The countdown begins...departure date July 16th!

Dear students (past and present), friends, parents, and colleagues:

I am so excited to share my upcoming trip to Italy with you through this blog. I could not be more grateful to Shore Country Day School and the existence of the Loring Award for making this once-in-a-lifetime adventure a possibility.

As many of you know, Third Grade at Shore devotes a significant portion of its social studies curriculum to the study of ancient cultures. Through a focused, concept-based approach to the study of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artifacts, Mr. Hamlin and I love to share our knowledge of how these great civilizations have contributed to the ways in which we understand our current world.

It has been one thing to study these places, but I cannot possibly express my excitement about seeing them with my own eyes. My plan has been to create a jam-packed tour of Italy where I can learn more about what I aim to teach so that Third Grade can be an even more fantastic experience for Shore students.

I have two special companions on this trip. First, the amazing Mrs. Kinahan (first grade teacher extraordinaire) who will accompany me to Rome for five nights, and then to Florence for two. Stay tuned for all the information, pictures, stories, maps, and tours I'll be posting on this blog (see the above map to locate the neighborhood where we'll be staying).

Next, my husband will join me for the second part of the trip where we plan to explore the ruins of Pompeii and the Amalfi coast.

Please be sure to click on the "subscribe" button at the top of this page so that you will receive a notification each time a new blog post is complete.

I'll arrive in Rome on July 17th! I hope you are having a great summer! Please feel free to post a comment here and there on the blog and...don't forget your summer reading letters! I promise to respond to each and every one upon my return to the states.

Ciao!

Mrs. B.

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The Duomo - Florence's Cathedral

Ciao! Today, we visited The Duomo , a major cathedral in the center of Florence. From the ground, it is quite a sight to see, but when we climbed the cupola to the very top, we were overwhelmed by the breathtaking view of all of Florence. Here are two views of The Duomo from the ground - can you guess why it is called The Duomo ? Here is an incredible picture (that I did not take myself) of Duomo from a distance at dusk. Domes are amazing architectural achievements. You might be reminded of The Pantheon in Rome from a recent blog post. Rome's Pantheon was indeed a inspiration to the Florentine people. But of course, they wanted their dome to be even larger! When looking at the pictures above, can you imagine how this dome was built? Can you envision the workers putting it together piece by piece? How did they do it? How long did it take? How did they get the materials from one place to another without modern technology? Here is a brief expla...

Firenze!

Ciao friends! Today was our first full day in Florence (Firenze). This city is smaller than Rome and a lot less busy. It is also much easier to get around! Today, the highlight was going to Museum Accademia to see Michelangelo's David . Remember one of my older posts where I talked about an artist who considered himself primarily a sculptor, but still agreed to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Well, the city of Florence is home to perhaps the most famous and incredible sculpture of all time - no surprise that it is also a creation by Michelangelo. It's called "The David." The statue was sculpted between 1501 and 1504 AD when Michelangelo was in his mid 20's. Like the story of how Michelangelo persevered for hours on end in his efforts to create the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, this statue represents a labor of love. In fact, the block of marble from which it was chiseled was rejected by many other sculptors who did not want to work with a stone th...

Layers upon layers of stories and ideas

Another amazing day in this city that astounds me at every turn. Though pretty hard to navigate, with roads that meander this way and that, Mrs. Kinahan and I walk everywhere (likely about ten miles a day) often off course, but eventually arrive at our planned destination. Today we left our hotel at 9:30am and returned at 11pm. There is just too much to see and do! Today, our focus was the Vatican which includes several other VERY important religious and historical sites. Once we figured out how to best tour these places, we made great friends with our guide named Roberto, who wowed us with his ability to show us the most special and tremendous areas of a hugely impressive religious mecca. In this blog, I'll just focus on some of the most meaningful and interesting stories. It seems to me, that everything historical in Rome has a story within a story within a story. I think this is part of the reason this city is so intriguing. There are layers of history everywhere. We walk ou...

Romeing

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