Protest! Poetry for Girls Too

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I am so glad I found this! Thank you to Fablevision Learning for redirecting me back to Guyku’s website! I have to tell you that when I posted Poetry for Boys-Intro to Haiku, I did think, what about the girls? Luck for everyone, there are some very outspoken and smart little girl poets (from all over the world!) asking for books for them as well. So they are working on it!

Girls don’t need to wait. There is already great support and encouragement available. Check out the free teacher resources, the gallery and join the Guyku Club (girls allowed)!

Teacher Appreciation Week-What They Really Want

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Parents, I asked the question you all want to know: What do teachers really want for Teacher Appreciation week? The answers don’t surprise me! I know all these teachers personally and they are fantastic, compassionate, selfless individuals. Thank you to all my teacher friends who helped write this post! I owe you one.

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Cinco de Mayo in the Classroom

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Are you ready for the weekend? Cinco de Mayo is huge here in the States! Diego’s class had this day reserved for a parent to go in and teach them all a little something about the holiday. I signed up and focused on Diego Rivera and this fantastic book by Duncan Tonatiuh. The kids loved the pages devoted to guessing and imagining what Diego Rivera would paint if he were alive today. The teachers and I then asked our little kindergarten artists to put on smocks and paint something they are passionate about, something that makes them proud, or something (or someone) they love. Once the artwork dries, the teachers will put them together for a classroom mural.

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Me!

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My Diego starting his painting.

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Diego is passionate about soccer and he thought Diego Rivera would paint a lot of soccer scenes if he were alive today!

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Guacamole snack!

I hope to get a final picture of the project!! I’ll share if I do!

My Diego was happy to have me there, he was proud to share a story about an amazing Mexican artist, and the kids all wanted us to speak Spanish! Too cute. I wish you all a happy and festive Cinco de Mayo this weekend!

P.s. If you are having a party for Cinco de Mayo, look at these amazing party ideas!

Intro to Series and Chapter Books

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My oldest is definitely his mother’s son. Diego loves to read and I hope he continues to read throughout his life for simple enjoyment. As a former Language Arts and Reading teacher, I can say that reading will help any child with any subject matter throughout their educational careers and of course through life. Creativity stems from reading, vocabulary grows and a young child starts to engage in conversation regarding a series of topics-because of reading.

As Diego starts to make his transition from picture books and easy readers to series and chapter books, here are a few that we have found interesting, engaging and fun. Diego discovered some on his own, I have suggested some of my childhood favorites and other people have made some great recommendations as well. Some of these books are recommended for ages 8 and up but it doesn’t stop us from checking them out or buying these from the list below. I will continue to read to Diego and help him with more difficult books as long as I can. :-)

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Spanish Easter Activity

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It’s Semana Santa and we did this simple Easter project to build Spanish vocabulary, spelling and conversation. Thanks to Mommy Maestra and SpanglishBaby for providing free printables! I also printed free Easter images from First Palette and created this for the boys.

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Diego did the Mommy Maestra’s Palabras plurales first and we read the SpanglishBaby vocab and coloring sheet to Santi.

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Diego used the vocabulary words to identify the images I glued down. I made sure to scatter them around and repeat some of the images so he can write the vocab words over and over.

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An activity for all ages! Diego and I helped review colors in Spanish for Santi. We spoke Spanish for over thirty minutes!

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Eventually, Diego stopped looking at the worksheets to write the Spanish words!!

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Diego waiting patiently for el color rojo!

You can do these types of Spanish vocabulary projects with any theme! I think I’ll do a Spring one next!

Have a fantastic Easter weekend!!!

Book Review #5-Bilingual Is Better

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Bilingual is definitely better; a lot of us know it, but we also know it isn’t easy! One of my very first posts on this blog was about the things we do at home to reinforce Spanish with our  boys. That was a year ago and I am revisiting once again because in our home we all need a little push. The discussion has continued here throughout the year and I have reached out to friends who, like me, were born in the United States and consider themselves first-generation Mexican-American. I reached out to find our their secrets, their struggles and their success stories. Our children, the second generation, LIVE in English. So how do we stay focused and on track?

