because I so often hear "Oh that kid's parents are never home," "That student has no support at home," and, most often, "No one at home speaks English." However, I did it, and will continue to do it, because I want to offer families every opportunity to be involved in their child's education. Even if parents don't speak English, I will encourage my students to talk about their reading with them. It's all about reading and understanding, it doesn't matter if the discussion is done in English, Spanish, or Pig Latin.
In other news, I have less than $10 in food stamps to last me until the 6th of May. Oops. There will be some creative cooking these next few weeks.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Finding Balance
It seems that in the past month, I have been doing a lot of serving and not quite enough surviving. I've been extremely sick twice, finally using up all of my sick days - this is not good, as there are about 2 and a half months of school left. I haven't been exercising, I haven't been sleeping, and, worst of all, I haven't been blogging. These three things are probably the most beneficial things I can do for my self, for my my mental and physical health and by neglecting them I have been neglecting personal sanity. Not good.
March seemed to go by in a blur of motion and noise. March 2nd was Read Across America Day, in celebration of Dr. Seuss's Birthday. My awesome team of Alderwood WRC members spearheaded an effort to have a combined, three-school event. We recruited the other two Bellingham teams back in October, and had slowly been working on the event since then. We contacted the Mayor Pike and Sherrif Elfo, asking them to read their favorite Dr. Seuss books at the event. We got donations from several local businesses. We sent out press releases to local media. And on March 2nd, it finally all came together. The turnout for Alderwood was great; we had over 200 people show up. The other two schools didn't have quite as much luck, but we hope that this is just the beginning and the three Bellingham schools with WRC programs will continue to host events like this.
Also on March 2nd I was told that I was not selected for an interview for Teach For America. I was bummed, but I am excited to find some other opportunities, closer to home.
March also saw the final stages of our school garden planning, and on the 27th, a work party of staff, students, and families showed up to make those plans into a real garden. Thanks to a Starbucks grant, we got money for every volunteer that showed up. Money to spend on soil, seeds, and worms! I wasn't there, but I hear it was awesome, and I got to spend most of last Friday in the garden, and am very excited about the future of it.
Why wasn't I at the garden party on the 27th, you ask? Well, I was up at the crack of dawn to drive my Girl Scout Troop to Seattle. We (along with Jenn, another awesome AmeriCorps member), trekked to The Univeristy of Washington and Seattle University to tour the campuses. When you have a troop of teenage girls, you get to do the fun stuff. We had an awesome time, and talked a lot about the girls' plans for their futures. We also talked about everything from boys to the health care bill. It's nice to know that there are teenagers out there that I can relate to and have great conversations with. I feel really lucky to have gotten hooked up with this troop. Jenn and I are trying to convince them to go camping this summer, they so far are not very excited about "sleeping in the dirt." (Crazy, right?)
The day after our college tours, I got sick. Sicker than I have been in a very long time, and sicker than I ever want to be again. The kind of sick that makes you lose ten pounds. That put me out of commission for several days. When I returned to school, several of my students told me how they or their siblings had "puked a lot" that weekend. Thanks, guys.
Luckily, I recovered soon enough to celebrate my birthday. Yes, as of last week I am over a quarter of a century. I celebrated with my friends at trivia night, then dancing, then karaoke the following night, and then celebrating with my Seattle friends on Saturday night. I'm a big supporter of Birthday Week.
Now it's Spring Break, and I am relaxing on the beach. The fifty-degree, windy, stormy, San Juan Islands beach. I'm also applying for jobs and working on a drama program to present to the fifth grade teachers at my school. Hopefully this week allows me the time to relax and remember why it's important to both Serve AND Survive.
March seemed to go by in a blur of motion and noise. March 2nd was Read Across America Day, in celebration of Dr. Seuss's Birthday. My awesome team of Alderwood WRC members spearheaded an effort to have a combined, three-school event. We recruited the other two Bellingham teams back in October, and had slowly been working on the event since then. We contacted the Mayor Pike and Sherrif Elfo, asking them to read their favorite Dr. Seuss books at the event. We got donations from several local businesses. We sent out press releases to local media. And on March 2nd, it finally all came together. The turnout for Alderwood was great; we had over 200 people show up. The other two schools didn't have quite as much luck, but we hope that this is just the beginning and the three Bellingham schools with WRC programs will continue to host events like this.
