ahora vamos a contar

this weekend i lunched with friends who teach 1st bilingual at other schools. seems like everyone's kids are just getting burned out.

making things nice and rosy is the after school art class i'm teaching at an elementary on the other side of town. i decided not to tell my principal about it; i manage to sneak off campus two days a week right around 3 pm so i can make it on time and so far, so good. this class is a DREAM.. the kids were specially selected so most want to be there and the class was tailored to my specifications and artistic preferences. they just finished their first round of stories about their community, which are heavily based on the narrative/illustrative style of carmen lomas garza. i'll be posting some of their work soon. i have the most amazing feeling when i plunk myself down in my car after class. a feeling of satisfaction and contentment and pride. these kids are totally exceeding my expectations, and last week i made a point of telling them just that. i wish i could have that feeling every day, but twice a week is good enough.