mops in the jungle

i rearranged all the furniture in my room and

got some organizational things to avoid constantly

having multiple piles of papers, books, assignments,

and binders all over the floor.

on friday, we made turkey hands with a

scientific informational sentence.

the left one is my protocol.

the right one is one made by a student :)

it says "i know a turkey is colorful."

"have faith in the process."

-kate

pangaimotu island

 fa-fa-fa-fa-ll-ll-ll

today consisted of running records

& roasting marshmallows.

!spaghetti squash!

autumn autumn autumn.

it's my new favorite season.

kiki and i both bought too many groceries:

look, the bags ripped open.

"look, a moth! let's use our looking-lens"

*5 kindergarteners rush to get a good look
but in the process, end up accidentally

crushing it to death*

we all watch it flutter helplessly
to the ground with its smashed wings.

everyone was silent.

"oh..look what happened, ummm

come here & look at this pretty flower instead..."

a group of my favorite little humans

ran up to me last Friday & all tried to hug me

at the same time.

 it was the best group hug i've ever had.
(dozens of smiling 5-6 year olds screaming
your name when they see you is..awesome).
[      ]

 i made a mailbox out of

colored card-stock paper and

i've been "sending" them mail

to keep in contact for the 4 days i'm not there.

cathy says they love

listening to my letter

and looking at the stamps i draw.

heads or tails by lilli carre
this is one of my favorite [graphic] novels.

it is whimsical, strange and original.

it feels sort of like magical realism

conveyed through illustration.

i read the whole book

during one sitting a few weeks ago.

the leaves are changing colors:

H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y!

**ham, potato and celery soup**

*roasted fall veggies**

"Great minds discuss ideas;

average minds discuss events;

small minds discuss people."
- Eleanor Roosevelt

"and this is a picture of my new grandson."
"IS HE A BOY OR GIRL?"
"boy."

"awwwwwwww! i wish he was a little girl."

fall photoshoot with

decor from the dollar store!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL!

"see children as leaders,

not trouble makers."

prepping for our science unit

& designed an ecosystem for snails today!

0 o O o o 0 o O o 0 o

how exciting it is to be

the first person in the world to

show a child how to hold a paintbrush

for the very first time, dip it in paint,

and sweep it across a sheet of paper

to illuminate it with colorssssss.

~~~

"and this is a picture of my dog"
"what's his name?!"
"mops"
"mops?"

'mops!" "mops! "mops!!!"

screamed 21 kindergarteners

who gathered around trying to look at this picture:

"that's a dog? he doesn't look like a dog."

"he looks like a sheep!"
"or a bear!"

s u g a r   c o o k i e s ~

hooray for library books &

flowers from a dumpster

taro root baby

 vanessa and i ate lots of food

& walked around three different neighborhoods,

and watched a whimsical french animation called:

Mia and the Migoo

vanessa and i walked past these

pretty flowers this evening. i've never seen

johnny jump up violas of this coloring!

HI LITTLE FRIENDS!

8am - 6pm

all day, every day.

 i designed a paper aquarium with these twins today.

miranda studied my drawing and then said:

"your octopus is beautiful."

later, one of them screamed:
"HEY, MY SISTER IS COPYING MY PICTURE.
TELL HER TO STOP IT!!!"

i decided to say something along the lines of:
"You know what? when someone copies your drawing,

it means they really like what you drew and

want to try it themselves. If someone

ever copies you, you should feel

proud of yourself because it means

they really liked your idea,

and because we're all friends,

it's nice to share ideas with each other!
for example, i loved how you drew
that cupcake so i copied you and
drew hearts on mine too because i
thought you had a great idea!"

she seemed satisfied with that answer

and then continued drawing happily.

a storm is coming

whee!

after 8 hours of helping my CT

kindergarten teacher prep the classroom for the
~*~*~FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL*~*~

i did my own little "neighborhood walk"

around the school.

sweet pea flowers grow everywhere on
the surrounding hills so i picked some,

sat on a concrete structure

and looked at the lake and mountains.

i painted this at like 1:30am.

"summer juice"
it was inspired by calder mobiles,
pinterest popsicles + blueberry picking.

hiked up rattlesnake ridge

with anna & kristina today;
saw a snake.

maryna and theresa mailed me

the collapsible colander i

had been obsessed with for a year!

the package was accompanied with

macarons and monterrey bay aquarium gifts

and the infamous ballooo0o0o!
i laughed out loud when i saw him.
THANK YOU!!

~from a few months ago~

ashley and i looked at each other today and realized

we were both wearing black dresses with blue cardigans.

then we decided "eh, why not?" & got matching necklaces
made from calendars by ugandan teenagers
^then i made us both puffball garlands ^

the day i wandered to the lake,

sat under a tree and read a book

about a syrian man during hurricane katrina
(based on true events)

SUNFLOWERS AT PIKE MARKET $1
i was a tourist today & got some potato bread
and the best blackberry scone i've ever had.

my lithop back in california bloomed!

DAY IN FREMONT WITH NATALIE

on saturday, i visited my friend natalie!
~we went on a tour at theo's chocolate factory

~ate paseo's sandwiches w/ a peach i got at a farm

~showed each other pictures from

morocco + france & new zealand + tonga
~we also went to little boutiques and gawked
at cute locally produced stuff.

vanessa showed me this picture and said

"i think this picture captures your spirit."

i found a plant in a dumpster outside grace's apartment.

i gave it some water and now it's healthy again.

i also pulled a succulent off a tree

in during the "neighborhood walk"
and gave it a new home

in a banana flavored yogurt container.

today, my 2nd grade buddy M hugged me

for the first time after playing four-square

(he's really shy and quiet,

so it was a very magical moment).

i get to see this sunset every evening :)