Open Houses

Grace's Open House

 It was fun to go see what Grace has been up to in her classroom.

Grace's "first" major project- a report about an ocean animal of her choosing- blue whales.  

She did a great job!

Jeremy's Open House

Jeremy's Year-End Performance was held the same night as his Open House.  His class sang 3 songs and much to my shock and delight, Jeremy actually sang!  YAY!

Following the performance, Jeremy was proud to show off his classroom.  They had been learning about how the body works, so everything on display revolved around that.

Jeremy with Miss Debbie

Jane's Open House

This year, my overall theme for the classroom was "Hollywood."  It has been fun trying to incorporate that into my room all year long. 

I didn't do a general theme for my class' Open House.  It was nice just to be able to showcase work that we've been doing.  By the way, my desks are not usually set up like that- it was just for our Open House.

 State Floats (on the desks in "parade formation" and State Brochures (hanging from the ceiling, accessible for parents to take down and read).  Each student chose a state to research about.  Rather than assigning a standard essay report, the kids still had to write informative paragraphs, but they were assembled into a brochure format.  This way, I was also able to tie in text features.  I've done State Floats for years and I LOVE seeing my kids' creativity!

 Tying together Science, Art, and S.S. standards. The kids had to illustrate their own version of an animal and plant cell.  In addition to labeling its parts, they had to define each part using an analogy or figurative language.  Finally, to tie this into S.S., I found a picture of each student's state animal and state flower.  I cut off half of the picture and they had to draw in the missing half.  Some of their artwork looked like the original- I was so impressed!

Odes Poetry using Figurative Language.  I let each student use my digital camera to take a picture of whatever they wrote about to display with their ode.  They loved that!

 Each day for several weeks, we learned about each of the 50 states.  Kids pretended to take "snapshots" of something that they might have seen on our pretend road trip and then wrote about each snapshot.

 I love teaching kids through simulations!  For this particular activity, the kids were divided into groups to learn about early settlements.  The simulation gave my class a glimpse into settlement daily life, relationships with the Native Americans, and in the process, they had to work together to build a paper version of what a settlement consisted of.

 Students chose a famous American to research about.  Then, they had to create a Facebook page as if they were that particular famous American. 

In this math activity, students got to imagine what their dream house would look like, while reinforcing their ability to determine perimeter, area, fractions, percents and decimals.

This activity incorporated figurative language with art.  The kids were supposed to create a visual image of a word, then come up with examples of figurative language that related to the word.

I think my favorite part of the whole night is when my kids actually arrive.  Each one is supposed to dress up as something representing their state, whether it's a famous person or a symbol.  Then, they get interviewed by another adult in the room.  This year's class came up with the BEST costumes! Love it!!!

Jason's Open House

Okay, I would love to post about Jason's Open House, but he didn't take any pictures.  It just isn't the same in middle school.  Out of his 165 students, only 25 came!

Open House is a time to celebrate hard work and student learning- a fun time was had at all of our Open Houses (ok, maybe not so much at Jason's, hahaha).

May Recap

Ok, so I guess you can tell that it has been SUPER busy since I haven't blogged since the first week of May.  There's no way I can do a blog post for each memory, so this is going to be a May Recap...

First Grizzlies Game of the Season:
We got tickets from my school's Wild About Reading program and invited the Wiens family to join us.  As usual, the girls read through most of the game, and the boys brought toys to play with.  Christa and I got a chance to chat, so pretty much, it was just Jason and Aaron who actually paid attention to the game (I can't even tell you who the Grizzlies played against, hahaha).

Hinds' Hospice Angel Babies' Walk/Run:
Our family has participated in this annual event for many years in memory of Caleb Wiens.  Jason has run the last few years but has been injured for the past few months.  Our kids also participated in the Kids' Races after the main walk was complete.  Jeremy came in the top 10 in his age group, and Grace finished with her friend, Violet, in the middle of their age group.

Crazy Week!
The Bomars invited us to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with them and the Wienses.  Always fun hanging out with friends!
Later in the week, Grace and I went to the Fresno County of Education's Young Author's Faire at the Fresno Convention Center.  My class submitted a book (it was a Top Selection), and Grace's class also submitted a book.  That was pretty neat, getting to see both of our books!
In the midst of the craziness, I decided to bake and decorate sugar cookies for Grace's softball teammates since it was their last week.  It was my first time decorating with hardening cookie icing- I am certain that I took way longer than what is normal, but I was so proud of how they turned out!
Grace's softball team's party was amazing- one of the coaches, Coach Tony, hosted a catered dinner and even had a bounce house, trampolines, snow cones, popcorn, and cotton candy for the girls.  Coach Larry made me teary eyed when he presented Grace's trophy- he has been her coach for 3 years and had the sweetest and most encouraging words for her!
We had to leave the party early because Grace's friend, Charlotte, had her ballet recital the same night.  It was a big deal since it was held at the Memorial Auditorium downtown.  She did a wonderful job and we were glad to be able to go show our support.  

