We will have another great year learning about our beautiful state of Michigan. I was able to accompany my son Mark to the Upper Peninsula this summer to visit his twin sons (my grandsons) who are students at Michigan Tech in Houghton. The campus is right on beautiful Lake Superior. From there we traveled to Copper Harbor which was on my "Bucket List". The winding road to Copper Harbor is lined with dark green pines and the tallest birch trees I have ever seen. I couldn't help but think about the first Native Americans, the Chippewas who inhabited those forests.

If you should decide to travel to Copper Harbor, just remember when you get to the Mighty Mackinac Bridge, you are halfway there! My son Mark and I decided that someday we want to complete the Circle Tour around Lake Superior that takes you along the shore in Michigan and into Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Canada. Hopefully, his twin brother Erik will be able to join us!

As we crossed the bridge, I looked over the blue waters of Lake Huron to Mackinac Island and remembered all the adventures we experienced last May. Great Memories!!

I will teach Michigan History two times a week to my 3rd and 4th grade students. We will again study the geography, history, and culture of our beautiful state. We will also schedule an Afternoon of Notables in the Spring. I hope to plan a field trip to a one room schoolhouse in Portage where we will spend the day assimilating life one hundred years ago. A trip to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn is also in the works for May. And I look forward to sharing all the campfire Native American stories. It's going to be a great year!!

"Si Quaeris Paeninsulam Amoenam, Circumspice."(Latin- "if you seek a pleasant peninsula look around you." -On our state flag)