both 1st grade and preschool had a lot of fun today with hearing themselves talk...we used these things that look like retro phones to practice our sounds. the kids speak into them and their voices are directed right into their ears, so its fun to use but also serves a purpose because their voices are magnified. marcos, who has some trouble speaking, was able to spell a lot better when he said the words he wanted to write into the phone. he also loved to use it, which is awesome because he has the shortest attention span of anyone i've ever worked with. we practiced one syllable sounds in preschool. that was really exciting because all of our kids in preschool have the ability to talk, they just haven't quite mastered it yet. with looking at my mouth and hearing themselves with the phones, they were able to speak a lot clearer than i've ever heard before. granted, they were one syllable chunks, and it's the first day we've used them, but still...i'm going to celebrate this!

marisol brought her baby to work today...her name's andrea and she's two months old! YES.

i went for a long walk with joanna, luisa, and the kids down below before dinner. it was a gorgeous day and the kids had so much fun...we walked past some horses and down a few streets the kids had never been to before. i LOVE watching them see things for the first time, even if its just a dirt road or a store.