Sunday, September 25, 2011
Literacy at Home
School Work Photos
School Work Photos
He loves math! This seems to be his favorite subject…so far. In his English class, they studied about The Gingerbread Man story and made books to remember the story.
New Groups
New Groups
The students were regrouped this week. The teacher said reshuffling would occur throughout the year, so the students can get better acquainted. I think there must be other reasons, too. Perhaps behavior, academic or social skills attribute to the restructuring.
Kindergarten Photos
Kindergarten Photos
This week, we received his first school pictures that were taken about a month ago. The class picture is so cute, as he was standing right next to the teacher, Sra. Oliver.
Kindergarten Parent Training
Kindergarten Parent Training
Incredible! It was well-worth our time and gave us many ideas about how to work with Jedadiah. I am amazed at all I learned.
We were grouped according to our child’s midterm assessment. So, we were assigned to Mrs. Keating’s room, one of 5 kindergarten teacher’s at Home Gardens. There were 2 other parents from Sra. Oliver’s class to this room. I believe this grouping was for the children who are academically performing successfully in class, based on the midterm assessment. We learned a Concentration game using the upper and lower case of the alphabet, a Matching game for initial sounds of the alphabet, ideas of how to find words of frequency, how to do rainbow tracing and how to write correctly in his journal.
KhinRam wrote the first two entries in Jedadiah’s journal.
Volunteer Certification Training
Volunteer Certification Training
Monday KhinRam and I were trained on all of the machines in the teacher’s workroom. We know how to use the copies, duplication machine, paper cutter, laminator, die cutter and the telephones. It was practical training that will be put to great use in the upcoming years!
Sra. Oliver’s Response to the Midterm Grading
Sra. Oliver’s Response to the Midterm Grading
Familia Sarep,
What fantastic questions! The answer to your first question is to make sure that you are involved in Jedadiah's education. I think you can safely check that off your list. Next, attend all Dual Immersion and Parent Training meetings that are offered. Again, you can be confident that you are doing your part. Then, as parents, maintain an open line of communication with Jedadiah and with each other; as school partners, address any questions or concerns with me, Mrs. Mendoza, or Mrs. Willis immediately; and as resources, connect with other parents to build a network of "go-to" people in times of need.
Your second question in regard to the Language Arts Midterm refers to "Concepts About Print." Each student was asked to identify the front and back covers of a book, the title, as well as differentiate between a letter, number, or word. For the three questions that he answered incorrectly, I noted what his response was on the score sheet.
Finally, I would not be too worried about Jedadiah's social skills. He has a good heart and knows that both his parents and teachers have high expectations for him. I am working on the best outlet for him and trying to get him to remember that there are consequences for each action that he decides to pursue. Please also remember that he is 5 years old and is in a class where the teacher cannot communicate with him in a way that would make him 110% sure of the expectations. He is on the right track and I do appreciate you continuing to remind him through notes at lunch and conversations at home about what is expected of him.
I am very proud of the progress he has made and hope you are as well. This is why I come to school every day. =)
Questions to Sra. Oliver about the Assessment
Questions to Sra. Oliver about the Assessment
Hola Sra. Oliver,
As you can imagine, we were pleased, perplexed and concerned when we saw Jedadiah's very first formal assessment.
Our first concern is how can we better support what you are doing in class?
Second, we didn't understand what Parte 5 was, "Conceptos del impreso"
Finally, we will work with Jedadiah at home with his "social skills" of listening and following directions.
Thank you for all of your hard work teaching all of the children in this class. I can't even imagine how you do this every day!
See you tonight.
Week 7 Highlights
Midterm Results
Overall, we were quite happy with his midterm assessment. Academically he did really well passing Lista 1 and counting to 39 in Spanish. He can write both his first and last names.
His strongest areas are math, numbers and Patterns. He earned an A in Math!
His weakest areas were parte 5, Conceptos del
At first glance, the assessment looks dismal and disappointing, but when I carefully scrutinize the five areas of the testing, I can see how outstanding he did.
We also need to account for the fact that the entire testing was done in Spanish.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Box Top for Education
Box Top for Education
I have volunteered to be the site coordinator for the school.
For every label submitted, the school can earn ten cents. May the labels be multiplied before our very eyes!
Literacy Skills at Home
Literacy Skills at Home
It has been so enjoyable to watch Jedadiah practice what he is learning at school. He comes home at the language spills out of him. Since he can’t directly communicate in Spanish, he is making up his own way of sharing all that he is learning by:
Making up stories: He draws a picture, glues one sheet of paper to each side of the picture and writes down many, many letters. He then hands the completed story to me, and I tell him a story using the letters that he has written.
Designing hats for Samara Has has mastered the art of making little hats and then draws a picture for the hat and glues the picture to the front of the hat.
Counting in Spanish for the neighbor Once he found out that Jasmine speaks Spanish, he counted to sesenta. She helped him when he got stuck, but then he kept on going all the way to 60!
Drawing pictures Even through his pictures, he is communicating, and his drawing class he given him more confidence to express himself through art.
