RainbowsWithinReach: Teacher Twitter Tues: Guest MysteryEduCelebrity Greg Smedley!

Teacher Twitter Tuesday: Practice Chat with Greg Smedley + PRIZES!

YES!!! Our Teacher PRACTICE Chat Marches On!

We have been having a RIOT of fun, learning how to chat together on Twitter. Tuesday night! 9 PM EST. Our latest addition is to *PLAN* to have moderators on our hashtag #TeacherFriends beginning at 8:30 for the newest of the newbies.

Each week has brought more and more TWEEPS and lately it has felt like a cross between fireworks and a High School Class Reunion. You just have to know ahead of time that there is absolutely NO WAY that you can keep up in a chat room when over 50 people are chatting/typing/Tweeting at the same time! You learn to surf the waves of tweets. {Then you read the 'storified' version after the fact to see everything you missed.}

Debbie Clement and Greg Smedley of Kindergarten Smorgasboard

HERE'S THIS WEEK'S BIG REVEAL! #MysteryEduCelebrity! The very amazing, creative @GregSmedley of Kindergarten Smorgasboard fame. Yes. He's just had surgery on his knee. Yes. He is still on medication. Yes. He promises to share secrets!!! Plus some lucky winner will walk away with his brand new product for back-to-school! YES! I have been to make an author/illustrator school visit to his school two years in a row!

Our sweet hostess, Maggie of Maggie's Kindergarten has Tweep Tips to share today. You need to go over to her blog, to see her other Tweep Tips!

Kristen, another hostess has a VERY insightful article,

"So you think you want to join a Tweet Chat."

She outlines her thoughts on TweetDeck. Click her blog button to go learn her insight directly!

To give total newbies a head start for the chat......

We moderators put our head's together and decided it might help newbies,

to have an 'open-book' chat,

with the questions ahead of time!

Here ya go.

For those of you who like to plan ahead!

9:00pm · 22 Jul 2014

#TeacherFriends! WELCOME! Where do you live? What do you teach? Have you chatted with us before? Are you a #TCV {TwitterChatVirgin: giggle}

9:06pm · 22 Jul 2014

#TeacherFriends Q1: When does school start? When can you get into your room? What's your #TPP {TeacherPetPeeve} about setting up your space?

9:12pm · 22 Jul 2014

#TeacherFriends Q2: Where did you go to college? What's your alma mater? What was your mascot? Taking classes now? Extended degrees? 

9:22pm · 22 Jul 2014

#TeacherFriends Q3: Do YOU buy school supplies for your classroom? How much do you spend? Do you get a contribution from school?

9:33pm · 22 Jul 2014

#TeacherFriends Q4: What advice would you offer a new teacher for the #BTS {Back-to-school} season? Favorite BTS read-aloud? Resource?

9:41pm · 22 Jul 2014

#TeacherFriends Q5: Please share the 'furniture' set-up for your space. Tables? Desks? Centers? What would you like to introduce/try? 

9:50pm · 22 Jul 2014

#TeacherFriends Time for #SnT {Show-n-Tell} Give us your own blog, IG, Pinterest, FB, connections. ANY blog article for BTS. Use bitly! 

We're doing everything we can think of to support + encourage!

Here's what the storified version of last week's chat looks like.

You can follow fellow teachers right from the storify.

Special thanks to +Kim Vij who puts it together.

Meanwhile. In real life, we are back to northern WI to our haven-on-Earth for the remainder of the summer season. We flew in yesterday, requiring three flights, followed by a 3.5 hour drive to our peninsula! This past weekend has been filled with dreams coming true.

I FINALLY met Jack Hartmann. Music POWER House. This is the two of us, upon arriving at ETSU for their Early Childhood Conference -- during the sound check. Jack was kind enough to let us use HIS equipment. Good people!

As if that wasn't enough excitement...... I then got to meet and later have dinner with the music brains and heart behind the original four "Pete the Cat" books! Michael Levine is truly an awesome individual with a fascinating story to share! Yes. We truly did have gen-u-ine fun!