i miss sunbathing with mops.

i got tulip bulbs for $1 each at the farmer's market.

everyday, they open up a little more.

i ordered a red tote to carry all my

teaching stuff back and forth and spent waaay

too much time sewing patches on.

HAWAI'I, HERE WE COME!
:D  :D  :D  :D

I might be going to Hawai'i next month, with my mom,
sister and grandma, during a break I just
found out I had (mid-winter break)!!

i'm excited to get to go back to

the South Pacific, especially after learning about
the Pacific Heritage during my time in NZ
& also writing all those 10-20 page papers on Oceania:

1. Imagining Hawai'i: Postcolonial American Tourism
in the Hawai'ian Islands

2. The Emergence of the Middle Class in
Papua New Guinea and Tonga

3. The Indigenization of Penecostalism in

Tonga and Fiji

4. Skin, Power and Spirituality:
Tattooing in the Marquesas

*please work out*

"find the heartbeat of a classroom."

thank you for preventing my hair from

catching on fire!
and also this yummy honey lavender cake!

i got little umbrellas from the

dollar store for my bday cupcakes.

they went WILD over them.

my mom took this pic of me

in a fitting room.

sums up my winter break ~*~

[plants. ornaments. movies.

eating. sunbathing. books.]

planted the nasturtiums from seeds.

made the pot from clay.

i CREATED this thing that now exists.

i read 'Arthur's Underwear' to the class today.

then we had pomegranate quarters as our snack.
^___________^

13 schools in the Seattle Public School District
qualified for a "Healthy Snacks" grant of

$241,900 from the USDA. everyday, we get

a basket of cool/sometimes random things,

such as: beets, bok choy, asian pears,

fingerling potatoes, pineapple chunks,

blackberries, etc.

one of the best things about working with

kindergartners that you get to eat alot of

snacks with them..

(especially birthday cupcakes~*~*)

gaaah, so much more to do

and all i can do is sit here & eat these cheese rockets.

sleepless in seattle

Seattle's Urban Craft Uprising

Natalie and I met the artist of apakstudio

and got some good deals on whimsical prints

in the "slightly imperfect" bargain box!! :D :D

I think i also unknowingly met

Jill Bliss..

it was 15 degrees out & my feet were on the

verge of getting frostbite.

 ashley and i celebrated being done with

 winter quarter by feasting on pasta!
i ate sooooo much complimentary bread.

we are now halfway done with our masters degrees.
O__________________o

google weather has snowflakes for friday.

i'm hoping so ~*~*~

facebook has this interesting new option

of viewing photos.

i explained to my grandma the more nuanced

[and accurate] history behind Thanksgiving
(encountering the "Other," suspicious trading,

a feast (eating duck, not turkey)

then a wave of mass genocide that is now celebrated

in the "spirit" of giving thanks.

then we picked prickly pears.

design within reach

provides free beverages

(i got this lemon blackberry punch

and my sister got a rosemary drink)

and has super nice modern ergonomic furniture.

michelle and i wandered around,

searched for gingerbread men,

contemplated mint hot chocolate,

and then watched "12 Years a Slave",

a very intense, brutal and real movie

based on the true story of Soloman Northup.

“It is not the fault of the

slaveholder that he is cruel,”

Northup writes, “so much as it is

the fault of the system under which he lives.”

"le
af

a:;go

e
s wh
IrlI
n

.g"

ashley saw this sticker and said it reminded her of me:

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!"