OK So I pretty much suck at blogging!

Life just seems to move so quickly I can't seem to find the time to sit here and log. Anyway, I have had one of the best summer breaks of my life. I am so greatful that I get so much time off to visit friends and family and go on new adventures. It is funny because for so long I thought "Kids have it great; they have all summer to hang out with friends and play all day. However, they don't even realize what they have. By the time they are old enough to realize it the summer breaks are over." So let me tell you how awesome this has been because I have seriously enjoyed every minute of it. I went to San Diego to visit Daniel and had an amazing time. I got to see Lori, Tara, and many other friends. San Diego is a beautiful, little city and I cannot wait to go back. My favorite part had to be sitting in the park, drinking champagne, eating cheese and bread, and talking with some of my favorite people in the world.
Then I got to visit Kristen in Chicago. It is amazing to me that I instantly can feel so close to someone who I hardly ever see and who was really only in my life for a relatively short period of time. I adored meeting her family and friends and seeing the world I know that she was so homesick for while she was living in California. The only bad part was the humidity. I have NEVER experianced anything like it in my life. I don't think I could live there but it was great to visit. My faorite part was sitting with Kristen in the mornings drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes and laughing uncontrollably about nothing. Some friends it does not matter how much time has past: The minute you sit down and talk the time melts away and again you are those 16 year old girls gossiping about boys, friends, and the crazy adventures your life has taken you on. And for that Kristen will always have a very special place in my heart.
Then I went home for a week and a half. No matter where I live, Pleasanton will always be home. It is the "Cheers" in my life. Every day is filled with friends, family and love. I can never seem to get everything done in the time I have there. I got to see many friends but not everyone. I feel more loved in Pleasanton than anywhere else in the world. Between my family and friends my time seems to slip away and I always leave wishing I had more.
After that I went to Texas to go to a wedding for Loren's cousin. It was quite the event. I had no idea, but I guess in Texas weddings are a huge affair. I ave never seen a wedding that seemed to last for days on end. It was beautiful and they had an amazing live band. Usually at weddings live bands are hardly ever used and if they are they kinda suck, but this one was fabulous. MY favorite part of that trip was watching Loren with his family. Even though he is a grown man there is something about being with his family that allows me to see this little boy inside of him that adores spending time with his cousins, aunts and uncles. I really got to see the make up of who he is and know that the parts of him that I love most originated with these people. Everyone embraced me and treated me like I was one of the family. I had an amazing time and Loren and I spent teh evenings discussing what we would like to do differently at our wedding. It was a very special time.
So, school starts again next week. Part of me is sad to have my break done. Most of me feels young and happy. My summer break was awesome! I am truly blessed to have these breaks and such wonderful people in my life to share them with. I am especially greatful to have them at a time in my life when I can seriously apprieciate them in a completely different way. Thank you to everyone who made my vacation amazing! I love you all from the bottom of my heart.

Teachable moments

Alright so I am trying to figure out how to add pictures to this site..............I think I still need some work. I have no idea why this is sideways, but here is one of my students working on our science fair project. This is MY classroom. Sometimes I still can't believe it. My favorite part is that I have a huge wall of windows. All of the other teachers cover the windows with posters and boxes but I can not stand the thought of it. I love that at any moment I can look outside and see the snow capped mountains and feel the sun warming the classroom. My classroom is huge. This is taken in the middle of the classroom so you can see how big it is. I am really lucky.

So I can not figure out how to rotate these pictures but, I really wanted to tell you about this student. His name is Alejandro. When he came to me in JUly he could not read or write. He has been retained many times. He is eleven and in fourth grade. Just as a point of reference my sister is 12 and in seventh grade. So I kinda made it my goal to get this kid reading. He has come every day before school and we have worked on reading tons. I have referred him for extra help but they tested his IQ and because it is so low, but not low enough, he does not qualify for any extra support (gotta love the CA programs). So, I usually read the questions on tests to him, he tells me the answers and we work together to write them down. Well, I wanted to see if he could do the test on his own so I told him I was not going to help him this week. He has a great attitude so he sits down and I see him struggling with the work in front of him. I had to walk away to keep from picking up the paper and reading it to him. About a half hour later he walks up to me with a huge smile on his face. He says, "Ms. Herbert, guess what? Remember how you gave me these tests and I couldn't read any of the words on this sheet. Well, now I can read all of the words and I can use part of the question in my answer just the way you showed me." He was so proud of himself it made me want to cry. I told him how proud of him I was and how hard he has worked to get where he is. When school seems like endless amounts of paperwork and I question if I am making a difference I will forever think of this kid and how proud he was at all of his hard work. It is moments like these that remind me of why I became a teacher.