Using Menus to Inspire Student-Guided Learning
Use learning menus to create an engaging student-centered model for teaching that can be used for a variety of lessons, grades and subjects.
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There Are No Emergencies in Education
March 31, 2021 As teachers, we often feel a sense of urgency with the tasks we do. Deadlines, testing windows, end of term, personal goals set by us, parents or even students—so many things impose this on us. What if I told you that not everything is an emergency, would you believe me? Because they…
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Building Relationships – Treating Students Like the Important People They Are in Your Life
March 23, 2021 Today was my monthly call day for the week. In my virtual teaching world, I have to have a monthly call to check in with my students and families working at home. It’s just what we do. I always thought that what I did was the same as everyone else—until today. I…
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Tracking Like a STAR – How to Maximize Your Evaluation
March 12, 2021 Evaluations are a dreaded part of being a teacher. We teach all day for 180 days a year but have only a handful of observations to catch us in action. Some teachers just teach like a regular day, some prepare and ensure they hit every mark, some fall somewhere in the middle…
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The Book that Changed my Classroom Discipline Procedures
February 27, 2021 My first teaching job was 6th grade Reading and I had no idea what I was doing. I had been military, then corporate while I worked through a business degree, but when I realized that life was about making money and not so much helping people and limited how much time I…
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Why I Stopped Failing Students – and How You Can, Too
January 29, 2021 When I started teaching in 2007, I was the hard teacher that had no issues failing a child that wouldn’t work or didn’t complete all their work. It took me about ten years of teaching to realize that, at least through middle school, it was a pointless standard to uphold and I…
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Life Lessons from a Dog: Luna and the Cone
January 22, 2020 Luna is our newest family member. We adopted her in August, a couple of months after our oldest doxie, Angel, passed away. Molly, our remaining doxie, was quite lonely without her lifelong pal and our 9-year-old son had desperately wanted a dog to be both a cuddle buddy and a playmate. Our…
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My Goody Box Experience – A review of both thredUP and Stitch Fix
January 18, 2021 I don’t like shopping. I know, crazy, right?! Or, maybe it’s more I don’t like hunting. I had no problem spending money when I would go shopping in my younger years, buying anything that appealed to me that fit both my available balance and my body. But when I ran out of…
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Celebrate the Prodigal Student
January 12, 2021 Most everyone has heard the story of the Prodigal son from the Bible, where the father celebrates the son that was gone and returned, making the son that never left upset, until the father explains his why. But, as a whole, society rarely celebrates the prodigal anything. We have awards for Honor…
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Life and Teaching – Reflecting on 2020
Sonya Barnes December 24, 2020 I haven’t written in a while. So much craziness has happened in my life this year, and most has nothing to do with Covid-19. My oldest son graduated college, transitioned into a new career field, and is looking to move out on his on now with his friends. My…