Hey Reader~ I am enjoying hearing from all of you, some days more than I am enjoying my Wake Up Call! We have finished Week 2 and my habit looks different based on the day. Some mornings are easier than others, but I always feel great after fresh morning air. My morning movement has varied from walking around the yard to see what berries the neighborhood bear has eaten from my garden to a speed walk with my husband and dogs before the sun comes up. The calorie burn is vastly different but I’m...
16 days ago • 1 min read
The Modern-Day Pack Horse Woman Hey Reader~ Sold a Story was fascinating, wasn’t it? Keep me posted as you listen to it. You can see why I have a lot of passion for teaching kids, right? Our country failed to educate our youth. Not for lack of trying; because of misunderstanding what our kids truly needed in order to learn. I have so many theories on the evolution of education (another alliteration 😉). Someone remind Future Kreisa to do a blog post or better yet, a Ted Talk, on this topic;...
16 days ago • 1 min read
Manifesting Moments Hey~ Turns out, it’s me. I am the one excited to read my old journal entries. There is a lot of good stuff in it! It reminds me of the happy person I am. How can I go through life deeply feeling all of its challenges and my journal is all the things I am grateful for? My last newsletter prompted a lot of responses regarding journals. I know you’re on the edge of your seat to hear the responses…about half say they keep and reread their journals, the other half throw them...
30 days ago • 1 min read
Manifesting Moments Hey Reader~ I was reading an old journal entry, which I never do, and I mentioned being excited for the next three months. I talked about this new energy and how motivated I was for all the upcoming things: personal and work-related. The last line of the journal entry was, I’m so excited to read all the books! Books still excite me. Reading still excites me. I wonder what was coming up in those three months that had me so excited and ended my sentence with excitement to...
5 months ago • 1 min read
Manifesting Moments Hi Reader~ My life has been overwhelming and wonderful. I’ve felt out of touch and connected. I’ve been through the pity party and put the pro in procrastinate. Now, I’m here to share my wake up call. I believe that what goes around, comes around, and all the good energy in the world should be shared. The over-communicator in me wants to share all the details with you. The protective side of me doesn’t want to be vulnerable and my self-doubt asks why are you doing this?...
5 months ago • 1 min read
The Modern-Day Pack Horse Woman Hey Reader~ Thanks for letting me know how teachers impacted your life. It helps me reflect on how I handle situations with students. Teaching should be a science-based profession. Lots of educators put trust in their districts to provide great professional development opportunities that align with district initiatives. What happens when even districts are duped by approaches that are not evidence-based? I bet you’re thinking that it rarely happens. You’d be...
5 months ago • 1 min read
The Modern-Day Pack Horse Woman Hey Reader~ As I get to know my class and dive into the academic data, I forget what a process it is. Each year I feel like I’m starting over even though I’ve been doing this for over 10 years. Sure, there are research-based interventions and instructional resources that I use to adjust my instruction for students. However, kids are not robots. Pulling in any evidenced-based practice is exactly what I should be doing. There've been some really good educational...
5 months ago • 1 min read
The Modern-Day Pack Horse Woman Hey Reader~ It’s been a while but I managed to stay busy 😉 and I’m guessing you did, too. Thank you for your email replies with suggestions on how to handle this bookmobile situation. I’ve found an alternative with a plan for something bigger. Nothing like an adventure to clear my mind and get the creative juices flowing. I was invited to go rock wall climbing after school one gorgeous fall day. Who knew I was going to check that off a bucket list on a random...
5 months ago • 1 min read
The Modern-Day Pack Horse Woman Hey Reader~ Back to my bookmobile story… I wanted my class to experience the excitement I had over books. I didn’t know how to do it when the nearest public library was well over 40 miles away from the school. But I did know that the library system had a bookmobile. Dictornary.com defines bookmobile as an automobile that serves as a traveling library. It is as unique as it sounds and my students loved it! I set up a rewards system with the PTA hoping that if...
10 months ago • 1 min read