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We have learned so much! Yesterday was a day jam packed with classes about the media and how to craft and use our message to promote the great work teachers do in classrooms everyday.  We worked in large and small groups and even had time for role plays.  Most people roll their eyes when the assignment includes role playing.  I love them. I had the rare opportunity to play a C.A.V.E. dweller (Cranky About Virtually Everything). After a long day of workshops it was time to glam it up!

We ended our time together in Dallas at a lovely dinner here in the hotel.  It was time to introduce our finalists.  I am excited for each of them! The evening ended with a wonderful, inspiring speech by the current National Teacher of the Year, Michelle Shearer. It was time to say goodbye for this 2012 class of state teachers of the year. With great enthusiasm, I hugged my colleagues and wished them safe travels. We will see each other soon, in DC.  Until then, I am happy to know that we will all head back into our classrooms this week and our students, from infants to adults, will be happy to see us.

This is NOT the Super 8

Here is my view each morning when I open the shades.  It is a beautiful day today here in Dallas.  We finished our day at 3 and got busy planning our first unsupervised field trip away from the hotel....Whoo Hoo! Most of our homeroom is headed out for steaks and a little line dancing.  It should be fun after a long busy day full of information on the "Common Core".  I just took a mini field trip with my friend, Charity.  We took in the sunshine and blooming flowers and the long grasses.....unappreciated by some, but those of us from the Midwest are soaking it up!

Today in homeroom, Mary Beth Blegen facilitated a session on story telling.  We told a story in pairs.  When Mary Beth asked for volunteers to share a story with the whole group, I popped up and told one of my favorites about my dad and acorns. When Charity and I crossed the street this afternoon, not more than a half hour afterwards we noticed thousands of acorns in the boulevard. I know it is not uncommon to see acorns in January in Dallas but I saw them as a big hello from my Dad.  It has been another remarkable day.  My homeroom, full of great storytellers, is pictured above.  I am off now to see if they can DANCE!!

Hey Kim! Hey Lisa! Hey Target! Welcome to Dallas

It is so weird to find clones of friends from Winona here in Dallas.  If you know my friend Kim H. you will wonder if she is here with me (she IS a bit of a stalker so it wouldn't be completely out of the question) at the conference.  NOPE! This is my new friend Kim...yep, KIM from Arkansas!




 This is Charity.  She is the Iowa Teacher of the Year and I feel like Lisa G. is here with me! Charity is in my homeroom with all of the other teachers from the Midwest. Our homeroom is full of really, really great people that I am getting to know pretty well.

Case in point, meet Brad, the Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. We are fast friends and bond over how cool this all is.  Today our day was full of classes, speakers and food.....oh the food!  I gave Brad the assignment of noticing when I do not take treats and praising my willpower. He is a really good sport. This is a picture of us at the Kennedy Museum, hosted by the University of Phoenix.  It was a wonderful evening of history and an exciting opportunity to pay it forward.  If you look closely, that is a cream puff in front of me...it took all day but I finally caved. Brad, bless his heart, did not say a word!  He is a classy, classy guy.

Ahhh, Target! I was proud to be a Minnesotan today at the Target lunch.

Yehaw!

Just in case you thought I was making the whole last post up.....crispy pig ears will set you back ten bucks in the bar.

I had my hands full with this bright shiny thing all day today.  I am overwhelmed by how amazing this Smartboard is and full of  ideas about how I might incorporate her (surely it's a girl!) into my classroom.  My big challenge today was to create a Smartboard page about me and my great state of Minnesota.  We had plenty of artistic license to create.  My page included Lake Superior, a MP3 featuring Prince and a link to my blog.  It  may have been a mistake to have shared my little blog with the entire class of teachers considering that one of my recent posts was about not making the final four and openly admitting that I was running for the "Miss Congeniality" award (an imaginary award to compliment my imaginary crown). As it turned out though, it set a tone for the rest of my esteemed colleagues to openly vie for titles of their own. The afternoon turned out to be a very sweet, very personal, and very, very funny. 

Mary Beth Blegen, 1996 National Teacher of the Year is here!  Mary Beth is from Minnesota and she is a hoot. Was I excited to see her? You Betcha!!

