Happy to Have Addy Series Now

The kids have been reading Addy, the American Girl, for weeks now.  I wrote a grant in 2011 in order to have a class set of the books for the children.  It is a historical fiction series of six books that takes place in the 1860's when the atrocities of slavery were allowed in our country.  The books are compelling and memorable as heck.  I have read this series to the classes ever since I can remember.  Now they each can share a set of the books and see them up close.

It was so nice to have a parent of the girl in magenta, say that she was so pleased that I was educating her child about the the atrocities of slavery in our county.  I know I walk a fine line when reading these books, but feel the children have a right to know about how terrible America used to be before we were united as one.

Every time I read this book to classes, I well up with tears, sometimes break out in tears, get goosebumps, and feel every emotion known to mankind.  This is the sign of a great writer!  The author leaves us hanging at the end of every chapter and you can hear the kids begging to hear what will happen next.

What I love about this series is that the children become vested and genuinely care about the well being of the characters.   You can just feel their sense of hope and faith that things will work out at the end of the story.  The children learn about how Addy and her family escape their plantation and run to Philadelphia to start a life in freedom.

Old and Slow Dinosaur Computers

We use AR Accelerated Reader in our classroom.  Problem was, that for years we had really slow and broken down computers.  I wrote a grant and was awarded five brand new Lenovo computers to support the program.

Now that we have the new computers, the kids have read so many more books in a very short period of time. They LOVE taking tests on the computer if you can believe that!  Look at our speedy new lab of computers. Achievement has really skyrocketed ever since.

New Indians in Our Cupboards

I have the sweetest kids this year!  I love that they all take care of one another.  I love that they take care of their teacher all of the time too.  I feel so very blessed to come to work with these wonderful kids every day.
How many can say that they still love their same job after 30 years?  I suspect very few can.   

We had been reading the Indian in the Cupboard.  The old set of books were falling apart.  I decided to write grant to get a new class set of the books the kids love so much.  Low and behold, through the kindness of friends and strangers, enough money was raised to replace those well loved books.  Here are some of the happy readers.  Aren't they adorable?  They totally deserve to have decent books that are intact.

It is especially fun to read this aloud to the kids using different voices for each of the characters.  Boone, the cry baby of a cowardly cowboy is a favorite to read in voice.  Tommy, the British medical orderly is another.  Little Bear, the Indian, is another entertaining one to read in voice.  I read the kids a chapter a day.

SF or Bust for Luz's 13th Birthday

Luz was in my second and then third grade classes.  Her class was one of my top 3 most memorable ever!  Several of her classmates and I still keep in touch.  It was Loosie Goosie's 13th birthday on the weekend of the 23rd July.  My husband's cousins came to visit and wanted to tour SF.  I thought Luz might really like to meet Victoria, our cousin's daughter.  Luz and Tori got along famously. 

 Here are Tori and her mother Lisa of Sweet Lisa's Exquisite Cakes of  CT.  Tori really wanted to take the cable cars in the city.  I think she was disappointed that they were slower than a roller coaster so I did my best to drive down some steep roads pretending not to have any brakes.

We walked around Fisherman's Wharf, had lunch at Fog City Diner and fell in love with the cheddar biscuits and apple butter there.

Tori and Luz enjoyed posing here in front of the SF Aquarium on the Wharf.  You wouldn't know that these girls are 3 years apart.  Luz was the shortest in her class and yet she has grown so tall since I had her in 3rd grade.  Tori is 10 years old.

Here is another photo of my student "S" and her older sister "J." J is showing off her state report after the 5th grade parade of state reports. Nice work J. Aren't they beautiful girls?

These sisters are a wonderful pair of young ladies. I will always remember "S" as having so much personality. Her older sister "J" was graduating grade 5 this year. "S's" sense of voice came through in her writing as did her sense of humor.

She is also a budding actress. I had the pleasure of seeing her performance of one of the mice in Cinderella during the school year. "S" is born for theater and I hope to see her act in many more shows in the future.

Her family was one of the most involved I had all year. They donated tons of items and LOTS of hours helping in class as well. Classroom teachers' can't get the job done well without families that are involved like this one. I am grateful for the many hours of assistance. If it weren't for this family, I am sure our class wouldn't have reached our grant goal through Donor's Choose. We were able to obtain 5 new Lenovo All -In -One computers this year valued at $3,000. "S's" mother worked at Chevron and was able to get our grant site lots of extra exposure and once that happened, the donations came flooding in to the tune of hundreds per week and even hundreds per day on occasion.

