A Crazy Start to Summer

Every summer I teach a week-long summer institute for teachers on topics in history. This year we studied community history. Teaching 5 days straight all day long is pretty intense, but also wonderful. 

We took over this small town--here I am setting off with a group to study architecture.

The community wondered why all these people were staring at their houses and taking notes. We met a lot of people who then joined in!

We learned about how to teach history in the cemetery.

Here's a page from one of the teachers' journals.

We even ventured into the woods to explore old cellar holes.

It was a fantastic week.  I have two jobs right now and the day after the institute ended, I found myself at our local industrial history museum training 5 teenagers for their summer intern jobs. They are a great group of kids and I enjoy working with them.

July 4th saw us in New Hampshire for a quick overnight in between trips. I had a property owner meeting to go to. Helen and Nelson headed off for a photo at our traditional bridge to commemorate her new college status.

Nelson and I had a breather for one day which we really needed as big changes are coming to our family. We needed to walk and talk.

We met this friend on our hike.

And then...the very next day Helen and I headed off on the train, bound for New York City. I took 15 teachers (many of whom were also on the train) for a week of intensive history workshops and tours.

Helen and I got an afternoon on our own. We visited the Guggenheim.

...and saw Pippin. Helen was so happy to see her first Broadway show.

I took the teachers to study immigration at the Tenement Museum.

We visited a synagogue...

...and had walking tours and workshops in Chinatown.

We got home and I spent the weekend back at the museum teaching kids how to make telegraphs.

This might have been the craziest 6 weeks of my working life. The fact that I am actually blogging speaks to the fact that maybe I'm catching my breath.