Fifth Grade Graduation

At Lighthouse, elementary school ends with 5th grade and then middle school starts in 6th, so we had a graduation celebration for the students as they excitedly anticipate being in middle school!

The girls went all out with their cute cocktail dresses.

More excited girls.

And more...

Seriously, all the students looked so grown up!!

Another photo right before we go out for the processional.

The church sanctuary was decorated very nicely. We had to sit straight and tall during the ceremony.

The director, Ms. Head, was on the stage the whole time. Each student had to stand front and center to give their speeches we had practiced millions of times. They all did well and I was very proud! :)

Then after the ceremony, we went outside to release balloons to symbolize our prayers going to God about our future goals and dreams.

Mural Process and Product

Here's what it looked like when the white was finished...

And students starting to paint the black...

And putting on finishing touches...

And again, not everyone had to help...

What it looked like when the black and white were finished...

And then, the best part! THROWING paint! :)

We used yellow, blue, pink, and green flourescent paint so the colors would shine in the blacklight at our graduation party...

And the finished product! :) Cool, huh?

Please Meet the Prop Box

I have a fancy cardboard box that contains any 5th graders' imagination needs...

...for creating ... well, anything!

Preparing for the ''Freeze Frame'' guessing game...

Students dress up and act out a ''freeze frame'' of something we've been studying and the rest of the students have to guess. Here you see Ms. Fúster teaching with freeze frames and my magic prop box during Estudios Sociales class.

And another freeze frame...

...All from this magic cardboard box :)

Lighthouse Art Presentation

Lighthouse had their second annual Art and Music Presentation at the Museo de los Niños in San José yesterday. All teachers and students ran home, showered, and dressed up ''semi-formal'' style to meet just a few hours later at the museum for the final evening event of the school year.

Everyone loves Miss Jen, our school nurse :).

7th grade girls greeting and directing at the entrance.

A view out the door into the downtown area.

And some of my girls patiently waiting for the music to begin.

We're lookin' good :)

And some artwork by 5th graders!

I was actually quite impressed with what students had done!

This student of mine was excited that we had matching pencil skirts :)

The cute son of a co-worker

And the students being goofy as we were leaving.

5th Graders are Very Tall...

This student is the youngest... and the tallest. At 10 years old, he looks me in the eye.

The girls are pretending to be as tall as me. Not quite! :)

Zebra Stripes

This is my classroom ceiling:

In 5th grade, we´ve talked a lot about how we are individuals and how we have different gifts and abilities to complete different goals in life. ''Zebras might look the same,'' I told my students, ''but every zebra's stripes are different. Our 'stripes' are all different too.''

It's fun to imagine what I might do to classrooms in the future... last year it was a jungle, this year it's zebra stripes... next year? :)

Pupusas from the Feria!

Last night, Marilyn, her two friends Ana and Lia, and I all had cravings for pupusas. So we went in search of them... only to find the two restaurants we know of that sell them were closed for the night! We settled for a hot dog place called Perro Loco (I had the Canadian hot dog loaded with cheese, YUM!), and then today Marilyn continued her search while buying fruits and vegetables at the feria. She brought home pupusas stuffed with chicharron (there's no word for this in English??), refried beans, and cheese. And don't forget the pickled cabbage on top.

Dad, this might give you a flashback to when you were in El Salvador! :) Pupusas are typical in El Salvador but have become more popular throughout Central America. I love a good pupusa! :)

So I've been thinking... do I continue this blog after I go back to the U.S.? I mean, I won't be living any Costa Rican adventures anymore, as the title says... So maybe I'll have to do a cultural food blog, lol. Or a teaching disasters blog, lol. Or a what-it's-like-to-live-closer-to-family blog. I'm sure to still have interesting stories... :)