Celebrate! 1/4/14

 

It has been a good week. 

My husband and I have been battling illness for a majority of my winter break, but I think that we are on the mend and I'll be able to return to work on Monday feeling healthy again.

Sunday: Maddie and I drove to my mom's house (three hours away) to spend New Year's at her house. Any time the two of us can travel without incident, and by that I mean, not witnessing any accidents, I feel that there's reason to celebrate. Maddie loves time with her Grandma (and vice versa) so she was happy as a clam.

Monday: I spent most of the day with our Chalkboard Project/Collaboration Grant coach working out a timeline for work left ahead of us for the remainder of the school year. There's nothing necessarily fun about working during your break, however, it felt good to process some of the grant work left ahead of us. I left with a plan of action for the next couple weeks-success!

Tuesday: In my Slice of Life post on Tuesday, I shared about my daughter's participation in making mochi for Japanese New Year. This still sticks with me as the best part of my week since she is engaging in a tradition that my dad and I started together six years ago. Since dad died in 2010, I've been doing mochi for Japanese New Year on my own and it's been lonely. This year, Maddie changed all of that by wanting to be a part of the entire process. It's something my dad would have loved to see - it's something that just makes me smile as I type this. 

Our 2014 Mochi

Wednesday: Maddie and I traveled home...safely. As stated above in regards to travel, any time Maddie and I are on the road without incident then I celebrate. When we arrived, we found my husband still sick but at least without the fever that we left him with on Sunday. 

Thursday: Maddie and I checked the mail to retrieve packages from Christmas that we were expecting but didn't arrive until after. One package that was in there was my National Board Certificate. I completed the renewal process last spring for the Middle Childhood Generalist certificate. The National Board process has been the one thing I've done for myself professionally that I am most proud of. The process has helped me to develop habit where I reflect about my practice and continues to open my eyes about what I do and how I do it. It is the filter that I run things through in terms of - is this action was is best for kids? The feeling of accomplishment with renewal was the same as when I submitted my portfolio in 2004. My husband, daughter, and colleagues have continued to support my efforts to constantly learn and grow and for this I will always be grateful.

Friday: My husband has always been my biggest supporter when it comes to continuing education, personal professional development, basically, anything I do to constantly learn and grow. So, the National Board Certificate was something he congratulated me on but did not get the "big deal" that it us until he saw the 100+ Likes on my Facebook page. He then, on his own, planned a babysitting for Maddie and dinner out at wonderful restaurant in Lincoln City. We rarely go out, and when we do we usually have Maddie with us, so this was a pleasant surprise. I loved that he was willing to make a big deal about celebrating my National Board Certificate.

Saturday: Today, I walked my second Newport Resolution run. What sets this year apart is that I signed up for the Polar Plunge. By plunge, I mean that I dove into the frigid waters of the Yaquina Bay after I finished my race. My husband thought I was crazy, but he did bring Maddie to the finish line so she could see me plunge. For me, this run was unlike last year's in that I spent my time during the "run" thinking about resolutions for reading, writing, mentoring, parenting, marriage, and health. The plunge was a sort of cleansing of old habits to make room for the changes that I intend to make this year. At the end of the race, my friends that finished ahead of me were there waiting for me making the finish all the more special. 

Majalise, Me, & Jana before the race

There is a lot to look forward to this next week: return to mentoring my beginning teachers who I've missed, my last mentor training of the year with the new instructional coach that we hired, the leadership team I facilitate as part of the Collaboration Grant, the books I plan to read and the writing that is ahead of me. 

What are you celebrating?

Have a fantastic week!

 

 

BE About the Tradition - Japanese New Year - Slice of Life 2013

 

A Slice of Life is a weekly blog hosted by Two Writing Teachers, Ruth Ayers and Stacey Shubitz. Click on Two Writing Teachers to be taken to their website to learn more about this week's Slice of Life.

 *****     *****     *****     *****     *****     

I was raised by a Japanese American, emphasis on the American. Raised by a father who wanted his children to be loyal United States citizens, my dad ethnically represented Japanese but everything about him was about being "American". As his daughter, I grew up knowing very little about Japanese language, culture, foods, or traditions. It was not until in my 30s, when I was down in Los Angeles celebrating New Year's with my Aunt Suzye and Uncle Chuck, that I experienced the Japanese tradition of making mochi.

