Finished!

I'm finished with my Teacher Induction Program, the step new teachers in California are supposed to take as new hires, after completing a credential program and student teaching. I kept putting it off, then ignoring it, content to work part-time as a teacher tutor, afraid to take on a class of my own.

I did it in one year, intensive style. A lot of work, but it was authentic work.  I learned stuff. And I teach better.

Now I can keep teaching in California, and have to renew my credential every three years. Except we're planning to leave California!

While I was submitting all my digital forms and records and observations and reflections and assessments and everything else, I finished a quilt, too!
I bought these fabrics, already cut, and registration to to a class from someone who'd signed up for too many classes at Quilt Con. Thanks, Kathleen of Kathleen Quilts!

Ah, Quilt Con! That was such a fun adventure!
I got to hang out with the lovable Cindy Wiens of Live a Colorful Life. She showed me around, and made me feel appreciated and clever. Can we hang out again, soon?

So many wonderful quilts, and lectures, and workshops, and people... but that was in February. I'll just show you this fun, fake tattoo from the Cotton & Steel booth:

Libs Elliot designs quilts using computer code. She also has a new line of fabric, which my kids will love. She's soft-spoken, kind, and adorable:

Her workshop, For the Love of Y-Seams, means there are a lot of angles to fit together in this quilt pattern. Weight of Love is only available in Libs' workshops. Here's my version, though I can't take credit for the fabric choice.

Quilted with lots and lots of de rigueure straight lines on the diagonal.

I don't even like gray, but I had plenty of grays in my stash to make the back of the quilt. I have to admit, gray works well with this quilt. A few leftover triangles made a cool hexagon to anchor my signature and date.

A few more leftover triangles came together for these complementary pillows.

Those fragmented hexagons! I like them!

I wonder where this quilt will find a home. Any ideas?

I get a week off!

I made two of these for my two intervention groups at school.

photo by Nicole Gerulat

The tutorial is found here, at One Charming Party.
After reading a Thanksgiving story to the kids, I brought in the turkey on a platter, and I cut it open, to reveal this:

photo by Nicole Gerulat

The kids were so cute, so enthusiastic about the popcorn-filled turkey! I chose two students in each of my two groups to get the drumsticks. They looked so cute eating popcorn out of the drumsticks! Of course, I was too involved to remember to take pictures until it was all over. Besides, I can't put pictures of the kids online, and I didn't want to just take pictures of their hands and the backs of their heads. Here is my picture of what it looked like when we were all done!

One of the kids brought me flowers today!
And another brought me a present!

Yesterday one of the kinder teachers and I had an impromptu talk with the school principal about the intervention class. We told her the kids are doing really well, and she was very supportive of the whole concept. This morning she took me aside and said she'd looked over the assessments, and the kids in my class have not only made great progress, they've progressed at a greater rate than the kids in the regular class, and they are all approaching, at, or above their target scores.
The affirmation of my work felt so great to hear! I know the teachers have been really supportive and enthusiastic about the class, but the objective data sealed it. And today the kids were all hugging me, and telling me they'll miss me (even though I'll still see them every day at lunch!), because after the Thanksgiving break I'll be starting with a new group of kids! This next group of kids will be more of a challenge. The first group was mostly bright, ready to learn kids who were intimidated or uninitiated. This next group just doesn't get it. Bring it on! But I'm really going to enjoy a week off work, first!