More student art

This assignment had the students all take the same object- a large purple circle, and incorporate it into an illustration. First we brainstormed what the circle could be- bicycle wheel, face, fruit, soccer ball...

So here is what turned out:

Solar System:



Hot Cheeto Guy Gone Cold:



The Pizza Party:



Ninja:

Running around the Monterey Area

I know its random, but when I google myself, the first thing that comes up is of course my masters thesis. the second, are the race results for all the runs that I have recently completed.
I have completed four 10k (6.2 miles) races in the last 8 months!! If I go back an entire year, that would include a half marathon (13.1 miles) and if I go back a year and a half, that would include a 21 mile marathon!! I guess I love running. The best thing about it, is running with a partner. Teresa, a great teacher friend of mine ran the 21 miler with me. Darling Lex ran the half marathon with me. Both of the longer races were in Big Sur.

For the most recent races I have been training and staying motivated by my good friend and salsa dance partner, Hector.

So time to get to the stats of the races.

Date: February 14th
Location: Pacific Grove
Course: race along the ocean-side street from lovers point (out and back)
Weather: Sunny, misty spray off the ocean
Results: 9:08 min mile; 56:35 minutes
Racer # 228 out of 560+ participants.

Date: April 11
Location: Santa Cruz
Course: race along the Santa Cruz Coast line. From the boardwalk (out and back)
Weather: foggy, windy
Results: 8:48 min mile; 53:56 minutes
Racer # 195 out of 1118

Date: September 12
Location: Aromas Rock Quarry
Course: race through an active rock quarry (very hilly!)
Weather: thick fog; very chilly
Results: 59:00 minutes
Racer: # 26 out of 55 (8th woman to cross finish line!)

Date: September 25th
Location: Pebble Beach/17 mile drive
Course: Start at Stevenson High School, through the forest, out along the 17 mile drive coast line then back into the trees. Incredibly hilly!
Weather: 75-80 degrees!! Gorgeously sunny day!
Results: 57:25 min.
Racer: 2nd in my age/gender category!! (58th overall out of over 100).

Next race... Half Marathon in Monterey (my own backyard)
I've got the t-shirts to prove it!!



**Thanks abba for the photos!! Guess I need a photographer at all the races.
Next one is November 14th!! (hint hint)

the scribble game

This post is specifically for the sisters. As much as I teased you two about the ridiculous games you would come up with -singing as your ramen cooked, making up a language, and making paper doll clothes, I can't help but acknowledge and attribute some of the things I do today to that wackiness!! For example, the scribble game you two would play in the car- often.

For those unfamiliar with the activity, one person would scribble a bit on one paper and hand it to the other, the second person would have to create a picture from those random scribbles. To introduce my students into art this year, I took the same general idea. It took a few tries for them to "break out of the box" and really turn out some clever art- all based on another classmate's scribbles.

Enjoy. (the titles are always entertaining!!)

This student enjoys science...




This student is quiet, but hardworking. I had her older sister two years ago.




this one really made me laugh (make sure to read the caption!)

Gardening in Carmel Valley

A couple weekends ago I helped my good friend Teresa kick start her garden in her new little place in Carmel Valley. Once the protective fence was up and ready... Carmel Valley-ites have terrible trouble with a certain pest, deer!! So in order to keep the hopeful veggies safe from nibbling lips, a fence had to be erected.

I helped out the following weekend when we headed over to the nursery for good soil, and "deer-tolerant" plants. We worked all afternoon, moving a raised bed into the garden and filling it- for the veggie plot. We then transplanted and potted a host of lovely little guys- a meyer lemon, lavender, peppers, basil, morning glories. The day was lovely, and we got wonderfully dirty!! Moose, her 114 lb. dog found his own way to help out too!

Zion National Park, Utah

I've decided to break my 2 week road trip with my good teacher buddies, Teresa and Heather, into several blog posts. Each post will highlight a different piece of the trip. This one will focus on Zion National Park in Utah, which is day 3 and 4, but the first time I started using my camera on the trip. I need the girls' photos from the previous days to fill in the early gaps.

We stayed in a private campground right outside the park. Since we didn't make reservations, we almost never stayed in the National Parks that we visited. This campground however, was one of our favorites of the whole trip. Aside from the fact that we were all sandwiched together with other campers and RVs, we had a site directly above a flowing river (the same one that flows through Zion and created that Canyon that was so gorgeous). We bought inner tubes and enjoyed floating and relaxing down the river. This campsite was very windy, and it almost never cooled down (I stayed in my bathing suit well into the night).

We took our full day and drove into the Visitor's Center. At Zion, that is as far as guest vehicles can go. They have a great and efficient shuttle system that got us to all our interested hiking trails. We did one major 5 mile round-trip vertical climb about 1200 feet above the canyon floor. Heather even continued on another 200 feet up or so on a narrow ledge of cables and rock to another look-out point!!
We also did shorter walks along the river and to see some natural waterfalls.

Spring Break- Las Vegas and Orange County

I just enjoyed a relaxing 10 day spring break vacation. I got to spend time with my parents and sister- tennis games and long walks. I also flew down to Las Vegas to hang out with a good teacher-friend of mine. We enjoyed the penny slots, but I won big at none other than...Bingo!! Who would have guessed?? I walked away with a grand $200!! We also enjoyed seeing shows.




For Easter, I celebrated with the Nazaroff clan at my grandparents house. Traditions included: Blinze brunch (delicious); dart tournaments (stressful); and guys vs. gals Easter-egg hunts (competitive).



New traditions included:
-generation #4: with little Shiloh
-reminiscing and laughing at old slides from the 60s that Dzeda had converted to a dvd slide show. My dad and uncle both looked like they belonged in a Leave it to Beaver episode with my dad's thick rimmed glasses and their matching plaid collared shirts and Uncle Steve's all-teeth smile.

It was during this slide show that we commented on a bright florescent orange dress that my grandmother was wearing...what do you know, over 30 years later and she was able to head upstairs that instant and find it!! Well, I HAD to try it on. That led to Baboo opening up her closet of period outfits from the 80s and 90s and Shanel, Daniela and I had a blast trying them all on!!

March 4th- CA teacher strike

Bright and early Thursday morning, I met up with my fellow teachers and administrators for a peaceful protest. For several days leading up to the state-wide strike, my students had been working on posters to display. It was the perfect timing, because I could incorporate what was happening across the state with what we had been learning in the classroom. We had just completed our unit reading Esperanza Rising and we had incorporated discussions about Cesar Chavez and his nonviolent strikes for farm workers' rights against the corporate growers. The students were eager to show their support through these signs which I took to the strike on Thursday morning. I will let the photos express their sentiments too!





although small, we were mighty!