Stroller Mom…continued
Stroller Mom…continued
I also pointed out the mom with the stroller to Sra. Oliver.
Sra. Oliver said that mom’s name is Sra. Sanchez, and she is from Guatemala Guatemala
According to Wikipedia:
The K'iche' language (Quiché in Spanish, Qatzijob'al or "our language" to its speakers) is a part of the Mayan language family. It is spoken by many K'iche' people in the central highlands of Guatemala. With close to a million speakers (some 7% of Guatemala
Midterm Week
Midterm Week
Since I finally had an opportunity to converse with his teacher, in English, I found out that this week was midterm week. I didn’t even know that till the night of the party. It was a great opportunity to talk to Sra. Oliver because Jedadiah had gone off to help dad, as dad had volunteer duty at the kindergarten shuffle board game. The teacher will only speak English to the parents when the children are not present. Sra. Oliver said that the students did really well with math but dismal at language arts. She will now begin to group the children into three distinct groups starting Monday.
The Mom with the Double Stroller
The Mom with the Double Stroller
Every day, I see a mom who is pushing a double stroller with two boys in the buggy, and one son walking next to the baby carriage. The older boy is in kindergarten. I have noticed this mom, in particular, because she is dark-skinned and shorter than the other moms and doesn’t quite fit in with her peers. I assumed she was of Indian heritage.
A few weeks ago, I noticed her walking down Magnolia Avenue, pushing her stroller with a large 5-gallon water bottle in the stroller. It was 106 degrees out that day, and I was worried that she had too much weight to push, but didn’t quite know how to help her. Her son is not in the dual immersion program, but Jedadiah says he sees the boy on the playground. His name is Pedro.
At the party on Friday, I noticed the mom, the stroller and two of her children standing at the end of the table where we were sitting. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the mom reach into the trash can to pull something out that had recently been discarded. I cringed to think what she was going to have in her hand, half-eaten food? An unfinished drink?
I expected the worst.
Without looking too conspicuous, I saw her take out empty soda cans and push the cans into the bottom of her stroller. I felt so bad. I quickly finished my bottle of water, and walked over to ask if she wanted the empty bottle. I say ask…but I could only say quiero in Spanish.
I asked if they had boletos? She said si…but I didn’t see any signs of food or prizes. My heart ached for the boys. Here they were at the party, but I don’t know if they were having any fun. I reached into my pocket and pulled out all the cash that I had, a $5.00 dollar bill. I slipped the money into her hand and said it was for the ninos
Jedadiah shared some of his prizes he had won from playing the games with the two boys, and gave one of our orders of nachos. He has a kind heart.
I am sure there are countless moms like this mom in the school.
Toward the end of the party, I noticed several other moms loading up empty plastic bags with discarded cans and bottles.
I am certain that this mom will be written about in the future.
Summer Sizzle Party
Summer Sizzle Party
Friday was the first party we attended at his school. The event was well-planned with food vendors, games, a train, and a slide. The school sold boletas for 50 cents. For one ticket, the students could play most of the games and purchase many of the snacks. The Summer Carnival was well attended.
For me, there were two highlights:
1. Watching the people
2. Talking with Sra. Oliver in English!
Color-Coded Behavior Comportamiento
Color-Coded Behavior Comportamiento
In his classroom, the teachers have adopted a way of coding the students’ behavior: He has begun to use the same chart at home, and he monitors all of the family's behavior.
Sometimes, I am on Verde, and sometimes I move down to Amarillo
Even, Lulu, the dog we have been dog-sitting has moved down to Amarillo
Comportamiento
Morado | Fabulous Day | Dia Fabuloso |
Verde | Great Day | Buen comportamiento |
Warning/Time out/No Recess | Advertencia/ Perdida de recreo | |
Rojo | Talk to Parents/Send to Office | Hablar con los padres/ Mandar a la oficina |
Bathroom Accident
Bathroom Situation
When Jedadiah came home from school on Monday, I noticed a peculiar smell. I didn’t say anything, but the odor was in the back of my mind. In the shuffle of the afternoon, I briefly heard Jedadiah telling me that one day he had gone potty in his pants and that the pee had run down his leg. Again, I didn’t really pay attention because I was trying to cook dinner. Fifteen minutes passed, and I sat down with him to begin his homework. Again, I spelled urine and finally investigated. I felt his sock. Much to my amazement it was wet. I finally asked if he had pee peed in his pants. He said yes. I asked him why you didn’t go at school. He says his teacher is always saying, “rapido, rapido” and that they will lose points if they go to the bathroom.
It’s ironic to me because he is always repeating the one sentence he knows well in Spanish, “Puedo ir al bano.”
I think they must have learned this sentence the second week of school.
