Powhatan Yehakin

So we went to Jamestown for a fieldtrip this past week. We went so that the group studying houses could look more closely at the different types of houses at Jamestown and study their construction. We were especially interested in the Powhatan village. You may have heard of Chief Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas. We also went to provoke the whole class about our 2nd grade social studies question "Who was here before us?".

The trip was fantastic despite the fact that they were talked at rather than allowed to explore. I think the tour was good the first time through but if we were to go again we would venture on own.

So I'm not sure where our new knowledge will take us but the possibilities are very exciting.

I want to build a Powhatan Yehakin (aka long house) on campus. Is it too ambitious? Part of me wants to chicken out and just settle for building models and part of me thinks "I'm at a school that would ENCOURAGE me to go for it so how can I pass the opportunity up?" And what better way for the children to learn about different types of houses than to construct one themselves?

I also happened to marry the perfect can-do man to help. I thought the idea was exciting but unattainable. This evening I mentioned that I thought it would be cool to build one but didn't know how to which Gian asked,

"Why? What do you need?"

"Saplings."

"Oh ... well my professor gets saplings from the apple farmers all the time because in the spring the trees all send up extra shoots that the farmers cut off and throw away. I bet if you contacted them they would let you have them in April."

"Seriously? Awesome. But then I wonder what to weave the mats out of. The Powhatan got to use think grass from the wetlands."

" I remember listening to a Maori artist last year that said that the New Zealand natives built out of the material they had around them not necessarily because they loved the materials and that if they had plastic they probably would have used plastic. Maybe you can go with the spirit of "use what you have" rather than being totally focused on the exact material they used. We live in different times. We throw a lot of things away. I wonder what the kids could use that is abundant in their lives."

"Maybe plastic shopping bags...?"

So I have no idea exactly what it will take for this to really happen but the dream is alive.

Don't be surprised when you see an old meets new Yehakin on campus in the spring.

Things I'm Into Right Now

In the past week have have caught myself thinking "Man, I am so into that!" So I decided to compile a list of at least a few things I've thought that about recently. Here are a few of the things I'm really into right now

• copper roofing: who can resist the breathtaking green?
• oboe: it's just so soulful
• Peter and the Wolf and the Nutcracker
• squirrels: they are everywhere collecting for the winter. I never used to really think twice but they are earning a special place in my heart with their playful antics. I love the moment they push off their back legs and they are in full super-hero flight when they run.
• green turn arrows: they take so much stress out of driving
• stop-motion animation: jaw-dropping. People just keep getting better and better and I cannot believe my eyes.
• coconut: I can't get enough
• cardamom: Mmmmmm
• mushrooms: I had no idea they had so many immune-boosting properties
• thinking about chicken little every time I walk under the tree by the parking lot and almost get hit
• tetris: we got new batteries and we can't stop the family competitions

If you want to fall in love with humanity...

I recently found the organization Heifer International and instantly fell in love.

People get a catalog of livestock they can purchase for families around the world. The family receives the animals along with training in livestock management and gardening, money management etc. They then use the animals for food and income. I love that the program works on the "teach a man to fish" principle. Another part of the program is that the first offspring their animals produce are required to be passed on to another family in need. Thus one gift has the potential to touch lives exponentially.

If you want to fall in love with humanity watch these videos. You'll probably want to start saving your pennies for a $20 flock of chickens or $30 hive of bees.

Un-thick Skin

The thing that seems to frustrate me the most in life is feeling misunderstood. I do not have thick skin at all (something I discovered being the first grade team leader at my old school). If I think people have the wrong idea or underestimate me I think about it all day and it consumes my thoughts.

I went to a meeting today where they kept saying the most obvious things to me and a student's mother as if we had never worked with or even seen a young child in our lives. They kept saying things like "Well then you need to be having conversations to point out that everyone struggles with things and point out the good things they CAN do." Really? That's what you're going to say to us right now? DUH!!! Like we haven't had those conversations constantly. It was so insulting to me as a professional and her as a mother. They misunderstood everything I said and I left feeling so mad. It takes me a while to process all the subtleties and recognize things but now I can think of a million ways to make myself understood but it's too late now. I'm left playing it over in my mind a million times. I know no one else ever feels this way. You are all so sharp and assertive that you instantly know what to say in any and every situation. Maybe I would choose that as my super power.

Homemade Carrots

Gian and I took on a project today. We are sewing very cute play food for the nephews for Christmas (thanks for the great idea friends). It is cute and we are having a lot of fun. Our camera is currently unavailable so look at my friend's page for the basic idea but don't expect exactly her standard of perfection. This project made me think of 2 things.

#1 Lately I've seen lots of word of the Bee Hive Bazaar and I'm pretty sad to be missing it so this bring the spirit of the bazaar home.

#2 it reminded me of last week. I was eating a real whole carrot during snack and one of my students asked me "Andrea, is that a homemade carrot?"

Food Poisoning? YESSSS!

Gian and I both woke up this morning at 5 am sharp ready to puke.

We're both at home. We may be fighting over the toilet but hey, that's one way to spend some time.

Letting the flower bloom

I went to St. Catherine's today to observe a junior kindergarten teacher who is amazing. She uses the Reggio Emelia philosophy in her class. She was so wise. It was the first time I had actually seen it all in action firsthand.

However, I still left very frustrated because she couldn't answer a lot of my questions. In reality she was teaching early childhood. It's hard to know exactly how the philosophy fits with older kids and whenever someone gives their opinion about how it should be it sounds all nice but is really obvious to me that they have never actually tried it.

In all actuality the answers don't exist. The few schools in the world that are moving this philosophy into older grades haven't been doing it for more than a few years. The truth is that we are forging the way (with others). I get impatient and want people to tell me how it is supposed to look or feel or how to make sure you don't have kids slipping through the cracks in any areas.

I left frustrated today and went on a walk in the fall leaves. I realized that the answers don't really totally exist yet and that I have the power to find my own answers. I often pose questions to other people who don't have all of the circumstantial information and there is no way I can pass it all on to them. They tend to misunderstand and miss the mark when they answer because they don't know the whole picture. In those situations I know the most.

In the end I decided that ripping open the seed never helps the flower bloom. I need to let go and let it all happen.

Yogi Wisdom

"We can be uncomfortable but we don't have to be so reactive to it."

-- Brian Kest

I've been pretty reactive to discomfort lately. I need to develop my equanimity.