Also on March 2nd I was told that I was not selected for an interview for Teach For America. I was bummed, but I am excited to find some other opportunities, closer to home.
March also saw the final stages of our school garden planning, and on the 27th, a work party of staff, students, and families showed up to make those plans into a real garden. Thanks to a Starbucks grant, we got money for every volunteer that showed up. Money to spend on soil, seeds, and worms! I wasn't there, but I hear it was awesome, and I got to spend most of last Friday in the garden, and am very excited about the future of it.
Why wasn't I at the garden party on the 27th, you ask? Well, I was up at the crack of dawn to drive my Girl Scout Troop to Seattle. We (along with Jenn, another awesome AmeriCorps member), trekked to The Univeristy of Washington and Seattle University to tour the campuses. When you have a troop of teenage girls, you get to do the fun stuff. We had an awesome time, and talked a lot about the girls' plans for their futures. We also talked about everything from boys to the health care bill. It's nice to know that there are teenagers out there that I can relate to and have great conversations with. I feel really lucky to have gotten hooked up with this troop. Jenn and I are trying to convince them to go camping this summer, they so far are not very excited about "sleeping in the dirt." (Crazy, right?)
The day after our college tours, I got sick. Sicker than I have been in a very long time, and sicker than I ever want to be again. The kind of sick that makes you lose ten pounds. That put me out of commission for several days. When I returned to school, several of my students told me how they or their siblings had "puked a lot" that weekend. Thanks, guys.
Luckily, I recovered soon enough to celebrate my birthday. Yes, as of last week I am over a quarter of a century. I celebrated with my friends at trivia night, then dancing, then karaoke the following night, and then celebrating with my Seattle friends on Saturday night. I'm a big supporter of Birthday Week.
Now it's Spring Break, and I am relaxing on the beach. The fifty-degree, windy, stormy, San Juan Islands beach. I'm also applying for jobs and working on a drama program to present to the fifth grade teachers at my school. Hopefully this week allows me the time to relax and remember why it's important to both Serve AND Survive.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
$7 a day - Take that, Rachel Ray!
The past few weeks, I've been missing things. Missing the time to write. Missing news stories, missing important dates, missing the news that last week was The United Way of King County's Hunger Action Week. Granted, I don't live in King County any more, but it's still one of those things I feel I should have known about.
The idea is, try to feed yourself for only $7 a day - also known as the maximum food stamp benefit available in Washington State. Also known as what I have done every day since September.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the idea. I think it's great. I think everyone should be aware of how difficult it is to eat good, healthy food on food assistance. What I really appreciate is that bloggers like The Gluten-Free Girl - who is, as her name implies, gluten free - are participating and blogging about the experience. It's much more difficult to live off of $7 a day when you can't buy a 99cent loaf of bread.
I am completely inspired by The Gluten-Free Girl's entry about her experience this past week, and I am making my own plans. Plans that include baking my own bread, roasting a chicken, and using my awesome new crock pot. Plans that include a real, honest-to-goodness budget for my food.
Because, you see, for the first time since September, I used up all my food stamp benefits before the month was over.
To be fair, I bought five different kinds of gluten-free flours to make a bread that I took a class to learn how to make. And Xanthan Gum, which is pretty much the most expensive white powder that you can buy legally. Now that I made the initial investment, I can make my own gluten-free sourdough bread, and make sandwiches and eat toast... very exciting.
However, this month I also did things like buy lunch at the Co-Op deli counter several times, as well as buy frozen meals to take to school. When you are living off of $7 a day for food, a $5 sandwich is not a good idea.
Planning meals is a big step in the right direction for food budgeting, and buying in bulk is another good way to stretch your food dollars. That's why I was excited to hear that Costco is now accepting food stamps (I am lucky enough to have a membership, I'm tacked on as a "domestic partner" to a family member). While I was searching the internet to confirm the rumor, I stumbled across this article/blog entry, by Aaron Crow, a "freelance journalist," with a lot of opinions. To give you a general idea of this particular opinion, it's titled "Costco accepting food stamps: not exactly a great idea." Some choice quotes:
I have to say, even after reading this article several times, I'm still struck speechless by the ridiculousness of that last statement. And of the article as a whole. Basically, Aaron believes that Food Stamp recipients are simply too dumb, or at least lack the self-control, to spend their benefits wisely. Since he himself can't go into Costco without buying a 25 gallon jar of olives, it obviously means that poor people won't be able to do so, either.
