Learning at the Teacher Table: What Happens in Vegas

Saturday, July 19, 2014

What Happens in Vegas - is finally being shared!

I'm thrilled to finally share my week at I Teach K with A Burst of First What Happens in Vegas linky party! Even after 17 years of teaching, I'm still learning so I left Vegas with many new, incredible, wonderful things! EVERY session I attended opened up my mind. During the week...

221 pictures were snapped at the I Teach K conference
an additional 946 photos were taken of Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon
my I Teach K notebook was filled with notes, sketches, advice, and inspiration
that extra suitcase was stuffed with exhibit hall goodies & treasures
new friends were made & celebrity teacher bloggers were met

I have so much to tell so let's go!

Monday's keynote was given by Marc Brown, talented author & illustrator of the Arthur series. Mr. Brown told stories as if he was having a casual conversation among a few close friends. He's as down-to-earth as you can possibly imagine and he's dedicated to children and their education more than I ever realized. Later in the day I was able to meet him and chat for a minute...

Two of my Monday sessions were presented by the classy Dee Dee Wills from Mrs. Wills Kindergarten. Her energy, humor, and knowledge were captivating. I quickly found myself taking cell phone pics with my left hand while scribbling notes with my right in an attempt to catch it all. Here's a few photos from Dee Dee's slideshow in her "Just in Time Word Work" seminar...

Dee Dee explained how she manages centers, keeps things organized, and meets the needs of all her students with simple Word Work activities. The best strategy I brought home from this session is how Dee Dee helps each student achieve their sight word fluency goals. She shared plenty of examples and you can read more about her sight word interventions here. I know I'll be implementing more of Dee Dee's techniques this school year after seeing her in person and hearing more about her classroom!

Oh...part of the session focused on making words so Dee Dee modeled this adorable Show & Tell Apron you can use for blending words! How sweet is that little apron?!?!?! I'll tell you, it's SO sweet the ladies at the Kinder-Gardening booth SOLD OUT on the first day the exhibits opened!

I just HAD to have one so my order is being sewn and shipped in time for Back to School!

I also attended Dee Dee's Anchor Charts presentation. My favorites were these Math Charts...

Another great Monday session "Kinderbrations" was hosted by Calvie Clement. She shared dozens of ideas for special occasions and ways you can create a true classroom community. Her suggestion to create a class book for a Lost Tooth Celebration was fun. Each child writes a page when they lose a tooth recording the date and their story of how the tooth was lost!

Here is Calvie's apron she wears whenever there's a birthday. I believe the candles were attached with Velcro.

And here's a great idea for the end of the year Calvie does! Each child decorates a basic white t-shirt with their face using Sharpies or paint markers. Then all the classmates autograph each other's shirts! What a special keepsake!