Ha! Ha!

Thought you might like a little laugh on Hump Day :-)

A Good Reminder

This is such a good reminder for me right now. Can I get an “Amen”?!

I’m enjoying the new month, the season change and looking forward to my parent conferences this week, but sometimes I load a little too much onto my plate and I need this little sign to guide me.

I hope you’re enjoying the changing weather and the growth you’re seeing in your students, too! Have a wonderful week!

Whoa! AHHH! Ooooo! Umph!

What?! Summer’s over?!

School started?!

Grad school classes are back in session?!

Wait, what?! We need a new roof?!

Yes, life is in FULL SWING around here! How about you? :-)

I’ve been blessed with a snuggly little group of 20 kindergartners, the best team of teachers and super classroom parents. My husband is still the most supportive ever and more ideas are swimming around in my brain than I can handle. The summer began with optimistic hopes of writing, writing, writing and it soon turned into a summer of living, exploring, memory making and keeping cool (we’ve had an unbelievable heat wave)! Hopefully, I can carve out a few moments to share about each.

Back to my little study room! Ta-ta!

TEPSA 2011

Oh my goodness! I had SO MUCH FUN at TEPSA this year! I met some wonderful principals that are incredibly dedicated to helping their teachers help children. Absolutely beautiful!

My session was called “Come On Principals, Let’s Do the Twist!” I presented on ways teachers can twist their current curriculum and integrate technology and the fine arts. I designed a web site (instead of a power point) so attendees could be interactive and bookmark some of the sites we visited together. Check it out if you’d like - it’s under the ‘Lessons’ tab.

This is a shot of the room before we started:

It was a lovely facility, but I quickly learned it was a dead zone for the internet. (Ahhhhh! Remember how I said I created a website for principals to click through with me?! Again, Ahhhhhhhh!) I was able to manage through the presentation, but I know some folks were frustrated they couldn’t play along. I hope they were still able to glean some good info for their staff.

I actually connected with two lovely ladies I knew from former schooling/work (like this sweet gal above). Ya know when you see someone you recognize but you can’t place from where...this picture is the moment I was saying “I went to collage here, worked there, how about you? ” (Don’t you love those moments?! I’m sure I’ll remember in three months when I’m doing something random like washing my hair!)

Here I am with my dear, sweet, wonderful friends Mark and Debbie Lukert. Have Mark come to your school and speak with your students and/or staff - I promise, you won’t regret it!! I feel so blessed to call them friends! Debbie and I could sit and talk education philosophy till our tongues fall out! She’s the best!

I LOVE that face...I think we were on photo take #5 by then :-) 

Oh TESPSA! Such a fabulous time...are you over already?!?!

Also, I want to say a big thank you to all the principals that wrote such positive evaluations of my presentations! I wish I knew who you were so I could send you all a thank you card!!

It's a big, big world out there...Twitter

Last weekend, I went to EdCamp Plano. It’s a grass-roots movement sweeping the country - a time when amazing educators simply collide on a designated day and share their ideas. Educators can show up with a presentation they’d like to give, sit/listen/learn or simply hang out and connect with other educators. I went to a class on brain-based research (a topic I always love) by Diane at fortheloveofteaching.net. (You can check out her presentation there.)

I also gave the idea of creating my own PLN (Professional Learning Network) by joining Twitter a try - to see what educators are talking about...so I joined! Feel Free to follow me!

nsmithk4

Kevin Henkes

This month I’m posting an entire writing unit as the ‘Spring 2011 Newsletter’. It focuses on using quality literature for children to model their writing after and then use it to springboard into their own writing style. I chose Kevin Henkes (since many teachers already own several of his books) and I’ve always enjoyed his style and voice.

Happy Writing!

(This unit can also be found under the Lessons tab and downloaded as a PDF.)

State Testing Time

Are you ready?

Is it just me or has this whole thing gotten way out of hand?