I Teach K!!

 

Ok, I know that it has taken me a long time to get this blog post up, but man I have been busy!!  After the I Teach K! conference I was home for about 18hrs, when I packed up my boys and traveled to Long Island, NY to visit Grandpa!!  Then when I got back, I pretty much turned around and started getting my empty classroom in shape (photos to come)

I loved the I Teach K! conference!!  It was awesome.  Better than any other educational conference I have been to!!!  I met so many new friends, shared so many new ideas, and came home with to many ideas to even use.   My brain was, and is, swirling with ideas I want to implement in my classroom this year.  Yet, I know I cannot.  I need to pick 1 or 2 ideas that I can actually do, and will meet the needs of my kids this year. 

 

Before leaving for the conference, Tracy and I linked up with some fellow bloggers on Facebook who were going to the conference alone.  We made plans to meet up for dinner the first night and hopefully we would all hit it off and we would have people to "hang" with during the conference.  Well... it was great!!  I made friends for a lifetime!!  We all had so much in common and everyone was so easy going, it was easy to get a long.  I don't think we had breakfast, lunch, or dinner alone the whole time we were there.  We also were lucky to have at least one person to sit with in our workshops.  It was great.  They all have blogs, so pop on over and check them out!!

 

In the picture above...

Tracy - Tales of a Kindergarten Classroom, Me, Susan - Teaching Doodles, Cara, Holly - Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten Connections, Amy - Teaching in Blue Jeans, and Elizabeth - Kickin It in Kindergarten

 

A highlight of the trip was meeting Debbie Clement.  Those of you who do not know this quirky, fun, and wonderfully talented person you need to pop on over to her blog, Rainbows Within Reach, and read up!!!  She is amazing and is one busy person!!!

Tracy, Susan and LC were lots of fun at the Blogger Meet Up!!  We had drink, snacks, and lots of give aways!!  What teacher doesn't like a give away!!!  Lcie is from Germany and her blog, The Beezy Teacher is great!!  



One of my favorite workshops was by this guy, Matt B Gomez!!  A kindergarten teacher in Texas, who is so tech savvy, I am jealous!!  I wish I could get some of his ideas off the ground. I went to his Virtual Field Trip workshop and WOW!!  I was blown away with what can be done in just a few minutes a day with the kids.  It opens up their world to so many things and that Smart Board won't collect to much dust!! 

 

There was so much going on that week... workshops, speakers (Ron Clark was wonderful by the way, but needs his own post!!), friends, and the exhibit hall (which I spent way to much time in!!)  We also got to do some sight seeing.  I loved it all, but while on Freemont Street we found this guy below...

 

He was really cool... I had to take a picture. Well, I don't know if you have ever been to Vegas, but he has this little sign, with a container, that says, I dance for tips!! or something like that.  Well, I didn't want to see him dance, I just wanted a photo.  So... I snapped away and as I started to walk away, he pointed at me and said, "You don't want me to come down there do you??" and then proceeded to point to his tip jar.  Come ON!!!  Really.  So I grabbed a couple quarters and walked away.  Interesting.  The Vegas Strip was mobbed with these type of people.  Girls in Show Girl attire taking photos and getting "tips", heck I even say an old Bert and Ernie, complete with Rubber Duckie... but11' man their costumes were mangy.  So, be aware if you go!!!  If you want a photo... be prepared to "tip!!"

 

Ok, this post is way to long now!! I really need to say goodbye!!!