music library magic eight ball meme

How does the world see you?
All Out of Love (Air Supply)
Power (Marillion)

Will I have a happy life?
The Maker (Daniel Lanois)
Montreal (Marillion)

What do my friends really think of me?
The Abduction of Margaret (The Decemberists)
Boy Meets Girl (Bleu)

How can I make myself happy?
It Falls Back on Me (Avion)
Driving With the Brakes On (Del Amitri)

What should I do with my life?
A Thing About You (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers)
Drama Queen (The Nines)

Will I ever have children?
Amazing Grace (Daniel Lanois)
A Dip in the Ocean (Fountains of Wayne)

What is some good advice for me?

O Marie (Daniel Lanois)
Defying Gravity (Idina Menzel + Kristen Chenowith)

How will I be remembered?
Santa Baby (Eartha Kitt and Henri Rene)
Archaeologist (Wintersleep)

What is my signature dancing song?
She's Leaving Home (The Beatles)
49 Bye-Byes (Crosby, Stills, and Nash)

What do I think my current theme song is?

She's Leaving Home (The Wellingtons)
Never Be One Until You're Two (Tim Christensen)

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?

Chances (Air Supply)
Far Beyond Driven (Tim Christensen)

What song will play at my funeral?
Just Another (Pete Yorn)
Pour My Love (Marillion)

What is my Day going to be like?
Ice (Daniel Lanois)
Power (Marillion)

Should I publish this meme?
If All Else Fails (Richard Page)
Lena (The Nines)

A tree

As we selected our Christmas tree a few nights ago we didn't realize how soon we would be saying goodbye to another very important tree.  When we moved to our neighborhood ten years ago, the street was lined with lovely trees.  They flowered in springtime (although for the past several years spring came more like February than April).  The trees grew and grew (as trees do) and as their spreading roots spread toward the curbs, driveways and foundations of the townhomes along the row they started chopping them down over the past two years. Fast forward to this past Sunday afternoon. We were heading out for some holiday errands; I stepped outside and noticed Owen standing in front of the trunk of the tree across from our house.  His hand was on a patch of bright orange paint near the base.  He knew, even as he asked me, what the marking meant.

I must pause here, to explain the significance of the tree.  Our street is currently home to 12 kids under 18.  Over the years there have been as many as 21.  This tree, most likely a Jeffrey Pine,  is our neighborhood tree.  It is the climbing tree, the pinata tree, the shade tree, and for our family the picture tree. First and last days of school, concerts, and any and all special events mean a photo by the tree.  Even the three teens on our street have precious memories of this tree.

"Can I climb it one more time?" asked Owen.  I assured him that the crew wouldn't be coming to cut it down on a Sunday afternoon.  We headed out, the day got busy (as days do), and several hours later we were so busily trimming low branches off our holiday fir and stabilizing its metal tree stand that the encroaching fate of our neighborhood tree was forgotten.  (irony much?)

The following night during the kids' karate class I remembered.

Owen had just finished his blue belt test (he passed!) and came over to sit by me as Delaney came in for her test.  I pulled him close and whispered, "It's Monday.  I really hope they haven't cut down the tree yet." His reaction was serious and stoic.  I can't remember if we exchanged any words, but I remember our hands squeezing together and me hugging him close.   Both kids ended up passing their belt test; they had been working toward the goal for so many weeks and had both tested more than once.  Their success put us in a celebratory mood and we stopped for a treat on the way home. We didn't think about the tree.  We pulled in the garage and Laney sat down to finish her homework.  Owen's homework for the week was special; he was to sit outside and make sensory night observations, then write interesting sentences based on these observations.  He asked me to go outside with him.  He raised the garage door halfway as I stepped from the house into the garage to join him.  "They cut it down!" was all I heard before he plunged into my arms.  We cried.  A lot.  The first thing he said was "Can I go count the rings to see how old it was?" When he returned he said,  "well, the good thing is if they take the stump out there will be more grassy area to play in with my friends." My heart swelled, because looking on the bright side is not always his go-to solution. (smile:) We cried some more, went and got Delaney, cried some more, came in and texted the neighbors and dadddy, went outside and hugged the neighbors, came in and called daddy in Chicago. He read us The Giving Tree over the phone and wished he was here so we could all console each other.  Trees are supposed to outgrow their children, not the other way around.

