School Update

Believe it or not I actually do work here. I haven't done an update about my job or the kids in awhile so I think it's about time!

I'll start with Carnaval. It is a festival that happens all around Spain, the most famous one is in Cadiz. Their Carnaval rivals the one in Rio de Janero, Brazil. So, hopefully next year I can check it out! Anyway, my school's carnaval was earlier this year. Each grade level had a theme and they all did a little song/dance outside of the school for all the students, teachers and parents. The kid's teachers wrote the songs and choreographed everything. The classes had about a month to learn everything. They would miss a few classes every week to go outside and practice, and it really showed. Everyone knew their stuff!

The 3 year olds were bumble bees

4 year olds were Native Americans

The 5 year olds were smurfs

First grade was a circus. Since they are one of the grades I teach I had to take a video. They are so cute!

The 2nd graders were pirates

The 3rd graders were superheros

4th grade were housewives and husbands

5th grade were football players

6th grade were cowboys and cowgirls

After everyone had done their song and dance we all went to the patio for breakfast and the kids had free time for the rest of the day. The teachers all went a little nuts with their costumes. The group of cavemen went around capturing everyone. I don't know who had more fun, the kids or the teachers!

attacked by cavemen

The bees were sleepy

Next update is about our first field trip (well 2^nd actually, the first was to the post office...not that exciting). For those of you who don't know Almeria very well there is a natural park called Cabo de Gata really close to here. It's a really beautiful place and lots of movies have been filmed in it. One of the towns there is called Las Salinas. Its a really tiny town right on the beach which is known for salt mining. This is where we went for the first field trip. The kids have been learning about the water cycle and problems with pollution and contamination in the sea and on the beach so the trip to Las Salinas was perfect to learn about these two topics. When we got there we met up with our guide who explained all about the salt mines (called salinas, how clever, no?) he told us about where the water comes from and the different processes of the salt mining. Almeria (like Colorado) has over 300 days of sun every year so it's perfect for salt mining and for learning about evaporation!

After learning about the salt mines we went to an aviary to check out the birds. Then we headed down to the beach to talk about the different parts of the beach and what they could see. After filling out a worksheet the kids started “cleaning” the beach. Most of them were more interested in finding shells and rocks, but a few of them actually cleaned up some stuff. We found a bunch of trash, lots of cans, a shoe, a chair...? and some other stuff. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate and it was pretty chilly and windy so we couldn't go swimming, but I think everyone still had a lot of fun!

Cleaning the beach

The 2^nd field trip was to a mountain town called Laujar about 2 hours away from Campohermoso. The Andarax River (which is pretty dry) starts up in this part of the mountains. It is a really cute little town and a really pretty area to go hiking. The trail we went on is 15 kilometers and said it would take 5 and a half hours to complete. Since we were with a ton of 6-8 year olds that would be like 15 hours of walking. So, we only went for 3 kilometers. I would LOVE to go back there one weekend to do the whole thing. It was so pretty and really reminded me of Colorado. When we got to the beginning of the hiking area the kids ate breakfast and then we headed out. I of course took a ton of pictures. But I was limited because one of the girls, who is literally obsessed with me, decided she wanted to be my walking partner so I didn't have a free hand for most of the trip. When we got back from walking we ate lunch and let the kids play around until a little before 4 when we headed back. Luckily the weather was a lot nicer for this trip. It was still cold, and windy (it's Almeria, it's always windy here) but it was really fun!

bonito

2A

2C

Everyone

Laura and me

Lots of greenhouses

Almeria