Meet Allison!

I have known Allison since before she was born. Guess what? She was born the same day as my niece Ally. She looks like her daddy and has a very pretty mommy! What a lucky little girl!

Kindergarten Mommies Rock!

The great thing about being a kindergarten teacher is that I get to work with some other awesome kindergarten teachers! Look at how great Vanessa and Christina look! They both just had babies! FYI, we are not accepting 9 week old students yet; Allison was just visiting with mommy.

Lucy's Better!

She can now walk on all four legs!

Antibiotics, what a wonderful thing!

Happy Birthday Auntie Lisa!

We love you!

Lucy vs. CeeCee

This is what you get when you try to catch a cat! Poor Lucy is now on antibiotics and bed rest~! Who would have thought? Total Cost: About 3 Nintendo DS Lites or a plane ticket to NYC!

Sharing Our Science Journals...

And yes, my class is always that noisy!  It was lunch "recess"-indoors, oh joy!  Two days of rainy day schedule can drive someone to drink!!! Where's my Chai Latte?  

*For those in the know, guess who was screaming?

Lucy Comes to Room 3...

How cool is it to get a visit from a real snake?

Recording our observations in our 

Science Journals.

And we got to make snakes to take home too!

"Houston, we have a problem..."

What is wrong with this picture?

The great thing about getting a hands-free blue tooth ear piece for my birthday is that I can chat with friends while walking around the room "doing stuff." The problem about getting a hands-free blue tooth ear piece for my birthday is that I have a seven year old who thinks what is mommy's is automatically his (well there is some truth to that). So guess who walked around with an ear piece in his ear all night and went to bed wearing it? My strategy? I will remove the piece while he is asleep and put it away and not have it anywhere visible to the naked eye.

6:15am: Seven year old sitting in his chair... waiting... "Mommy, where is my blue tooth?" "Um, I don't know. Maybe you lost it." -- 5 minutes and lots of noise later. "Mommy! Help me move my bed! I know it's under the bed somewhere!" Okay, do I come clean? Would you? I did. Then we had to solve the problem. Mommy gets her cool ear piece when she is not with seven year old boy. When seven year old boy is around, he may have it in his ear just in case there is a phone call. So word to the wise... don't call Mommy on the cell phone after 5:00pm because chances you will be having a conversation with a seven year old instead.

Why I Love Teaching...

Paola at her wedding with her first and second grade teachers (who haven't changed a bit). = ) hee hee...

How cool is it to get birthday greetings from students you have taught over 18 years ago? Sure, the kindergartners were excited about my birthday, after all, there would be cake. But will they remember to wish me a happy birthday when they are second year law students? Will they huh?

I am happy to report the answer is YES! Among the wonderful handmade cards and warm hugs from Room 3, I got a text greetings from Dulce, who just completed her sheriff's academy training and now is working in the Men's Central Jail, YIKES! What courage! I get birthday wishes every year from Dulce, who entered my first grade class reading and writing Spanish already! She came back to my classroom to volunteer for years after she left, working with students and teachers. I have watched her grow and mature into an intelligent, creative, and hardworking young lady. I was able to attend her 15th and witnessed her graduation from High School. I am reminded of her every time I look out of my classroom at the wonderful palm tree she donated to our school... and her mom makes a "mean" tamale!

Another text (what is it with texting and the youth of today?)from Kathleen, who will be graduating this year from high school and plans (quoted from her mother after her middle school graduation) "to be teacher just like Miss Fung." Yay! Finally someone to unload all my great curricular stuff to when I retire... or even sooner! ha! Kathleen has also managed to track down (can you say MySpace?) other "former Fung students from 1994-1998 and wants to plan a reunion!

Then after finally getting Daniel to bed, I sat down to read my email and was greeted with birthday wishes from Paola. She was busy filing out applications for summer law internships and attending classes to complete her second year of law school. How special is that? Paola (a second grader at the time) was one of the first phone calls I received early morning on January 17, 1994. She wanted to wish me a Happy Birthday and to see if I was okay after the big earthquake! The funny thing about that morning was not that she called, but that she was not the only student who did! Rogelio also called that day- "Happy Birthday Miss Fung! Um, did you feel the earthquake, are you okay?"-5:30am. When you experience things like that, you know you are blessed.