I could go on for pages, dissecting this mans logic, but I don't need to. Because he is wrong. I know this because I am on food stamps, and I plan on using them to purchase Quinoa, frozen vegetables, and possibly coffee. I will not buy "four pounds of red king crab for $99.99," because I am not an idiot.
Unfortunately, this attitude towards Food Stamp users is quite prevalent. There is a strange assumption amongst the general population that people who use food stamps are lazy, fat, and stupid. The New York Times had an interesting "debate" about this in December. - I use quotations because everyone seems to agree. The second paragraph of the introduction sums it up nicely:
If people buy fresh vegetables or other relatively expensive though nutritious foods, they are considered to be living high on the hog at the taxpayers’ expense. But if they buy cheap foods like hot dogs they are criticized for poor health habits.
Imagine you are feeding a family of four - you jumped through all the hoops to get food stamps, you now have $22 a day to spend to feed your family. You also work two jobs, can't read English at all, get around on the bus or by walking, and are unfamiliar with most of the food you see in the grocery store. How do you feed your family? You find the cheapest, most filling foods you can find, that take the least amount of time to prepare, or that your kids can prepare on their own while you are at work. So: hot dogs, canned soup, microwavable meals if your third grader can read the directions.
We need to teach people how to get the best nutrition for their dollars. We need to teach people how to cook with the food available to them - whether you came from Mexico, Thailand, or India, the food on the grocery store shelves is not going to look friendly to you. We need people to understand that sugary breakfast cereals and soda are not foods that will help them get through their day, no matter what they see in the advertisements.
The PTA at my school is starting a schoolyard garden, something I think all schools need, especially low-income schools. Students and their parents being involved and educated about gardening is how we start a food revolution - and that's what we all need, whether we are on public assistance or not.
**Edited to add:
I just found this article about the United Way Challenge at the Seattle Times website. I almost feel like the people who are "taking the challenge" aren't taking it seriously. They are worried about entertaining? First of all - it's totally possible. My best friend came over for breakfast this morning. Also, why do you think potlucks were invented? Second of all - when you are living off of an income that qualifies you for food stamps, you're probably not worried about hosting the neighborhood cocktail party.
The idea is, try to feed yourself for only $7 a day - also known as the maximum food stamp benefit available in Washington State. Also known as what I have done every day since September.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the idea. I think it's great. I think everyone should be aware of how difficult it is to eat good, healthy food on food assistance. What I really appreciate is that bloggers like The Gluten-Free Girl - who is, as her name implies, gluten free - are participating and blogging about the experience. It's much more difficult to live off of $7 a day when you can't buy a 99cent loaf of bread.
I am completely inspired by The Gluten-Free Girl's entry about her experience this past week, and I am making my own plans. Plans that include baking my own bread, roasting a chicken, and using my awesome new crock pot. Plans that include a real, honest-to-goodness budget for my food.
Because, you see, for the first time since September, I used up all my food stamp benefits before the month was over.
To be fair, I bought five different kinds of gluten-free flours to make a bread that I took a class to learn how to make. And Xanthan Gum, which is pretty much the most expensive white powder that you can buy legally. Now that I made the initial investment, I can make my own gluten-free sourdough bread, and make sandwiches and eat toast... very exciting.
However, this month I also did things like buy lunch at the Co-Op deli counter several times, as well as buy frozen meals to take to school. When you are living off of $7 a day for food, a $5 sandwich is not a good idea.
Planning meals is a big step in the right direction for food budgeting, and buying in bulk is another good way to stretch your food dollars. That's why I was excited to hear that Costco is now accepting food stamps (I am lucky enough to have a membership, I'm tacked on as a "domestic partner" to a family member). While I was searching the internet to confirm the rumor, I stumbled across this article/blog entry, by Aaron Crow, a "freelance journalist," with a lot of opinions. To give you a general idea of this particular opinion, it's titled "Costco accepting food stamps: not exactly a great idea." Some choice quotes:
"There are no 15 items or less lines at Costco to speed things up because no one buys less than 15 items at a time. I've been a Costco member for about six years, and I don't think I've ever walked out of there without dropping at least $100."
