Charming, handsome, glib and making jokes, all while putting together the most beautiful bundle of flowers a girl could imagine. He was a dream and made my heart go pitter patter.

After spending hundreds of dollars over a relatively short period of time, on weekly bundles of ribbon wrapped flowers lovingly put together by Sean, I came to the realization that even though I had a terrific job with a salary to match, I could not maintain an obsession with flowers while waiting for the perfect moment to talk to him about something beyond the petals.

I would stop by the shop early in the morning when the freshest product was being processed from market, coyly asking if they were open and knowing full well that they were not. I secretly believed that if I bought a big enough bundle of flowers, he might help me carry the ginormous amount of pretty out to the parking lot.

BINGO! It worked.

He lovingly wrapped the bundles and headed straight for the silver Lexus.

“Um no,” I said shyly, “I drive the red pick-up truck.”

He celebrated the truck immediately, making me feel less awkward for not driving the pretty car. “The one with the Texas plates? You like Lyle Lovette?” He asked two questions as though they were one.

I thought to myself, “Yes, I am from Texas, yes, I love Lyle Lovette and yes I love you too.”

Overcome with happiness that he was engaging me deeper in conversation, I did the cheesiest thing ever.

I handed him my business card.

“I’m going to go broke buying so many flowers,” I said, “Why don’t you call me so we can talk over a cup of coffee?”

He took my card and went inside the store to collect the rest of my flowers. UGH! It was the longest 40 seconds ever. I stewed in my own quiet, berating myself for being so forthright.

He returned with the rest of the flowers, romantically wrapped in brown paper and tied with a green silk ribbon, thanked me for the card and immediately let me know that he was in the aftermath of an ending relationship.

Honest and direct – now I REALLY love him!

“Well, are you happy?” I asked.  I’d already been bold, it was time for the gold.

“Well, not exactly.” he said.

I found my voice right behind my gumption. The feisty spirit in me was not going to let this one go. I looked him in the eyes and said, “Well, life is too short. If things change, give me a call.”

Feeling like a Texas sized dork, yet entirely liberated all the same, I knew in my heart I did what was right.

You can’t find out how deep the water is if you don’t go in.

Sean is a gentleman and the perfect man.  He is as true as the sky is blue, his work ethic is relentless, he knows how to emotionally connect, he writes from the heart, and his integrity is unwavering.

He called me two weeks later after he took care of some “unfinished business” and we logged in a good 60 hours of phone conversation before we had our first date. We talked so long the first night that the battery died on my cordless and I had to run to the corner pay phone to squeeze in another hour of conversation before the sun rose.

I knew I loved him when we said good bye that night. I knew he would be my best friend and the father of my children.  I was confident that life was too short to spend another moment without him by my side.

Saturday was his birthday. I am grateful to Margaret and Joe for bringing me the miracle that is Sean Michael.

I am giddy and thankful to have a best friend with whom I can make more miracles happen. Every day is a gift when you live with Sean, and just like David Wright said, “ Sean is so happy he farts sunshine.”

It’s true. Happy Birthday Sean, you are my angel on earth and the best Dad in all the land. Thank you for calling me and making life sweeter with your presence and words.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

And now they do it in Spanish.

Mia is the leader of the pack, but Max is nipping at her heals. Sean has enough to keep everyone in check, and Grammy, well she could decimate us all in one sweeping syllable warfare, but chooses to keep it REAL  in English. Thank goodness, because I am at the tail end of the spectrum of not speaking Spanish.  I understand what children feel like when people are speaking and all you hear is blah, blah, blah with some r’s twirled perfectly.

However, I keep on listening because we all know with immersion of anything, it eventually becomes internalized and part of your daily habits.

Our children attend public school, but for all intents and purposes they are home schooled as well.  They learn all of their kindergarten and second grade content in Spanish with 40 minutes of English instruction during the school day.

This is a well established model of a Dual Immersion Program.

When Max and Mia come home, it is my job to make sure they transition the concepts into English and have all of the language needs met in our native tongue, with Sean by my side ensuring that the Spanish homework is in excellent shape.

