Yesterday we went on a trip to Colonial Yorktown (where the English surrendered to the US in 1783) and Colonial Williamsburg. What a great time! It was freezing (the high got up to 43), so I had on two pairs of socks, my heavy down coat, which I haven't worn since before I moved, a fleece headband for my ears, heavy gloves and jeans, oh and clogs. Every part of me stayed warm, except for my legs, as I forgot to wear two layers on my legs. I guess fat on the legs isn't as much insulation as I had hoped. :)
What a great way to teach history to kids who are not yet able to understand such abstract concepts as history. Many kids have a hard time with history because it's not something that they personally experienced. It is the only subject that cannot always be hands-on, so it's tough for them to learn. So we take them there so that everything they learned becomes alive. It is always so much fun to see how engaged and enthusiastic they are when they go. They got to see a soldier fire a musket. They got to see a real colonial farm, with tobacco growing and everything. They even got to be in the House of Burgesses and the court room where the birth of our nation took place. And my lowest student actually got to be Patrick Henry. I don't think he will forget that.
The best parts were having tour guides the whole way through at both locations, so I didn't have to teach anything, and actually getting to talk to the students' parents not as a teacher, but more as an adult. It is hard to be the teacher sometimes. You can't always says what's on your mind, and although I didn't completely let my guard off (I'm no fool), it was nice to talk about things other than kids.
So even though I am tired and sore from carrying a backpack full of stuff, I am gad we did it.
:)
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