My family and I have just returned from Chicago and New York.  What a busy, crazy couple of days!  It was our first trip to New York and it did NOT disappoint!  We saw many of the the "must sees" from the 9/11 Memorial to The Statue of Liberty to the Naked Cowboy to Times Square.  Did you know the ball and "2013" stay there all year?  I did not.  It was a thrill to see so many iconic places!

We spent a day in Brooklyn with a cousin and her family.  It was so interesting to how differently they live.  Most people live in brownstones or apartments.  There is no sending the kids out to the back to play!  I wonder how you ever get things done when you always have to take the kids to the playground?   We read many stories set in big cities in our anthology.  While I could always talk about how their lives were different, I really never understood until I saw it and lived it, even for a day.  It really made me appreciate the simple things like GRASS!

The Big City gave me lots of new ideas to bring our stories and lessons to life this upcoming year.  Not only will I have memories to last a lifetime, I have memories that I can share with my students this year.