First Grade Friends 6

Hello Bailey First Graders!

I haven't written to you in a while, because I have been on vacation.  Did you have a nice week off?  Mrs. Stern came to visit Scotland, and I had a great time showing her around!  Here's a picture of us outside the building where I have class:

For my vacation, I went to stay with a friend's family on the Isle of Mull.  Did you know that there are 790 islands that are part of Scotland?  People live on about 94 of those.

Mull is one of the 5 biggest Socttish islands, and is off the west coast of Scotland.  Here's a map, Mull is the red island:

About 2,667 people live on the Isle of Mull.  About 106, 500 people live in Lowell-there are more people in your city than on the whole island!  What do you think it would be like to live somewhere with so few people?

In order to get to Mull, my friend and I took a train and then a boat.  There were lots of mountains around our train track, and the ocean was sunny and beautiful, but it was very windy! Can you see the wind blowing my hair?

Some things that we saw on the way were a lot like Massachusetts.  Have you seen any lighthouses at the beach? Boston Harbor has a lighthouse.  There were some near Mull, too!  Here's one that we went past:

Some things we saw were also different from home.  We even saw a castle!

When we got to Mull, we drove to my friend's house, which is called Sunipol.  Does your house have a name?  What would you name it?

Nearby, there were farms with sheep and cows.  Scotland has a special type of cow that is good at living in colder weather.  They are called Highland Cows.  My friend and I took a walk to see the sheep and cows:

A highland cow named Hamish

We also went to the beach!  It was cold, just like the beaches in Massachusetts.  Do you like going to the beach?  What do you notice about this beach that is different than the beach you go to?

Calgary Beach

my friend at the beach

One day we also went to Tobermory, which is the biggest town on Mull.  The buildings are painted different colors, and looked really cool!  Here are some pictures:

see the painted buildings behind us?

Tobermory is even the town that a TV show, called Balamory, is based on.  You can see the painted buildings in the theme song!


If you made a TV show based on Lowell, what would you call it?

I had a great time on vacation!  In a few weeks, I'll be home in Massachusetts.  If you have any last questions to write me, I will answer them when I get back.

First Grade Friends 5

Hello Bailey First Graders!

I hear you have been having a lot of snow days!  The weather in Edinburgh is nice and warm (in the 40s) but a bit rainy sometimes.  A couple of weeks ago my friends and I celebrated the Scottish holiday called "Burns Night," which is a day celebrating Robert Burns.

Robert Burns was a poet born on January 25, 1759 in Scotland.  He is called Scotland's National Poet, which is why we celebrate his birthday.  Burns wrote many poems about Scotland, and he wrote in English and Scots, which is a Scottish language (another is Gaelic).  For Burns Night, we had a "Burns Supper," which is a party where everyone eats traditional Scottish food: haggis, neeps, and tatties.  Neeps and tatties are Swede and Potatoes, and haggis is meat with seasonings and oats.  It's really yummy!

At the start of the dinner, a poem is read called Address to the Haggis, which was written by Burns.  It's all about the delicious food we are about to eat!  It is written in Scots, but you can also get an English translation.  Here is the last bit of the poem (called a stanza):

Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care,
And dish them out their bill o' fare,
Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware
That jaups in luggies;
But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer,
Gie her a haggis!


and in English:


You powers who make mankind your care
And dish them out their meals
Old Scotland wants no watery food
That splashes in dishes
But if you wish her grateful prayer
Give her a haggis! 


Do you have any poems that your family likes to read?  What about special dinners you celebrate?  (What about Thanksgiving?)  


Burns wrote many poems and songs during his life.  Have you ever written a poem?  Give it a try!


America celebrates poetry too.  April is National Poetry Month.  If you were planning a poetry party, what would you eat?  What would you do at the party?  Maybe you could try writing a poem to read out loud for your guests.

First Grade Friends 4

Dear First Graders,

A lot of you asked me about sports, so I decided to write to you about sports in Scotland.  There are many sports teams here, just like in America.  Some of the most popular sports here are soccer (which Scottish people call football), rugby, curling, and golf.  Do any of you play those sports?

One famous football (soccer) team here is the Celtics.  Does that sound familiar? Boston also has a team called the Celtics!  Do you know what sport the Boston Celtics play? (they play basketball).

the Glasgow Celtics

the Boston Celtics

Rugby is another popular sport, and is a little bit like American football-but looks a lot more dangerous!  Rugby is an international sport, like soccer, which means that the Scottish team plays against teams from all over the world!  When they play in Scotland, their stadium is in Edinburgh.

