Thoughts about Inauguration Day

Yesterday we held a discussion about Inauguration Day. Even though we didn't get to watch it together as a class (due to the "snow" day), I was glad to find out that ALL THE STUDENTS watched at least part of it while at home. Many students said they watched the whole thing!! Many were excited about the idea of our country's first African-American President.

We mentioned how this was a history-in-the-making event. I told the students that this was something that many years from now, their own children will read about it in their history class, but they got to watch it happen. We talked about how history repeated itself--with President Obama doing many of the things that President Lincoln did many years ago. They thought it was interesting that President Obama used President Lincoln's Bible for the swearing-in ceremony. Some students did not realize that all the living former Presidents would also be attending.

***Interesting Fact---all the living former Presidents are the ones that have been the President during my lifetime!!***

A couple of students noticed that Martin Luther King, Jr.'s son was sitting right behind the First Family.

The students were also excited for President Obama's daughters since they would be living in the White House. We talked about how their lives will be changing in incredible ways, and when their teachers discuss the President, they will be discussing their own father!!

This has been a historical week for our country with the election of the first African-American President.

Welcome to 2009!

We have been so busy getting back into the swing of school that our class has not taken the time to blog much lately. We will start working on that tomorrow, as we are on a "snow" day today. Unfortunately, there is no snow....

Anyway, last Friday we held our school wide spelling bee. Sohani did a great job representing our class. She was not our school winner, but we are so proud of her efforts. It is a nerve-wracking thing to be on stage in front of a large crowd of peers, trying to remember how to spell words. Our school winner is a fourth grade student, for the second year in a row.

Today is also Inauguration Day. I am hoping we can have a good discussion of this in class and be able to write down some thoughts about this day.