Conference Time and A Few Good Books

Tomorrow is the P20 Educator Conference at the College of Southern Idaho, always a fun place to pick up some new info and make new friends. This year's theme is "Diversify to Unify." I'll be presenting on teaching narrative writing using Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books as an inspiration. We'll learn to link story pages electronically, so readers can choose their own paths. On Wednesday, I'll present on Faith and the Public School Teacher. There are already lots of educators signed up to attend, so I'm looking forward to seeing you there!

While I haven't had much time for blogging over the last several months, I have been growing as a teacher, a mom, and a reader. Let me share just three of the books I've enjoyed and learned from recently.

A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God's Sovereignty 
by Joni Eareckson Tada

A Place of Healing

We're all familiar with Tada's diving accident when she was a teenager because of her book Joni and the ministry she has had since becoming a quadriplegic. In her 2010 book, A Place of Healing, she shares how the heart-shattering new experience of severe, chronic pain has led her to trust God in new ways. I highly recommend this book for any believer, but specifically for those suffering from persistent pain, whether it be physical or otherwise. Visit Joni & Friends to learn more about Tada's ministries.


Reclaiming Surrendered Ground: Protecting Your Family from Spiritual Attacks
by Jim Logan

Reclaiming Surrendered Ground

The Amazon description of this book claims it will "help you and your family:

• Become alert to the enemy and his tactics
• Discover your areas of vulnerability
• Live freely in Christ's victory."

I definitely found that statement to be true when I read Reclaiming Surrendered Ground. If you're raising a family for Christ, give this book a thoughtful read.


The Parables of Jesus 
by Tomie dePaola

The Parables of Jesus

My children and I (and, when I taught Kindergarten, my students) have always loved Tomie dePaola's books with their thoughtful narratives and exquisite, accessible illustrations. In The Parables of Jesus, dePaola retells familiar stories Jesus told in a traditional manner, accompanying them with his gorgeous art. Good for short storytime sessions or a cover-to-cover read. As always with picture books, I recommend the paperback or hardback versions, since it can be difficult to appreciate the illustrations fully in an ebook format.



What are you reading these days? Share your picks for educators and other people of faith in the comments!

Follow me, Amy, on Goodreads.

Unpacking Idaho's 2017 Federal Programs Conference

 It's great to be back from the 2017 Federal Programs Conference in Boise! Now to unpack what I've learned. . . .

First some highlights for those of you who wonder what it's like to go to a conference like this.

• Keynote speakers Charlotte Danielson, Luis Cruz, Diane Staehr Fenner, and of course rapper MK Asante brought inspiring messages encouraging us to be "merchants of hope," to remember that "If you make an observation, you have an obligation," and to keep doing the work that makes such a difference in the lives of our neediest students. 

Amy with the great Charlotte Danielson

• Breakout sessions deepened our understanding of topics under the Federal Progams umbrella (and at this conference, special education). I learned about reaching English Learners, using multicultural literature for inclusion, leveraging score changes in WIDA Access 2.0, apps that support student accessibility, and Socratic Discussions with my friends Wendi and Kim from the Idaho Coaching Network.

• I presented Choose Your Own Adventure: Writing and Publishing Narratives Using Digital Technology to a great bunch of teachers. Want the slideshow? It's yours! Go to https://goo.gl/c49wS5. The hostess at my session gave me a goody bag with The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore inside. Can't wait to read it!

Amy's presenter badge

• I got to catch up with some of the great folks from CSI who put on the P20 Educator Conference last summer. They're gearing up for this July, and I'll be presenting Choose Your Own Adventure and Faith and the Public School Teacher there again this year.

• Came home loaded up with freebies like animal-photo posters from Discovery Education, a coloring book for my daughter, and oodles of books from Stan Steiner's session, "What's New in Multicultural Children's Literature." More on that session another time!

Multicultural literature

• I got to explore Boise and meet new people. Networking is a huge part of why we go to conferences at all, and I try to take advantage of the chance to get help with issues I'm facing in the classroom, school, or in my district as a whole. (Okay, in my small community, the school and the district are one and the same. But you get what I'm saying).

View from the parking garage near the Boise Centre

What I'd like to see at next year's conference? A session called "Federal Programs 101." After all, some of us (me) are newbies to Fed Programs, and we need to know how to prepare for an audit, manage input from staff members, and make sure our school is doing the best it can to meet the needs of all learners.


More from the conference soon, but in the meantime, what do you think new Federal Programs Directors need to know about their job? Leave comments below! We newbies thank you!

Further Reading:
From eSchool News: 5 technologies to avoid in the classroom-and what to use instead
What Happened When I Interviewed Hip-Hop Artist MK Asante (And a Truck With a Confederate Flag Drove By)
From Dayspring.com: What's in Your Easter Basket?