Where Has the Time Gone?

Somehow two months have gone by and I haven't had a chance to update my blog. Since we are in Semana Santa (Holy Week) and there is no school, I should have no excuses. I'll do my best to make up for lost time. I've been very busy with work over the past two weeks and so our week vacation for Spring break was a welcome breather.

In the classroom, I've been trying to keep my students busy with various projects and activities. One of the biggest accomplishments for this class has been putting on a play called Grace and the Time Machine. They did a wonderful job of making costumes, memorizing their lines, and sending out invitations. The costumes were a big hit, with much thanks given to some of the parents. We had robots and dinosaurs; amazing what you can do with cardboard boxes.

The next big project was inventing an invention, obtaining a patent, writing a speech to promote it, and then repeating it to all those who came to visit our classroom for an Invention Fair. I've done the same project the last couple of years and it amazes me that every year there are some very creative and new ideas. Sometimes the most entertaining part is their speech to persuade you that its a good idea.

The M-Clock is for people who have to take medicine but forget. You set the M-clock to go off at the time you need to take the pill and it even stores the pill for you! "You'll be feeling better soon if you use the M-clock," says Marcos.

This is the Dog Wash. Urim filled surgical gloves with sand which scrub the dog and keep him in the tub. This invention made me laugh a bit because of how he made it.

The Put Sock is an invention that helps you put your socks on more quickly in the morning. You set the sock up in the Put Sock box or in the boot, for farmers, in the evening and all you have to do is slide your foot in it in the morning. Ramiro told me he was going to take it home and start using it. We decided that in the future his children would probably fight over who would inherit the Put Sock box.

Note: All inventions have been patented so don't even think of stealing their grand ideas.

The perfect ending on the last day before Spring Break was to play monopoly. It didn't take much to convince my students that this was the lesson for Social Studies. We've been talking about economy and so what better way to wrap up the unit than with a game of monopoly. It's probably my least favorite game but when it keeps my students happy for the last hour before Spring Break it hits my list of top 10 favorites.

One of the reasons we've been so busy at school is in preparation for our reaccreditation process with ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International). It took the effort of everyone at the school to get ready for this visit. It was a great relief when the 3 day visit came to an end and so we celebrated with a big fiesta/dinner for all faculty and staff at the school. It was a great time and a blessing to all of us.
I'm with Daysi and Blanca here at the party. Blanca is a ball of energy and joy. She yells out my name every time she sees me and has assured me almost daily that she is finding me a man. Blanca and Daysi both work in the cafetin (cafeteria) at NCA.