Not only was I lucky enough to be Paola's first teacher in America, but I have been able to witness her mature into an amazing woman. She entered my classroom first grade classroom on a warm July morning, newly arrived from Guatemala, one of three students in class that day (Jonathan, Miriam,and Paola), wearing glasses and a sweet smile, not speaking a word of English. Over the years I have attended her high school productions(she has written, directed, and acted), listened to her speak at her high school commencement, celebrated her college graduation, witnessed her exchange vows with her soul mate, and look forward to cheering her on when she completes her law degree!

So why do I love teaching? You tell me.

HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY SISTER!

It's my goddaughter's 18th birthday!  Isn't she beautiful?  I knew her before she was born and am so proud of the amazing young lady she has become. She lives in London, but will be coming back to the states for college! Yay! We hope we will see her more often and talk to her on the phone too! We love you Sister!

Daniel Reads The Cat in the Hat

How cute is a curly-haired boy reading The Cat in the Hat in his jammies? And he is beginning to actually monitor his reading! (In case you were wondering, no, he does not wear glasses!) This one is dedicated to Tia who gave Daniel his own copy (not mommy's class copy) of The Cat in the Hat-Party Edition!

It was some 40+ years ago today...

... but I told Talha I was 19 today, and his response was, "Oh, that means you were 18." Oh, the joys of youth!  When I picked up Daniel from after school today guess what I was greeted with?  Was it:

a. "Happy Birthday Mommy!"

b. "Yay! My mommy is here!"

c. "I am so glad to see you!"

or

d. "Did you know that Toys R Us has Lego Star Wars?  Can we go get it now?"

I'll let you figure that one out yourself!

How much does a fresh Costco chocolate mousse cake cost?   $15.00

How much does a fresh Costco chocolate mousse cake weigh?  9lbs 8oz

How many people will it take to make it disappear?

37-  kindergartners, 4- kindergarten teachers, 3-4th grade helpers, 2 -5th grade morning workers, and a few begging fingers (don't even ask!)

Sink and Float

Look what my kids can do!  It was a busy day in class and this was the science journal entry after the sinking and floating activities. Unfortunately, I was not as clear on what I wanted my 4th grade helpers to do (they were to take dictation, if needed, since the objective was not writing, but rather making observations and sharing thoughts).  Imagine my "surprise"-shock to see that my lovely kindergarten-emergent writing had been carefully "corrected" by the helpers!  Luckily, I know my students and I know what they are capable of, so even though Madelyn's writing seems pretty amazing, I know that her original entry was: 

the bLOC float   the Lads sink

and that was perfectly fine (and she used the room to get the words float and sink!).

Does Quality Teaching Matter?

Not if you are Daniel.  The research shows that the single most important factor in predicting student achievement is quality teaching. Well, lets see...I have over 20 years of teaching experience in early literacy

• I have a Masters Degree in Reading and Language Arts
• I have conduct and lead professional development in early literacy
• I have served on National Advisory Committees on early literacy
• I am a trained Reading Recovery teacher
• I have been a university and graduate instructor in literacy
• I am National Board Certified 
• I am a Milken Educator... 

And my seven year old is failing reading. What is wrong with this picture? It would be easy to blame it on his kindergarten teacher ( and believe me, I have!), or the fact that he was not in a literature rich home environment for the first 4 years of his life. No... it's because no matter how much I know about teaching literacy, I cannot be Daniel's teacher. Not because I haven't tried or want to be, nope, the kid has decided that although his mommy is a teacher, she is not going to be "his" teacher.  I guess that is okay, but does it have to be so expensive? 

Journey into the world of Sylvan...

Made a call to Sylvan. Lets see, $125.00 to assess his reading level (Um, I have about a zillion reading assessments), oh and if I want the special, lifetime assessment benefit (just in case he will need help/assessment in another area of the curriculum) it is merely $450.00. Mind you this is just to assess him. How much are the actually tutoring sessions? Hmmm? Lets see... I come pretty cheap!

Letting Go ...

