This summer, I was fortunate enough to participate in the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute.  We were treated like royalty and the learning that we were able to participate in will be hard to be repeated.

During my time there, I spent an afternoon visiting the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.  My husband and I have always loved folk art and I had seen the pictures of the collection.  The collection did not disappoint!

During my visit, I have to say my favorite exhibit was "Down On The Farm" featuring a collection of folk art farm animals.  Prince, the main character of the exhibit, is a carved terrier from the Weill family.  The designers of the exhibit set Prince as the main character in a narrative where he travels to a farm and encounters many adventures with the local animals.  The setting is brought to life through a series of folk art paintings of rural farm life.

This weekend, I had some long overdue time to do some creative planning.  I had purchased the book and stuffed dog from the exhibit, uncertain of how I might use them in my classroom.  Time is a magnificent thing!  We have been working on narratives during writing and I am always looking for new opportunities to extend our museum studies.  

I am not sure where my plans will take our class, but I am excited for the possibilities.  The wheels are turning and that always leads to a grand plan.

This past week, our fifth grade students were fortunate enough to spend the afternoon with Mike and Sharon Guli of Guli Productions.  Mike and Sharon are experts on period clothing and are captivating in the classroom with students presenting period dress and etiquette.