Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day everyone. I hope that you are able to find some rest today. For me this weekend usually marks a weekend of travel, being busy, a wedding or two, and some cook outs. We are rarely at home. This year we are blessed to have been able to stay in town and I'm so excited to attend some of the holiday activities that go on.

One of the events I wish I could participate is the 4 mile run around Boalsburg that happens today, it's such a good turn out of adults and kids. A few of my students will be running in it today. Unfortunately I have a cold, a deep coughing kind of cold. You know, the kind that makes it impossible to teach well because you feel like you're coughing up a lung..yep, awesomeness. Of course that kind of takes running out of the picture as well.

That's okay because I get to spend the day with the family. We are going to attend an essay reading this afternoon at the Boalsburg Museum. My students participated in a writing contest and two of them placed! It's a small way to teach my students about Memorial Day. This year the prompt was very challenging, they had to think of ways that their families could help keep our country strong and proud. A vague topic for any writer. We started by brainstorming ideas that they had about our country, what activities or traditions made us strong. We also looked up information about Memorial Day, how it used to be celebrated, and how they could connect that to their ideas. Each student then wrote an essay (300 words max) to submit to the contest.

How do you teach about Memorial Day? I hope that your day is filled with family and fun, but also a time to remember those who served. I'm off to get another cup of coffee, I hope that you have a wonderful day. And if you see your students out and about today, give them a big hello!