I originally wrote this as a guest post for the TeachMama.com blog. Be sure to check out that site! My daughter had been singing for almost two hours with no break. The song “Do You Want to Build a Snowman” from the Frozen soundtrack was on repeat, and my wife and I looked at each [...]

I've always been a morning person, so maybe it is easier for me...but when I wake up in the morning (usually at 5am) I have a couple of options: Do I press the snooze button and go back to sleep? Sleep is important after all. That's what the doctors say. Do I wake up and [...]

On August 23, 2007 Chris Messina started something so small, he would never know how it might change the world. how do you feel about using # (pound) for groups. As in #barcamp [msg]? — Chris Messina™ (@chrismessina) August 23, 2007 Chris, among other things, was also a founder of Barcamp (which was the inspiration [...]

Growing up as a kid I couldn’t wait for Color Day. It was my school’s “Field Day” except...it was epic. When you entered school as a kindergartener (or in any grade) you were given a color: Red or Blue. That color stuck with you throughout the entire K-12 schooling experience. Color Day was placed on [...]

Inquiry and Innovation in the Classroom is Here! First, I want to say how thankful I am to so many of you that have helped me with my book, asked me about it's release date, and are excited to read it. I know that if you read my blog you care about how our students [...]

This week, my book -- Inquiry and Innovation in the Classroom: Using 20% Time, Genius Hour, and PBL to Drive Student Success -- will finally be available. I'm excited, a bit nervous for people to actually read it, and also happy with how the final product turned out. That being said, I wanted to let all of you know why [...]

Photo Credit: mrsdkrebs via Compfight cc As a student I couldn't even guess what my teachers were doing when they weren't teaching. Mostly because I did not care enough to pay attention. Sure, I knew the impact some of my teachers and coaches had on me, but the teenage mind didn't allow me to comprehend what [...]

My daughter is five years old, and she has no problem saying, "I don't know." In fact, that is what makes her such a good learner. She openly admits to not understanding something, and then actually asks for more information on the topic. All of her "I don't know's" throughout the day amount to so [...]