Mark your calendars for Tuesday and Wednesday, August 12-13, for the FOURTH Annual Summer Creativity Institute!!!
To be held at Little Angels Preschool in Flemington, New Jersey,
Details and Guest Instructor announcements to Follow!!!
Creatively Yours,
Dar & Deb 🙂
Here’s a little sneak peek at some of the fun, creative and beautiful things we will be making together at this year’s Third Annual Summer Creativity Institute!
Don’t be disappointed…. REGISTER TODAY!!
“I am still reeling from my two days spent in the company of such creative minds. I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to share in the experience of attending your workshop. I came away totally energized and ready to “light the flame”. The students of the teachers who attended your workshop are truly lucky children. For me, personally, the timing was perfect. I feel like I spent two days in a spa for the mind, body and soul. “
“Just wanted to let you know again how much I enjoyed the workshop you presented these last two days. There was so much talent in that room and I could feel the energy. It really touched me on many levels and I am looking forward to bringing back so many creative ideas to my classroom. You both are an inspiration!”
“…thank you for the tremendous amount of planning and organization you did to make this an experience that was meaningful and memorable. Your efforts left me wishing the days were longer, and provided me with a notebook full of ideas, activities, projects, and brainpops that I can bring to my students from the first day of school!
Last year’s retreat-like event was such a success, so of course we plan to do it again! We are busy making plans for our Summer Institute to be held on August 7 & 8th, 2012. Plans are to make this summer’s event bigger and even better! Subscribe today and be among the first to get all the details as soon as they are posted!
Saturday, April 21st Teaching Out Of The Box will be hosting another SATURDAY SESSION at the Hunterdon Learning Center. Details will be coming soon. Subscribe here to receive updates on this upcoming professional development program!
Upcycled Mini-Books: Literacy & Art
We are thrilled to announce the first three professional development workshops for our 2012 “Saturday Sessions” schedule. We hope that you will join us for dynamic, creative and FUN hands-on workshops in one of the most beautiful settings in central New Jersey, The Hunterdon Learning Center.
JANUARY 21, 2012 – UPCYCLED MINI-BOOKS: Get involved in a day of creating all sorts of mini books from recycled materials that can be easily found around the home and classroom. We’ll give you plenty of writing prompts and show you how to use these books across the curriculum to enhance your units of study.
FEBRUARY 4, 2012 – TEACHERS PLAYGROUND: Come spend a day with us and find the inner creativity you may have lost in 3rd grade. Loads of hands-on fun from our favorite “Greatest Hits”. Resources and hands-on writing and creative projects that will bring your classroom to life.
FEBRUARY 25, 2012 – POETRY ROCKS, LYRICAL WRITING IN MOTION: Create your own poetry rock set, and discover ways to find poetry in every subject. Hands-on fun with lots of poetry writing activities that you will be able to take back and use the next day.
$140.00: By CHECK, CREDIT CARD or PayPal
Includes, coffee, lunch & snacks!
Three or more people registering together will receive $130.00 registration per person.
One person who signs up for two or more classes will receive $130.00 registration per session.
All participants will receive PD Certificates for SIX HOURS of professional development.
DOWNLOAD THE REGISTRATION FORM BELOW
TOOTB Saturday Sessions Registration form
Questions? We have answers! Drop us a line at teachingoutofthebox@gmail.com.
Hello teachers. It’s time to get creative in finding ways to fund your professional development. First and foremost, it doesn’t hurt to ask your PTA or PTO if they would be willing to provide mini-grants for professional development. They often do this. And do it willingly!
Another often overlooked source may be your own contract. I know the district where I taught had a provision in our contract for a “pot of money” to be divided equally between all staff members who attended the yearly state teacher’s conference. In addition there was a second sum of money to be used towards all other conferences. Most teachers were unaware of this second source of money even though it was and still is in their current contract. I frequently applied to the latter funding to help cover my expenses for week long conferences I wanted to attend during the summer.
There are many resources on the internet as well that offer grants to teachers for professional development. Here are a few that may provide you with resources for funding:
http://teachingtoday.glencoe.com/howtoarticles/funding-professional-development
http://www.teacherscount.org/teacher/grants.shtml
http://www.grants4teachers.com/
http://www.technologygrantnews.com/grant-index-by-type/k-12-grants.html
I know that many districts realizing the importance of providing enriched programing to their students and staff have formed Educational Foundations. It doesn’t hurt to ask if they would be willing to cover professional development experiences for staff members too! Look at your local resources, your PTA, PTO, Education Foundations, perhaps other service organizations in your community. You may be pleasantly surprised. Be creative!
What’s the worst that could happen?
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
This could be YOU! Summer Literacy Institute at MNU, 2010.
Hi! We are excited to share with you that we are moving forward and currently making plans for a 2-Day, Summer Creativity Institute some time this summer! Knowing the budget restraints that many districts are under, we are really trying to make this as low cost as possible and are currently seeking funding in order to put together a really fun, hands-on, information and action-packed two days full of writing ideas, educational resources and creative inspirations for your classroom. Both Deb and I have been full of so many ideas for activities, lessons and guest instructors that we have been having trouble sleeping! We recently had a very productive meeting at an awesome venue, a beautiful spot in central New Jersey that holds a lot of promise for what we’d like to accomplish now, as well as wonderful possibilities for the vision we have for growth.
Right now, we’d like your input…
Teaching Out Of The Box 