The Learning Journey

My very first keynote presentation was to an amazing group of gifted and talented educators at the "Developing Possibilities" conference held in Storm Lake, IA. I was honored that Shari Collins asked me to present my story and passion for creativity.

The main points of my talk were:

 -Make connections, let them bring out your passion. For me, I learned about a program called "Stationery Studio" and fell in love with a company that designs amazing software and has a huge mission that showed me how passionate I was about creativity. Through that first connection, I was beyond blessed to be able to meet and fall in love with Peter H. Reynolds and software designer, Dr. Peggy Healy Stearns. 

I was also fortunate to have a friend at school, Brent Thoren, who took one of the lessons I created for "Animation-Ish" and had kids do it as an assignment, even before the program was on the market, to test it out. Having people who support you along the way is so important, I was lucky to have one of the best.

-Share your ideas with the right people. I shared the small idea of having kids make dots in their classrooms with Peter H. Reynolds and it took off because he loved the idea and supported it. He had the brilliance of calling it International Dot Day, setting the bar fantastically high. 

-Find people who share your passion. The first explosion of Dot Day happened when Shannon M. Miller and John Schumacher shared with their schools and social networks.

The second major milestone happened when Newbery Medal winning author, Sharon Creech, kindly sent me a dot on Dot Day 2011. That one act of kindness launched the Celebridot site. One of the huge blessings in my life is to be connected with the very best authors and illustrators on the planet who were kind enough to make dots to inspire kids to be creative.

I shared examples of how creativity has impacted my school and my classroom. So many awesome connections have established because of my passion for creativity in the classroom. Watching kids create amazing things feeds the passion in me. 

International Dot Day has allowed me to meet and build enduring friendships with the very best educators all around the world. Search #DotDay on Twitter and find amazing educators with amazing creativity and heart.

I challenged the educators at my session to share a dot with me. I am so honored that some of these great people sent me a dot and shared what they are passionate about. Below are the dots they sent, I was so impressed with all of them!!

What are you passionate about and what are you doing every day to feed that passion?

Inisha Hoehamer

Terry Van Berkum

Marleta Smith

Shari Collins

Rebecka Allen

Vickie Hemmingson

Julie Gibson

My Favorite Features in Stationery Studio

 I've been tweeting and Facebooking a lot lately about my love for Stationery Studio. I wanted to share some of my favorite features of the program

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Full disclosure: I lead an educator program for FableVision Learning. I do not make any money from sales. I am writing this post because I love this software and think it should have more exposure. My school has a site license. I also love Peggy Healy Stearns who designed the program, that did not change my review of the program, I actually loved it before I met anyone at FableVision.

Discovering The Treasure

I returned last week from ISTE and spending time with some of my favorite people on earth, my Fable Family and the FableVision Ambassadors. The theme for our booth was "Discover the treasure in every student." This resonated with me, because I believe that's what I try to do in my 'real' job as an educator.

I was driving across town last night when it occurred to me just how true this is and I took the analogy a bit further. Sometimes, you walk along and you find something valuable quite by accident. I remember walking through the library one day and finding the diamond pendant my friend had lost. I wasn't really searching for it, it was just there. Some kids are like that. Their inherent beauty is just there, right on the surface and easy to spot.

Then, I thought of some other kids...the kids who make teaching a little bit like an Indiana Jones movie.  It's a perilous journey to find the true and amazing person at the core. There are boulders chasing you down tiny corridors, snakes hissing, and all manner of obstacle. No judgment goes along with the Indiana Jones analogy. I have always believed if I had been brought up exactly like the troubled kids that I deal with, I would act the same way.


But, after twenty-six years I can say without a shadow of a doubt....it's worth it. Finding that amazing person underneath the defensiveness and drama is absolutely worth every effort it takes to get there.


Does this make sense to you?? Are you on that same journey??


Luckily for me, I have Peter H. Reynolds and the Fable Family who cheer me on. I have a strong Twitter support team. I have awesome students who make the journey worthwhile.




By the way, I lead an educator program for FableVision Learning, but I don't benefit from sales. The poster above is available in a t-shirt. 

Help Me Change The World **Updated**

If you follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook, you know that I am a HUGE fan of the work of Peter H. Reynolds. In August, the book "I'm Here" debuted and I am completely blown away by that book. (Starred review from Kirkus!) The message of the book, originally intended to be about autism, speaks volumes to every person who reads it. I truly believe it belongs in every single school library in the country (and world). Since I don't have the $1,073,696.52 it would take to make that happen, I came up with this idea.

If you want to help me change the world, buy a copy of "I'm Here" and donate it to a local school. Send me an email (tjshay@gmail.com) and let me know your name and address, along with the name of the school that received the donation, and you will be in a drawing for a signed print by Peter H. Reynolds. If there is a tremendous response (I am praying for that), I will offer multiple prints.

Of course your local bookstore probably has this book, but if you want to make a double difference, you could purchase it from FableVision Learning! FVL is the company that Peter H and Paul Reynolds started to change the world. Their mission is to help all learners 'reach their true potential'. I do 'work' part-time for FableVision Learning leading an educator group, but I do not make any money from sales. In fact, the print is going to be from my personal money, because I believe in the message of the book and want kids to have it in their libraries. Purchasing things from FableVision Learning (and there are LOTS of awesome products) will be put back into their mission to create more wonderous things.

Until 12/31/11, purchases of $20 or more at FableVision Learning are 20% off with the code FabFall20, so if you want to purchase several books, you can save some money. Buy one for yourself, who doesn't need a powerful message of 'you are not alone' in your library. "The Dot" and "Ish" are awesome for kids to have in their life arsenal. If you buy from FableVision, email nicole@fablevisionlearning.com with your order and she will have the books signed by Peter!!

The more schools you buy for, the more chances you have to win. The drawing for the print will be around 12/31/11, but continue to help change the world as long as you are able!

**After reading about what I am doing with this event, Peter H. Reynolds tweeted this:

Now one person will win an ORIGINAL piece of art and another (or more) will win a print. I am blown away and thrilled by the response so far, please keep it going!!

This video will give you an idea of the book!