He is so wise.

The Future

My calling at church involves the young women of the branch and let me tell you these girls are AMAZING. They all live with pretty rough circumstances. They have A LOT working against them in life and I give them rides all the time so I am painfully aware that they also live in some of the roughest neighborhoods in Richmond. But if anyone "owns" resilience it is these girls. Despite all the obstacles they face in life, actually probably because of all of the obstacles these girls face in life they are so wise and soulful. They laugh and joke. There is always some new dance they are trying to master (right now it is the "jerk"). And they are always bringing new friends with them. Sometimes I really underestimate them. Sometimes I think they will hate cleaning our blind friend's house but then they totally step it up and scrub his mold crusted toilet bowl like it's no big deal. Yesterday they were so willing to put on a Halloween festival for the little kids without expecting anything in return (which can be hard when you don't get what you want most of the time).

They are all special and brilliantly full of life but there is one girl that always gets to my heart. She is from Cameroon. They won the immigration lottery and moving to this city has been rough. I could go on for pages about all the rough stuff her move has presented her with but basically just know that it would make your jaw drop. Kids at school have been SO cruel to her and the funny thing is that she gets teased for refusing to be mean to others and for doing her homework (pretty backwards). She basically has a compact with the Lord that if she reads the scriptures and prays every day then He will help school to be livable. She has a pretty amazing testimony about the power of staying close to the Lord because of the days she forgot to keep her end of the bargain. But now three years later she is on the honor roll despite learning a second language. Every week when I am driving her home she gives a speech about how precious her future is and how carefully she is preparing to make the most of herself. And every single week, without fail, she testifies to me about something whether it is her family's conversion story (amazing) or an answer to a prayer or how she feels when she serves others or how she loves her family. I don't think she knows that I have yet to drop her off with dry eyes.

As we were leaving the Halloween party yesterday she ran off to go talk to someone. She came back with a big case and we put it in the trunk. As we were pulling out of the parking lot she asked if she could go ask someone something. I admit, ashamed, that I was a little put out but insisted that she go. As we were driving home she told me that the case had a keyboard. She told me she loves music and has been wanting to learn to play the piano for the longest time. She works braiding hair and has been saving her money but still won't have enough for a keyboard for a while. So she started praying, praying and praying and praying that she could find a way to get a piano. I don't know the entire story but recently the branch president pulled her aside and asked if she liked to play the piano and said that there was a keyboard the branch wasn't using that she could borrow (which she had just shoved in my trunk). In the parking lot , when I was busy being impatient, she had simply run to ask another young woman about sheet music so that she could start teaching herself the piano (I'm feeling pretty sheepish). She is certain that being able to borrow the keyboard was all in answer to her prayer, which seems very likely, but you should hear her talk about it. You WILL cry.

I wish I could share everything about Rama. I wish I could share everything about Kayla and Rouka and Sylvia and Becky and Latifa and Ja-tae and Raven and Rinda and Marissa. If you knew the things I know about them you would also know that the future is very VERY bright.

Blood, Sweat and Ink: The writing of a play

It looks like I can also add writer to my list of developing talents. I have to write a blog once a week for a parent update. I figured I might as well share here. I took out the kids names for confidentiality.

Blood, Sweat and Ink: The writing of a play
As I report about the play group I cannot emphasize enough just how difficult and rigorous writing a play is for this group (although, I’m not sure it is easy for anyone who writes a play). As I reflect on where they were just a few months ago I am shocked at the growth.

The Beginnings
The play emerged from dramatic play as they used the dresses they had designed in open studio time. Ideas were generated as they freely acted in a house-like play situation where they would select a character and dictate to their peers what they wanted their character to do or say along the way. Eventually they began to have more steady characters who showed up consistently. We then asked them to define those characters more clearly. After some time they began to have a certain scenario they would act out consistently involving a witch looking for a new wand on the internet and getting trapped in a net by the princess.

The children then worked to capture that idea in storyboard form. This may seem very straight forward but it was such a struggle to get even one frame of the story down. It took most of a day to get just one picture drawn and the ideas hammered out. As things would get hard the girls would constantly distract by jumping back into their dramatic play mode and jump to a totally different and unrelated part they wanted to include in the play in order to avoid working through the difficulty. The work required redirection on a minute by minute basis, which they often resented, to bring them back to the work at hand. They were also working in parallel creation rather than collaboration. Essentially, each girl was writing her own play and there was no big picture. The children would have ideas about specific things they wanted to act out and those ideas were forced into the story. Also, they would all take turns talking but were never actually able to hear their peers’ ideas. I remember when “conversations” were really taking turns to tell the teacher what they wanted to happen in the story.

The Real Project
Our project work, though disguised as a play, was really about learning to have a real conversation that included the sharing and hearing of ideas. The children used to get an idea and run up and tell me as if it were my play and I got to make all the decisions. I would then have to coach their communication and each step had-to-be-spelled-out-explicitly.
1. A, turn to B.
2. Call B’s name to get her attention.
3. B, stop what you are doing.
4. B, look at A.
5. A, tell B what you just said to me
6. B, do you understand what A just said?
7. A, ask B what she thinks about including that in the play.

Yes, there were many days I contemplated quitting the play myself.

The Play Now
Now the group has two new members and a wizard instead of a witch. There is one play, instead of three, with a mostly coherent sequence of events. There is collaboration (though still heavily coached). The students still often distract when things get hard and need frequent redirection but conversations have come a long way.

This past week the children have had several deep and responsive conversations. They have talked about plot. They have discussed if the play is funny or serious or the possibility that it can be both. They argued about how to depict the passage of time in a play. At one point, they realized there was no motivation for the characters’ actions in the play (a conversation I tried to have many other times but they weren’t ready for) so they presented different ideas for the overarching conflict to peers and got feedback about which idea they would be more interested in. They then discussed the feedback they got.

The following was one of my favorite conversational moments from the past week.

Happily Ever After
I walked right into an interesting conversation that the play group was having the other day about the idea of “happily ever after.” They knew that we had scheduled some time to start thinking about how the play would end. The comments were interesting initially but became even more interesting as I realized the insight I was getting into how they see the world.