The swamp monster and the baby mermaid

First meeting
Swamp Monster came creeping in from the garage, it's camouflaged netted skin swishing with it's movements.  It's monosyllabic utterings were sweet and short; similar to a cat's mewing. Soon enough a new sheet-covered creature appeared on the stairs, and the two moved close (shielded face to shielded face) and began communicating in an unknown tongue. Swamp Monster shed his skin, and the second creature followed suit.  When Swamp Monster covered up again,  the second creature revealed a shimmering blue mermaid tail.  They maneuvered cautiously around the space,  careful not to get in each other's way. When they got hungry and thirsty, Swamp Monster requested swamp cheerios and swamp slime, while Baby Mermaid wanted only water.  They each found some toys but engaged only in parallel play. Swamp Monster mentioned that he liked to swim in the toxic bog. Later Swamp Monster rested in a slime pit and Baby Mermaid nearby in a golden clamshell.  Here is where the conversation begins.

"I live in the deepest part of the sea," Swamp Monster said.

"And I live near the top," responded Baby Mermaid.

"Do you have friends there?" Baby Mermaid asked Swamp Monster.

"What is a friend?" replied Swamp Monster, playing the part.

"A friend is someone you like and you can play with." answered Baby Mermaid. Then she continued matter-of-factly, "We can't be friends because you live in the deep and I live at the top. I don't know what you are like because you are used to being you and I'm used to being me."

Our first full day of Summer break at home

It's 1:52 P.M.

Owen is singing to himself while he puts together Lego in the hall and Delaney is quiet.  She is supposed to be resting in her room but is more likely hunting for a "cutter-butter" which she describes as not something to cut with but rather something pokey, such as a needle "or an earring", she explains.  I am concerned, but not so much that I plan to move from my position on the bed.  It is rest-time, a momma-imposed post lunch quiet time that brings back happy memories from 1984, where my twelve year old self looked forward to buying Lemonheads and lying on my bunk for half an hour instead of traipsing from swimming, hiking, archery,and canoeing with wet and dirt covered feet.

Back to the present.  In my darkened sanctuary of a bedroom a window fan blows the translucent inner curtain and the ceiling fan spins without end. This is my antidote to sensory overload. A quickly moving figure sprinting out of the doorway catches the corner of my eye.  What sprite is this? What phantom? Ah, yes. Sweet four year old Delaney Rose, surely escaping with her prized "cutter-butter". Soon enough the truth is revealed. Delaney has decorated her upholstered headboard with a collection of a dozen or so of my earrings.  Of course she has.

Today is our first full day of Summer vacation at home.

We left on a red-eye the last day of school and returned two nights ago in the middle of the night.  We spent yesterday happily visiting Grandma and Grandpa at their new home and helping them close out their apartment rental.   It felt lovely to be doing this on the last day of June.  Today we implemented our Summer schedule, which went something like this(so far):

6:49 kids wake up. so do i.
7:00 make fruit/yogurt smoothies, serve breakfast(smoothie,banana mini muffins(2), play school
8:30 O.sets up Lego movie, L and I play yoga
9:30film O. move take 1
10:00 mom eats breakfast, takes a shower
10:25 get ready to go to story time
11-1 library fun!
1-1:40 make and serve lunch (chicken, broccoli, biscuit, mac/cheese)
1:40-2:40 rest time
3-3:30 show
3:45-4:30 play outside
4:30-5:30 read library books and snack(bunny grahams/berry/fruit chew bar)
5:30-6:15 watch two shows
6:15-6:30 dinner (scrambled eggs and toast, milk)
6:30-7:30 play outside
7:30 brush teeth, pj's, stories, lights out at 8

Spring update

Life continues nonstop around here.  I try my best to savor each little cuddle, giggle and even moment of stubbornness because I know these days are fleeting.

*Owen is "5 and 3 corders" years old.  Both kids are looking forward to his birthday, which falls on the last day of school just like the year he was born.  He reads, adds, and is starting to enjoy sweet friendships, playing soccer on the Kinder yard, and explaining his classwork to his little sister.

*Delaney is finishing up her second year at Little Patch of Earth Preschool.  May will be her last month there, as she will be attending Pre-K at the Wiley Preschool with Miss Vicki in the fall.  She is excited to go to school with momma and Owen, and will be going five mornings instead of MWF like the past two years.

