Together, We Lit A Fire!

So, I have to tell you that in all the weeks and months that led up to our first, annual Teaching Out Of The Box Summer Educators Institute, I had that well known line from The Field of Dreams running through my mind: Build it and they will come.

We built it and you came!  It exceeded our expectations.  It made us so happy, so inspired, so full of hope for the real possibilities we feel still exist for education.  But, we couldn’t have done it without you!  Thank you to everyone who was a part of our two day experience.  The creative energy was really flowing at the Hunterdon Learning Center, a setting I know everyone will agree was simply beautiful.  Together, I think we were able to really grab a hold of the true spirit of learning and I know that our own spirits were energized in the process.  We couldn’t have had better participants or presenters and have already begun planning our next event.

Super thanks go to Brod, Carla and Kimberly for being the best trio of presenters any conference could ask for.  I hope that every teacher you meet realizes what a treat it would be to have any of you in their schools.  Also, thank you to Johanna, Katie and Erin for being great go-fer women and all around helpful humans.  Thanks to Claire for running an awesome book shop and giving a generous educator’s discount and much gratitude to new friends Kate Spann and Ed Pagliarini for their photography skills.  And, last but not least, thank you to Toby, Hope, Susan and Steve from the Hunterdon Learning Center for allowing us to invade your beautiful and inspiring space and for supporting our project–we look forward to collaborating with you again.

For anyone who is curious about what we did in these two days, I have posted a complete description of this fun and learning filled event at my 52 Mondays Blog.

This blog will be the place to find out what’s on our calendar and how you can be a part of it.  Check back often or, better yet, become a subscriber to get all our updates!

Be sure to visit the TOOTB Flickr Site to see pictures from the Institute.  To our Dear Participants, add your pictures to the Teaching Out Of The Box Group on Flickr and get your feedback to us in return for your PD Certificate and supplemental handouts.

Much Love,

Dar and Deb

We still have scholarship money and a few spots available…

Yes our deadline has come and gone but lucky you… we will be accepting registrations until we are full. We still have some spots. Send us an email and see if we still have room for you!

ANNOUNCING: Scholarship Monies!

We are pleased to announced that, through a generous grant, additional scholarship monies are now available to attend this summer’s Teaching Out Of The Box Summer Institute. We previously had some organizations sponsor scholarships for their own members and now we are excited to present scholarship opportunities to everyone. All classroom and preservice teachers are eligible to apply for a grant to help defray the cost of attending The Teaching Out Of The Box Summer Institute in Hunterdon County. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity and join with feature presenters Brod Bagert, Carla Sonheim, Doris Ettlinger, and Dar Hosta and Deb Barends for a truly unique hands-on experience.

Dar has just returned from the IRA in Orlando where she presented to a packed house full of teachers who were excited about her presentation on bringing creativity back into the classroom. In addition she attended a STEM poetry workshop and is excited to share highlights about this up and coming initiative and how teachers can approach it creatively.

Brod Bagert also presented at IRA this year in collaboration with Tim Rasinski and together they have a series of teacher references available for grades 1-8 level: Poems for Building Reading Skill (The Poet and the Professor.)

Deb recently attended an outstanding workshop, “Voices From the Land”, in Boston presented by the Monarch Teacher’s Network with plenty of ideas for exploring language and landscapes, art and culture with your students creatively in your expanded outdoor classroom.

And, check out Carla Sonheim’s recent interview on Art And Soul Radio.  After this terrific discussion, you’ll agree that she is going to calm all our fears about drawing and our own creativity.

Additional information about the Summer Institute is available at: https://teachingoutofthebox.wordpress.com 

To apply for the scholarship, please complete and return the attached form via email to teachingoutofthebox@gmail.com by June 8th. Winners will receive confirmation that they have been awarded a scholarship which you must return with your registration to the Summer Institute by June 13th. (No cash value will be awarded and this grant money can only be used towards the Summer Institute at the Hunterdon Learning Center July 27-28, 2011.

Please feel free to share this scholarship application with your friends today! If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at teachingoutofthebox@gmail.com 

TOOTB Scholarship Application

Creativity in the Classroom

What exactly is  our educational summer institute all about? We’re glad you asked. In a nutshell, creativity! We believe every classroom can and should be a creative classroom promoting creative ideas and creative thinking by students and their teacher.

You might say, ”I’m not creative, I can’t attend a summer workshop on creativity!” That is probably the very reason why you need to attend. You don’t need to be creative to teach creatively- you just need to realize the impact creative teaching will have in your classroom and beg, borrow, or steal ideas from the teacher next-door! Let us be your teachers next-door. Ask a child to do something and they just do it!  The child in your kindergarten or primary class doesn’t question creativity and you shouldn’t either. More importantly that feeling needs to be extended well beyond the primary classroom. Every student at any grade-level and even teachers need to be shown that they too can think creatively. We are determined to make that happen!

