TL;DR: Over the course of a long career in education, there can be numerous opportunities for change. There are five lessons learned from change: (1) It can be an adventure. (2) A new perspective is important. (3) People are people. (4) We are enough. (5) It makes us stronger. I spend some time at the end of every school year … Read More
Big Fun in the Sun
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
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
The Gift of Believing
TL;DR: The imposter syndrome is real for many of us. Give your gift of believing in others. You have the power to change lives. When someone believes in you, this is such a gift to receive. While we should have the courage and not need others to believe in us first, the reality is that sometimes we don’t have enough … Read More
Create Safe Spaces
TL;DR: We remember what is taught through stories with courageous conversations. Stories help us understand, connect, and give a pathway and multiple opportunities to teaching concepts. Stories resonate with us and are close to our hearts to empower our spirit when there is a safe classroom discussion space. Create safe spaces by incorporating storytelling, reflection, journaling, and using graphic organizers … Read More