First Week of School

What we've been doing:  Popping balloons, photo booth, silly string, coat of arms, TED talk, and brownies were just a few of the things we incorporated into the first week of school.  Yes, that's right, I wrote we.  I am excited to say that I now have a coteacher!  Christin is 24, and this is her third year in the Dominican Republic.

Intro activities: We started off the day with a photo booth using the chalk wall in my classroom.  Christin borrowed boas, top hats, pearls, fake mustaches, and more from the old school she used to work at here in Santiago.  We had fun using the chalk wall to draw halos, devil horns, and speech bubbles.  It was a great way to break the ice and get a little goofy at the start of the year.

Christin suggested we make coat of arms that represent ourselves.  She used this as a beginning of the year activity with her students before.  The girls coat of arms came out a little more creative than the boys, but it was great to see them thinking creatively.

Some of the students play instruments this year, so we got to start the day with worship.  I loved praying with the boys last year, so it is incredible that we get to incorporate music, instruments, and song into the curiculum this year.

We then watched this TED talk by John Green about paper towns and mapping one's life.  We then created mind maps with goals and ambitions for the year.  Everyone took a love language test and we set a challenge of loving someone this week.  I saw some cute notes exchanged with inspirational quotes, which made those needing words of encouragement feel loved.

We also had them write letters to themselves that will get opened at the end of the year.  This Khan Academy "You can learn anything" video accompanied the letter to themselves activity.

The students also brainstormed what a good student and good teacher act/say/do.  The answers were sometimes funny (a good teacher should shower, a good teacher should share their cookies) and sometimes very insightful.

It was a busy first day, but I felt so good at the end.  Tired, but good.  I got to know the sisters better and got to celebrate school.  Our hashtag for the year is #bestyearever.

Team building:  Christin and I thought it would be good to include some team building, fun activities at the start of the day this week.  We did charades one day (the girls creamed the boys).  We also completed the marshmallow challenge.  Using tape, yarn, marshmallows and spaghetti noodles they had to create the tallest structure.  The boys quickly built something that I thought would win.  But they girls ended up creating a taller tower by one inch.

Bible: Reading the Bible is so important.  Hebrews 4:12 says that it is LIVING and ACTIVE.  God uses it to speak truth into our lives.  I wanted the boys to learn how to read it on their own.  I wanted to give God an opportunity to speak to them individually.  I purchased these simple little sketchbooks.  I had them each pick a chapter or two out of the Bible to begin.  They spent a couple days reading the passage, and a couple days drawing the verses that impacted them.  It turned into a sort of Bible art journaling.  Each of the boys picked a book from the Old Testament.  I am so excited for how they turned out the first week.

Spanish:  On day 1 of Spanish class we played a game called Tingo, Tingo, Tango.  I played this game at youth group once here in the Dominican Republic.  There are a bunch of balloons with one question inside each balloon.  One person stands on the side and yells, "tingo, tingo, tingo..." while the balloon is passed in the circle.  When the person on the side yells, "tango" the person with the balloon must sit and pop it.

The kids used the answers to these questions to write Spanish stories about their summers.  One of my goals this year is to get the boys writing more, and they finished a mini Spanish story within week 1.  Awesome!

Writing:  I had the boys each get a writing notebook this year.  Every day they will come in and there will be a writing prompt on the board.  The first day I used a creative writing prompt, but each day is something a little different.  The boys need a lot of writing practice.  This week A wrote over a page, single spaced, and he is the one who struggles the most with writing.  J also wrote over a page one day.  I thought about stopping them part of the way through because we needed to move on, but I was so thrilled they were writing.

Happy Friday: To celebrate the first week of school, Christin and I sprayed the kids down with silly string and then fed them brownies.  They were so surprised, but then stated that revenge was coming.  It was a great way to end the week.

What I've been reading/watching/creating:  

This blog post about teaching that touched my heart and left me in tears.

The First5 app has been incredibly encouraging and convicting.

I got watercolor markers before I left to come back to the DR.  I have been having the best time playing with them.  Creating is a great way for me to get rid of stress.  Plus, I've made some pretty neat pieces.

Christin and I started watching the TV show Elementary.

I finished Confess by Colleen Hoover on the plane rides here, and I am currently reading Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult.  Next on my reading list is Talk like TED, a nonfiction book I would love to use with my students.

I am excited to be back in this country.  I am excited for new friendships, new adventures, new teaching ideas and resources.  I cannot wait to see what God does this year in my heart and in the hearts of my students.

Last Weeks of Year #1

*forgot to post last June*

What we've been doing: WOW, I finished my very first year of teaching.  The last few weeks have been crazy busy.  I am super happy to have a few months of rest.  "Rest."  Aka planning, reading, organizing, and preparing for next year.  Teachers never really have time off.  Here's a look at our last few weeks of school.

Yve's School

We started off by creating a Noah's ark craft with the kids.  I saw this example on Pinterest, and I thought it was simple enough to create with the kids at Yve's School.  They need practice using glue sticks and scissors.  The kids enjoyed it, and the teachers helped much more.  It went smoother and their was much more control.  I was really happy that we ended on such a good note.

The boys wrapped up the video of the story of Noah's Ark.  Here's the Youtube link if you want to see how it turned out.  The kids and teachers loved watching it.  We brought in Joy's portable projector and used a sheet to show the movie.  There was even a portable battery pack, so we didn't need to worry that there wasn't electricity.

