This is the second and final installment of my version of the Amazing Race. It will not be quite so long as the first (I think) so you can breathe a sigh of relief (maybe).
From Colombia students travelled to Ecuador. I know that I, personally, learned more about this country than any other. Judging from some of the feedback I received from students I think they did as well.
Instead of a cryptogram I handed out my routine map and flag (thank you Enchanted Learning) whiting out the name of the country and while the students colored the flag I played a song called "Ecuador" (I don't know who it is by as I have misplaced the CD cover, but the guy pretty much just shouts "ECUADOR!" throughout the song) once teams had correctly filled in their sheets and could tell me the name of the country they received their next clue. A map of the Galapagos Islands. They had to list the Galapagos Islands (belonging to Ecuador) from largest to smallest in order to receive their next clue. For the following task students received some information on the physical features of the islands including the famous lava tunnels. Teams then had to move into the gym where I constructed a lengthy lava tunnel with stage blocks and fabric (normally you'd walk through, but in this case you had to crawl). Both team members had to make their way through the lava tunnel and tell me in Spanish the names of some of the wildlife native to the Galapagos Islands whose pictures I had hid in the tunnel along the way. When students had made it through the tunnel and correctly told me the names of the wildlife they received their next clue. Teams then read a bit about the most famous of all Galapagos Island creatures - the giant tortoise and once they had correctly answered a series of questions both team members went to get their photos taken with "Lonely George" a gigantic tortoise that I pained and pinned to the wall. Once they had their photos taken they were able to check in and take a bonus sheet.
Ecuador Part 2:
Back on the mainland teams were handed a sheet filled with questions about the rainforest. Such as how much rainforest is disappearing each year, how is it disappearing, who is responisble, what is important about the rainforest and how all of this is affecting the people that live there. They then had to move to different stations around the classroom in order to answer these questions. Once they had answered the questions correctly they got their next clue. For their next task students learned about one of the most poisonous animals on the planet, the poison dart frog, and how these tiny creatures, who contain enough poison to kill at least twenty adults, are used by the native tribes of the rainforest. In order to receive their next clue students had to follow some simple directions in Spanish to locate one of these frogs (just a plastic replica) and work out a way to bring it back to class without touching it. When I received their frog they received their next clue. Teams were then introduced to the Huaorani Indians who have lived in the Ecuadorian rainforests for centuries and whose lifestyle is rapidly being destroyed by big oil companies specifically Chevron / Texaco.
Once they had a general idea about the Huaorani way of life and a brief understanding of the tribes history they were then told that, like the Huaorani, they must live off the land and that one team member must catch a fish (not a real one) but both team members would then need to read and follow the instructions on the back of their fish. Each fish bore a different tale of tragedy and suffering, based on real life accounts of the Huaorani who are forced to live alongside open waste pits created by the oil companies,
who are forced to drink from and wash in toxic water because no one has bothered to clean up and poisonous waste is leaking into the environment from abandoned pipelines. This was very eye-opening for some of the students.
For their task teams had to draft a letter to John Watson the head of Chevron who, instead of taking responsibility for what his company has done and the countless lives it has cost, has spent his time and money attempting to cover his tracks. (Go to chevrontoxico.com or type in Chevron Texaco Huaorani into your search engine to take action or to learn more.) For their final challenge each team read about the 917 toxic waste pits that Chevron left behind in the Ecuadorian jungle.
They also read about how the oil company helped solve the problem by "lining" just over a hundred of them. They also, thoughtful as they are, covered the pits with topsoil because obviously that will contain toxic waste and keep it from further leaking into the environment (note the sarcasm). One member of each team then had to search through 917 randomly placed numbers to find one of the "lined" pits, once students gave me the number of the pit and understood that lining the pits made absolutely no difference at all they were handed the bonus sheet and allowed to check in.
There is much scope here for further action if students are so inclined.
Peru:
Students began this leg with a mystery dot to dot map and had to use an Atlas to work out what country they were headed to. Once they correctly identified the country and completed a flag they were given their first challenge. Students read a little about the Incan civilization including the Incan messenger system that allowed messages to be relayed throughout the empire with surprising speed. In order to receive the next clue two teams had to join together to form a relay team of chasquis ( Incan messengers). A message in Spanish was given to the first member of the group, that person then had to accurately relay the message to the next ream member and so forth. The last team member had to relay the message back to me, if the message was correct they (both teams) were handed their next clue. If not they had to start again. The next clue had students reading another chapter of Incan history. They were told about the last Inca emperor Atahualpa and how he was held hostage by the Spanish, how he ransomed himself for rooms filled with gold and silver and how the Spanish did not honor their promises, but killed him anyway and tried to keep the treasure too. When the Incas heard about what had happened they stopped the last convoys of treasure and reportedly hid it in the mountains, where it has eluded discovery for centuries. Students had to decipher and translate a treasure map and correctly identify the most likely area where the lost treasure lies hidden before they could claim their next clue. The final challenge for the day included a brief description and general information on the Nazca lines. I had measured the oval and had hoped to use a line marking machine to map out a life-size replica of one of the Nazca lines, but alas the grass was too wet and so I was forced to use the combined area of the basketball courts and hard play area and do a slightly smaller version in chalk. It was still too big to be seen properly at ground level so it worked well enough. Team members had to walk around the perimeter of the design, drawing as they walked, once they had gone around the entire image they came back to class to see if they could match their design to one of the Nazca lines. When teams answered correctly they were allowed to check in and were given their bonus sheets.
