Yesterday was the annual HVCS World's Fair, one of the many neat learning opportunities here at Hickory Valley. Each grade studies a different country or continent, and they spend the year learning about that place. These studies culminate in the World's Fair, when we all become world travelers and travel from continent to continent (classroom to classroom) learning about the different places in our world.
Our first stop was Asia ... the students were excited to remove their shoes before entering the Asian classroom, as is common with many Asian cultures.
First, we watched a student-produced video about the Asian countries the fifth grade studied.
Our students were entranced--and a little nervous--about this cobra as the older students demonstrated snake charming. Once they figured out the snake was a toy, they loved it!
Here's a video of the snake being "charmed":
After Asia, we headed to Australia! The second-graders were eager to share their handmade Australia books with us and show us what they'd learned.
We also tried on aboriginal masks and saw a giant shark from the Great Barrier Reef!
After a snack break, we traveled to Africa! We boarded our safari jeeps and headed across the vast continent.
Our students were all ears as the third-grade tour guide gave us instructions!
In addition to the animal safari, we saw some native masks, listened to African drums, and learned about some African countries.
Next, we went to Europe. A highlight of Europe, especially for our boys, was investigating castles the fourth-graders had built out of cardboard. It was hard keeping our hands to ourselves amidst such fun!
The fourth-graders had also made replicas of each country's leader, so we had a little fun with that.
Where else in Chattanooga could you have your photo taken with England's Queen Elizabeth?!?
The fourth-grade girls love helping with the K3's, so most of our girls wanted their picture taken together!
Mrs. Connie wanted her picture taken with the Queen of Denmark!
Finally, we learned a traditional Greek dance!
After all this traveling, we really worked up an appetite. Luckily it was time for lunch. Lunch on World's Fair day is special because we get to sample food from all of these wonderful countries!
On the plate in the bottom photo, some of our favorite foods included mac & cheese (from Canada, top left), fairy bread from Australia (top center), fresh fruit from South America (top right), lentil cake from India (top right), chicken and veggie stew (from Africa, bottom left), European scones, cheese and cookies (bottom right), maple leaf cookies from Canada, and black beans from Africa. We also enjoyed friend chicken from the good ole' U.S.A.
After lunch, it was time for one more stop ... this time to Central and South America. By this time, the attention span of our young students was starting to wane, so we made it a quick trip. :)
Last but not least, Mrs. Connie managed to get herself attacked by a boa constrictor! She may have missed her calling as an actress ...
What a fun day--exhausting, but FUN!