Rosa and I were talking about what we can do next year with the kids.  I want to do more sports and actions with the kids because they have so much energy.

Flash of Ecology 

We briefly covered some ecology topics at the end of the year.  Next year I am doing Earth science with the boys, so I can incorporate more of these ideas.  We ended with an experiment showing the importance of trees and roots.

The boys loved it, and now we have another class plant to keep Steve company.  :)

Timeline Project 

I had this great idea for an end of the year project.  We covered world history this year, and the boys each made a giant timeline.  They drew pictures of the ten most important world history events, and they each gave a presentation about their projects.  They did not use their class time wisely, so the projects did not turn out as good as they could have.

Next year I am going to have them work on the project throughout the year.  Maybe I will make them create a smaller version as we go through US history.  If they do the project piece by piece, it might seem less daunting.  I might also make an option to create a video project instead of just a poster.  They enjoy creating videos.

Last Day Party

I worked incredibly hard to prepare the new apartment/classroom for our end of the year party/sleepover.  With help from their moms, we kidnapped the boys and brought them to the new place.  They had no idea where we were going or what we were doing.  It was awesome.

I had a night of games, pizza, ice cream, and movies planned for the boys.  They had the greatest time, and it was the perfect way to end the year.

Who knows what year #2 will bring... :)

Field Trips #6, #7, and #8

Where we've been going:  We have ended the year with lots of field trips.  They all kind of snuck up on me.  Next year I need to do a better job spacing them out throughout the year.  It was fun to end the year with so many adventures.

Field trip #6: Mirabal Sister's House

This was not the most exciting field trip we went on, but my mom said that not every field trip needs to have a zipline.  :)  I thought this was the most interesting field trip.  I have been waiting to go to the Mirabal sister's house since June of last year when my professor gave me In the Time of the Butterflies for a graduation present.

We were given a tour of the house.  We even got to see Maria Teresa's braid that Dede cut off her dead body.  We also saw the bloody handkerchief that was found at the scene of the crime.  It made what we were reading and watching so very real.

We took the big green striped van, and we ate our picnic lunch inside the van.  The boys said it was too hot outside.  It was a nice afternoon together.  

Field trip #7: Jarbacoa

We stopped and got morir sonando (my favorite orange creamsicle drink) on our way to the waterfall.  I made a chart with areas for the boys to write down how much erosion they saw, how much trash there was on the ground and in the water, signs of wildlife, and water velocity.  We threw a tennis ball in the water and calculated how long it would take to go a certain distance.  The faster the water, the healthier the river.  The same chart would be used on field trip #8.  They were comparing the two rivers, trying to figure out which one was healthier.

After doing the school part of the trip, we all swam in the river.  It was REALLY cold, and not an especially hot day.  The boys didn't care, however; they dove right in.

We stopped at a yummy place for lunch in the town of Jarbacoa, and then we headed back to Santiago.

Field trip #8: Aguas Calientes

The boys loved this field trip.  The river is bigger, and there are more areas to play.  The rocks are giant, and the boys said they looked fake because they were so big.  I love the hot springs that warm the little pool.  Last time I went, it was a Sunday and the place was packed with Dominicans.  This time we went on a Wednesday, so there were hardly any people.

We started off by looking at the characteristics and health of the river.  The boys did the tennis ball experiment, and calculated the water velocity.  They noticed how there was much less trash, and the area was better taken care of.

Then the boys swam around, splashing and climbing on the rocks.

We packed a picnic lunch and relaxed for a bit.  After lunch we went to the hot springs part.  We practically had it to ourselves.  It was neat for the boys to smell the sulfur in the water and understand where it came from.

It was a great field trip to end the year with.  I have begun to think about field trips for next year.  I really want to go to Haiti.  I am going to some more Taino caves soon that I might do again with the boys.  They really love the caves we have been to, and I could connect the caves to some science concepts for next year.  I would love to go to manatee bay and go snorkeling as we learn about ocean environments.  Lots of neat ideas and dreams for year #2 of The Reyes Academy.

Cells

What we've been doing:  We just wrapped up our cell unit, and it was one of my favorite topics to teach in science this year.  Confession: I never really enjoyed science class, but here I am trying to teach it.  I loved this unit because we did so many projects and interactive things with the materials.

The first day I had a powerpoint explaining the functions of the cell.  The next day, the boys used the materials given to them in a plastic bag to create a model of the cell membrane.

They turned the house into a metaphor for the cell.  The boys labeled the different parts.  The couch was the nucleus, aka the control center of the cell/house.  The giant fence around the house represented the cell wall.  The endoplasmic reticulum was the hose, since both are long and maze-like.  Centriole was represented by scissors and tape because it aids in cell reproduction, the dividing and adhering of cells.  It was neat to have Rosa and Pedro ask the boys what the signs meant and why they were in the specific area of the house.

The boys created 3D cell models for either a plant or animal cell.  I put a bunch of random things I had laying around the house into a bag that they used.  If I was allowed to give homework, I would have had them use materials from their own houses.  I saw some neat examples online that were food cells.  It would have been cool to use pizza or cake and label the parts.

We are finishing the year with a little ecology.  We went on two field trips to rivers and had fun comparing them, trying to figure out which river was healthier.