Last day

This is the last day of the strike.  I am so happy to return to the class tomorrow.  10 days out of the classroom is a big deal and I know that everyone is happy to go back to school.  Well, maybe... Micah would rather be out striking still.  Who is this kid???

Day 6

The best picture ever.  Wouldn't you agree???

MLK

How poignant... we have been on strike for the past few days to take a collective break in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Now more than ever, I feel that we have to stand together to make a change.  I hope that Jawsh and I can impart this civic duty and social consciousness to Noah and Micah.  What will they do to change the world???

Day 1- Strike

 The last teacher strike in Los Angeles was in 1989.  Twenty years later, 34,000 educators went on strike.  As a veteran teacher, this was not something that I necessarily wanted but something I had to do.  This was a post I wrote the eve before the strike:

Tomorrow I will go on strike. I will be picketing in the rain with my husband and sons, 20 colleagues from my school site, and 30,000 more teachers from the district. This is not what I hoped would happen, but what has to happen. 

- I am striking to make a difference in the lives of all students. 
- I am striking for students who do not have the educational environment and support systems they need. 
- I am striking for the thousands of students who are sitting in overcrowded classrooms who don’t have desks and sit on the floor or lean on a wall. 
- I am striking for the 80% of the district’s students who live at or near the poverty line and have a right to librarians, nurses, counselors, and psychologists more than one day a week. 
- I am striking in the hopes that we do not break the district into “32 networks” so the haves keep having and the have-nots are left with nothing. I do not want Los Angeles to be the next New Orleans where there are no more neighborhood schools. 

I am not striking against schools but FOR schools. It’s not a cliche, teachers teach because they want to make a difference. And tomorrow, teachers will strike to make a difference.

The box

Jawsh was commissioned by the City of Los Angeles to paint this electric box located in Westchester.  I can't wait to see what he will do.  Any guesses???

Happy New Year's Eve

Happy New Year!!!  What are your New Years' resolutions?

Happy New Year

Happy New Year's Eve!  Our last day of 2018 was spent at Playa del Rey Beach.  Jawsh and I enjoyed a coffee from Playa Provisions and the boys enjoyed a sweet treat.  It was a very relaxing day and we enjoyed the time together.  What will the new year bring???

Santa Monica Pier

One of our gifts to the kids is the gift of time.  We spent the whole day in Santa Monica with the kids riding rides at pier and eating grass-fed burgers at Hiho.  It was a great day and the boys love spending time with their cousins.  At the end of the night, we played Catan as a family.  These are the memories that will last a life time, don't you think???

Adventure awaits!

Kaitlyn spent the tonight and we decided to have an adventure... we took the Playa Vista shuttle to the Fisherman's Wharf in Marina del Rey.  Unfortunately everything was closed and we didn't spend much time there so we walked a few blocks to eat at CPK.  Will we take the shuttle to Venice next time???

Candy Party

Now that Micah is expander free, we celebrated with a candy party and watched Wreck It Ralph.  All of the kids had a great time, eating all the candy they wanted and then playing Chubby Bunny with marshmallows right after.  When will Micah head into Phase 2 treatment???

Community Garden

We spent the morning in the community garden tending to our raised bed.  We dug out at least 200 grubs (yuck) and then tilled the soil so we could plant herbs and root vegetables.  It was a lot of hard work, but satisfying.  The boys had a great time.  When will we reap the fruit of our labor???

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Min Family!  The kids had a wonderful time celebrating Atticus' first Christmas.  There was an abundance of food and presents... what more could anyone else ask for???

Life Cycle

We had a new adventure today!  We went to a museum for the first time called the Marciano Art Foundation.  They are exhibiting Ai Weiwei's project Life Cycle, which is a cultural response to the global refugee crisis.  It was amazing to see the work that he made and the intricate details of his work.  Were the boys as inspired as I was???

LACMA

After Micah's ortho appointment, we went to LACMA for a few hours.  I definitely see a difference when the boys are with their friends versus when they are just with family.  The kids went into the Boone Gallery and did some Korean Brush Painting and Noah made a marvelous tiger and Micah made a wonderful bird.  They have so much talent... will they want to get int o the arts???

Blue Jets

Micah's team, the Blue Jets, came in first place in their region.  Hard work, pays off!  How will they do in the state play-offs???

Candy Cane Lane

Tonight we took a stroll down Candy Cane Lane with the K family.  It's so nice to walk and see all the houses decorated with lights and animatronics.  The boys are of the age, where they walked swiftly and then would stop and stare at their phones.  This was disappointing but I get it.  They are feeling like they are too old.  At least they humored me and got into the sleigh, right???

Winter Concert

Today is Micah's last Winter Concert... his class sang two songs: Christmas in Hollis and This is Me.  The kids did a nice job performing and I can't believe this is his last performance because they do not sing in middle school.  Will Micah want to be in the performing arts next year???

Water Cycle game

Micah's school project to create a Water Cycle game had to be tested before he submitted this into his class and the boys had a great time playing.  He was pretty thoughtful about the game design.  Will Micah become a game developer when he gets older???

Cool Shul

This evening we attended a Hanukkah Party hosted by the Cool Shul.  We were very excited to meet Rabbi Diane and the boys felt very welcomed.  So welcomed that the boys will be taking a class in the Spring.  This is a great time to be doing this as Noah is discovering more about his heritage.  What will his classes be like???

Happy Hanukkah

Spending the 4th night of Hanukkah with the V family was fun!  They all lit the candles and had a rousing game of Dreidel.  What will the next night of Hanukkah bring???