Ludden’s Lighthouse

Hope everyone is gearing up for this week by getting plenty of rest.  Some of us are recovering from the flu as well, and you are in my thoughts.  Just a few reminders for Tuesday. . .

1. Be on time.  We want to start testing by 8:15.

2.  Bring a snack and water bottle.  We do have class snacks, but that doesn’t mean you will like the chex/goldfish mix!

3. You have to order a cafeteria lunch or bring your own.  Parents cannot bring lunches in that day. 

4. Lastly, listen to Mrs. Ludden about your strategies.  She’s been doing this a long time and knows what works.  You really don’t want to have to live through this stressful day more than once if you can help it!

I will be routing for you all day long. 

Love

We had a wonderful first visit with the folks at the Court Retirement Center.  Students presented skits and poems, and then we realized that I had grossly underestimated how much time this would take.  We decided to leave early but found there was no bus yet!  So we went back in and sang a few of our favorites which was just as well received.  The kids did a wonderful job of presenting their skits and then visiting the residents.  Many of them worked very hard to do things like the skits or starting conversations that might normally make them uncomfortable.

Our next trip will take place towards the end of March, and we will be interviewing the residents about their involvement in World War II either as a vet or from the homefront.  New book groups start this week for novels set during this time period, and we will also have a series of lessons highlighting important events.  Ultimately, we will be working in teams to create displays that explain one topic of research and returning to share them with the residents.  We will extend an invitation to you as well to share a celebration with us at the end of our project.

On Wednesday, we will be going to the Court Retirement Center for a Valentine’s visit with the residents there.  We will be presenting skits, poems, and playing some Valentine bingo.  This is the first of 4 visits that we will be making there.  The next few will involve interviews of the residents, with a focus on World War II, and we have been building up our background knowledge of this fascinating time in history.  Our final visit will be a presentation and celebration of student projects about the era.

After this first visit we will be practicing interview skills, and we have wrangled my mother into coming up here to serve as “fresh meat” for us to practice on.  She is looking forward to sharing stories about life on the homefront.

We value any memorabilia your family may have as well as the resource of any family members that were alive during that time.  Please contact me if you would like to be involved in any way.  You are welcome to travel with us or contribute to our research.

I am in need of tape recorders that have a built-in microphone, so if you have one and will be willing to loan it, let me know.