What a whirlwind week this has been.  I spent this week immersed in the Revolutionary War touring Lexington and Concord as well as the Freedom Train in Boston.  I am fortunate to live in an area so rich in early American history.

I worked with a fantastic group of teachers this week as well as instructors, park rangers and scholars.  One teacher had me in stitches today at lunch talking about her first experience substitute teaching.  It has to do with second grade, taking shoes off on the rug to read a book and a fire drill.  You fill in the blanks.  Two were all the way from Ontario, Canada.  Now that is dedication to PD!

One thing that I am excited to do is to delve into all of the amazing resources, or history swag as I like to call it, I received during the week.  Part of the history swag is a set of prints by Amos Doolittle.  Doolittle arrived about a week or so in Lexington and Concord after the battle was over.  He talked to a lot of people and learned about that fateful Day on April 19, 1775.  Afterwards he created a series of four prints describing that day.

I have used these images in class before, but now I want to rethink what will be the most effective and meaningful way to use this with my students.  I still have plenty of time to mull it over.

At one point, we were at the Bunker Hill Museum.  The Park Ranger there led us through a map activity that they do with students who visit.  It was great!  There was a giant map that we all sat around.  We talked and labeled places, then proceeded to put soldiers on the map and showed their movement throughout the Battle of Bunker Hill.  The question on my mind is,  do I recreate this activity for my classroom, or plan another field trip for the kids?

The week ended on yesterday.  The group met at Hartwell Tavern at Minute Man National Park.  There we met 3 living historians and the Park Ranger in Colonial Militia garb as well.  They talked about the different types of clothing, how they were made, who wore what etc.  We even got to handle some authentic clothing from the Revolutionary era.  You read that right, authentic not reproductions!

A truly amazing week.  Thank you so much Minuteman National Park for providing this professional development for teachers.  I learned a lot.

I want to begin by giving a very heartfelt Thank You  to Gilder Lehrman, for accepting me into this very prestigious Summer Teacher Seminar, Gettysburg: History and Memory.  The experience was wonderful.  I learned a lot and really enjoyed the program!  I want to give another shout out  to all of the staff at Gettysburg College including the Gilder Lerhman Master Teacher Nate McAlister, aka the Drew Carey look alike, for making sure we were well taken care of.  Everything you said and did is greatly appreciated.

Late last night, much later than I care to admit, I pulled into my driveway after my week in Gettysburg, PA.  After a good nights sleep in my own bed, I have had time to process all of the things I learned and saw since my whirlwind tour and study of Gettysburg.  Ideas and thoughts about Gettysburg are swirling about in my head, so much so that I spent most of the day today vegging out in front of the television, too tired from my late night drive to do anything productive.  So what did I watch on television in this semi vegetative state?  You Guessed it...the movie Gettysburg staring such great hollywood legends as Martin Sheen in the role of General Lee.  Now that it is almost 11:00pm I have a little more energy, so here I sit thinking, "How can I use this information in my classroom?" " What can I hope the students will take away about Gettysburg?"   "When can I get back to Gettysburg?"

I arrived at Gettysburg College around 4:00pm on July 5, 2015.  Just barely enough time to check in to my dorm room before the group got a quick tour of the campus and had dinner at the dining hall.  During dinner all of the teachers were chatting, trying to get to know each other.  After we were done eating, each one of us was given an historical picture of a site or important building etc. in Gettysburg.  The task was to find the site and take a modern picture from the same vantage point as the historical one.  What a great ice breaker activity.  People immediately started talking and discussing what their picture was, where it possible could be and forming little groups to go on a hunt.  This activity had us out exploring the town and battlefields on our on almost immediately after dinner.  Of course the picture I had was of a building that no longer exists, so I had to do a little digging to find what stands there now!  With a few clues from Dr. Allen Guelzo, our esteemed professor and Kelsey Grammar look alike, I was able to locate it.  I am trying to figure out how to use this at school with my students.

Each morning Dr. Guelzo shared his wealth of knowledge about Gettysburg with us and each afternoon we toured different parts of Gettysburg that corresponded to what we learned about that morning.  

This experience was a wonderful opportunity.  I was surrounded by 30 or so other teachers who were just as excited to be there in Gettysburg.  As my husband said to me, "You were with your tribe!", it is the people who made the experience so valuable and rewarding.

If you haven't heard of Gilder Lehrman you should check them out.

It's the fourth of July, and I am celebrating with my family at the beach, as we do every year.  But this year is different.  Tomorrow I am starting an adventure as my husband and boys dig their feet in the sand and body surf in the waves.  I am heading to Gettysburg to attend a Gilder Lehrman Summer Seminar for teachers.  This is my first summer seminar by Gilder Lehrman and I am very excited.  Whoo Hoo!!!  Yes, I know, I am a big History Geek.  This is not my only history adventure though, it is just the first of three Summer Seminars for me this July.  Next week, I will be local as I attend a summer seminar at Lexington and Concord and than later in July I will be attending a National Endowment for Humanities  Summer Institute for teachers at Fort Ticonderoga in upstate NY.

As I am sitting here watching the Boston Pops play and the fireworks explode over Boston Harbor, my bags are packed and I am very excited for what the next few weeks will bring.  Tomorrow morning, I will say my goodbyes to my family until Friday night and I will hop in my car and head south to Gettysburg, PA to begin the first leg of my history adventure.

Stay tuned for updates of my Civil War adventure in Gettysburg!  Oh and Happy Fourth of July to you.