Tuesday, September 3rd, was the first day of school here. While waiting for the bus to work, I saw mothers and their children walking to the nearby elementary school. It brought back a rush of sweet memories. Though it has...

The Book Of Awakening: Having The Life You Want By Being Present To The Life You Have — Mark Nepo This is a remarkable book.  It is deceptively simple – daily quotes, reflections and practices – and quietly powerful.  A...

These days, I’m drawn to people who speak about how we can bring our best selves to our work and lives.  I seek out sites that provide refuge, places where I can revive my spirit and energy. Parker J. Palmer’s...

In her reflection in Teaching with Heart, Rachel Willis writes how teachers are “powerful beyond measure.” We couldn’t agree more.  Thank you for all you do!   Teachers Are Powerful Beyond Measure — Rachel Willis In many professions, when you...

Here are two great ideas for celebrating Poem in Your Pocket Day. In Teaching with Heart, Jovan Miles, a high school math coach, shared how he shares poems in his pocket to engage students throughout the year.   Check it out...

Celebrating Poetry On her blog, My Head is Full of Books, Anne Bennett, a school librarian, posted a lot of terrific ideas for celebrating and using poetry (see below). Fortunately it didn’t rain and she was able to send us...

Resilience: On Working and Mothering — Emily Brisse We have been having conversations lately, my son and I. Last night while I was putting on his pajamas, it was about the man on the road walking his dog. A week...

Ideas for Sharing Poetry This week we have several special blog posts we’d like to share. This means we’ll miss posting a few of our daily suggestions for using poetry.  To make up for the gaps in the week ahead,...

Tonight while cooking, I heard a few minutes of a NPR story on Stephen Ritz, a science teacher in the Bronx, who decided to “grow 100 bags of fresh fruits and vegetables a week — in the classroom.” The story...

Lily Eskelsen Garcia riffs on “What do teachers do?” In 1 minute & 34 seconds, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, President of NEA, recounts what teachers do — which, of course, is way beyond teaching reading, writing and arithmetic! Brilliant. https://www.facebook.com/thisisinsider/videos/1502768973363829/?fref=nf...