*We spent three days with friends at Joshua Tree National Park during spring break and the kids earned their first Jr. Ranger badge.

*Laney has been enjoying Tiny Stars dance class with Miss Erin at Star Dance this year.  March was her last month because we will be leaving on a two week summer whirlwind adventure the day before the June recital (on O's bday actually) and we didn't want her to feel bad practicing the recital dance when she couldn't participate.  She participated in her first stage recital in December so now she know's what she's missing.

*As an alternative we enrolled her in an 8-week Jr. Musical Theater class with Miss Elizabeth at Star Dance on Saturday mornings.   Owen decided to try it too.  They will present a 15-20 minute condensed version of The Lion King on Saturday, June 6. They find out their parts at today's class and are busy watching the DVD of the movie (they've never seen it) and practicing the lyrics for the first two songs they've learned, "The Morning Report" and "I Just Can't Wait to be King". Should be fun.

*It is sign-up time for AYSO soccer and Cub Scout recruitment so Owen is thinking about what he'd like to try for Fall.  Delaney thinks she'll wait one more year and then maybe try soccer. We are still looking at group piano for both.

*The kids will be in ten day intensive (15 minute long) private swim instruction July 6-17 to try and solidify what they've learned in city and YMCA swim the past three summers.

*The kids are enjoying LEGO a lot.  Owen likes the sets now and Laney is enjoying creative freedom.

*Today is a jam-packed day with Owen's school Color-a-Thon fundraiser, Jr. Musical class, Wiley Earth Day carnival and a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's. so off i go!

Delaney Rose turns 4

Delaney has been looking forward to turning four for several months.  During her last few months being three, she learned to write her name and count to 39.  When I would lament the fact that I soon wouldn't have a three year old anymore (one of my favorite ages since I was a teenage babysitter), she'd  say, "Don't worry, momma.  You can pretend my dolls are 3." :) In late summer/early Fall, she started showing interest in writing the letters of her name.  She started with "D" and then after a week or two added the "L" consonant, but in the initial position, so it looked like this "LD".  Next was Y, and she switched the D to initial position like this "DLY" By late November, she added the N and the vowels, and voila, she could write the whole thing!  One funny thing is that last year at some point Owen told her her last name was "Robert" instead of Richard, so now when you ask her whole name, she insists it is "Delaney Rose Richard Robert". so cute.  We have slowly switched from calling her Laney to Delaney (at least I have) over the past several months, because it seems to be what she prefers right now. So, around Halloween, I ventured into the Disney store at the mall. I had successfully avoided it completely during my first five and a half years of parenthood. (smile) I ended up with a complete Rapunzel outfit (including the blond flower crown of hair with detachable Rapunzel braid) and a second costume for our sweet neighbor Olivia's birthday gift.  I may or may not have purchased a dozen small/sale items for Christmas gifts as well. In any case, we had recently watched Tangled, the kids only Disney movie other than Cars, Planes, Rescue Planes, Toy Story and Frozen. Delaney was enthralled, so I hoped she might choose Rapunzel as a Halloween costume instead of Sky from Paw Patrol. (The Sky costume involved a pink helicopter prop. Hmmm.) Well, on Halloween morning before Owen and I left for school I asked Laney what she was going to be for Halloween.  "A Rainbow Fairy" she answered matter of factly. Uh-oh.  On my first break at school I dialed my mom's cell.  Mom said- "Yes she's been talking about that for months," I panicked. "I thought she was talking about a rainbow fairy birthday party!" So Rapunzel was shelved (the dress was too long anyway) and Gramma went to Party City (on Halloween) and bought the entire Rainbow Fairy costume.  She did have a Rainbow Fairy birthday party as well, on her actual birthday.  She invited four girls, since she was turning 4, and they made fairy gardens with tiny mushrooms and pixie dust, had their faces glitter painted by Miss Petal, an actual faerie, and feasted on teensy fairy bread with rainbow sprinkles, berry wands and a six layer rainbow ice cream cake made by my mother! I decorated the chairs with wings and made a pastel rainbow of tissue flowers to hang above the table. We hung a pink flowery curtain on the front door and placed an orange glass jar of rainbow wands outside for the guests.  It was magical and fun, just like being 4!  Delaney's gifts included unicorn puzzles, a rainbow in my room lamp, a tie dye rainbow swimsuit in big girl size, a fairy jewelry box, and a big girl bed! Our sweet girl!

