Baa!

I came across a really cute book a couple of months ago:

The author only uses two different words in the whole book. On every page except the last page, the word moo appears in some form. Punctuation and the facial expressions of the cow clearly explain what is happening in this story.

I thought the story was hilarious, and so did my students. We had to read it twice because once just wasn't enough. After we were done laughing, we discussed the importance of punctuation. They understood that "Moo?" clearly means something different than "MOO!!!"

On the last page of Moo!, the cow blames a sheep for his actions, and the author introduces the second word, baa, to the story. We decided to see if we could create our own stories using David LaRochelle's example and the new sheep character.

Over the next couple of days, my students plotted out their stories, made flip books, and finally wrote and illustrated their own Baa! stories.

On Friday my students presented their stories to the class. Some were a little embarrassed about saying "baa" over and over again in different voices, but once they got started they had us laughing all over again.

I love the sheep in the hammock. I imagine that is the exact sound I would make if I was a sheep swaying back and forth. . .

Iguana Soup

Any retreat with the theme of "Survivor" is bound to be a little crazy.

Our 4th - 6th grade students were on eight different tribes. We spent the morning pushing our students physically through various activities. Running, swimming, climbing, searching, crawling, they did it all. They were exhausted by lunch time.

After free time in the pool, the students rotated through different workshops. They learned to read and follow a compass, pitch a tent, create an SOS signal, and build a fire.

The real fun came at dinner time. Two of the workers from NCA came out to the retreat center to show my students how to kill, skin, and cook iguana. We received a lot of different reactions - screams, shouts of "This is the coolest thing ever!" and some tears. After everyone calmed down, each group got their own iguana and set to work. The brave students handled the iguanas, while the rest cut onions and tomatoes for their soup and rebuilt their fires. It soon became dark. I loved watching all the groups huddled around their fires, mixing soup, and hearing them talk about the experience. By the time the soup was done, most were either 1) brave enough or 2) hungry enough to eat the soup. Did I try it? Of course! Wasn't bad. Imagine tough chicken with a slight fish taste.

Here's a look at our day in pictures:

Getting ready for the day's activities

Mid-afternoon visit from a scorpion

Mr. Iguana

Ready for some high quality reactions?

Soup preparation 

Iguana preparation

Showing off his iguana skinning skills

My first taste of iguana soup

More than outdoor survivor skills and teamwork, we wanted our students to walk away from the retreat with spiritual truths that they can apply to their lives. During our chapel sessions, we learned that in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. (Romans 8:37)

Ending the retreat with a little water fun 

Library Expansion

Books.

Reading.

Libraries.

I’m obsessed. It is a known fact and I don’t try to hide it.

The first place I visit when I return to the U.S. for summer and Christmas break? The library. Gotta pick up my 20 books that I put on hold. Last place I visit? The library, to return said twenty books.

Last summer I spent my trip to Boston searching for every library and book-related building (not to mention driving my best friend crazy in the process).

My weekly visit to the pool has nothing to do with swimming, and everything to do with reading in the sun for two hours. 

When I tell people I am busy or have plans, they usually assume it is because I have a date with my book. And they are usually right.

My suitcases are always overweight when I travel, and it is always the fault of the new books I bought for my classroom.

My classroom is centered around books and reading. My students know I am obsessed, and they willingly listen as I retell the plot line of whatever book I'm devouring. They come to me for book suggestions and trust me to put good books in their hands. Whether we are reading a short picture book or a longer novel, we cherish our daily read aloud time together. 

I could go on and on, but I'll stop here and get to the point.

Right now I have even more book excitement than usual.

The reason?

My school is looking to build a new space for our tiny library. This would mean more room for more books. This would mean more than ten students could come into the library at one time without feeling squished. The library could be transformed into something more than just a small room where the books are kept. It would be a room for learning and discovery, where good books are put into the hands of students who need them. For me, as a teacher and book lover, this idea has me buzzing with excitement for the future of our school. More books, more literacy = more learning, more growth.

The idea is there, and now it comes down to raising a lot of money in a short amount of time. I want to share this idea with all of you, and ask you to share it with anyone who you think might be interested in helping us pray or give financially. 

Check out the video to see our current library and to hear our plans for the Library Expansion Project. 

Invention Fair

I want to take you back a couple of weeks to one of my favorite days of the school year.

Some background: We spend a good month discussing inventions and inventors in class. We discuss qualities that inventors need, like persistence, imagination, and curiosity. After discussing patents and their purpose, my students turned in their own to me, complete with detailed pictures and descriptions.

When the day of our Invention Fair came, my students were a bundle of nerves. Two asked to go to the nurse. One went to the bathroom because they thought they were going to throw up. For most of them, it was their first big presentation, and they were scared.

We set up tables and taped down display boards. The students readied their stations and then in came their parents, other classes, teachers, and staff.

Need slippers that clean the floor, a fun way to feed your dog, a handy gadget that keeps your book open, or a nifty cover that keeps your water bottle cool? We have them!

How about a quadruple pencil, a fruit chopper that catches fruit as it is cut from a tree, or a shoe covering that conveniently has a pocket for your money? We have those too.

After each student presented a couple of times, their confidence grew. I saw hand motions, big smiles, and enthusiastic demonstrations. As I walked around, they told me things like: "I'm really good at this!" "People want to buy my invention!" and "I was never really nervous, Miss Eberly. I was just pretending." Not sure I believed the last statement, but I was proud of them nonetheless. 

