This past school year was a transition year for my school with character education programs. We are transitioning to The Leader in Me process. It is a FranklinCovey whole school transformation process. The Leader in Me is all about developing kids as LEADERS with 21 century skills and a strong foundation Continue Reading →
#GAfE4Littles introduced the #SlowFlipChat in July 2017. The opportunity came up because the US Independence Day fell on the first Tuesday of the month, which is one of the bimonthly #GAfE4Littles chat days. In lieu of the formal Twitter chat, Shawn Reed and I came up with #SlowFlipChat alternative. With a new Continue Reading →
One of the first spreadsheet activities I expose my kids to is Pixel Art. Alice Keeler is the creator of the template: alicekeeler.com/pixelart. The spreadsheet is conditionally formatted to change color according to the single digit number that is typed into a cell. To add some addition and subtraction practice to this activity the Continue Reading →
Last week my brother and I went to an American Sign Language social with other students learning ASL and people in the community. I have no idea what came over me, but I decided to tag along. This was different for me since I am the type of person who likes Continue Reading →
The Next Generation Science Standards calls for my kiddos to make observations and find patterns about what plants and animals need to survive (K-LS1-1). I referred to a PDF of the evidence statements for this particular standard while designing for this unit. One branch to this unit led to the Continue Reading →
The new Google Sites (pretty version that came out the latter part of 2016) is super user friendly, so friendly that LITTLE KIDS can create their own websites! This year I had my kindergartners create digital portfolios in Google Sites. I wanted the kids to showcase their amazing digital work for Continue Reading →
There are people you learn about who you may admire from afar as they inspire you by their story or with the work that they do. Diana Herrington was a dedicated educator who valued student centered learning, shared her wealth of knowledge, and was recognized with many honorable awards for Continue Reading →
It amazes me how my kindergartners were learning to identify letters and sounds at the beginning of the school year, and now they are learning about words with specific phonics patterns. When learning a new phonics pattern the kids will read a book with the pattern, participate in a whole class brainstorm Continue Reading →
Disclaimer: This post is for NEW EDUCATORS going through Induction. In California new teachers have to go through two years of an induction program to get a Clear Credential. I can rant about my views on the idea of Induction, however I am going to focus on the positives. I have Continue Reading →
Towards the end of the school year, it is a common time to do some deeper reflecting on the learning that took place and reminisce about the memories that were made. One project I wanted to get my kiddos going on were memory slides. Thinking back to last year, my Continue Reading →