Why-yi-yi-yi-yi, Oh Sandy

What a whirl-wind these past few weeks have been! 6 total days of school cancelled, countless phone calls to families of my students, walking through Red Hook to survey the damage and make contact with families, lots of quality time at home with hubs, moving to a new temporary location while our school is being repaired, and teaching 50+ kindergarteners in one mega-class with my incredible team. Dan and I certainly lucked out in this whole episode. We never lost our power or our water, and hardly anything was damaged in our immediate area.

One lesson learned from this experience: hurricanes are nothing like tornadoes. 4 full days before the hurricane hit there were notes being sent home about the possibility of school being cancelled, preparations being made around the neighborhood, and grocery stores swamped with people stocking up on supplies. Unlike a tornado, we then spent about 72 hours waiting and watching until the storm actually hit! Thankfully, this meant Dan and I had time to stock up on all sorts of goodies to make our time at home enjoyable...

Being from the land of lightning and thunder storms, high winds, and tornadoes, I never could tell when the darn thing actually "hit!" The winds were gusting and there was light rain on the window, but I just kept thinking, "Is this it? No... Is this it?" I learned that the flooding and water damage comes not from a downpour of rain, but from coastal flooding. That is why Red Hook, the community my school sits in, was damaged so badly. Red Hook is surrounded by the bay and the Hudson River, and several of the families I've talked to said they looked outside to see the street flooded waist-high with water! Thankfully, all of the families from PAVE (my school) seem to be safe, but a few lost some contents of their home to flooding, and many were without electricity or hot water for 12+ days! (And yet Manhattan had power and water back within a few days, and practically ALL subways were back up and running within 5 days. Hmm... A hint of classism, perhaps? But that's a whole other can of worms...) 

Our school was badly damaged as well. There was 9 feet of water in the basement and enough electrical damage and otherwise that they didn't expect us to be back in the building for several weeks. So... they found a new place for us to have school for a few weeks! We had 2 hours to pack up what we thought we might need for the next several weeks.

The picture on the left is of the building in Red Hook that we occupied over the past two weeks. Our kindergarten class combined with the other class to make one whopping class of 55 students! :-/ Thankfully, we were able to get the kids back and return some degree of normalcy to their lives. Hopefully we managed to teach them a few things throughout the madness as well. :)


I feel like there are so many ways in which God turned this disaster into good. The vibe amongst staff, students, and families was indescribable. Everyone came together with such selflessness to help each other recover, to bring our students back together, and to make the impossible happen by facilitating a positive school environment in such crazy, unpredictable circumstances. I have been so challenged by the incredible teaching, positivity, and perseverance that I have witnessed and been blessed to be a part of over these past few weeks!

"Let's get this apple-pickin' party started!!!"

Today, we took our class to "Dr. Davies Farm" to pick apples and pumpkins. To say the kids LOVED it would be an understatement! Here are a few of my favorite moments from the day:

7- Watching the kids "ooh" and "ahh" over the New York City skyline as we crossed over into the Bronx, even though they've grown up right next to it all their lives.

6- Watching them run around in wide open spaces and enjoy nature. It's hard to come by good, clean nature in the big city!

5- Feeling Neveaha's little hand slip into mine every few minutes on our walk back down the dirt trail from the apple orchard.

4- Singing songs with Dwayne all the way home on the bus- everything from Justin Bieber to "The Wheels on the Bus." It was refreshing to see the kids in a different context. Their true personalities shined through!

3- Hearing the kids break out into chanting, "APP-LES! APP-LES! APP-LES! APP-LES!" as we rode down the trail on the hay ride. Their excitement was contagious!

2- Preston shouting in pure elation, "Let's get this apple-pickin' party started!!" with his adorable lisp as he hopped off the hay ride.

