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"Is this the social studies room?"

8/28/2017

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Earlier this week, we had a guest custodian in the building covering for our regular night technician.  As he entered my room and introduced himself, he began to look around  soaking in the decor of the room. Gazing about, he then asked if this was the social studies room. I proudly said to him that it was actually first grade!  His response to me was "It's good to get them thinking early."  

I couldn't agree more!  Social studies is the key.  I can't imagine a day going by in my classroom without a conversation entering into geography and history.  

Space it a big thing to me.  It makes me happy to have my room filled with images that might spark a child's inquisitive nature. Why not fill their heads with stories of leaders, inventors, musicians, artists and those that opened doors for others to follow.  There are too many to count, but I plan on doing my fair share of door opening to the many stories we are all connected with!
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TR, Teaching Soulmates and a couple of postcards...

8/15/2017

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I have had the incredible fortune to teach with some amazing, strong and innovative teachers in my career.  Several who have been mentors, cheerleaders and dear friends through thick and thin.  I am lucky!

However, I also have teaching soulmates, as you can see by the pic above, sent to me today on a teacher work day by my dear friend Jessica.  She and I can spend hours dreaming and planning lessons for our students around history.  We never get tired of it!  We love to think outside the box.  We also LOVE Teddy Roosevelt!  I don't know if we will ever be fortunate enough to teach in the same school, but the moments we can spend together dreaming of history lessons are grand!

The images to the right are from one of my former students and my other teaching soulmate, Lisa.  We met through a mutual friend and think SO much alike.  We are separated by thousands of miles from Colorado to Virginia.  Still, we love sharing our passion for teaching history and challenging our students.  Oddly, she teaches college freshmen and I teach first grade.  Last week she sent me a couple of vintage postcards of TR.  The one to the right is most unique and is going to require some more research (more to come on that).

Today, I received the more modern postcard from one of my students last year. Arianna's mom had text me last week inquiring for our address as Arianna wanted to write.  Her postcard made smile.  My kids learn a lot about TR in my class (they know he is my favorite).  I love that Arianna has background knowledge on TR and wants to share her new knowledge with me!  It only reaffirms for me that we need to start sharing history with students at a young age!

On a different note, I need to work on my winking skills!!
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Special Delivery

8/6/2017

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Today, my husband and I returned from running errands to find this little gem in our mailbox (yes, my kids know where I live).  Such a fun surprise from one of my first grade students from this last year.  Silas has been very busy!

Earlier in the day, I had been speaking with a retired superintendent from Kansas about writing.  His comment was that kids need to be writing all the time.  I explained to him, that in my classroom and with my cross-curricular approach, we write a lot.  By the time my students leave first grade, they have written a USA atlas on all fifty states, as well as a book on United States history.

I use Moffat as my vehicle for my state studies, with the students referencing powerpoints that I have created with my travel photographs as a reference.  The stories they come up with are rather magical.  The only hitch is that they must include appropriate references from that state.  

With that being said, all of my students went to Build-A-Bear in May after they saved their money as part of our personal financial literacy unit.  The students all made their own Moffats and named them.  Silas named his Cletus.

Take a moment to look at the fun story that I received today in my mailbox.  Thanks Silas for the terrific surprise!  It's great work!
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Happy Colorado Day!!

8/1/2017

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August 1st is Colorado Day!  As the unscheduled days of summer come to a close, my husband and I enjoyed a peaceful, early morning walk through one of our new, favorite outdoor spaces, Red Rock Canyon.  Our goal was to retrace our last hike so that I could photograph Moffat in the quarry for a new Colorado Springs alphabet book.  The trails in Red Rock Canyon are substantial and on a weekday morning, fairly empty.  We strayed from our intended path and enjoyed new scenery along the way.  Next time we want to look at the well-know "Section 16" that I have heard so much about.

I am pondering starting a new Colorado Springs alphabet book.  We have truly enjoyed our summer in the city (I was even home for the entire month of July) and have new ideas buzzing through my head.  Additionally, I have been inspired by the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum's new exhibit Story of Us done in an alphabetical format.  Q is notoriously a tricky letter, so the quarry section of Red Rock Canyon was perfect.

Can't think of a better way to enjoy the start of Colorado Day.  Now I need to do some more research and planning!!
Red Rock Canyon Open Space
CSPM Story of Us
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    wife, mom, teacher, author, history nerd and the lady that carries around a rabbit
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  • Moffat's Blog
  • About
  • My Support People
  • Geography in the Classroom
  • History In The Classroom
  • Diverse Kids
  • Honors and Continued Work
  • #Blog365
  • #historymakers