What do teachers do over Summer Break?
Teachers actually have busy summers. This summer for me was very busy, indeed. I wanted to share with you all some of the things I did this summer break. I would love it if you would also share some of the fun adventures you had. At the bottom of the page you will find a forum. You can write about your summer fun under the News topic.
New Orleans
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Homework, homework, homework...and NASA!
For the first month of my summer, I mostly worked on homework! I had 4 classes over the summer, which included lots of projects, presentations and papers to write. But it was all so worth it!
In June, I visited the Kennedy Space Center (NASA). Through my Master's program, all the people in my program got to attend a special tour of NASA facilities. We got to see the launch pad, jets, and the new Mars capsule that is being built. We also got to learn a bunch at our Professional Development session with trained NASA science education experts. |
Early in July I went on a trip to New Orleans with my best friends. We went to museums, watched street performers, ate delicious food and took a steamboat ride. It was so much fun! Our hotel was a haunted hotel (but we were not visited by any spooky beings). In New Orleans, there are lots of places people think are haunted. The food was amazing everywhere we went. The people were friendly and there was always something fun to do.
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Summer Camp!
Later in July, I completed an externship for my Master's program. I got to help out at a summer camp at the Marine Science Center in Port Orange. I had such a fun week there.
On Monday we went seine netting and caught fish, crabs and snails. When we canoed on Tuesday we spotted manatees, dolphins, water birds, turtles and all kinds of fish. We also spent time investigating the nature center where we learned about stingrays, sharks, and reptiles like sea turtles. We even got to see one of those turtles get released back into the wild on Wednesday! I had a chance to help kids dissect owl pellets and squid! On Thursday we spent the day at Blue Springs canoeing and swimming. I got to teach the campers about our Florida aquifer system, native plants and animals and the history of the park. On Friday the campers presented what they had learned throughout the week to their parents and we enjoyed a barbeque. It was a great way to end the week. I learned so much about Florida wildlife and how to teach kids about these things, too. Hopefully I will get the opportunity to share some of what I learned with my students this school year. |