"Our 4th graders visited Old Mission San Juan Bautista and San Juan Bautista State Historic Park to reinforce their history lessons about the Spanish exploration and settling of California. The twenty-one California missions were key in Spain's ability to settle and maintain California as part of their conquest of the New World. At the historic site, students also learned about the purpose of the missions and how the lives of coastal Native Americans were impacted by the Spanish presence and way of life. After exploring the grounds, students took part in a docent-led program in which they were able to role-play as Spanish Padres or Native Americans. In order to further deepen the students' knowledge of mission architecture, they participated in "The Mission Game" in which they worked in small groups to build missions by laying out where each key room would have typically been located.

The students not only furthered their knowledge of the Mission, they also enjoyed a day of touring some of California's oldest structures including the Plaza Hotel (established in 1856), the Castro-Breen Adobe (the oldest building in San Juan Bautista aside from the Mission), the Mission stables, and a wealthy family's home. Students also got to meet with a blacksmith and learn all about working with the hot metal. It was a wonderful day of investigating, learning, and having lots of fun!"

– Linda Frolich, 4th Grade History and Mathematics Instructor

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Linda Frolich holds a B.A. in Child Development from CSU, Chico and a 
Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential (CLAD), from CSU, Monterey Bay. Prior to her tenure as a teacher Mrs. Frolich spent time as a web designer, producer, and manager. Over her teaching career she has taught kindergarten, history/math/science for grades 6th, 7th, and 8th and has been a lead GATE teacher. “Math has always been my passion, both as a student and as a teacher. It is my goal to create a love of math for each of my students as well as create curiosity about history for each of my students. It's my hope to inspire each of them to want to learn more.” Mrs. Frolich lives in Los Gatos with her husband and two children. She loves watching movies and going on long walks in the afternoon.

Linda Frolich | History (4), Mathematics (4) | lfrolich@pinewood.edu