Service

Each year I select a word as a theme for the year. For the past several years I chose action words:
2008 sparkle
2009 bounce
2010 twinkle
2011 breathe
2012 unplug
2013 meditate
 and then a shift began last year to a noun + action word

2014 love wins

For 2015, I unwittingly selected a noun:

Service

well I failed miserably at 30 days of loving L.A. but here are some of my favorite baby names these days...

(not that I need baby names or anything)

Buttercup
Presley
Paisley
Mavery
Maisy
Ryder
Django
Delilah
McCabe
Penn or Pennley
Ryn
Tansy
Tenley



hmmm.


i guess many of these could work for puppies, couldn't they?

Day 21- living where the westerns (and Star Trek, Dukes of Hazard, Weeds, and CSI) have been filmed

It is fun living in movieland.  From watching a downtown truck heist (which at first I thought was really happening) to seeing neighborhood streets and buildings routinely shut down for filming it is definitely fun.  Our town was home to western star William S. Hart, his original ranch home and hilltop mansion are open for tours and the local high school is named after him.  Downtown Newhall boasts its very own star-studded sidewalk of western stars and Melody Ranch has been the host to the Cowboy Festival for many years (up until this year) So fun to walk down a real western town set.

Vazquez Rocks has been the setting for many Star Trek adventures as well as other shows.  Disney is reportedly building a new studio in Placerita Canyon, and many locals are "in the biz". All of this makes for a town that is a little sparkly and out of the ordinary.

30 Days of Loving L.A.- Day 3: Main Library

Los Angeles County library has so many branches. The main library downtown is a fun stop.  Here are a few pix from a visit with Owen the summer he was 1.  

The Atrium

Enjoying a selection in the children's room

 In the Children's Room

30 days of loving L.A. - Day 2: the ocean

Couldn't get much farther in this series without mentioning the BEACH! Granted, the temperature is a little cooler than the bathwater delight of Naples and the Gulf Coast (swoon), but where else do you get to frolic with dolphins, surfers, and drive for miles along the PCH??  Again, pix do exist, but in the spirit of actually writing a post per day after working, mothering, sleeping, and fighting various aches and pains including a migraine headache which is currently gathering steam (oh, aging, how I love thee), I will rely on a few simple sentences for now.

The views, the sand, the shells, the rock collecting; superb.

What's not to love about the ocean?

30 days of loving LA-Day 1 Los Feliz

July 2015 will mark ten years of living in L.A. In honor of this, I will be blogging about something I love in LA every day this month, and beginning on December 31, I will start a series of new adventures    and explorations in the City of Angels.

getting engaged Parker Mesa

first pic together in L.A. Yamashiro

Los Angeles was never on my list of "Places to visit", let alone my list of "Places to live".  I was perfectly content in the tropical heat of South Florida, and had settled there in a fun townhouse of my very own, with my parents just a 90 minute drive across Alligator Alley in beautiful Naples, FL.  Then I fell in love.

Isn't that always the twist?

So, at age 32, I sold my townhouse,  packed my car (and a moving truck) and drove across the country with my cat and my parents for company.  D. had moved at the beginning of June, after our Memorial Day weekend engagement at the top of Parker Mesa in Topanga Canyon (overlooking the ocean and all of L.A.).  I stayed behind in Ft. Lauderdale until July, and then joined him in our first place together,     a cute walk up on Mariposa in the Los Feliz area of  L.A.

our first place- top left!

sweet living room

Luna enjoying kitchen window

It was a fun neighborhood to start out in, with Griffith Park nearby and walkable streets, shops, restaurants, library etc.  I spent lots of time walking out and about, and didn't quite understand what people meant about L.A. not being a walkable city until I started working in South L.A. and drove the surface streets (mostly Vermont)  daily.

Some of our favorite things in Los Feliz:

Fred 62 -funky breakfast spot often closed for filming
Home- restaurant with outdoor seating (free meal if raining)
Good- yummy burgers and beer (this was 2005- just on the front edge of the whole craft beer thing)
Yamashiro- fancy Japanese with a view (visited 4-5 times the first couple of years; once saw Danny DeVito and fam getting out of their car. Fun place to bring visitors)
Franklin Park Shakespeare Bridge- how you got to Trader Joe's
Dragonfly Dulou- fun children's store with classes, mommy and me groups etc. (exciting for the future momma in me)
House of Pies- 50's style family dining. and pie.
Skylight Books- cute independent bookstore complete with a cat, a tree, a round bench and a skylight (!)

