Learning about Plants

What we've been doing: We just finished up our plant unit.  I had the boys create a landscaping project.  They were to design their own backyard and list characteristics about the plants.  We got to Skyped with Uncle Tony who shared about his love and knowledge of plants.  I would love to have guest speakers come talk to the boys, but it would be a little challenging to fly people all the way to the DR.  It was wonderful for the boys to see a connection between what we learn in class and real life.  Uncle Tony did an awesome job telling them to find a job that they love.  He explained that he originally wanted to go into accounting, but then realized that was too boring.  Uncle Tony told the boys a job wouldn't seem like as much work if they really enjoyed doing it every day.  THANK YOU Uncle Tony for taking the time out of your day to talk to us.

We also had our first field trip in connection to the landscaping project.  We went to the nursery.  The boys had to interview several workers.  They also had to identify the plants they were going to put in their backyards.  They pointed out the different leaf types, leaf arrangements.  They figured out if they were compound or simple leaves.  They applied all the knowledge from class into a project.

We left with a class plant named Steve and we stopped by the ice cream store on our way back to class. 

Here are some pictures of two of their final projects. 

Teaching is always full of adventures.

Con mucho amor.

Dot Day

What we've been doing: September 15th marks an important day in education.  It is International Dot Day!  This incredible day is all about how you will make your mark on the world.  Here's how we celebrated at The Reyes Academy.

We started in the morning by reading The Dot.  The boys munched on m&ms while I read it to them.  Next, we used free discussion questions I found online and talked about the theme of the book, Vashti's character traits, and how we can each impact someone else's life.  Then, I had the boys write their own story about a person named Dot who impacted the world.  They couldn't use an i or j in the story.

I had the boys translate the book into Spanish so we could read it with everyone in the house.  In the afternoon we had a DOT PARTY.  Everyone in the house including the maids and the handyman came with our class and the rest of the family to read/listen to the story in Spanish.  I created a powerpoint that had examples of different dots that people made, then we all created our own.  We ate cheese balls, peach Os, and cookies.  For lunch we had meatballs.  Everything in the shape of a circle.  :)

It was such a fun day exploring themes of creativity, inspiration and how people can make their mark on the world.

Con mucho amor.

Classroom Tour

What my classroom looks like: Here are a few pictures of my home away from home in the DR.  Besides my apartment, this is the place I spend the most time.  The boys love orange and blue.  I threw in a little purple since that's one of my favorite colors.  The big black desk is mine, and the boys each have their own learning space.  Spinny chairs sometimes become a bit of a distraction, but it helps them get out their energy.  I really miss having a projector and document camera.  I make it work though since there's only three of them.  We crowd around my little lap top.  :)

What do you think of my learning space?  Missing home a lot lately.

Con mucho amor.

Creating Art

What we've been doing:  I wanted the boys to create a sign to put in the classroom with the name of our school.  They spent the whole second week of school figuring out a design and painting it together.  It helped them work on their collaboration and communication skills.  Here are some pictures of the process. 

Welcome to The Reyes Academy. 

Airplanes, bookworms, and plants

What I've been teaching:  Here are some of the fun things we did these past few weeks in the classroom.  I've had to get very creative with coming up with lessons for so many different subjects. It challenges me, trying to fit everything into one day.

This week we finished up the first two books of the year, which is really exciting.  The first day they were hesitant about reading so many books at once, and so was I.  They are rising to every expectation I place before them.  Monday I rewarded them with some book worms.

We started adding Science into the mix last week.  I briefly went over the Scientific Method.  We watched Mythbusters and learned how they use questioning, creating a hypothesis, and formulating an experiment in the real world.  We did a paper airplane experiment to show the different steps.

After watching a video and taking notes about how pollen becomes a seed, I had the boys write stories from the perspective of the pollen.  They had to use "I" to explain how they, as the pollen, traveled from the anther into the ovary.  The boys were SO excited to share their stories.  They fought over who got to share first.  Turning a concept in Science into a writing activity helped connect subjects in school.

I also had them teach each other about the different types of plants.  The jigsaw method helps students to take charge and have more ownership over teaching their classmates the information needed.

Each week I keep stretching myself and the boys.  I hope they are learning as much as I am.

Why doing laundry is exhausting

What's been going on: People complain about doing laundry in the US.  I have to admit, I used to be one of those people.  It takes time to sort the clothes, move them from the washer to the dryer, and fold them when the load is done.  Here in the DR it is a slightly longer process, one that leaves me frustrated, weary, and discouraged.

From: here

I am not sure why the maid doesn't manage to get to any of my laundry or sheets, but I need to work on having a better attitude about it.  It is incredibly nice of her to clean the rest of our apartment.  My roommate works hard all day too, so I should be happy that Ramona gets everything of my roommates cleaned.

Last week we didn't have water for several days, so I couldn't do my laundry.  Yesterday we did not have electricity for the evening, so I couldn't do my laundry.  Once the electricity came back on, it war pouring down rain, so I couldn't do my laundry.  We hang dry our clothes and sheets, so there is no possibly way for them to dry when the porch is dripping with rainwater.

Today everything aligned and I was able to get it done.  Except first I had to wash the porch that was covered in dirt from the rain yesterday.  We don't have a bucket, so I had to run back and forth using a bowl of water to dump onto the patio.  Then I proceeded to use our new outdoor broom to sweep muddy water down the drain.  I had to rinse the broom several times because it was so muddy.  I had to be so very careful hanging up the clothes, making sure none of them fell on the still slightly brown floor.  I attempted to pour a little detergent into the washer when half the bag dumped in... I had to get a bowl and spoon to fish out all the detergent.  Por fin, they are drying and waving in the wind on our front porch.

Stay and Wait by Hillsong has been on repeat this afternoon as I struggle with the laundry and lesson planning.

I just feel so worn out, and the week has not even started yet.  Oh Dios, ayudame por favor.

From: here

Con mucho amor.

Art Journaling with Quotes

What we've been doing in the classroom:  One of the CCSS is about finding textual evidence.  I have not been practicing this standard with the boys yet.  Today we finished Mara, Daughter of the Nile.  I read the ending aloud while they followed along in their own copies.  The last two chapters were full of quotes that related to symbol and theme.  I had them go back to the text and write down the important quotes in a creative way.  I wanted them to use color and make it visually appealing.  This combined their love for art with an important standard.  My example is on the top, and their examples are below.

With the next novel, I might have them keep track of important quotes on a separate sheet of paper.  It would be easier to go back and find important passages this way.