1st Time Try and F-R-Y

My first national Kagan Cooperative Learning training! Can I tell you how exciting this was? To be on the other side of the table somewhere other than my home district was exhilarating! I felt much more comfortable than I expected, and the people were kind and energetic. Of the 51 evaluation forms the participants filled out, all 51 had positive comments about the training (and their trainer!) I can't wait for my next assignment!

Here's just SOME of the supplies I had to pack in my suitcase - 8 complete team packs full of materials (answer boards, markers, erasers, quiz cards), team numbers, stars, and enough quizing/trading cards for 8 more teams!

Note the evil sparrow that kept DIVE-BOMBING me at Denver International Airport. The first time he flew past, I thought I was imagining things. Nope. Dang bird missed me by centimeters. I moved seats three different times to escape my fiendish, flighty friend.

Immaculate Conception School - Marrero, Louisiana.
Temperature: 85º. Humidity: 600%.

The school took over the entire city block.

Super cool playground for the PreK - 8th grade kids.

The 17 Kagan boxes that greeted me. Oh boy.

2 hours later - looking more like training room!

Still smiling the next day! :o)

Just 1 of the 4 sales tables - somehow, I sold over $1100 worth of merchandise IN ADDITION to teaching the content! Awesome materials for the classroom!

After Day 1 of training, I took a brief drive around town, and found these cool buildings. The architecture was amazing - such detail!

I just LOVE this picture!

The colors and arches spoke to me. As did the lost, 90-year old lady who pulled up next to my car as I was trying to take this picture. She wanted to know where she could drop off the 60...yes, SIXTY...boxes of new crayons she had in her trunk before they melted. :o) I used my GPS to locate the location she was TRYING to get to before she ran into me!

Beautiful!

The inside of Immaculate Conception Parish. The blue/purple stained glass actually looked a lot like my church (Bethany) back in Denver!

Basket-weaving on TV back in the hotel. No joke.

Definitely kept my spirits up! HA!

Look! Participants doing Quiz-Quiz-Trade! Hooray!

Please note the dancing Sister! Highlight of the day!

The 7 boxes I packed up and left for FedEx - whew!

Never got used to seeing the graves ABOVE ground!

Mr. GPS says I'm not on LAND! Crossing the Mississippi.

Learning for the day: when the GPS says "FRY" this is NOT referring to (a) some kind of food, (b) a freeway, nor (c) a fareway. No, no, no. FRY on a GPS means F•E•R•R•Y, which is what I almost DROVE ONTO in the middle of a flooding storm. I knew I had to cross the river to get to the Airport, but was NOT about to be stuck on a moving water vessel in the middle of hurricane-force wind/rainstorm. I drove west to find an alternate route - my poor GPS kept repeating "Recalculating"!

My first glimpse of New Orleans - wished I

could have spent more time IN the city.

Traffic was SLOW enough for me to capture this pic safely!

Super Dome in New Orleans, LA.

This picture from the airport is just funny. The whole Louis Armstrong airport experience in New Orleans was just funny. Well, it's funny NOW. A major storm hit the city, just as I was leaving (of course) and I could hardly drive through the rain. HUGE raindrops. Frying pan size raindrops. The storm stalled over the city, and streets I needed to take were flooding before I could reach them.

It was raining sideways when I had to return my rental car. The nice lady in the industrial-sized raincoat slid me my receipt through the tiny crack I allowed in my power windows. I needed to get OUT of the car, and was drenched instantly. Yes, ALL layers on my body were wet.

Made it to the airport only to have the POWER go out as my bags were going through the TSA checkpoint. I've never been in an airport when it's completely DARK. Honestly, I have more airport tales than the average bear... My flight was only delayed 25 minutes, and I made it back home to Castle Rock basically unscathed and in one piece. Mission accomplished.