“What are some ways you connect with your school community?” Meaningful connections with a school community that changes every 174 days was a challenge at first. Leading at a Kindergarten Center provides a unique opportunity to develop sparks, interests and set a foundation for learning for all stakeholders. Taking the lead from Robert Fulghum’s … Continue reading Connecting in Kindergarten.#SAVMP Reflections
The end of September for educators can at times be similar to the mid points of a marathon. Too late to turn around and too far ahead to think about the finish. It can be hard not to compare your journey with others-and something I used to (and still slip into) focusing on in my … Continue reading Getting What You Want Out of Leading and Life.
As a school leader there can be so many priorities and so many fires to put out in a day. Just yesterday I had a beautifully laid out schedule that included time to finalize my evaluation lists for the year, review my Friday Focus and get out to the playground….and then one of the wheels fell … Continue reading Creating Intentional Classroom Time as a Leader. #KidsDeserveIt
Yes, I am attempting to draw parallels between George Couros The Innovators Mindset and a Midwest Icon…SPAM®. This spring our district created a hashtag and started a summer book study on George’s book…the hashtag-well of course: #SPAMTownEdChat. This past week one of the questions we all dove into was the following: Question #5: How Might You Create and … Continue reading SPAM and the Characteristics of the Innovator’s Mindset
This is additional information from our presentation at the MN STEM Network Conference on Tuesday, April 5th, 2016. Is this what you think of when considering incorporating Digital Learning in your PreK-3 classes? If so-you are not alone. In NAEYC’s recent book: Technology and Digital Media in the Early Years provided some guidance into this new territory: We all share … Continue reading from Consumers to Creators: Integrating Technology in the PreK-3 Years.
Last year at Woodson we started intentionally finding ways to show our students, children, and those around us how much we care about them. This year is no different. During February Conferences each family at Woodson received the Search Institutes 150 Ways Poster and was given a challenge-choose one and do it. Our results will be posted on … Continue reading 150 Ways to Show We Care-A Community of Caring Opportunity
With a nudge from this year’s MN Pre3 Principal Leadership Series we have been looking at ways to more intentionally work with our preschool educators in our community. On Wednesday, March 9th we will put this into action with our first preK/K collaborative staff development opportunity. Goal: Create a PreK-K Literacy Workshop 1.1 Engage your learning community in understanding … Continue reading Connecting with PreK: Intentional Staff Development Opportunities #ECECHAT
In the ongoing debate about homework you can find some excellent posts and suggestions from some highly respectable leaders in the field. For example Tony Sinanis shared a three part series of how his school looks at homework from the building, teacher and parent perspective. Another #SAVMP friend-Liz shared this post about the great homework debate. And you can’t … Continue reading Who is really doing the homework anyway? #SAVMP
If I don’t know what to stand for-How do I know when to move aside and let something pass me by? As a Principal we see so many things fly before us. A new curriculum, a new app, an email about a new workbook or targeted service program that will be the change maker. Being … Continue reading Keeping Kindergarten in Mind. #SAVMP
To start off 2016 my Voxer group had a challenge-to start getting into classrooms more while still having ‘balance’ between school and home. I love being in classrooms, however I also love having time away from work at night so I can focus on being a better mom and wife this year. So that is … Continue reading Mobile Office: Getting Out of the Office and Into Classrooms
Principal in Balance: Learning to Lead in Work and Life 