My favorite bit of sunshine has been...

  ... this smiley sun in my classroom! Why is that? Because it is where the most learning occurred for both my students and for myself. I use the sun rug in a variety of ways. In the morning when we review our word wall words, I pick a few students to identify the letter of the week on the sun. We identify the capital letter of the week and the "small" or lower case letter of the week. In this photo, one student identified the letter Z as others play along and watch. Other times, we sing and dance to several songs including, "Wake Up!" with Matt from Dream English.  You can sing with us, too, at the link below! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUXkj6j6Ezw

Other songs we sing on the carpet include, "A Tooty Ta" by Dr. Jean, "I Am A Pizza" by Charlotte Diamond, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and "3D Shapes I Know" by Harry Kindergarten. 

• A Tooty Ta (a favorite movement-based song): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EER-jMojmU
• I Am A Pizza (o-reg-an-oooooo!!!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFxwqrOKeYc

• 3D Shapes I Know (I'm a 3D shape expert, yo): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFxwqrOKeYc

We also do alligator crawls in the morning to review the words of the week. The children were shy at first about crawling on the floor, but now they get so excited! One student even does a little happy dance with an air guitar when I start to lay the flash cards down. :) What is an alligator crawl? I'm not certain if it is originally from yoga, some martial art, the military, or a S.M.A.R.T. activity. Students crawl over specific academic vocabulary words on the ground and say the word aloud as they pass it. This task supports motor development and as well language reinforcement. And the children enjoy it! Therefore, alligator crawls are fun, but they are also developmentally appropriate practices.

One day, the students embodied the letter T. I took photos on my Ipad and then uploaded all to my Educreations app. On that app, students "highlighted" the letter T on their bodies in the photo and talked into the Ipad. After everyone did their part, the entire process was made into a slide show with the students' voices in the background. An instant hit! They enjoyed seeing themselves in the final product. We watched it over and over during snack time. Unfortunately, the movie is too big to upload onto the blog, but two students are demonstrating it below.

Fun fact: When teachers encourage students to embody letters/ concepts, dance, gesture, or use premeditated movement, it is such a fabulous way to convey content with English Language Learners (ELLs). And it doesn't hurt if the teacher dances as well! Considering that the majority of these students speak Arabic at home, are part of an Arabic society, and are learning English at school, they are all ELLs. Identifying ELLs in the classroom is a vital part of lesson planning and in helping students meet their academic needs.

*** This student's face and name are not included to protect her identity.
All students on this blog will have their identity protected.

Another activity that integrates the carpet is the "letter maze". Students approach the white board, touch the letter we are looking for on the sun rug, and complete the maze. On the white board, I draw a tiny camel beside the first t at the top left side of the table. By the last t at the bottom right side, there is a tiny well filled with water. Students are told that the camel is thirsty and that we must bring the camel to water! But first, we must go through the letter maze.

t	t	f	a
X	t	K	a
B	t	t	t
a	H	O	t

Hmm, perhaps I should have titled this blog "over the same sun" because I am learning to teach over this sun daily. Nevertheless, my favorite bit of sunshine was found in the classroom, as it should be.

A stow away!

Flat Ms. Wright (inspired by the Flat Stanley book series for children) decided to sneak into my suitcase! She wanted to learn Arabic, too. Salaam!

In our villa on the host's compound, she found some of the delicate china from Italy and glasses from Africa, Germany, and the Middle East.

Here is a sculpture of Abu Dhabi's capital carved out of a clay pot. Found in our villa.

One of our firm, yet elegant couches. The living room can fit 15 people comfortably.

Outside on the compound. Behind her is the mosque and minaret. A muezzin provides the call to prayer five times a day. At night, it glows bright green.

Play area for the four grandchildren outside on the compound. Shaded from the hot sun!

The main house where my host family lives. You can see in the background that they are doing some work on the foundation. They are finishing the lights and tiling for their water scene.

Did you know?
Abu Dhabi means "Father of Deer"in Arabic.

Here is part of the developing water scene. It is so beautiful at night because it lights up. The sound from the fountains is so peaceful as the warm breeze and hot chai keeps us company.

More to come as we journey across the United Arab Emirates!

Like an intricate Lite Brite board

We are here!

Emilee and I arrived Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Unfortunately, the internet has been touch-and-go, so we have been contacting families more so than updating blogs when the signal is kind.

As the plane descended over Abu Dhabi, all I could think about was one thing: it's like an intricate, bedazzling Lite Brite board (google it if you were not an American '90s kid). But better. Much better. Also at that point, we had been traveling for 17.5 hours, so when we touched down in Abu Dhabi, it was an oasis for our traveling. Ha! The desert was our oasis!

After we exited the plane and gathered our bags, we quickly changed into long skirts and watched for the driver. We were welcomed by two drivers. The gentlemen took our bags and led us to the large, fancy SUV that took us to the host's compound. Their compound includes their main house, villas (small houses with living quarters), and a "yard"… which is a very polite term for their landing, fountain, children's area, porch, outside garage, garden, and some grass with lawn figures and exotic plants (pictures in the next wave of internet!). Our things were delivered to our room and we ate a delicious meal with our host.

What did we eat? We had baked potatoes with chicken and sauce, papaya juice, cooked vegetables, soup, and flat bread. Following the meal was hot tea – or chai –with milk sugar, along with various cookies and sweet dates. Enchanted by the new environment and sedated with full bellies, we floated to our cool bedroom and fell fast asleep. Jet lag hit us like a brick.

More to come soon!

So... where are you going again?

Emilee and I will be staying with a gracious host family for four weeks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). Below are maps of the country. The map on the right provides a broad illustration of where in the Eastern Hemisphere the U.A.E. is located. The image below gives insight as to where the city is located and the surrounding cities/ bodies of water. If you look closely at the bottom map, you will see the country's flag and the little green arrow pointing to the country.

Stay tuned for more details on Abu Dhabi culture, customs, and cuisine!

The preliminary post about the perfect passage across the ocean that isn't the Pacific

It's true.

We are all connected and have certain commonalities, whether overt or covert. We are yoked together in joy or in pain, in location or in tradition. Yes, this sounds like a cheap illustration from a greetings card, but I get sentimental when I consider what brings people together. I love meeting people that are different from me and discovering what we have in common. It's as though I've found a new sister or brother that I never knew I had. It's absolutely exhilarating. In meeting new people, the world becomes a bit smaller. This is a good thing, mind you. It becomes smaller because more of it is known. For example, when I moved to college after high school, the campus seemed massive and unconquerable. But the more I walked to classes, got involved, and met people, it shrunk. I didn't feel as though I would get lost in the buildings or eaten up by the landscaping because I knew where I was going. It was familiar. Therefore, the earth becomes smaller when it is familiar. We all seek to make the mysterious unmysterious. That desire to unravel the mysterious is called learning. And in this journey will reveal what I learn while teaching abroad. Welcome!

What is the commonality that will serve as this blog's theme? Well, it's the one thing that binds everyone in life: the sun. The sun brings us a bounty of food, light, warmth, beauty, and other things. What a marvelous thing to share with others. This is what I have come to realize:

We all live under the same sun.

It's the same sun in Minneapolis as in Abu Dhabi. The same sun rises in Tokoyo as in Toledo. The same sun kisses the harvest in Norway and in Nicaragua. It's the same. What a marvelous connection.

One of my goals for this adventure is to find more connections abroad. These connections will be overt and covert, unveiled and veiled. Nevertheless, they are there. They will make the world a bit smaller, but my world a bit bigger.