We are a team.

We double dutch in two languages. It is not easy. It is absorbing and time consuming, yet I would not trade this experience for anything.

I love it.

Strong interactive home environments such as preschool and early learning programs are the first communal language experiences for most children. This time in a young child’s life is forever changing and evolving.

School experiences provide an outlet for children to expand their language beyond the home and family so that new relationships and learning experiences can be established.  This step should celebrate the curiosity and eagerness to learn that young children naturally possess.  As parents, teachers and community members we have a responsibility to encourage and foster a love for learning.

But what about the steps before children enter a formal school setting, or are on their way in the home schooling process?

From birth to school age, what learning experiences do you as parents and caregivers provide for young children so that they enter a formal school setting or continue with home schooling with confidence and tools to expand learning?

Sharing is caring. What language are you sharing with your child?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Yesterday was the 40th year anniversary of the loss of my mother. She passed when I was three. My brother was a 9 week old baby.

When you grow up without a mother, each day deepens the realization that you must walk through life alone, slightly different than every one else. Such a huge loss leaves you searching for mentors; you spend your life looking for others to show you the way so that you can do things right. You develop abilities that people will say make you dynamic. To me it is just survival, an earnest desire to make a life my mother didn’t get a chance to have.

I am a motherless daughter.

My daughter reminds me each day of my life’s purpose and promise . She never lets me forget that I too had a mother. Every day, and in the most uncanny of ways, she keeps my mother alive. From the questions about my mother to the small moments on the long drives to school when she asks me what I remember about my mother, to the fortuitous spotting of a butterfly when she’ll invariably chirp, “There’s your Mommy, Mama. She stopped by to say hello to you today.” I white knuckle it through these moments. I smile, knowing that the voice of my mother is coming through loud and clear through my daughter.

My mother was from the Phillipines. She barely spoke English when my father brought her to the United States via the military. She left 10 brothers and sisters in a land that no longer exists due to vicious volcanoes that wiped her homeland like a smudge from the planet. She carried a red leather bound pocket size Webster Dictionary everywhere she went, crocheted madly even though she had dibilitating arthritis, always had a chocolate cake on a pedestal for other military wives that would stop by for chit chat and coffee in the percolator; the same percolator which today gives me an instant flashback whenever I hear the slurping sound that particular type of coffee maker makes.

We never wore shoes in the house, we always napped together in the big bed, and she dressed like a lady every day. She would put her hair in the teethed pink rollers, after she smoothed on the Dippity Do (hair gel in a jar from the swinging 60’s!) and tied a scarf around her head. That scarf pulled it all together and she always looked magnificent. I remember her saying, “No matter what you feel, put on your best dress.”

I live by these words to this day and, believe me, they have helped me through some impossible moments. I can look polished on the outside, even if I’m crumbling under the skin. Fake it till you make it, you sure were right about that, Mom.

I often wonder how many days you had to fake it, because the sadness I feel sometimes is just so overwhelming. Thank goodness for that perfect black Ann Taylor skirt tucked in the back of my closet.

Throughout the years I’ve searched each day, deep in my heart and mind to keep her alive. I try to make choices that I hope she would be proud of. I have those moments when I want to reach out and call her. I long to ask, “Why this…How do I do this… What did you do when…?”

Fortunately, I have the hand of my best friend and husband, Sean, who is the top dog to help me in these moments. However, sometimes in my search, I felt that, even as much as he gives, there is nothing that could ever replace my mother.

That was, until my daughter was born.

Mia will be 8 tomorrow. She is a testament that time heals all wounds. I believe with all my heart that she is a gift from my mother, sent to me so I could find the best mother inside me. Mia keeps me grounded, bonded, and humble. One of the hardest and sweetest days of my life was the day my daughter was born. Not because of the labor and inevitable aftermath, but because my mother wasn’t there to hold her and bond in that experience that connects women.

However, I was surrounded by Fillapina nurses that showered me with more love than most may have received that week in the hospital. And I had the comfort of the nurse telling me, “Your mom is here with you. You are holding her in your arms. No other person in the world besides you, your brother, and your children will have her DNA.”

