When “Telling” is Not “Tattling”

About a year ago during recess, I was standing beside our first-grade teacher, Mrs. Knudsen, when a student ran up to her. The child excitedly shared with Mrs. Knudsen all the wrongs another student was currently committing. When the student finished listing all the perceived errors this other student was carrying out during recess, Mrs.…

Getting Answers

As students get older and approach the middle grades years, dialogue begins to likely become more like this when you pick up your student: Parent: How was your day? Student: Good Parent: What did you learn? Student: Math Parent: You do anything exciting? Student: No. Three questions, three words given in total for an answer.…

Getting lost

When was the last time you got lost? Lost while traveling through town? Lost in a store? Lost in a book? Lost in an activity? When was the last time you allowed yourself to get lost? My parents used to make fun of me, as a college student and afterwards, when I would visit them…

Reflection on Traditions

Reflections on Traditions Habits, customs, traditions – these words are often used interchangeably but have unique meanings. A habit is something we do over and over again such as brushing our teeth at least twice a day, but I doubt many of us would call that a tradition! A custom is something that we may…