Sudoku smackdown MANIA

Today was a great day at school! This morning I had the pleasure of giving a spelling test. I think that the kids were really disarmed by the fact that I sat on a table to give the test. I am not sure what my mentor teacher thought about that either. After that, school went on as normal and I got to take "my" reading group into the hall to introduce thier special reading. We talked about the assignment-they get to write about their pet. One of my students wants to write a 10-page paper. He can be my guest; I love to read their writing, and they love me to read it. We worked a bit on some other reading assignments on case and pronouns as well. It was kind of hard!
As well as learning more about culture and students, I am really learning a lot of the things that I skipped out on in fifth grade. That grade was not a stellar year for me if I remember correctly. This week I have learned a new way to tackle long division.
My reading group is great. There are three girls and 2 boys-caucasian, Hmong and black. I feel like the ability in this group is very high for the age group, but also the students are very diverse in learning styles. One of the boys is so squirmy that he has to sit at his own table in the classroom just so that he does not disturb the others with his flailings. I told him today that he can feel free to do his work rolling around on the floor...I don't mind that.
This afternoon I finally had some free time to spend with the kids. I offered to teach some kids how to play Sudoku, since it has helped me so much with my number sense. I got Dallas (who will pretty much do anything to be around me. She drew a picture of me today...), Frank (see photo) and Caroline. I have not talked about her yet-What an amazing young lady. She has several hurdles to jump that I won't get into. She dresses like a boy, gets pulled out for anger management groups and special ed, but I have not met a more delightful and loving young lady. She is not used to liking a challenge, since most of school is a challenge for her. Today I feel so amazing to have been able to introduce her to something that she actually ended up liking!
She first just wanted to watch...then started up on a 4X4 puzzle. She experienced sucess with that one and moved on to a 6X6. I think that it really helped that the "smartest girl in the class" was having just as much trouble as her, and together the three of us worked and helped eachother to get to the bottom of the strategy of Sudoku. Frank sat at the end of the table and watched us, all the while working his puzzle. At the end of the day, they all asked for puzzles to take home. Frank rolled them up neatly to go into his pocket, with the one marked "Frank. A+" right on top.
Caroline came up to me at the end of school and told me, "Now I will have something to do this weekend that is not video games." These kids are dying for a challenge, like using thier brains, and thrive on little sucesses. I think that the failing child looses this wonder sometime in their schooling...I hope that I can keep the sense of adventure for learning and challenge alive at the high-school level.
I forgot a though of the day from a few days ago. When the kids were being told a storty about the moon lander "The Eagle" and that famous comment, they really thought they were talking about an Eagle. They were so confused. In Alaska, eagles are everywhere. You can find them in the city, sitting on lamposts etc. It's no wonder they thought that!

What do you mean, "the eagle has landed?"

Today is absolutly HOT. It is 28 degrees outside. If the temp raises a couple of degrees, some of this snow will melt. Even being in Spokane for the winter does not fully get a person ready for winter in Alaska. When you walk across a parking lot, it is amazing to see that the pavement is pristine and white-a sheet of compressed snow blanketing all surfaces. This is the place where the snow has an absence of dirt. It is amazing. The kids go out to recess even up to -9 degrees.
Today I had the experience of giving a 5th grade spelling test. The kids were great, and I repeated the words and sentences over and over. After that, I got to take my first reading group in the hall to explain their special projects for the book "Sounder". I am so lucky to be teaching this book to such a diverse group of learners. Not only do they have their own learning needs, but they are also composed of different cultures. Overtly, these students are white, Hmong and black. They are ladies and gentlemen. I am excited for what will happen next.

Hot Flash

WOW! I am sitting in the classroom this morning and it is 20 degrees outside. I never thought that I would say this, but it felt really warm and comfortable outside. I actually had trouble sleeping last night, and my aunt told me this morning that it was probably since it is so hot out today. The sun is not yet "up" and it is 9:30 am. It almost looks like dusk or dawn all the time in the middle of the day. Alaska is gaining about 3 minutes of light per day.
My Alaska mentor teacher just found out that her husband has to go to Iraq. It was a hard evening for her, but she is holding together very well for school. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be separated from Brett for that amount of time. He is my best friend and the person I have the most fun with...I am guessing things would be pretty drab. It puts my month up here into perspective!!!

