Who Me?

I am blogging from my car sitting by the lake. I am posting a picture I took with my phone on this spectacular day in September. Who said you couldn't teach an old dog new tricks? I am ready for the big city now...4 days until NYC!

On The Banks of Plum Creek!

Months and months ago, when I was just saying yes to everything and worrying about it later, I said yes to a very kind email from Doug Nelson to speak to educators in Tracy, MN.  I will give you a minute to open a new page in map-quest and see just how far Tracy is from Winona......I was nearly at the border of South Dakota!! Considering that I start any journey just minutes away from the Wisconsin border, this road trip was not for the faint at heart.  There were plenty of cows to count and I played "Going on a Picnic" with myself just to pass the time.  I was really wondering about the whole deal when I came upon Walnut Grove.  Walnut Grove....a place I dreamed about growing up in with millions of other kids totally in love with the Ingalls family so beautifully written about by dear Laura.

I don't know why I got all teary but I did.  I devoured those books one right after another and loved them all. I got to the museum with 10 minutes to spare before closing time.  In all my years as a Minnesotan, I had never been to Walnut Grove, until this week. It was worth the drive to throw a shout out to Laura in my shiny high heels there, on the banks of Plum Creek.

I also had the opportunity to meet and school a whole cafeteria full of great teachers from the surrounding area at their fall drive-in. I was worried about keeping teachers engaged after a long day at work and bellies full of Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy! I met some really nice folks way out there in Ingalls country.  After I was done, I kinda thought about driving to the Corn Palace....heck, I had come so far already!

Here it is!

This was a highlight of my year.  What fun to record "Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad" for the Pearson Foundation's "Read for the Record" event.  Learn more about the wonderful work they do at www.wegivebooks.org.  Enjoy!

Kids In Need Foundation

I was so honored to be asked to keynote at the luncheon celebrating the grand opening of the Teacher Resource Center in Minneapolis.  Kids In Need Foundation stocks warehouses full of school supplies for children all over the country.  Minneapolis is the newest warehouse and it is beautiful.  Before the luncheon began, I was lucky enough to be the inaugural shopper.  It was so fun to shop for goodies for our ECFE program. Teachers all over the state will benefit from the efforts of Dave Smith and Jeanne Mock and their staff as they work together to get supplies into the hands of kids and classrooms who need them. They have so much to be proud of.  Read more about the great work they do at 

http://www.kinf.org/

Before the luncheon began, I spotted the keynoter for the Kids In Need Gala to be held later that evening.  I met Zach Bonner.  When I asked Zach how it came to be that he traveled from Florida to keynote a Gala in Minneapolis, Zach began by telling me "Well, when I was seven, I started a foundation called Little Red Wagon Foundation, to help get school supplies to kids in need". Wow. When I followed up with a question about how he went about finding funding, Zach told me about walking across the United States of America to raise awareness and raise funds!!  This articulate, caring, generous young man blew me out of the water. His is an amazing story! I wish I could have stayed in Minneapolis to hear him speak.

http://www.littleredwagonfoundation.com

Instead, I traveled to Jackson Minnesota (I sang "I'm Going To Jackson" more than once) to meet with Education Minnesota members who live and teach in the area.  Here I am with teachers Rodney Rowe and Cheri Drever. I have met so many great teachers along the way.  They make a great audience at the end of a day. They keep me motivated to gather champions of childhood!

A MN TOY Gathering

I belong to a really cool new club called Minnesota Teachers of the Year.  We had a gathering last week in Bloomington. Meet Brett Smith (1999), Jackie Roehl (current), Derek Olson (2008), Me and Barb Stoflet (2001 and 2002), really great teachers and wonderful storytellers.  I look forward to getting to know them all better.

Jumpstart Read For The Record

Here is the link to my promo for Jumpstart Read for the Record!  I will be reading "Ladybug Girl and the Bug Squad" to elementary school kids for the rest of the month in preparation for the big day on October 4th.  When you log in on the 4th, it will be me reading the on line version of the book.  How cool is that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_omjYcOfiS0

Anoka Hennepin...Really!

It was such an honor to address the entire early childhood staff at Anoka-Hennepin school district.  When they all gather from the largest district in the state, there are over 100 of them.  I put myself way out on a ledge technology wise. My friends in Winona would have been shaking with nerves for me knowing that I was going to use a power point, a DVD and my iPhone during the presentation.  It seemed pretty seamless to me but I have been known to be a little delusional. We covered a lot of ground and felt more committed than ever to the work we do with families in Minnesota. I got such great encouragement from some amazing folks, one in particular whom I have admired for so long, Beth Yokum, a fellow parent educator was in the audience! I had a great morning and look forward to going back to the Anoka- Hennepin district to speak to parents on October 12th. It is so funny to me as I go to post this entry that for the life of me, I can't make the underlining go away.  In a post where I brag about my technology game, that's pretty funny.  Karma, it will get you every time1