Used to buy a huge cup of mint tea filled with mint leaves from the coffee shop. so. good.

We enjoyed exploring nearby areas like Echo Park, Silverlake, and Franklin Park. Once we walked to the subway and took it to Union Station where we got an Amtrak train to San Luis Obispo for a long weekend.

One day we walked up to Griffith Park and hung out on the lawn with a bunch of Angelenos and one pet snake. It was very big.

The main streets were Vermont and Hillcrest. The flowering trees in spring (think purples, yellows, and pinks) are amazing. Most of my neighborhood pics are on an external drive upstairs, and I may be pushing my luck to try and access them right now, but I will hopefully post some at some point this month.

5 Things

Jumping in on the meme about gratitude in order to reframe some frustrations in daily life in a humorous way. Five things I am grateful for today:

1. Once I locate my wallet, I have enough $ to pay my $12.00 overdue fine so the library will let me renew a book I still have that was due August 21.

2. Once I locate said book (which I have had for a month and not started reading) I will have time to read it cover to cover and take notes before I return it to make it worth the additional $3.50 fine I will owe on it when I renew it before midnight.

3. Thankful that a bulk pickup is scheduled for the toilet currently sitting in our front entryway and it's replacement is on its way!

4. Also thankful that Derek and I decided not to turn the old toilet bowl into a planter as the inter webs urged us to do.

5. Really thankful for this gorgeous 82 degree evening, my notebook, my pen, and 2 healthy children swimming a few feet away. Jumping in with them in 5,4,3,2, (wet spot on page)

Sandcastles: Part Two (Lengthier)

Last Thursday was my last day teaching K.  Last day of the year. Maybe last day forever.  I was looking forward to a lesson I always taught the last week of school, and I surprised myself at the outcome.  I was determined to give the students the type of experience I wish they could've had every day during their Kindergarten year.  But Kindergarten doesn't live up to it's name any longer.  In reality, Kindergarten today is what first (or even second) grade used to be.  Which is why I'm switching to a brand new grade in August: TK (see my last post). In any case,  I arrived at school and invited the gaggle of girls who always showed up before the bell asking if I needed any help to pass out large sheets of pale blue and sand colored construction paper to each desk.  When the students arrived, they selected books to read on the carpet independently as I took a comfortable spot myself.  After a few minutes, they put their books away and focused their attention on me as I read Robert Munsch's "The Sandcastle Contest", in which a young boy builds a house (and all its contents) entirely out of sand in an effort to win a bathtub full of ice cream.

After the story, I announced that we were going to have our own sandcastle contest and invited the students to use the paper on the desk and only their hands to create their own.  And then I joined them.

I asked one of my girls with an empty seat next to her if I could work beside her, and then I proceeded to model appropriate language and strategies for completing the task as I worked.  Knowing that so many students are reluctant to even attempt torn paper art, I began with comments like, "Now that is not the shape I was trying to make. I wonder how I could use it a different way?" and (talking aloud to myself) "Oh, no. I am trying to _______, but it's not working. What could I do?".  I also model asking to share glue and using superb manners, what to do when pieces of torn paper get mixed up between me and my desk partner, and sharing general techniques such as rolling strips of paper on a pencil or my finger or folding it accordion style for different effects.  We discussed how ripping the paper into different shapes and then putting the shapes together could help us reach our goal.  Ten or fifteen minutes in, a student asks, "Is this a competition?"  "Yes it is, " I answer, "but not in the way that you think."  Then five or ten minutes after that I comment "Does everyone's sandcastle look exactly the same?" The general concensus was no.  Many students were thoroughly engaged after 30-35 minutes.  Two or three of my more active (and normally uninspired) boys were busily creating sand mailboxes (complete with pieces of sand "mail" and sand "guys" opening the mailboxes.  Only one student continued to stare at me surrounded by pieces of ripped paper and no idea where to begin designing what I had asked of him. 

"Recess time," I said, "we'll finish later today." 