Moose sighting #2

Today was my second day with the 5th grade class. I arrived today excited and reenergized to get to know some of these students. I am preparing to lead a small group of top-readers in the exploration of the book Sounder starting later this week. Also, I have volunteered myself to teach the Foss science kit that has been waiting around for the “right” time. From an instructional standpoint, it was amazing to see how incredibly excited these students are to do some science! During the language arts portion of the day, Mrs. G was discussing the similarities of fiction and science in relation to science fiction writing, which they will read later this week. The amazing explosion of ideas about science came out after the descriptions of fiction...the students had several scientific terms in their minds but few describing words.
Today I learned a little more about a few of our students. Frank is an Alaska native (turns out we only have 2 in the class). He moved recently from “the village”. I am learning that “the village” is the general term for anywhere that is not a city, and is more respectful and less stigmatizing than “the bush”. He is a very quiet boy who tends to always just want to do math. According to some of the teachers, he is a bit of an anomoly for being so interested in mathematical concepts. I don't know what about the culture would disregard math on the whole, other than the fact that it doesn't relate directly to hunting and fishing. I also learned that Frank loves to hunt whale, and I hope that I can earn his trust enough for him to talk to me about it as time goes on.
There are several teachers that I would like to speak with more to help enrich my experience here. A “cultural advocate” comes into the class every day to sit with our Native kids. I wonder what she does, and why she does it? Later this week I hope to be able to ask her some questions about her job and the Native kids at Muldoon.
Also, the school offers a Hmong class after school and I hope to go check it out. It is to help enrich the Hmong students, almost 100% of which speak fluent English. The idea is to keep their native language alive in an academic setting so that they can grow to be truly bilingual. I think that this is AMAZING! Also, one of the teachers here is realizing her dream in starting a Native Alaskan charter school next year. There are so many opportunities for me to learn at Muldoon-I don't know where to start! Not to mention how much I want to get to know these kids!
At the end of school today I went to watch three of our kids in the school spelling bee. They all did well, but were beat out finally to 6th graders who took the 1st and 2nd spots. It is amazing to see what these kids do just to get to school. Though the school is located in the neighborhood, the current temperatures could give a young child frostbite in minutes. Getting to school this morning (in the dark) was -20 degrees Fahrenheit. As the students left the school, it had risen to a whopping -11. The bitter cold is unlike anything I have ever experienced. The fact that people still go outside, deliver the mail, walk to school, amazes me to no end.
A moose happened by the window of our classroom this morning. The moose is an amazing and powerful animal-lazing about the neighborhood, all the while able to kill any human in one fell swoop. The kids got very excited (probably due to the fact that I was jumping up and down) to show me a part of their Alaska. The could not believe that I have never seen a moose THAT close before. It was a fun moment.

Living with my aunt and uncle is AWESOME. I have never really had anyone cut up carrots for my lunch before-it is SO NICE. They have been driving me to school so far since it has been so amazingly hyper-freezing. The boots Brett picked out for me are in the mail...and they only go down to -40. I am SO GLAD I did not choose the boots rated to -25! I am missing all of you and my family. To those of you in Chile who happen to read this-well...I have nothing to say to you.

