Franklin, Tennessee: Here We Come!

Look at who will be in Tenn. Nov. 2-3:

Click the photo to read all about the conference. Then, click the red tab to register!

Your day will begin with Shari Sloane! 

Shari Sloane

Her keynote, "Every Day's An Adventure" where Shari will share some of her more amusing experiences in her kindergarten classroom over the past 30 years.

Then, chose from an amazing list of sessions from Katie Mense's "I'm Done With Centers. Now, what?" to...

Katie Mense

... Leanna Wolkis Goldstein's "Guiding Young Readers to Independence."

Leanna Wolkis Goldstein

Jessica Searfoss will show you how to "Differentiate your ELA Centers For Your ELL Students" and Palma Lindsay (that's me) will show you how much fun it is to teach foundational skills through nursery rhymes with "Mother Goose On The Loose!"

Jessica Searfoss

Palma Lindsay

And Shari Sloane will present on Sight Words, Intervention, & Fluency!

Are you looking for some new Math ideas? 

We have "Foldable Fun: Problem Solving With Math" with Leanna Wolkis Goldstein and "Putting FUN Back Into Math: The Magic of Addition & Subtraction" with Palma Lindsay.

Then, There is Day 2!

Start your day with Palma Lindsay's keynote "Ingredients For Success" where you will be inspired to make this your best year EVER!

The day ahead is filled with Make & Takes and regular workshops like these:

Adam Peterson's "Learning Through Play" and "Technology In The Classroom."

Adam Peterson

Shari Sloane's "Super Science Centers" and "Brain Breaks."

Leanna Wolkis Goldstein's "Building the Next Generation of Learners" to "Developing a Love of Learning."

Palma Lindsay's "Close Reading" and "Developing Academic Vocabulary."

Plus so many more!

CLICK HERE

for more info and to register for 

SDE's 

Conference for Kindergarten Teachers

Franklin, Tenn

Nov. 2-3, 2017

Tennessee, Here We Come!

Pre-Kinder Teachers Are In For A Treat:

Staff Development for Educators is hosting an amazing conference for Pre-K teachers in Franklin, Tennessee this week and I can't wait!

Click the map.

Kathy Griffin, Shannon Samulski, Elizabeth Hall, Sandi Reyes, and I will be sharing our ideas and techniques to make learning more meaningful and fun at the SDE 2017 Conference for Tennessee Pre-Kindergarten Teachers! From foundational skills to classroom management, you will get it all. There will be two amazing keynote addresses plus lots of "Make & Take" sessions with ideas you can immediately use in your Pre-K classrooms. 

Click the image to get more info about this conference.

And there is a bonus:

Kathy, Shannon, and I will be creating a mini webcast on Tuesday afternoon. I'll post about it on Facebook as soon as I get to the airport. 

Will YOU be in Tennessee with us this week?

#SDEevents

Do you shop on Amazon? Win-Win Ideas For Your Students, Kindergarten, & YOU!

This is how you can make a difference this year:

If you are shopping on Amazon.com, you can make a huge difference in the world of kindergarten by clicking on the Amazon link on the California Kindergarten Association's homepage first!

Click the image above.

This idea will benefit you AND your students:

Attend the PK1 Conference in Santa Clara, CA this January and discover new ideas, techniques, and products to use with your students. Most of all, you will leave with a new sense of inspiration, motivation, and determination to make the rest of this school year the best one ever!

Click the image. 

Registration is filling up, so click on the brochure and check out all of the amazing sessions.

I'll be there presenting on ways to incorporate "play" in your busy day and how to teach phonics and phonemic awareness through the world of nursery rhymes. 

Happy Holidays to you all!

So Cal FUN: Kindergarten Teachers Learning, Laughing, & Loving What They Do!

It All Happened at The SoCal Kinder Conference:

I had such a GREAT time connecting with teachers at the So CA Kindergarten Conference in Pasadena this weekend. I not only got to present on "Keeping Play In Your Kindergarten Day" and "Make Every TK & K Kid a Writer" but I got to have an exhibit booth where teachers could buy my FUN templates.

I also got to participate in the Blogger Bash where participants got to meet bloggers as we moved from table to table. 

Heidi, Shannon, & Renee.

Kelley, Michelle, & Deborah.

