Holding On

IF I can make it, I'll be in the beautiful country of Brazil in just a few weeks! I will also be celebrating my birthday (YAY...totally love the month of May), traveling to the great state of Texas (Austin, please don't disappoint), making appearances at various salsa/bachata events, and ending yet another school year.

I realize I haven't blogged in a while, but as you can see, I've got a ton on my plate right now. I've been building (slowly, but surely) a website for my school/ district on global education and 21st Century skills. I've also been attempting to learn Portuguese. As usual, there aren't enough hours in the day to get it all done. Blah, blah, blah...

Before the big break, we had a guest presenter that was a HUGE hit! I invited Dr. Jim Leavell from SCCTA (South Carolina Center on Teaching about Asia) and professor at Furman University, to speak to my kids about Japan. He discussed the history of Japan, feudalism, the introduction of guns into society and of course, the bushido code and the samurai! How can this teacher compete with replica swords used by samurai? I mean, really...

Today is bittersweet. It's the last day of Spring Break! As I awoke this morning, I must say I was awfully grateful not so see my kiddos today. Ijs. I love 'em, but....

Here's a taste of my Spring Break! Enjoy!

PJ & Madness!

I'm pretty sure my kiddos have jumped off the deep end! Last week, I "conveniently" missed Valentine's Day to be at a global education conference hosted by TGC (Teachers for Global Classrooms). I must say I'm happy to have missed the sugar highs & lows of 130 sixth graders!
A lot of the craziness comes from the beginning of our PJ unit (Percy Jackson). My team has developed a huge interdisciplinary unit centered around the book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Our kids love it and so do we!
Last week, we started studying ancient Greece in my class. So far we've discussed geography and reviewed the major gods and goddesses of Greek mythology. In writing class, students wrote acrostic poems about an assigned god or goddess. Here's a sneak peek:

While I was out, we started our door decorating contest. Each teacher is assigned to be a Greek god or goddess. Students are to decorate the door with symbols. I'm Athena, goddess of wisdom. Our door won 2nd place! I guess my kids can do things without me! A few other doors are pictured as well (Poseidon won 1st place).

Soon we'll be gearing up for our song parody contest. Last year, my class won with Athena Rocks (Party Rock Anthem)! Cannot wait! :)