CAMT Reflections -- Day 2

Today was just as great but for different reasons. Due to the slim pickins for some afternoon sessions, we cut our day short and went to the exhibit hall. It always cracks me up to see the various booths that people have. Most of them are content-related, but some of them are just out of place. I was happy to see some people that I have purchased things from in the past, both at CAMT in previous years and online.

First, I had to pick up two t-shirts that I had customized from Claire Lynn T-shirt Designs. Do y'all know these people? They make the CUTEST teacher t-shirts! I have 3 and these 2 will make 5! I don't even like wearing t-shirts, but these are just the best.

If you don't already, go follow them on facebook. They have flash deals all the time and such cute stuff. Have I said that already? Their stuff is the CUTEST! Go. Do it now. 

Yesterday, my friend and I went to the Texas Instruments booth because we saw they were giving away free t-shirts. I don't know what it is, but when something is being given away for free, I have to have it. I will feel anxiety as if they will run out before I get there. I know, I have a problem. I'm working on it. Needless to say, I am glad we picked these up yesterday, because today they were GONE! 

Gone, I said! As in, they had run out completely. So, you see, I was rightfully feeling some anxiety.

We made it our mission to go through the booths today and not make eye contact so as to not be sucked in if it wasn't something I was totally interested in. Like a beacon in the night, I saw these books. Now, there is a back story here. About a year ago, I was in a training during the school day with other math teachers. I was sitting next to someone I used to teach with and during a break she was grading papers. I saw that it looked like a coloring/drawing activity and needed to know more. As someone who loves to color all the time, I was hooked. I ordered a copy online for myself before we were done with our 10 minute break. And you know what? MY KIDS LOVED THESE ACTIVITIES! So, when I saw the booth today, I made sure to get two more. Being that I am moving back down to 6th and 7th grade next year, I wanted something a little different than the pre-algebra book. I also like the "Create your own" books because you can insert your own problems. Want to know more? Check out their website here. Just come back and finish reading!

We stopped by the Carnegie Learning booth. This was one of the textbooks that were up for adoption in our district and sadly it wasn't chosen. The teachers on our textbook committee chose something different, but I still wanted to go talk to them. We didn't leave without getting some CAMT swag! How cool is this?

No, no. Not the tote bag. I mean it is cool that it folds up neatly so it can be stored in what I can only assume would be another tote bag. Which, by the way, I think I have scored 4-5 tote bags in two days. But that is neither here nor there. 

Look at that pen. It isn't just a pen! It is a stylus, too! How cool is that? I want to go back tomorrow and get another in case I lose this one! See? Anxiety. Maybe I should see a doctor about that.

Lastly, I want to share with you one last purchase. No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is in fact Tupperware. There actually was a lady there selling Tupperware! I LOVED it! This brought back such memories of my mom selling it when my sister and I were kids. My mom has had hers forever and I have a few pieces. I bought a few extra things just because they were good deals. I still thought it was hilarious to buy food storage containers at a math conference. I felt even sillier walking into my session carrying a bag of plasticware that clanked every which way I walked. Excuse me, pardon me. Don't mind me and my Tupperware. 

My sister and I were in the booth yesterday looking at the Tupperware that we had used as little kids that had obviously been updated, but was still so cool to look at. Does anyone remember these?? We played with this as kids and they still look EXACTLY the same!

I mean, how cute are we?!

CAMT Reflections -- Day 1

It has been a whirlwind of a few weeks, y'all! From Vegas, back to Houston for a few days, to now being in Ft. Worth for #CAMT14, it's beginning to all catch up to me. In addition to attending this conference as a classroom teacher, I have joined forces with 9 other math teachers to sell a bundle of resources at a deeply discounted price. This bundle is exclusive to conference attendees and is such a great value, so if you are here, be sure to snatch one up! 

We also set up a blog, Math Teachers of TPT, and each one of us introduces ourselves a bit. You can my post here: http://mathteachersoftpt.com/2014/07/meet-danielle-from-live-love-math.html

One of the teachers featured in the bundle is MissMathDork! I was so excited to finally meet her in person this morning and take a picture.

She is SO sweet and just genuinely a nice person. 

My friend Melanie and I are here together and set off for our first session. It was presented by Glenna Tabor. I hadn't ever heard of her, but she was a featured speaker so we thought we would go for it and check it out. I'm sure it was beneficial for some, but it was a little disappointing that she never actually told us how she made stations work in middle school. She showed some videos from her website and kept directing us to that. Needless to say, we didn't get anything out of it. Oh well, live and learn. I hate to say it, people that are out of the classroom for 20+ years have a hard time relating back to teachers still in the classroom (don't yell at me...just my perspective!)

I did like one quote that she shared and was able to snap a pic really quickly:

It is hard to see since I was sitting in the back, but it says "A person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." That really resonated with me.

Anyhow, my friend, Jennifer from 4mulafun, had two sessions in which she was presenting and asked me to help her out a little since she just had surgery last week. Can you believe that? Surgery five days ago and she is presenting to over 100 people each session? I would totally be taking advantage of the obligatory netflix watching and ice cream eating that follows surgery. 

Her session was about interactive notebooks and raising achievement. 

Some of you may have noticed I am name-dropping. I am not even going to try to hide it! I'm a name dropper!

In the afternoon, I met another fellow blogger whom I have followed for quite some time. After following  her, I realized that she followed my blog, too! It was like a celebrity sighting :) So, we took a picture!

If I learned anything at CAMT today, it is that I am short. Not just kinda short. Insanely short. I need to grow.

I forgot to mention that my sister (who teaches elementary) is here as well this week. I had dinner with her and some friends mentioned above and had to take a picture to make me feel better about my height! She and I are about two inches apart :)

Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow!

P.S. My links don't work since I am on my iPad...sorry!