Lake Placid Vacation

Whiteface Mountain 

I was fortunate this week to take a break from my schedule and join my grandson, Matt and his family at a hockey tournament in Lake Placid, New York.  We left on Wednesday night, and stayed until Sunday.  It was an amazing experience, because he was able to play his first game in the same rink as the 1980 USA team when they beat the Russian in what many call the sporting event of the century or the "Miracle on Ice.

I love hockey, and my kids have played hockey from when they were kids, and I was in awe just upon entering the arena.  The sense of history is overwhelming and brought me back to a time when my sons, who still play hockey to this day, were only one and two.  They had no idea the event was taking place, but it would come to be an event in history with special meaning to both of them.  It was emotionally awesome sitting in the arena waiting for my grandson to come out of the locker room.  (They were in locker room 2, not locker room 4 that the American team occupied.)  Their team lost the game to a Lake Placid team, but it didn't matter, because they got to play in that very special place and will remember it forever.

We also got to skate on the outdoor 400m speed skating oval at night and went down a toboggan chute and went for a dogsled ride.  It was inspiring and we all had a good time.  It was very hard to come back.

Well the vacation was a wonderful break from school, but back to focus and classwork.  I enjoyed the presentations again, and felt I have a better understanding of the different theories.  I am planning a short workshop with a co-worker, Kate, for our school using the book, Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  I ordered it and it came while I was on vacation.  We are also planning to use a similar activity that Jen used in her classroom and adapt it to our population.  It is such a powerful and important message.  I also used an adaptation of the lesson presented by Andy, Carolann and Jessica.  I am teaching environmental science to my students and am focusing on Barnegat Bay, so I used the endangered species idea, but adapted it to endangered species of Barnegat Bay.  Thanks for all the wonderful ideas.  I am realizing how all the theories come into play in one's teaching.   There does not seem to be one theory that is solely utilized, but a combination of many of them.  I am understanding why the PLT paper comes after the presentations, because it is necessary to understand the different theories first.  I am making connections and creating my own learning without even knowing it!  Good luck with the two new presentations.  See you all on Monday.