Location: ​3101 S Kipling St, Lakewood, CO 80227

Finidng a little known coffee shop is a continuous passion project for me. I like finding the little gems and supporting the small businesses around my neighborhood. However, what is hard about this search is that most of the cutest shops are also the most popular...and there goes the secret gem feel. Well, I am about to expose one of my most recent finds. It's called Front Porch Coffee and it deserves all the love.

This little coffee shop is tucked into a long standing church off of Kipling and 285. It is truly a hidden gem that has the best ambience, a genuinely kind staff, and strong coffee. 

A strong ambience draws me to return to a coffee shop; and this spot has got it. The coffee bar is prestine and has that fresh farmhouse feel that Chip and Joanna would love. I personally love sitting in the bar area because of the ample amount of charging stations and the ability to stand while working. Plus, its beautiful. And your girl feels charged and inspired by beauty.

Outside of the bar area there is a wide open space that has a cozy feel. The space has large tables to accomadate groups and some homey furniture to curl up into when you are indulging solo. A warm light is cast from the ever-trendy string lights and during the summer the natural light floods in from the garage door enterance. 

The coffee and espresso is divine and it is served by the sweetest staff. They desire to build a community and make a point to ask each customers name and remember them for the next time they return. They are cheerful and they keep the place running smoothly and it is always so clean. 

Another item that calls me in is their pastry menu. They have a large case of pastries to choose from which also includes some that are completely allergen free. My favorite is the allergen free schones. They are amazng and are moist unlike most allegen-free pastries. 

Front Porch Coffee is a great place to get some work done, do some dreaming, and visit with a friend. Give her a visit and enjoy the warmth and beauty that pervades the space. 

"Ms. Montoya, can I teach you how to say 'Happy New Year' in Vietnamese?". This question rolled off the toungue of one of my excited sixth grade boys. Frankly, he was pumped and wanted to teach me important words/phrases in preparation for our celebration of the Lunar New Year on February 12th.

This was my school's first formal recognition of the worldwide holiday and I felt the need to birth the celebration into existence due to our school's high population of Vietnamese students. This is a holiday that is traditional and of importance to my Asian students. And, what is important to my students is important to me. 

Therefore, we pushed the plan forward and decided tp make February 12th a day to not only honor the Lunar New Year, but to also honor our Vietmanese students. The honoring of their culture communicates a desire to know them in the full context of their identity. We are acknowledging those traditions that they hold dear and inturn we are teaching our non-Vietanmese students about a culture that is not theres. 

Here is a summary of the magic that we were able to create on that day.

• Students were encouraged to ditch their uniform for the day and to wear red. We also encouraged our students to wear their traditional Vietnamese garb. We had about 15 students come in their traditional dress...and man, did they look stunning! Their beauty was excuded not only through their dress, but also in their pride. My Vietnamese students seemed to walk a little taller that day...proud of their heritage. 
• Each classroom decorated one of their classroom doors as a red envelope. The red enveleope is an important symbol and practice during the Lunar New Year. They are given as gifts to the young and are signs of prosperity and good luck. Each of the classrooms did a beautiful job decorating their door and encouraging this activity at the begnning of the week increased excitment for the celebration on Friday.
• The high point of our celebration took place during the lunch period. We decorated our "Irish Green" gym with as much red and gold as possible. We covered the tables, hung red paper lanterns, used an ungodly amount of red crepe paper, played traditional music, and qued the projector to play a brief slideshow/video to teach about the Lunar New Year. The lunch functioned as a "Learning Lunch" or a "Dinner and Show" format. The students took their seats and were engaged. Success!
• Followng the video the students  got to come up to retrieve their conmplinentary Vietnamese eggroll and special red envelope. The eggrolls were generosly donated by one of our Vietnamese families and the red envelopes were donated by one of our staff members. Each of the red envelopes had a "prize" inside which varied from a "free dress down day" to an invitation to "help Mr. Caudle lead morning prayer". However, one special envelope had the highly coveted 2 Dollar Bill which is traditionally seen as "lucky money". 

The day was a huge success. The entire school was beautiully decorated. The students wore red and the traditional Vietnmases garb was breath-taking. The lunch and learn went perfectly and the kids were engaged, excited, and appreciative. Although all these aspects made for a glorious day, the most important element was the pride that I saw in my Vietnamese students. They seemed to walk a little taller. They shared their culture and customs openly with their fellow classmates and served as leaders and teachers for the day.

It was a very happy Lunar New Year and I hope that this celebration will be a new tradition for my school.