WHAT I LOVE ABOUT SYVFS
There is nothing better than stepping out onto the yard and seeing students playing and laughing together. And then, you look up and there is a hawk soaring over the playground. Or kids are making a house for worms by the pepper tree. Or a tarantula is walking through campus and there is a group of kids watching him, protecting his path, naming him and wishing him well. And that tarantula turns into a story in the classroom. 

WHY I DO WHAT I DO
A couple of years ago, our Red Door class approached me with a letter signed by almost every student from their multi-age class.  The letter was asking for Spanish to be a full hour twice a week because they didn’t have time to do the lessons and the games in Spanish when the class only lasted a half hour.  Well, how could I say no? Advocacy and tenacity for getting their needs met is why I do what I do.  If I can make it possible for children to have a voice, be heard and seen, then I can go home fulfilled.

PASSIONS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL

There never seems to be enough family time. I love cooking and baking, playing Five Crowns or Catan, going to the beach or taking a hike. Watching a movie or doing a puzzle, karaoke and dance parties. Attending concerts and our new adventure, 49er games-go niners!

FAVORITE SYVFS TRADITION

Taking off on the trail with 71 kids. The chatter and the laughter, the groans and the encouraging words filling the air.  Just when you think that they are only focused on their friends, someone will point out how tall the grass has grown since our last hike and they are measuring themselves against the grass.  Or counting how many different types of wildflowers or types of scat we encounter on our hike.  They recall the large number of tarantula hawks we saw on the last hike and notice how the buckwheat has changed color again. Or the 15 minutes of silent time, in nature, heads buried in journals or just watching the world around them. Pure bliss!

WE LOVE READING! HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS FOR KIDS:

• Andrew Henry’s Meadow came to my house when I was our student’s age as part of the Weekly Reader program.  I loved it then and I still adore it. It is the story of a misunderstood boy who loves to engineer and build things.  He ends up running away to a meadow where he builds himself a house. Soon his misunderstood friends come looking for a place where they can be themselves.  He builds each of them a house that fits their interests, creating a village of unique houses and equally unique kids.

• Another book that I return to over and over again is Island of the Blue Dolphin by Scott O’Dell. This is a fabulous read aloud with ample opportunities to leave the kids wanting more.  With our location and connection to the first people of the Santa Ynez Valley, this book gives us further opportunity to learn about the early Chumash and their interaction with those who changed their way of life forever.