Substitute teacher

I have to share Samara's first experience with the sub today. These are a few of her comments:
Sra. O is really, really, really (about 50 times) strict!
Sra. O didn't answer our questions. She spoke in English & Spanish.
She made three of us move to the back of the line because we were trying to tell her how to get to the lunch room.
She called me Mara, not SAmara.

I thought her observations were so funny, as she has never had a sub at school before. She said her preschool teacher was strict because she could put kids in a time out chair, but Ms. Julie was loving.
I don't know the sub, but Samara wasn't too impressed. She told me the next time she has Sra. O she wants me to volunteer, so I can see how strict Sra. O is.
From the mouth of babes...

Last swim class

Today is his very last swim class at Aquatic Zone. He has been taking lessons, once a week, for the past 4 years and two months. He started as a Frog and is ending as a Dolphin. There is only one class left, Sharks, and he would have completed all of the levels. He would have liked to have finished, but his schedule just won't allow it anymore. He is sad, and I am, too.

Juramento a la bandera (Pledge of Allegiance)

Yo prometo lealtad a la bandera de las Estados Unidos de América y la república que representa; una nación bajo Dios, indivisible, con libertad y justicia para todos.

Back to School Night

The dual immersion teachers at work, with a parent translating what is being presented! Sra. Oliver is expecting baby number three this fall. It's deja vu because two years ago she was pregnant and expecting around the same time with baby number two.

Back to School Night

Thursday was back to school night. Mrs. Willis shared about the change the district is adopting to The Common Core Standards. I will be sharing more about that at a later date. We were able to see Jedadiah's room, meet Sra. Puentes and see some of his work.

Back to School

She was so excited to show me her classroom, where she sits and her very first master piece!
I was proud to accompany her and to see Sra. Oliver at work. She is an incredible teacher.

Asi Soy Yo

His first project was due Friday. He chose to design a poster with Mine Craft being the theme, using it as an acrostic poem to talk about himself.
He was proud of his work and was asked to present last Friday. He said it was hard because in addition to sharing his sentences, he had to answer five questions about himself.

Doing homework

She wants to get her homework done right away! That's my girl.
So out of 7 days of school, she has earned "morada" three times. Today was her third time, making her at an average of 40%. Amazing, amazing.

Spring break

The kids wanted to go to Zoomars in San Juan Capistrano during their spring break.

Día de los muertos 2012

One of his projects in first grade was to decorate a mask in celebration of this holiday. As a program, several families went to downtown Riverside where the students could observe all of the festivities and rituals associated with this day.

Still is flexible

Gymnastics still a large part of his life. He competed for the first time as a level 4 gymnast in December of 2012 at a gym in Torrance.

Rings

He did well on this apparatus.

Academic award-First Grade 2012

Level 4 State Championships-San Diego

First competition

This is a part of his floor routine. Level 4 is  compulsory, which means that every competitor must perform the same routine. Any variation results in a lower score.

Primer día

First Grade, August 2012

Finally figured how to post directly from my phone to the blog. I will be sending some highlights of his year of first grade with Sra. Fudge.

The big 7

According to Piaget's theory, he has now moved up to the next level of development!

Open House, August 2012

This is where he sat most of the year, near the teacher's desk.

Buried in corn husks

They loved it!

Palm Tree Classic

The mushroom, p-bars and vault were tough for him in level 4, but this year he will do better.

Día de los muertos altar

Mexican Independence craft

Sra. Fudge

Such an amazing, talented and caring teacher. She blessed our life!

Moving Quickly

I can see from the papers being brought home that Sra. Oliver's class is wasting no time. Today, Samara brought home a little book with the letter F. I am to assume that her class has covered 6 letters in the first 6 days of class.
She comes home with lots of stories about all the songs she is learning in Spanish. She can't quite remember all the words, but can do some of the actions. 
This afternoon, she chastised me for not teaching her the alphabet in Spanish. Apparently the students could receive two stickers if they knew the sounds of the Spanish alphabet. I quickly retrieved an alphabet book from the bookshelf and we proceeded to read it together.

First Week Highlights

It was such a wonderful week! Samara absolutely loves school. She doesn't want to go to the bathroom because she said she might miss something and won't know what to do when she gets back to the room. She broke my heart.
Yesterday she said the walked to the big room to listen to Mrs. Willis. I asked what Mrs Willis talked about. She said Mrs. Willis explained all the rules, but Samara couldn't remember any of the rules. I'm sure she will do just fine even if she can't remember all of the rules.
Another funny thing that happened is that she has come home with her lunch only 10% eaten. She says they have only one minute to eat!
The best thing about this week is that she has earned "morado" for the second time this week! Once again, she came home with an item from the treasure box. I am so proud of her. She is off to an excellent start.
I can hear her mumbling in Spanish. As Dr. Krashen would say, she is rehearsing by using her language din!
As for Jedadiah, he is happy that his second grade teacher, Sra. Puentes speaks English and that they have a long lunch break. Yesterday he played soccer for a long time and came home starving and ate two bowls of shrimp!
I have to say, it will definitely be a different experience going through dual immersion kinder with my daughter since she has so many stories to share! I look forward to sharing them here in this blog. 

Black Belt

He tested two weeks ago before school started. He did so well remembering the required 8 senior level forms, the 50-step hand technique and breaking 4 boards with his hand and jumping over 5 children to break a board with his foot!  He will get the actual belt after the results are sent to South Korea and eveything is correctly documented!

First Day on the playground

She was so happy to play before school started. She said the playground has no monkey bars. I said not every student can hang and flip like you.

Second grade & Kinder

Jedadiah is full of advice and encouragement for his sister who is starting in Kindergarten. He didn't want to go to school, but was fine when we got to school. His said his second grade teacher speaks English and Spanish, so that made him happy!

Lining up

He is hiding his face, but he is in line to go into the second grade classroom but his buddy. They are happy to be in the same classroom this year.

Treasure Box

This is was she selected from the treasure box for having such great behavior and earning "Morado" on the behavior chart.

A New School Year "Morado"

Well after a year of not writing, I have decided to pick up the "pen" once again. This year my son is in second grade, and my daughter has started Kindergarten. I didnt' write last year, because I could never figure out how to retrieve the photos from my mobile device. So, I don't know how many pictures I will be able to post this year, but I will keep trying to solve the problem. She came home yesterday with lots of stories to tell. Girls tend to me more vocal than boys, so I thought I should write down what she shares with me. She said that in kindergarten, students don't have time to go to the bathroom. So, she didn't go all day long. I told her that she can ask her teacher if she needs to go potty, and Sra. Oliver will allow her to go. Also, she came home with a full lunch pail...minus her bag of cherries. She thought lunch time was snack time, and she left her lunch box in the classroom. When she entered the cafeteria some one asked her if she had money. She said no, but was given some pizza and some fruit. She thought that was awesome. I reminded her this morning to take her lunch pail to the cafeteria. She said that she learned the Spanish alphabet and the numbers from 1 to 5 and then proceeded to say the numbers in Spanish. When I picked her up yesterday afternoon, she was holding a large Hello Kitty Stuffed Animal. I must have looked confused, so the teacher said to me "Morado". This means that Samara was well behaved and moved her name up from Verde to Morado, and she could select a treasure from the box. I couldn't believe my little girl earned Morado on the very first day of school! WOW....now I owe her a trip to Taget so she can pick a small reward too.