"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...

"The Markers Don't Work!"

How may times have you heard, "Ms. (fill your name in here), this marker doesn't work!" I know I hear it all the time. Sometimes it is because our little friends forget to replace the caps, and sometimes the markers have just been "all used up!" What do you do with all those markers that just don't work? Please don't tell me that you throw them out, try this instead: First, sort your markers out. Put the caps in one container ( save those too, I'll show you what you can do with them in tomorrow's post) and the markers in another. I have a box for the markers that "don't work" for the children to place them into every time they run across one. You can also have the children help you test the markers periodically to sort out the ones that need to be removed from the "working set." When it comes time to use "the markers that don't work," we use a small sponge paint roller to roll water onto our card...

Our DIY Light Tables

There has been a lot of buzz about light tables over at Teach Preschool on Facebook . Deborah has collected some great ideas for light table play and has been experimenting with making her own table over on the Teach Preschool blog. I thought I would share with you our two light tables and how we made them. This first table is one that we put together with some scrap wood pieces, an old plexi-glass door from an entertainment center, and a couple of aquarium lights. Total Cost = $0. (We had everything on hand.) The table needs a little bit of tweaking. (It is on my to do list). Basically, we made a frame of wood around the plexi-glass and placed the lights under it. Our DIY skills in putting this together were far from expert, so the frame has a couple of gaps (and the reused wood is warped). We plan to try a new frame and use some caulk to seal any gaps. We also plan to attach the lights to the side of the frame instead of just placing them on the f...

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