One thing that I have learned about traveling with a rabbit is that it opens up an entire new world of conversations and friendships.  This is so true with my dear friend Lisa and her family from Williamsburg.  I met Lisa through a another history friend and I treasure our friendship.  Moffat of Willamsburg was born!  Below are family photographs, mostly of her and her husband's grandchildren, Emma and SJ.  Moffat is well loved in this household.  See Lisa's description below for his adventure!

 It's #MuseumMonday!  

What a day!  Due to crazy winds in the area, we were without power for all but an hour of our day.  The artifact analysis was one of the scheduled things I got done today.  Anyhow...

I have made it  new goal for the year to start each day with the students either looking at a primary source or and artifact and discussing it using the "see-think-wonder" model.   This was our artifact today.  

Most often, I have my images connect to other studies going on (crazy idea, right?). This week we are studying Mississippi and Tennessee to give you a clue.  This person's birthday is also coming up next week (my kids can see the birthdays on the calendar).  Her image is also hanging in my classroom.

Guesses?  These shoes belong to Dolly Parton when she joined the cast of  the Grand Ole Opry in 1969.  They are displayed along the with dress and the lyrics to Jolene in the same display at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.  Along with the image of the artifact, we then watched the video of Dolly performing at the Grand Ole Opry in 1969.  I encouraged my students to note the styles of the hair and clothes, as well as the cameras, while they were watching the video as they are representative of change over time.  

I have opened a new area in my classroom for thinking titled "What's In A Museum?"  I want the kids to come to the understanding that museums can hold all kind of things.  I am going to be providing sticky notes for them to add their thoughts and ideas along the way. Today's lesson is the beginning to some new thinking and I am looking forward to it!

The holidays are over and we are all returning to our regular routines in the classroom.  As I spent some of the work days in my room organizing, it was a new month and time to redo the calendar of course.  For years as a primary teacher, I had different numbers and themes to match each month.  However, I have now simplified my calendar to a simple "old school" look but I celebrate different birthdays and events for the kids to learn from.  It's my sneaky way of tucking yet one more book in! Ha!

Just look at the January images above!  Talk about some historic icons to read about.  As part of our morning routine, the students each receieve a mini sticker to place in their planner and we follow up with a book or short video clip of the person. It doen't take much effort, but I see my kids make new connections everyday.  I believe it is important for the kids to be taking this information home to their parents and  make further connection for learning.  I have had parents admit to me that they don't know about some of the people that we learn about!  

Please see below for some of my favorite books/videos for the people above.  Trust me, this is a simple and engaging way to pour more information into our kids in a fun way!

If you would like to see my full calendar kit that I have designed including images above and the entire year, you can find in in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. 

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Today's post can be found on Moffat's blog.

My dear friend and fellow blogger posted a few weeks ago about a woman, Ali Edwards, that chooses to focus on one word per year as a theme.  I remember Ali, Edwards from my old scrapbooking days as she was a creative genius in the industry.  She is still a creative genius! 

My friend Jill originally went with the word, WORDS, as she loves words. However, upon further reflection, she honed in on the word CULTIVATE as her work for the year.  Her goal is to refine and improve herself.

I am not a person that makes New Year's resolutions.  I believe that as a conscientious human, we all work to improve ourselves.  With this being said, I thought about my word.

INSPIRE

Inspiraton is all around us everyday if you let it in.  

How are you inspired?  How do you inspire others?

One reason I chose this word is because it is reciprocal.  I hope that I can be an inspiration to my students most days (let's face it, we aren't always as inspriring as we hope).  I also want to be in a space to be open minded to what might inspire me.

SO...what is your word?