A few students remained in their seats working incessantly on their beachy creations.  Eventually I coaxed them out.  My own sandcastle was coming along nicely, a sand "ladder" allowed visitors to my coastal palace access to two separate towers connected by a sand "rope bridge".  A spiral of rolled paper seemed to dance at the apex of the second tower, beckoning outsiders.  How could I become more of a participant and facilitator on a daily basis in my students' learning? What would it take?

When the students returned from their break, they settled onto the carpet spots. "Earlier I mentioned that designing our torn paper sandcastles was a contest, but not the kind you'd think," I started, hooking my nearly first graders' attention and then reeling it in bit by bit.  Eventually the students deducted that what I meant was they were competing against themselves.  That what others created was their own competition and of no matter when they judged their own work.   After all, none of them were exactly alike and we can only ever try to do better than our last try, right? Natch. The kids were in. Then one piped up. "But what's the prize?" Aha. The prize. The carrot. The draw. Just out of reach, but so enticing. What would it be this time? A pencil? A sticker? Extra computer time? I smiled softly and said, "We will talk about the prize later on."  

And so the kids continued, one girl adding an opening drawbridge and secret windows and clouds that folded down to reveal princesses and dragons; another creating the outline of a pole house reminiscent of an island getaway.  One boy showed me how to fold a large triangle into a square but folding two smaller triangles in from the edges. As the kids began to finish, I offered a choice.  Students could read, work on a quiet desk activity, or get more blue and tan paper to make another creation.  An interesting thing happened. One girl came up to me with a geometric design on her page.  At the top of the page a handwritten sentence read: "Find the chryangl in the sercle." Geometric riddles? How many common core standards was I actually addressing here? Without even trying? Just by providing what educators in the progressive movement call a "provocation". Putting out materials and allowing learners to guide themselves.  Student-centered learning. How novel.  And the geometric riddles caught on like wildfire throughout the classroom.  And I sat next to my table partner and watched it all play out. 

Sandcastles: Part One (lengthy)

Thursday morning I arrived for my last instructional day of the school year.  It would be the end of my 18th year of teaching; my 9th straight year of teaching Kindergarten in California.  It would be my last day teaching Kindergarten, and my last day before having a Kindergartner at school with me! In the Fall (late Summer) I will be teaching a new grade level.  Not just a new grade level to me; but an entirely new grade level in the state of California.  Known as Transitional Kindergarten, or "TK", it is meant to be a bridge between preschool and Kindergarten, the initial year of a two-year Kindergarten program. A hybrid of Pre-K and Early or Young K, students in TK will have birthdays between Sept. 2 and Dec. 1, 2009.   That's right, folks.  EVERY child in my class next year will celebrate their 5th birthday in either September, October, or November. Hmmm.

Now, in my personal philosophy of education birthdates would not be determinants of learning levels.
Even so, I remember my shock and dismay in August, 2005 when I learned that my youngest student would be turning 5 on December 1st of that year; I would be teaching (a) 4 year old(s) for literally FOUR months into the school year! Unheard of! What was California thinking? So, a few years later, they passed an initiative and a timeline was put into place to change the K entrance eligibility date from Dec. 1 to Sept. 1 over a three year period, scaling back one month at at time.  Sounds logical, right?

This past year, then, the deadline was Oct. 1.  Students born between Sept. 1 and Oct. 1 could select to be in TK or K; students born Oct. 2- Dec. 1 would be placed in K.  My youngest student's birthday this year? Oct. 1.

Now I have been a proponent or a two year K program for years. Why not give our youngest the gift of time instead of calling it "retention"? The Kindergarten retention form at my school is even called "Kindergarten Continuance Form". Why the social stigma? I have advocated multi-age early childhood classrooms where children move on when THEY are ready, not when numbers on a piece of paper demand.

Some of my future architects and engineers at work.

Understandably many Californians do not have a clear understanding of TK.  The lines are blurred; the curriculum fuzzy at best.  Next Monday and Tuesday I will meet with the TK teachers in my district; we have ten schools, and each school has one TK classroom (in some cases two from what I understand).  We will work on block plans and lessons for next Fall, the first full implementation of Transitional Kindergarten in the state.  Many friends with TK age children are opting to keep them in preschool one more year when they can comfortably afford it.  Others are enrolling in public TKs with faith and hope.  Some are concerned that it will not challenge their Kindergarten-ready students. 

