Concerts in YOUR Home: Rupert Wates in Vero Beach Feb. 3rd!

Singer Song-Writer, Rupert Wates

What are you doing on Wednesday night? 

We're hosting singer-songwriter Rupert Wates 

 for an official concert-in-our-living room 

under the banner: 

What is Concerts in Your Home you ask? 

It is a ten year old organization that supports the Arts 

by matching performing musicians with music lovers. 

It is a cyber clearing house for those willing to support musicians 

 as they travel and develop fans. 

It is a brilliant idea that I've only JUST discovered, 

due to an article in our local newspaper. 

We will officially host Rupert in our home over night 

as our inaugural event. 

We have extended invitations to friends and neighbors to join us for his concert! 

We will roll out the coffee table and add some folding chairs. 

Rupert will bring his amplifier. 

Friends will bring a dessert to share. 

What could be easier? 

We will gnosh and visit.

Then we will all take our seats and Rupert will play a set of some of his favorite

award winning songs. 

I'm NOT expecting a sing-a-long. 

This will be a REAL concert. 

Right there in our home. 

My list of attendees is up to 29. 

We can easily handle another 11. 

Here's a link to the RSVP page. 

It will give you other links to Rupert's songs.

Our suggested donation is $15 per person. 

Not to worry, you can set your donation at less if necessary or MORE if able! 

Rupert will have copies of his CDs to sell to those in attendance. 

He may even have some Tshirts to sell! 

What if we each hosted a concert? 

What if we each supported an artist-musician directly? 

What if we put our priorities on buying directly from creatives? 

This is the ultimate example of buying small. 

We have been hosted numerous times in the homes of one of the teachers or administrators of a school that I am visiting. It is a huge support of my traveling to be able to save the lodging expense when on the road.

More significant is having the human elbow-to-elbow aspect of being a guest in someone's home. I have often benefited from the kindness of others and this kickoff 

CONCERT in the COVE {our livingroom} 

is my way to pay it forward! 

Go look at Concerts in Your Home 

and sign up as a host! 

Then search for your favorite genre of music. 

Bingo. 

You're in!   

#TeacherFriends Twitter Chat: Teaching Diversity Through the ARTS!

TUESDAY: TEACHERS ON TWITTER!!!!

We have an amazing opportunity to chat tonight, 

Jan. 26th (on my mom's birthday!) 

on the potential of educating and sharing 

on the critically important topic of 

DIVERSITY 

through the prism of the ARTS!

We are very fortunate to have Amy Guglielmo as our 

#GuestEduCelebrity in the spotlight, 

lending her expertise and insight on this vital chat.  

Even more amazing, is the fact that Amy will be joining us from COSTA RICA! 

She will be our third #GuestEduCelebrity tweeting from outside the US. 

Let's hear it for technology! 

I am so eager to hear Amy's insight and suggestions.

As always we will have some prizes for participants. 

Amy will have one of her many books to give away! 

{Just get your name on our Google doc once, 

and then you're entered to win any/all prizes.} 

In order to help you prepare for the chat 

and stay on task with the conversation, 

here is the outline for tonight. 

Think of it as an open-book chat. 

You are welcome to prepare and even schedule your answers! 

I use the FREE platform of Tweetdeck, 

that allows me to schedule all of my planned thoughts ahead of time. 

Just remember to tweet your answers in the minute following the question above. 

Also take into consideration the time-zone-conundrum. 

#TeacherFriends Twitter Chat w Dr.Jacie Maslyk: STEAM - Maker Ed

TEACHERS TWEET TONIGHT!

What an amazing opportunity we have tonight! 

January 19th at 9PM..... 

meet us in the webs of the Twitter-verse!

#STEAM Meets the MAKER MOVEMENT!

What exactly does that mean, you ask?

Good question! 

Come find out!!! 

Dr. Jacie Maslyk will be our #GuestEduCelebrity.

We will learn. Together!  

Dr. Jacie is an avid supporter of all things STEM enriched by the ARTS!!! 

{How can we not become friends in real life!?!} 

Dr. Jacie has already written the BOOK on this very topic. 

One of our lucky participants tonight will win a copy.......... 

there's only one catch. 

Her book doesn't come out for two more months. 

So our lucky winner will be experiencing the concept of: 

DELAYED GRATIFICATION! 

#Patience Grasshopper. 

I know that your wait will be highly rewarding. 

In order to be eligible for ALL of tonight's prizes, 

just get your name entered once onto our Google Doc 

that will be tweeted through out the evening. 

***Winners are chosen right around 9:55

and notified via a tweet (of course.)

Here is the outline for tonight's chat. 

Think of it as an open-book conversation 

with your closest friends. 

Yes. You are welcome to 'schedule' your response-tweets ahead of time. 

Just tweet in the minute following the Q. 

Be sure that you consider the time-zone conundrum, 

and tweet accordingly. 

We will be gathered at 9PM EASTERN Standard Time. 

