Costa Rica

I went to Costa Rica for spring break. It was the best decision I've made in 2012 thus far. I haven't traveled out of the country since I went abroad my junior year in 2010 and was really excited to venture off to somewhere I've never been. I spent most of my time in Monteverde, which is home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world: The Monteverde Cloud Forest. It was SO cool. I went hiking, did zip lining, walked on hanging bridges and took a coffee tour. Some pictures:

I also went to another town called Arenal/La Fortuna to visit a volcano and enjoy the hot springs.

Although this was my vacation, I kept on thinking back to how this whole trip relates to my work as a science teacher. During one of the hiking trips we had a tour who was really knowledgeable about the biodiversity of the area and I loved how he mentioned concepts that I taught in class! I'm about 3/4 through my first year as a science teacher and I really have covered a lot of topics.

• Heat and temperature
• Energy (kinetic, potential, mechanical, etc)
• Sound waves, light waves
• Electromagnetic Radiation
• The Rock Cycle
• Plate Tectonics
• Earth's Geological History
• Evolution
• The Universe (Star's life cycle, solar system)
• Genetics
• Body Systems
• Cell Structure
• Ecology (food chains, webs, ecosystems, symbiosis)

And those are just the topics that come to mind at the moment. It's crazy! What's crazier is that the FCAT (Florida Comprehension Assessment Test) that all students must take is in 16 school days... Only 8th graders take a Science FCAT, but all students have to take Reading and Math. So right now the entire school is in a crunch mode to get these kids prepared for the test.