I used to rotate my classroom jobs for kids. When I was a new teacher, this looked like changing the job chart each day, but that felt sort of random and like I was wasting time ... an expensive commodity in my busy teacher day. It didn't take long for me to realize that all I had to do was extend the schedule and change the jobs weekly instead. Duh. That was a little better, but I didn't like … [Read more...]
Outdoor Classrooms: My Summer PD Playlist
Outdoor classrooms and open-air schooling aren't new ideas, just forgotten. But the Covid-19 pandemic reignited the fire as teachers and parents got creative about redesigning safe learning spaces for kids. In some ways, history is repeating itself. At the beginning of the 20th century, the rising number of TB cases combined with the 1918 flu pandemic sent everyone in search of fresh air. It was … [Read more...]
Teacher Podcasts: A Summer PD Playlist
I love teacher podcasts. I don't always have to time to sit and read, but I do spend a lot of time walking and driving, and podcasts are the perfect company for those times. I've been keeping notes about my favorite episodes from this year, so I put together a summer playlist for teachers. I know ... It's only May. We're still in school. We're tired. And we certainly are not thinking about … [Read more...]
Letting Off a Little Self Esteem: 3 Questions for Kids
I'm going old school with this book, but self esteem never really gets old and we can't afford to let kids go through life not knowing how truly wonderful they are. I think I bought this book about three schools ago, but the message in it rings true as much now as it did back then. As we're planning lessons to help children develop a growth mindset, embrace their unique gifts, and protect their … [Read more...]
Teaching Point of View to Build Strong Communities
Teaching point of view to children is not only a standard, but a really important life skill. This is one of my favorite picture books for introducing the concept, but gracious ... right now it sort of reminds me of my news feed: "Duck!" "Rabbit!" "No, it's a duck!" "No! It's a rabbit!" 🦆! 🐇! 🦆! 🐇! 🦆! 🐇! Insert different words and it sounds like a political conversation. But … [Read more...]