Finland-Estonia Teacher Travel

Our trip to the Baltic coincided with a record heat wave in the US. We started our trip in Helsinki shivering!!

Helsinki public library 

10 pm, sun hardly set at all. 

Teachers in old timey student desks

Brrrrrrrrr! 

Pura Vida!

South Colonie and Shen students combined for one week of on-location learning and fun in Costa Rica, starting June 28, 2022.

The educational trip was an independent student/parent opportunity thanks to the industry leader Education First (EF) Tour Company.

Participants traveled to three regions to learn about natural wonders such as the layers of the jungle, farming, thermal springs, and Pacific Ocean coastal habitats.   The group also spent time on a high school campus and interacted with their curious, enthusiastic Costa Rica counterparts.  The students learned a great deal and represented their 518 schools proudly, returning home as more alert global citizens.

Plans are in the works for a 2024 early July return trip (including Panama as well).  Stay tuned!

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Final Instagram post about trip:

There’s a story, I’m aching to tell

Listen to me, it all went well 

Took a group to Costa Rica for activities and sights

And that we did, morning through night 

But this old croc could have ruined our day 

But luckily for us, it was sleeping away

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1st International trip done ✅ flawlessly executed activities except for the [emergency evacuation] all-day bus ride south to avoid Hurricane Bonnie. Silver lining - upscale hotel on the basaltic sand beach!  Being in a new place requires all of your presence of mind to navigate ..CR is a gift! 

#eftours

#studenttravel

#puravida 

#travelchangesyou

Republic of Georgia Teacher Exchange Trip, Part 1

Warning - this entry contains heavy amounts of "teacher language" while reflecting on some of the steps I took to prepare for a two-week teacher exchange to Georgia.

Dear colleagues,

Thanks to a grant from the Department of State in Wash DC (your taxpayer dollars at work!), I am traveling to the former Soviet Republic of Georgia (birthplace of Joseph Stalin) in April.  Georgia is located in the Caucasus Region of Eurasia between the Black and Caspian Seas.  My purpose for going to Gori, Georgia is to teach, co-teach and meet with teachers to disseminate and model current research findings and best practices. 

  I have been matched with a partner teacher in Georgia named Marina Terterovi, who teaches English in a secondary school, American studies at the university and tutors privately.  As you can imagine, teachers in this region of the world are paid poorly, work long hours, and have very few basic resources (like copy machines, paper, index cards, books).  Marina wishes to have a penpal relationship with some classes in our school; perhaps even becoming a sister school to us.  She would also like me to help her begin a resource center at the university.  To equip the center, many materials are needed such as grammar books/posters, trade books and social studies materials.  If you have any ideas for me and/or can think of where I could obtain materials or would like to donate materials, it would be highly appreciated.  As the April trip draws closer, I will placing a box somewhere for you to drop off any item you might be discarding anyway, like textbook samples, old textbooks, etc.  I will be in touch with the state department to work out a reduced shipping plan, such as going through embassies or APO addresses.  Thank you in advance for all your help.

Here are a few lessons I'll bring to model to teachers and/or students:

Lesson 1 –  Storytelling

All students will participate in the reading of the “chain” story Monkey Face by Frank Ash.  A chain story is one where events repeat themselves, thereby making listening and retelling simpler.  As Monkey Face is told, a drawing of Little Monkey is displayed and revised six times, as the character encounters jungle animals on the way home from school.

Students will be broken into teams and continue reading and practicing Monkey Face.  Each student will get a chance to retell a section of the story (a minimum of 3 sentences, without the use of the paper).  

An extension of the lesson is to retell the story with a twist: changing characters or setting slightly (the changes should not distort the original tale to the point that it is unidentifiable).

Another chain story may will be distributed to the teams entitled Something From Nothing, a folktale.  

Lesson 2 – Poetry/ Song Lyrics

Students will listen (and follow along on a handout) to the lyrics of folk guitarist  Jack Johnson’s songs “The 3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” and “The Friendship Song.”  The songs will be replayed, so students may draw images which comes to their minds or list words, questions, or thoughts.

I will ask students to underline certain words on the handout and explain how some lines repeat and some words at the end of lines rhyme, two important poetic devices.  Students will be asked to share other features of poetry that they know from their past studies.

Students will go on a poetry walk around the room where samples of poetry can be found.  After reading as many as they can in 8 minutes, students will be asked to go and stand near the one that they like best, even if they don’t fully understand it.

After sketching what they visualized reading the piece, students can write their thoughts about their chosen poem, students will read their poem to a partner and share their thoughts about it.

They will then be asked to share with the whole group.

Lesson 3 – Fuzzy-ball Stories

Students will be given a fuzzy ball-shaped pom pom.  Using their imaginations, they will draw 8 quick sketches utilizing the pom pom within the drawing (for example, maybe it’s a gumball in a gumball machine, the top of a clown’s hat, the center of a flower, etc.).  They will then choose 3 of their quick sketches to draw over again, only this time, the drawings will be larger with much more detail. 

