Last weekend I was in downtown Grand Rapids for the annual MAEA Conference. In addition to presenting in four sessions, I also got to learn SOOO many amazing things from great artists and teachers alike!

I have been wanting to post this since Sunday, but with The Fire Up! Student Teacher Conference on Monday and Parent-Teacher Conferences this week, as well as putting our first issue of the school newspaper to print, I have been SWAMPED. We all have our excuses, which are  not really a reason to ditch duties, but I finally feel like I have some time to sit, reflect, and share my favorite moments from #MAEA15.

Here are my top three highlights from the weekend:

I learned a ton this past weekend. I would say it was one of the most content-rich conferences I can remember! I think what made the learning so powerful was that I got to create while I was learning. From making jewelry with the pre-service teachers at Grand Valley State University, to drawing with ArtPrize winner Adonna Kare, to dying scarves (which I cannot wait to do with my students), it was a whirlwind of activity that allowed me to stretch my creative mind and learn along the way.

I had the pleasure of presenting 4 sessions at this conference. I got to share ideas about technology and collaborating with STEM, using thematic units and standards-based grading, as well as monoprinting with Gelli Arts printing plates. It is always fun to give back by presenting at these sessions, and I want to give a special shout-out to Gelli Arts, Schoology, TechSmith, andiPevo, who gave me goodies to pass on to teachers.

My favorite parts of any conference is connecting with teachers I do not get to see everyday. This included teachers I have connected with online and finally met face to face, people I nominated for awards (like Jim Meyers from Artsonia) and my sister, who teaches Art in Indiana and makes the trek north to come to MAEA. The people are the reason I go to these conferences. 

I had a great time attending MAEA in Grand Rapids, and I am super excited for next fall, when we will meet in Traverse City! Now, I need to go and rest. I have some fun presentations and interactions to prepare for in the coming weeks.

I hope to see you on Twitter this Thursday for this:

It is fall, which means it is MAEA Conference season. I am so excited for the conference this upcoming weekend because 1. It is a chance to meet up with my friends from all over the State to learn a TON of new and crazy things to use in my classroom, 2. I get a chance to give back and share some of the crazy things I do in my own classroom, with the hopes others will find it useful in theirs. 

In addition to presenting four times, I plan to partake in workshops and set aside time to take those ideas and implement them into my classroom.

If you are at MAEA this weekend, please take a moment and come to one of my presentations:

In addition to giving away ideas, I will be giving away materials, too! The Gelli Arts workshop attendees who pre-registered for the workshop will walk away with a Gelli Plate of their own and I will be handing out an awesome iPevo document camera to one person at the conference.

If you would like a chance to take home the document camera, here is what you need to do:
1. Attend my session at 4:00 on Friday.
2. Post a comment on this blog post or tag me on twitter @campbellartsoup about your biggest take-away from my talk.
3. Attend my session at 2:00 on Saturday for the drawing of the winner.