The questions are many.  

Can students with no preschool background and/or low level skills and August (or summer?)  birthdays  also be enrolled? (According to the CDE website apparently this is a local decision.)

Can students with readiness skills in place (all letters and sounds etc.) who are not age-eligible for K be moved into K? (Sounds like this is not preferable, not clear if it is possible.)

It is my hope that I can create a developmental, constructivist, nature-based, inquiry based program with plenty of kinesthetic pre-writing activities (painting, lacing, clay, gardening etc.) There will be a few obstacles to surmount:

At this time the ratio is 24:1. 

At this time I am indicated as a split level TK/K with 19 TK students and 5 K students.

At this time I will have a curriculum specialist for approximately 45-60 minutes or my 3 1/2 hour day with the students. 

I look forward with both bubbling anticipation and trepidation as I take on this new phase of my career. 

I am excited by the possibilities to return to the movement based, exploration and discovery based sense of early childhood development as a foundation for academic concepts in all academic areas (most especially literacy, number sense and the arts/sciences).  I am cautious because there will be a sense of isolation with only one TK per site and limited opportunities for communication and collaboration with grade level colleagues. (I am used to daily exchange of materials, ideas, and resources with my K team. I will still be located physically with them and we will continue to support each other in our practice, but our days will be less aligned than before.)

All in all, I am considering this 19th year in education as pivotal in my career; as I navigate both a new grade level and our second year of Common Core, along with my first year as a parent of a public school student, I will either flow along easily with the current or be caught in the undertow. 

A turning point

Friday marked both a beginning and an end, though luckily without that sense of finality most endings tend to include.  It was the last day of preschool for Owen and Delaney at A Little Patch of Earth. It ended Laney's first year of preschool, and Owen's last.

The "Patch" as it is known, is a true haven, a sanctuary for children and childhood and those who consider play to be the truest manner of education.  Opened two years ago by local mother and educator Sally Swiatek, A Little Patch of Earth provides an environment rich with natural, child-centered experiences surrounded by grass, trees, sand, mud, rocks, gardens, laying hens and a 60 year old tortoise named Benny (who adores watermelon).  It opened last year, and has been a multi-age (2 1/2-5 years old) 2, 3, or 5 day preschool (9 am-1 pm) or full day program with seven teachers and a few staff.  I had the pleasure of serving as the yoga/bodywork facilitator biweekly on Thursday afternoons and Friday mornings.

This past Friday evening, at 5 o'clock, dozens of Patch families congregated on picnic blankets scattered across the two acre yard peppered with climbing oaks.  Severals rounds were topped with bright green table coverings and burlap wrapped mason jars filled with happy sunflowers and tied off with a satiny red ribbon.  The sun was bright and the afternoon heat saturated our clothes and skin. Smiles passed from face to face, floating briefly in the charged atmosphere before landing softly on grown-ups and littles alike.

A family run business had been contracted to make tacos and quesadillas to serve as the entree, along with salads, fruits and tortilla chips brought by families.  The propane tank took a while to start, so the evening's agenda was flipped and families were invited to cross the parking lot to a large Multi-Purpose Room in the neighboring church, where artifacts of the children's learning had been hung and arranged for all to enjoy.  After ten or fifteen minutes, families were invited to sit and hear about the group of children heading off to Kindergarten.  The students leaving the Patch were called to sit on a row of large, soft pillows along the front of the room, arranged around a jigsawed standing tree fitted with golden hooks.  Teacher Sally called out each name, and a slideshow was projected on the front wall while all sang together "Tonight you belong to me".  Then the four and five year olds were called up to hang a framed family portrait on the wooden tree.

The dinner hour was full of families simultaneously frolicking, playing, eating, chatting, and milling about for a good hour or more.  We split up with grandparents hanging out at the tables, daddy in the taco line (deliciousness!) and momma picking up beverages and sides while the kids hung out with their friends on the blankets.  Later a spirited storyteller performed, and at the end of the evening, families packed up and retrieved treasures, photos, and artwork from the display before heading home.

Luckily it was not goodbye, since both kids will attend three weeks in June and Laney will return in September for the next term.  There will be some major changes as the Patch grows, however.  Two new classrooms for toddler and 2-3's, expanding staff and many new families (80 in total) round out the growth for 2014-2015.