S: [currently cast as the wizard] “The wizard dies at the end of the play? That is not happily ever after!”
Ab: “Well, it’s certainly not happily ever after if the wicked wizard stays alive to torture everyone.”
Ak: “Yeah, because in happily ever after it always includes a villain dying.”
Me: “Does it always have to have a villain death?”
Ak: “Yes! It has to or else it isn’t happy.”
S: “What if I [the wizard] turn good?”
Ak: “No, seriously. In every happily ever after a villain does have to die.”
T: “I don’t think they have to every time.”
S: “How about I just forget and accidentally mess up on a spell that turns me good?”
A: “How about nobody dies. S when you turn good you can turn into the king at the end.”
Me: “So is he going to marry you?”
Ab: “No! That’s disgusting. Besides he doesn’t even want to do that.”
Ak: “S you can just become the king at the end of the play.”
S: “No!”
Ab: “C’mon you can boss everyone around!”
S: “No, I want to become the old man.”
Ab: “What old man?”
S: “The joker with the hat like a clown.”
Me: “You mean the court jester?”
S: “Yeah, they live with the princess and the queen and everyone.”

I was fascinated by both the immediate certainty all the children had that the play should end happily and then the dramatically contrasting definitions about what would be a happy ending. Death could be seen as happy to one child and a tragedy to another.

As each child presented their ideas it became a window into how they each view the world. As I step back now I can see that each definition was a truly personal definition of happiness.

Ak, who loves rules and structure, created a definition that included a strong demand for justice that could only be fulfilled by the death of the villain.

T who is endlessly flexible and accommodating never really defined “happily ever after” but often validated what others thought. In a later discussion Marty mentioned that perhaps his definition of “happily ever after” was staying in relationship at all times. Later I asked him what would give the play a happy ending and he said that if the wizard could think that the royal family was dead at the same time that the royal family thought the wizard was dead they could all be totally happy on their own. This definition just reaffirmed his peace-maker disposition.

Ab, who likes to be in charge, accepted the idea that the villain could change and that his change would be so dramatic it would be worthy of being appointed king to be in charge of all others.

S, the lover of jokes and all things funny, defines “happily ever after” as becoming a jester who would spend his days making the royal family laugh. To what degree can S separate himself from his character the wizard? Was S really opposed to the death of a villain or was his opposition rooted in the fact that he as the wizard would be the one who was dying?

The ending of the play remains to be decided. As they move forward with those decisions I am interested to see if all of the students hold tightly to their own idea of “happily ever after” or expand them to include any part of another child’s definition.

I have also found myself reflecting. What would my definition of “happily ever after” be for a queen, a princess and an evil wizard and what would that help me to understand about myself?

The children in the play group have come a long way. I used to have to coach them through every single line of collaborative conversation and now they can hold, at least sometimes, profound conversations about how they view the world.

Ever Since Michael Jackson Died

Gian went out with the missionaries tonight and returned to tell me this gem from the closing prayer.

"... and please help me to quit talking so much. I've been talking so much ever since Michael Jackson died."

Project Update

So here are the updates of projects at school.

The Play

The play group has really been stumping me.

First, the most dramatic girl who was playing the role of the wicked witch was transferred to another class. When the soccer project finished two boys became part of the play. The students had to rework much of the play because a wicked wizard is not going to any beauty contests! It has been hard to get the boys fully incorporated because they weren't there for most of the story development and the girls already have a clear vision of what they want to happen which doesn't always match the boys ideas.

Second, I feel like we're caught in an "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" cycle. If they practice then they want props. If they work on props it moves into the set. Once they start thinking about the set they realize that they can't really decide the set until the story is finished. So then they start thinking about the story and it just makes them want to practice the play which then makes them want to make props and it cycles and cycles and cycles. I think the biggest challenge I'm facing in this constructivist environment is how much structure to provide yet ensure that it remains their play and doesn't become my play. Although plenty of people have an opinion about needing to provide more structure or needing to step back and let them do everything, trial and error is the only way to really find the careful balance. I was pretty ready to give up yesterday but luckily I had set up a consultation with a mother from the preschool who works in the drama department at the University or Richmond. She was just what I needed to determine exactly where we currently are and where we need to go. I'm actually really excited now. I can now add play director to my list of newly developing skills.

The Movie

The movie group is a lot of fun. The project is very much a comedy and they love making the movie because of all of the technology involved. At one point I made them go through the tutorial for the software program they are using. They would take turns reading the manual steps to each other while the other tried to follow the directions on the computer. Once they got the hang of it they were so capable.

There have been a few priceless moments of victory. They kept thinking they were ready to film but would notice at the last moment that the set wasn't big enough to cover all of the background and would spend the whole day solving that problem. The next day they would think they were ready to film but then would notice that the lighting wasn't right and left large shadows cast on to the set and would spend the rest of the day solving that problem. Then they started filming but only got a few frames before they had to clean up and then accidentally moved the whole computer which ruined the scene. The next day they would have to start over but things wouldn't work out because they weren't working together very well and couldn't be as efficient as they needed to be. Finally one day I told them that the ONLY way this was going to work is if they worked together so that they could get a whole scene made in a single day. It forced them to develop a system of one person moving the scene while the other worked the computer. They finished the entire scene and then started screaming and shouting and hugging and dancing and laughing and falling on the ground. Priceless.

Then they decided that they had enough time to do another scene. They got 3/4 of the way through the scene and the program mysteriously quit on them. They hadn't used the save button (despite plenty of encouragement to do so) and lost the whole scene. Luckily they were still able to ride the wave of their earlier success and weren't too discouraged. One of them told me, "Well at least we learned an important lesson about the save button!"

I'm curious to see what will happen when this movie is finished. Will they be finished with movies or will they want to use their newly developed skills to communicate about something else. Will they be open to making a film of a different genre? It looks like I can add movie producer and technical support to my list of developing skills.

The Math Book

One student is working on his own project. He LOVES the math puzzle books like Grapes of Math or Math Appeal. He is now making his own book of math puzzles. He lays out blocks or marbles on the floor in groups to think out his puzzles before he puts them on paper. He also labors over the riddle that goes along with the picture and spends a significant amount of time playing with words to produce a rhyme that also provides clues. He shared what he was working on with his peers in a project circle and the other children absolutely cannot wait to get their hands on his puzzles. It is very motivating to have such a visible audience for his book. It looks like I can add editor to my list of newly developing skills.

