New Year - Reyes Academy Style

What we did to celebrate:  I realized I never posted anything about our beginning of 2016 celebration.  With the business of kidney stones and starting teaching again after the holiday, I simply forgot.  Last year we had an awesome New Year party (Here's my blog post about it), and this year I wanted to make it even bigger and better.

Thursday, January 6th was the first day back to school.  We had a half day so Christin and I could get the apartment ready in the afternoon.  We decorated for our sleepover/party.  The kids came over Thursday night.  We had pizza for dinner and had a New Year's photo shoot, which was really fun.  We played Skipbo and watched a movie, Captain Phillips, with the girl's classroom full of air mattresses and glow sticks.  It was a late night full of laughter, talking, and celebrating 2016.

The next day I bravely made chocolate chip pancakes for 8 people, something I never thought I would do.  It showed me one day what it might be like to prepare breakfast for a family.  Pancake batter flying, trying to make sure the kids eat a banana, and make sure all six of them were dressed and ready for our field trip.

We were heading to Puerto Plata for the day, a town near the beach.  Our first stop was the cable car.  We had a lot of fun taking pictures and walking around once we reached the top of the mountain.  We also found this cool bridge that had an amazing view, which I hadn't seen the last time I went up the cable car.  The boys especially loved the caves.

The second stop was an old fort in the city.  We ate lunch in the car and explored the building, learning about the history of Puerto Plata.  This part happened during the heat of the day, so we took a rest after the tour.  I absolutely love the architecture of the fort.  The old doors, windows, and arches are fun to photograph.

We ended the day at an amber museum.  After reading reviews on Trip Adviser, I had very low hopes for the museum, but the boys and I just finished studying fossils.  The amber museum was a perfect way to connect the field trip to science.  The museum was surprisingly really interesting.  It is not very huge.

We are hoping to plan some more field trips this spring.  I would love to go to Haiti with our students.  Currently in Spanish class we are reading about dolphins, so a trip to Ocean World is in the near future.  Love getting to explore this beautiful island.

Con mucho amor.

Pirating up the Week

What I've been teaching:  This was a "ruff" week.  The boys were more restless than normal, talking and not paying attention.  I had shorter patience because I have been busier.  I have been fighting off sickness and this stupid kidney stone.  Part of the way through the week, I realized I needed to "pirate" some of my lessons.  I hoped this would engage the boys more and improve my attitude about work.  

Teach like a Pirate (prior blog post about it can be found here) is all about being a purple cow in a sea of black and white ones.  The book encourages teachers to be creative and think outside of the box through different "hooks."  

from: here 

The Safari Hook:  Wednesday we moved to the roof for reading time.  There was a beautiful breeze, and we sat in the shade while reading Long Way from Chicago.  There are so many different places in our apartment complex that I should take advantage of and use.  Getting outside of the four walls of the classroom helps keep them engaged.

The Mystery Bag Hook:  Thursday I placed these three mystery bags on my desk.  I purchased some freeze-dried "astronaut" food over the summer.  We are currently studying outer space and the solar system.  I wanted the boys to be intrigued.  They could feel the bags.  Rice cakes, cookies, and paper were some of the guesses.

We ended week 22 of the Reyes Academy with worship, prayer, and a fun little selfie photo shoot.

How are you mixing things up in the classroom?  What are you doing to keep students engaged?