My summer is coming to a close, and as I look back on it, I can see it was not a traditional summer in the way that others picture: no swimming, no camping, and I didn't get my toes in the sand once! Instead, I had a great time learning about libraries, books, and connecting with members of my PLN, just as I did last week at the Scholastic Reading Summit.
I have attended four Reading Summits now, attending two and then presenting last year in San Antonio and this year in Houston. I was there to present a session on picture books (a topic for an upcoming blog post!), and had a great time doing so. (Many thanks to Anne Lee and the entire Scholastic team for all of their kindness and for making my Summit experience so wonderful!)
I enjoyed chatting with our amazing Scholastic hosts for the summit, friends John Schu and Donalyn Miller - - (it is ALWAYS great to see them!) and it was also great connecting with Todd Nesloney and Becky Calzada, (fellow presenters, friends, and valued members of my PLN.
Kylene Beers and Bob Probst were keynote speakers. Of course, their work in literacy is legendary, and I always learn something valuable about reading when I hear them present.
Here is one of the slides from their presentation. It was one of my biggest takeaways of the day:
Our closing speaker was Jarrett K. Krosoczka, author of the ever popular Lunch Lady series. He was energetic, enthusiastic, and entirely inspirational! His childhood journey story of how he came to illustrate and write graphic novels was fascinating! His speech reminded me of the time I heard Kadir Nelson speak at NCTE, where he also spoke about pursuing his passion for art as a child and how that led him to the work he does today.
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| Krosoczka also writes/illustrates #4 and #5 installments of the Jedi Academy series. |
Here are a few of the many slides that scrolled through during the day. I appreciated these two in particular:
Of course, another wonderful part of the Scholastic Reading Summit is being able to shop the Book Fair that is set up! I spotted some of my very favorite picture books. I didn't get a picture of all of them, but here are a few:
As I blog about this memory now, I realize what an utterly ovely day it was! I gained so much, both in the way of learning and connections made. How energizing it was to be around other educators who love reading and understand its power as much as I do!
Perhaps next year I will have the kind of summers others have -- nostalgic s'mores by the campfire, peaceful walks down the beach, days by the lake, etc. But even if I don't, I know that this summer I was right where I was supposed to be!