If you are new to Twitter, appreciate a slower speed, or just want to visit informally -- 

by all means arrive for #EarlyBirds at 8:30 PM.

We will be chatting about "Maker-Spaces" 

and supporting creative learning environments. 

By ALL means, I hope that you consider furnishing your room with some alternative, flexible seating. 

We distribute the Wobble Seat and are happy to accept your purchase orders!

Watch the video above to get an idea of the Wobbles in classroom settings!  

We ARE Teachers: Top 10 ECE Online Resources Selection!!!

There is a list of pure gold:

'10 of the VERY Best Online Resources 

for Early Childhood Teachers' 

as gathered at the site, "We Are Teachers." 

I learned of this list L-A-T-E last night. 

The list is full to the brim of people that I admire. 

Not surprisingly, and quite deservedly, 

Deborah Stewart of Teach Preschool is number one!

Deborah teaches the children, 

and just as importantly she teaches us the adults.

Her example and dedication is amazing.

I am forever indebted to Deborah for her support, 

suggestions and direction over the years.  

Deborah reading my book, "You're Wonderful" at her school! 

Time to continue reading the list. 

Next up: the contributions of Happy Hooligans in the #2 slot.

We haven't met in real life, but I have long admired the creativity

and original thought exemplified

in every idea shared. 

AND THEN. 

MY HEART SKIPPED A COUPLE OF BEATS.......

and the tears began. 

Right there before my very eyes, 

and still there today when I woke up after pretending to sleep: 

MOI. 

Here's the link to my Twitter account, Pinterest and PreK+K Sharing!
{{{The image above is a photo and the blue bits are not links.}}} 

I'm sure that my computer continued to scroll down the list. 

I know that I attempted to continue to read.

Reading and comprehension? 

Not an option.

Between the tears and the heart thumping, 

Between my racing brain, 

Between the images of the other resources,

Between my appreciation for so many who have supported me,  

Between the examples listed,

Between another round of emotion, 

Between the welling of my heart,  

Between my rewinding of the past 12 months..... 

The rest was a swirl of the greatest joy,

mixed with the deepest and most surreal gratitude. 

There have been more than a few times over the last 52 weeks

where I have pondered the expiration date of my efforts. 

When do you know when? 

When is it time to retire? 

When is it time to go blissfully to the beach, 

 completely unaware of the day-of-the-week? 

The message I received late last night? 

NOT YET!!!!!!! 

The social network applause upon the announcement and the expressions of support expressed have meant the world.....

ALL OVER AGAIN. 

#NotYet

Keep plugging along. 

Dig a little deeper. 

Start over.
Begin again.
Learn some more. 

Get back to the basics: blogging, pinning, sharing. 

Thank you. 

Thank you. 

Thank you. 

Thank you.
Thank you. 

Now to begin the resuscitation. 

#NotYet  

#TeacherFriends Twitter Chat 1/12 TONIGHT: Music & Movement w RockingDanTM

TUESDAY! TONIGHT! TWITTER! 

#TeacherFriends visit OZ!

I am so excited to welcome 

Rocking Dan Teacher Man

to our spotlight tonight! 

Dan will be tweeting from Melbourne, 

AUSTRALIA!!!

The power of technology! 

I don't even know WHAT time zone that is, 

but I know that it will already be 'tomorrow' as we chat with Dan!!! 

Though we haven't met in real life just yet..... 

We share the passion for making music & movement 

the central delivery system for learning to take place. 

Dan has had an incredible milestone and has hit 

ONE MILLION VIEWS 

on his YouTube channel. 

Very clearly, he is harnessing technology and has a worldwide fanclub of followers.

Here are the questions for tonight's chat. 

Think of it as an 'open-book' format.  

Knowing the questions ahead of time is designed to help you follow the conversation more easily. 

I use the free format at Tweetdeck to help me follow and join in the conversation. 

These are the questions that Dan has designed. Honest. 

But it will be 'easy' to respond with favorites of my own. 

Here are the links to my two favorite/professional videos, 

thanks to the vision at Zaner-Bloser corporate office! 

And here's my school visit in NY captured by the principal! 

One of my many, all-time-favorite author/illustrator presentations. 

And I LUV this one at a family concert where we're performing 

"You're Wonderful" 

for the audience of parents.

I can't wait to learn from Dan tonight and hear more about his work. 

ESPECIALLY his crafting songs with his students! 

Three lucky winners will receive a digital prize package from Dan of his music! 

***In order to be eligible to win, 

all you have to do is get your name/details entered on our Google Doc 

that will be tweeted through out the night!

Take a look at our upcoming guests. 

We're working hard behind the scenes to make each week relevant.  

#TeacherFriends Twitter Chat: Civics Action Projects with Steven Zemelman

Tonight's weekly Twitter chat amid our 

#TeacherFriends 

is one of both depth and substance!!! 

We welcome Steven Zemelman to our spotlight! 

Steven has written and contributed to NUMEROUS books for teachers. 