"I don't know how someone on food stamps who is shopping there maybe once a month can justify paying $50 for the privilege of shopping there for a year, but the enticing free food samples might make a meal in themselves during a visit and make the membership fee seem cheap."
And the kicker: (Note: SNAP is the Federal name for Food Benefits)
"I'm all for increasing the purchasing power of shoppers, but SNAP users may have to be protected from themselves. The federal program prevents some items such as liquor and cigarettes from being bought with SNAP benefits. Maybe it should add Costco to the list of banned purchases."
I have to say, even after reading this article several times, I'm still struck speechless by the ridiculousness of that last statement. And of the article as a whole. Basically, Aaron believes that Food Stamp recipients are simply too dumb, or at least lack the self-control, to spend their benefits wisely. Since he himself can't go into Costco without buying a 25 gallon jar of olives, it obviously means that poor people won't be able to do so, either.
I could go on for pages, dissecting this mans logic, but I don't need to. Because he is wrong. I know this because I am on food stamps, and I plan on using them to purchase Quinoa, frozen vegetables, and possibly coffee. I will not buy "four pounds of red king crab for $99.99," because I am not an idiot.
Unfortunately, this attitude towards Food Stamp users is quite prevalent. There is a strange assumption amongst the general population that people who use food stamps are lazy, fat, and stupid. The New York Times had an interesting "debate" about this in December. - I use quotations because everyone seems to agree. The second paragraph of the introduction sums it up nicely:
If people buy fresh vegetables or other relatively expensive though nutritious foods, they are considered to be living high on the hog at the taxpayers’ expense. But if they buy cheap foods like hot dogs they are criticized for poor health habits.
Imagine you are feeding a family of four - you jumped through all the hoops to get food stamps, you now have $22 a day to spend to feed your family. You also work two jobs, can't read English at all, get around on the bus or by walking, and are unfamiliar with most of the food you see in the grocery store. How do you feed your family? You find the cheapest, most filling foods you can find, that take the least amount of time to prepare, or that your kids can prepare on their own while you are at work. So: hot dogs, canned soup, microwavable meals if your third grader can read the directions.
We need to teach people how to get the best nutrition for their dollars. We need to teach people how to cook with the food available to them - whether you came from Mexico, Thailand, or India, the food on the grocery store shelves is not going to look friendly to you. We need people to understand that sugary breakfast cereals and soda are not foods that will help them get through their day, no matter what they see in the advertisements.
The PTA at my school is starting a schoolyard garden, something I think all schools need, especially low-income schools. Students and their parents being involved and educated about gardening is how we start a food revolution - and that's what we all need, whether we are on public assistance or not.
**Edited to add:
I just found this article about the United Way Challenge at the Seattle Times website. I almost feel like the people who are "taking the challenge" aren't taking it seriously. They are worried about entertaining? First of all - it's totally possible. My best friend came over for breakfast this morning. Also, why do you think potlucks were invented? Second of all - when you are living off of an income that qualifies you for food stamps, you're probably not worried about hosting the neighborhood cocktail party.
Monday, December 14, 2009
It's beginning to look a lot like... the Pacific Northwest.
It's that time of year. And, as excited as I am for snow and lights and (gluten-free) cookies, I'm not talking about Christmas.
I'm talking about the bad time.
The time of year where AmeriCorps members begin to realize they will have no money to buy Christmas presents for friends and family. When many members just spent their first Thanksgiving away from home. Also, the time of year, in this part of the world, where we get up in the dark and get home in the dark. We haven't seen the sun in what seems like years, and it's starting to get cold.
How do we get through this time of year? With good friends and family. We try to shrug off the fact that we will not be buying gifts for everyone we want to buy gifts for. My friends and family are getting homemade gifts - hats, scarves, gloves, and pickles that I made this summer. The good thing about the current economy is that everyone is cutting back, so I don't feel so bad, but it's still frustrating.
We had our first snow of the season on Sunday. Today school started 2 hours late because of icy roads. I still nearly died getting my car out of my driveway. You would think that, this far north, this city would have better plans for bad weather. At least they have snowplows now - three years ago the city all but shut down for a week due to snow, because, yeah - the city didn't own any snowplows. Now the snow is melting, they are calling this horrible stuff falling from the sky "freezing rain." I parked my car at the top of the hill and walked down to my house, and I felt like I was on Deadliest Catch - the frozen water pelting my face, trying desperately not to fall on my butt (at least I didn't have to worry about the frozen ocean...)
