Happy Halloween Weekend

'Tis that season for all things wickedly wonderful this Halloween weekend. May yours be safe, fun, and memorable!

Image created on www.canva.com

Plastic-Free Fall

As a follow-up to my last post, here in the glory, color-filled days of fall, here is a poignant little video I ran across on Instagram. Created by the Plastic Pollution Coalition, this video reminds you how some of the best things of fall are both financially free AND plastic free. How many can you cross off your list as autumnally-accomplished this fall?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Plastic Pollution Coalition (@plasticpollutes)

Instagram post from from https://www.instagram.com/plasticpollutes/channel/ and clipart from http://clipart-library.com/free/leaf-clipart-transparent.html

Halloween's Ahead

This year for Halloween I'm going as a hospital patient, Patients gown. Surgical mask. Hospital bed included. It's my second-needed surgery of 2022, and I'm eager to get it on the backside of me so that the days ahead can be back to being mine!

There's a lot of reuse in my costume (though I get it's not for everyone)! This is always a great goal in this often-time consumer-meets-consumables Halloween holiday.

As you are plotting and planning your Halloween ahead, these two articles from GreenCitizen may be just what you need to help you reduce and reuse, and get yourself a new-to-you look for this spooky season:

• "How to Have Sustainable Halloween Costume This Year?" - Here you will find 10 ways to think outside the pre-packaged costume box to help you create your own ingenious outfit.

• "Eco-Friendly Halloween Decorations Let's Make It Green This Year!" - Here you will find a slew of ideas for decorations, food, and costume ideas that will tread lightly on your environmental impact to the planet.

Art created at www.canva.com 

Libby ~ The Library Reading App

I've posted time and again about being an avid and voracious reader. [As of right now, I'm on book #48, well-poised to hit #52 books for the year.] Fiction, nonfiction, it doesn't matter. It's all part of my day and who I am.

One little app has become a game-changer in not only saving me money, but it's also upgraded the books that I am am reading. For years I've been almost exclusively been reading books on my phone's Kindle app. It leaves me always having a book in hand, able to travel light and read wherever I might be. Additionally, it's there, easy to hold, and no need for turning on a light if I wake up at 2 am and need to quiet my overthinking "mom/daughter/spouse/teacher" brain.

For a lion-share of this past year, I've been using the Libby app. Libby ties with your local library through your library card to let you borrow ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more. Sometimes you have to wait a few weeks by placing your request on hold until a copy is available for the 2-week download. Upon retrieving your book, you have some choices as to how you would like to read it. It funnels seamlessly into your Kindle app, and best part: your reading streaks continue on. [As of this writing, I'm at 123 weeks in a row and 205 days in a row... as my husband would say, I'm governed by these and my my Apple Watch fitness circles! Yes, I am Pavlovian!]

Another transformational part for me is that I'm no longer buying the free to $5.99 books over at Kindle. I'm actually reading the best sellers and award winning books that I don't want to buy for $13.99 a pop, unless it's a really special or important title for me. I was reading some good books--now I'm reading some great books! That right there has me diving into more books too. Plus, my reading budgetary expenses have dropped significantly!

Plus, as a person who was always good at getting books from the library (but never great at getting them back TO the library), this is perfect because I can either ask to digitally renew it, or it just disappears from my phone or iPad. Only once did they not let me renew a book due to the waiting line. So, I just put it back on the list and I will grab it once it comes back available.

Another perk for my Kindle friends is the fact that you can still highlight notes in the book, and those will be saved in your Kindle app, even once the book moves on.

For my digital reading friends out there, if you haven't found Libby yet, it's time. It'll open up both your Apple and Android devices in new ways for a varied assortment of reading material.

Libby images from https://www.baldwinlib.org/updates-to-overdrives-libby-app/ and https://resources.overdrive.com/libby/

October Colors Surround

During the fall, it almost seems like every day of October, the colors shift so subtly yet significantly--sometimes changing right before your eyes day by day.

Due to that, I love the visualization on the Fall Foliage Prediction map created by SmokeyMountains.com. By using the sliders on the bottom of the map, you can plan your leaf peeping.

