Welcome to My Blog - Thinking About Social Studies and the Arts in the Elementary Classroom

This blog will be used to post my reflections on social studies and the arts in the elementary school classroom.  I am a graduate student in the M.A.T. program at Meredith College and am enrolled in the course "Integrating Social Studies and the Arts," as part of my journey to becoming an elementary school teacher.  This blog will be used to share my thoughts, understandings and learning about effectively teaching elementary school students social studies and the arts.

Some of my own memories of learning about social studies and the arts in elementary school include "Map Skills", memorizing the state capitols, a research project on Ghana, "Picture Lady", and field trips to Chicago museums like the Art Institute and the Chicago Historical Society.  As a kid from the suburbs, I loved the field trips to the Chicago museums and when the "Picture Lady" came to tell us about the painting that would be hanging in our classroom for the next month.  Although not all of my memories and experiences of social studies and the arts in elementary school are as positive, I think these subjects had the most impact on my life overall and are the subjects which I enjoy studying the most today.  I also think they will be the subjects I will enjoy teaching the most as an elementary school teacher.

I am excited to begin this class and learn how to become an effective teacher of social studies and the arts.