One of my team members is from Florida and had literally never seen snow before. Sorry, Kristine, winter is not all that pretty here. It's mostly wet and grey. As someone who grew up here, I am used to it, but it still gets me down a little. I am trying to focus on the good things - I like my co-workers, I have great friends, I have a fun little Christmas tree and holiday music to listen to. Seeing my students, even the ones who can be frustrating, always brightens my day.
So, although I may not be able to literally walk on the sunny side of the street, I'll be busy finding the metaphoric sunshine these next few weeks. Or months.
I'm talking about the bad time.
The time of year where AmeriCorps members begin to realize they will have no money to buy Christmas presents for friends and family. When many members just spent their first Thanksgiving away from home. Also, the time of year, in this part of the world, where we get up in the dark and get home in the dark. We haven't seen the sun in what seems like years, and it's starting to get cold.
How do we get through this time of year? With good friends and family. We try to shrug off the fact that we will not be buying gifts for everyone we want to buy gifts for. My friends and family are getting homemade gifts - hats, scarves, gloves, and pickles that I made this summer. The good thing about the current economy is that everyone is cutting back, so I don't feel so bad, but it's still frustrating.
We had our first snow of the season on Sunday. Today school started 2 hours late because of icy roads. I still nearly died getting my car out of my driveway. You would think that, this far north, this city would have better plans for bad weather. At least they have snowplows now - three years ago the city all but shut down for a week due to snow, because, yeah - the city didn't own any snowplows. Now the snow is melting, they are calling this horrible stuff falling from the sky "freezing rain." I parked my car at the top of the hill and walked down to my house, and I felt like I was on Deadliest Catch - the frozen water pelting my face, trying desperately not to fall on my butt (at least I didn't have to worry about the frozen ocean...)
One of my team members is from Florida and had literally never seen snow before. Sorry, Kristine, winter is not all that pretty here. It's mostly wet and grey. As someone who grew up here, I am used to it, but it still gets me down a little. I am trying to focus on the good things - I like my co-workers, I have great friends, I have a fun little Christmas tree and holiday music to listen to. Seeing my students, even the ones who can be frustrating, always brightens my day.
So, although I may not be able to literally walk on the sunny side of the street, I'll be busy finding the metaphoric sunshine these next few weeks. Or months.
Friday, December 4, 2009
....and I'm back!
Sometimes, a person just needs a little break.
I have seven blog entries saved that started as great ideas, and fell flat on their faces about two paragraphs in. Things just weren't clicking. So I stopped trying.
But, the break's over now. And here I am, back in the blogosphere.
I am incredibly lucky to have a family friend who is a life coach. A few weeks ago, I posted something on my Facebook about "Trying to figure out what to do with my life." She sent me a message offering to help.
So, last week, I had a session with a life coach.
It was fantastic. I had no idea what to expect, as the only place I had ever heard of a life coach was on the FX show Nip/Tuck. As is to be expected with that show, serious drama revolved around the character. Thankfully, Page is nothing like that.
She had me chart out how I felt about different aspects of my life, and then we discussed what I can do to raise up the ones that I marked as being low. I feel good about my friends and family, as well as my health - now that I've figured out I have a wheat allergy, I don't think I've ever felt healthier... but, the remainder of my life needs a little work.
Instead of saying "you need to do this and this and this to improve your life," we had a discussion about why I don't feel positive about those certain aspects of my life, and what I can do to improve them.
For example: Self-Growth. I am a person who loves to learn things. Right now, I feel like I am learning a lot about bureaucracy and passive-aggressiveness in the workplace. That is not the kind of thing I want to learn about. So, we decided that I set aside some time in my week to learn things. To read a book about a subject I find interesting, or to attend a class, or even to talk to my friends about what they are learning in school. I am also going to set aside some time to create art - crochet, paint, collage, whatever. I bought a book the other day called "The Big Ass Book Of Crafts," and it's awesome. If you know me, you will probably end up with a gift or two from this book.
Then we discussed career. As much as I love what I am doing, as much as I love working with these kids and watching them learn and grow, I sometimes feel like my career is stagnant. I am working the exact same job, for the exact same (tiny!) living stipend as I did when I graduated from college, three years ago. I do not know what I want to be when I "grow up." I thought I knew, and I have some ideas, but nothing definite. I am pretty sure I want to go to grad school... but no idea what I want to study.
