DC - Day 1 (5/2)

Monday was so exciting. We all arrived at breakfast early to hello to folks we did not get to see on Sunday night! It was so exciting to meet the families of my friends and to catch up since our time in Dallas.

We were all taken the The Smithsonian and as a large group we learned more about the Smithsonian's history. Then we broke into our small groups for a few hours. Each group was asked to tweet activities, thoughts, and questions. If you would like to know more about each individual groups activities, go to twitter and search #SIDAY. There are some insightful tweets about our day!

(With my small group at the National Museum of American History)

My group's activities took place at the National Museum of American History! I could have spent a few days in this museum! Between Ric Flair's cape, Dorothy's ruby red slippers, and the Greensboro lunch counter, I was in heaven! We enjoyed the opportunity to tour parts of the museum and learn more about President Lincoln. We talked a great deal about teaching with objects. Every object tells a story! At the conclusion of our tour, we were able to participate in an activitiy and collaborate with our colleagues about ways to use what we learned today in our classrooms! Then we returned to the Smithsonian for lunch and to share reflections, It was fabulous! I learned so much and I am sure I will post about "objects" we learned about soon!

After the Smithsonian, we were off to the Vice President's residence to meet Dr. Jill Biden. Secret Service checked our IDs (though they did say my purse needed it's own zipcode!) and off we went! Dr. Biden was so down to earth and we all loved that she continues to teach. Her words to us were just what I needed to hear. During her first year of teaching, she taught my dear friend Joe, the Delaware Teacher of the Year. We had a great time.
( with Dr. Biden)
I will confess that I dropped my professionalism briefly and talked the DOE photogrpaher into letting me use the really cool professional camera. I took photos for some time and loved every minute of it! Thanks Joshua for letting me shoot photos at the VP's residence! It truly added to an already exciting day!

(Wilma from Massachusetts, me, Cheryl from Florida, and Joe from Delaware)

(Jay from Washington and Kristen from Hawaii at the VP's residence)


(The 2011 TOY class with Dr. Biden)