Geeking Out at ILA Part 1

I am still on a high and giddy from my time at ILA this past weekend! I totally geeked out and soaked up all things literacy. I love when you experience something in education, whether it be a conference, conversation, book, etc. that just gets you fired up and excited about teaching reading and writing.

ILA was just what I needed to feel inspired and pumped up for a new school year. I received so many new ideas and treats to share with my teachers AND I filled my professional bucket. 

First things first, at ILA, we collected a TON of FREE books from vendors. It was a book nerd heaven. As I walked around lugging my 40ish pounds of free books, I decided that I needed to share these with my teachers. We loaded up a suitcase of books, ran to the post office and shipped two boxes of books back. Totally worth my sore shoulders from hauling them back to my hotel room. 

Not only were there lots of books, there were some amazing authors there speaking and doing book signings. Some of my favorites were present and I was able to go to some book signings and hear many of them speak. The one I was most excited to see was the 2015 Caldecott winner- Dan Santat! He is one of my favorite illustrators. My son and I read his graphic novels and picture books together. Hearing about his journey through childhood, where his parents pushed him to be a doctor and wouldn't let him study art, was incredible. Thank goodness he finally followed his heart and became the amazing author and illustrator that he is!













It was his elementary school librarian who encouraged him to pursue art through reading books. She gave him his first "How to Draw Comics" books. Just imagine if she hadn't seen that spark in him at such and early age.

This coming school year, you have the opportunity to spark the love of reading, writing, or illustrating with your students. Play with writing. Play with words and books. Bring back a joy to literacy!