The Great Wall

The most amazing part of the trip was climbing the Great Wall of China! It was VERY steep and long. My Ivy Hill sweatshirt made it to the top!!!

Olympic Village

Here are some pictures of the Bird's Nest and Water Cube in the Olympic Village. It was an incredible sight!!!

All School Skype!

I enjoyed Skyping the whole school last night! It was a little strange to talk to everyone and not here your response back, but I hope you enjoyed saying hi from China! I just woke up (6 hours after the Skype call) and ready to visit another school, come back to the hotel to change clothes, and then visit the Great Wall and Olympic Village. This is going to be an exciting day! I've charged up my cameras and will take pictures to share with you during LMC. I miss all of you!

5th Grade!

I called Miss Patton's classroom and she brought in Mrs. Pencis' class and Miss Starkweather's class. We talked about my overnight train trip and some of the food that I have been trying. It was great to see familiar faces! The 5th graders sound excited to see some of the film I have taken of the schools in China during LMC. See you next week, 5th grade!

1st Grade

I had a great conversation with all the 1st graders in Miss Kielty, Mrs. McFarland, and Mrs. Bedingfield's classes. They asked great questions about the language and dragons! I was so happy to get a chance to talk to my 1st grade friends!

Skype!

i just had a wonderful conversation on Skype with Mrs. Arias, Miss Kielty, and Mrs. Whitney. It was fun to get caught up and share all the funny stories of my trip in China. I miss all of you and can hardly wait to see you next week!

Band!

Check out the instrument this boy is playing! This band was terrific!

More Classroom Visits!

McDonald's is Everywhere!

District 25 Group

Here is the group from Arlington Heights!

Chinese Garden

Here is our trip to a beautiful garden where we were so lucky to have a boat ride along the river.

My Meal

Here is a picture of my hot tea and the table of food we have been served.

Character Counts?

I was in a classroom and found these signs on their wall. It reminded me of our Character Counts program!

Classroom Visits

On to the Next School

We went to a very large international school that had grades 1 - 12 in it. All the students lived at this school, including the 1st graders! They gave us a huge performance on the field.

1st School Visit

I was so excited to visit the first school. The students were so happy to see us and very friendly. They showed us some of their classes and performed for us. Check out some of the pictures!

Flags and Countries

Here is the wall that contains the flags of the countries represented at this conference. Can you tell me what countries they are?

Extra Credit: In what order are they displayed?

My Name in Chinese!

I was so excited to see my name in Chinese! This was the name tag to tell me where to sit during our speeches.

My Day Today

It is Wednesday morning and I see on TV that you are all voting in the United States. I am having a day of touring the city and then will get on an overnight train to Beijing. I will have my computer with me, but no internet. I'll post some pictures and comments when I get there tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Last Skype Call of the Day

My last call in the middle of the night was to Miss Patton's 5th grade class. I forgot about the time and they reminded me that they were about ready to pack up for the day. We had a quick hello and was asked questions how long did it take me to get there (15 hours) and what kind of food was I eating. I told the class I would call again so they could get Mrs. Pencis and Miss Starkweather's classes in the room. It was wonderful to see my 5th grade friends!

A Call to Mrs. Taylor's Class!

I woke up in the middle of the night to call Mrs. Taylor's class. They answered my Skype call and brought in Miss Bagnall's class. What a great conversation we had and so many great questions. The third graders were very interested in what time it was for me, what I have seen, and the type of food I have been eating.

I visited a few schools yesterday and saw children of about the same age. They were outside at gym, playing different games, but also jump roping with their teachers. It is amazing how similar we are all as we play games.

Thank you 3rd graders for a terrific Skype call!

Sype Connections with 4th Grade

I am so excited that I got the opportunity to talk with all the 4th graders in Mrs. Cheek, Mrs. Bagnall, and Miss Lee's room! I woke up at 1:00 am and called into Mrs. Cheek's classroom where Skpe has been set up. They had the best questions and shared with me that they are learning and reading about China in their new reading series. What a great coincidence! The 4th graders had just finished a writing prompt about the importance of bringing gifts to the host and what gift they would choose. I was asked what I brought to China! I have Ivy Hill t-shirts, STARs bracelets, DVD's about our school, books, and all sorts of district 25 things.

Yesterday I visited a school and gave one of the girls a bracelet. She ended up singing in front of all the adults and had her Ivy Hill bracelet on!!!

Election Day!

I'm so sorry I am missing all the election coverage on TV! Our election is of great interest to the Chinese. It has been on every Chinese and American station. Happy Election Day!

Tonight's Entertainment

Before dinner we were entertained with 2 puppet shows, singers, and a musician. They were showing us their culture through music and entertainment.

Check Out This Garbage Can!

In Yangzhou

We had a 4 hour bus ride to Yangzhou. I enjoyed looking at life in China along the way. I saw many vegetable gardens using up any available land with many people bending down to work in the garden. There are so many buildings. I can tell a lot of people live in this area.

We arrived at our hotel around noon. It is a beautiful place with gardens, bridges, and very old buildings. Here are some pictures: