NEAEC 2014

Each summer I attend a conference called the North East Alabama Educators Conference or NEAEC, for short. This conference really gets me back in " teacher mode" and gives me some fresh ideas for the upcoming school year.

First all the educators meet in the gym for the keynote speaker. this year it was Kathy Grffin ( the teacher). It was very early and we were singing and dancing. She says " My idea is to wear the kids out before they wear me out." Each year they offer different sessions you can attend depending on what you want to learn more about. This year I attended the following three: I Don' t Want to Read by Kassie Millwood ( Librarian), Dollar Store Diva by Kim Adsit, and Perspectives to Help EL Students Succeed by 3 wonderful EL teachers.

I want to share with you few ideas that I took away from each presenter.

Session 1: I Don't Want to Read
* dress up as characters in the book you are reading
* write to the authors and many times they write back
* a great list of must have books ( which are in my Amazon cart as I type)
* get the kids involved by created plays, class books, and writings
* use technology as a tool through Skype

Session 2: Dollar Store Diva
* Kim Adsit's Blog
* Dollar Tree, Target Dollar Spot, other Dollar Stores
* Reminder that we always are teaching a standard
* non conventional can be a great way to teach skills while students are having fun

Session 3: Perspectives to Help EL Students to Succeed
* clarification of common ESl terms
* What can English speaking classroom too? Communication with family, love is the same in all languages, positive/supportive attitude, buddy helper...
Compassion, Repetition, Confidence

Overall, I am excited about the new information and ideas I gained from this event. I can't wait to see this concepts in actions in a few short weeks!!!

Summer Planning for Back to School

I feel like it is a constant clock counting down the days,minutes, and seconds until summer is over. So far, June was full of travel for me as I was out of the country for 2 weeks and in a different state for another. Now that I am finally home I have realized just how quickly our new school year is approaching. It is my goal to spending as much time with my children as possible, while planning & shopping for the upcoming school year....:/! So here my plan (ish)

#1: Do as much planning from home as possible
#2: When the kids nap, I must work
#3: Create lists: To Do, To Make, To Print, To Buy
#4: Pinterest ( need I say more?)
#5: Spend less than one week in my classroom before school starts ( teachers go back a week before students so that adds an extra week) .....Hints the importance of do so much planning from home.

Hopefully by using my time wisely, when I enter my classroom for my "week of work" I will have a plan ready to be executed. Next on my list is creating a schedule of what I will do in my classroom each day in order to effectively accomplish my "week of work"!