Mother's Day:
I am so grateful that I have been blessed to have these two goofy kids in my life.  Truly, I am so thankful for the honor and privilege to be a mom, and more than that, a mom to these two amazing gifts...

Muffins with Mom:
So glad that our principal was supportive of me taking the morning off to go to Jeremy's Muffins with Mom at his preschool.

Small Group Reunion:
We used to be a part of a small group that met weekly.  We "did life" together for many years- they celebrated with us during our ups, prayed for us during our downs, and everything in between!  The Sieberts moved to Edmonton years ago, and our group eventually stopped meeting due to lack of time.  Well, the Sieberts came to visit in May and so our group got together.  It has grown quite a bit in the past few years with the addition of kids (minus the two McCreary boys, who weren't able to make it)!

Grace's Piano Recital:
Grace has been taking piano lessons from Christa for the past year and a half.  She had her first recital in May.  She only performed two short songs, but we know how much time and effort went into those songs.  Grace has been learning a life lesson, as she has had to balance her schoolwork, softball, and practice piano on a daily basis.  She did great!

 Grace and her piano teacher, aka Auntie Christa

Grandma came to show her support!

Fiddler on the Roof:

Jason and I have never been to Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater before.  A member of our church was part of the cast of "Fiddler on the Roof," and a group was organized to go show our support.  We LOVED it! The food was excellent, the show was hilarious (sadly, we didn't get to watch the end, so we still don't know how it turns out- we were unaware that our babysitter wasn't able to stay out late), and the company was wonderful (we got to catch up with friends, but we also met some new people).

(Sorry for the fuzzy pic! Here we are with the Bergs, who are the ones to first tell us about Roger Rocka's)

Arrested Development Marathon:

Jason absolutely loves the show, Arrested Development.  It was on T.V. for only 3 seasons and despite critical acclaim, never caught on with the general public.  Anyway, diehard fans like Jason have been anxiously waiting the release of Season 4 on Netflix, which happened to be on Memorial Day weekend.  We joined Jason and Jill, and Aaron and Christa for a viewing marathon at the Wiens' home, while the kids hung out at our house with a babysitter. Fun times!     

Hair:

We have a friend who donated her hair to Locks of Love last year.  I remember telling Grace about it, and she thought it was so neat to be able to donate hair to people who lost their hair due to cancer.  She decided that she wanted to do the same.  So, she's been growing it out.  It hasn't been easy- with such an active girl who often likes to leave her hair down, tears have definitely been shed as we've worked out tangles!  She wanted her hair to be a bit longer before it was cut, but with summer here, we convinced her just to cut it.  At first, we were going to donate it to Locks of Love, but decided to go with Pantene after my cousin suggested we look into it.  Grace was very proud and says she'd like to do it again.        

Now how was that for a busy May?!  I didn't even include Jeremy's t-ball or any of our Open Houses... Those will be in posts to come!

Krush 'Em!

I never thought that there would come a day when I would love watching baseball or softball... Well, if it involves my two kiddos, then yes, the day has come!  Grace has played for 3 seasons, and this past season has been the best!  She was a member of Team Krush.  It has been so fun watching her this year!

Early in the season, Grace was not very successful at hitting.  She was extremely frustrated and defeated.  Jason went out and got her a new bat, and all of a sudden, she started hitting every time she was up to bat.  When we asked her what had made the difference, she replied, "I got a new bat."  Her confidence and enjoyment of the game has increased with each game that she has played.  Coach Larry has always believed in our Grace, and this season, he made her one of the designated pitchers.  When she wasn't pitching, she regularly played shortstop.  She has loved it! 

 

 

This was Grace's last season in the 8-Under division.  Next year, it'll be a completely different ball game- there will be tryouts and a draft, and her coach has said he will not coach the next level, so she will be with a new coach.  Hope it'll still be as fun to watch- I can definitely see it becoming more nerve-wracking and intense...

Since Grace's games were two nights a week, our family didn't get home until 7:30pm most nights, and wolfing down dinners at 8pm was hard, especially when our kids' regular bedtimes are 8pm (Jeremy) and 8:15pm (Grace).  Added to our craziness is Jason coaching track at his school (after school every day), and once a week on different days, Grace's piano lessons, Jeremy's swimming lessons, and Jeremy's t-ball.  With the end of the season, our family is glad to return to a somewhat-normal routine!

Shaver Lake "Work" Weekend

 This past weekend was Jason's birthday.  Our family of four celebrated by going out to dinner at Famous Dave's and finishing up with Yogurtland for dessert.  The next morning, we headed to our Shaver Lake cabin to join the rest of Jason's family for a work weekend.  All of us- kids included- spent time helping out around the cabin. 

 We raked A LOT of pine needles (this is one of many piles).

 Jason, Dan, Noah, and Jen worked on re-piling the wood pile.

In the evening, we celebrated Jason's birthday. 

Not only did we get a lot of work finished, it was fun spending some time together.