Students will be asked to walk around room to feel textures, listen to sounds, smell, etc. Next, the class will return to their seats and share words that appeal to the 5 senses.  This list of words will be written on the chalkboard to be used for the final phase of the activity.

Students will be asked to write about each of their 3 drawings using as many of the 5 senses as they can when adding supporting details and descriptive word choice to each drawing.  Students will choose their favorite of the 3 short descriptions to share with the class.

QUICK ACTIVITIES “just in case”

• Making Words (cut out letters used to build certain words dictated to them) 

• Creating Glyphs (an integrated math/art activity) 

• Easy crossword puzzles 

• Vocabulary Clarifying Charts (use context to guess meaning, then check it in the dictionary) 

• BINGO using new words learned 

• Time for Kids magazine reading 

       

•  Pass out a selection of wordless books and have students come up with text to go along with the pictures

When the US and Korea Meet

 When the US and Korea Meet

Ingredients: Blend mutual respect and the intertwined histories of the US and Korea.  Sift through democratic and capitalist impurities to get only the finest of ingredients.  Mix in the Korea Foundation, Korea Society, participating teachers and Korean hosts.  Combine all ingredients adding harmony, friendship and a bright future.

👆👆👆  This was written on a replacement Hershey’s chocolate bar wrapper 👆👆👆

This entry comes 21 years post-trip!   I rediscovered my photo album and journals from a 3-week study-travel trip to South Korea while organizing a storage area in the basement. While I can’t find many other documents I know I’ve kept, including several elementary level lessons, there is enough here for me to cobble together something meaningful, perhaps.

From my 2001 journal - a list entitled “Impressions of Korea, Land of the Morning Calm.”  I believe I added to this list throughout my 3-week stay.

• Blend of old and new

• Pollution

• Determined to pull themselves up by the bootstraps

• Fascinated by clash of opposing forces of old and new: Confucianism and Christianity; men and women; nature vs. industry

• Passionate, conflicted, peaceful, bustling, polite, strong-willed, goal-oriented

• Koreans smile more than Japanese

• Microcosm of world history

• Enjoying economic boom

• Shocked/emotional learning about the history of wars in Korea

• Vibrant, lively

• Ancient, colorful, sad (amount of work young people have; and women’s roles)

• How close past and present are

• Little cars

• Old neighborhoods being torn down to build highrises

• Come to learn and disseminate information with peers

• Quietness, even in large places

• Safe, secure

• Rat race

• Educational system in trouble

• Enjoyed walking around bustling markets with their incredible variety of food

• Level of sophistication was more than anticipated (women, subway, our Korean Studies workshops)

• Impressed with young people’s respect for families and education

• Competitive, generous, gracious

Teachers on break at Korea Univ

From my photo album

Paris - Loire Valley - Normandy High School Trip, Rescheduled (AGAIN!)

Click here for a Canva slide show!

Due to the Omicron variant, Colonie High School's trip to France has been rebooked to April of 2023. Some of our travelers are from the "OG" France 2021 trip; others have joined in the past year; and sadly, our seniors each year the trip is postponed have had to cancel. My hope is that those who have to cancel due to scheduling, etc. will travel to France as young adults. Thank you to all for your patience and understanding.  #colonieny

Head over to my EXPLORICA WORDSTRIDES tour page for more information.

https://www.explorica.com/smith-3896

     

I’ve been teaching in South Colonie for over two decades! At different times of the year, I head outdoors after school as either Coach Smith to Lisha

Kill Middle Schoolers or as Connie to my teammates on the Saratoga Stryders running team.

I am adventurous, curious, love history and travel. You won’t catch me sitting still too often.My love of international travel started back in college

on a semester abroad in Ireland. From there, one of my first teaching jobs was in Paraguay, South America. Eventually, I settled into a teaching car

eer in

South Colonie but during 5 summer vacations, I headed to Poland, teaching English and chaperoning Polish students on field trips around Eastern Europe

. I also worked with students in the Republic of Georgia, when I was assigned to a school

for 2 weeks to train teachers through demonstration lessons. Most recently, I've chaperoned several 4 day trips to Canada with 7th and 8th grade

French students. I am well acquainted with the rigors of a tour as a participant. I've been a teacher scholar for several weeks in Korea, Japan an

d Germany. And finally, my

own personal travel around the world is quite extensive as well. I am thrilled to be your future group leader!

Check out my travel blog at

http://sojournerteacher.blogspot.com/

UnBELIZE-able!

Was this January 2022 trip with 30 teachers from around the US real? Did this trip really happen?  YES!  An unforgettable adventure PLUS group travel leader training in this glorious place prompted me to organize a fabulous tour here in July 2023!  

 Click here for 12 slides

Want to know more about my trip for solo student travelers, families, or school staff??

Click here for tour information!

Join One of My Group Travel Trips in 2022

Middle School Costa Rica Adventure

Middle School ...an age where day camp might not click anymore but too young for employment. Why do high schoolers get all the trips, the fun .. not anymore. Join us for a summer 2022 tropical adventure through Costa Rica. Learn through experience, nonstop activity and social interaction. A country where culture, beauty, ecological beauty and sustainable living converge. Pure vida!