Digging Deeper into a Land of Endless Wonder and Discovery

Let me just start by saying that these past couple days were eXtreme!  And by eXtreme I mean awesome, extraordinary, superb, brilliant, amazing, wonderful, fantastic, outrageous, glorious (I think you get the point…)!  What is the cause of all this excitement, you ask?  Well… for the past three days I was at the 45^th annual CCIRA Conference on Literacy – a reading teacher’s paradise! 

This was the 2^nd CCIRA Conference that I’ve been able to attend and both times it has changed my life!  Yes, you read that correctly (even though I might seem a little teensy bit dramatic) – it really has changed my life… or at least the way I teach literacy!  J  I listened to so many phenomenal speakers and met some absolutely wonderful people at each of the sessions I attended… teachers really are the nicest, most dedicated, caring, and kind people I know!  To any teachers (past, present, or future) reading this right now – thank you!  Thank you for your dedication and commitment to excellence, your passion and creativity that help create a world of wonder and opportunity, and your ability to make a difference and inspire the hearts and minds of others.  The world needs more people like you!  J

I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to meet and listen to so many authors and teachers that are the driving forces of change in our schools.  Their groundbreaking research is helping to enrich student learning and ensure a lifetime of opportunities and future success… And most importantly, to inspire educators to follow their passions and bring learning to life inside their classrooms!  I can’t tell you the amount of knowledge I gained in the past three days and the delight I experienced knowing that I can become a teacher who ignites sparks of passion, brings out the magic and wonderment in discovery, and makes a difference in the lives of every one of my students. 

For those of you that are fans of the Daily 5/Literacy CAFÉ, you’re going to be super jealous of me!  I got to spend 4 hours with the two sisters, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser!  After one of my sessions, I had the opportunity to chat with the two of them… and let me tell you, they are the sweetest people!  They even autographed the copies of the books that I bought (I know that you’re really jealous now!)!  J 

In between some of my other sessions, I made the choice to go to the bookstore and exhibition hall.  Look at all the cool stuff I came back with!

Plus I met this nice woman and told her my sad story of how my really nice Dibels timer went MIA and she gave me this Fluency timer for free (normally $12)!  Love it!!!!

And look what arrived in the mail this past week!

I’m going to have a lot of reading to do over the next couple weeks!  J 

In other news, Colorado’s weather has been pretty eXtreme this past week.  We got over 18 inches of snow in 2 days!!!!  And yes, you did read that last sentence correctly!  It is Colorado after all… sNOw big deal (sorry, I couldn’t resist)! 

Here’s a picture of my car that I took Friday evening.  It went on to snow a couple more inches after that, taking over an hour and a half to scrape and shovel my car out of its parking space today!  These are the times that I really wish I had a garage! 



This was only halfway through the snow storm.  My car was completely buried by morning!



It definitely gives new meaning to the song, “Walking in a Winter Wonderland!”  Haha! 

Now, I’m finishing up my last load of laundry, planning for my formal observation, preparing for parent-teacher conferences, entering Dibels data on my computer, and getting ready for the Super Bowl (go Pats!).  It’s going to be a busy day (or should I say week…)!  J  Enjoy your super Sunday!!!!

~Chelsea