I have worked with many students who have been diagnosed with ADHD, and they respond well to me because I have shared with them that I have a similar kind of mind and that it is a special, wonderful gift. I don't excuse them. They still need to learn to be organized and hand in homework, but I also celebrate their wild wonderings. I encourage them to question and think. No idea is too ridiculous. All are welcome in the broadest sense.
Month: April 2026
Working in the Wonder Studio: A Tale of Two Bunnies
Four years ago, as we lived through COVID restrictions, I continued to work in the Wonder Studio with students, and crafting became our safe haven. I had considered abandoning for a year, but the children would stop me in the hallway or during classes and ask, “When is Wonder Studio starting again? You need to get it up and running!” I could not disappoint them. I have been privileged to work alongside some of the bravest and most brilliant little girls who would not take “NO!” for an answer. So, I kept offering times throughout that COVID year, stopping occasionally when restrictions prevented us from meeting.
Champions of the Testing Season
As a Learning Specialist, my job is to monitor and support learning in early childhood through fifth-grade classes. This is the place of my ultimate joy and satisfaction - seeing children grow, witnessing their struggles, and their hard-fought accomplishments. The daily struggles seem like small roadblocks to adults, but to children, struggles loom large. And if you have a learning difference, struggles can seem overwhelming. We do all in our power to motivate and encourage the young minds in our charge. Sometimes these efforts work right away, sometimes it takes a long time to see the fruits of our labor.
Liftoff to the Moon: Human Hope & Courage
Houston, we have liftoff. My heart swells when I hear that phrase. Today, I think of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, the NASA astronauts and Jeremy Hansen, the Canadian Space Agency astronaut who are, as I write this, heading back to Earth on their spacecraft, Integrity, after being the first humans to see the far side of the moon. They are also the first humans to go the furthest away from the Earth, 252,760 miles. Imagine being that far from home! What does that feel like? How courageous and optimistic do you have to be to venture that far? I am amaze and proud that we still live in the Age of Exploration. I was beginning to doubt if humans had that creative bravery anymore, and I’m please tonight to see that we do.
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 