In reality, I don't think he is so behind. Yes, the "1" in reading and the form letter home about how your child is failing and that he must go to intervention and attend summer school or be retained is a bit alarming, but I also know that the kid has a lot of potential and has made so much progress.  He is (most of the time, but there are days!) sweet, caring, musical, funny, stubborn, and creative.  If we were in a time when children were allowed to explore, create, and develop on a realistic and individual pace, life would be good.  Until then, I am just going to give my little guy some time and appreciate who he is and where he is at.

Star Student of the Month for November 2007

Award for Completion of Work

The Unlucky Toilet

1/5/08

Did you know that if you try to hold your Nintendo DS under your chin while using the bathroom, there is a chance, just a slight one, that it may slip from under your chin and fall into the toilet bowl? Did you also know that an Nintendo DS will not work anymore if it is submerged in water? There goes $129.99.

Spring 2007-Some time after the TMNT movie was released.

Did you know that if you try to send Michaelangelo (the one you got from your McDonald Happy Meal), back to his home in the sewer, there is a chance, just a slight one, that he may not make it all the way to Splinter and his brothers.  There goes $250.00-courtesy of the plumber.

Maybe I should replace the toilet?

How many people does it take to get a pair of tickets to the Jonas Brothers concert?

"You never listen to me, I'm better off alone... everybody knows it true... da da da da.." It's scary when you are a middle-aged woman and you can recite the first line to a song by a boy band!  I remember taking my former student, Helen, to see the Backstreet Boys somewhere in the hills of Ontario, and my goddaughter Julia to the Rose Bowl to watch an incredibly long N'SYNC concert. Did you know that it can take over 2 hours to get out of the Rose Bowl parking lot after an N'SYNC concert? Really? I didn't either, but now I do!  

Anyway, I thought those days of chasing after boy bands were over, with the exception of Josh Groban.  (No comments needed from my siblings, just remember, I didn't travel the country to see BTE, although I did see the Scarlett Pimpernel one too many times!) Now comes Daniel. What can I do? He has been obsessed with the Jonas Brothers' CD for the past 2 months, singing it every time he is in the car. I am dreading the long drive to Fresno this weekend, maybe he will revert back to the soundtrack to High School Musical 1 and 2, or Corbin Bleu's CD.

So how many people does it take to get a pair of Jonas Brothers concert tickets? Lets see, Uncle Wayne's best man, Gil, ordered 2 pairs, Uncle Wayne got a pair just in case, and then when a Sunday afternoon concert was added, I got 2 extra pairs (while trying to get better seats).  So that would make 3, it takes three people to get Jonas Brother tickets. Luckily, I am not the only one with a young fan in the home, I got rid of the extra pairs pretty quickly.

Why this obsession with concert tickets? I think it stems from my Bay City Roller days. I so wanted to see Ian Kevin Mitchell in concert, just once, but never did (he left the band after a year, and at 13, I couldn't get enough cash to fly to Ireland). Maybe I am still a little boy band crazy, maybe it's because I get this incredible feeling of joy seeing my boy sing and dance.  I wasn't able to provide wonderful, happy memories the first 4 years of his life, so I guess I am always trying to make up for it. Thank goodness we are passed the Wiggle concert stage, although how can anyone not love the catchy lyrics of ... "Fruit salad, yummy, yummy...?"

Meeting "Troy Bolton" at the High School Musical, Musical. 12/07  

Cousin Ally is pretty happy too!

The Only Boy in America

Daniel is a lucky boy! He is the only boy in America (that we know of) that has an authentic Dr. Who robot from England. Thanks to his Tia (Grace) he can happily claim the title of the "Only Boy in America, (or at least in Alhambra) with a Dr. Who Robot."

We had a chance to have dinner with Tia and Sister (my goddaughter Julia) a few weeks ago. They were here from London for the holidays.  I love this picture because they were both twirling their hair. 

The First Entry

Happy New Year!

Welcome to my blog. Since I found it difficult to commitment myself to a "real" journal, why not try one online.  Hopefully this will be a good way for me to keep in touch with very special family and friends whom I rarely get to see anymore.  Yes, life as a single mother and full time teacher is challenging. Time is something I would like more of, but somehow cannot access these days.  I also thought this would be a good way for me to document my life as Daniel's mommy. Enjoy!