You simply couldn't meet a finer young man than "J." He was always so caring of others in class. He took great care of me as well. "J" was this years time keeper. He kept a timer at the ready and always had this set each day to make sure we wouldn't miss things like library, PE, or music. I will always remember "J" as being the most caring and kind young man in class. He never said a mean thing to anyone. Thanks "J" for making my year so amazing and for keeping me on schedule. I hope you are having a wonderful summer.

Here is one of my biggest reading machines I had this year. I am SO proud of "S" for reading nearly 200 books on AR this year. He grew two years in reading just by pushing himself in his free time. I will always remember his smile and willingness to learn new concepts with an eagerness.

My student "Z" was always on top of her game. I love that she always asked questions that were thought provoking and highly intelligent. Z is one of those students that comes along once in your lifetime. She has a very promising future ahead of her. I miss her dearly and hope she is enjoying her summer.

Mail Forwards 30 Day Limit

Before leaving my college town and moving to CA, I arranged to have my mail forwarded and held in Concord, CA while traveling cross country. I was smart enough to send out lots of resumes to surrounding Bay Area school districts before moving west.

The trouble was, that I spent 30 days crossing the USA visiting all the national parks I could and camping along the way.

When I got to the post office in Concord and asked for my forwarded mail, they said there was a large batch of mail that had to be disposed of, since it was held for 30 days. I was saddened by the news and knew that this would lessen my chances of getting a teaching job that year since it was already August. Luckily the post office man said, let me check again. He came out with a handful of about 6 letters and all of them were from districts. Whew! That was a relief.

One of those letters was from PUSD, a district that had actually called my father on the east coast looking to interview me. I immediately called them that Friday and by Tuesday I was offered a contract during my interview. Thanks to Sal Cardinale, I had secured my place in PUSD district. This was another complete blessing in my life. I have so much to be thankful for!

CA OR Bust! The Westward Movement ~1982 Post Graduation

I lived in my college town on the east coast for a year after graduation. A friend of mine was moving to Concord, CA to be with the Blue Devil's Drum and Bugle Corps. I tagged along for the ride and we spent 30 days driving and camping cross country, while taking in all the sights.


My favorite memories were going to the World's Fair in Knoxville, TN in 1982 and having the extraordinary experience of going the Opryland and seeing the Grand Ole Opry. This was a sort of Disney Land, but with musical shows at every stage. Every kind of music imaginable was played and by some of the very best musicians and dancers in the country.


Other memorable places we visited were the Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, and the Petrified Forest. Once we hit Malibu, we drove north on the coast road till we got to Brannon Island State Park. This campsite became my first homestead in CA. Shortly after that I got an apartment in Concord. Turns out a friend of mine from college lived just two buildings away from me, and I had no idea Jack was nearby at the time I moved next to him.

Teaching Over 30 Years and Counting

How can a person know what they want to be in life by 4th grade? It was then, that I knew I would be a teacher. The summer after 4th grade I volunteered at an art camp at Upper Nyack Elementary School. I helped the teacher set up materials, assisted the kids during projects, and cleaned up after projects. It was a perfect match for me to combine my love of art and teaching at this tender young age of 10. I know this was a blessing and have never forgotten that blessing, especially when so many kids have no clue what they want to be even while in college.


Before graduating college, I was offered a position in the Dunkirk School System, a tiny farm town near my college. I was fortunate enough to have student taught in grades K and 4th, while in college.

It takes a special person to teach grade K. I know it wasn't my cup of tea, but 4th was divine. I will always remember my master teacher Jeanne. She was a very positive force in my life. She exuded a love of teaching that was infectious and I was bit by her bug.


After graduation, I worked as a GED Teacher for 16-22 year olds at Cassadaga Job Corps, after being their summer camp art coordinator and a life guard there. I was all of 23 at the time.


I will always remember commuting to work with The World's Strongest Man Dan Reinhoudt, a world record power lifter. I still tell my students about the time Don and I ran off the road into a snowbank, and how he just got out of the car and pulled in back into the road. He was the Driver's Ed teacher there at Job Corps. Don later became the mayor of his home town. I miss our days together. He was a great coworker and friend for many years afterwards.


My memories are clear and fond. I learned a lot about classroom management during my time at Job Corps. The children were learning to read at age 16-22 and were on self paced programs. Some read at primary grade levels, but advanced quickly through the levels in order to earn their diplomas.


I can recall a time when Job Corps needed a bus driver to take the kids to their graduation tests in Erie, PA. I volunteered on one account. As long as the roads were clear. I had no experience ever driving in snow before that time. The drive there was clear. Four hours later after tests were done, there was snow and black ice on the roads. I was following another Job Corp's bus and ended up slipping on black ice and hitting the bus in front of me. We weren't going fast, but black ice speeds you up and there is no way to stop. Needless to say, my bus fender dug into the front tire and we all had to be picked up in another bus for the long ride home.