October 24: Trip to WSU!

I am amazed at how well this Wednesday went! I was in the group that went on the bus to St. Charles to pick up the kids. The faces of the kids once the got onto the bus were priceless; they all put their backpacks on the upper shelf and asked the bus driver all sorts of questions. I felt like a little kid again when the driver told everyone to sit in their seats! On the ride to WSU, I had my little read the journal entry I wrote for her. We also talked and listened to the scary stories Kasee's little was reading. Kasee's little and my little are cousins, and I learned a lot more about my little's family through talking with them. I also discovered that my little talks in Spanish more than I expected. Her and her cousin carried on side conversations, and it caught me by surprise! Later during the afternoon, I discovered that my little is able to speak Spanish but is unable to read and write it. I wonder how this has affected her English reading and writing skills and if her lack of education in her native language has affected her level of English comprehension. She seems to be a very good reader and writer, and maybe her inability to read and write Spanish has not affected her comprehension because she has lived in America for almost all of her life.

I LOVED when the kids received the giant icecream cones! It took them all a while to eat them, but I noticed that everyone did not want to throw them out! I also loved when they walked into the gym. My little's jaw dropped along with a huge "wooaaaah!"

I discovered this trip that my little is a very independent person. She is still getting to know me, and I must be patient in order for further trust to develop. I realized that she really does respect me and value her time with me when got on the bus to go back to St. Charles. She knocked on the window to get my attention and waved. It was the first time that she has ever really made an effort to say goodbye.

During this trip, our group as a whole bonded. Not only did I become closer with my little, but the littles themselves shared this experience together and will be able to look back on it in the future. This was an amazing opportunity for them to see what a college actually looks like. Most kids their age never have that opportunity!

I had a realization hit me as I began this entry. This is not just a class we take for credit; this is real life. I am becoming a part of someone else's life by becoming a friend. I am impacting her future decisions. I am making a difference. Thank you, Stace!

Further Information about my Interview with Mrs. Duley

Below are some more details about Mrs. Duley that recently she sent me:

I taught elementary students for eleven years, and taught children
mostly in rural schools. I spent nine of those years in first grade,
where I became very interested in early literacy. While I was teaching,
I pursued my master's degree at UW-River Falls, and was certified as a
reading specialist.

During these years, I was fortunate to work with students of varying
levels, abilities, and backgrounds. I had students from Mexico,
Honduras, Vietnam, Korea, Canada, and many other countries. I also
taught in New Zealand and England as part of a Visiting Teacher Program,
to learn more about early literacy and thematic teaching.

After eleven years, I was offered a position at WSU, where I taught all
of the literacy courses, including the Literacy for English Language
Learners course. I placed my students in ELL classrooms and worked with
ELL teachers to provide students with opportunities to work with ELL
students. We had many guest speakers and learned about the resources
available in the Winona area. My major emphasis in the class was on
cultural responsiveness.

At the same time all of this was happening, my husband started a program
called Puentes, which I also became involved in. My husband arranged for
farmers in our area to travel to Mexico to meet the families of
employees of local farmers. This program has been going for seven years,
and it continues to evolve. I traveled to Mexico last November and
visited with teachers, principals, and children in the schools of
Altamirano. This experience had a profound effect on me and continues to
influence me on a daily basis.

Community Interview

I currently have two people I would like to interview, both of whom I have contacted and are willing to complete a phone interview. One person is Cindy Duley is the current assistant director of field experience at the University of Wisconsin in Lacrosse. She previously worked at Winona State University in the department of education and worked closely with the Latino population. I am not sure of the extent of her experiences, but she will be contacting me sometime today with a brief description of her background. The other is Robyn Moore, a third grade teacher at St. Charles Elementary School. She has been teaching there for thirty plus years and has witnessed many changes in the latino population within the community and school. She is currently the teacher of my little and is willing to meet with me next week!

October 17: :-

After a weekend of being sick and not being fully recovered, I was expecting this week's trip to St. Charles to be a little stressful and burdensome. But surprisingly, this was not the case! I surprised Monica in the hallway as she was heading towards the cafeteria. We had a short conversation about what she really liked today during school, and then she excitedly told me that her dad had sent in the letter saying she could come with us to Winona! We then did rock-paper-scissors to see who would read their journal first. She won and read through what I did during the week. I then read hers, and I could tell that each week, she tries to follow the structure of how I wrote my entry the week prior. I notice some of the same designs and coloring and also some of her own unique ideas. In each of my entries I try to include something that I liked from the previous week and some suggestions about what to do the day we are meeting. We then ate some cookies I had baked the night before, and I said she could take home the extras!

I remember from a few weeks ago that she really enjoys doing "I Spy" books, so today I brought one called the "Ultimate Challenger!" We looked at a few of the pages, often laughing when we found a funny looking object or something that we had been looking for for a long time.

