Going Looney in Brazil @ EAB

Way back in October (gosh that's over 8 weeks ago now) my parents came to visit me.  It truly couldn't have come at a better time.  We had a great time, lots of adventures and I loved for them to see my life here.  So, without further ado, here are a few highlights from their visit to BRAZIL!

Time at the American School
Field Trip 'Round the City

My group at the bottom of the tower

 So, when you know your parents are coming to visit you in Brasilia, it seems like the perfect time to plan your first field trip of the school year.  A tour of the city and learning about how it was created!

On their second full day, we got them settled into third grade culture right away by inviting them to be chaperones on our trip.  Erica and myself quickly planned our groups the morning of the trip.  We of course made sure we had our "special" friends in our groups and also made sure that my parents had groups that were pretty low maintenance or so we thought.

At one point during our trip, I heard my dad's voice.  You know that voice we all hear our parents use when we're in trouble.  I actually thought to myself, "What'd I do?"  Then I suddenly realized, it wasn't me, it was one of my dad's "special" friends in his group.  Whew! 





View from top





Some of the places we visited included:

Brasilia's TV Tower

Both classes outside the cathedral

The Cathedral.

You'll notice less than our usual 44 students as several were on the bus for not listening to their grown-up.  They learned my dad's tone quickly.  It really wasn't that bad, just a little rough at the beginning.  We've got 44 students who are great kids but many are used to ruling the roost so listening to directions and actually following them (like from an adult) is a new concept.  

Mom in action at the spring

Our final stop was JK's (the president at the time Brasilia was built 51 years ago) home outside the city.  There we ate lunch while monkeys watched and my mom helped all of the kids sip from a fresh spring.  I chose not to participate as I didn't want to get sick.  Did that stop my mom?  Nope!

The day before the trip, Erica and I asked the kids to preference groups.  What other third graders did they want to be with throughout the day?  They wrote down their choices and we did our best to accomodate them and at the same time tried to ensure that the combinations would be fun for all (students and adults).  One of my students requested to be with my mom for the day.  That was pretty fun to see that request.  I don't feel I can write specifics about the groups here for confidentiality but definitely, if you see my parents and haven't heard about their groups, ask.  Each group definitely, well, mostly some of the kids, had a distinct personality.

CJ's photo of my mom and I



Halloween



A witch, ant, costume my dad bought in America and vampire.

They also came back to EAB the next day for Halloween.  Oh yes, Erica and I packed it in!  We did the usual Halloween activities with a fairly regular schedule in the morning but in the afternoon, we had a fairly tame (much improved from last year) Halloween parade and party.  The parade looped around the back court since it was super hot and shade was needed.  It was perfect as each class took their turn walking round to spooky music. After watching the parade, we again put my parents to work while they ran a game during the party.  The kids rotated in three group between both classrooms.  They played Bozo buckets (which my parents ran enthusiastically), a target throwing game  

Ninjas, Indiana Jones (who regularly comes to school as him) and super hero.

and something else.  I'm sure if I asked my parents or Erica they'd remember but honestly, I was only focused on the things happening in my room.  The kids LOVED it and it was a great way to celebrate.  The video's of one of my students enjoying the music.  The video and his costume both are definitely representative of his personality.   I'm so glad they were able to see EAB, meet my class and have some time to get to know what work's like there for me.  I think the two days they "happened" to visit game them a huge taste!

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Two friendly witches and a dead, vampire witch



My class
if it's hard to capture them for a photo, then just imagine a regular day...