Katie, Fran, & Sandy.

Sandy, Palma (me), & Heidi.

Betty Jo, Shannon, and I were photo bombed! :)

I also sang my little parody about the importance of "play" in your school day.

It goes like this and it is to the tune of The Battle Hymm of the Republic:

My eyes have seen the glory 

of Kinder children at play,

It's important for kids everywhere, 

so don't take it away!

Though kindergarten's like first grade,

They even go full day,

The truth is they need play!

Glory, glory I won't stress you,

But now sit down and let me test you!

I'll give you time to play

part of every single day,

Because you're only five!!!

We really don't need a
larger photo, right? :)

We all know that I can't hold a tune, but I just think this message is so very important to share that I'm willing to put myself out there and, much like Lucy, I just sang my heart out! 

I also asked the participants to consider that the very people who are trying so desperately to remove the home center, the painting easel, and the "play" from kindergarten are the very people who not only got to play when they were in kindergarten, but that was just about ALL they did when they were in kindergarten! OK, I'll get off of my soapbox now. 

I want to extend a HUGE "thank you" to my husband who took care of my booth while I presented on Friday and to Lauren who took care of my booth while I presented on Saturday. I can't do this without their love and support! 

And a HUGE "thank you" to Sandy from Show And Tell Aprons who donated an apron which I was able to give away at one of my sessions and to ESGI who donated several one-year subscriptions for me to give away too! I LOVE all of my Show & Tell Aprons AND ESGI!!!

Click the image to see more aprons.

She even makes a tu-tu apron!Click the image.

Click the image!

Click the image to grab your 60 day FREE trial & 
enter the code KFUN to save your $40 discount.

ESGI is my hero! It has saved me so many hours!
Click the image to grab your FREE trial
& enter the code KFUN to save your $40 discount. 

Anyway, if you were at the So Cal Kinder Conference, leave a comment and me know if how you liked it. 

Did you catch any of my sessions or the sessions of my friends: Shannon Samulski, Heidi Butkus, Shari Sloane, Katie Knight, Kelley Doling, Fran Kramer, Keri Bordelon, Lindsay Messner, Renee Dooly, Joyce Buehler, Betty Jo Evers, & The Kinder League (Yisel, Cindy, & Cessy).

When the busy week was over we could all say, "A good time was had by all!"

Two of our SCKC volunteers who make this entire conference happen! 

The Stars At Night, Are Big & Bright - - - - Deep in the Heart of...

Texas!  Well, Austin to be exact!

And the Texas teachers were the stars!

I absolutely LOVED working with the teachers in Texas at SDE's Pre-K and Kindergarten conferences! What an enthusiastic bunch of dedicated educators! 

I had the opportunity to share eight sessions with some awesome educators! 

My favorite session was the hands-on Make & Take called "It's A Great Day For Science!" That is something that the great Mr. Hayes, science teacher extraordinaire, would say as he greeted his 8th grade science class each day back in the 1960s & 70s in SoCal. Each time I present this session, I dedicate it to him. 

We had FUN creating bubbles inside of bubbles:

And re-creating the life cycle of a butterfly with pasta:

Made with pastina (eggs), rotini (caterpillar), mini shells (chrysalis), & bow-tie (butterfly).

And they got the link to my FREE Scientific Method Signs. You can grab this FREEBIE too by clicking on the image:

Click the image to grab this FREEBIE.

I set up the night before and filled the room with samples from my classroom. Teachers were able to take photos and handle the samples.

Best of all, they got to hear three stories from some of my favorite authors:

Blue On Blue, by Dianne White is filled with rich vocabulary and beautiful illustrations. We were able to interact with the story by tapping, clapping, and slapping out the sounds of the rain. You can find out more about Dianne and her lovely book on her web site Dianne White.

Harriet Can Carry It, by Kirk Jay Mueller is a delightful story about a Kangaroo and her little Joey who just want to spend a day at the beach. I shared how to read this story while filling up a beach bag much like we do when we read The Mitten, except this story takes place in the summer. You can find more info about Kirk and his beautiful book at his web site Kirk Jay Mueller.

You're Wonderful, by Debbie Clement comes with the song on a CD. This is the perfect song to use at your Pre-K or Kindergarten graduation or any time you want children to feel "wonderful" about themselves! Visit her blog: Rainbows Within Reach.

