For the past seven years, I have had the honor of being an educator. Yes, it is an honor. It is a privilege, and it is a true blessing. Teaching is fun. It is rewarding. And, it is also hard, humbling, draining, exciting, and every other emotion in-between. My students have broken my heart. They have stomped on it, beat it up, played the drums on the poor thing, and left me so raw and open that I felt like I didn't know what to feel next. And, in that very next moment, my students-the very ones who just tore me open to my core-have filled my heart and soul back up more full than it ever has been before. They have taught me some of my most important lessons in life, and they have made me a better person. You see, teaching is funny like that. For many of us, teaching is our life. It consumes almost every fiber of our being. And, that can be challenging because many of us have families at home that need those pieces of us, too. I have long said that balance is ...
Archives for 2017
GoNoOdle Plus Launch Week
I am so honored to be teaming up GoNoOdle to help them promote their new features on GoNoOdle Plus. I have been a self-proclaimed "GoNoOdle Groupie" since 2014, and I am so honored to continue to use GoNoOdle with my 5th graders daily. Yes, GoNoOdle is awesome sauce, but did you know that GoNoOdle PLUS has a lot of amazing features that make classroom learning so much fun! Check out this video to learn more! GoNoodle Plus Video - Schools from GoNoodle on Vimeo. GoNoodle Plus is the most academically comprehensive version of GoNoodle. It offers 100s of ways to deepen student learning with additional curricular videos, learning games, and printable activities! With GoNoodle Plus, you will have access to the follow exclusive GoNoodle Plus features: • Suite of Interactive Learning Games: Move and play while practicing math, ELA, science, social studies and more! • Question Sets: Personalize learning games with your own custom question sets ...
Diverse Books for a Diverse World
Two years ago, I had a teacher friend make a post on social media challenging teachers to take an honest look/walk-through their classroom library and look for books that offered diversity among the characters, discussed difficult topics, or highlighted individuals who represented specific races and cultures. I took on the challenge and quickly realized that the books in our classroom library were severely lacking any sense of diversity, and I took action. I began researching about books that would help our students navigate hard topics, talk about diverse issues, inspire great thinking and writing, spark creativity, and create a reading community in the classroom. As teachers, I believe that it is feverishly important that we acknowledge and reflect on the important role that picture books, chapter books, and nonfictional resources can and will play in our students' lives. I feel passionate about helping students ignite a desire for reading and foster a love for ...