1- Seeing those beautiful smiles on all of my kids' faces. Although some days it may be difficult to remember- I truly appreciate having the opportunity to get to know these 28 incredible human beings and to be a part of their lives. And I still get to spend another 9 months with them!! :)

A Day in This Teacher's Life

PAVE Academy/P.S. 15

6:30- Walk to the bus stop a few blocks away. I always see the same few people outside getting their restaurants and shops ready for the day or making deliveries. Even though I don't know their names, it's nice to say, "Good morning," to a familiar face. Someday I plan to stop and get to know their story...

6:35- Take the bus (B61) to school. Not many people get on at my stop, but the very next stop is right by the Subway so there is usually a crowd of people waiting to take the bus. There have been a few humiliating occasions (which I figure happen to most NYers) where the bus is just pulling away as I get to my stop, so I haul it to the next stop and make it just in time to load at the tail end of the crowd. One morning I loaded the bus at my usual stop only to realize I had forgotten to refill my Metro card. So I took that humiliating sprint to the next stop, went down into the Subway, refilled my card at the machine, sprinted back up the steps, and was the last person to get on the bus before it pulled away. For that 1 second I felt like I had beaten the city! Yeeah! :)

7:00- Prep for the day. This time flies by! I make copies (if the machine is working), post objectives, prep lesson materials, open the attendance tracker on my computer, etc.

7:35- Go downstairs to get the kiddos! The kids eat breakfast in silence, and after they throw their trash away we say our creed,
have a few announcements, and head up the stairs! We occupy most of the classrooms upstairs in P.S. 15, so we have to get out of the cafeteria before their kids come in for breakfast at 7:40.

7:50- Morning Meeting. We practice literacy skills, and we talk about the day. During lessons we have hand signals for students to communicate. For example, to show excitement students show "vibrance" (one of PAVE's core values- perseverance, achievement, vibrance, and excellent character) by showing spirit fingers. To show that they agree with a statement they make the surfer "hang loose" gesture with one hand. To show that they disagree they "shake it out" with their hands. These, along with many others, are used throughout every lesson, every day.

8:10- Reading. We've been learning about titles, the author, the illustrator, the difference between a letter and word, spaces, and rhyming words. 

8:45- Writing. This mostly consists of learning to stretch out a word and write the sounds that you hear. Just last week we introduced writing more than one word, and then sentences!

9:20- Specials. While the kids are in art, music, or PE, I either have a meeting with my instructional coach or I prep for lessons.

10:00- Fundations. This is a foundational literacy curriculum that incorporates letter and sound recognition, comprehension, and sentence structure.

10:40- Lunch and Recess! If I don't have duty, I either have a meeting with my mentor teacher, grade homework (our kids have homework to be completed every night), lesson plan, or prep for afternoon lessons, and hopefully scarf down a lunch. :)

11:35- Rest. In New York, kids can enter Kindergarten as long as they turn 5 by December. So we have several 4 year olds, and many more who have just recently turned 5. CrAzY! So this time is the closest thing we have to nap time, but not nearly as effective. We basically try to get the kids to sit still for 10 minutes with their heads down on their desks. Right.

11:50- Clubs. We pull struggling students for intervention and excelling students for enrichment, while the rest of the class goes to a specials club (music, art, PE).

12:20- Math. First is math meeting, where we practice calendar math, counting, and other foundational skills. Then we have story problem, which is one of my favorite parts of the day! We read the kids a story problem several times, and after they memorize it they return to their desks to use any strategy they like to solve. So far it has been basic addition and subtraction story problems, but by the end of the year they will be doing conceptual multiplication and division. Awesome! Last, we have an investigations lesson, where the students learn strategies and skills through games and exploration activities.

1:45- Snack.

2:00- Guided Reading. This is when the students go to literacy centers and each teacher takes a guided reading group. We have a guided reading session with every child every day. We choose literature that is at the student's "instructional" level, and we are there to provide support in whatever area they need growth, whether basic concepts about print, word solving, or comprehension, etc.

2:45- Read Aloud or Science. Read aloud focuses on comprehension skills.

