On Monday, we will celebrate Valentine's Day at 1:45.  Students will be completing cards for each other and having snacks.  Please feel free to contribute a small snack to the party.  Students will be allowed to pass out candy as long as there is enough for everyone (22). 

Fourth grade also has more news in the way of a new student arriving on Monday.  We will all do our best to make her feel welcome and at home at IAA.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Homework for the weekend:

• Math - pages 157, 158, and 159
• Valentine's Day Cards
• Writing - Questions about culture
• Reading - read 20 minutes

WOW!  Is about the only word that can sum up the 8 day tour of Galapagos.  I have never experienced anything remotely similar in my life.  Everything was very positive.  The boat, although very small was more than adequate.  The crew was spectacular, with a great cook.  The group that I was with (11 including myself) was great.  We were a great mix, the majority from the states (even a family with Iowa roots . . . small world!).  The wildlife was incredible.  It was truly amazing how close that you can get without bothering them.  The rule is one meter and the animals seem to be aware of this rule.  I saw everything that I wanted to see and more.  To blog about 8 days seemed impossible, so I created 8 consecutive posts (one for each day).  The first day was short, which was expected with the travel from Guayaquil.  We went to Black Turtle Cove on the northern end of Isla Santa Cruz.  We saw a shark, a ray, birds, and plenty of sea turtles.  It was only a very small taste of the amazing things that we would see over the 8 days.  Here are some pics.  Don't forget, if you have time, go through the rest of the posts as each island is a bit different.
All of the photos that I took can be found at:  http://picasaweb.google.com/jmathisecuador

On Day 2 we visited Isla Rábida. The beach was red sand and really beautiful.  There were sea lion pups immediately when we arrived playing in the water and chasing after a marine iguana.  We also saw some different birds, including the Galapagos hawk.  In Bartolomé we walked up to a lookout and then searched for Galapagos penguins.  We also had the chance to do some snorkeling around.  Here are some pics:

  

The previous night was the worst of the traveling portions of the trip.  It was 10 hours, completed all at night.  However, with the current and the state of the water it was a difficult 10 hours.  Very little sleep was had.  At times, I was simply trying to brace myself in bed.  However everyone was great about it.  There were no complaints and it ended up being well worth it.  Genovesa is one of three islands that is entirely north of the equator.  We spent the whole day there walking and snorkeling.  We started in Darwin Bay to see many sea birds, including many red-footed boobies.  Then, we spent some time snorkeling and in the afternoon on to Prince Philip's Steps in search of the short eared owl and Galapagos sea FUR lions (different than all the other sea lions that we had and will have seen on the trip.  Once again, we were successful.  Here are some pics: