An assignment in Writing Workshop was to write a letter to me to let me know what the students were currently thinking and feeling about being in 4th grade. I just thought I would share one letter from Yena, my new student. She is a very intelligent young lady and skipped 3rd grade. Here it is:
Dear Miss.Siscoe
I've passed to fourth grade!
I've made friends very fast.
I don't know why almost all the children in here are so kind to me.
Being the youngest girl in the classroom is kind of scary to me. You're a great teacher!
I think you will be a great astronaut.
I hope I'll grew more.
Sincerly, Yena
P.S. I told the students I want to be an astronaut someday. :)
10.06.2008
10.05.2008
Parque de La Paz
Trish went to a wedding in the States this weekend, so it was just me and Kim L. We went to Parque de la Paz and enjoyed the kites and view of the city. Here's sampler photos :). More tomorrow.
10.02.2008
Thanks for the Mail :)
Shout out to Jaclyn Miller for a letter a couple weeks ago! So great to hear from her!! Jaclyn came to Costa Rica in May so I love knowing she can picture exactly where I am at.
And another shout out to Todd Bryant for an artistic postcard! Thanks, you made my day!
Oh, and Kim Maple invited me, Kim L., and Kim V. over for dinner tonight... Yes, 3 Kims in one room was quite interesting. We watched the political debate and ate fried chicken and brownies. Yum!
And another shout out to Todd Bryant for an artistic postcard! Thanks, you made my day!
Oh, and Kim Maple invited me, Kim L., and Kim V. over for dinner tonight... Yes, 3 Kims in one room was quite interesting. We watched the political debate and ate fried chicken and brownies. Yum!
10.01.2008
Look Mom! I'm a Chef! :)
Check out my latest cooking endeavors :). Steamed peppers, onions, green beans, carrots, potatoes, lime, cilantro, and garlic salt. Yummy.
And a shout out to Amy Kovanda for teaching me how to make "Grown Up Grilled Cheese". Toasted bread, topped with a tomato slice, a basil leaf, and melted cheese. Definitely a keeper for my recipe book. The original recipe calls for provolone cheese; however, that's a delicacy here and quite expensive, so I used gouda instead.
Costa Rican style cooking = lots of fresh fruits and veggies. I'm loving this.
And a shout out to Amy Kovanda for teaching me how to make "Grown Up Grilled Cheese". Toasted bread, topped with a tomato slice, a basil leaf, and melted cheese. Definitely a keeper for my recipe book. The original recipe calls for provolone cheese; however, that's a delicacy here and quite expensive, so I used gouda instead.
Costa Rican style cooking = lots of fresh fruits and veggies. I'm loving this. 9.30.2008
Yay! I took pictures today!!!
Just a few photos today. :) Here's the class smiling for the camera.
And then the classic goofy faces.
Meet Jordan. Energy central, trust me. He's moving to Guatemala in December.
So today I had a bad day. You know, the classic forget-my-lunch, bad-news, take-it-personally, make-the-kids-cry kind of day. BUT I did come home with a couple funny stories...
Lunch is a hectic time of day for those of us in 4th grade (and any grade for that matter), because every teacher is also the lunchroom supervisor for her students. Not only is the teacher responsible for opening juice boxes and encouraging good table manners (my class struggles with chewing with our mouths closed... me included :)), but the teacher is also responsible for heating up any lunches needing reheating. So I'm running around, grabbing lunches and pushing microwave buttons like a pro... and then I realized I had forgotten my own lunch. I was already having a bad day, so this was kind of like the "straw that broke the camel's back". I finished my microwave duties and sat down next to the 5th grade teacher (Kim V.) and told her I had forgotten my lunch. Now this seems normal enough, but of course my good old emotions overflowed and I collapsed into tears. Thank goodness Kim had enough sense to just go get lunch for me from Cosas (the catering business that makes our student lunches) and tell me to collect myself in the bathroom. When I came back from the restroom, Kim had lunch waiting for me and my students were asking, "Would you like us to make a donation to your lunch?" (We've handled forgotten lunches this way in the past for other students) ... Of course, I didn't turn down the cookies and chips the students offered me in place of my forgotten lunch. Ha, quite healthy.