I hold those words deep in my heart and live by them daily.

Thank you Nurse Leona.

Every day I search. I want to learn for myself how to be the mother I most want to be. I look in the mirror and say, “There she is.”

My mother will always look back at me as long as I take time to see the reflection, and remember to pay it forward for my children so that they will not know anything other than, My mom loves me and doesn’t dwell on the have nots. Only the freedom that life gives us to evolve, just as the caterpillar turns into a butterfly.

I love you Mommy, and I live each day to be the person you were, and the person my family will be proud to say, “That’s my mom.”

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I have a beautiful website design thanks to the visual genius of David Wright. My husband Sean has a work ethic that could inspire slow moving mules uphill, an overflowing gallon jug of optimism and writes like a mad man to carve a niche for our family. Our children are amazingly bright, beautiful, eager and shower me with enough sunshine to legitimately compete with the brightness the Southern California sun delivers most days of the year. The sacrifices I make as a mother and their teacher is reciprocated with countless  joys and challenges that keeps life balanced and interesting.

Every year Sean and I make our resolutions and for the most part persevere to make them happen. Our lives have transitioned tremendously this past year as we repurpose to reap the rewards of our new goals that rest on the horizon. However, when it comes to blogging I dropped the ball on my personal goals as I became distracted with others.

I am guilty of the 10 biggest mistakes in blogging.

I read this remarkable post and after every bullet point I nodded my head with affirmation.  Yep, this is me – I own it.

So even though I’m surrounded by what to do I failed to apply and follow through on the specific goals outlined by my loving husband, best friend and business partner. Therefore,  my number one resolution is to tend this garden.

I have been a part of Sonia Simone’s membership site Remarkable Marketing Blueprint.  The most profound thing she said today was, “Create a rhythm of content creation at least once a week.”

I know, simple right? However, it is easier to say than it is to do.

Cheers to a new year and following through. Thank you to everyone who has supported us with fluid communication, wisdom, encouragement and generous amounts of words to help us make all our dreams come true.

Our someday began yesterday and we still have today to make it come true. Welcome 2010:  New Year, New Voice.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

I’ve genuflected to the glory of PBS and their dedication to the development of the whole child for 40 years. Their newest program,“A Very Monkey Christmas” takes our favorite monkey friend and the Man with the Yellow Hat on yet another adventure, embracing the spirit and joy of the holidays. From tree trimming disasters, to the snow machine that wouldn’t stop, to the mystery of what to give one another for Christmas, this duo manages to embed a lot of fun loving small moments, until it concludes with the discovery of what is most important about Christmas – love and understanding.

We had a screening party and the children delighted in all of George’s antics. I kept wishing I could be George and have a magnificent adventure for myself. The story element that touched the teacher in me the most was communication. George and the Man with the Yellow Hat used pictures to tell a story and to effectively communicate their ideas. The Man With the Yellow Hat grew frustrated because he desperately wanted to decode George’s pictures to understand what he wanted for Christmas. Like George, children convey a lot of meaning through scribbling and drawings. As a teacher, one of my favorite conundrums is cracking the code of what children are truly trying to say.

I love PBS and all their endeavors to maintain the integrity of what is truly important in early childhood development. “A Very Monkey Christmas” not only celebrates the holidays with frivolity and fun, it also models through our favorite monkey how drawings can represent writing and communication for young children. Illustrations do tell a story and can convey even some rather complicated ideas. When The Man With the Yellow Hat finally understood George’s illustrations, I felt his success right along with him.

The early writing process is wonderfully illustrated in this holiday special, along with other important author’s messages. Hip Hip Hooray for PBS and “A Very Monkey Christmas.” Be sure to catch the special on PBS after November 25 and give your holiday the kick start it needs, while celebrating the writing process in the true spirit of Curious George and The Man with the Yellow Hat.

Cindy

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

My children are still young, and have not yet been bombarded by the barage of advertisements that froth and bubble in local radio and television. In our house, we do not idly watch television. We make deliberate media selections.

