The Mom and Pop Shops of Brooklyn - Where To Shop Small
Every year during the holidays, I make sure I ask the members in my family if they have a gift preference: A “thing”, an activity, a gift card?. Almost always, my mom says “I don’t want anything, I just want to see you!”
Read full story4 New Year's Resolutions We Can All Get Behind
Commentary on the end of 2020 has swept swiftly across the internet. In case you’ve missed it, the general message is thank god it’s over. Fraught with health worries, racial divides, and environmental concerns, each day of the year seemed to bring new and additive heartbreaks.
Read full storySeven Places to Shop Sustainably in the New Year
I hate Amazon. I rue their existence. Why, you may ask? Where to start. Amazon is a major contributor to our environmental problems and to the widening inequality gap in our country. Amazon takes advantage of its workers, smashes small businesses, and often practices unethical factory conditions.
Read full storyThe Six Must-Download Podcasts of 2020
I'm not a big TV watcher. I'm not a particular fan of reading books either. It’s super hard for me to sit in one place for too long. Instead, I've found podcasts to be the perfect solution to my ADHD tendencies- I can turn one on, tune it through my headphones, and run or cook or sew or play with the dog as I learn.
Read full story9 COVID-friendly Holiday Things to do in NYC This Year
I’m bummed about this holiday season. I’m used to filling in my December schedule with visits to my favorite boutiques to window-shop their holiday gifts. I’m used to frequenting my favorite cafes and restaurants to taste-test their seasonal novelties. I’m used to going into cathedrals and churches and listening to the choirs as I admire the stained glass windows.
Read full storyThe Dark Secret Behind Tiny Houses
I see a lot of articles get posted in my social media feeds parading the novelty and excitement of tiny home installations. A lot of these probably come from an algorithm that has been curated for my tastes (I guess I’m a sucker for clickbait?), but it does evidence that there is a lot of media attention on tiny homes right now in a positive light.
Read full storyThese FIVE Organizational Steps Make Kids More Preschool-Ready
A long-time friend called me the other day. My godson is one and a half, and will be celebrating his next birthday about the time that their new house is complete. “So…We decided to build a house! And we are designing the house to include a playroom for Hank.”
Read full story10 COVID-approved holiday things to do in and around Philadelphia
In a time where our normal winter traditions are hampered by a raging pandemic, and we can’t be indoors without worry, we need to get creative. COVID-19 doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the holidays - it just means finding new ways.
Read full storyOde to an Early Childhood Educator
I have a friend who's in deep as a private preschool educator in New York City. To her credit, she's pretty comfortable with the chaos that normally ensues in an early education classroom.
Read full storySmall Group Learning - What's the Big Deal?
Small group learning has a good reputation. As long as the resources can be afforded, the pod-style setting comes preferred to large classes. And the logic comes easy, too - smaller groups means less kid-driven chaos, a more organized work space, more learning resources per learner.
Read full storyTeachers Are Mad - But Not About Remote Learning
There’s been a ton of teacher complaints about remote learning since we went digital last school year. We’ve all seen the memes. We’ve read the tweets, watched the video clips, skimmed the threads on Facebook.
Read full storyCOVID is Spiking Again. So Why Are Schools Still Open?
I’m a both-sides-of-the-coin kind of gal. As an educator who is not currently in the public school classroom, I’ve had the privilege of looking at the should-they-or-shouldn’t-they-open-schools debate from the outside in. With less stake than I would have had three years ago, it’s been easy for me to see validity to both sides of the controversy.
Read full storyHow to Make the Most of Inevitable Screen Time for Your Young Learners
The CDC says that children two years and older should put away their screens after an hour a day. Your resident expert says that zero hours a day will do. I teach 2- and 3-year-olds. If you’ve got similar professional experience, you know that the main purpose of your teacher leadership at this point is to socialize the pink-cheeked babes, get them used to a routine, and teach them how to learn from others.
Read full storyLooking to Live Your Best French Life? Here's Your Guide to Language and Lifestyle
Over the last three weeks, I’ve done my best to observe the French and their ways as I’ve settled in. My motivation for this was at first purely self-centered: Take note of the things the French don’t do, and also do not do those things. Don’t be the American that’s clearly American.
Read full storyA Bunch of Ways to Do Social Justice in Your Classroom
I’ve spent the last couple of months developing my series on remote learning. I’m sure I will in the future return to remote learning with more key insights, but for now, a new series: Social Justice in the Classroom.
Read full storyRemote Learning: What Is It Good For?
Remote learning doesn’t have a great rap. Actually it has a pretty terrible rap. Remote learning has garnered a lot of frustration and a lot of complaints in the last six months - for a lot of good reasons. Remote learning does not allow for the same interpersonal experiences that have always complemented learning. It comes with a host of technical difficulties. It’s less focused, less organized, and there is some literature that even makes the case that learning of the same rigor simply cannot be achieved.
Read full storyHow to Keep Your Kids Learning in the Mask-Wearing Classroom
Earlier this week, I published an article outlining the oft overlooked disadvantages of mask wearing in the early childhood classroom. A piece of fabric covering the half of your face as an educator means that your young learners aren’t able to make the same gains in language acquisition, social skills, emotional intelligence, and habit forming.
Read full storyFour Reasons Masks Suck in the Early Childhood Classroom
I hate it when people wear masks. Let me rephrase that. For health reasons, I find relief every time adults around me are wearing masks. Huge supporter. But for every other reason, I hate it.
Read full storyHow to Fake the French Language in 6 Simple Steps
I teach French to kids and adults. Teaching kids is easy; formulaic. Find a text, teach the content, and pull out reading, writing, speaking, and grammar to help develop their second language.
Read full storyHow to Make the Internet a More Familiar Place for Learners
Log on. Go to your Drive. I’ll share my screen. Click the invite. Put yourself on mute. Chat me your answer. A year ago, this kind of language was foreign to the vast majority of students — if it was familiar, it was probably only in the context of TikTok or Minecraft. But today this terminology is the basis on which we’re asking kids to make rigorous strides in learning. For many students, the unfamiliar lingo serves as a roadblock to making academic gains and showing what they know while signed into a remote lesson.
Read full story