The House

The house group is making a cardboard doll size house. At first they had a creative frenzy where they worked with materials and discovered new possibilities. They made anything and everything they could think of. The house was full of clutter and they didn't do anything about the aesthetic of the actual structure. Deep down they knew they needed to but kept trying to ignore the need. We had a mother who is an interior designer come in a consult with the group. It was so cute because she would talk about what "designers" do (for example, designers have to think about not always getting their idea done but thinking about what is best for the whole project) and the students instantly inserted themselves into those statements. They INSTANTLY saw themselves as designers. Now, thanks to Cheri's help, they are going back through each room one at a time and making very intentional decisions. They are painting the walls, adding carpet, reinforcing wobbly furniture and deciding what should actually go in each room. It has been an interesting transformation from their old "anything goes" to their new attitude of "only the best and most essential goes". They are only done with half of the house and it is perfect because you can see both sides at the same time to provide a clear before and after picture. We are starting to think about bringing books about different kinds of houses from around the world or taking filed study trips to historic houses here in Richmond or Jamestown to see if we can provoke any movement towards social studies. The topic of houses has the potential to provide a topic for so much interesting research in so many different directions. It looks like I can add architectural researcher to my list of developing skills.

Music

I have also taken on the role of music teacher. For our weekly music study I brought in Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev to explore how music helps to tell a story. I thought they would be interested but they responded much more enthusiastically than I had imagined. I'm hoping that we can move into creating music to help tell stories. For example, having students use instruments to provide sounds that match the the characters and action from The Tortoise and the Hare. If the students take to this idea I think it would be fun to break them into groups and give them each a short fable to provide music for. Maybe it would even lend itself to type of genre study and we could move into fairy-tales or something. I'm also curious to see if it sparks the use of music to help tell the story in the play group or movie group. It looks like I can also add musician to my list of developing skills.

The exhausting part is that I have to learn how to put on a play. I have to learn how to make a claymation movie. I have to learn about music. But luckily it is all very satisfying and exciting. The new job is certainly not leaving me bored or looking for new things to try.

My Life is Changed

Image from Amazon.com

I have a student struggling to read.

I am 2/3 of the way through this book and it has totally changed my life as an educator. It is written by Ronald D. Davis who happens to be dyslexic and can explain it all from a "been there" point of view. I also love his perspective of all the extra abilities people with dyslexia have and that his solution does not include the elimination of that ability but rather the learning to control it. I'm excited to finish the book but wanted to put it out there for anyone that could benefit.

On another but related note, I love that this author turned his disability into a talent. I'm fascinated by the opportunities trials face us with.

I have been thinking a lot lately about a woman I met on my mission. I can't remember her name but she was great! She was really trying to be productive and make a difference in the world but felt really inadequate. She didn't have any obvious talents like art or music or baking or scrap-booking or sewing or athletics. What she was good at and did know a lot about was depression. She had spent years battling depression. She told me "Depression is MY talent!" And she meant it in the most surprisingly positive way. She was able to spot women in the neighborhood or at church that to an untrained eye seemed perfectly fine but were secretly depressed. She would reach out to them in sensitive ways, having been there herself, and was able to coach them along. She wasn't trying necessarily to coach them out of depression because she knew that didn't really work. They didn't need another person, no matter how subtly, telling them to get over it and pull their lives together. She was just there to say "Yeah, I felt that way, too." or "You might also experience..." I think she just helped them to not feel alone or bad or broken beyond repair. I knew several women that were endlessly thankful for her thoughtful and understanding friendship. She HAD been there and she was able to turn her terrible experience into such a beautiful one and that is what gave all of her new friends so much hope.

So what are our unsung talents? Dyslexia? Depression? Divorce? Being single or childless or widowed? This woman's example has encouraged me to own my own "dark" talents and make them beautiful. I hope I can do it as well as she did.

childhood in a garden

There was all kinds of commotion in the far corner of the garden today so I wandered over to see what the whole entire 1st and 2nd grade was doing. Last week it was a hospital curing headaches and bandaging broken legs with giant leaves and grass. I was assured many times that "it REALLY works". I wanted to see what about hospital was keeping their attention this long.

Well, it wasn't a hospital at all anymore. I walked right into a bustling market place. Groups of friends has set up shop in various bushes and were selling their wares. There was such a variety all represented by twigs and leaves of every kind. There was a tool shop with hammers, drills, nails, "well any kind of tool really for only 50 cents." There was a magic shop selling magic wands, magic thorns that if you get pricked by you will sleep for 100 years, magic beans, another kind of thorn that gives you every kind of magic power once you get pricked by it. There was a decoration shop, a nature shop and an everything shop (which tended to have little business due to the vague nature). People were paying for their goods with leaves and twigs and getting change. Most of the goods would show up again in the buyers own store as something different. Some shops would hire workers to go "pick" change for them from around the garden so that they didn't have to go round up the garden currency themselves. There were children constantly calling out in a loud market voice about what their shop had to offer in order to lure customers. Some shops were even starting to give great thought to their shop name in hopes that a more official sounding shop would attract a more serious customer.

It was all so magically childhood. I ran got the digital camera and documented the moment. I stood quietly in the bushes and secretly captured photos and video of all the hustle and bustle. I felt bad for the other teachers on duty who were up gabbing away. They missed out on such a magical moment.

How long will the market hold their attention and what will be next?

Yes! It has Cauliflower

The other day I bought a whole head of cauliflower to try a new curried cauliflower recipe. I only used half to make an entire recipe. Little did I know that I was buying a magic never ending head of cauliflower. I haven't wanted to waste so I've been using it ... in everything. Gian laughed every time he ate anything from our kitchen this week; chili, quiche, scrambled eggs, burritos, mash potatoes. Yes! It has cauliflower...

...but don't worry because I finally used the last of it tonight.

I guess if you are ever starving and you go to the grocery to buy something for your last meal you might consider cauliflower because in a very Elijah-and-the-widow-of-Zaraphath way it lasts for a very long time.

River City

This is where we live and we love it.

We found this little ditty about the river city the other day. It isn't my total favorite but it is a fun way to introduce our city. It kind of reminds me of those Saturday Night Live guys that rap about the Chronicles of Narnia or being on a boat (except obviously not as talented). There were a few other things I wish they had shown but they got a lot of good stuff. Sometimes I get a little jealous becuse the little green scooter is just like the one we got stolen. The cute little dancing kids at the end are a reality. That's what it is like in the parking lot after church.

Projects

So I decided that it's time to talk about school.