3 Flies Up

Wiffle Ball- adults vs. kids (they "won")

Uncle Dan is always willing to wrestle with Jeremy!

 

 

The kids were exhausted and quickly fell asleep when we left on Sunday afternoon (if Christa is reading this- we didn't notice Grace's seat belt until after we took the pic)

It is very possible that the next time our whole family is together again will be when we're on our way to Hawaii in June!!!!!!

Cedar View Winery

A few weekends ago, we got to do some wine tasting with some friends. Aaron and Christa had a gift certificate for a group wine tasting at Cedar View Winery in Sanger.  We got to sample some wines, eat some appetizers, and we got a glimpse into how the winery is operated.  It's a very small facility- the owners were passionate about their work and their wines.  In addition to running the winery, there is also a bed and breakfast on-site.  It's neat that more and more wineries are starting to pop up around this area. 

After our wine tasting, we continued on to Schoolhouse Restaurant and Tavern, about a half mile up the road.  We didn't think that a restaurant so far out would be so busy that reservations would be needed.  Turns out that with our group size, we would've had to wait a reeeally long time.  We decided just to hang out in the tavern and ordered dinner through there.  It was such a fun night- even better since we had free babysitting courtesy of Jason's mom.  Unfortunately, just as the sun was setting and it was getting dark, we got a call from his mom saying that she and the kids were accidentally locked out of our house.  They went to play in the backyard and forgot that the door automatically locks unless you manually unlock it.  So, we had to head back home.  Several of our friends went to get dessert from The Cracked Pepper and brought it over to our house so we could continue hanging out.  Fun times with fun friends!  

Happy Easter!

I returned from my East Coast trip with it being Easter the next day.  As it so happens, Jason's family wasn't able to get together until that Monday anyway.  I still wanted to celebrate Easter Sunday, so we invited our friends, the Bomars over for dinner.  I love how they are so easy-going and flexible. They were okay with a simple meal and just time to hang out.  We still ended up having a mini Easter egg hunt for the kids, but they would've been perfectly content just playing together.  I'm grateful for good friends to share special days with!

On Monday, we headed up to Jason's mom's home to celebrate with the whole family. The kids received Easter baskets from Grandma, they went egg hunting, and we enjoyed an amazing dinner together.

Easter is one of my favorite times of the year- a time to celebrate HOPE, new beginnings, life, and all of this because of our Savior, Jesus!  As I was reflecting about this, I was reminded of the song, "Alive" by Natalie Grant.  "Alive, alive! Look what Mercy’s overcome, Death has lost and Love has won, Alive, alive! Hallelujah, risen Lord, the only One I fall before, I am His because He is alive!"  Happy Easter!

Reflections about My Trip

I have really enjoyed sitting here these past few days, going through pictures and blogging about our trip.   Even with that, I don't feel like I've even begun to truly express how much I enjoyed this past week.  I can't say it enough- it was an awesome experience!  Here are some things on my mind:

1) I've never been away from my family for this long.  I thought I was going to be weepy and emotional, and though I missed my family, I was ok!  I'm so grateful to Jason for supporting me by taking care of things while I was away.  It meant a lot that he was willing to "give up" his Spring Break so that I could go.  Karen Unruh and my mother-in-law helped out immensely, too, by taking the kids so Jason could have time to himself.  I'm also thankful that some of Jason's friends hung out with him and helped him with his latest home improvement project (more on that in a later post).

2) I broke away from some of my "norms."  I didn't use an iron ALL WEEK, lol!  I went to a 3D show...  I only got nauseous once the entire trip- that's not usual!  I was expecting to have to load up on Dramamine all week, but I didn't need to!  That's pretty darn close to a miracle!

3) I can't wait to share with my class everything that I learned... The trip was successful in that I am enthusiastic and motivated to see/find ways that I can make history come alive for my students. 

4) Some of you probably don't know this, but I went straight from living with my parents (traditionally, Asians don't move out until they get married), to living with Jason's parents for a few months before we got married, to living with Jason.  I've never had the experience of living with a roommate!  Michelle was my first "roomie" and she made this experience so much more memorable (Virginia carpet bugs... there's a story there!)

5) I got to know quite a few people in our teacher group this past week.  We've been together all year, but this trip let me get to know them on a personal level.  Despite coming from different schools, I love that we're all 5th grade teachers and that I will be able to continue collaborating with them in years to come. 

I'm most grateful that I made some "friends for life," as Aaron put it.  Part of the reason why this was such an amazing trip is the company I was with: Mike, Michelle, Lisa, Rita, and Aaron.  The six of  us pretty much did everything together all week. When I think of this trip, I will remember the fun times that our group had together.  We definitely bonded and I am grateful to have shared such a memorable week with these wonderful friends.

6) I know without a doubt that Jason and I will return to this area in the future.  So, I didn't get to do everything that I wanted to do, but with Jason being such a history buff, we'll be back!  He wants to see these places firsthand.  Our goal is to take the whole family in 6 years (when Jeremy is old enough to really experience it all).  I can't wait!