Sarah's Adventures in Nicaragua Part Two

(Read Part One if you haven't already)

And the adventure continues:

4. School

I told my students that Sarah was coming to visit them way back at the beginning of the year, so the excitement had been building for a long time. They also knew that she was bringing new books and focus balls (exercise balls) for them to sit on in class. Basically they were dying for her to get in the country and visit them. Because their sense of time is still a little off, they have been asking me at least once a week for the past two months if that day was finally the day. "When she comes, can we hug her?" they wanted to know. The answer was yes, so Sarah got many, many hugs early in the morning when she came to school.

The rest of the day was a blast as she read them a story that she picked out especially for them, and gave them all little gifts to go with it.

It was the day before Thanksgiving, so we made Thankful Trees using our handprints.

We like to pose for pictures on holidays:

My favorite quote from that day: "I just realized there are two Miss Eberly's in our class today!"

5. Selva Negra

Up in the mountains of Matagalpa, this coffee plantation and nature reserve is by far my favorite place in Nicaragua. It is gorgeous. One adventure we had was an early morning nature tour. I took a couple of notes, and learned some fabulous information that I am sure you are dying to hear.

• Coffee started in 1797 in Nicaragua after slaves from Haiti brought it into the country. 
• Water vines are a good source of water if you find yourself lost in the jungle, however they only grow one millimeter a year.
• Many insects that don't have camouflage roll themselves in leaves for protection. 
• Hummingbirds eat mostly insects, not nectar. 
• At Selva Negra, the biggest predators are pumas, tapirs, and lemurs. 

I could go on, but I can see Sarah rolling her eyes at me. I'll just show you more pictures instead.

We heard and saw a beautiful toucan, but I couldn't get a picture of it. Instead, enjoy looking at that very large tree.

This place is perfect for reading and relaxing. It is also cold, so you must bring a sweater, which is a nice change from the Managua heat.

Other Selva Negra adventures included:

Goose attack

The goose

Emily hiding from the goose

Horseback riding

Me stalking a hummingbird for a half hour to get a good picture

Sarah and me going photo crazy

6. Last and final adventure: Sarah meeting my Nica family
I stayed with this family almost eight years ago on one of my first trips to Nicaragua. We stayed in contact while I was in the States and thankfully we get to see one another in person now. Introducing them to Sarah was something I had wanted to do for a long time.

All in all, Sarah in Nicaragua was a success. Come back soon, Sarita!

Sarah's Adventures in Nicaragua Part One

All day long my students were nagging me:
"When is your sister coming?"
"Why isn't she here yet?"
"Where exactly is her plane right now?"
"Why isn't she staying for two weeks?"
so on and so forth

They were just as excited as I was for the arrival of the one and only Sarah! She made it in, safe and sound, and our adventures began bright and early the next morning. Strangely enough, there were no major mishaps while Sarah was here. No flat tires, no injuries, no getting lost (well, just three times, but it wasn't life altering) no getting stuck in the mud. We made plans that actually happened! Read on if you are ready for Sarah's Adventures in Nicaragua.

1. Ziplining
After many of my own ziplining adventures and my more recent development of fear-of-heights, I decided to take the walking path while Sarah dangled between the trees.

The zipline is located on the side of a volcano. The lower part is a coffee plantation while the top part is a cloud rainforest. I was learning all about the coffee when I looked up and saw Sarah screaming her head off and hanging upside down like a monkey. Sarah was also wearing a Disney Princess helmet, which made the experience even more enjoyable for me.

After a good laugh on my part, I heard some more laughter - howler monkeys. I searched for them and found them in the tree that Sarah was just about to land in.

2. Caterina

These pictures are struggling to give justice to the beauty of the location. Caterina is a lookout point where you can see the Mombacho Volcano (where Sarah ziplined) and Laguna de Apoyo side by side. I am always amazed at how beautiful this country is.

3. The streets of Granada

Cathedrals are one of my favorite things to see in old cities. I've seen the ones in Granada many times, but I am always up for another visit. Granada is supposedly the first recorded European city in the Americas. Lots of Moorish architecture and old buildings were the backdrop as we explored the streets and looked out from bell towers.

Sarah really wanted to have a true market experience, so we set off for a market adventure. It started simple enough. Both sides of the road crammed with goods - sunglasses, shoes, cellphone cases. The cars, buses, bikes, and horses in the streets were still optimistic and thought they could get through. I suppose they did, just rather slowly. After we made a turn down a side road, things started to get more interesting. Lots of smells going on - meat and fruit and who knows what else. We started to get looks ("What's this gringo doing here?"). One more turn, and we were in the heart of the market. Huge bins of beans and rice. Meat hanging from the tops of stalls. Flies and bugs. Smells that shouldn't be mixing together. I am always tempted to take pictures, but I feel too weird doing it. It is such a normal part of life for so many people, and yet I feel so out of place. However, Sarah enjoyed the experience. After we made our way out of the market, Sarah declared she wanted a pinata, so back into the market we went. We later emerged, successful.

I think you will agree that it is a very cute mini rooster pinata. Sarah later gave it away to some little girl who happily swung it around and around as she walked down the road.

3. The Ocean

I remember clearly the first time I saw the ocean. I was fourteen years old and in Haiti. We swam around a cove and met a giant sea turtle. Immense, frightening, beautiful were my first thoughts on the ocean.

Sarah and the ocean met for the first time on the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, at a beach called Gran Pacifica. It was a good day for the beach, filled with sunshine, warm water, and a double rainbow.

Stay tuned for Sarah's Adventures in Nicaragua Part Two.