There was so much more that I wanted to do with Peru, but we were running out of time so things were kept short. I would have loved to have gotten the kids involved in making grass boats that they had to float a certain distance while teaching them about the Uros tribe that live on floating islands on Lake Titicaca or challenging them with puzzle skills while learning about Incan architecture. There was so much that could have been done. Maybe next time.
Spain:
Students headed to Europe for the last leg of the race. They started by reading about the Tomatina Festival and then had one of their own (though instead of tomatoes they threw soft, red, balls) when both team members had been hit (below the waste) with the required number of 'tomatoes' they were given their next clue. Students joined in the running of the bulls (an obstacle course I set up on the oval) and when both team members made it to the end they chose a number which corresponded to a number of different scenarios all of which can routinely happen during the course of a bull run. Some teams made it through unscathed and were able to take their next clue, some teams were injured, impaled or worse and had to take corresponding penalties. The length of time corresponded to the injuries received. For their next challenge students read about the Altamira caves and the prehistoric drawings that were discovered in them, looking at pictures taken from the caves, students then had to create their own version of the cave drawings before receiving their next clue. Students were then directed to the Alcazar Castle in Segovia, were told briefly about it's history and then using visual and written clues (that had to be translated) were asked which famous Walt Disney Fairytale Castle was inspired by this one. When students could answer correctly they were handed their next clue. This took them to the outskirts of the city where they learned about the history and function of the Segovian aqueduct. After some careful reading and relatively simple mathematical calculations students were told that when they could accurately tell me the number of single arches in the Segovian aqueduct, in Spanish, they would be handed their last clue. Their final challenge for the race had them deciphering directions and making their way along the streets of Madrid using a map to find specific locations. Once teams had completed their challenge and correctly identified the mystery locations they checked in for the last time. Final scores were calculated and the winning teams announced.
I had intended to have one "tie it together" portion of the race as well, recapping certain challenges and reviewing concepts covered during the race. I had especially wanted to make use of all the flags they had drawn and get them (for one such challenge) to put them in the order that we "visited" them in, but due to illness and unforseen events that did not happen. The trip to the restaurant was also slightly delayed. It would have been better if I had managed to sample many items from the menu beforehand, but that was not on the cards. One of the girls was really looking forward to some chili con carne and was so enthusiastic about this dish that she convinced two others to try it as well. The other three all tried different dishes like quesadillas, taquitos and burritos and I ordered a huge nachos for everyone to share. This proved to be a very wise move as all three chili con carnes (we ordered mild) came with huge slices of jalapenos all the way through it, even the rice that came on the side was peppered with chunks of chili. Poor dears. At least the nachos were polished off completely and the other dishes went down well. I took them for ice creams afterwards partially because I had promised them dessert and partially because I had three students whose mouths were on fire. Overall the kids had a great time. They thanked me for organizing the race and told me about what they had learned and said many nice and sweet things. So, while it was a lot of work and it was sometimes challenging keeping track of where each team was and which group was up to what clue, and while there were certain things that I probably shouldn't have done like attempting to tie a hula-hoop to a basketball ring while standing on top of a ladder in the rain, or ignoring contractions while sketching giant glyphs on the pavement and bull runs on the oval it all worked itself out and was worth it in the end.
P.S. Photos from Google and the Chevrontoxico site.
We have been learning a bit about space around here and as a finale to what we have learned I made a kind of space game show for the kids. There were questions about all the planets as well as the universe in general and they even got to choose a Mars Bar or Milky Way at the end. They were super excited.
We played the three of them against myself. If they got an answer right it went into their pile, if it was incorrect it went into mine. This worked splendidly.
And yes, we even included Pluto. We all realize that it is currently outcast from the planetary bodies and is now merely classed as a trans-Neptunian object. Poor Pluto. But you can't let that get you down, especially when Bayan does this (see below) every time they get a question right.
Bayan loved watching their pile get bigger and bigger and I loved the fact that he remembered things like the name of the man who discovered Saturn - Galileo Galilei. There are few things more charming than hearing a five year old say that name with lispy pride.
Here was the end tally. I think they won.
Kumon requires that you learn up to your 19 timestables. That would have been useful info before I made the sheet, so Ruhi and I made a lilypad game. A lot easier than the sheet and frankly more fun as well. I cut out Lilypad shapes from some leftover green fabric and then made flowers (tracing around a daisy template I got off Yahoo images - it kind of looks lotusy) from various shades of felt. I color coded the centre dots and wrote one set of timestables on each color. That way we only needed 12 lilypads and 12 flowers and we just switch the centre dots when we practice different timestables. The kids have been really enjoying this, especially when it is timed and when I pretend to be a ravenous crocodile just waiting for them to make a mistake. Anisa can jump her 4 times tables in under 20 seconds, even when they are in random order throughout the pond. And the best part is that she is super enthusiastic and keeps saying things like: "I can do better than that." as she attempts to beat her own best time. 
