It is no secret that I am a huge fan of The Food Network.  Not only do I learn a ton about food but I LIVE for the competition shows. I can’t wait to see whose dish will come out on top and how will they accomplish what appears to be impossible. How in the world can you combine broccoli, cake, and wild boar into a dish that tastes good? I seriously don’t know how they do it.

Imagine my utter delight when at the #FutureReady conference in Indianapolis, my love of Food Network and education combined forces! Along with my fellow instructional coaches, we participated in an educational version of the TV show Chopped. We had digital baskets of mystery ingredients. Each basket had a content standard, must have ingredients, a digital pantry, and a speed bump.  The pantry was filled with digital tools and the speed bumps were scenarios that we might run into while coaching teachers.  We had to transform these ingredients into a lesson involving the 4C’s: communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. It was awesome! It got my brain thinking of how I could use this with teachers.

Thus the ChoppED Faculty Meeting was born. An elementary administrator had reached out to me about wanting a tech focused meeting and wondered if I would be interested in leading it. My opportunity had arrived to bring ChoppED to my district. I immediately begin brainstorming how to make this work. I wanted teachers to be able to do the following:

1.) Get hands on experience using a tech tool (I chose Google Slides)
2.) Collaborate with their grade level teams on something they could then immediately turn around and use in their classroom
3.) Have access to other grade level’s lesson ideas
4.) Realize that Googles Slides can be used for so much more than just presenting. It can be interactive and collaborative.
5.) Discuss how they could use this activity with students

I then set to work creating my Slide Deck and planning out the costume hook I could use too. 🙂

Once assigned a mystery basket of ingredients, teachers could click on their basket that was linked to their slide within the slide deck. I also created a slide with our pantry of tools. They had to use at least two items from the pantry.

I tried to select tools that weren’t necessarily device specific. I also included a wild card.  This item allowed teachers to chose the tool they wanted which would hopefully open the door for them to share their expertise in using it.

Each grade level then had a recipe card with the content standard, must have items (two pantry items of their choice and 1 non digital item I threw in), and a speed bump. I chose an ELA focus standard that was in the same strand across grade levels.  This way teachers could see the build within the standard. The speed bump were scenarios that teachers potentially encounter every day and ranged from limited devices in the classroom, last minute assemblies, the need for more digital citizenship practice, and exit tickets revealing a reteach was necessary.

Teachers then had 20 minutes to transform these ingredients into an experience for their students. I absolutely couldn’t WAIT! I used Twitter to incorporate a teaser hook and had my costume and props already for the big day.

It was an absolute blast. My favorite part was watching teachers collaborate together. They were accessing new tech tools, discussing how to best meet the needs of all learners, communicating with art/ESL/special educators, AND running to classrooms to get their supplies to actually create what they wanted their students to create. While teachers were mastering the art of transforming their ingredients, I was able to float around to different groups and share features of Google Slides in the moment. They could then turn around and immediately try it.

At the end of the 20 minutes, teachers were able to look at everyone else’s ideas and celebrate strengths! They also had 6 complete lesson plans that they could use and/or tweak to fit their grade level.  Finally we wrapped up with a great discussion on how they could use this Chopped activity with their students. Oh my goodness it was so much fun. Here is the link to my Slide Deck: http://bit.ly/2JO76DS

As I reflect on how it went, there are a few things I would tweak. I want to make sure to tighten up my introduction to the activity, make sure to highlight something from each grade level group, and encourage them to dig deeper in terms how how they could use this with students.  I also realized that I now have a great insight to strengths of the staff and ideas for how I can support them in moving forward with technology. A big shout out to the Future Ready conference for inspiring this activity!

It just goes to show that sometimes 20 minutes, a few tech tools, and a collaborative team is all you need to transform a good lesson into a great one!

Last December, I had been pouring over every resource I could think of to kick off the first week after winter break with my students.  By a happy accident, I stumbled upon #oneword on Twitter and it was just the inspiration I needed! Our #OneWord2017 Project was such a powerful experience and soon became one of my favorite projects of the whole year. Please feel free to check it out here.

