Human Battleship
Back in about 2016, “giant” games were all the rage in classrooms. Giant Jenga, Giant Kerplunk, Giant Checkers, and so on. Traditional games were coming to life in larger sizes, and I got on the bandwagon with a twist on…
5 Daily Rituals as a Principal
There is no silver bullet for how to be an effective principal. If you ask 100 principals what is their strategy in running a school, you’ll likely get 100 different answers. Styles vary, but quality doesn’t. Be the best principal…
The Idiots Guide to How Your Kids Are Learning to Read in School
Over the course of my first decade or so in education, I admittedly had little knowledge on what was happening with the little friends down the hall from me in the Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade classrooms when it came…
Houses Implementation: Take 2
In July 2018, I wrote a blog that featured the House system that I implemented at my previous school. In the original blog, you can find out a bit more about what a House system is, its origins, why it’s…
Teaching Limericks
If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. Let’s have a few laughs then educator friends. I had some time today and was inspired to write about common teacher-y things that we encounter. Relax, it’s not about anyone in particular. Except if…
It’s Been a While
Where to begin? Well for starters, it’s been a while since I wrote one of these. 669 days to be precise. I started this blog back in 2012, wrote occasionally on it for a handful of years, and then it…
Morning Tubs: An Explanation
In 2017 I wrote a blog called “Rethinking Morning Work,” and it advocated for teachers to rethink how we started our mornings with students. I proposed shifting from traditional morning work (worksheets, problem of the day, etc.) to “Morning Choice,”…
S.P.E.C.I.A.L.: A Deeper Dive
I was recently in a fruitful Twitter thread conversation where the use of acronyms were being discussed, and there was a comment from an individual who said that acronyms are “devices to get students through tests, not to prepare them…
What’s Next
Ever since I shared that I would be moving to Greensboro, NC, the number one question I get is “what’s next”? A logical question for sure, and one that I will try to explain below. First, a little history leading…
Ambassador Program
I recently posted a video with one of my 5th grade Ambassadors doing a Greeter training (click link to see the video). This prompted a lot of questions about Ambassadors, Greeters, and how I set this all up. For all…