And I was able to give away a "Show & Tell" apron!

Click the image to see the website. 

This sweet teacher was so excited to win that she did the Happy Dance!

You can see all of the amazing Show & Tell Aprons by CLICKING HERE.

We all had such a GREAT time at SDE's Pre-K Conference and their Kindergarten Conference!

And in the evenings, the presenters got to enjoy some delicious Austin food and some great company! Here we are with the ladies from ESGI. That is the website that saved me hours upon hours of time and caused my students to BEG TO BE TESTED! If you haven't checked out their amazing online testing website, you owe it to yourself (and your students) to give it a try with their 60-day FREE trial. Remember to enter the promotional code KFUN when you sign up for your FREE trial and they will be happy to apply a $40 discount to your first year.  CLICK HERE go grab your FREE trial and find out what all the buzz is about! 

And when it was time to fly back to California, the full moon was shining over my Southwest plane.

"Good-bye, Austin!" I hope to return again next year! 

Have You Heard???

We Are Giving Away One For FREE!!!  (Just keep on reading.)

Have you heard about the California Kindergarten Association's Annual PK1 Conference? Well, it's an outstanding 3-day event designed by teachers for teachers specializing in early childhood education.  If you teach TK, Pre-K, K, 1st Grade, or Homeschool and live in the California area, this is definitely an event you don't want to miss. This year's conference is scheduled to take place in Santa Clara, California (just outside of San Francisco).  

When? You ask?

The festivities kick off on Friday, January 16th with a Pre-Conference Institute and lasts through Sunday, January 18th.  Oodles of professional development workshops ranging from behavior management and the importance of play to integrating the Common Core Standards will be offered throughout the weekend.      

But, wait!!  There's more.  

Some of your FAVORITE bloggers are going to be taking part in this amazing conference.  Just look at this fun line-up of blogger presenters that will be at this year's PK1 Conference  . . .

    

    

    

    

Don't go yet . . . 

We have even more for you.  Guess what else is happening?? We are thrilled to announce that the PK1 Conference will be hosting it's very first Blogger Fiesta.  At this fun evening event, you can meet and chat with your favorite bloggers while enjoying some yummy Mexican appetizers.  Each attendee will receive appetizers, a Blogger CD (filled with $60 of free products), and a raffle ticket to enter to win oodles of other fabulous prizes!  To purchase your $35 Blogger Fiesta ticket, click HERE.

Are you excited yet?  

Let's up the ante a bit.  How about a chance to win a FREE conference registration?  Well, it's your lucky day!  The generous folks at CKA have given us one FREE conference registration to give away to our followers. Enter to win via the painless Rafflecopter below.  But, hurry!!!  This giveaway closes Friday evening and our BIG winner will be announced on Saturday, December 13th.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To learn more about PK1 and/or to check out the conference sessions in detail, CLICK HERE!  

Thanks for taking the time to visit us today.  

We hope to see you at this year's PK1 Conference :)

What Happens In Vegas... (& a discount just for you)

... I'm Presenting At I Teach K!

I can't wait to present FOUR sessions at this year's I Teach K Conference in Las Vegas.

The conference runs from July 7-10 and all four of my sessions will be on Wednesday, July 9.

I'm super excited about presenting along with so many other excellent educators.

What I'm Presenting:

"Turning You Kinders Into Addition & Subtraction Magicians" will be filled with FUN Common Core, hands-on activities that make math real and foster true conceptual understanding.  It's a Make & Take session so you will leave with some great tools to use in your classroom.

"Math & Art Together At Last" will be a great Make & Take session where you will be able to learn how to make awesome art projects that integrate math!  So much FUN!

"It's A Great Day For Science" will be filled with hands-on science integrated with ELA & Math so you can integrate science in these other curricular areas and get more bang for your buck!

"Core Writing Techniques For Your Emergent Writer" will help you turn your little ones into writers in no time.  It also covers phonics and sight words.  Tons of tips and loads of FUN.

Here is the Discount I Promised:

Click the image and use the code Nat10 for a 10% discount plus principals may attend with you for FREE!

            Enter the code Nat10 during check out. 

Click the image above or right HERE to go to the S.D.E. site.

 I hope I see you there!

See you tomorrow.

Palma :)