Ever since I watched Dale Sidebottom keynote at the PE Institute in North Carolina I've wanted to weave in some dice-based activities with my classes. I found this great deal online for 100 dice, but they sat in a drawer unaccompanied by an activity, until now. We return from break on a shortened schedule, and …
Continue reading Dicebreaker. The Connection-First Icebreaker
The start of a new year has a funny reputation. It’s supposed to be a reset button. A fresh start. A new era. A moment where you suddenly become more motivated, more organized, more disciplined, and more confident—just because the calendar changed. But most of us know the truth, and the science backs this up, …
Continue reading One Word for 2026: A Different Way to Start the Year
One constant during my 30 years of teaching is that the break from school at the end of the calendar year – winter for me and summer for my Southern Hemisphere friends – comes at just the right time. Leaving for school in the dark, arriving home in the dark, the end of a long …
Continue reading Before the Year Ends: Twelve Months in Reflection
In a recent #Slowchathealth post, Andy Milne, shared a story about a “classroom moment” where his students took control of the learning environment and taught each other. The topic was menstruation and how to be supportive. A young man asked what more could boys do to be supportive, and this is what happened: “As I …
Continue reading Creating Environments for “Classroom Moments”
Every semester, after introducing the content of my sexuality education unit, I conduct an anonymous question activity with my sophomore health class. I ask them to ask questions they have about any of the content, but I also take this a step further. I ask them to suggest content that they think their peers definitely …
How good does it feel when someone tells you they loved something you created? Maybe it was a teaching idea you shared online, a presentation you gave, or even a simple resource that helped a fellow teacher. Those small words of appreciation can make your whole week. Now imagine all the creators, writers, and podcasters …
Continue reading Five Minutes That Matter: Support the Creators You Love
When I first wrote about using Hexagonal Thinking to help students explore the 10 Dimensions of Wellness, I shared how powerful it was to see them physically (or digitally) connecting concepts together. The beauty of the hexagon activity lies in the way students can literally move ideas around, discovering new links and debating which connections …
Continue reading Wellness Dominoes: the Ripple Effects of Wellness
This year I was offered the opportunity to do something I had always wanted to do: teach a PETE class. My first reaction was “Wow! I am so honored and excited to do this!” Fast track to: “There is no way I can do this! I know nothing about teaching college kids! I will fail …
Losing my husband unexpectedly shattered my world. In the midst of my grief, I found myself grappling with an unfamiliar sense of emptiness and confusion. Yet, within the depths of despair and the need to brave up for my children, I discovered an improbable source of strength and resilience. It is then that my perspective …
Continue reading B.A.M. An Educational Journey of Empowerment
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