3:15- Shared Reading. Shared Reading focuses on concepts about print, such as the difference between a letter and a word, spaces, directionality, turning pages, etc.

3:40- Dismissal. Throughout the day we track behavior with a color "thermometer." If they need a reminder to sit in SHARP (legs in criss cross or under the table, hands folded in lap or on desk, straight back), to track (look at) the speaker, to raise their hand, etc, and they do not correct their behavior, their clip is moved up to the next color on the thermometer . If they correct their behavior for several minutes their clip moves back down. At the end of the day we write their final color in their homework folder for parents to sign. 

4:00- Meetings, lesson planning, grading, prep for the next day. My co-teacher and I have been staying until 7:00, when the building closes, but we're trying to go home earlier! 

6:00(fingers crossed)- Walk to the bus stop. 

6:30- Home!!

A few of our "scholars" <3

Welcome to our Howard University Kindergarten classroom!

Our "Look Who Wall"

My incredible co-teacher, Lara, teaching writing

"Chasing Pavements"

I build myself up and fly around in circles
Wait then as my heart drops and my back begins to tingle
Finally, could this be it?
Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements

Even if it leads nowhere?

Dan and I don't have cable in our apartment, or any channels in English for that matter, so the only show we watch somewhat consistently is "Glee." It's definitely my show of choice when I have a little down time. Luckily, Dan tolerates the corny drama, choreography, and show tunes. Actually, I think he might kind of like it too. :)

This weekend, we were catching up on "Glee," and the last song we heard was a rendition of Adele's "Chasing Pavement." I'm not usually a crier when it comes to movies or shows, but this one got me! The thing that I love about "Glee" is that it tackles real world issues without over-simplifying them, and it uses that one language that speaks to a person like nothing else can- music! So at the risk of being overly-dramatic, here's why this episode moved me. 

I've heard the song "Chasing Pavements" before, but I had never listened to it in the way that this episode translated it, and I felt like I completely identified with the lyrics. There have been so many beautiful moments these past few months, for the most part outweighing the lousy ones, and I am so blessed to be at a wonderful school, in a wonderful program, and to be supported by an incredibly patient, loving husband. All in all though, this experience so far has absolutely stretched me to my max, and to what somedays seems like beyond. I love each one of my adorable Kindergarten students so much, but trying to effectively teach and nurture all 28 to the degree that they each need seems impossible most days.  I am incessantly wondering if I am really cut out for this. 60-ish hour weeks, plus work on weekends, and all the while feeling uncertain of whether I am doing any service at all to these kids and their families. Especially in a city where you are just another face in the crowd it begins to feel like you are constantly "chasing pavement" that never ends and never amounts to what you thought it might.


Just this week I have begun to feel a tiny bit more on top of lesson plans and grad school. My hope is that as I get a handle on these aspects of my life, my relationships with my scholars and their families will also deepen because at the moment it feels like I'm just barely keeping my head above water. Hm... For some reason it feels like I have done this whole first year of teaching thing before... So why isn't it any easier the second time around?!

Communications

Dan’s first album is now available on iTunes!

A large part of our living room (which is probably a total of 200 square-feet, and was less back in Oklahoma) has been devoted to Dan’s music studio over the past year. I have been an incredibly tolerant wife, if I do say so myself. :) Honestly though, I love watching him go through the creative process from beginning to end. Since last December, he has been brainstorming, writing, recording, mastering, and re-mastering. The sounds range from pop to electronica, and include two of our good friends from OKC who were kind enough to record vocals.

His intentions aren’t to make big bucks or to be “discovered,” but simply to share his music! He’s planning to look into some open mic nights around Brooklyn as well. I am thrilled that he has had this opportunity to take time to pursue his incredible talent in the way he feels drawn!

