It can be difficult keeping up with your social media feed when you are on school vacation – and rightly so. You need to recharge, catch up with friends and family, and work your way through that stack of books that you promised to read this summer. During the summer weeks I’ll drop these themed blog posts, reminding you of some of the things that might have flown under your radar during your digital detox.

FIFA Women’s World Cup

Like gymnastics, beach volleyball and curling, it’s possible that this is a sport that typically you get to watch only during the global tournaments – and now you can see what you have been missing. This tournament has had it all, from record-breaking score lines (USWNT crushing Thailand 13-0), to controversy (VAR, the video assistant referee playing a bigger role than some of the players), to athlete-activism (the awesome Megan Rapinoe speaking truth to power). At the time of writing the tourney is down to the final 6 teams with the Milne house divided on Tuesday 2nd July when the England Lionesses take on tame the US team.

The Hottest Book of the Summer

Written by my good friend, and National Health Teacher of the Year, Scott Todnem, the book that you, or someone you know, need to pre-order is Growing Up Great! The Ultimate Puberty Book for Boys ($13 paperback/$8 kindle). This book is the #slowchathealth Book of the Month for June.

Written in fun, age appropriate and INCLUSIVE language this book definitely fills a gap in the market. I have been fortunate to receive a digital preview copy and was so impressed that I have been tenuously weaving the topic of puberty into conversations with friends with boys aged 9-12. It’s awesome when one of your PLN achieves something great, and I promise that this book won’t let you down.

Teachers Teaching Teachers

My school year ended about 3 weeks after teacher friends of mine, and during those last few weeks I had to dig deep into my teaching bag of tricks to keep both students and myself inspired. I know how tired we all are at the end of the school year and I am so impressed by the number of my teaching peers who are traveling to present and attend at conferences across the country. Iowa’s conferences are always a well organized affair, #ActiveSchoolsSummit19 just wrapped – congratulations Hop Hop Public Health and GENYOUth for collecting awards recognizing their efforts at keeping kids active – and follow the tweets from Kelly Zerby as she fills her summer with presentations at Iowa, EPEW and the #PEInstitute19.

As I said earlier, summers are for spending time with yourself, but if you are attending or presenting this summer – I salute you! I’ll be heading to North Carolina in July for my first ever PE Institute experience, I hope to see you there.

Welly First Aid

I have fallen in love with the brand WELLY, an all-new line of premium bandages and first aid products in really cute tins that can only be found at Target stores.

They have taken a boring product – band aids and repackaged them into something fun. So fun that I’m frustrated that I haven’t had a need to use any of them this week.

Band aids are now ‘Bravery Badges’, first aid ointment is ‘Bravery Balm’, the first aid kit is now a ‘Human Repair Kit’, and there’s ‘Itch Fix’ for those pesky mosquito bites. With a fun Instagram feed, this company targets kids and also Millennials and Gen-X’ers.

I love the idea of using language to ‘repackage’ something that has negative connotations and I do it in class all the time. I never use the words test or quiz and rarely use the word assessment. Instead, I tell students that they are practicing a skill (formative assessment) or being given an opportunity to put your knowledge into practice (summative assessment). I’ve actually taught a semester of health with students thinking that they haven’t been assessed….because they didn’t have scantrons handed out, or weren’t told to sit in silence as they write as much as they know within a specific time limit.

Now excuse me as I attempt to stumble and trip my way towards my first bravery badge, which I will wear with pride!

True Crime Podcasts

Regular readers will know of my aural obsession with podcasts, and I often share my listening suggestions based on my 70 minute commute. When I’m not listening to podcasts related to health, or teaching, or self-improvement, I have a cheeky passion for true crime and have listened to all of the big ones over time.

The two podcasts I have recommended recently are Bear Brook and To Live and Die in LA (see my tweet conversation with Jo, above).

Bear Brook sells itself as “Two barrels. Four bodies. And the decades-long mystery that led to a serial killer. A podcast about a cold case that’s changing how murders will be investigated forever.” This podcast has SO MANY twists and turns that if it were a movie you would claim that the plot was to far-fetched. In 7 episodes (and a few bonus episodes) this show actually reaches a conclusion, unlike other true crime podcasts.

To Live and Die in LA is a much longer podcast, but the journalist is totally immersed in the investigation as it is ongoing. This podcast takes you deep into the mysterious disappearance of 25-year-old Adea Shabani, an aspiring actress and model who vanished without a trace from her apartment complex near Hollywood’s famous Walk of Fame.

Summer Soundtrack

I don’t know where I’d be without the Shazam app. Having the ability to name any tune just by pointing by my phone in the direction of the music is pretty much the best reason why the internet was invented. The Shazammed (it’s a verb) track that’s been on heavy rotation in my house this week is You by Nicole Bus. I hear Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys in her voice. Now if you want a summer soundtrack – plug this track into Pandora and let the Music Genome Project do what it does best.

Until next week….