Here's what is predicted nationwide for the week ahead:

Additionally on the website below the interactive map are details as to why leaves turn the colors that they do. It showcases the science and chemistry behind the colors that we see on our leafy trees... and why those same leaves fall to the ground.

Makes you want to get out there to go see them while you can!

Image from https://smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map/ as set for October 17th; quote image created on Canva.com

The Power of Purpose at Patagonia

Almost exactly a month ago on September 14th, outdoor-apparel company Patagonia released new of their new, one and only shareholder: Mother Earth.

Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, has long been donating 1% of Patagonia's profits to environmental causes. Not only previously green in their donations, but Patagonia is known to be green with their other company efforts as well, including their nature-centric vision and emphasis on repairing items. But in September of this year, Chouinard decided 1% was not near enough, and raised the bar another 99%, stating "the Earth is now our only shareholder." All money not going back into the business are profits that will be spend donating to tackle the climate crisis. 

[Psst...Patagonia is worth $3 billion!]

In honor of Patagonia's 50th year since he found it, Chouinard wanted to make a move to make a statement. Not wanting to sell the company in order to donate the money to the environment [and not wanting take the company public], he decided that he'd "go purpose" versus "going public." The company stocks are managed by the following two entities: Patagonia Purpose Trust and Holdfast Collective. The former gains the voting stocks with the plan to protect the company's core values. The latter is the nonprofit fighting against environmental hazards and fighting for nature. The Holdfast Collective also gets the non-voting stock worth $3,000,000,000. 1% will continue to go to grassroots environmental activists, just as before.

It's a bold and innovative way to do business. May more companies continue to follow suit, thinking of a world bigger than themselves and their own personal profits.

Video from https://youtu.be/GlzdVVthPUY, Tweet from https://twitter.com/patagonia, and headline letter from https://www.patagonia.com/ownership/

Honoring Indigenous Peoples' Day

A friend of mine does a lot of hiking throughout the year. It's always wonderful to see her scenic adventures on social media. When she posts her pictures and talks about each hike, she always posts as her final line something to the effect of this: "___ is located on the stolen ancestral lands of the Piscataway and Susquehannock people." It always gets me thinking.

On Monday, in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day, the college I attended posted this on Facebook: "rests on land once cared for by native nations including the Kiikaapoi/Kickapoo, Peoria, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ/Sioux, and Myaamia/Miami." I was impressed with their attention to whom the land originally belonged.

I grew up knowing the second Monday of October as Columbus Day. The whole "In 14 hundred, ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" mantra burned on my brain from being a kid in elementary school in the '70s. Since being a teacher and getting my Master's degree in Education in the mid 1990s, the emphasis was on multiculturalism and multiple perspectives. It governs a lot of my own perspective in life, knowing that there are a variety of people out there with different views and vantage points of my own. It's why I take a great interest in Intersectionalism and how it relates to many things, including the environment and social justice. I've long-used Jane Yolen's book Encounter to teach about Columbus Day, and while the age of exploration opened up a lot of the globe to people, it often came at the expense of the native people who lived there. 

All of this came back to me on Monday, October 10th, 2022 as I encountered my midwestern alma mater paying tribute to the lost ancestral land on both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples' Day. I loved that my former university linked to the Native Digital Land website. [Additionally there are Apple & Android apps so you can have this information with you on your phone to use while you are on the move.] The goal of this interactive website is "to help map Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages." I love that they have a page on their website detailing "Why It Matters." Because it does matter. Words matter. Meaning matters. Representation matters. History matters. Land matters--and so does its sacredness to each of us. Acknowledging all of this matters. 

Using the Native Digital Land map search engine, you can zoom in and find the territories, languages, or treaties for anywhere in the United States to determine the native people that lived there before colonialism took over. You can also click to turn on or off the "settler labels" (aka: street names when zoomed in, city and state names when zoomed out). You can also click here for their Teacher's Guide to learn what else you can do with this website in your classroom. 

Signing off....while writing and contemplating all of this from land that originally were those of the Piscataway and Susquehannock people.