Today was my first day in Mrs. G's fifth grade classroom at Muldoon Elementary in Anchorage Alaska. This morning I arrived to be greeted by the principal herself in the office. The office staff of Muldoon consists of two ladies, which is a stark contrast to CVHS where I student teach, with five secretaries, not counting the administrative staff and their aides, student workers and volunteers. I got a quick tour of the K-6 school. Muldoon is a Title 1 school with 100% of the students getting free lunch. It is amazingly diverse, though Anchorage is more diverse than I ever would have thought. The school is about 1/3 white/Caucasian, 1/3 African American and 1/3 Native and Hmong. There are a few other nationalities strung through; a few Hungarians many many Pacific Islanders.
Mrs. G's classroom has 5 African American students, 5 Hmong students, 4 Caucasian students, a Samoan girl and about 4 Native Alaskans. It is a good mix of boys and girls, with slightly more ladies than gentlemen.
My first impressions of the school were that it was tidy, small, and very beautiful inside. Walking down the hall and into the entryway, there are two tall trees growing up to a skylight in the ceiling. The floor has permanent leaf impressions, filled in with colored material to look like fall leaves interspersed with the tiles. In the hall there is an amazing mix of artwork from the students, from “My little book of Kwanzaa” to a large paper mural of Raven stating “Share your treasures like Raven”.
According to yesterday's newspaper, the state of Alaska is second only to the state of Hawaii in diversity in the United States. It is easy to see this from the mix of students in the classroom. I was surprised to see that there were barely any Russian or Ukrainian students in the school, having grown up in Spokane where there was always a Russian-speaking student in class! One of our girls is from a Russian family, but does not speak the language in the home.
Today our students received the first letters back from their pen pals in New Mexico. 99.5% of the students in that school are bilingual, and our students were interested to find out that these students do not speak Spanish at school. The were also confused why the New Mexican students asked about Igloos and Eskimos and snow. Mrs. G (being from Texas and New Mexico herself and experiencing her first Alaskan winter) let them in on the fact that the “lower 48” does not know anything, in fact, about Alaska in most cases.
Today I spent most of the day observing student behavior and teaching style. Today was filled with much direct instruction. I, having never been in the 5th grade before, was amazed at the brevity with which they spend time on each activity, subject per day. Today was their first day back after break, so the energy level was low. Mrs. G uses mostly desist strategies when it comes to classroom management. Her students are mostly good, with the exception of one boy and one girl who have serious behavior issues that interfere with day-to-day learning for most students. Also, Mrs. G (who is an excellent teacher) has rooted out several gifted students, with which I will have the pleasure of training during my stay to work independently in literature groups. We are going to read Sounder, and I am a little bit nervous how to approach issues of slavery and oppression (not to mention frequent use of the “f-word”) with this age group.
After my first day with the kids, I can see how I will be challenged to love each and every one. Most students at Muldoon are suffering in some way or another, but the school seems to be a nurturing and safe place to learn. One of the students has already broken my heart. She is in foster care and struggles to get through the day without breaking down. With little stability at home, one wonders how she can be so resiliant and strong-I as an adult don't know how I would handle the same conditions.
My goal for tomorrow is to remember everyone's name. It is SO MUCH easier when you get to look at the same 21 kids all day, instead of trying to memorize 120. I also would like to re-learn some of my math facts along with the kids, since I am lacking elementary division skills. Who knew that my remedial math help would come in my 20's!!!!
I am so excited for the brand new day tomorrow. The weather is so cold here that the kids have to stay inside all day. People tend to get a little sick when the weather is 11 below in the middle of the “day”. The lack of light is strange, but doesn't seem to effect the kids. It just looks like dawn or dusk all day long, from about 9 am to 4 pm, when it begins to get dark.
Student names I know so far: Dallas, River, Anna, Elizabeth, DeCoursey, William, Peter, Ka, Merry, Ma (I don't know how to spell it), Damon, Carslile, Frank, Cody

I am here, and I have seen a moose!

I arrived in Alaska yesterday afternoon and have been getting a lot of rest. The sun made an appearance today at about 1:30 pm, just on the horizon. So far it has been flurry-ing and quite cloudy. I am not sure if this computer is going to work for me or not, it is kind of a dinosaur....so look for more and photos later, but for now the screen is blinking at me and everything is pixiliated.

Oh the woes of waiting.

Well, today I got all packed and ready to go. I am one of those people that I would consider "hyper prepared". I signed up for the text-message flight status alerts from Alaska Air, only to be spitefully notified 30 minutes later via cell-phone that my flight to Anchorage has been CANCELLED. I called, and they said the crew needed rest. I guess, it is better to be delayed than dead, right?

So the long and short of it is that I get to spend some time in Juneau tomorrow...

Notice that Juneau is quite close to Sitka, very south. If the other Alaska crew happens to be at the same time, somebody give me a call and we can 3-2-1 about the flights to Alaska, which are notoriously harrowing.

Keep tuned in...I will get to Alaska sometime, I promise.