The reality check here, was: It's ok. I'm twenty-five years old. It's ok to not have it figured out yet. Even the people who look like they have it figured out at twenty-five probably don't. So, I got another assignment. Leave my house and research things. Jobs that interest me. Graduate programs that interest me. Other opportunities. I have to leave my house, which is good because I am much too easily distracted, especially when I'm surrounded by things that "must" get done.
I was also assigned the "job" of taking at least a 30 minute walk every day. I've found some good places to walk even when it is dark (which happens at about 4pm!), and have had the added bonus of getting to see everyone's holiday lights go up.
So, yeah. I'm lucky. Not only do I have family who are willing to help me out, I have friends - from all walks of life - who are willing to do the same. That's the most important thing, right?
I have seven blog entries saved that started as great ideas, and fell flat on their faces about two paragraphs in. Things just weren't clicking. So I stopped trying.
But, the break's over now. And here I am, back in the blogosphere.
I am incredibly lucky to have a family friend who is a life coach. A few weeks ago, I posted something on my Facebook about "Trying to figure out what to do with my life." She sent me a message offering to help.
So, last week, I had a session with a life coach.
It was fantastic. I had no idea what to expect, as the only place I had ever heard of a life coach was on the FX show Nip/Tuck. As is to be expected with that show, serious drama revolved around the character. Thankfully, Page is nothing like that.
She had me chart out how I felt about different aspects of my life, and then we discussed what I can do to raise up the ones that I marked as being low. I feel good about my friends and family, as well as my health - now that I've figured out I have a wheat allergy, I don't think I've ever felt healthier... but, the remainder of my life needs a little work.
Instead of saying "you need to do this and this and this to improve your life," we had a discussion about why I don't feel positive about those certain aspects of my life, and what I can do to improve them.
For example: Self-Growth. I am a person who loves to learn things. Right now, I feel like I am learning a lot about bureaucracy and passive-aggressiveness in the workplace. That is not the kind of thing I want to learn about. So, we decided that I set aside some time in my week to learn things. To read a book about a subject I find interesting, or to attend a class, or even to talk to my friends about what they are learning in school. I am also going to set aside some time to create art - crochet, paint, collage, whatever. I bought a book the other day called "The Big Ass Book Of Crafts," and it's awesome. If you know me, you will probably end up with a gift or two from this book.
Then we discussed career. As much as I love what I am doing, as much as I love working with these kids and watching them learn and grow, I sometimes feel like my career is stagnant. I am working the exact same job, for the exact same (tiny!) living stipend as I did when I graduated from college, three years ago. I do not know what I want to be when I "grow up." I thought I knew, and I have some ideas, but nothing definite. I am pretty sure I want to go to grad school... but no idea what I want to study.
The reality check here, was: It's ok. I'm twenty-five years old. It's ok to not have it figured out yet. Even the people who look like they have it figured out at twenty-five probably don't. So, I got another assignment. Leave my house and research things. Jobs that interest me. Graduate programs that interest me. Other opportunities. I have to leave my house, which is good because I am much too easily distracted, especially when I'm surrounded by things that "must" get done.
I was also assigned the "job" of taking at least a 30 minute walk every day. I've found some good places to walk even when it is dark (which happens at about 4pm!), and have had the added bonus of getting to see everyone's holiday lights go up.
So, yeah. I'm lucky. Not only do I have family who are willing to help me out, I have friends - from all walks of life - who are willing to do the same. That's the most important thing, right?
Thursday, October 15, 2009
The Wild Things Are Here!
Our theme was the book Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. We planned to have it this week because the movie adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze, opens tomorrow. It looks amazing and I, for one, am really excited to go see it.
Our Family Night included two art projects, readings of the story in both English and Spanish, a raffle, and refreshments.
Since it was Washington Reading Corps first event at the school, we had no idea how many people to expect. I had a brief moment of panic yesterday afternoon when I was convinced that we were going to have fifteen volunteers and five families. As it turned out, we had 47 families attend, and that’s only counting the ones who signed in – I’m sure there were a few who got past us. Forty-seven families – most families consisted of three people, be it two parents and a student, one parent and two students, and even some families with grandparents in tow. So that comes to approximately 141 people attending our very first event! Very exciting. 
