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!