Palabras de uso de frecuente para Kinder
Palabras de uso de frecuente para Ḱinder
These are the 50 words that the students need to learn. Students are first tested on recognition. They must say the word within 3 seconds. Later on, students need to know spelling and how to correctly use each word in a sentence.
| Lista 1 | Lista 2 | Lista 3 | Lista 4 | Lista 5 |
| el | dijo | ella | sus | da |
| no | me | en | con | casa |
| yo | la | aqui | fue | voy |
| se | ti | donde | por | le |
| sol | los | su | soy | para |
| va | y | debajo | tengo | mama |
| veo | las | de | que | ya |
| Si | gusta | lo | son | |
| una | mi | busco | detras | mira |
| un | gustan | esta | tambien | es |
These are the 50 words that the students need to learn. Students are first tested on recognition. They must say the word within 3 seconds. Later on, students need to know spelling and how to correctly use each word in a sentence.
Sra. Oliver
Sra. Oliver
She is having a Niña. That’s what Jedadiah had told me, but I wasn’t sure if he really knew the sex of her baby. Her daughter is due the end of October, so she is hoping to make it through the first trimester at school, thus completing the first grading period. The substitute teacher has not been decided yet. I sure hope they select one teacher who can cover the entire two-month period that she will be off.
She is having a Niña. That’s what Jedadiah had told me, but I wasn’t sure if he really knew the sex of her baby. Her daughter is due the end of October, so she is hoping to make it through the first trimester at school, thus completing the first grading period. The substitute teacher has not been decided yet. I sure hope they select one teacher who can cover the entire two-month period that she will be off.
The School, Home Gardens Academy
The School, Home Gardens Academy
90.4% Eligible for either Reduced or Free Lunch: 587 students
American Indian | 1 | 0.2% |
Black | 1 | 0.2% |
Asian | 2 | 0.3% |
Hispanic | 599 | 92.3% |
White | 16 | 2.5% |
This is the only academic institution is this census-designated place (CDP). What a responsiblity Home Gardens Academy has to educate the children of this community!
Home Gardens Demographics
I want to write about the demographics of Home Gardens because the school is in a unique area of Corona Home Gardens , Home Gardens Academy
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.0 km²), all of it land. In this small area, 73.7% of the population is Hispanic.
33.0% live in rental housing units.
16.8% of the population lives below the poverty line
58.5% of the residents are female, with no husband present
Air Quality Index (AQI) level in 2010 was 53.0. This is significantly worse than average. City: | 53.0 |
32.0 |
Monday, September 12, 2011
Grandma Says...
I am amazed at this obvious growth, and advancement, both in his acceptance of his new role in life, and his ability to apply himself to learning!. I am so pleased and happy for all of you. And Samara, wow, in day care by herself! Such a big step. She’s may angel (Spanish pronunciation). Tell Jedadiah I will be speaking with him in Spanish when I see him, though I better be practicing/ HAHAHA. I sure do love you, mom
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Boys in the Classroom
Boys in the Classroom
In Jedadiah’s class there are 24 children, 13 girls and 11 boys. I was struck by the fact that there are 2 more females than males. I wonder why this was done.
Why not 12 girls and 12 boys?
Well, remember the student who was vomiting last week? Well, he vomited again on Thursday in the cafeteria. He had told him mom several times that he didn’t want to go to school and didn’t like the cafeteria. He mom was sitting with him either in the office or in the cafeteria to keep him calm. Well Wednesday and Thursday, she was told to leave extra clothes in the office for him. When she picked him up on Thursday, she noticed that his shirt had been changed, and he was holding a plastic bag in his hand. Friday I didn’t see him in the morning and then asked about him when I was in the classroom later on that day. Sra. Mendoza said he had dropped from the program. I feel so bad for him and his sweet mom. I can’t imagine starting all over in a new kindergarten class, in English. He will be so lost for a few weeks. I feel sad for the parents because of their unfilled dreams for their son. This incident made me think about the fact that there are only 10 boys in his class now. How many males will complete the program in the sixth grade?
As far as I know, Jedadiah is the first boy in his class to pass lista una. I heard the teacher tell a couple of the other boys to tell their moms that they needed to study more.
As an educator, I know that there are gender differences in the classroom. It is a fact that boys and girls learn differently. Most elementary school teachers are female and tend to teach in a style that is stereotypically more “feminine.” Another issue is that learning now requires communication, which most males do not excel. There are many articles on the internet about learning strategies for boys and how boys are now dropping out of school. It is a dismal situation for boys in many, many classrooms in this country.
Lista Uno
Lista Uno
In kindergarten, there are five word lists containing 10 words on each list for a total of 50 words that need to be known by the end of the year. This week he was retested on the first list. I word he missed last week was se. He worked on this word and va because he kept confusing these two words. I made up a song….”I say, you know se. I say, you know se.” The second song sounded like a drum beat…”va, va, va, va, va, va, va, va.”I was in the room again this Friday and could hear him singing these two songs to remind himself before he took his test. He passed with a 100%.
ES UNO Song
ES UNO Song
This week, he started singing this really cute song about the numbers. I asked him if he would sing it for me, and he said yes. I will try to add this song to the blog, as he sang through number 4, cuatro. He did such a great job.
Homework
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