Alright, second funny story. We were doing the penmanship exercise, and I was attempting to write "14" at the board. Now, it doesn't seem to difficult to write while standing up, but when my arm doesn't have a horizontal surface to rest on, it throws me off completely. Soooo you can imagine how my penmanship lessons tend to go. (Ha, I should call it "how not to write" lessons) So I wrote my "14" and one of the boys raises his hand. "Ummm Miss Siscoe? The 4 doesn't go under the line quite that much." .... I was silent, staring at my attempted 4, not knowing what to say or do. One of the girls whispers "Jordan, don't frustrate Miss Siscoe right now!" Jordan says really loudly "Actually, your 4 is great. Nevermind!" I stand back and examine my "14" again. Another girl says "Yeah, Miss Siscoe, it looks great!" Ha, it was obvious that I was having a bad day.
Tomorrow will be better.
And then the classic goofy faces.
Meet Jordan. Energy central, trust me. He's moving to Guatemala in December.
So today I had a bad day. You know, the classic forget-my-lunch, bad-news, take-it-personally, make-the-kids-cry kind of day. BUT I did come home with a couple funny stories...
Lunch is a hectic time of day for those of us in 4th grade (and any grade for that matter), because every teacher is also the lunchroom supervisor for her students. Not only is the teacher responsible for opening juice boxes and encouraging good table manners (my class struggles with chewing with our mouths closed... me included :)), but the teacher is also responsible for heating up any lunches needing reheating. So I'm running around, grabbing lunches and pushing microwave buttons like a pro... and then I realized I had forgotten my own lunch. I was already having a bad day, so this was kind of like the "straw that broke the camel's back". I finished my microwave duties and sat down next to the 5th grade teacher (Kim V.) and told her I had forgotten my lunch. Now this seems normal enough, but of course my good old emotions overflowed and I collapsed into tears. Thank goodness Kim had enough sense to just go get lunch for me from Cosas (the catering business that makes our student lunches) and tell me to collect myself in the bathroom. When I came back from the restroom, Kim had lunch waiting for me and my students were asking, "Would you like us to make a donation to your lunch?" (We've handled forgotten lunches this way in the past for other students) ... Of course, I didn't turn down the cookies and chips the students offered me in place of my forgotten lunch. Ha, quite healthy.
Alright, second funny story. We were doing the penmanship exercise, and I was attempting to write "14" at the board. Now, it doesn't seem to difficult to write while standing up, but when my arm doesn't have a horizontal surface to rest on, it throws me off completely. Soooo you can imagine how my penmanship lessons tend to go. (Ha, I should call it "how not to write" lessons) So I wrote my "14" and one of the boys raises his hand. "Ummm Miss Siscoe? The 4 doesn't go under the line quite that much." .... I was silent, staring at my attempted 4, not knowing what to say or do. One of the girls whispers "Jordan, don't frustrate Miss Siscoe right now!" Jordan says really loudly "Actually, your 4 is great. Nevermind!" I stand back and examine my "14" again. Another girl says "Yeah, Miss Siscoe, it looks great!" Ha, it was obvious that I was having a bad day.
Tomorrow will be better.
9.28.2008
Un Fin de Semana Tipico en San Francisco de Dos Rios
Eventful weekend on this homefront! Lots of socializing and... well, no work. Ha, I kind of feel like a college student still because I get back from my fun weekend on Sunday afternoon and all I can think is... "I have a lot of work to do!" Bah.
In the near future (in other words, this week), I am going to really make an effort to not bring work home. Bah humbug, first year of teaching.
Alright, I'm done complaining now. :)
Kim and I babysat on Friday night for the Diem family with the cutest little boys ... I forgot my camera. Josiah (3 and obsessed with Peter Pan) and Elliott (18mos. and super laid back) are my new favorite stress outlet.