He has donated two of his earlier works as prizes for tonight's participants.

"History Comes Home" is out-of-print, 

so the winner has a very special treasure indeed! 

In order to be eligible for the prizes tonight, 

you just need to enter your name and details into our Google doc. 

The G-doc will be tweeted throughout the night's chat. 

Here are tonight's questions. 

Think of it as an 'open-book' chat. 

Plan ahead. 

Starting Over & New Beginnings: Introspection & Rejoicing!

The year 2015 has been written in the book. 

Concluded. 

Finished. 

All the challenges and all the glories are part of history.

Even in the midst of the challenges, 

the glories WON!

What a thrill to have a whole new slate. 
A whole new calendar. 
Fresh starts. New beginnings. Opportunities. 
HALLELUJAH!  

Here's a tech combo of my "Top Nine" from Instagram, 

as 'liked' by my followers. 

I had one friend point out, that my photo with Laura Bush

didn't even make the Top Nine. 

How fitting that the Easter message reigns supreme!

PRETTY INCREDIBLE YEAR AFTER ALL!

Can't burst my bubble! 

My One-Word for 2016, after much thought is #Tenacity! 
I found some quotes to remind me, when the going gets rough. 

Time for me to get back to basics. 

Time for me to start over. 

Time for me to recharge and rejuvenate. 

Time for me to blog again. 

I have so much worthy of rejoicing! 

We ended 2015 with the gift of ALL gifts. 

Four generations of Fiedlers under one roof. 

My goal from the VERY beginning of 2015, 

was to generate enough 'new' dollars to be able to fly Sarah and the 3 WonderPeeps 

to us in Florida. 

Like every goal with unknowns........ 

Focus on the desired outcome, 

Let the heavens take care of the details, 

but be willing to work your fanny off in the pursuit of what you want. 

The peeps had spent much time and heart creating their own treasures for their great-grandparents. 

We were blessed with a few minutes of quiet time for those presentations. 

COUSINS!

Through the efforts of our sales at www.WobbleSeat.com 

we generated both the funds for the four round trip flights, 

AND AN ENTIRE DAY AT SEA WORLD FOR ALL SIX OF US!!!!!

{We have been dreaming about this for several years!}

Driving through the front gate on a blue-sky day........... 

PINCH ME PINCH ME PINCH ME!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 

Time to make some dreams come true! 

This is how the day "ended".... last photo of such a blessed time.

 

A few random glimmers......... 

A few little captures of our day-of-a-lifetime. 

All thanks to WOBBLES!

Thanks to the support of my blogging family 

for helping get the word out!  

By far, the consensus favorite part of the day was the string ray area! 

We returned over and over..... so that the peeps could touch them.

But before we went to Sea World. 

We visited the sea. 

The beach. 

The ocean. 

OUR OCEAN as it is known to the peeps! 

*It used to be Uncle Randy's ocean. 

Now they have claimed it as their own. 

Get ready. Get set..........

Little Red still has her front tooth in this picture.

***Wish I could figure out how to upload the little video moments from my phone. 

As usual. 

I took several hundred pictures at the beach.......

Just having trouble getting them 'transferred.' 

You get the idea!!!!!!!!

After our postcard day at the beach, 

Florida actually got windy. 

The lifeguards didn't let us back in the ocean....... 

Fun to have a private pool! 

We explored again at Round Island.

Making memories together has ALWAYS been our goal. 

That has ALWAYS been what fills my heart. 

I have tens of thousands of pictures documenting everything from first burps to first slurpies. 

Having the opportunity to provide travel and excursions is a HUGE blessing. 

Never more so than 2015. 

Our prayers of provision have been answered one minute at a time. 

Our promises to the Peeps have been kept. 

Our four generation promises have been honored. 

We have been supported by prayers from around the globe. 

We have put one foot in front of the other 

focusing on all the blessing unfolding. 

Tonight I asked for prayers and favorite scripture passages on FB. 

Then I was reminded of the photo that I took on my parent's back patio. 

You see, my daddy has served his entire 86 years as an ordained minister. 

The shepherd of flocks here and there. 

Mommy and daddy have a collection of sheep on their back porch. 

Over the years the flock has grown. 

Seeing the verse amid the sheep gave me such a happy heart, 

"HAVE NO FEAR LITTLE FLOCK." 

I immediately broke out into Sunday School singing.

So I'm going to sleep tonight. 

Surrounded by prayers. 

Scripture. 

Cyber-hugs and the knowledge that God is on duty. 

I plan to sleep especially well. 

Tomorrow? 

Time for new beginnings. 

New dedication. 

New endeavors. 

Oh. Ballroom dancing starts at nine A.M!!!!!!!!!!  

Sleep well indeed. 

It is a blessing beyond measure, 

that I can seek support...... 

and that it is offered. 

No questions asked. 

From Arizona. 

"My little one found my copy of "You're Wonderful" that has the cd with it. She reads it every night.
Most nights she makes up her own story but loves the song.'