20-24 de abril

¡Hola Familias!

Happy weekend! Once again, GRACIAS, GRACIAS, Y GRACIAS for such a great week of learning. I know that it is not always easy, especially since the "honeymoon" period has worn off, but we are moving forward every day--I have no doubt!

I'm not sure if you've seen this yet, but here is a song that you may relate to written by a music teacher in these moments of distance learning:

Do you ever feel like she does?! I know I do! We are surely in the midst of challenging times, both on a global level as well as on the home front as we strive to create an at-home learning environment for our children. 

Know that, first and foremost, I get it. I have my own kids who make me question why I went into the teaching profession sometimes. :) I've lost my cool with them, I hate to say, and they definitely know that I don't have it all together in every moment.

Please, know that this is a time to extend grace to each other. I will do my best to help your child keep learning, but I know it's not the same as when we're in school. Battles have, and will continue to, come. Some days are different than others. I get it!

That being said, if there is anything I can do to help you and your child, I am here for you! Please don't hesitate to reach out when you're feeling like you can't do it. I'm happy to talk with your child, to try something new, or to help brainstorm ways we can make it work together. 

Connections

What a sweet time we had today over Zoom! I just love spending time hearing the kids talk to each other, laugh, play games, and speak in Spanish together! Thanks for making it possible and also for helping your child connecting with his/her small groups this week. :)

Again, if you're interested in connecting with other families and having your kids video chat, please add your name to this list--or feel free to contact parents to set something up! 

¡Más Español!

I applaud all of your efforts to continue helping your child hear and speak Spanish daily. If you're looking for something this weekend, tune into our Engedi Español church service, going live on Facebook at 11am on Sunday. Maestra Pereira will be helping to lead worship!

Finally, I encourage you to listen to some music en español this weekend--here is a short playlist of some of the songs we've heard and sung in class. I turned it on this morning and started watching the video for "Rey" (the song we were going to sing for the Spring Program). Suddenly, I found myself close to tears as I remembered how the kids would belt this song out and dance around the classroom. Even through this moment of sadness, I was reminded that even though life now is so different from what we imagined a few weeks ago, He has not changed. 

Tú eres Rey...por siempre Rey..sobre la creación...Tú eres Rey...Tú eres Rey.

Let's remember this truth this weekend and as we continue to take one step forward hand-in-hand (virtually, that is!). I am SO thankful for you all!

13-17 de abril

¡Hola Familias!

Take a minute to give yourself a pat on the back for a FANTASTIC week back at e-learning!

I am so thankful for all of you and the extra effort you are continually putting in to sit by your child, redo messy handwriting, draw lots of pictures, press "play" and "record" endless times, take lots of selfies, and email and text me daily! I am confident that your child is continuing to make great learning strides, and none of that could be done without you. 

Weekly Reflection

This week we had some changes in our schedule across the entire district. I hope you found those changes favorable and that you and your family can be engaged and challenged in learning while not feeling overwhelmed. For my family, Wednesday was a nice break from the routine, and we enjoyed doing some different activities with new (but still familiar) faces from Rose Park. 

Do you feel positively about this past week? Would you like more? Do you feel overwhelmed? How can I help? Please, don't hesitate to reach out and give me your feedback. :)

Zoom Meetings

I have absolutely LOVED our class Zoom meetings! We had 3 great small-group sessions today and a beautiful, lively whole-group session this afternoon. Thank you for taking the time to help your child connect! I think we all enjoyed it. We'll keep following the same schedule in the following weeks. Again, if something is not working for you, please reach out to me.

La Palabra Secreta

Did you hear that the secret word today was "Gato"? I had a Lego cat inside of my surprise egg! I'll have another one next week--I thought this went great! Thanks for helping keep this up with your child at home.

Want to Connect?

This week my daughter connected with a couple classmates via Zoom. I was secretly spying on her, and it was SO sweet--they showed each other their toys, chatted in English and Spanish, and started to read books to each other! I know some of you have expressed interest in connecting your child with his/her classmates. If you would like, please fill out this spreadsheet to help facilitate connections between families.

A Reading Suggestion

You may have noticed a link on the Spring Break spreadsheet called "Build your Reading Stamina!". I would like to recommend this activity to you if you haven't checked it out. I subscribe to a lot of different teaching blogs and newsletters, and I received an email about this online video series a few weeks ago. It is very simple--basically, Gail Boushey, the teacher, talks through some different reading strategies and literally "sits" with you to read in increasing increments. She starts with 1 minute of silent reading and eventually works up to 30 minutes! My family has been doing this video series almost every day, and it has REALLY helped all of us sit down and enjoy independent reading time (while sitting in silence together). I would recommend it for all ages, even adults! Anyways, here is the link (you'll scroll down and click the green button that says "Watch Video Series" to see all the videos). 

All right, it's time to sit back, relax, and enjoy some down time this weekend! I hope you can do so, and I look forward to "seeing" you again on Monday!

30 de marzo - 2 de abril

¡Hola Familias!

As I sit and write this post to you, my heart is sad knowing that our classroom family will not be meeting together in person for the rest of the year. How I will miss the smiles, hugs, and laughter from each one of your children that brightened my days! I am beyond thankful for each and every one of you and for the special part your child has played in our classroom community this year. Even though the face-to-face learning has been cut tragically short, our year thus far together has been an amazing one.

Personally, I can find thinking too much about our present circumstances to be paralyzing. Thinking about "what if?" and "when?" and "how much longer?" can lead me to panic, fear, and despair. And yet every day, I know that God is guiding me--guiding us--as we take one more step forward. 

To use a silly analogy, my mind goes to Anna's song in Frozen 2 (let's be real--my kids have probably seen this movie 4,251 times already) when she sings about doing "the next right thing". Isn't that all we can do at this point? Trust in God, take His hand, put on a smile for our kids, and do what we know is right. Take each day as it comes and find a moment of joy in it.

I was in the grocery store last week trying to "stock up" (fun fact: I've never spent that much money before on a single grocery trip!), and I was looking in the hand soap aisle. Of course, there wasn't any, but the kind worker there suggested that I get some dish soap instead. Then she smiled at me and said, "Don't worry--we're going to get through this." Those simple words from a stranger encouraged me that day. Although it is scary living through such uncertain times and unprecedented events, we will get through it. Someday it will be over.

And the best part is, we know the ending already! Jesus has overcome the pain of this world, the cross of suffering, and even death itself! As you spend this Holy week with your family, perhaps in different activities than you'd originally planned (we had to cancel our trip to the TX/Mexico border to visit my husband's family this week), let's meditate on this truth. Let's remember that "our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). God is in control of our past, present, and future!

This Week And Beyond!

As we continue putting one foot in front of the other, know that my full intention is to walk alongside you as you and I continue to partner in learning with your child. I am meeting with the SI team as well as the district-wide kindergarten team this upcoming week, and we are going to brainstorm how we can most effectively help your child continue learning and moving forward. Details are still evolving, but there may be some different formats coming after Spring Break, including more opportunities for targeted, small-group instruction as well as more "live" opportunities for your child to connect with Maestra.

Stay tuned for the details! For now, if you are interested in continuing a learning routine at home during your "staycation", here is a spreadsheet with some suggested activities you may want to try this week. Please note that they are completely optional, and I understand if you need a break from school mode for a while! ;)

Familias, I wish all of you a restful and rejuvenating Spring Break week, a joyful and encouraging Easter, and I look forward to "seeing" your child again next week! 

¡Felices Pascuas!