Scottish rugby players during the national anthem in a game against England

Golf and Curling are both sports that were invented in Scotland!  Golf was invented in a town called St Andrews, and people can still play on one of the first courses, the "Old Course".

St Andrews golf club

Curling is the other sport I mentioned that was invented in Scotland.  Have you ever heard of curling before?

Curling is played on ice, where players slide granite stones (big rocks) towards a target to try and earn points.  It was invented in Scotland hundreds of years ago, but is now played in the Olympics!

Curling in Scotland in 1860

Of course, there are many other sports played in Scotland, just like there are many different sports played in America.  Do you know any sports that were invented in America?

First Grade Friends 3

Dear First Graders,

Thank you all so much for your letters!  I'm glad you like hearing about Scotland.  I love living here so far, but we've had a lot of snow and it makes things tricky!  Do you get a lot of snow in the winter in Lowell?
I wanted to answer a few of your questions about Scotland.  I will do this every time you write to me.

Do you live in an apartment?

I do live in an apartment.  In Scotland, apartments are called "flats."  I live in a flat with four other girls.  Everyone who lives in my building is a student, too.  Sometimes we go places together and have special meals together, like Thanksgiving dinner.  Do other people live with you, or do you just live with your family?

What school do you go to?

I go to the University of Edinburgh.  The school was founded in 1582-that's almost 430 years ago!  But girls have only been allowed to come to University here since 1889-about 120 years ago.  Before that, only boys were allowed.

this is my school's symbol, or crest.  There is a thistle at the top (Scotland's national flower), a book in the middle, and a castle at the bottom.  What is the Bailey symbol?

What are the museums like in Edinburgh?


There are many types of museums here!  I love going to museums, and try to visit as many as I can.  Edinburgh is a very old city, so some museums are really old buildings that are made to look the way they would have when they were used.  When I go to places like that, I can learn about what life was like in the past.  There is even a castle!  It's on the highest hill in the city.  Lowell has many old building like this, like the Lowell Mills.  Have you ever been to visit the mills?

Edinburgh Castle

The Lowell Mills

Another type of museum is a gallery-a place that has a lot of things to look at on the walls or in cases.  One type of gallery is an art gallery, where you can look at paintings.  Edinburgh is home to the National Galleries of Scotland, where anyone can go look at artwork!
Another wonderful museum I've been to here is the Museum of Childhood.  The Museum of Childhood is all about what it was like to be a kid at different times.  They have all sorts of toys!  What kinds of toys might you have played with if you lived in the 1800s, or the 1950s?

a dollhouse at the Museum of Childood-it had real working lights and running water!

Trains at the Museum of Childhood

Have you ever been to a museum? What was something you saw there?


I like chicken sandwiches.  What do you like to eat?


I love to eat all kinds of food-including chicken sandwiches (I had one for lunch!).  Scotland has a famous food called Haggis, which is served with "Neeps and Tatties" or swede (a vegetable) and mashed potatoes.  Haggis is made out of sheep meat (called "mutton") mixed with oats and spices and cooked for a long time.  It sounds gross, but it actually tastes really good!  Scottish people eat Haggis on "Burns Night," a holiday celebrating Robert Burns, who is the National Poet. He wrote a poem called "An Ode to a Haggis" which people read before they eat on Burns Night.  Do have a special meal you eat for a holiday?  Have you ever written a poem or story about food?

Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties

I hope you have a great winter break!  I can't wait to hear from you again soon.

The Elephant House

This was meant to be part of the last First Grade Friends entry, but then I realized first graders might be too young for Harry Potter.  Whoops.

Audrey and I took Tuesday afternoon to wander around the city centre in a way I haven't really done since I moved in.  I mean, I know the area well and am there all the time, but I rarely poke into shops or stop for tea.  So that's exactly what we did, and Audrey took a ton of pictures (she's a photographer and does really fun things with film-you can see for yourself at Visually Stunning, her photography blog), which someday I will steal from her.  After the Writers' Museum we went to The Elephant House, a cute little cafe on George IV Bridge.  We split a pot of vanilla tea and a slice of carrot cake.  The Elephant House, as you might guess, is full of statues and pictures of elephants.  It's super cozy and adorable.

In addition to just being a great place to sit and drink tea, The Elephant House is also the coffee shop in which J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

 Here's Audrey, photographing our carrot cake.

and this is Cu (which means dog in Gaelic), the stuffed sheep I bought at Bothwell.  He came with us so Audrey could use him as a model.