We are in our 4th week and it is definitely a different way of thinking. It is fun and is stretching me. It usually has me feeling inadequate as a human being but also has me excited to learn tons of new things. So far I decided that I need to be far better at drawing, need to learn to play the harmonica and the guitar, relearn video editing software and the list goes on and on.

But enough about me and on to my kidos and their great projects. Remember that these projects have been 100% student generated ideas. Also most of the learning seems to be about negotiating with others, how to communicate and how to keep going when something gets hard and you want to avoid it.

The "movie group" was interested in building and destroying block cities (surprise, surprise) but then got bored and moved on to clay where they made a mummy out of modeling clay and a tomb out of an egg carton. And then they got bored of that and moved onto some funny little chubby clay guy. But now they are making a clay animation movie about a giant mummy who tried to destroy New York City but gets stopped by a random hand that comes out of the sky and squishes him. It combines the two previous ideas into a new idea. They spent a few days making hand drawn flip books to experiment with single pictures being strung together to give the illusion of movement. Now they are very purposefully working to build a set for the movie and often refer to pictures of a city to see that theirs looks as similar as possible. We'll see how the filming goes.

The "play group" started out with fashion design. It was soooooo cute to see them sew. We have a miniature sewing dummy they put their clothes on to sew them up. Eventually they decided that the clothes they were making could be costumes for characters in a play. The next difficult step was to draw each character in the costume and develop a character profile. Lately they have been trying to hammer out a story line by sketching each scene on a storyboard. They often have to perform for peers who give them feedback on their play about how clear it is for the audience. These kids are surprisingly honest and good at giving feedback to each other. The peers helped the play writers to see that they really did need a narrator after all. They also helped the writers realized that there was no real beginning to their play. The girls could see their point but were stuck about how to begin a story. They have had great success looking to the book we are reading aloud as a class as a model to solve major story problems like characters development, setting and plot.

The story line is pretty adorable. It is about a princess named Hermiany(sp?) who lives with her mother Lydia in a "royal castle" by the sea. And also their castle is on stilts because it it by the sea. One day when Hermiany is getting ready to go to the ball for a beauty contest the wicked witch shows up on her broom and sets a spell on Queen Lydia. Luckily Hermiany gets her magic wand from the basement and is able to make the witches wand go nuts before any more damage can be done. Well the witch gets mad and then storms off to the ball where she looses the beauty contest. If Hermiany had been able to go to the contest she would have won. The next day when the witch is looking on the internet for a new wand Hermiany is secretly setting up a net trap for the witch which the witch falls into etc. etc.

Another group is building their own table soccer game and has had to evaluate their building materials and experiment with new ones to find what works best.

The fourth group is building the most detailed doll size house with everything you could possibly think of to go inside, including a mini solar system to hang in the teenagers room.

So far... SOOOOO FUN!

Singing the praises of Skype

Lately I'm getting into Skype. I guess I never really had many needs for it before we moved but Gian mom got us a webcam for a going away present and now I'm trying to make good use of it.

Last week Rachel Van Wagoner taught me how to bind books so that I can teach my school kids... via Skype. We also have an Ender's Game book club planned.

Today I spent an hour drawing pictures back and forth with my niece... priceless.

Three cheers for Skype! Hip-Hip-Hooray!!

Misunderstandings... big time

I overheard this conversation at school.

T: "I know more than you."

S: "How much more do you know?"

T: "I never called you a hoe!!!!"

(I'm pretty sure he doesn't really know what that means, just that you shouldn't call people hoes)

I have no idea where that conversation went wrong but it sure did.

Henry "Box" Brown

So after some of our recent historical sightseeing I decided to read the history of Richmond on wikipedia. The most interesting part was the mention of a slave from Richmond named Henry that mailed himself to freedom ... MAILED himself to freedom. Who is this guy cause I love him! For the rest of his life in Philadelphia he was known as Henry "Box" Brown.

The very next day I was researching some of the new award-winning kids books for class and ran across this Caldecott winner "Henry's Freedom Box". It looks like I'm not the only person on earth who likes the story. I had to buy it for the future Pierotti kids as a Richmond keepsake but I let the kids at school borrow it.

(picture from amazon.com, obviously)

Yes, We Can!

The previous post reminded me of a funny story from my teacher coach at school. Since it is humorous I decided not to make light of the previous post and to separate the entries.

So back in 2001 Marty was working in the preschool. There were kids building big block towers and then chanting "Bomb the building, yes we can! Bomb the building, yes we can!" Over and over again. This really disturbed her considering the recent events with the twin towers. She wasn't sure how to handle the situation and decided to talk it over with the other teachers. When they heard the story they laughed and said "Marty, they are chanting 'Bob the Builder, yes we can!" which is from the Bob the Builder kids show. She tells the story to help prove that we need to be connected to the current culture and media of the kids but mostly it just makes me LAUGH!

Nine Eleven.

My mother wrote a blog post about where she was on 9-11-01. I thought it would be a good thing to record. I was in my sophomore year at BYU living with the best roommates ever (shout out to the good old days with Rachel, Cami, Camille, Kim and Danielle). We never really listened to the radio or watched TV in the mornings so I headed to my 9:00 physical science class in the Eyring Science Center without a clue that anything had even happened. Being a private religious institution we started each class with a prayer. I was asked by my professor to say the prayer and he added "And please remember to pray for those in the tragedy." Tragedy?? Everyone around me seemed to know what he was talking about so to avoid looking like an idiot I just started the prayer and echoed what my professor had said with great uncertainty. "And also, please bless those in the tragedy?" After I was finished I leaned over to my neighbor and slyly asked "What is going on!?!?!?!?"

I was worried about my family. I knew my dad was in the middle east and didn't know what would happen there. Little did I know my mother was trapped in DC. I remember being nervous which was only made worse by the fact that I couldn't get a hold of anyone at home all day. It was a very uncertain day for everyone in America. Our hearts still go out to people who lost that day.

Weeping For Avonlea

Through seven years of my childhood Sunday nights were filled with watching the newest episode of The Road to Avonlea on the Disney Chanel (pre sexy Disney Chanel but that's a whole other topic) This show is a historical fiction award-winning Canadian show based in the same fictional town as the Anne of Green Gables series. It is full of heartwarming characters (including Marilla and Rachel Lind) who make their way through life in a small town on Prince Edward Island in the early 1900's and all the challenges that come with it.