His tracks include:

• An Emotional Goodbye
• At This Place, On This Corner…
• Can You See Beauty?
• Feel the Riddim
• Listen
• Niyah
• Offense, Defense
• One Brigher Light
• Teddy the Ghost
• Thursday Night

Check it out if you’re interested!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Yesterday, Dan and I spent the afternoon at Prospect Park, one of the largest parks in NYC, perhaps second only to Central Park, and just 4 blocks away in our very own neighborhood! We started the day by visiting our local farmer's market. We chose some locally-sourced andouille sausage, a half pound of creamy, "Oktobarska" cheese, a carton of grapes, and a baguette, and we headed to the park.

                   

We enjoyed our lunch underneath a gray sky amongst families, couples, and friends enjoying a beautiful Sunday. Off to our right was a large family doting over the only child in the group. They broke out in song, singing "Happy Birthday" with beautiful European accents. Later, we observed a father teaching his maybe-6-year-old son the finer points of soccer. "Charge the ball!" "You have to be agressive!" And finally, "Are you tired of practicing already?" :) Later came a couple in their 20's playing a game I remember playing in school. They took turns slapping each others hands, while the other tried to move out of the way in time- it was amusing to watch. We saw countless family gatherings, many of which were Latino families kicking around soccer balls and grilling corn. We noticed many were listening to traditional mariachi-style music. Dan and I discussed how much we enjoyed this sound. So often, music affects our mood and can transport us to a place that feels like home. It would be hard not to enjoy yourself with mariachi acting as the soundtrack to your day!

It was refreshing to see people relaxing and enjoying their loved ones, especially in this grinding culture of 12-hour work days and no time for a smile. It was beautiful to see so many families and friends enjoying their time together and making fun for themselves, whether by grilling, listening to music, playing volleyball, throwing a frisbee... or slapping each others' hands. ;)

A Different Point of View

"We need diversity of thought in the world to face new challenges."

- Tim Berners Lee  

Saturday night Dan and I went out for dinner, in celebration of my first complete week of school (no kids yet, though), my first day of grad school, and his being half-way done in the re-mastering process of his music. We live in a neighborhood within Brooklyn called "Park Slope." Right outside our door is practically any type of food you could possibly think of. So we walked along the bustling row of restaurants on 5th Avenue and decided on a Peruvian place, partly because it had opened its front wall of windows out onto the street, which allowed us to eat while enjoying the beautiful night.

As a man came to serve us water, Dan, in his usual friendly manner, asked, "Are you Peruvian?" I cringed in fear that he may not be and that our cultural ignorance might offend him. But he smiled and said, "No, I look like I could be, but I'm from the Middle East. Turkey." We rarely meet someone who is from New York. It's comforting to know we're just a couple of misfits in a sea of misfits. He chatted with us throughout the night, and told us a little of his story.

Another friendly face has been one of the ladies in our apartment building, Anita. She is one of the first people we met here, and we often see her taking out the building's trash, sweeping the halls, or standing outside. She is always chatty and sometimes speaks so fast and with such an accent that I can't tell whether she's actually speaking to us in English or Spanish! She's from the Dominican Republic, but has been living and raising her family in this very building for 25 years. It's amazing to here stories of people like Anita, who have somehow made ends meet here for so long.

Dan just told me another interesting story about the man who works the counter at the corner deli. He is from the Middle East, and his family remains there while he works. He spends 1 year here working, and goes back home to his family for 1 year, and then repeats the cycle. I can't imagine spending an entire year away from your family in order to provide for them.

It's incredible to meet people everyday from so many different backgrounds. That is one of the very reasons Dan and I moved to New York. What better way to learn, grow, and be immersed in so many different cultures than to live amongst such diversity! Sometimes, yes, it makes for frustrating, confusing conversations at the convenience store or a miscommunication at the hair salon, but all in all it is such a fantastic experience! It reminds me of my conviction to not be concerned with being "American" so much as being a Child of God. As we are facing new challenges in our life, it is humbling and exhilarating to discover peoples' diverse stories, their unique challenges, and how they manage to "keep on keepin' on."