We have a great community of staff members at our school – we had several teachers and students teachers attend and many of them helped out with parts of the event. Our librarian showed a short movie version of the book in both English and Spanish, and read the book in English. Our Principal Intern read the book in Spanish, which was very exciting for a lot of our Spanish-speaking students and families. Our PTA donated movie tickets and a copy of Where the Wild Things Are for the raffle, and my favorite local bookstore, Village Books, donated two books – Where the Wild Things Are and a bilingual (English/Spanish) book. Each family got a raffle ticket as they walked in.Many community businesses donated food and supplies for our event, which is awesome. It is great when businesses, small and large, participate in community events such as this. They get great advertising and publicity, and we get things that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise afford.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Building a community
Last night the ELL (English as a Learning Language) program at our school held the first of it's monthly ELL Family Nights.
No other school that I have ever worked at or even heard of has a program like this. I think it's amazing. A lot of the time, non-English speaking families want to get involved in the school but feel they cannot, because they do not know how. The language barrier is extreme, and often schools miss out on great parent involvement because of it.
The ELL family night was held in the library. We walked into the school and were greeted by the ELL Paraeducator - she is basically an "aid" - not a certificated teacher, but so dedicated to the school and her students that she organizes these events every month. We were offered nametags and directed to the library by signs in many languages.
In the library, there were three tables labeled "Spanish," one labeled "Punjabi," one "Vietnamese," and one "Russian/Ukraine." At each table, a translator. A volunteer translator. One of the Spanish translators was one of our "Office ladies," and the others were volunteers that the ELL teacher has found throughout the years.
Our school principal spoke first, welcoming the families and telling them about the school and why we have these nights. She said that often the ELL families are the most informed about the school because they come to these nights. Whenever anyone spoke, it took over twice as long as it usually would - the speaker would say a phrase, then wait for it to be translated, and the library was abuzz with all the different languages. Though there were five different languages being spoken in the room, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of community. These families care about their children's education and their futures. They are looking forward to giving their children opportunities that they might not have had growing up, and are working toward that future.
A PTA (Parent - Teacher Association) officer spoke about volunteer opportunities - the fundraiser, the vision and hearing check, and other upcoming events. She and the principal encouraged the family members in attendance to sign up to help out. Many of them did.
I am so heartened by the simple idea of these family nights. One of the most important things that our principal said to the families was that our school is proud of it's diversity. It doesn't matter if you don't speak English well enough to read a newsletter - if you want to be involved in your child's education, you should be. I am excited to be at a school that offers families opportunities to do so.
No other school that I have ever worked at or even heard of has a program like this. I think it's amazing. A lot of the time, non-English speaking families want to get involved in the school but feel they cannot, because they do not know how. The language barrier is extreme, and often schools miss out on great parent involvement because of it.
The ELL family night was held in the library. We walked into the school and were greeted by the ELL Paraeducator - she is basically an "aid" - not a certificated teacher, but so dedicated to the school and her students that she organizes these events every month. We were offered nametags and directed to the library by signs in many languages.
In the library, there were three tables labeled "Spanish," one labeled "Punjabi," one "Vietnamese," and one "Russian/Ukraine." At each table, a translator. A volunteer translator. One of the Spanish translators was one of our "Office ladies," and the others were volunteers that the ELL teacher has found throughout the years.
Our school principal spoke first, welcoming the families and telling them about the school and why we have these nights. She said that often the ELL families are the most informed about the school because they come to these nights. Whenever anyone spoke, it took over twice as long as it usually would - the speaker would say a phrase, then wait for it to be translated, and the library was abuzz with all the different languages. Though there were five different languages being spoken in the room, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of community. These families care about their children's education and their futures. They are looking forward to giving their children opportunities that they might not have had growing up, and are working toward that future.
A PTA (Parent - Teacher Association) officer spoke about volunteer opportunities - the fundraiser, the vision and hearing check, and other upcoming events. She and the principal encouraged the family members in attendance to sign up to help out. Many of them did.
I am so heartened by the simple idea of these family nights. One of the most important things that our principal said to the families was that our school is proud of it's diversity. It doesn't matter if you don't speak English well enough to read a newsletter - if you want to be involved in your child's education, you should be. I am excited to be at a school that offers families opportunities to do so.
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