"Wired, Fired, and Freakin' Inspired!"

It was fantastic to meet Jeff A Johnson of Explorations Early Learning!

My head is spinning from all of the recent inspiration! To steal a quote from my great friend and fellow presenter, Nancy Blackwell from Longevity of Success... "I am wired, fired, and freakin' inspired!"

I have so many wonderful new things to share with you.... but tonight I just have time to share a few photos and videos.... So, bear with me as I work to catch my breath, regroup and regain a "normal" life pace!

Rusty Keeler from the Earthplay Network is also a GREAT source of inspiration!

This past Friday and Saturday was the Upper Peninsula Early Childhood Conference, and I had an amazing opportunity to meet some folks who have been a HUGE amount of inspiration to me in my life journey as an early childhood educator and professional.

Deborah McNelis of Brain Insights was also presenting at our conference!
She had an amazing session on brain development!

Here are a few short video clips from the Family Fun Night we hosted with Jeff A Johnson of Explorations Early Learning as part of our 2012 Conference:

There are a ton of other photos and videos on the conference's Facebook page! If you are interested in joining us next year... save the dates! April 19-20, 2013 at Bay College in Escanaba, Michigan! Visit www.upecc.org for updates.

Comments

Patrice said…

I am so glad you had an awesome time with Jeff Johnson. I just bought his newest book, "Let Them Play" and am devouring it.

April 17, 2012 at 2:33 PM

Kidlutions(tm): Solutions for Kids said…

I was bummed I was unable to attend this conference! It looks like it was wonderful! Glad to have found you online via @braininsights (I had hoped to be able to meet up w/ Deb, a long-time online friend, whom I've yet to meet in person)! Also, I read somewhere that you had attended the Grand Rapids MiAEYC conference. I was there, too! Presented with @LouiseASL on Anger Management for Kids! We may have crossed paths!

April 17, 2012 at 6:06 PM

A Few Ideas With Marker Caps (As Promised)

Yesterday, I hope I convinced you not to throw away your markers that "don't work." Today, I will share with you a few ideas for what to do with all of the caps. The possibilities are nearly endless, but here are a few of our recent creations: 1) A Leprechaun/Fairy Ladder/Rope Ladder: 2) #1 if not permanently secured can also double as a rope bridge: 3) #1/#2 can also be made into a train track for your homemade trains :). (No photo available) 4) You can use them as beads for a necklace: 5) You could make them into a wind chime. (No photo available). 6. You can use them as small manipulatives to count, sort, and make patterns with. (No photo available). 7) You could use them as playing pieces in your own homemade board game. (No photo available). 8) You could put them on a wire and glue them in place to make a twirling whirly-gig. 9) You could top them with a lid from a milk jug to make tiny tables or toadstools. 10) You could make them...

Easter Egg Caterpillars!

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Xylophones and Outdoor Music (Originally posted May 2010)

These posts were originally published in May of 2010. Our music area has been updated quite a bit since then, but it will give you some basic instructions for creating the xylophone. I've wanted to make an outdoor area for music for quite some time. We had a new fence installed around the play area, and my thought was to put a HUGE xylophone on the fence, like the one we saw mounted on the wall at the U.P. Children's Museum. However, after being inspired with additional ideas for an outdoor area through following Teach Preschool on Facebook, we have opted to create an entire section of our outdoor play space to making music! The first project for our Music area was a Giant Xylophone. Here are a few photos as we worked to put it together. This photo is of our temporary installation. Due to the size of the xylophone, we need to reinforce it with wood, as the string is not strong enough to account for gravity. The xylophone is made out of scrap 2x4 pieces...

Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

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