Off to Neverland this afternoon to celebrate the boys' tenth birthday!!! Many rides to choose from; the boys picked the ferris wheel and the roller coaster. After the rides, the boys ran off to play games and win tickets (which -- like back home in Canada -- could be traded in for some sort of cheap crap). At one game, Alex and Simon hit a lucky streak, and won 100 tickets all at once!!! After joining me for a game of Pac-Man Battle Royale, they cashed in their winnings for a rubber chicken, some bouncy balls and a mound of candy before calling it a day, and joining the rest of us in the food court for some fro yo. Tats had left for the airport by now, so we the leftovers took a bus back to Palermo where we enjoyed dinner at the boys' favourite steak house, Don Julio's, compliments of Brian.
0 Comments
Alex and Simon woke up at 5 a.m.!!! But we were ready for them... After reading birthday cards and checking out some new books they got from a friend back home, it was time to find clues and solve the puzzle about where the boys were going to go for their adventure gift. Simon read the instructions on the map, and then they hunted for and found clues -- Alex read the first clue aloud; this led the boys to the balcony, where they found the second clue. The second clue led the to the fridge, where they found the final clue, containing the address for the website which outlined the options for the final adventure of this year. Any guesses which option they chose?
"Twas the night before birthday and all through the apartment, creatures were stirring and preparing the birthday table for two big boys about to turn TEN!! (One of them was having troubles falling asleep, and -- not being allowed to come out of his room after tuck in as per house rules -- resorted to writing desperate notes and sliding them down the hall to us, hehe...) We enlisted the help of our current visitor, who cut out a nice 7-colours Salta mountain for our wall landscape while I feverishly baked and decorated a cake, and Tatsy finished the map and clues for the boys' group gift: Instead of a bunch of junk they don't need and we can't fit in our bags to take home to Canada when we leave, we are putting together one final bus trip (with the help of many generous donors -- THANK YOU, Rick, Daddy, Uncle Vinx!!!) for them in May, a sort of "choose your own adventure"! Now it's time for bed -- the morning will come soon enough, with all its excitement; after the birthday table, cake and a Skype visit with Daddy, the Marias are coming for crepes, and then it's off to Neverland with some friends before Tats heads off to the airport and Florida for the month.
And then, if those of us left over are still awake enough, dinner out! The dogwalkers of Buenos Aires are a common sight on the daytime streets of this city. Often pulling as many as 15 dogs, these professionals can make some pretty good cash, and -- as it seems like there is a dog in every apartment -- they are always in high demand. As well as capturing several pooches and their walkers on the go this morning, we also happened across a friendly pack tied up outside a building, presumably waiting for their leader to return from picking up an additional furry friend inside... (click photos to enlarge)
When conducting my end of year conference with each of my "students" this week, I asked them what achievement they were most proud of. Alex commented that he felt he had become a much better writer over the past few months. When I asked him what factors he believed had contributed most to this, he noted that having an authentic purpose and real audience for his writing were key. Expanding on this, Alex explained that often in his experience with school, a teacher "might ask you to write something, but Mommy, you know no one is going to read it, so it's boring! Like, what for? But on my blog, I know people are reading it, and sometimes even leaving comments, so I have to do a good job." Hmmm... good point, kid. His insights caused me to reflect on my own practice as a teacher: In a regular classroom do I assign authentic writing tasks? Or are too many contrived? Who is the audience for my students' writing, and how does this affect their work? I remember writing a story for "publication" when I was in Grade 6 or so... our whole school was participating, and the teacher librarian, who was leading the project, made a huge fuss about it. We were all very excited, and worked exceptionally hard on those pieces. "Publication" has become easier in the virtual world of blogging and wikis and forums. With the click of a button, rough drafts can be made public for all the world to see.
Based on my experiences with Alex and Simon's writing program this year, which was mostly online, I intend to continue using blogging as a tool to motivate writers in my classroom next year. As I did this year, I'll begin with a crash course in typing, followed by a discussion of responsible digital citzenship (including developing and signing a contract like the one above), and then we'll begin our online journey -- the blogs we create together will serve as a portfolio of how writing grows over the year.
