Valentine's Ball {Formal Dance}

I know it is a little late (oops!) but we had too much fun for me not to share a little of our celebration!
It was a wonderful mixture of pleasant awkward - as Valentine's always and forever will be in elementary school :) 
The day began with our annual Manners Breakfast starting with a lesson in Chivalry (a sadly, quickly disappearing trait), where it came from (tough, gory, medieval knights) and how ladies should react. We learned together when to place our napkin on our laps and 
what to eat/not eat with a fork during formal dinners. How to set a simple table setting, how to interact with waiters/waitresses, and how to interact with table guests and/or host/hostess. 

The room pre-kiddos

Students were asked to dress in their "finest" for our festivities! 

Then, donning aprons, our own waiters and waitresses served us our wonderful breakfast of muffins, orange juice/milk, yogurt, and fresh fruit. 

For our reflection, we completed our vintage place mats by sharing 5 things we learned from the etiquette lesson. 

For the second part of the day, we learned a combination of six dances - three with myself including SWING, WALZ, and SALSA. With my partner teacher, DISCO, the TANGO, and the CHARLESTON. Learning them with the opposite gender made for many awkward, yet rewarding, experiences as students learned how to respectfully interact with each other on a dance floor.

At the end of our practice, we learned the history of formal dances (Balls) and the practice of "Dance Cards" used by girls to organize their evenings. Each of the girls in the room were then given a dance card with the predetermined TWO dances they would be required to have a male partner for (SWING and WALZ). The ladies then walked around the room and responded to the requests of the gentlemen's "May I have the Walz/Swing?" (of course the only response could be yes, unless your card was full). It was adorable. It was awkward. It was a wonderful barrier breaker. 

The look on this guy's face says it ALL! *tehe* 

After lunch, we "got dancy!" Rockin to all styles of music, the kids really showed off their moves :) The first formal ballroom dance we had was Swing, the kiddos partnered off and did a great job of practicing their previously learned moves. Many of my students this year (more then I have ever had in the past!) stayed paired off and definitely blew me away with their skills! The second ballroom dance was the Waltz - these, mixed with inserted group dances, created a very FUN dance party!  

A delightful surprise by one of my girls, and quite possibly one of the coolest things I have had a kid do, was share her dancing, which left many of us in awe! 

(The video is not working right now sadly!)

 Cookies and punch were shared during our dance intermission, Valentine's were passed out, and boxes were admired. Below is a sneak peak at a few of the finest boxes I've ever seen come out of my room! 

and yes, my favorite, a snowboard box from the 2014 Winter Olympic games! 

Sweet Valentine's Treats from my kiddos! Love them! 

MY LIFE: 

Goofing off with MY Valentine - MR. B

LOVE THIS MAN <3

Also was blessed to be able to drive down to Tennessee (and SPRING!) to visit my favorite little sister! The Lord is GOOD!  

I hope you were all richly blessed by the one's you love! 

Welcome Aboard AIRWAY 5!

Every year, I celebrate Christmas/Winter Celebrations around the world, however, with the shove push towards Common Core and preaching teaching only the standards listed, I have had to push a lot of these not important non essentials out the door. Don't I sound enthused ;) This year, as I was trying to figure out how I could still squeeze in my Christmas Around the World - I realized we could do it for the Christmas party! Genius.
WARNING: This is a LONG post with LOTS of pictures! You've been warned!

So with no further adieu, 

  WELCOME ABOARD AIRWAY 5 - ENJOY YOUR TRIP! 

Who says fifth graders wouldn't enjoy a plane trip in the classroom - don't let kindergarten and 2nd graders 

have all the fun! 

To begin our journey, we checked out baggage (brown paper bags turned into suitcases - idea from HERE), turned in our tickets (template from HERE), grabbed our passports (template from HERE), boarded "Airway 5", and headed off to INDIA! 

In route, we watched a safety video {this is an actual Virgin Airlines Safety Video} The kids LOVED it!

Once we arrived in India, we were greeted by costumed "Indians" who passed out a cultural snack for us to try. For many of the kids this was a new experience - good for some, not-so-good for others! Snack = Fennel seeds and liquorish candies - intended as a breath freshener sweet. 
We also watched a short clip about the winter celebration of Diwali pronounced "DiVali"

Our cultural craft included creating stained glass lotus flowers using laminate, tracing sheets, and permanent markers. 

 Our next destination was Sweden! 

In route, we read an informational article on their winter celebration St. Lucia Day and viewed a short powerpoint showing us the different aspects and the history of St. Lucia. 

Once we arrived in Sweden, we were greeted by our very own "St. Lucia" who passed out a cultural snack of sweet cookies to everyone.

In my partner teacher's room, we continued our travels to the country of Mexico where they celebrate Las Posadas! In South American countries, the nativity and story of the Christ Child is performed and reenacted by children. Poinsettias are native to South America and flower throughout the winter. The shape of the flowers petals are often referred to as the "Star of Bethlehem" which led the shepherds and wise men to the Baby Jesus. Here we learned about the celebration and acted out the story of Baby Jesus's Birth. For the cultural craft, we created paper poinsettias to wear. 

After re-boarding their plane, students found themselves arriving in the Land of Dragons! The largest winter celebration in China is the Chinese New Year. There are lots of similarities to this holiday and Christmas including eating special foods, giving gifts (of money), and celebrating with lots of light! In China, students created chinese paper lanterns and learned about this holiday through a short movie clip. 

The next destination was to the country of Israel. Many Jews, around the word, celebrate the winter holiday of Hanukkah. Students read about the Miracle of the Maccabees, lit a menorah, created a paper dreidel and played for chocolate coins. 

The final stop on Airway 5 found us back in our own country - the good old USA! Here we learned about the history of Christmas music and the different golden ages - we answered the questions, what is the oldest song? (I Saw Three Ships) When was the first golden age? (Victorian Era) Why did Christmas stop being celebrated for years? (Puritans/Pilgrims banned it) When was the second golden age of Christmas music? (1940s - 1950s)
We also looked at the history of Christmas Cards and answered questions like, When was the first Christmas card created? (1843) Who began the first "official" Christmas cards? (Queen Victoria) Who started the first US "affordable" card company? (John C. Hall - Hallmark!)
Our Cultural Craft included creating our parents Christmas cards to go along with our science ornaments - We hope, parents, all enjoyed these :0) We used stamp pads and markers to create thumb print holiday designs. 

We also made sure all of our items were packed safely in our luggage (paper bags) and that we had filled out our passports correctly and been stamped for each country. 

To end our day, we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas, ate cookies, created SUPER scrumptious cups of hot chocolate at our Hot Cocoa bar (yes, we fixed the sign! LOL), and opened our stockings. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL!!