Being a reading specialist doesn't always allow for field trips, but I have been lucky this year to go on several. A few weeks ago I went to Washington DC with our sixth graders. I love going there and enjoyed showing them around a little. Knowing this will probably be their only chance to go there made it more important to make it enjoyable.
Yeseterday I went with the third graders to Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest, his retreat home.
One
of the best things about this home is that it is under restoration. I
have been going there for my entire 15 years of teaching, and every time
you see something different. I went last summer, and today, not even a
year later, there has been more restoration. How cool is that! If you
ever get out to Bedford County, VA, stop in at Poplar Forest. You will
be amazed!
The
kids had a wonderful time too. They loved looking at all of
Jefferson's ideas but were quite intrigued by the "necessaries". Thomas
Jefferson had an eye for detail, and he did not skimp on anything!
They also enjoyed going to the "ghost house" which is just a structure put up to look like the old slave houses. The funny thing is the "for sale" sign in the background. Since the grounds back up to a neighborhood, you get to see these kinds of things. The teachers joked that the slave quarters might be what is really for sale!
After the tour, the students went to the Hands on Tent, where a carpenter bee landed right in my lap! Wow! They made bricks and got to "dig" for artifacts. This was all by team effort, and they had a blast! Here they are making bricks.
I don't think any of them will be brick makers, but they sure did have a good time doing it!
I
enjoyed going on the field trip and just being another adult. I had no
planning to do for it, so it was quite enjoyable! I just hope I get to
go on more in years to come!
Andrea
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