I was lucky enough to spend a weekend in Santa Cruz, in a house near the beach, last month. Together with my friend and her small children, we spent an afternoon making sand castles and playing in the waves. And we brought a lot of it back to the house, and spent the rest of the weekend getting rid of grit. But that's not the grit I'm writing about in my title this week. Instead, I mean the…

In my first grade classroom, even though instruction is in English, the home language is seen as an asset rather than an obstacle to overcome.  English and Spanish flow throughout our day as my Spanish-speaking students use both languages to help them navigate the road to literacy in English. Learning how to read and write, while also learning English, is a task the majority of my ELLs take in stride.

How do their classmates react to hearing Spanish in the classroom? My…

One of my favorite writers, playwrights, directors and foodie passed away recently.  Her good friends said after she passed that she knew she was dying, but chose to tell only a select few.  

I wish she had been my neighbor down the street; someone I could've popped over and visited with a warm banana bread in hand, or someone I sat next to at my book club meeting. 

I picked out her book off my library shelf at home titled, "I Remember Nothing," and read it…

I've passed an important point in my career this year.  My years of service + age= equal the magic 80.   

I've thought about my year.  It's been a tough one.  My kids are sweet, funny and global thinkers.  I've worked hard to develop that part of the hidden curriculum that never appears in a report card:  caring for their community and environment,  asking questions that helps grow responsible, caring members of their community. 

Many of my kids have issues…