Why is creativity in the classroom so important? We believe in our ever changing world the need for creative thinkers will be crucial. Corporations need problem-solvers and creative thinkers are problem solvers.

The best way to become a better reader, is to read. The best way to become a better writer is to write. And, the best way to become more creative is to create! We have a wealth of ideas to share that will enable you to sneak fun and creative  practices into your curriculum and meet the national standards. Come experience the hands-on activities first hand and be ready to kick-off your most exciting and creative year of teaching in the fall of 2011.

Who should attend the two day educational summer institute? Although our primary target audience is the classroom teacher of kindergarteners through fifth grade, this opportunity will benefit anyone who believes that now is the time to bring creativity back into our classrooms. Those who are paying attention to what is happening right now in education understand the importance of teaching today’s students problem-solving and critical thinking skills to prepare them for the ever-changing world they will encounter in the future. Administrators, art teachers, gifted and talented instructors, librarians, special educators and even concerned parents along with anyone wanting to come learn and join in the creative play will want to attend.

You Are Invited!

We are very excited to announce the registration and details of the

“TEACHING OUT OF THE BOX” Educational Summer Institute

A dynamic and creative experience for Teachers in a scenic, retreat-like atmosphere.  We have two days of wonderful workshops planned for you!  We hope that you will be able join us for this informative and fun event.

JULY 27 & 28, 2011, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

At The Hunterdon Learning Center, 37 Hoffmann Crossing’s Road, in beautiful, scenic Califon, NJ

TOOTB Summer Institute Registration form 2011

We are offering you an exciting, two-day hands-on retreat just for teachers, in a beautiful setting in Central New Jersey, where you will learn simple ways to integrate creative activities into your classrooms, curriculum and literacy instruction that will stimulate and motivate student learning.  Come and participate in dynamic workshops that use recycled and “upcycled” materials.  Learn how to be creative on a shoestring budget and how to promote literacy through the exciting practice of “Art Journaling.”  Abandon your fears of drawing, painting and creative writing and experience our belief that Creativity Is A State of Mind.  Find out how you can integrate the arts, poetry, technology and nature-based learning into your K-5 classroom.  Come and make new friends, join professional artists, writers and educators for this informative, inspiring and spirit building event and leave with a box full of ideas to enhance your teachings!

Professional Development hours will be provided.

The Bottom Line:

Registration will be limited.

The cost for the two-day event is $275.00 and this includes lunch both days PLUS, a “Swag Box” of free stuff.

Discounted price: $250.00 if paying by check ($35.00 fee for all returned checks).

$20.00 for the Special Ticketed Event 5:00 p.m. on  July 27th – Watercolor Social with illustrator, Doris Ettlinger.

Payment due at time of registration. We will be accepting registration until we reach our maximum.

FEATURED INSTRUCTORS:

Carla Sonheim is a painter, illustrator, and creativity workshop instructor from Seattle who is nationally known for her fun and innovative projects and techniques designed to help adult students recover a more spontaneous, playful approach to creating. She is the author of the terrific book, Drawing Lab and has presented her inspiring workshops all over the country, including Art & Soul, Art Unraveled and Etsy Studios in NYC.  Her inspirational blog, The Snowball Journals, includes tons of information on her life, work and her well known online course, “The Art of Silliness.”

Doris Ettlinger is an illustrator and teacher.  Ettlinger was born on Staten Island and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and has been illustrating professionally for the last 20 years with over 30 titles in her name. Today she lives, draws, and teaches in an old grist mill on the banks of the Musconetcong River in Warren County, New Jersey. She tells her art students that drawing every day improves her skills, just as practicing an instrument improves a musician’s skills or working out improves an athlete’s performance. The more she works, the easier it becomes to draw the scenes she sees in her mind.

Dar Hosta is an award winning children’s book author, illustrator and educator who is known for her picture books, her presentations on creativity at national educational conferences, and her programs and residencies with elementary schools throughout the country.  She is an annual presenter at the American Horticultural Society’s Children & Youth Garden Symposium and a member of the Growing Good Kids Book Award Panel.  Dar has published over 40 books written and illustrated by children and teachers, and these books can be seen at Blurb.  She received a BA in creative writing from the University of Missouri, a language arts education certification from Cleveland State University and has been working with children and adults in education since 1992.

Deb Barends has been teaching in the primary grades for 35 years.  In addition to providing fine arts enrichment activities in her own classroom, Deb loves children’s literature and teaching writing to children. She has been a curriculum writer and has presented numerous workshops in language arts, creative arts and Math Their Way both locally and nationally. She believes that interweaving art and music enhances students learning in all areas of the curriculum. She is currently teaching art and enrichment at Whitehouse Preparatory School.

REGISTRATION FORM: TOOTB Summer Institute Registration form 2011