Today we are making Unicorn Cupcakes. I wonder if my friend Amelia is as excited and nervous as I am about it. She’s going to be leading the activity and already has 5 friends who she is going to work on the project. Last time our friend, Martin, researched “potions” and after reading several science …
Four years ago I made a study of Design Thinking, taking courses, reading books and trying to figure out how I could bring it to our youngest learners. (Psst…I think it’s the Secret Ingredient to Student Agency.) My passion for it has not stopped. Beyond projects and products, however, I think schools could use this thinking …
I can’t help but chuckle when I walk into the library and see this engraved nameplate with the message Every day I’m hustling on our librarian’s desk. It’s so true, each of us is busy, doing our best, in the ways we know how to eke out “a’ learning“ in our schools. One of my colleagues …
Have you ever read the book, Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh? I was recently reminded of something that is quite foundational in creating mindfulness: If we are not happy, if we are not peaceful, we can’t share peace and happiness with others, even those we love, those who live under the same roof. If we are peaceful, …
Quick Quiz: What is the first “box” in the PYP planner? Did these things come to mind?: What is our purpose? To inquire into the following: Transdisciplinary theme: Central idea : summative assessment task(s): What are the possible ways of assessing students’ understanding of the central idea? What evidence, including student-initiated actions, will …
What does the word “ hunger” even mean? Many of our students, particularly in our international schools, have very little experience with this concept. They may say that they are “starving” when they are 10 minutes late to lunch, but have no authentic connection to this idea of “Zero Hunger”, which is the subject of …
Welcome to Digital Lunch! Where Sustainable Development Goals + Google for Education= Yummy Digital Citizenship.
Dear Policy Makers, We are not robots and we are not robot designers. We are difference makers who are highly creative, intelligent and resourceful. Treat us that way. We work in schools. Not in factories. We don’t care about those “test results” that are your widgets. We care about self-confident and kind humans in our …
How would you like things to be different at our school? This is the fundamental question that school leaders, teachers, students, and parents (really everyone in the building) need to answer. Because that is the starting point for our journey into “enhancing” our PYP schools–getting the Learning Community involved and excited about elevating the learning …
It’s Tuesday at 4:45pm and my brain cells begin to take a break. I’m struggling with my energy level, peeved at myself for not drinking a tea earlier so I had a mental boost for this meeting. Because I care. It’s about the counseling program at our school, and I want to be fully present. …
