class projects

My students and I just finished reading Pam Munoz Ryan's novel, Esperanza Rising, as a class. This was my second time deviating from the required Houghton Miflin Language Arts Curriculum that is usually shoved down our throats. The biggest drag with this anthology is that each week, for a series of 4 weeks, we are required to race through a different snippet of piece of literature. Most of the time the kids have no idea what the story is about, because we only get to read one chapter. We only spend a week on it which is both too long and too short at the same time. Last year, another teacher and I requested that instead of one of the anthology themes, that lasts 5+ weeks, we would create a unit with the mentioned novel. She supported our idea. This second time around things are going really well. We had the opportunity to analyze character growth- the main character is a perfect example of maturity throughout the novel. We also discussed symbolism, setting, and difficult themes like illegal immigration, worker's rights and the reasons to strike, segregation, and racism. As well as the values of family and what makes a person's life rich. Now that we have finished the novel, we are continuing this week with a series of different extended projects.

My class is very crafty, so I knew they would love the project I introduced to them on Thursday. We each made a yarn doll. The project was based out of what the main characters make in the novel and the doll is referenced several times throughout the story. Each student had to help his/her partner to complete each doll successfully. Even the boys took to the project with energy and enthusiasm. The results were adorable. Each doll took on a different personality! They were so adorable.




I highly recommend you check out this novel. It was especially pertinent to my
students' life experiences and we all loved it!

**notice the title in the first photo- credit goes to Lex for creating beautiful bulletin board letters for each theme!

(theme 5 is right around the corner...hint, hint)

How did you spend your Valentine's day?

Just in time, the fog lifted and the sun sparkled off the crashing waves. It was of course the perfect backdrop for a run this morning.

My good friend, and Salsa dance partner, Hector and I ran an organized 10k run this morning through Pacific Grove. He and I kept a really good pace, pushing me slightly faster than my normal weekend run speed. We stayed really consistent at 9:08 minutes per mile. My goal was to cross the finish line in under an hour, and we did just that, crossing at 56:40.

Checking the official results on line, I found out that for my age group (20-29 yr old women) I came in 26th out of 72!! Not shabby. The overall race felt really good, and we got super cool black shirts...
...all in support of the Monterey Rape Crisis Center.



OF course there will be salsa dancing later tonight!! So now share how you spent your day!

Pinnacles National Monument

Over the weekend, the weather stayed dry and in addition it was a three day hiatus from school!! I had a fabulous Monday hanging out with Teresa and Heather, two teacher friends from school. We spent the afternoon at the West end of Pinnacles National Monument.

I had hiked through here about a year and a half ago with Lex, but Monday was quite different. Due to all the rain of the past few weeks, the brooks and streams were babbling and gurgling and there were waterfalls too. Unfortunately, with all the water the caves were flooded, and unless we wanted to wade through knee deep rushing water, it was best to just hike around the caves, rather than through them.

Here are some photos from the excursion.