Mochi is Japanese rice cake made of mochigome, a sweet rice. We use a special rice cooker that steams the rice and then pounds it into a paste. While still hot, we mold the sticky rice paste into round cakes. Traditional rice pounding is a labor intensive process that involves two people taking turns physically pounding the rice with a wooden mallet while the other person "flips" the rice and wets it. There's a rhythm to it or someone can get hurt. I like my hands and fingers so I'll skip the traditional pounding and take the rice cooker. Thank you very much. :0)

In 2008, my dad brought my grandma's mochi rice cooker home with him from California-that was the year dad and I started making mochi together as our way of celebrating Japanese New Year. By 2009, dad had his cancer diagnosis and the time spent making mochi quickly became treasured time. When January 2010 arrived, I was 8 months pregnant and dad had already surpassed the timeframe that doctors had given him for his terminal cancer. Dad and I spent this time together knowing it would be our last (he died June 2010) Japanese New Year together and he wanted to make sure that I knew what to do to make mochi.

Today, was the third year making mochi without my dad. 

It's a bittersweet time, though, because this year, Maddie, just shy of four years old, is old enough to be genuinely interested in knowing what Mommy is doing. And, she wanted to be a part of things. This has been a new year where I particularly miss my dad because he would have loved having Maddie be a part of the activity. He would have loved even just watching her be a part of things. It was a HUGE gift he gave me making sure that I knew what to do, right down to knowing what rice to buy (he was particular about brands), so that I could build this as a tradition on my own with Maddie. It is now more than a time that I miss my dad. It is now a time to share wonderfully fun stories with Maddie about her Papa. It's my turn to show her what to do.

Thank you, Dad, for this wonderful tradition of mochi for Japanese New Year. 

Maddie helping me wash the rice to soak the night before.

Time to steam our first batch of rice.

Rice is finished steaming and now it's time for the rice to be "pounded".

Rice pounding!

Our first batch of mochi to welcome in 2014 - the Year of the Horse.

May each of you reading this have a prosperous 2014.

Happy New Year!!!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 12.30.13

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is an opportunity for everyone to share their book journeys: where we've been for the week and where we plan to go next. To learn more about It's Monday! What Are You Reading? with a kidlit focus, jump over to Jen Vincent's blog, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee Moye's blog, Unleashing Readers.

 

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Whooooo... boy! It's been weeks since I posted. A job change with a longer than expected transition, adjusting to the responsibilities of a new job, & coursework for maintaining my administrator license meant that I spent quite a bit of my reading time reading the grant I manage (and related documents) & lots about school boards and being a superintendent. Not my favorite kind of reading. But, I'm back and excited to be reading MY books. 

 

Maddie's reading life did not suffer, but I don't have our weekly set of #bookpics because a lot of the reading slack was picked up by Daddy, Grandma, & Aunt Tracey. 

 

Here's a sampling of where Maddie & I traveled through picture books this past week:

 

 

  Here's where I ventured:

  

And now for where I plan to travel:

#audiobook

 

 

LCSD Reads Facebook Book Club

Happy New Year!!!!!!

What are YOU reading?

 

Picture Book Review: Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

 Title: Llama Llama Holiday Drama
Author: Anna Dewdney
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Publication Date: October 2010
Genre/Format: Picture Book Fiction

Goodreads Summary: Llama Llama holidays. Jingle music. Lights ablaze.
How long till that special date?
Llama Llama has to wait.

If there's one thing Llama Llama doesn't like, it's waiting. He and Mama Llama rush around, shopping for presents, baking cookies, decorating the tree . . . but how long is it until Christmas? Will it ever come? Finally, Llama Llama just can't wait any more! It takes a cuddle from Mama Llama to remind him that "Gifts are nice, but there's another: The true gift is, we have each other." 

Grade Level: PreK+
Kristin's Thoughts: Madeline is three (four in February) during this holiday season and really exhibits for the first time, behavior that reflects some of the craziness that takes hold of this time of year. There's the talk of Santa, the holiday decorations everywhere, the toys at the Fred Meyer where we shop that are strategically placed at little people level, the newly decorated Christmas tree at home, and the fact that our coastal grounds are covered with the white stuff (a rare occasion for us). Maddie is in full affect with the constant questions around "is it Christmas yet?" not to mention the ongoing "I need...." which translated means "I want...."
Llama Llama Holiday Drama was a good reminder that sometimes what we (not just kids, moms too) need is a loving hug. I couldn't agree more that "the true gift is we have each other." Reading this book together ended with some pretty special cuddles. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/25/13

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is an opportunity for everyone to share their book journeys: where we've been for the week and where we plan to go next. To learn more about It's Monday! What Are You Reading? with a kidlit focus, jump over to Jen Vincent's blog, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee Moye's blog, Unleashing Readers.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Confession: I crawled into bed with my daughter last night instead of updating my blog. I made a commitment to myself, though, that I would stick to posting about the following blog posts that feed my soul:

 

So, here I am a day late, posting about my book journeys a day late. Better late than never, right?

