The author realizes that having a scripted curriculum is not a complete roadblock to culturally relevant instruction, yet it introduces the challenge of figuring out how to implement a particular program as required, while incorporating elements that really help connect the lessons to the students' lives. This year she has experimented with several different projects that were intended to make learning more meaningful for students without compromising or significantly altering the prescribed curriculum that she is required to use. In this article, the author describes these projects that represent her efforts to make her students' voices heard and to involve their families and cultural identities in the learning process. Through personal alphabets, family art, word associations, and a morning greeting circle, she has created small windows through which she gets to know her students on a deeper level and they experience a type of learning that is just a bit more personalized.