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!