Pura vida ~ 8th grade

During our professional development over Fall Break, as well as in some recent reading, I have come across more and more research about the importance of play and movement in learning.  While we think of that naturally with the pre-K and kindergarten classes, the truth is that even older students absorb and retain information much more readily when they are able to move around and experience it instead of merely sitting at a desk and doing worksheets.

I was quite excited to see that our unit this week included cultural information on "pura vida" and the artwork of internationally known Costa Rican artist, Adrián Gómez.  In Costa Rica, the phrase "pura vida" is used all the time.  It is an expression of national identity, of thanksgiving, of joy, and a response to all kinds of situations.

Image credit 

For Adrián Gómez, the gladness and exuberance of pura vida is often distilled into the image of children on a swing.  Since 1997, he has created hundreds of works of art that show swinging kids.  Most of my favorites are not in creative commons for blog use, but if you check the Google Images for Adrián Gómez artista, some fantastic pieces pop up.

Today our 8th grade class was able to combine the latest in educational research with important standards for Spanish.  We read about Adrián Gómez and viewed several of his works on the Promethean board in our classroom, then we hit the playground to put it into practice.  Seeing the 8th graders swinging high and shouting pura vida brought a huge smile to my face.  Our students are beautiful works of art from the Master Artist, and I delight in seeing them experience pura vida.