School projects

Teacher Uly taught the kids how to make lanterns for Christmas and they were extraordinary!

Being a fan of Studio Ghibli, we used "My Neighborhood Totoro" as our theme in English class and all the kids got the chance to take home my Totoro stuffed toy for 2 days. The requirement? To write about their adventures together while Totoro was visiting them. It was a good experience all around and the kids became interested in woodland spirits as well. Good springboard for future discussions and essays!

DIY polybox makeover

New Year coming up!

With cleaning, setting up the house and all, I realize that I need breathing space. Space for my mind to roam on things less than mundane. Found this list on the web that might help:

"1) Looking back over the year, what did you accomplish? List at least 25

things…. Things you have done right… ways that you have grown as a

person, goals achieved (both personal and professional) positive life

changes, special memories you have created."

Downloaded from http://www.originalimpulse.com/end-of-year-review/

Vintage photos

Found these gems while moving house. But I love my Supergirl outfit the best.

One of my doodles from my handy-dandy notebook. What started out as a curl ended up as a tree or shrub of some sort. Love my notebook and pens.

Gabbie's artwork from the summer of 2011 at Kids Ahoy!

New photo site for me.

Tried Flickr when it was just starting out. Tried other photo hosting sites. But finally, in an effort to clear out my pc, I decided to upload my pictures to a file hosting site and posted a few choice shots to my new tumblr. Thank you Tumblr!! Check out snapshotsbyz.tumblr.com

New Blogger!

I'm liking the new look of the Blogger templates! Thank you for this! It looks awesome!

One thing though, it makes it a wee bit harder for me to look at my Dashboard then back to the site again. Still, really pretty. : )

Illustration bookmarks.

Time passes swiftly when you're busy.

First week of classes and as Teacher A. suggested, I have to have time to update my blog and keep things nice and current.

Twitter isn't really my thing, but my journal has similar entries of mundane things that mean something to me. Something like a bookmark to remember that particular day or event. Recently, so many anecdotes and pockets of laughter spatter my days and my pen has yet to catch up with my life. So I blog, take a few minutes to reorient myself to another task and before I know it, the day has ended.

The Jr. Entrepreneurs strike again!

High five to my Entrep students! Summer's gone, but their projects will hopefully take off this school year. With greeting cards, tumblers and key chains to sell, they have a great opportunity to expand their line of products and earn more money for charity! So, in the pipeline, their website, their logo and their accounting skills. Oy.

More thoughts and drawings.

So maybe not everyday. I skipped a few days of sketching for myself to draw for other people and for school but then I have no need for excuses. I draw for pleasure and enjoyment. Hoping that I get to capture some skill I used before. So here are a few.

Hero Badges

Heroes have to have badges of honor. For the students, to earn one of these is a privilege.

Hand-drawn art by Teacher Aia, color and digital editing by me. The Everyday Hero badge was drawn by myself based on the ideas of all the teachers that particular afternoon in school. : )

What does your child say about their teachers?

Wanting to put a few testimonials for the school website, I decided to add a little music and pictures. With a few chosen shots, a debate on the music to play and several revisions until it was satisfactory, this is what I came up with. My first video slideshow in a while. : )

IDs for kids

Rushing the kids in preparing them for their exams, we needed some IDs quick. It was done overnight but they look happy and reflects the spirit of the kids. A fast laminate, a punch for the ID lace and off they go. Got a quick snapshot before they were given.

"You have the power to create gold."

-God Whispers

Drawing a day

Thinking of doing a drawing a day thing. Got my lovely handy-dandy notebook and pretty pens on hand...The thought came with wanting to remember what I'm capable of doing. Things that I do everyday are only part of what I am, part of what I can do. It was so easy to forget that I used to draw and write, just because. Used to devour books and dream of them afterwards. So I stopped wondering and will start doing. Hopefully, this blog will see a lot more of my work and my students.

We miss Didi

Didi and Gabbie. Plus O.J., the cat. Can't wait to see this little girl again.

Jr. Entrepreneurs

Learning the silk screen process with the kids was fun! Who would have thought that it really was simple. And the colors!! Luscious! But going back to the project at hand, I was happy the kids enjoyed making something that they could be proud of and sell. The fruit of their labors are t-shirts and bags with lot of heart.