I didn’t know the impact it would have on my family though until just the other day. I continue to be amazed with the things a 5-year-old mind is capable of. Annnd when the 5-year-old just so happens to be my son, well I tend to be even more amazed. Naturally. 🙂

My husband Derek and I were putting away Christmas decorations when I causally asked my 5-year-old son, Jaxon, what he thought his one word for 2018 was going to be. Without skipping a beat, he said calm. When asked why he chose calm, he said because he needed to be calm when solving a problem. Oh be still my mommy heart! I was blown away that he knew what his goal should be and he was going for it.

Jaxon then proceeded to share that he had an idea for Derek’s word. He thought it should be patience. My husband, being the amazing dad he is didn’t skip a beat either. He said wow buddy that is a perfect word for me and that could really help our family.  Instead of being made to feel his opinion didn’t matter, Jaxon now felt empowered. He looked up at me and said what will your word be mommy? I shared that I was having trouble but I kind of liked the word release or let-go. His face squished up. My heart sank but I just thought well I need to explain myself because he didn’t understand. As I opened my mouth to do so he said, “Mommy I think your word should be happy. You’re not happy and you don’t speak happy.”

……………

To say that that comment hit like a ton of bricks would be an understatement. My first instinct was to be defensive. Inside my brain I was screaming, WAIT WHAT?! Happy?! I’m always happy. Every day. I love everything. All the time. Then I stopped. If that were true, why would my son think otherwise? And why would I be screaming inside my head? I feel happy and have so much to be happy about but I must not be showing that enough…or in the right way…or to the right people.

Wow. He was right.

My one word couldn’t be focused on letting go of all these negative things that I thought were the problem. The focus would still be on the negative and that happy feeling wouldn’t project outward. I needed to switch the focus. The focus needed to be on…happy! I instantly pulled him up into a hug and said I’m so happy you are my son! Family hugs ensued and wonderful conversations followed about what we were going to do to achieve our words.  We even made posters on Google Slides and introduced Jaxon to the wonderful world of Bitmojis! This one simple family project has already had an impact in our household and will be a memory I will cherish.

With one word, my son reminded me of what we as educators strive to teach our students, sometimes you have to look at a situation through a different lens or even flip it upside down. Sometimes you have to let others be brutally honest and allow them to feel safe and empowered enough to do so. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and listen. Sometimes you have to realize that anyone can change the world…and it can start with one word!

What will your #OneWord for 2018 be?

October was always one of my favorite months when I was a classroom teacher because it meant we would be celebrating Diffendoofer Day!  I knew that if I wanted my students to become readers for life, I had to find ways to bring books to life! My first #TLAP day came from my love of the Dr. Seuss book Hooray For Diffendoofer Day! The story of students learning in unique and innovative ways spoke to me instantly and I wanted to find a way to show my students that fun is at the heart of learning. This of course meant I needed a costume identical to the main character, Mrs. Bonkers (thank goodness my mom can sew and make last minute costumes) and parent volunteers to donate and assist me in teaching the Diffendoofer School subjects: laughing, smelling, listening, yelling, creating poodles out of noodles, and tying knots.  The goal of my day was two fold: learning and fun go hand in hand and that learning how to think prepares you for life beyond our classroom. It will remain one of my absolute favorite days as a classroom teacher. Please feel free to check out our celebration below:

What a wonderful day in second grade land.  Inspired by the book Hooray for Diffendoofer Day by: Dr. Seuss, Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith, I recreated the day.  The book is all about a school (Diffendoofer School) that is different-er then the rest.  They study things such as smelling, laughing and yelling.  One day they have to take a special test and they are worried they won’t pass because they are different.  If they don’t pass they will have to go to dreary Flobbertown.  You do not want to go to Flobbertown because everyone there does everything the same.  However, once the test is passed out they see that they were taught how to think and they pass with flying colors. They have a celebration with pizza, milk and cake.  They then decide to have a special holiday to celebrate their success!

Our Diffendoofer Day began at morning meeting where Mrs. Ellis, er Mrs. Lowe, introduced the school to some crazy second grade teachers. Then it was off to study the same subjects they study at Diffendoofer School:

1.) Yelling: Mrs. Pitzer’s mom came in and students learned about sound.  They learned how to make noise that was loud and quiet.  They also learned how to change the loudness and pitch of a sound.  Finally they were able to use instruments and their voices to be noise making machines.