Saturday brought another trip to the feria and housechores. THEN :) we went with our neighbor Diane and friend Becky Diem for a pedicure at a Nicaraguan place "Magica Unas" ("Magic Nail"). Only $8!! Then we headed to teacher friend's Lauren and Mau's house in Concepcion de Tres Rios, up the mountain, and enjoyed an afternoon of Mau's exceptional cooking and lots of stories and laughs.
Sunday = church, grocery store, lunch with the Diem family, phone call to Mom, mini-nap, laundry, letter writing, dinner with the neighbors, meet Kim V.'s family... and here I am. :) Lots of work to do.
I realized today I hadn't taken photos in way too long. I'll be fixing that soon. Sorry I didn't capture Josiah or Elliott's mischevious smiles for you... I'm sure I'll have more opportunities. For now... I need to get something school-related done!
As always, much love
In the near future (in other words, this week), I am going to really make an effort to not bring work home. Bah humbug, first year of teaching.
Alright, I'm done complaining now. :)
Kim and I babysat on Friday night for the Diem family with the cutest little boys ... I forgot my camera. Josiah (3 and obsessed with Peter Pan) and Elliott (18mos. and super laid back) are my new favorite stress outlet.
Saturday brought another trip to the feria and housechores. THEN :) we went with our neighbor Diane and friend Becky Diem for a pedicure at a Nicaraguan place "Magica Unas" ("Magic Nail"). Only $8!! Then we headed to teacher friend's Lauren and Mau's house in Concepcion de Tres Rios, up the mountain, and enjoyed an afternoon of Mau's exceptional cooking and lots of stories and laughs.
Sunday = church, grocery store, lunch with the Diem family, phone call to Mom, mini-nap, laundry, letter writing, dinner with the neighbors, meet Kim V.'s family... and here I am. :) Lots of work to do.
I realized today I hadn't taken photos in way too long. I'll be fixing that soon. Sorry I didn't capture Josiah or Elliott's mischevious smiles for you... I'm sure I'll have more opportunities. For now... I need to get something school-related done!
As always, much love
9.26.2008
Changes in Fourth Grade
Lots of changes this week!! My students (and I :)) have handled it well for the most part; however, I must admit I'm looking forward to the set routine again.
Change #1 = New student from Korea! Must catch her up on everything we do in our class. . . thank goodness she speaks English pretty well!
Change #2 = We are no longer eating lunch in our classroom, because the construction is complete! Now we are eating in the picnic area, and we are figuring out new routines there... kind of confusing and stressful for everyone involved, trust me.
Change #3 = Our first tests! Tuesday was our True Stories test, Wednesday was a Puzzles test, and today is a Word Play test. Whew!! No homework due to tests in also a new thing this week.
Change #4 = Every Wednesday, we will be reading to the kindergartners, and this past Wednesday was the first time. Both the 5 year olds and my 10 year olds did so well with this :).
There's more, but I'm writing during my planning period at school and someone else needs the computer. I'm surviving the changes so far! And thank goodness someone thought of weekends and rests from work.
Change #1 = New student from Korea! Must catch her up on everything we do in our class. . . thank goodness she speaks English pretty well!
Change #2 = We are no longer eating lunch in our classroom, because the construction is complete! Now we are eating in the picnic area, and we are figuring out new routines there... kind of confusing and stressful for everyone involved, trust me.
Change #3 = Our first tests! Tuesday was our True Stories test, Wednesday was a Puzzles test, and today is a Word Play test. Whew!! No homework due to tests in also a new thing this week.
Change #4 = Every Wednesday, we will be reading to the kindergartners, and this past Wednesday was the first time. Both the 5 year olds and my 10 year olds did so well with this :).
There's more, but I'm writing during my planning period at school and someone else needs the computer. I'm surviving the changes so far! And thank goodness someone thought of weekends and rests from work.
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