My kids are going to gasp from embarrassment (so fun to make them crazy when they are all grown up) when they see this one. What they don't know is this......me and "Jersey" are here in Dallas to make some noise!  Meet Jeanne, my very smart, very funny new friend from New Jersey.  We bonded on the shuttle from the airport and the rest is history.  This is a fantastic group of people sharing this experience with me.  I can't wait for tomorrow!  Good Night from Dallas!

Always Ask in Dallas!

What a day! It has been hectic and thrilling to meet so many great teachers. The day has been full of frantic conversations will a dizzying number of states and names to remember. I will try to get used to being called "Minnesota". Our first gathering was at our beautiful, luxurious hotel. The waiters worked the room with appetizers before dinner. I had been functioning on about 12 lightly salted peanuts and was starving when a steamy plate of deep fried something was offered to me. I threw thoughts of calories and fat grams out the window and dunked that gorgeous hot thing in a vat of ranch dressing and asked the waiter what I was about to devour. For the record, I have now tried one bite of deep fried pig ear and I am here to tell you that there is not enough ranch dressing in Texas to inspire a second! More news and hopefully pictures tomorrow!

A Different Final Four

I'll just come out with it....I did not get asked to interview in Dallas to be considered for the National Teacher of the Year. I found out last Monday and took about 15 minutes to be disappointed and the rest of the week to let folks who were really hoping that I would make it know.  I generally think that things happen for a reason.  I love a challenge and would have loved to interview. I think I am better in conversation with people than in creating portfolios.  I am also about as competitive as they come.  I think that comes from growing up in a big family.  If my brother, my very fit brother, Pete walked through my door right now and asked me to race him, I would take off like lightning and do my best to finish first (OK, now that I have written that, I may be more wacky than competitive. You should see Pete!). 

I am writing instead of packing.  I leave for Dallas on Tuesday and can hardly wait for the experience. I will be so honored to meet the entire class of state teachers of the year!  I feel like I am packing for camp. I will take my computer along and share as much of the journey with you all and if, by chance, there is a Miss Congeniality award, I will do my best to bring it home!

Dog-Gone Good Reading!

Mrs. Allington's class invited me across town to read! Yeah!! It was a day without recess due to weather and the kids were looking for some fun.  We had some! "Wag" by Patrick McDonnell is a favorite read about puppy love and we all enjoyed "A Dog is a Dog" by Minnesotan Stephen Shaskan too.  I love pulling kids into a story! Thanks second graders, I hope to see you all again soon.  Keep warm and keep reading.

Warm and Welcoming Albert Lea

I-90 was a real bear last Thursday night, snowy, windy and generally disagreeable.  I was due in Albert Lea at 4:00 and by the time I got there, my shoulders needed a hot water bottle from holding tight to my steering wheel. I was stressed out as I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and was greeted by this marquee! I will never get used to this kind of thing.  I was especially excited to have dinner with area early childhood professionals from Community Education, the Children's Center and ECFE.


I was so happy to see Mark Nechanicky, a Minnesota Teacher of the Year finalist!  He and his wife, Taryn joined us for dinner.  Going through the MNTOY process together is like having spent a week together at camp. Mark will always be my buddy.

After dinner I was whisked away to Albert Lea High School to present to the community. I did a quick interview with KAAL TV first (you can find it on their home page). I shared my thoughts and tons of research to the audience about the state of childhood.  We focused on what kids need from the grown ups in their lives.  The time flew by! I want to thank Jenny Hanson and her staff for such a welcoming experience.  I felt like a rock star! Albert Lea has a wonderful staff at ECFE doing innovative programming for children and families.  Thanks Albert Lea!  I hope our paths cross again real soon.

My Village People

It really does take a village to raise a child. This is my village for my middle daughter, Jen.  We gathered this past weekend for the first wedding of the gang of seven. We have gathered often, at proms, at homecoming dances, at band concerts, at graduation parties, all in support of our amazing daughters. Parents need other parents. I love each one of their daughters, would do anything for them and I know each of these women would do the same for mine. You just can't ask for anything better than that. Time marches on though and in the blink of an eye, those daughters of ours have graduated from college and moved into lives all their own. Those girls remain good friends and the moms and dads in the village.....we remain grateful for each other.

Really?!

Heather is Connor's mom. As they were getting ready to leave for home from ECFE this morning, Heather showed me the cell phone pocket in Connor's size 5 coat. Take that in for a minute....a cell phone pocket in a size 5 coat. Sometimes, I just don't know what to say. A cell phone pocket in a size 5 coat? Really?!