On our last official day of school, we unveiled the new schedule for our next and final six weeks in Argentina... instead of "school" every day, the boys will be involved in a series of Arts experiences and personal projects, developed together with them and led by them, me and a few other "teachers" we've picked up along the way... The new schedule combines the best of the old with some fresh ideas and concepts. Our old schedule served us well and kept us on track for our many months here to date. The boys enjoyed the structure of it all, and one in particular had more trouble than the other adjusting to the "new look". So great was his anxiety over the change (despite us having talked about its impending arrival over the past few weeks) that he was unable to set goals for the month like his brother and I were doing during Literacy this morning! The solution, in the end, was for him to use the new timetable as a framework for making his own, personal schedule that would allow him to see more details than big picture, as is his preference. This differentiated approach worked well, and once complete, he merrily skipped off to his room to do his homework and play some games with his brother!
Here's hoping for an enriching and non-traumatic month ahead.... As fellow Ontarians will know, French is part of the Grade 4 curriculum "back home". As such, we've been trying to work French into the boys' schooling time here in BsAs this year. It's especially important because this is their first year of French, so I don't want them to fall behind. As fate would have it, a close relative of a friend from Canada happens to be living and studying here in BsAs this year, and for a small fee, agreed to take on the boys' French tutalege (sp?) once a week for a few hours. The once a week part is going great; the practice and homework in between sessions, not so much!! Surely, I thought, there must be an app for this sort of thing... ?? Mind Snacks is the answer I was looking for! A Comprehensive Overview Mind Snacks covers vocabulary, spelling and grammar, which was important for me. I didn't want just another word-building, flashcard-style app; I wanted something that would allow Alex and Simon to build sentences and learn the language in context, and have fun doing it. Mind Snacks appears to fit the bill, all while tracking player progress and differentiating for the needs of the user. The French app includes fifty lessons covering everything from numbers and colours, days of the week, months of the year and seasons to greetings, time and date, the weather, possessives, using "etre" and "avoir", and more. Personal Accounts After initially downloading "Learn French with Mind Snacks", I discovered I had to create an account. I'll be honest; I was not crazy about this, because I don't like to give out my email, plus I think it's a hassle -- I'm a bit lazy that way -- I just want "plug and play"! BUT... am I ever glad I took the time to sign up for an account and learn more about this app. Here's why: High Challenge/Low Threat First of all, this is no mickeymouse app; it looks and is fun -- there are several games to play and levels to unlock, but it's set up in such a way that provides just the right amount of challenge without too much frustration for the player. Games aren't all available at once; players must acheive a certain level of success before new games are available to them. This encourages students to continue to learn. A Customized Language Learning Experience Having the app linked to a specific person's profile allows the program to "remember" that person, and give her the lessons she needs, when she needs them. The app tracks progress, and offers challenges and choices of quests to the player. Teachers and parents in the know will appreciate the brain-compatible, differentiated approach that Mind Snacks provides. More than just French Creating a Mind Snacks account allowed me to discover that languages other than French are also offered. (I sure wish I had known about this before we left for Argentina... would have loved to have co-learned some more Spanish with the boys in a fun, engaging manner before we arrived!) We'll definitely continue on with French, but I also intend to use Mind Snacks to bring the boys' German back up to speed -- during our year in South America, we've skipped the Saturday morning German School classes!! Customer Service Perhaps the most compelling reason to sign up for a Mind Snacks account is the outstanding customer service. In addition to having an easy-to-navigate website with a comprehensive helpdesk section, Mindsnacks is easy to contact via email, and someone gets back to you in short order (within 24 hours, in my experience). Mindsnacks is more than just a simple language game. The app offers those learning a new language fun and educational support. Teachers can apply for volume discounts in order to use Mindsnacks with their classes. Language keeners can purchase an "all language pass" for full access to all of the languages Mind Snacks offers. You can check out the free version of one of Mind Snacks' language apps, but as both a teacher and a parent, I highly reccommend going ahead and getting the paid version. It's definitely worth it! Here's ETFO's overview... and TRINDER is featured prominantly, as they included photos from our school!! :)))) |
About Vera...Canadian, vegetarian, PPL, certified teacher and mother of twins, home schooling for the year, in Argentina!
Visit me online at www.verateschow.ca Archives
May 2014
Categories
All
|