2.) Laughing: Students read and laughed at so many Laffy Taffy jokes.  Then they picked their favorite one to illustrate and write about.

3.) Listening: Students had to listen carefully to Halloween noises and try to write down as many sounds as they heard as well as draw a picture of the images they created in their minds.

4.) Tying Knots: In this subject, there were bins filled with; twine, string, shoelaces, fabric, craft loops, yarn and curling ribbon.  The goal was to try to make something entirely made out of knots.  Students discovered which objects tied the best, which objects tied the worst, and that there is more than one way to tie a knot.  We could even wear our creation all day!

5.) Noodle Poodles: Spaghetti noodles, spirals, shells, fettuccine, elbow macaroni and more were available for us to make a poodle out of noodles.  We then got to name our poodle and write something fun about it that we wanted other people to know.

6.) Smelling: *sniff* *sniff* we tested our smelling skills by sniffing 8 different smells.  We had to try to figure out what the smell was and describe the smell using juicy adjectives.  We then picked the best and worst smells.  Some of the smells included: grape Kool-Aid, onion, vinegar, pumpkin, popcorn, chocolate and cinnamon.

Next it was time for science class by making robotic rats out of soup cans and foam balls.  We got to decorate our rat however we wanted adding pipe cleaners, washers, bolts, buttons, googley eyes and sticky foam pieces. It was so fun to create our robotic masterpiece.

After science, we drew pictures upside just like the art teacher Mr. Breeze who drew pictures hanging by his knees.  We sat under the tables and drew the life cycle of our robotic rats!

Finally our day ended with some mathematics fun.  We traveled through the following math centers:

1.) Math Bingo: We played bingo for prizes but we had to find a problem that matched the number given.  We had to really think and practice important skills such as fact families and fact fluency.

2.) Math Games: There were so many games to choose from: Tanagrams, Optical Art, and tricky puzzles.  It was neat to see that math can be in board games too!

3.) Candy Corn Math: First our estimation skills were put to the test by trying to figure out how many candy corns fit in the jar. (571 pieces!) Then we used candy corns to measure objects and determine which objects were longer and which were shorter.

4.) Eggo Math: Students worked with a friend to race to 1,000.  They used an egg carton to shake buttons to see what numbers they would land on.  Next, they added those numbers by practicing their regrouping skills.  They then kept a running total to try to get to 1,000 first.

We also could not have had a day like this without parent volunteers and donations of all kinds. Thank you to Mrs. Michanicou, Mrs. Fleming, Mrs. Feuchter, Mrs. Badawi, and Mr. Glover for volunteering your time to help us learn in so many different ways.  Thank you also to all who donated to making this a day to remember!

Here’s to a wonderful day filled with so many activities that allowed us to think AND have fun!

This morning as I dropped Jaxon off for Kindergarten, I realized something. While I have always known how important it is to build relationships with parents, today it hit very close to home. As Jaxon walked into his new school the tightness in my chest that was making it hard to breathe, was completely overwhelming. I was trying desperately to hold it together because having been on the teacher side, I didn’t want to be that mom. As we walked in and saw teachers with their smiling faces, that tightness eased. The high fives, hugs, and welcomes he got was the holding it together part I needed. The hey buddy who is your teacher…let’s find your line, was the distraction Jaxon (and mommy and daddy) needed to make sure everyone left with a happy heart. It ensured everyone could breathe.

Long story short, I want teachers to know that everything you do to make the first day and the school year memorable, eases that tightness…it makes it easier for parents to breathe knowing their child is loved! So please disregard the tears welling up in my eyes or any other parent’s eyes. They aren’t necessarily what you think. They are tears of an overwhelming sense of pride in our child, admiration for their teacher’s job, excitement for all the new things they will learn, acceptance that they are growing up, and an overabundance of love because our most precious procession is in your care!

THANK YOU TEACHERS! Thank you for all that you do to create that home for students! Seeing it from this side makes me appreciate it even more!