Also Harry Potter related: Did you know JR started and ended the series in Edinburgh?  She finished the last book at the Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street.  It's sort of the Edinburgh version of the Ritz Carlton.  I walk past it whenever I go shopping, but I've never been inside.
This is the facade, though:

I can't wait to see the new movie.  Eventually.

First Grade Friends 2

Dear First Graders,

I hope you are all having a great fall! Scotland gets very rainy and windy in the winter, but we don't have any snow yet!  What weather do you have in Lowell?
Last week my friend Audrey came to visit from Ireland.  Ireland is an island very close to Scotland.  We decided to go exploring, and we went to two special places related to some of my favorite fantasy books.  Fantasy is a type of story with magic, like the Gingerbread Man.  The first place we went was the Edinburgh Writers' Museum, which is in an old mansion.

The Writers' Museum has exhibits on three authors who were from Edinburgh, the city I live in.  Their names were Sir Walter Scott, Robert Burns, and Robert Louis Stevenson.  Have you heard of them?  Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a book that I really like, called Treasure Island.  Have you read the book or seen a movie of it?  When I was little, it scared me!
Treasure Island is about a boy named Jim Hawkins, who works at a tavern owned by his mom.  A tavern is a type of hotel and restaurant.  When he is working there he meets a man named Billy Bones, who used to be a pirate.  Billy Bones gets very sick, and Jim takes care of him.  One day while he is helping Billy, Jim finds a treasure map in Billy's room.  Jim ends up on an adventure on the Hispaniola, a pirate ship, to find the treasure!  Have you ever followed a map to get somewhere?

Robert Louis Stevenson grew up here in Edinburgh, and went to Edinburgh University-the same school I go to! Just like in Treasure Island, Robert Stevenson had his very own adventure in the 1880s, when he sailed to Hawaii.  Have you heard of Hawaii? Hawaii is made up of islands in the Pacific Ocean.  When Robert Stevenson went there, it was a country by itself, but now it is part of America, just like Massachusetts!

While he was in Hawaii, Robert Stevenson made friends with King Kalakaua, the King of Hawaii. (The two of them are sitting together in the picture.)  Robert Stevenson also made friends with Princess Victoria Kaʻiulani.  Princess Ka 'iulani's uncle was the King of Hawaii, and his sister was her mother.  Princess Ka 'iulani's father was from Edinburgh too!  Are you parents from different places? Where are they from?

There were lots of other authors who lived in Edinburgh, and they wrote all sorts of stories.  What types of books do you like to read, or have read to you?


I hope you are having a good week!  You can ask me any questions you want about Scotland, Edinburgh, or travelling.  I'll write back answers for you to read.

First Grade Friends 1

Dear First Grade Friends,

Tomorrow I leave for Edinburgh, a city in Scotland, where I will be living for the year.  I will write letters to your class and post them here on my blog-please write back to me!  Today I wanted to show you some pictures of Scotland, and some of my favorite Scottish things.

This is Edinburgh, the city I will be living in. 

Edinburgh is a very old city.  It was founded about 1400 years ago!  One of my favorite buildings in Edinburgh is the castle.  During Medieval times, it was where the Scottish King lived.  Now it is a museum, where people can go and see it and what it was like to live hundreds of years ago.

In many places, people have special clothes that have been around for a long time, and are worn for traditions and celebrations like weddings and family parties.  In a part of Scotland called the Highlands, one of these special items of clothing is called a kilt.

Kilts have been worn by Scottish men for about 500 years, since the 1500s.  Over that time they have changed a lot!  Originally, kilts were really blankets (called plaids) that people used at night.  During the day they would wrap it around their waist and hold it in place with a belt.  Then they would put the rest over their shoulders.  Have you ever wrapped a blanket around yourself to stay warm?

In 2010, kilts are more like other clothes we’re used to, that stay up on their own.  They are worn for special events.  Do you have any special clothes you wear for celebrations with your family?

Kilts are usually made out of plaid fabric called tartan.  Did you know that every tartan is special?  Each color has a special meaning.  There’s even a group in charge of recording the meaning of every tartan color!  If your family had its own tartan, what would you want it to look like?

This is the tartan for a Scottish elementary school.  Does the Bailey School have any special colors or symbols?

I am very excited to move to Edinburgh!  If you have questions about Scotland, you can write to me and I will post the answers here.  Have a great fall!

Lauren

Sources:

http://www.newhousehighland.com/history.html

http://albanach.org/kilt.html

http://www.scottish-tartans-world-register.com