This summer Gian and I were bored to tears in our new home with nothing to do. We borrowed the DVD sets from my parents who happen to own all seven seasons and watched them daily. I think we finished the first season in 2 days. At first Gian was a bit skeptical but soon enough the show won him over. Now he talks about wanting our kids to watch this show when they are young and impressionable because of the family values and life lessons. He also frequently mentions how poignant the show was in my childhood and how I have turned out as a person. Avonlea is not a real place but Gian says "Everyone lives in Avonlea!" and I know what he means.

Now that we are in the swing of things with work and school we watch just a few episodes a week but last night we watched the last episode of the last season and as over dramatically as this sounds I cried. I cried throughout the whole episode, not because of the story but because I was trying to prepare myself to say goodbye to so many dear old friends. I am really really sad to know them so well but not be able to keep following their lives. No facebooking, no blogs or emails or phone calls to catch up. I'm sure I'll get over it but for today, at least, I'm weeping for Avonlea.

P.S. Gus Pike is on Facebook. It's slightly tempting. Ha!

Hollywood Cemetery

Our first night in Richmond we stayed in a hotel. It had a directory for things to do while in Richmond and ever since we have had a fun "Things to do in Richmond" list ever since. We tried doing a few things in July and August but it was just too hot and miserable. Within 20 minutes we were so cranky we would just have to give up and go home. This past weekend alone we did about half of the things on our list.

Visiting the Hollywood cemetery was close to the top. We love cemeteries! I think it's because the headstones are so cool ... ok, and maybe it helps us feel connected to the past.

I expected it to be more like arlington with rows and rows of the same white soldier headstone but it was the most beautiful hodge-podge of grave markers. These pictures don't do justice to the hills and hills that the cemetery covers.

This was an awesome, giant pyramid in the middle of the cemetery. It sure surprised us all when we drove around the corner and saw it through the trees. It was the monument to mark the area reserved for soldiers.

While I'm putting these all together I just can't help but think about just how much I love my life. It's beautiful. Literally.

Confederate Capital

The main historical point about Richmond is that it was the capital of the confederate south so Jared took us just a few blocks from his old house over to the Confederate White House. You wouldn't suspect that it was there because it is this little lone historical building sandwiched between all the hospital buildings. Of course you have to pay $12 a person for the tour so we just looked at pictures of the interior in the books in the gift shop and called it good.

We made sure to have our usual fun along the way.

James River Adventure

We spent Labor Day on a James River Adventure. It was exciting. Jared and Ben were down from "The Big Apple" for Jared's art show so Jared got our friend Larry to take us on the boats.

My favorite moment was the very first moment. Gian and I both kept thinking about how hard it had been in our youth to actually tip a canoe over and figured that since we were all older and wiser there was no way we were going in the river. Jared instantly capsized the canoe while trying to get in. At least we got it over with.

The river gets pretty shallow and we would crash into boulders just under the surface. But then when I was in the kayak alone I had to laugh at myself when I got over the very dark deeper water and my imagination would go wild. It rained while we were out which was kind of fun.

I just kept thinking about how much fun we were having so close to our home. Maybe we need to add kayaks to our save-up-for list. I also couldn't help but think about what a great friend outing it would be to go out on the boats with picnic lunches and play out on the islands.

This last creepy picture was taken through the ziplock bag we decided to keep the camera in. I'm happy we had it with us but also glad for the bag once the unthinkable capsize happened.

September 6

Bitter sweet. Karen's birthday! and Florence day.

I've spent the day thinking of both.

First Friday

Last night Gian and I attended our first gallery stroll here in Richmond. It was PACKED. The smart thing is that they have a whole bunch of galleries within just a few blocks of each other. I went home feeling pretty happy because between Jared connections, my school and Gian's school within just two blocks we knew a dozen people which is pretty good for a city where you hardly know a soul. Jared came down from NYC and has a great show up in a gallery here. There was also the couple with the traveling farmer's market they have in a renovated school bus. Another highlight was the guy playing the drums with one hand the the guitar with the other. He wore a creepy mask and had a mic for some great voice sounds. He was really good. There was also lots of street preaching which was new for us. It was a fun night.

"Favorite Treat"

So last Sunday I got called to be in Young Womens and then found out a few hours before mutual that I was in charge of the activity. Since it was so last minute another leader suggested that I do a get-to-know-you night since I'm new. Along with that suggestion she kept asking if I had a favorite treat that we could all make together. I told her no, but that was a lie. I just thought the girls would be disappointed and confused if I showed up with beans.

The older I get the more sure I am about loving certain foods. They aren't the typical ice cream or chocolate or lasagna. I love beans! In fact, I just ate a whole entire can of refried beans for dinner just because I couldn't get enough of the runny beans and melted cheese slipping down my throat and filling my belly with the most distinct comfortably-full feeling that only beans can give.

I love watermelon! On Saturday I bought two and they are both gone. I ate them both with the exception of one slice that Gian had.

I love popcorn. It has to be freshly popped and I really think this one is a texture thing. That crunch is sooooooo.... I love it!

I love sushi! It's like beans. My stomach rarely feels so light yet satisfied. It has to be good sushi or else it is so barf as I found out after buying some from the local grocery store the day I for got to take lunch to school. I miss you Damae.

Peanut butter ... grapefruit.

So lady at church, I DO have favorite treats. They just are definitely NOT what you're expecting.

Back to School

So the kids are back and school is in full swing.

I just want to make it clear that even "dream jobs" come with frustrations. I like my school a lot. It's not perfect or probably more accurately I'm not perfect.

We keep having staff development meetings where they tell us that we need to be a writer if we hope to teach writing. I think of my trusty blog and all the eyes out there reading that give me my audience. Thanks for being so faithful. It IS fun to write.

However, sadly enough, I look at this blog and worry that school starting will really take a tole on the amount of varied content my writing has. It's back to what the kids had for lunch and what they did at recess and who read what book and who's dog ate who's homework.

I promise I'll keep my eye out for other things. We'll see how successful I am.

Yay!

Karen sent us these pictures. They made me very very happy. I want to post them here so that when our computer dies (which could realistically be any day) they will be preserved. It's nice to have eyes when we can't be there ourselves.

I've been thinking...

I've been sitting half naked in my dining room for a full hour trying to get motivated to workout. It just doesn't sound that great right now.

Also, I keep thinking about the mini series.

Gian has brought to my attention just how great the mini series format is and the more I think about it the more I agree. It is very frustrating to watch movies that are based on books.