These are just a few images of map making, art projects, science experiments, maths lessons and read alouds. There has been lots that has gone unphotographed and lots more that is currently underway or will be posted about later on.
I think that I mentioned before how I have been helping out at the girls' school by doing a country focus on Mexico and teaching the kids some Spanish on Fridays. We started off with some Pinatas, language games and some simple activities in the first few weeks. We moved on to food and cooking. The kids made individual place mats with Spanish labels and spent one day taking turns in the staff kitchen helping prepare a Mexican feast. I 've got big plans for them in the weeks ahead but this week I present ... The Temple of Inscriptions.
We have spent some time looking at Mexican history, including the Aztec and Maya civilizations and I thought it would be fun to get the kids to become archaeologists for a day. So I have spent quite some time over the last few weeks painting palm fronds, sketching hieroglyphs and preparing activities for the day. I had hoped to have enough hieroglyphs to cover every wall in the room, but despite all the work I only had enough for half. 
Luckily the principal had some green fabric stashed in her classroom and I'd asked the kids to paint some palm trees so there were some features to walk around, which made it feel more complete. As a final touch we got the students to make colorful butterflies and I had the girls help make a few paper flowers to brighten things up.
I think it worked pretty well. The room was kept a secret, so there were lots of "Ooohs" and "Wows!" as the kids caught a glimpse for the first time. I had discreetly stuck four dots on the floor and the first activity centered around getting a brief glimpse inside the temple and trying to notice as many details and features as possible. In the end only one child noticed the dots on the floor or mentioned that they might be significant somehow. Similarly it was quite some time before any of the archaeologists investigated the grooves on the actual floor of the Temple at Palenque. In the end it led down a very steep staircase and to the discovery of a tomb. The kids heard the story of the discovery and got to see and touch a replica mask found in the tomb and were supposed to start creating their own mosaic version later that day. 
But first there was the temple to further explore. I gave the middle and upper primary students sheets and questionnaires to fill in asking them to identify certain glyphs or to work out days or months based on the calendar system, which I had included amongst the hieroglyphs. 
While many of the kids tried to see who could find them the fastest and amass the greatest pile of glyphs others took their time, just happy to explore.
In order to find out where they were students had to decode a cryptogram that detailed facts about Mexico. Once they had correctly decoded the facts and used them to identify the country they were handed their first clue. From there they read about the origins of the Jarabe Tapatio (The Mexican Hat Dance) and watched a performance of the dance, when they were able to perform it without any mistakes they were handed their next clue. The last challenge for that day was to read about the ancient Aztec game of tlachtli and to attempt to get a ball through a hoop (which I had tied to the top of a basketball ring) Aztec style, using only your hip, elbow or knee. Once the students understood the difficulty of this task (after a certain number of attempts) they were able to try to get the ball through the hoop using either hands or feet and were then allowed to check in and take a bonus sheet.
For their next clue they were given some basic facts about water, such as how nearly 1 billion people lack access to safe water, and how much water is needed for a small family each day (approximately 20 litres) as well as how and from what sources that water may be collected. Each team was told to take a bucket, filled with (5 litres) of water and walk the length of the oval to where their partner was waiting. Their partner then had to do the same. Team members had to continue to do this until they had sufficiently "collected" (carried) the required 20 litres of water. I broke it down into five litres, to make it more physically suitable for the kids (who wants to get sued?) and also to help prevent spillage. We also used the same buckets for the next class in an effort to conserve water and the students - a few of whom were not happy about doing this (I have a couple of classic kids who find it strenuous and annoying if they so much as have to bend over to get something off the floor -you can imagine how fun they found this challenge) all definitely gained a deeper appreciation for what some kids have to do every day - multiple trips to get water that may not always be very clean, just so that they and their families can survive. This was a really good lesson. Even some of the ones who complained thanked me later. This challenge was followed by the check in and bonus sheet.
I then provided students with information on Fair Trade and why Fair Trade products are so important. But how do you tell which product is fair trade and which is not? In order to receive their next clue students were invited to approach a "coffee plantation", one team at a time, to scrutinize, smell and touch (but not taste) four different types of coffee. Teams had to accurately decide which one was fair trade and explain their answer before they could receive their next clue. I retold the "true" story about the legend of El Dorado and how it is most likely connected to Lake Guatavita and a ritual performed by a native Indian tribe. Students read this history and then had to play the role of the Indian tribe. They had to accurately draw and label three crops traditionally grown in Colombia and then trade / barter their crops for golden nuggets (in Spanish) teams then had to translate directions (which were in Spanish) that would lead them to a little wooden box hidden in the school forest which contained a "precious stone" for each team. Teams then had to respectfully, accurately and safely toss these treasures into (a makeshift) Lake Guatavita in order to check in and collect their bonus sheet.
Mehran thinks I'm insane. He cannot understand why I am photographing our dinner, despite the fact that I have explained it to him very slowly and patiently. Truly I have. Though I must admit he may have a point. 
And beach.
It was actually a lot of fun. Tasty too.