Library of Congress

I love to be in DC, so many things to do and see.  I found out that a friend was now one of the docents at the Library of Congress.  I have heard about the beauty and the history of the building but I have never been.  The perfect opportunity to set up a tour for my grandmother's birthday.  A day in DC.  Tour the Library of Congress with a wonderful docent that had many fascinating facts and stories about the building.

The place is breathtaking.  So much to look at, that you need a guide to help understand everything around.

Then a quick cab ride over the classic DC restaurant Old Ebbitt for a birthday lunch, delicious.

Luke and the Minotaur

Storytelling time.  As part of the Waterford Elementary tradition, it was time for the Sir-Speaks-A-Lot Storytelling time (like the poetry he did earlier this year).  The 4th grade theme was Greek and Roman Myths.

Luke worked hard on selecting a "not boring" story.  Theseus and the Minotaur. He practiced his storytelling, but never showed us his acting...then we saw it...check out the clip around the 2 minute mark (he recently saw parts of Braveheart and you can see the results in his acting).  Then again when he did it for the school at 5.44 mark.

Minotaur and Luke from Carrie Jenkins on Vimeo.

The first round of storytelling is for your class.  The top storyteller was selected to tell their story at a school assembly for the school and parents.  Luke has no problem being in front of a crowd.

Last ski of the season

Jeremy and the boys put in a good amount of time on the slopes this winter.  Quick trips on Friday nights or Saturdays after all the sports.  We had to get in one more day as a family.

Beautiful weather, even nice enough to finish up with lunch outside.

Basketball

Luke played for his house league, the Tigers.  He was the leading scorer for the season, usually 15-18 points per game.

Carter played for the Harmony Middle School 6th grade team.

More snow

A morning at the slopes for Jeremy, Carter and Luke.

But then come home to play in the snow some more.

Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Carter and his friend/classmate Cody, had the opportunity to participate in the launch at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.  The launch was for the new interactive app, Ripped Apart - A Civil War Mystery.

The boys' history teacher let us know about the launch, so we sent their information to the Smithsonian staff and the next day a confirmation came for their spot.  Carter was thrilled, he has had a love for history since his fourth grade teacher and has continued his interest (not to mention I like any reason to go in to DC).

The launch was held in the museum.  They met the curator, as well as other staff.  Each student played the new app, while the staff worked with them.  Historic photos and viewing devices were around for them to see...using gloves as to not get their grubby fingers on the historic items. 

The boys were completely engaged in the app, trying to unlock all of the clues.  At the end of the time, they discussed the app with the staff; what they liked, what worked, etc.

Before the launch event even happened, Carter and I headed to the DC earlier so we could go around the museum (a lot of it was under renovation) since we had not been there in a few years.  Heading to DC on a Friday afternoon, one has to question parking...Carter overheard me talking to Jeremy about parking.  I thought the easiest thing to do was to park at my favorite hotel and walk over to the museum, if it was too cold then we would just get a taxi from the hotel.  Carter wanted the taxi, he thought it would be exciting since he had never taken one.  I assured him, it was not that exciting but we did take the taxi (who seemed to think we were out-of-towners and took the longest route to the museum...). 

We wandered through the different areas.  The flag that inspired the Star Spangled Banner is currently at the museum (no photos allowed in that area).  It was incredibly large and almost haunting to see the years of damage.

We visited the American Presidency (skipped the First Lady dresses since I dragged the boys there last time).

And spent time in America on the Move, as well as other places.

After the launch at the Museum, we joined our friends at Co Co Sala, a chocolate restaurant...oh was it delicious.  Hot chocolate, appetizers and desserts; perfection on a plate for a very cold night with great company.

Luke's Big Poetry Moment

Part of being a student at Waterford Elementary is mastering the art of public speaking.  It starts from the early years and continues all the way through.  One of the big public speaking tasks is the Sir Speaks A Lot program.  The first part of the it is reciting a poem.  They recite their poem for the class and if you "win" in class then you move on to do it in front of the entire school and parents.  Each grade is given a theme; for 4th grade the theme was Science.

I found several poems that met the requirements (theme and amount of lines) and then Luke selected his favorite.  He decided to do "Chemistry Class".

Luke and Carter realized that he could use dry ice as a prop (they love that stuff, we have used it for ice cream parties to keep everything cold).  They begged me to get some...and it worked great.  Luke did a wonderful job in his class so he moved on to do it for the entire school.  He did amazing!

 Luke Chemistry Class from Carrie Jenkins on Vimeo.