Today, I saw a PBS Newshour article online asking the readership who inspired them to teach. I did not have to give this much thought at all. It was my mom! My mom inspired me to teach! She taught third grade at one of our local elementary schools while I was growing up. I remember…
Slice of Life Tuesday crept up on me this week. Notably, we’ve had the college graduation of our oldest son and the death of one of our dear cats, Clark. Additionally, I’ve seen many posts about summer learning, and even written an educationally themed post mid-week on Positive Behavior Intervention & Supports (PBIS). Our fruit…
One of our cats is dying. We have two, Lewis and Clark. They were barn kittens when we got them thirteen years ago from a farm in a town south of us, known for cheese and rolling hills. We named the cats for the American explorers, Lewis and Clark, as we got them during the summer…
This semester I have learned a little about procrastination. Never considering myself to be one in the past, I can now claim the title of Procrastinator! Since this is really not something to brag about, and I’d like to return to my pre-procrastinator state, I thought I’d share some of my observations. It’s easier…
Yesterday I drove I -35, otherwise known as The Great River Road that runs parallel to the Mighty Mississippi and divides the state borders of Minnesota and Iowa with Wisconsin. There was a time in my life that I thought I would never see Bald Eagles or even Great Blue Herons other than the one…
If you’ve ever taken a statistics course, you’ve been warned about these. Outliers can throw your data off. If you’ve ever looked at a bell curve, you’ve seen a graphical representation of these – data points at either of the far ends of the scale. If you’ve ever read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, you’ve read…
Friday, my boys were off from school for the Easter holiday break. About mid-afternoon, I looked out our back window and saw a white patch in a tree at the edge of the field behind us. The landscape is slowly greening up but the trees have not leafed out yet so seeing something pure white…
Being a mid-life graduate student in Environmental Education, I’m well versed on the positive effects nature can have on all aspects of your health. We need nature more than it needs us. Today, I lived what I preach and took my weekly walk a day early – alone. By late afternoon, I took off down…
Having been a nurse myself for a number of years in hospital wards, clinics, and intensive care units, I understand how it feels to be have a family member be a healthcare worker. A holiday, such as Easter Sunday is today, is just another day for those in healthcare. If you are scheduled, if it…
If there is one thing I could impart to students to not say, this is it! Earlier this week, I held my Tuesday Writer’s Circle meeting with six third graders that I have been meeting with weekly since January. This is the sixth year I have voluntarily led such a group. It’s always been once…