Title image created at www.canva.com and screenshots from https://native-land.ca.

Humble Media Genius with Ruff Ruffman

Who do you call when you need some inside information on media and technology? Why Ruff Ruffman, of course! Who is Ruff Ruffman, you ask? He's the animatronic cartoon dog host from PBS Kids show Fetch! With Ruff Ruffman which aired from 2006-2010. This show served as the spinoff on several other digital shows and shorts from 2014-2022, including Ruff Ruffman: Humble Media Genius.  Humble Media Genius has Ruff Ruffman, front and center, and tackles many of the important conversations centered around internet safety, tech balance, texting, sharing photos, online searches and more. These media literacy shorts are geared for children aged 6-11.

Here's his short on Green Technology--click here to find 3 more Green Tech shorts:

Other topics in the Humble Media Genius suite include the following, with videos, games, information, and more:

• Living Online
• Friends Forever
• Find What you Want
• Staying Safe
• Driving
• Español
• Resources for Parents

They have also united with the Youth and Media team at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center to compile classroom curricular resources for teachers for grades 1-3.

Ruff Ruffman has the right mix of humor, quirkiness, and information to engage kids and stress the importance of being safe, being respectful, being responsible, and making good decisions both online and off!

Video from https://youtu.be/l6zp8lI2KJE, image from  https://pbskids.org/fetch/ruff/about.html

Feeling the Hurt After Hurricane Ian

Unless you've been living under a rock this week, you've heard a thing or two about Hurricane Ian. Where I live, we a're getting days worth of dark and dreary, cold rain from it as it stalls here.

Additionally, after living in Florida for 6 years a good decade and a half ago, I've been through a hurricane or two myself. All the familiar vocabulary comes "raining" back: cones of uncertainty, spaghetti models, storm surges, maximum sustained wins, and more. Also, concern for friends and favorite places I still have in Florida brought this particularly close to home for me.

Hurricane Ian made landfall at a high Category 4 storm, doing major damage in Fort Myers with its 7 foot storm surge. [The sustained winds were only two mph short of being a Category 5 storm.]  Ian tied for the 5th strongest hurricane to make landfall. It then crossed Florida, doubled back over sea gaining strength and hit South Carolina as a Category 1 storm. In Florida, more than 2.3 million lost power. Areas of Florida got 12 to 28 inches of rain. Hundreds of flights were canceled in the domino effect of airfare cancellations. It has become the 6th deadliest US Hurricane since 1980 with just over 100 deaths, and it is Florida's biggest storm since 1935. Financially, the total damages range in the neighborhood of $68-100 BILLION. Capital B. Capital "all" letters. 

Climate change gets credit for intensifying the rainfall, making Hurricane Ian's rain 10% worse due to greenhouse gas pollution, thanks to life beyond the Industrial Revolution. Climate change often also gets credit for warming the oceans which only serves to intensify the growth and power of the storm.

This video from NOAA SciJinks shows how hurricanes form.  It's the perfect informative video for both young and old.

If you are in a position to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, here are some resources:

• FEMA's "Here's How You Can Help Hurricane Survivors" website
• Read World Central Kitchen's story of how they've provided hot meals during the storm and support their cause.
• CDP: The Center of Disaster Philanthropy's recovery and support network--you can funnel your donations directly to the 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season's relief.
• Team Rubicon's Disaster Response--Donate to help support military veterans who serve as first responders to come in and assist during the humanitarian crises that arrive when disasters hit.
• Verified Hurricane Ian GoFundMe fundraisers

Video from https://youtu.be/wPDoIrGUrEc, image from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/live-map-track-the-path-of-hurricane-ian

Building Leaders Through Outdoor Education

I ran into this quote the other day and it really spoke to me.

It took me back a few schools ago (probably to the tune of 20 years or so), and I am reminded of a former 3rd grader of mine. (Let's call him Trey.) 

Trey was a struggling student in my class. A medicated ADHD student who's impulsivity got him in a thick of trouble every time he turned around. His parents were frequent fliers for parent conferences with me. Trey had a strong ability to think outside the box, he made great connections, and you could see he had an incredible entrepreneurial spirit. But he struggled. Somewhat academically, but mostly behaviorally. He just had to get from 3rd through 12 grade of school without falling victim to his own demise.