We download specific programs, and make weekly choices for our “Movie Night” Fridays and Saturdays. Everyone takes turns and watches one another’s choices politely. If bored, they retreat to a puzzle, book, art box or favorite toy.

We watched Fat Albert, 1972 “OG” style. You know the one, where the gang realizes they don’t have enough money for instruments, so they get creative in the junkyard by fashioning those masterpiece instruments we all have manufactured in our private moments.

A classic case of creativity at its best.

The author’s message is delivered by a hip looking cat named Bill Cosby (with only a fraction of the lines he would wear when entertaining the world with The Cosby Show a decade later) who breaks it down for the audience to apply to their own life’s ups and downs.

The best part of the show is always the opening when Bill sets the stage with intelligence, embedding figurative language and an idiom into an expertly crafted joke. “Looks like there’s going to be a change in the weather for the guys.” Cheeky grin, big eyes, and rattling a cup of change and holding a red umbrella, we all giggled at the literal sense of his words and how well he timed the joke to make us smile.

Note to self: This is a teachable moment for later.

Short bursts of animation from the old school such as Popeye, Looney Tunes, Smurfs (please come back), Totoro (Japanese animation is the best!), Handy Manny, My Little Ponies and anything Einstein, Dora or Diego are all wonderful. Each has ample story elements, a clear author’s message, and yes – excellent writing.

Help your child be their best 21st century learner.

Be selective. Our children are 21st century learners. Pulling the best from them means we design their media with intelligence rather than let it drown them. Choosing appropriate media and viewing it as a family is a great visual equalizer, connector and discussion piece for intelligent conversation at the dinner table, around a game board, in the big bed with books, driving in the car, or in the moment of rude behavior to illustrate a point.

Use subtitles. Clicking on the subtitles is a terrific way to passively add the word count of a daily paper to your child’s vocabulary. Let them gaze at the manuscript as the text comes to life and gives meaning to the motion. Pictures = Understanding. The magic of media.

Empower. Allow each member of the family to choose a favorite piece of appropriate media. Mix it up by choosing 10-12 minute bursts of your favorite part. Discuss what you saw. It is delightful to witness the perspective of each family member from their place and station in life. Record the observations in a family journal. You will be glad you did in some future once upon a time, when you look back and see your consistency.

Cindy

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Our children write the future!

This summer, childrenwritethefuture.com is offering a writing enrichment newsletter that will help your child build their writing fluency. Daily writing practice (excluding handwriting) will help establish a lifelong love for writing. There is nothing better than taking pen, marker, crayon, pencil to paper and doodling down ideas.

Sign up below for our newsletter and make sure your child receives their summer enrichment writing prompts. As new prompts are delivered, selected entries will be published on the site.

Make sure your children are writing well by the end of summer!

Cindy

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

We are a family of writers. Sometimes we are scribbling on napkins, ATM deposit envelopes, dollar store notepads or tapping our ideas out on a keyboard. Our children watch us.

Mia usually has a pint size notepad that fits perfectly in her uniform jumper pocket. She calls it her “just in case” notebook that goes along with her “just in case” pencil box in her backpack. The notebook is stuffed with ideas and drawings that she jots down during recess with her friends. She has started an anthology about about the land of Sweetopia. Yummy with a spoon.

Max announced this week, “I want to be a writer like Dad, but I don’t know how to write all the words.” He shrugged, shoulders plopping on the floor.

I smiled thinking to myself, “A chip off the old block and prodigious in my mind no matter what he chooses to do in life.”

“Well Max, a writer doesn’t just write the words,” I smiled. “A writer also thinks about the words that draw the pictures.”  He looked at me curiously.  “You know, like a movie in your mind.”

“A Mind Movie?”  he exclaimed.

Exactly.

“When I say words like slippery, smooth, and soft what do you think about?”

“My mint chip colored “night night” that I sleep with.”  he said.

“If I say creamy, sweet, and cold…”

“Ice cream!” he started to jump.