If you have already read the book the movie is sure to fall short because the movies never have enough time to build the character or the plot as well as the book and they leave out so many key parts of the story because they have to try to squeeze it into a single sitting.

If you haven't read the book you can sense that there are gaping holes in the story but don't have the knowledge to fill them in which leaves one feeling very disconnected and usually bored.

One of the most recent examples is Harry Potter. Imagine how great it would be to watch the whole story in a series of detailed episodes. If in mini series format that one guy might have even had time to announce that he was the Half-Blood Prince in a significant climaxing way rather than mentioning it like it's what's for dinner and running off into the night.

Or how about Lord of the Rings? It's great but it just gets so long. If it were broken up into episodes they could easily put in all that great extra scenes they have. Gian always complains that they left out Tom Bombadil who was one of his favorite characters. If it were a mini series there would be no need to cut him out. So much of the literary masterpiece is lost when they cut and slash. And lets face it who wouldn't want more of such a great story? The fans can't get enough. It sure would help elevate the bad feelings I have towards movies that ruin great books.

The invention of the miseries is a stroke of genius that is greatly underused in American entertainment. At least the British caught on a long time ago.

... but I still don't want to exercise.

kids are great!

Our 3 year old nephew got a new cat named Batman. Love it!

The thing is his head really is kind of shaped like Batman's so maybe it's a good fit.

Maybe he would have named any other cat something else... but I really doubt it.

We sure miss that little guy.

Hoppipolla

I've been talking to a friend recently who just lost her 2nd baby.

It's so hard.

It's something that only those who have been there can ever understand, like most hard things in life... and probably like most good things, too.

I don't have advice for her.

It just hurts.

The best I can give is hearing what she has to say.

Too many just ignore.

I think sometimes sad people don't expect others to know what to say they just hope others will acknowledge them and their feelings ... just like happy or excited people hope others will respond to their joy.

So Hoppipolla is dedicated to that friend.

This was the first song on a CD one of our close friends gave us when we lost Florence. It captured so much of what were were feeling and has since become our baby's anthem. It is sad but triumphant. This is the best I could find and the pictures are a bit distracting so close your eyes if you really want to hear Florence's song. The slide show goes on to other songs but I'm just talking about the first one.

It felt so good the other day to honestly tell my friend that although it's been really hard and still is (yes, I still think about her every single day) I would do it all again.

Bad Friend

So my friend mentioned the other day how I needed to spend a lot more money on my hair.

"It's not that bad! Is it?"

"Yeah! It's THAT bad!"

So of course I tell her she's a jerk and get up and walk away and she called out after me,

"And you might want to cut down the snacks, too."

"No! That's you ... you're the one who wants 'just a little something' all the time."

She got mad that I was mad at her and stormed off to pack up her car. I passed her car and she was bawling. It was really upset by her rudeness. Luckily it was all a dream. I won't tell you who it was because they never actually did any of that but it was all still very upsetting.

Cowboy Cookbook

I was at the library with Gian this morning. We've been going pretty much every Saturday morning. I have a million books I've started and need to finish. So I was browsing the cookbook section and found a cowboy cookbook. It was full of beautiful pictures of the desert with mountain in the background.

Then I just looked at my friends blog with picture of her cute family out in the fields... and the mountains in the background...

...and I'm homesick.

The differences between where we were and where we are are subtle. But subtle or not it is different. The culture is different. The land is different. And I didn't realize until I was staring it all in the face how different it is or how well I understand where I used to be and how much I miss it.

Don't get me wrong. I'm happy to be on the new adventure and there is plenty to enjoy in VA. It was just a feeling I had today.

Grocery Store Dilemma

Frugal times + moving to more expensive city = monitoring expenditures closely

So I went to the grocery the other day and was faced with the same dilemma I always am faced with. I want to purchase english muffins. Oh they are on sale! Wait. Only the regular kind are on sale the whole grain are not. The whole wheat are not. Do I save 80 cents or get more nutrients?

It's not a big deal for one purchase but times it by every item I buy and that 80 cents really adds up.

I've been thinking a lot about this issue of quality vs. price lately. I got even more to think about when Gian had me listen to a pod cast of Radio West by an author. Her book was called something about "the real cost of endless bargain hunting" or something to that effect. I can't find the real title now but basically she was a huge shop-aholic who got a real rush from finding bargains. So she researched the economic effects and the neuroscience behind the rush. It was fascinating. Some main points she made were

1. We are so trained to look for a good deal that we look at the price first and the item second. We buy so many things we don't need or even want because the price is right.
2. We are forcing the quality of products to go down because the dairy farmer who doesn't water down his milk can't compete with the dairy farmer that does.
3. We have lost the true meaning of frugal. Buying low quality because it cost less is cheap. Frugal means having a few good quality things and making them last.
4. We end up spending much more over time because we buy things we don't really need/want AND we have to replace these cheap things more frequently but it's over a long period of time so we're not noticing.
5. She had a lot about the actually chemical reaction the happens in the brain when we make purchases, especially ones we feel are a great deal. It's pretty much an addiction... yeah, like drugs.

In my gut I know she is right. I can see evidence of it all around me. But knowing it and putting it into practice in my own life is tricky.

Anyone else have this problem?

Slowly But Surely

Things are coming together for us here... slowly but surely.

I went to my new school last week to borrow books and read up while I still have and endless amount of time on my hands. I borrowed a few DVDs, too. The projects the kids did were remarkable. I wish I could post the DVD's online for you to enjoy (Sage and Camille, I think you both would really be interested).

While I was there a lady ran excitedly into the office not knowing I was in the next room and asked the secretary "Is that Andrea's car?!?!?" She noticed the out of state license plate. We got to meet her and chat. Her daughter is going to be in my class. It was just so fun to see that she knew I was coming and was excited. It meant a lot to me. It makes me feel so much more settled to know I have a class list and a classroom and a co-teacher. So far I only have 13 kids between the two of us. Hallelujah. Oh the things we can do with numbers like that!

On our way home we stopped by the river. It smelled a little, like most bodies of water, but was beautiful. It's low enough that people were out wading in the water. Others had nice picnics set up on the boulders. It was fun to watch the kids on all their adventures. It was a perfect summer spot.

A couple from church invited us for dinner tonight. It was fun. We introduced them to our Sunday tradition of biscotti and pero and we taught them the board game Settlers of Catan. I dare say we made our first new friends tonight. It felt so good.

