A Post of Party Pics

Kennedy's first birthday is not until this Thursday, but we had her party a few weeks early (grandparents were going out of town and didn't want to miss it). We wanted to do something simple, but fun. So a backyard bbq was the plan!

 Night before dinner with the Spokane grandparents!

About 30 minutes before the party it started down pouring. Needless to say, I wasn't too pleased. We quickly had to pull everything inside and pray the rain would stop.

Thankfully, it cleared up by party time. Not too much damage was done, except for a wrinkly banner.

Daddy was the grilling master of the day with some singed arm hair to prove it!

 

We loved having our family and friends there to celebrate our little lady!

Kennedy's sweet cousins! Almost exactly a year older.

Yum! Cupcakes and cake! Kennedy loved having her own cake.

We set up a play yard for the little kids, but ended up using it for our pooch.

But that just made the little kids want to go in!

For some reason I love this picture of Kennedy with her grandpa. They are just the cutest!

We were tired at the end of that day!

I love this little girl so much! She's so much fun and has such a wonderful personality. It's a blessing to watch her grow. But for now...time needs to slow down!

Big Changes are Coming!

When I moved to Pasco almost 6 years ago, I thought it would be a temporary move. I wanted to "gain experience" so I could move back to Spokane and teach. Teaching jobs were few and far between in Spokane. My plan was to teach in Pasco for two to three years and then start applying in Spokane again.

And then he happened...

I met a this guy and got married. With Aaron becoming a part of his family's small construction business, I knew that we weren't leaving the Tri Cities anytime soon.

During our first few years of marriage I completed my Master's Degree at WSU Tri Cities, earned my ProCert, and worked hard at becoming a better teacher. I have taught at the same elementary school, in the same grade since I moved to Pasco.

My experiences at this school have been unlike any other. Coming from Spokane an almost all Hispanic, low-income school was a huge eye opener and a gigantic culture shock. I never pictured myself teaching in a setting where most students are taught in Spanish (not my class, I can't pick up Spanish to save my life) and majority of my conferences are done through a translator. This has been such a learning curve for me. Without an incredible administration and an amazing team of teachers (shout out to my amazing fourth grade team!) to work with, I probably wouldn't still be teaching. However, I am still teaching and I love what I do! My school is absolutely wonderful. The teachers there are hardworking and the students are determined! The school has become part of my family.

Over the last few years my school has been integrating STEM into our curriculum. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The idea is that for this generation of students, majority (but not all) of future jobs will be in these fields. Therefore it is important to encourage students to engage in these STEM subjects. Of course that arts are still incredibly important. Reading and writing essential for students, but often the components of STEM are often ignored in education (specifically, technology and engineering). You can learn more about STEM at the STEM Coalition site.

By incorporating STEM into my teaching, I am able to appeal to students in a more engaging way. More responsibility of learning has been placed on the students and they are more determined to build understanding. For example, during our school's Westward expansion unit our students designed and built wagons that could roll, float and carry weight.

 

Students were also taught fraction and multiplication concepts by understanding how to plan supplies for a several month journey (ex. If you need 1/4 lb of flour each day, how much will you need for 90 days?). This year they have studied the science of waves and have built musical instruments to demonstrate how sound waves travel. They have written informational brochures as if they were the American Red Cross after a natural disaster.

Pasco is a rapidly growing area and our school district has added enough students for a new elementary school every year for the last 10 years! The growth is absolutely crazy! In the next two years, the district will be opening 3 new schools. These schools will be full STEM integration schools. Learning will not be segregated into math time and literacy time, etc, but the curriculum will build on itself throughout the day. Only some prefab curriculum will be used; the rest will be teacher designed, standards-based, rigorous and relevant...

Curriculum I helped write. This year I applied and got offered the chance to be part of the planning team for these new schools. I have worked extra hours (and all of my spring break...) on building this curriculum along with 7 other teachers. We will be presenting the curriculum to the school board and implementing it next year at the new school.

Touring my new school

Next year I am moving schools. Eek. It was time for me to push myself out of my comfort zone. It'll be a scary and difficult year, but I am so excited. I will have a brand new classroom, in a brand new school, with a staff of people excited to try something new! I do not like change, but it happens anyways. I like to make my change on my terms as much as possible. Plus, some of my favorite people from my current school are coming with me. Doesn't get much better than that!