Today she really wanted to paint, so we took out some paper and the watercolors. As she painted, I started to make a paper box, a paper folding activity my Grandma taught me when I was younger. Soon she noticed what I was making and asked if I could show her how to make one. Pretty soon I had Teal's little interested, so I showed them both how to make both a top and a bottom for their box. My little really enjoys doing crafts and working with her hands. I could tell that after I showed her how, she really wanted to see if she could do it on her own. We then made a box for Stace and put a secret letter inside of it! It was humbling for me to see how excited my little was to deliver our "gift" to Stace. She also made a box for one of her good friends at school and put a friendly letter inside.

My little also really enjoys playing group games. Today we played 500, and even though she is one of the smaller kids in the group, she still tried her hardest and could not stop smiling! It seemed like the time flew by, even though I was not feeling really well. My little seemed much more open and comfortable with me today. She seemed more motivated to get involved, and I think this is because we did some activities that she really enjoys.

After the next two weeks, I will try to think of some more hands-on activities. Maybe we could paint, but instead of using a paint brush, we could use different objects that would create unique textures. If I start brainstorming, I'm sure I could think of plenty of ideas. The ability to work hard and focus on what she is doing is something I also have, and I think this may be a way to help us better understand one another. I also want to see more of her creative mind at work!

October 10: Breaking the Norm

I noticed this past Wednesday that when my little sees me in the hallway, she holds back her excitement. When we walk into the cafeteria, she knows exactly where to put her bookbag and always asks, "what are we going to do first?" Instead of me deciding, I flipped the question around and asked her what she would like to do. Immediately she pulled out the journal she had been writing in for the past week. We sat down at a table and shared with each other the events of our past week. I could tell from her journal entry that she really enjoys coloring and writing her thoughts. I learned more about her family, her friends, and things she likes to do outside of school. She is still very shy, however, when I ask her questions, and I want to find some ways to boost her confidence and comfort level when we spend time together. One thing I would like to do is play a game or do a project that she really likes. This way she will maybe teach me something and express herself naturally.

After reading our journals, I helped her write a letter to her family explaining more about the field trip to Winona State. I helped by explaining what she should write, and then she wrote it in English. Because her mother speaks and reads mainly Spanish, we also wrote the letter in Spanish. My little is definitely more advanced in her English speaking and spelling than she is in Spanish. I am not sure if it would be beneficial for her and her relationship with her mom if we worked on some of her Spanish writing skills. As she wrote, I also noticed she has some difficulty in punctuation and some spelling of English words. Despite these minor errors, I am really impressed at how well she can write. I am hoping sometime to write a story with her. We could even make pictures and bind it, making it look like the real deal!

This week we also spent a lot more one-on-one time outside. We played tennis with a small pink bouncy ball and were able to hit it back and forth across the blacktop! I was amazed at how well she was able to hit the ball; I told her that she could be a really good tennis player someday! We later went back inside where a bunch of littles and bigs were playing a game of basketball. Monica hopped right in and played on the girls team. Even though she was one of the smallest, most fragile players, she still gave it her best effort and could not stop smiling! With only a few minutes remaining, we went outside and played with the parachute. I think one of the greatest accomplishments of this meeting is that she had fun and laughed constantly. There is so much more to her that I do not know about, but I must remember to be patient and that opening up comes more slowly for some.

'Til next time,

Big Sis Kelly

October 3: Progress!

Today my little came to the cafeteria before I had a chance to go upstairs to find her! The first thing we did was read each other’s journals from throughout this past week. I was surprised to see how much effort she put into hers. She drew many pictures, asked me questions about my likes and dislikes, wrote about what we did last week together, and expressed how much she enjoys spending time with me. She is often very quiet, and I am hoping this is a way for her to share what she thinks more easily. When we were finished, we traded journals and planned to write to each other throughout this upcoming week.

Next, we played an icebreaker game using skittles. My little had never eaten skittles before, so this was not only a new game, but also a chance to try a new candy! We each took ten skittles from the bag, and for each skittle we ate, we had to ask the other a question. Some questions asked were: “What is your favorite food?” “If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?” “What do you like most about school?” and “What are your friends like?” She loved the skittles and loved asking me questions. We even talked about college, a word she was not very familiar with. I told her it is a place where you can learn to be whatever you want to be. Because I want to be a teacher, I have to go to college to learn how to teach. Hopefully she wants to talk more about her future and that I can encourage college to be something she looks forward to. After playing this game, we made bead necklaces and also worked on a puzzle while listening to the High School Musical soundtrack – her favorite music!

Today my little told me how she really enjoys the “cookies” we bring every week (a.k.a. graham crackers!) I think next time it would be a great idea to bring ingredients for making s’mores. She has never tried them before, and even though we do not have a fire to cook the marshmallows, I think she would enjoy them anyway! Next time I hope we have a chance to play some of the newly purchased games and paint. Now that I have a better idea of how to use our time together, our future meetings will be more comfortable and relaxed. I don’t think there will ever be a dull moment!