I'm Back!

I’m home now and still a bit jet lag but rarin’ to go!  There’s still a little summer left to gather some back to school ideas and still have some down time to relax the mind and body! 

Tired of hearing about Vegas? Well you won't when you read this! Also, there’s so much I want to share with those that couldn’t be there! I want to share one of my favorite things I learned about in Deanna Jump’s presentation on Guided Reading. Are you ready?  It’s the latest version of the Whisper Phone!!!! This new version is awesome for guided reading groups. A teacher is able to monitor individual readers as well as group monitoring.  Check it out for more details as best described by WhisperPhones!

 

And guess what?  I've decided to give one away!  You can increase your chances by:

Chance #1: Following me on Bloglovin’.

Chance #2: Following me on TpT.

Chance #3: Following me on Google Plus.

Chance #4: Like and leave a comment on Facebook.

Chance #5: Blogging about it on your blog and leaving a link in your comment.

Chance #6: Leave a comment here!

Chance #7: Repin on Pinterest 

 
This giveaway will end Monday, August 12, at midnight (Eastern Time). I will randomly select the winner using an online generator and announce on Tuesday, August 13. Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my first giveaway. (Yes it won't be the first either) :)  
  

Goodbye USA!

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard – these words ring a bell – I believe they were written by Thomas Meeha?

My time in the states has officially ended and I’m headed for home after a wonderful visit to the states! I’m on my way to Germany and I’m excited that I’m headed home to my bed and wonderful home while sad to leave family, new friends behind.  I’ve met some great people and experienced so many great events while attending the I Teach K Conference in Las Vegas! 

My time here has given me perspective to reflect on the past six weeks.  I’ll be able to look at my “conference” pictures and remember each educator I met – whether presenter, peer, or conference organizer and probably think that all these people that I met while in Las Vegas may have changed my professional life.  Unfortunately, many of these people I may not see again – unless I come back next year.  I know I will miss them. 

Saying goodbye can be sad. But I hope it means that people have made an impact on me.   

So with that, it’s time to say farewell, good old USA. I’ll always remember my time in Las Vegas with fondness.

 Here are some more pictures to share with you until I get home and post about what I learned!

 

Kim Jordano presenting on jazzing up your journals

 

 

Bloggers Meet & Greet

 

 

John & Amy from TpT

 

 

 

 

More on Vegas!!!

I’m sad to say the I Teach K Conference is over and I’m back in Texas for my last few days before I fly home to Germany.  But I want to be the first to say what an incredible group of teachers the USA has!!  I left with my mouth wide open!  Not only are they incredible teachers, outstanding human beings, but talented in so many ways!  First and foremost I want to say thank you to all the presenters I got to see, meet and learn from.

I was able to catch presentations by DeeDee Wills, Kathleen Pederson, Shari Sloane, Kim Jordano, Kim Adsit, and Deanna Jump who were all so knowledgeable in their subject matters.  I will certainly be sharing what I learned from these ladies on future blog posts and with my Germany School colleagues.

Next, I tip my hat to the most talented fearsome threesome in the area of Technology!  I can not and will not wait till I get home to start downloading new apps, trying out new web tools.... that I learned about in their presentations.  They are:  Sandi Reyes of

http://www.sandireyes.info/  Lori Elliot of  http://www.lorislatestlinks.com/  and Matt Gomez of

http://mattbgomez.com/aboutmatt/  I hope they won't get tired of my emails!

 

 

 

And finally last but not least, I would have to say the highlight of the conference was meeting Debbie Clement who has been so kind and welcoming to me from the start of my interest in blogging.  Readily she followed me on Pinterest, answered my emails, invited me to write on her blog, and left comments on my facebook page.  Thanks for the incredible encouragement and mentoring, Debbie!

Day 1 in Vegas!!

Day 1 in Vegas is in the history books!

After meeting up with 10 or so teachers and bloggers for a meet up dinner, we had the opportunity to put faces to familiar names in the blogging world and chat and share about our commonalities: teaching kindergarten and blogging! Then Monday came in with a bang!  Yes, Debbie Clement opened the I Teach Kindergarten Conference with a bang! 

 

 

 

I was soooo excited, motivated, and filled with pride as only one would know in meeting the Dynamic Debbie!

 

Over breakfast, before the sessions begain, I found myself sitting next to Kathy Schrock.  My first day was spent listening to  Kim Jordano, Sandi Reyes, Debbie Clement and Shari Slone.  All of them were amazing and left me feeling motivated and energized!  I hope to share more pictures as the conference continues. 

 

I'm not in Kansas! I'm in Vegas!!

Can I say it again?  I am in Vegas!

Well folks I made it to Vegas without a hitch and am so excited to be here.  It’s so refreshing to see all the lights by night when you have travelled days through desert terrain in West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.  But along the way we saw so many interesting and exciting things that I want to share on my blog for my friends across the pond.  I’m sure this isn’t very exciting for you all here in the states, but rest assure I will be sharing future pictures of travels through Europe!

First priority is to get checked in and then it’s registration time for the I Teach K conference!

Then I’ll be meeting Amy from Teaching in Blue Jeans, Elizabeth from Live it, love it, learn it blog, Holly from kindergarten connection blog and a few others.  We plan to meet up for dinner at one of the restaurants in the Venetian Hotel.  I can’t wait to pick their brains.  I’m apologizing now, ladies!  

For now, be on the look out for a 20% sale on my unit on Working With Shapes next week! 

 

My Number Art product will also be 20% off and is perfect for the beginning of school!

 

 

I hope to find time to blog about all the happenings and teachers I meet over the next four days!  Wish me luck! 

Things ARE bigger in Texas!

After leaving Oklahoma and returning to TEXAS for a family wedding, we stopped at a place called Buc-ee's.  OMG!  OMG!  What an incredibly large store, gas station, rest stop!  I know these pictures don't do justice but imagine an airplane runway - YES! it is that long!  We loved it and wrote home (Germany) about it!

 

 

Only three days left for the I Teach K conference and am looking forward to meeting teachers from the USA! 

 

 

Be on the look out for a few back to school patterns that can help you set up your classroom! See pictures below of some of the patterns! 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting to think about Back to School? Go to my TpT store to download my free Apple Math Journal!

 

 

While you're there please check out my Fall Math Journal, as well!

 

 

 

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th! So thankful and grateful for all of the freedoms we’re blessed with and for all those who have fought to make it so! USA is my birthplace and so I am eternally grateful.

I’d like to share one of my favorite videos on this day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeWj24QyIRw

Check Me Out!

Hey guys check out my avatar that Nancy from Joyofkindergarten blog made for me!  She was able to show my love of animals, zebra print glasses AND my “Beezy” life!  If you like this – go check out all her other goodies at
http://joyofkindergarten.com

I’ve been in the states for a week now busy traveling through the Southwest. I am now in Oklahoma and have had time to complete the second item on my summer bucket list! I’ve not only shopped and downloaded products from TpT but I’ve actually completed and uploaded my long vowel project!!

 

 

Click here to check out Long A!

 

Click here to check out Long E! 

 

Click here to check out Long I! 

 

Click here to check out Long O! 

 

Click here to check out Long U!