TL;DR: We CAN cultivate more joy in our lives. A CORE belief is that relationships are gifts to value and treasure. Uplifting others brings joy to ourselves and others. Learn how to notice, name, and nuture AND how words are gifts. Your joy can grow and thrive from others too. Learn how to throw your joy boomerang out and how … Read More
How Do You Differentiate Up?
TL;DR: When you differentiate, what are you doing for students who need more of a challenge? You must differentiate up as well. When we hear the term differentiate, we often think this means differentiating to support kids who are struggling. It might mean taking a complex task and chunking it into more easy-to-digest pieces. It could be scaffolding a lesson … Read More
The Secret of Building Resilient Kids: Growth Mindset
TL;DR: Learn to teach kids that failure is a process and never a final state. Mistakes are opportunities to learn, to fail forward, and keep growing. Use picture books to teach resilience and grit. Growth Mindset: No More Giving Up! So often, kids say, “I can’t” or “It’s too hard.” So how do we instill the notion that failure is … Read More
Developing Agency in Students
TL;DR: As educators and parents, we need to develop agency in our kids. Help them set goals to work towards. Give them opportunities for independence. Build their self-confidence. The start of a new school year is a very exciting time for students, teachers, and parents. For many, it’s a bustling time for last-minute summer fun activities. In addition, preparations are … Read More
One Simple Strategy to Teach Better: Ask for Feedback
TL;DR: Teenagers are not bored, disengaged, and unhappy by nature. Teachers can improve rapidly if we ask students to give us feedback. It can be scary to ask; we need to train ourselves to depersonalize the feedback. A healthy feedback loop produces happier students AND a happier teacher. One Simple Strategy to Teach Better: Ask for Feedback One of our … Read More