Things are working out... slowly but surely.

School

These are dolls some of the kids made.

The River

A really cool wall that surround a mansion on the drive. We always oooo and ahh at how beautiful it looks and marvel at the lack of mortar.

Tagged

First, look what is just 3 blocks from my house!!! YAY!!! Good news for ya'll's Christmas presents and for anyone that comes to visit.


Second, Brit Tagged me... a while ago.
I've always avoided these things but decided to try it before I made any final judgments. I think I mainly hate having to list people at the end. Thanks for helping me step out of the comfort zone, Brit.

Referring to the previous post, now is as good a time as any to give it the old college try.

8 Things I did Yesterday:

1. Went to Home Depot to get foam with Gian.
2. Went to Hobby Store USA and found nothing.
3. Read the first 2 chapters of Prelude to Glory – historical fiction about the revolutionary war. There is a huge shelf of volumes waiting for me.
4. Talked to Rachel Van on the phone
5. Made Falafel for lunch
6. Watched 3 episodes of Road to Avonlea
7. Moved more boxes into Gian’s studio
8. Looked through the Penzey’s catalogue to decide what to get next.


8 Things I'm looking forward to:

1. Making it down to the 17th street market in Shako Bottoms
2. Riding bikes through the Hollywood Cemetery (in Richmond, not Hollywood)
3. Riding in a paddle boat… anywhere
4. Taking the Bells’ canoe onto the James River for an adventure
5. All of my friends coming to visit me
6. Finding a really great swimming suit, but I’m not holding my breath
7. Going to Institute tonight because it means I actually have something to do with other humans.
8. Teaching at Sabot at Stony Point


8 Favorite Shows:
We don’t have TV so these are shows I would watch or sometimes catch on the internet
1. Lost (but we are waiting for DVD from now on)
2. Iron Chef America
3. The Office (British is my first love .It’s how Gian and I started dating…but American, too)
4. Nanny 9-1-1
5. Road to Avolnea
6.Yo Gabba Gabba (though I’ve never been able to see a whole episode)
7. Crusoe (guilty pleasure)
8. Arrested Development


8 Favorite Restaurants:
Who am I kidding? We’re not highfalutin enough to eat out. This list is better titled "8 restaurants I know exist".

1. Bombay House
2. Burger Supreme
3. Lon’s BBQ
4. Provo Farmer’s Market Steak Tacos
5. The Happy Taco (on the Provo/Orem hill in the Tossoro gas station)
6. …I’m leaving these ones open to start transitioning the list to local restaurants once we eat at them
7. …
8. …


8 People I tag:
This is the part that keeps me from doing these…if I put your name down it is in no way a binding contract
1. Lauren Vinning
2. Kim Jackson
3. Amy Schoville
4. Heather Downie Koepflehgfjfgjfj
5. Mom
6. Kassie Crookston
7. Sage
8. Rachel Van

p.s. I have to admit it is always secretly fun when I see my name on the list.

bored

It's really nice to have a summer break. Many, many people wish they had a summer break but do not. I don't think I could survive teaching if I didn't have the time to regroup. And I know that as soon as I am not on summer break any more I'll wish so bad that I were. But those truths never prevent me from getting bored and restless.

I have time to read books. I'm currently reading about 10 different books. But after only a few hours of reading I get tired of reading. Maybe I have weak eye muscles or a short attention span. If I could read all day without getting a boredom headache I'd probably be a genius by now.

We go to the library a lot. I always seem to get cookbooks. That's a great hobby! The problem is we only eat 3 meals a day, the oven is ancient and heats up the whole house and we're on a budget. I made falafel for lunch today. Yum and fun, but when I was finished it had only filled about 1/24 of all the time I had in the day.

We watch an old childhood favorite "The Road To Avonlea" on DVD every night but about 4 episodes is about all we can handle.Thank goodness we don't have tv or my brain would be jello.

I'd garden but we have no land and it's a little late to start now.

I'd exercise except its about a bigillion degrees outside I can't even get down the 3 flights of stairs without sweat pouring down my spine. And there is only yoga if its indoors because we live over people and have very squeaky floors.

I'd go hand out with my friends... but I don't have any yet.

Plus I've already looked at all of your blogs several times. You're too busy with summer adventures to post.

I'm officially bored!

Maybe summer break would be more fun if I were also very very rich.

Soccer in Baltimore

I've been feeling even more patriotic since moving out east. I mean I've always loved America but now everywhere I go I'm faced with history. To illustrate my point here is an example.

Last Friday my family went to Baltimore (or Balt-more as locals call it) to watch AC Milan play Chelsea (translation for those who need it: soccer) in the Ravens' stadium. I usually get emotional when I hear the national anthem play.

I think it really started while teaching first grade. I got to belt it out every Monday morning to a room full of 6 year olds right after we said the pledge. It was fun to sing those words totally shamelessly to prove to the kids that it was awesome to be into America and proud of our history. The more Mondays passed the more I loved that song and now when I hear it I have a hard time not getting misty eyed.

But hearing it in Baltimore was really something special. Knowing that just yonder was Fort McHenry where that song was penned made me feel even more humbled. One thing I love about our anthem is how the words help us not to forget those moments. But anyway, it was another misty eyed moment and I felt proud.

The game was fun. We got to see some great players like Ronaldinho (one of the best and of course from Brazil). They were GOOD. But they were definately in "Friendly" mode since it wasn't a game that counted for anything. Me, Gian, Dad and Nate were all cheering for AC Milan while Mom and Garrett went home the winners because they were for Chelsea who won 2-1.

There was a very British family that came and sat right in front of us. They had really strong cockney accents and their rather large son kept standing up to block our view. On the way home Dad referred to him as Shrek which was hilarious only because it was spot on.

On our walk to the stadium we got to cut through Camden Yards which was fun, too. I just love the old B&O warehouse they kept there to raise the stadiums level of awesomeness. Since I don't like baseball at least they left something to appeal to people like me.

Also while we were visiting my parents our old friends John and Mishel Stonely came to visit. They brought us a Baltimore special. This little cookie is know as a Berger and is a pretty tasty piece of local cuisine. It is 50% short bread cookie and 50% fudge. It sure was fun to see the Stonely family. Too bad we only thought to take pictures of the cookies and not the people.

Oh yeah, and Nate and I made homemade bagels.... moist, chewy, delicious!