Travel to Ireland with Go Ahead Tours

A good friend of mine is organizing a trip to Ireland this summer with Go Ahead Tours.  Go Ahead is an amazing tour company -professional, reliable, reasonable.  If you are interested in traveling the trip is for adults (age 16 or older if accompanied by an adult). 

I traveled to Italy this past summer with Go Ahead.  It was a fantastic tour.  A bit different from EF Tours because it is for adults, so there are some perks (of course the price reflects this but it is well worth it!).  Please visit the link for additional information:

http://dianepenzeragroup.grouptoursite.com/groups/dianepenzeragroup.aspx

What is included:
Round trip airfare
Hotel stays with private baths
Breakfast daily, 2 dinners
Transportation to and from the airport
Guided excursions- see the itinerary for more information on which ones
Services of a full time tour guide
Luxury motor coach


What is not included:
tips for your guide and driver
lunch
some dinners
optional excursions

Cupcake Art -Part 2

Continuing with my new obsession, I have created these delectable little flowers.  Again, the book entitled What's New, Cupcake? is my inspiration.  I am having so much fun with these designs.  If you haven't seen this book or the original Hello Cupcake, please check it out.  They have their own web page and blog which is amazing!

http://www.hellocupcakebook.com/

Cupcake Art

Recently inspired by a book entitled What's New, Cupcake?, I have been making some fancy little cupcakes! 

This book is so clever and makes it easy to turn any little cupcake into a fancy work of art.  Although a bit time consuming, I find the end result to be well worth the effort.  I made these cupcakes for family and friends to enjoy. 

Chocolate Owl  Cupcakes made with Oreo, Junior Mints and Runts

Chocolate Fish Cupcakes made with Circus Peanuts, Fruit Loops and M&M's

Pinwheels for Peace-Part 2

Our Pinwheels for Peace display was a huge success.  We were so lucky to have a beautiful day!

All of our students in grades 2-6 had an opportunity to come outside and plant a pinwheel in the school yard.  They were so excited to see their pinwheel outside as they left the building for the day.  My hope was that they remembered and shared the symbolism of the pinwheel also.

By the end of the day we had over 600 pinwheels spinning in front of the school.  I hope to make this a yearly event at school to remind our students to be kind and be a friend to all.

Halloween Art Contest at the Local Art Center

LAC is hosing a coloring contest and a drawing contest.  Please visit the link for more information.  I will be sharing this information in class also. 

http://www.latrobeartcenter.org/Contests.html#

Pinwheels for Peace- Part 1

Every year I read about Pinwheels for Peace and want to participate.  www.pinwheelsforpeace.com
In the past it has been a struggle because of the 6 day rotation.  This year I was determined to make it work!  So all of my students are participating in this amazing international project.

I invited our guidance counselor to join me in this lesson because she is always talking with the students about being a 'bucket filler',  having good manners and how to handle your emotions.  http://www.bucketfillers101.com/ 


Pinwheels for Peace started seven years ago in Florida and has since grown to be an international project with millions of participants. It is a fantastic way of promoting peace within our schools and is a good way to start the year.

The idea is rather simple: take a square piece of paper and create a design on one side.  We asked our students to write their thoughts and ideas on how they can promote peace or be a bucket filler on the back of their pinwheel.  Then I put them together.

On International Peace Day we will go outside into our school yard and 'plant' our pinwheels (weather permitting). This is our public statement about peace and bucket filling.  We hope the spinning pinwheels will be a reminder of what it means to be a bucket filler and promote a peaceful and safe environment within our school and community.

Educational Travel -Costa Rica 2011

Visiting Poas Volcano.  An active volcano in Costa Rica.

This past summer I traveled with 3 students to Costa Rica with EF Tours.  We spent 8 full days traveling around the country, experiencing the culture and customs and practicing our language skills.

We had many opportunities to enjoy the amazing environment of the country while learning about the flora and fauna. We also went zip lining, hiking, white water rafting, kayaking & horseback riding.

We also visited a local school in the town of Las Nubes. The students of Las Nubes performed some traditional dances for our EF group. In exchange our students brought gifts to the 23 students. Two of our students even preformed for the kids; singing the National Anthem.  It was such an enriching experience for the students.  They left with a greater appreciation for their own educational opportunities.

I can not express enough the importance of educational travel for students.  It is a life changing experience.  Many of the students who have the opportunity to travel abroad go on to study languages in depth and work internationally.

Our local newspaper wrote a very nice article about the experience we had in Costa Rica:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_755299.html

Please visit EF Tours for more information. www.eftours.com