A few months ago, I learned that the authors of Spanglish Baby published Bilingual Is Better: Two Latina Moms on How the Bilingual Parenting Revolution is Changing the Face of America and I knew I had to get it, read it, and share what I consider highlights of the work of Ana L. Flores and Roxana A. Soto:

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World Read Aloud Day

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Did you know there are 793 million people in the world that cannot read? I couldn’t believe the number!  March 6 is World Read Aloud Day and LitWorld says that “World Read Aloud Day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology.”

In the last four years, LitWorld has helped spread literacy across the world with words. They believe that reading and writing are essential to one’s overall well-being, intellect, and financial security. LitWorld hopes that by 2014 they reach their goal in helping one million children learn to read. You too can also help this organization reach that goal.

There are so many ways to get involved. Start by visiting here and registering your plans for today. I will be doing just that and I will make sure to read to each one of my boys in a loud and clear voice and consciously sending my best wishes to all those who do not have the resources that we are blessed to have. I am almost positive that we will be reading from this selection today. What about you?

It takes a minute to register, a little money to donate and one book to honor today.

Thank you to Mommy Maestra for teaching ME something new this week ;-)

This Past Weekend

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How was your weekend? Ours was so nice! We attended our friends’ beautiful engagement party on Saturday. It made me realize that 10 years ago this summer, Jose and I got engaged! So there was a lot of reliving of old memories and a few, “I feel old” moments! jajaja!

It was also a very busy Saturday and Sunday and it made me appreciate those three day weekends a lot more! Nevertheless, I wanted to share these few finds with you. Enjoy!

Do you feel present as a parent? Me: Not always. Please pay extra attention to the 8:35 to 8:55 mark!

High school graduation goals.

One year in 40 seconds. The 30 second mark is my favorite!

The future is here! Would you trust this?

My new favorite photography site. Grab a tissue box.

Just received my copy of This Is How You Lose Her. I will need to unplug for a couple of days to just read!!

I’m becoming more and more obsessed (in a good way) with…

It’s been exactly a year?!?!

I want to hear from you! Anything! Comment below please! :-) Have a great week everyone!

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Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

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In honor of Dr. Seuss’ 109th birthday, I’m sharing Mamiverse‘s inspiring poster with you today. Do you know that I finally found the book where quote number one comes from??? I did NOT know this!! Buy Happy Birthday to You! for anyone’s birthday! We read it for Diego’s 6th, loved it and now I’ll be adding it to gifts in the future!

More for Dr. Seuss: It’s the big “Read Across America” campaign this weekend! Go here for ideas to help celebrate!

Here is our small Dr. Seuss (and Dr. Seuss inspired) collection. We are definitely going to pull one of these off the shelves on March 2!

What’s YOUR favorite Dr. Seuss book?

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Did You Have a Nice Weekend?

reading,solitude,tea,book,cup,vintage-6f05f7f256b6f424bd4ee15080486fcf_hWe had a great weekend! Knocking on wood, we are all a little healthier tonight! My foot is injured (the big piggie is fractured) but I will be okay. I’m up and walking. Geez, what is going on?? Last week was something else and this week…sigh. No more. I am going to have healthy positive thoughts!

Anywho, what did you think of the Oscars?? Best dress??? This one was my favorite.

I’m always looking out for you and your kiddies and here are this weekend’s finds! Enjoy!

Latino parents: Depending on which state you live in, your child’s test scores can vary widely.

No bedtime reading tonight! Do math instead.

I just subscribed.

While I was on library duty this past Friday, I discovered: Sylvia & Aki and Under the Mambo Moon Both for ages 8 and up.

More super-cool makeup packaging.

I couldn’t remember her name two months ago! Now I can’t get enough of Lena

Did you catch my post on Mommy Maestra last week?

Report cards for parents? I give myself a B- right now.

Are you decorating for Easter?

Because we all need more veggies in our diet.

For my engaged or soon-to-be-engaged amigas.

And if you are a single guy, date a girl who reads. Thank you to reader Liz A for this!

Let me know your thoughts on these!! Have a great week everyone! Remember, healthy thoughts!

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