TL;DR: Research has shown that playing outdoors has great benefits for adults and children alike. Some examples of outdoor play is Giant Jenga, Human Foosball, and simply water! There are huge benefits to outdoor play for adults and children. Research shows that play has cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits. Moving play to the outdoors provides different stimuli and interactions … Read More
Small Wins, Huge Smiles
TL;DR: It is essential to highlight all small wins for students in the classroom. Celebrating all wins helps to create a learning environment of love and success. In such a world today where everything is so “me” focused, we often overlook a simple gesture of celebrating or encouraging others. A simple compliment goes a long way long towards the mental … Read More
ClasStars: The tech tool you will want to use next year!
TL;DR: How often do you track student interactions, when they leave the classroom, and days absent? ClasStars is a free tech tool that can produce daily reports to track interactions, how often students leave the classroom and for how long, and days absent. The data collected about our individual interactions with students can help us focus on the positive and … Read More
Servant Leadership and Growth
TL;DR: Struggles are important because they are what make us stronger. Servant leadership and growth go hand in hand—when we help and serve others, we grow too. Servant Leadership and Growth In order for our bodies to build muscle, muscle hypertrophy must occur. When we work out, muscle hypertrophy occurs when the fibers of the muscles sustain damage or injury. … Read More
Four (MORE!) Action Items for Pride in Your Classroom
TL;DR: This post is a follow-up to the post: Three Action Items for Pride Month in Your Classroom (and Beyond!) Four additional action items for Pride in your classroom include following representative leadership, amplifying others’ voices, making concrete commitments, and celebrating joy. The response to this month’s post, “Three Action Items for Pride Month in Your Classroom (and Beyond!)” has … Read More