In the spring that year, our 2 third grade classes decided as a grade level to build a butterfly garden on campus. Administration gave us a plot of land that we needed to clear and a budget for some pollinator plants and milkweed. Here is where Trey came to life. It bears repeating--here is where he really thrived! He did the work of 3-4 people and got right down to business. He was a master with the shovel. He was the leader of that butterfly garden. My partner teacher and I talked a lot about Trey in this role and the other couple of kids that really shined during this project. What if we could have them out there every day for a half hour before school doing something like this!? It was completely their wheelhouse and it was leadership in action. 

Getting kids outside more in our classroom requires a bit of thinking outside the box. National Geographic has an excellent post on "backward planning." A big perk in planning and teaching this way: it gives students more agency and control in their own learning. Author and educator Alison Katzko gives four tips on how to achieve your best through backward planning in this article entitled ""How to Get Students Outside? Try Backward Planning" By making outdoor excursions part of your regular routine, and looking for curricular connections, you can meet the standards in ways that truly impact your kids! 

She has a second article in the series called "Why Abi Henneberry Takes Her Class Outside Each Day". Not only does this activity bring hands-on learning and engagement, but it also builds empathy, community, and helps broaden perspectives. Again--all key features in leadership!!

Think of the leaders we as teachers can help shape and create!

Images from https://www.facebook.com/RichLouv/posts/pfbid02mrjTXQsMRcoUriTYXZZfEQRQFxDxwXqxvTYp4jAGRWYqGJsL4dgfQJ44Li7jKRJ8l and https://blog.education.nationalgeographic.org

Science 101: Plastics

As I was perusing my way through the National Geographics Resource Library, I found myself tumbling through so many amazing finds. I think of it much like the stereotypical story I tell my 5th graders about getting lost in the YouTube sea of crazy cat videos when we discuss digital citizenship and prepare them for their 1-to-1 iPads in Middle School. We've all done it. But NatGeo's are definitely more fascinating.

One I happened upon that really spoke to me is their Science 101: Plastics learning video. To watch, you'll need to click the link. 

In it you get a history of plastics, its merits and obvious overuse, but it also gives you some amazing graphics on how much plastic has shown up since its inception in the 1950s. (Spoiler alert: WOW!) Also, it takes about some new takes on plastic-eating microbes and bioplastics. It's 5 minutes and 45 seconds worth of watching to remind you to rethink your plastic usage.

Image screenshot from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/science-101-plastics

Lazy Person's Guide to Saving the World

"Lazy" often times gets a bad wrap. It comes with a negative connotation and it makes us feel sub-par, like we're not doing all that we "should." 

However, we all feel a little lazy sometimes. And sometimes we NEED to be a little lazy. We can't be on the go all the time. We need time spent lounging in a hammock, taking an afternoon nap, reading a good book, watching entertaining shows, or just being a couch potato. 

What if there was a way to work on saving the planet while being a little bit lazy? It's an enticing thought. We can't all be 24-7 activists. And even those out there who are busy changing the world, they need time to sleep.

I think that's why the United Nations "Lazy Person's Guide to Saving the World"appeals to me so much! It leaves me thinking, "Hey! I can do this!" Sometimes big things (like saving the planet or addressing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals) just feel too big!

The United Nations has created a fabulous website that creates a "can do" approach to help tack global issues. In the "Lazy Person's Guide to Saving the World," the UN has broken action items of things you can do into 4 levels. Smaller always feels more doable than a huge monumental task. With bite-sized bits, we can begin to make a true difference. 

Here's an overview, but be sure to check out there website!

• Level 1: Sofa Superstar - Things you can do from your couch
• Ideas here include online versus paper statements, staying informed of the issues (and staying away from "alternative facts"), turning off lights that aren't in use, and more!

• Level 2: Household Hero - Things You Can Do From Home
• Ideas here include taking shorter showers, eat less meat, turning down your thermostat, and more!

