As presented to a kindergarten class.
Today I did my first photography presentation to a K-5 class in Southern Tucson.
I’ve been subbing and yesterday, I had a conversation with teacher about where we were before Tucson. When I shared about Harlem, she mentioned that her lesson plan this week included a comparison storyline between New York City and the small town of Alden in Upstate New York. She then asked if I would mind speaking to her class about my time in New York City. I immediately said, yes and, “I’ll bring some pictures!”
Well life being what it is, I didn’t have time to sort through thousands of images on my hard drive to select what I considered to be kid-friendly – food, animals, parks, etc. When I got to school today, I stopped by Ms. Joseph’s class to tell her I hadn’t had time to search my photos the night before. She was like, “No, problem, just talk.” I immediately saw that I wasn’t getting out of the K-5 presentation I had agreed to. On the way back to my first post of the day, I realize I had a photo archive in my pocket on my Instagram feed.
The classroom equipment in this school is sort of space-age in my opinion. Computers, laptops, a transparency projecting machine that looks like a reading light! I’ve been hard-pressed not to let my awe show. Because of the excellent classroom tech, I realized I could simply connect my phone to the teacher’s workspace to project my images on the white board at the front of the class.
It all went off without a hitch and now I’m a hit with the five year-olds! 🙂 I can’t tell you how they made my day! Later, in the halls, at lunch and during end of day dismissal, they and their teacher, made sure to tell me how much they enjoyed my presentation, which pictures were their favorites and how others should get to see them as well.
So here, I am sharing some more. All images below were taken for my real estate IG account @ljonesrealtor. Connect with me there.
The skyline, architecture and buildings have individual and combined stories.
Freedom Tower and Battery Park along the West Side Highway 
Looking Uptown from Greenwich Street. Skyscrapers are stretched across Midtown 
Chinatown and the Manhattan Bridge 
The Chrysler Buidling 
The Empire State Building 
Midtown, near Herald Square. Macy’s and Empire State Building 
Night skyline of lower Manhattan from Brooklyn Bridge Park 
Fourth of July fireworks on the East River, between Manhattan and Brooklyn 
Fourth of July fireworks on the East River, between Manhattan and Brooklyn
I LOVE Central Park!
Bottom of Central Park looking north towards Harlem and beyond. Taken from office building conference room off of 5th Avenue and 56th Street. 
The Plaza Hotel in the lower left foreground. Taken from office building conference room off of 5th Avenue and 56th Street. 
Bottom of Central Park looking north towards Harlem and beyond. Taken from office building conference room off of 5th Avenue and 56th Street. 
Horse drawn carriages in Central Park South 
Cyclist in Central Park North, riding along Harlem Meer (pond). 
Cyclist in Central Park 
Me enjoying a ride in Central Park after work. 
Me enjoying a donut in Central Park on another day after work. Twilight at Harlem Meer. 
The Reservoir in the center of Central Park. Looking towards the West Side from the East. 
Winter at Harlem Meer in Central Park 
Brooklyn Bridge Park is like a state secret
Harlem is part of my heart.
Lady Liberty represents the spirit of the City
ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do
and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not
at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in thesandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:
from All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten
Share everything.
Play fair.
Don’t hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life, learn some and think some
and draw and paint and sing and dance and play
and work every day some.
by Robert Fulghum
