Winter in New England can be unpredictable. Connecticut has already experienced cold, rainy, icy, and snowy conditions (and it isn’t even really winter until December 21st!). Although we were not hit as hard as some of the other spots throughout the country, Connecticut received its first, widespread coating of snow this week. Luckily, the roads were not absolutely horrible and I think many people were able to enjoy the December snowfall.
Snowfall in eastern Connecticut.
Fall is the time when students of all ages head back to school. It is also the time of year when the CHS Education Department welcomes two new interns through a partnership program with the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education. The interns from the program (this is our fifth year!) have earned their undergraduate degrees, completed their student-teaching requirements, and are 5th year students pursuing their Master Degree in Education. Continue reading
For most students and teachers in Connecticut, the school year has already started, but for museum educators at the CHS, our crunch time is the end of August and first few weeks of September. During this time we are preparing for one of our busiest times of the year—October – December, when we have school programs happening each day both at CHS and in classrooms across the state. It’s an exciting time of year! Continue reading
As I write this blog entry, two middle school classes are walking past my office. This is the third program that educators have done today—three different programs for students from three different schools. End of the year field-trip time keeps the CHS educators busy!
It is during this time of year that I love my commute to and from work—I can roll the windows down, turn up the radio, and clear my mind. Sometimes. In order to get to this state of mind, I need to first tune out the honking of horns and forget about the bumper-to-bumper traffic that will be my fate for the next 20 miles.
What I wish my commute looked like!
A typical day in the Education Department at CHS begins with educators teaching classes of students, both on-site and off-site, until midday. Then, we spend hours prepping materials for upcoming programs, (think—sorting through thousands of colorful beads for Native American bear claw necklaces, cutting out hundreds of pieces of paper—some sticky—for colonial hornbooks, and peeling off the last remnants of toilet paper from its rolls so that the rolls can be turned into binoculars or holiday poppers!), creating lesson plans, holding teacher workshops, and doing countless other tasks. Continue reading
inside the CHS 