Our Day out at Lake Piru

On Tuesday, July 29, 2008, we took Kevin's boat out to Lake Piru. What an adventure! We launched the boat and it went pretty smoothly. A few of the kids and my mom jumped in the boat and sat down. My mom noticed that there was water in the bottom of the boat. She said something like "Is there suppose to be water in the bottom of the boat?" Kevin asured her it was just fine and said that it was probably because of the extra weight from the boating supplies. The boat kept taking on water so Kevin tried to see where it was comming from. Someone asked if the plug was in the bottom of the boat and Kevin said that he indeed did put it in, but he had and extra one. Yes, there was a hole that was missing a plug (The hole just under the engine in the picture). We quickly pulled the boat out of the water and let it drain for about 20 minutes. We laughed the whole time.
We finally launched the boat again, and...the boat wouldn't start. I ran up and got mom's car and we used the jumper cables to get it started. All ten of us boarded and off we went to the middle of the lake where the boat lost power and wouldn't start. Again, we all laughed and this time we were praying we would make it back to the dock. Brennen quickly went to the back of the boat and pumped the gas bulb. The boat finally started and we went back to the dock where most of us got out of the boat.

The boys went fishing with grandpa who helped keep the hooks on the line and the poles in the water. Thanks Dad!

Family...with a Few Missing

We tried to get a picture with the whole family, but Amber and Mike were not able to be there when the picture was taken.

This is more like us than the picture above.

A Post to Our Schools Website about My Class

The students in room 5 are currently studying Water, Water Everywhere as part of their English Language Development Program. The class planted Dyanthus plants outside the main office and kindergarten classrooms. The boys and girls learned how to prepare the soil, properly prepare the plant and water the area so that everything can grow. This project has given the class a hands on opportunity to see water in action. The class was required to do an THINK PAIR SHARE AND cerate a writing project using thinking maps to organize their thoughts. Students had fun while they learned and beautified our school.

Our School Receives Two New Playgrounds

Since 1997, Ann and Kirk Douglas have donated playgrounds to needy schools in the Los Angeles area. Over 390 playgrounds have been donated to date. They are going to stop donating when they reach 400 playgrounds. The school has to come up with $25,000 and then the Douglas's match that amount. Less than 10% of the schools receive two playgrounds. Our school received two because it really needed them. They put one in the kinder yard and one on the main yard.

These playgrounds are probably more important to the students at our school compared to many other schools. We have about 1,100 students and most of them are not permitted to leave their apartments (they can't even play in their apartment complexes) because it is not safe for them. Can you imagine never being able to to go outside and play...I can't.

Handmade Wooden Word Blocks

During the spring of 2006, I did my first semester of student teaching at Nevada Street Elementary. Mr. Betancourt, my master teacher, was extremely creative and always looking to find new ways to challenge his kindergarten students. As we talked, we came up with the idea where students would roll two wooden blocks to come up with new words. I decided to make them...aren't they just the cutest?