Minnesota can take note of what New York is doing

This morning once we got onto the shuttle to head down to the ferry we were informed that Dr. Oz was going to be at the Hilton this morning (sister hotel right next door). It was very tempting to take one of our sick days to see the Doc. Even Deb was contemplating the idea.

Getting on the subway this morning was just like any other day but we are a little nervous for the trip home because our Occupy Wall Street (OWS) friends are taking over everything. So far about 175 people have been arrested. They were blocking the area around the stock exchange and what we are concerned about is the fact that they are occupying the subway and the ferry. We aren't sure yet which stops they are at but either way it is going to be crazy and most likely the subways will be running behind. Who knows yet with the ferry? All three of us are still at school so we will update tomorrow on how it actually went getting home. Normally it takes almost two hours to get back so I'm hoping for less then three today.

It amazes me how short of time we really have left here. Today we have 15 more school days with our kiddos. It's flying by here and all of us love it and personally I don't want to leave. Well maybe I'm ok to leave for my j-term trip but then I can come back. All of the things we have been learning out here has been extremely beneficial and something that all of us will be able to use no matter where we end up teaching. Something I want to work on is my age appropriate language. Out here in New York we really challenge the students on their use of vocabulary. Something not heavily used in Minnesota. I told Megan and Sarah we either need to hang out with more intelligent people or we really need to start talking different by adding more vocabulary to our day. My students have been working with the following words this week - Admire, irk, tidy, coincidence, chuckle, and astonished. Remind you this is first grade we are talking about. The thing is they actually use them throughout the day and love building their vocabulary. I am hoping to bring some of these methods back to Minnesota. Minnesota could benefit greatly by what New York is doing.

We will keep you updated as much as possible :)

-Heidi