Happy Labor Day!

Some would say that teachers have it easy, but we at Live It Learn It know teachers juggle a seemingly endless list of tasks on a daily basis. That being said, we hope all you educators find some time to relax and enjoy this holiday! 

Welcome Back!

We at Live It Learn It hope that everyone has had an enjoyable summer. We are super excited to begin Year 8 (wow!) of our program and can't wait to get students exploring and learning from DC's fabulous resources.

But the work didn't stop just because the kids were out for the summer. Our goal has always been to have every student that we work with -- regardless of learning style or ability -- "get it." We've been diligently working on improving Live It Learn It -- everything from revising curriculum to hiring new staff. Here's a little about both...

• Hiring
• Back in March we began our search for a new staff member. From a pool of nearly 200 applicants , one eventually rose to the top -- Chris Magnuson. He comes to Live It Learn It with a passion for designing learning activities outside of the classroom.  While teaching social studies at Paul Public Charter School for ten years, he created a monthly competitive scavenger hunt program on the National Mall and also a study abroad preparatory program that introduced his students to the international communities in the DC metro area during “Saturday Abroad” trips.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology from American University in 1997 and then in 2001 he was awarded the James Madison Fellowship which allowed him to pursue his master’s degree in teaching social studies from Brown University in 2002. We are elated to have Chris join the Live It Learn It family! 
• Programming 
• Adding new destinations -- We are currently in the process of adding a few exciting new programs.

• Mount Vernon 
• George Washington
• Colonial slavery
• National Zoo
• Ecosystems & the Amazon rain forest
• National Gallery of Art
• Pop art and the life of Roy Lichtenstein
• Kreeger Museum
• Connecting art and music

• Revising curriculum -- We have been working hard to improve our current program offerings. In addition to making our lessons and trips even more engaging for our students, we have been working to incorporate the new Common Core national learning standards that DCPS has adopted. We hope this will continue to help our teacher partners better integrate Live It Learn It instruction into their daily plans.

We are looking forward to sharing this school year with you. Remember to check back each Friday -- we will share some comments from our partners, post pictures and videos from trips and lessons, or update you on new initiatives and happenings! 

Reflecting on Last Year as We Prepare for the Future

We are excited for the upcoming school year!
But first let's reflect on what our students had to say about last year.  

Thank you notes from Ms. Harrod's 5th Grade class from Burroughs Education Campus.

 "The trips that you took us on were perfect for school because they were educational but fun at the same time.  I like the Live It Learn It program because you took us on field trips but you also taught us a lesson before and after.  This is important because usually when classes take a field trip they just go and have fun and do not usually do work...but we were learning and having fun as well. "  Nimai

Nimai's letter with illustrations from the places he visited with Live It Learn It: Dutch Ambassador's Residence, the Phillips Collection, Hard Bargain Farm and the Newseum. 

We look forward to another great school year with DCPS students as they experience all the educational riches Washington, D.C. has to offer.