Without boring him with a lesson on adjectives, we “popcorned,” passing 3 describing words back and forth and making it a guessing game of which word the other was thinking about as we strolled to the library on our way to check out AUDIO BOOKS and a fresh set of stories.

Max is 4.  He IS a writer, but needs us to show him the power he possesses and guide him in a developmentally appropriate way so that he can produce the words to express all the beautiful ideas he has in the mind movie his brain is constantly creating.

Max has ideas, his pictures tell stories and most importantly, he has language – the greatest gift of all.

Max, you are a writer and we will lead you the way with an unlimited number of language experiences to help you write in your best voice.

What are some ways your family celebrates language?

Cindy

Sign up for our Children Write the Future Newsletter for tips on how to make your child a better writer.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Parents are the child’s first and best teacher. Home schooling is something that must take place whether you have opted to go the traditional private or public school route, or have decided to home school your children completely. Most traditional school years are 180 days. You must therefore ask yourself -  What is your mission for your children’s learning the remaining 185 days of the year?

As a teacher who has taught in all forums, I believe it is a parent’s responsibility to establish solid foundations, provide pillars of support for those who are teaching our children when we are not with them, and take the bull by the horns by taking care of business in the event that optimum learning is not occurring during the school day.

Summer is right around the corner. In our little corner of the world we have exactly 18 days before the dog days of summer are on our door step and life asks us the inevitable question: What do we do now that they are home all day?

Home school = Home learning.

Learning must not stop simply because summer is in the sky. Children are ravenous for knowledge, routine, and enrichment. Not to mention maintaining basic literacy and math skills. Designing a learning schedule that affords children with needed routine, high expectations and a well established work ethic is a critical life skill that cannot be started to early. For our wee ones their play is their work, but our play can have purpose as well. Primary and intermediate grades might require a bit more creativity, but we all should all know by now – if you don’t use it you will surely lose it.

You do not need a teaching credential to enrich your child’s life with all the basic content that typically occurs during a given school day. Some of us are more adaptable and naturally patient, some of us aren’t. However, it is our responsibility as parents to take the baton from this year’s teacher and continue running the relay through summer, lighting the torch for a brighter tomorrow.

What are you summer learning plans for the family? Sign up for our writer’s workshop and let us help.

Cindy

Get great teaching tips in your inbox or RSS reader (for free!), twice weekly!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

One of my greatest teaching adventures was moving to Taipei, Taiwan and teaching English in a Chinese kindergarten where students start school at the age of two. I gathered a great deal of momentum and inspiration from the region’s immersion of language, culture and lifestyle. I realized I could teach anything anywhere as long as I had an audience and an open, passionate heart for the art of learning and instruction.

The greatest  teaching honor I have experienced was being the recipient of Teacher of the Year for the Houston Unified School District, hand selected by Rod Paige who emerged as Secretary of Education for the United States from 2000 – 2004. I had the opportunity to work with relentless and progressive educators and learned from the best.

My final prize immediately preceded a migration to California where I was recruited by the West Ed Research Lab to work in conjunction with Johns Hopkins University. I joined a team of educators whose sole purpose was to instruct others in best practices for most effective teaching in reading and writing. My calendar was divided between days spent developing curriculum in the lab, amidst weeks of heavy travel between the east and west coast.

I am a born teacher and missed having students, so I left the lab in exchange for the eager minds of a classroom. Shortly after the birth of my son, my husband persuaded and afforded me the opportunity to open a preschool and abandon the security and bureaucracy of the school district. We fulfilled that  dream for three years and are now in the process of creating new e-learning projects that involve technology and understanding the needs of the 21st Century Learner, starting with reading and writing.

I love to travel and teach. The world wide web will become my new platform to perform and practice what works best for early learners and leave a legacy for my children to see and know who I am as we make every day count, for this day will come no more. Our children will write the future, I want the confidence mine will do it well.

Whether your children are in public school, private school, or home school – this site is for you.

Tomorrow starts today.

Cindy

Subscribe to my feed (for free) by RSS or Email. Thanks!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.