 

I decided this week to post two book pics every night: one of my book pick and one of Maddie's book pick, even if Maddie's pic was a reread. Here's where we traveled with picture books this week:

 

Here's my audiobook journey:

 

Here's my book journey:

 

 

Here's where I plan to travel:

 

 What are reading this week?

 

CELEBRATE! 11/23/13

 

Ruth Ayres has invited everyone to share a celebration each Saturday. What an amazing opportunity to reflect on all the good that is in life. The celebration can be about anything and in any format. I hope you'll join in!

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Celebrate #1: I'm sitting in front of my computer adding to my blog! Life has been just a bit on the crazy side as I worked through some work transitions. I found myself in a place where I couldn't keep up on being a mother, a wife, or a mentor teacher much less blogging. Today, though, my sister is visiting and my daughter is cuddled up with her for a nap and so I find myself with some quiet time cuddled up in a blanket with my laptop. I so appreciate the time to just sit and reflect and look at the things from my week worth celebrating. 

Celebrate #2: I mentioned above that my sister is visiting. My sister is my friend, my heart. We have not had quality time together for a VERY long time-months, in fact. I appreciate that our schedules were such that we could be together, if only for a couple of days. Sister time is definitely time worth celebrating.

Celebrate #3: I stumbled into some work related "roadblocks" earlier in the week. Things were not such that I wanted to duck and run, but I did find myself missing my life as a full time mentor. I spent quite a bit of time reflecting on what I needed to be doing or saying differently with an administrative team that I report to. But, I did have this nagging thought in my head, "how am I going to keep the projects moving forward under these circumstances?". On Thursday, a team of six of us attending a statewide meeting for districts who had received the same grant funding. My grant administrator carpooled with me and with a two hour drive time, one way, the opportunity presented itself to have a conversation about what had taken place. I had not realized until my conversation with her how much of a weight the "roadblocks" had become to me until my conversation with her - she validated my concerns and in an instant I knew that I had her full support. The weight was suddenly lifted. I celebrate all administrators who listen, coach through conversation, and then do what it takes to support teacher leaders moving forward. 

Celebrate #4: The statewide meeting I attended put me in touch with other districts with the same Collaboration Grant that my district has. I came away from the day with a better sense of my role as the grant manager but, more importantly, I came away with some ideas of how I can support the team leaders of our grant with their teams in moving our grant implementation forward. I left with a sense of excitement for work the next day. Friday, I arrived ready to attack a few projects and left with a sense of accomplishment. I celebrate and appreciate my state's efforts to foster communities of practice - I left Thursday's meeting rejuvenated.

Celebrate #5: My friend sent me a text message at 6:50 a.m. this morning to share the news that she is a National Board Certified Teacher. I could not be more excited or proud of her. Having gone through the NBCT process in 2004 and then the renewal process in 2013, I can attest to the rigor, excitement, anxiety, and thrill of the whole process. Teachers that commit to the NBC process, whether they are certified on the first, second, or third attempt, should be proud of their effort and accomplishment. I found it to be one of things that had the greatest impact on my work as an educator. My friend's National Board news is well worth celebrating! I'm proud of you EI!!!!

As I look at my week ahead of me, I am excited at what is to come: Monday will be spent in Year 2 Mentor PD and Thursday will be spent with family celebrating Thanksgiving. And those are just the events I know about. :o)

What are do you celebrate from this past week?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/18/13

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is an opportunity for everyone to share their book journeys: where we've been for the week and where we plan to go next. To learn more about It's Monday! What Are You Reading? with a kidlit focus, jump over to Jen Vincent's blog, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee Moye's blog, Unleashing Readers.

 

*****    *****     *****     *****     *****     

I haven't been so good lately about tracking the book journeys that I Maddie and I are on. I've had a lot on my plate between coursework and work so I'm toying with the idea of a reading journal for us as well as book pics that I post on Twitter of what she is choosing and what I am choosing for our nightly bedtime reads. Stay tuned next week for double the fun with the return of book pics here.

This last week was not a good independent reading week for me. However, I bought one of Paul Tough's books after listening to him at the OSBA (Oregon School Boards Association) Conference I was required to attend as part of my course.

Here's where I plan to travel this week:

 

My favorite journey each month with the #SharpSchu Book Club on Twitter features:

 

Here's where I was and where I plan on going with audiobooks:

Finished this Saturday

Started this on Sunday