Sharing Costa Rica at school

There was so much excitement on our first day back at school.
One student greeted me with, "Well did your alarm clock wake you up in the rainforest"?
Impressive that he remembered that the howler monkeys would be our alarm clock.
Well, the howler monkeys did not make a lot of noise early in the morning but could be heard away in the distance while we were out bird watching, or taking an early morning hike.

We looked at a slideshow of animals, flowers and faunas.  Lots of questions and time for discussions.

We read two fantastic books:  "Green" by Laura Vaccaro Seeger and "Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature" by Joyce Sidman and Beth Krommes

After reading these books, our art project was a painting vines using various shades of green and swirling strokes with a paintbrush.

 Looking at pictures of Costa Rica.

Sorting and classifying animals of the Rain Forest.

All you need to make your own tree is paper, tape, markers, help of a friend(s) and persistence.

"Vine Painting"









Our next activity will be to crack open a coconut and sample what is inside.  We also have a pineapple, mango and avocado to taste and comment.

2/25/15
Opening the coconut went smoothly with the help of a philips screwdriver and a hammer, the students had turns hammering and we got it open, we sampled the coconut water  - sweet, and eat the meat - chewy.

3/9/2015
We continue immersing Costa Rica, the rain forest and animal/plant life in our classroom.  We have also been learning about local forests here in New England and the life that is present.  We have looked at Habitats, where do humans live, animals  and what we all need for survival..   Layers of the forest, adaptation and camouflage continue to intrigue us.  Sculpey snakes and insects are on the menu this week and then we will make a painting that camouflages our sculpey creations.