Kangaroo! Wahoo!

Current AU time and date: 4:26 pm, Monday 5/6/13
Current US time and date: 2:26 am, Monday 5/6/13

Happy Monday, everyone! (or should I say hoppy Monday?)

Hope you all had a nice and relaxing weekend, I sure did. I even got to make some new friends this weekend--kangaroos! Finally! I've been anxiously waiting to finally come in counter with some, and I know some of you have been waiting as well since I have continuously gotten asked through emails if I've seen any/kidnapped any yet. Well, seen--yes, kidnapped to bring home to you all in the US--not quite yet, but we're working on it. I'm sure I can sneak a few onto the plan, right? The joeys will fit right into my carry-ons. Anyway, yesterday I went out with my host family's daughter, Jenni. She's my age as well, which is pretty cool. We went out for lunch down by the beach, then went to a nature preserve (which is kind of like a zoo, but a lot smaller and with only native animals) by our house. I got to see so many native Australian birds, fish, reptiles and animals! It was awesome. Naturally, I snapped a few pictures on my phone so that I could show all of you at home.

After lunch we took a quick stroll down to the beach

The water felt absolutely perfect...

...until a big wave came up behind me and soaked me!

Then it was time to get out of the ocean for Miss Probasco.

At the nature preserve... 

I saw a sleepy koala!

And a wallaby, which is basically just a smaller kangaroo. They're both marsupials--as is a koala bear. Check out this website to learn more about what that means: http://www.australianwildlife.com.au/marsupials.htm  

I also saw some emu--I didn't like them, very much. They scared me. 

Hippity hoppity! Kangaroo!

I tried to make friends with the kangaroo by offering it some leaves and grass since that's what they eat. This one was particularly friendly and hopped right over to me. He was a little skeptical at first..."I don't think so, I'm staying right here, lady!"

Thinking about it..."Hmm, maybe I'll just take a look at what she's giving me..."

He finally gave in. "Mmm, maybe she isn't half bad after all!"

Little Rocko (I named him) enjoying his leaves I gave him.

Then this girl saw what was going on and came over to get in on the snacks! Notice how she's different than Rocko--I think she's either a red or grey kangaroo. Red and grey kangaroos are the most popular; red being the largest marsupials in the world. Sadly, I couldn't tell which she was because female red kangaroos are often a smokey-grey color (with hints of red) as well. So, it could go either way! 

I think Rocko might be a potoroo, which is a smaller type of kangaroo with a greyish-brown coat, rounded ears, and a pointed snout. I'm no kangaroo expert, though. There are over 50 species of kangaroos, so its hard to guess! The different types are fun to research in your free time--they're cute too :)

Just like Rocko, she trusted me and came over to eat some of the leaves I was giving them. 

This peacock was walking around and came over to see what was happening too. I was making so many wildlife friends! This is a male peacock. I know that because male peacocks have the brighter and prettier feathers. That's because they like to attract the female's attention with their beautiful wings! Its like a peacock pick-up line. 

Here's Rocko eating the leaves and grass I was feeding him! 

So that was my Sunday! Today, I headed back to school. The day was pretty basic. I worked with some groups in reading and writing. The NAPLANs are next week, so today we did different reviews of what to expect on the reading and writing sections. While reviewing reading sections and questions, I taught my groups a bunch of our strategies! I told the groups about how you all use these strategies and do great on your tests because of them. I made all my kids try talking to the text, making connections, highlighting, using POE and numbering the reading with question numbers. They couldn't believe how easy it was to find the right answers after using the strategies! I wish I had you guys there to help me teach them different strategies.

With my writing groups, we were working on writing a persuasive text for or against something--sound familiar? We worked on the drafting process since they have 10 minutes just to draft during the NAPLANs. I introduced them to the good ole bubble map! I told them that my students in America use this map a lot to help them write. Surprisingly, they didn't know what it was when I started drawing it. That was another time I wish I had you all there as assistant teachers!

Hard at work on their drafts

Some of the resources they had. The 'Powerful Words' paper is a list of "million dollar words" as we would call them.

This group was working on creating complex and compound sentences on the whiteboards. 

Also, today Mrs. Gardoll handed out the term 2 "homework packets". I didn't know what these were, so I listened as she passed them out. Apparently, rather than getting homework out of the book or workbook, or from a worksheet every night, the students get a big book at the beginning of each term with all of their homework in it for each week. At the end of the week, the book is collected and checked. This seemed pretty cool until I heard her say that they are expected to complete two sheets per week of homework?! I looked at the table next to me and said, "2 sheets for the entire week?? My kids in America do that in a night sometimes!" The students looked amazed and the one said, "Wow, they must all be really smart in America then..." I nodded and told them my American students are very hard workers, so they usually get the work done before they even get home. You all impressed these students with your work ethic!

Here's a picture I took of the homework packet...

So, there you have it. That about sums up my weekend adventure and Monday at school! Tomorrow we're heading to the computer lab to type up your pen pal letters! Hopefully everyone finishes so I can have them sent over to Ms. Michael by the end of the day (which will be about 1 am, Monday night your time). I talk a lot about you all, so the class can't wait to send the letters and hear back from my smart, wonderful American students!

Have a great Monday! Start the week off strong!

Miss you all,
-Miss Probasco

P.S...should you ever get bored in your free time, its really interesting to look up and research some of the Australian stuff I've told you all about such as the animals/wildlife, Aboriginal culture, Opera House/Sydney Harbour Bridge, language, Anzac Day, food, and culture! I occasionally Google it all to better understand what I'm experiencing, and I'm really learning a lot!