Assignment Sheet and News...and pictures, too

As promised, here is the Assignment Sheet and News for this week. I hope you'll take the time to read about what we are learning, especially because we are starting many new units. 

Today, our Zayed University student, Ms. Maryam, taught the class a review lesson about fractions. Though this is only her second lesson (ever!), she did a very good job and the children seemed to enjoy it, especially because she brought in edible fraction pizzas. Here are some fun pictures:

Then, a little later in the day, the children worked in groups to analyze weather data to determine various climate zones around the earth. Though this is pretty sophisticated information, the class was generally able to identify some patterns and make a few good observations. 

And, lastly, here are just a few pictures of my spring break holiday, since a few of you have asked. The fun began at the World Cup on March 26th, then it continued as my sister, Julie, and I traveled to Zanzibar, Nairobi (briefly), and The Seychelles (Pralin, La Digue, and Mahe). Needless to say, it was an EPIC holiday with picturesque scenes, rich culture, delicious food, and many unique experiences! 

This is my third year enjoying the Dubai World Cup. It's always such a treat! 

My friends, Ryan and Sean Penny (also known as "The Wellness Brothers"), enjoy a friendship with His Highness, Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, so it's always an honor and privilege to see him every year. He always makes the same joke about me being so tall that he should've worn heels. :)

My dear friend, Bronwyn 

The races are always so exciting!! 

And, here are some from our African adventure...
(in no particular order)

It was totally surreal to be in a place that I have only seen on glossy calendars pages.✨

Giving this ancient tortoise a little love...🐢💛 (By ancient I mean that it could be 30-100 years old.) This type of tortoise can only be found here and in the Galápagos Islands. Special!! ✨And, by the way, as soon as I started softly touching its neck, he fully extended it, closed its eyes, and actually seemed to smile. ☺️

"Out of the six accommodations we've enjoyed over the last 11 days, this just might be our favorite.✨It's tranquil, affordable, and absolutely idyllic. 🌺Tomorrow afternoon, we will say "au revoir" to these gorgeous islands 🌴🐢and return to Dubai, where Julie and I will enjoy just one more day together. 👭 We've packed in so much that it seriously feels more like a month together. My heart is full...and so are my memory cards."💓 📱📷🎥😁 

"The tides here are quite extreme, but as a low tide lover, I was thrilled because it meant plenty of sea life, wading in the cool water, as well as making new friends." 🌟

Scuba diving in Mahe, Seychelles...

Anse Lazio was one of the best places we've ever snorkeled. We saw two eels, a nurse shark, a turtle, red coral, and hundreds of gorgeous tropical fish. It was even better than the scuba diving we did in Zanzibar! Very thankful to God for protecting us, giving us beautiful weather, and just for the enormous blessing to be here. 🐠🐢🐚💖 

Glorious water!! Julie and I loved just being able to bike around the island and stop off wherever we wanted to snorkel. 🐠🐟 A.maz.ing.✨

"Today @jlnossal I had two fantastic dives (22m & 12m) on the southeast side of Mahe. 🔱 We saw two white tipped reef sharks, an eagle ray, an enormous Napoleon wrasse, a few nudibranches, two rather large and menacing barracudas, and so many other beautiful, vibrant tropical fish. 🐡🐠🐟🐚And, amazingly enough, some of our fellow divers were also expats living in Dubai and the two boys are students at DAA! What a small world. 🌍 We had a great time discovering that we shared many mutual friends and also discussing life in Dubai and our favorite places to travel. What a sweet blessing this entire day was...um, right up until we returned to our beach chalet this evening and realized that the power on this side of the island was out, which is apparently a normal occurrence. 🔦 No worries. Our prayers were answered in about two hours. 🙏🏼💡My heart is filled with such gratitude for such incredible and fascinating experiences."

"Habari ya asubuhi, which means "good morning" in Swahili. ☀️🌴 After a very long day of travel, Julie and I arrived to Zanzibar last night and woke up feeling refreshed...and just a bit sweaty. 😁 The mosquito nets kept us itch-free and we could hear the waves as we drifted off to sleep, both such blessings. While it's very rustic/primitive, we are already enjoying the local culture and look forward to a very leisurely day on the beach." 🐠🐚

While on Praslin in the Seychelles, we visited the UNESCO site of Vallee de Mai, home of the world famous coco de mar. 🌴 It is the largest nut and grows no where else in the world! 🌍 The palm fronds are absolutely enormous and we loved our two hour hike through this mini jungle, listening to parrots, seeing skinks slide through the undergrowth and in the lookout for chameleons. #awesome #cocodemar

Yesterday, we had a lovely sensory 👃🏼experience visiting the Spice Garden, which required a steep drive up into the mountains. 🙈 First, we ate a yummy silver snapper and rice lunch, infused with herbs from the garden. 🌿🐟🍚To finish, we decided to try their homemade ice cream (cinnamon and nutmeg).🌰🍦Wow! Light, fresh, and bursting with flavor. 😋Next, we began our tour and accidentally interrupted some tortoises 🐢💖🐢enjoying a special moment.😳 The rest of the tour was interesting and full of incredible plants, many of which I've never heard of. But, how many plants can you really see in one day? So, we may or may not have deviated from the path to end the tour early. 😁 All and all, it was a worthwhile experience, but mainly because of the ice cream. 😉

Biked about 75% of the island yesterday 🚴🏼 and loved feeling the breezes, riding through jungles so thick that they were dark during the middle of the day, and hearing all of the sounds of God's creation: bats, parrots, geckos, cows, chickens, morning doves...and loud island music from the locals. 🎶 What a beautiful experience.#iwillbesosoretomorrow (in La Digue)

I have thousands more (really), but for now, these will do. :)