• Level 3: Neighborhood Nice Guy - Things You Can Do Outside Your Home
• Ideas here include avoiding impulse buys, bringing a refillable water bottle, getting vaccinations, and more!

• Level 4: Exceptional Employee - Things You Can Do at Work
• Ideas here include mentoring younger folks in your field, carpooling when possible or take public transportation, reducing waste, and more!

Images from https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html, https://www.thinkwithniche.com/blogs/details/lazy-persons-guide-to-saving-the-world, and https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/takeaction/

Chasing Coral

As part of my son's summer homework for his AP Environmental Science class, he had to watch at least one of a selection of nature documentaries. One of the films was Chasing Coral, produced and directed byJeff Orlowski.

Knowing his mom is an eco-warrior, my son asked me if I wanted to watch it with him. Of course, that was an offer I couldn't refuse. We had just come back from a vacation in Puerto Vallarta where we had a lot of opportunities to snorkel. While we didn't see a lot of coral on those encounters, it did hit home in a harder way than usual.

With my son's permission, he's the guest writer on the following post, his summary on the film. 

Coral reefs are the rainforest of the sub-nautical ecosystem. These beautiful regions of aquatic space give way to a flurry of marine life and wonder. The documentary Chasing Coral, which was released in 2017, is based around said natural wonders and how we as a species are driving the world’s coral to extinction. When Chasing Coral starts, you are met by Richard Vevers who introduces the viewers to breathtaking reefs and the first sights of coral bleaching. The viewers are then told about the biology of the coral and sadly how (due to human interference) the coral is starting to bleach and die. After a lesson on how coral affects the oceans, we are led into the mission which Vevers and his team are dead-set on pursuing. This mission includes installing cameras in places where they can videotape coral. In doing so the crew hopes to collect time-lapsed footage of coral bleaching. After some trial and error as well as some hardships, the team eventually gains these videos and spreads them to the world. 

Over the course of the documentary, the viewers are keyed into many different aspects of the coral species and how they affect the world around them. It would be trivial to watch this documentary and not mention how extreme coral bleaching is being stressed. Coral bleaching occurs when the water temperature rises 2 degrees above the water's average. Bleaching is a stress response, almost like a fever in humans, that causes the coral to purge itself of the phytoplankton living in the coral. This will most likely result in its death. A fact that shook me to the core is that 50% of the Earth's coral had died in the thirty years before this documentary was released. The fact that hit me hardest though was how we are living in the era where we could see the last coral reef bleach. If we don’t act, it will. Chasing Coral puts into words just how close we are to the collapse of our maritime ecosystem. I believe Chasing Coral pushes the depressing and cautionary message that if we let this ecosystem fall, so too will the remaining terrestrial ecosystems. This will, in turn, lead to the downfall of Earth.

The producers of Chasing Coral all believe that the world is in desperate need of reefs which in turn means they have a shared bias; but, that does not mean that the message they push is flawed. The only other perspective that could be offered is one of indifference to the life of the ocean, and that in my opinion is immoral. As a person raised in science and who has gone to “green schools” his whole life, this documentary hit me hard. My whole life has been entangled with animals and for something as pivotal as coral to be going extinct sends a wave of apathy down my spine. Although the documentary saddened me to watch, I highly recommend it. This documentary should be watched by everyone because as a species we have to come together and look at the science in order to create a world where life can thrive. Earth is the only planet we know with life. As the dominant species, it is our duty to bring security to said life, from the terrestrial to the sub-nautical.

To learn more about this film, check out the Chasing Coral website. They have a "For Schools" tab with additional resources such as lesson plans, short clips, a 6 minute virtual reality opportunity, and an Ocean Portal for school. They also have a "Taking Action" tab with several ideas if you feel like you need to do more.

You can watch it in it's entirety on Netflix or on their YouTube channel.

Video from https://youtu.be/b6fHA9R2cKI, Image from https://www.facebook.com/chasingcoral/photos/a.1615646605406137/1775349332769196/

The Internet of Nature Podcast: Richard Louv & Hybrid Minds

Podcasts are what's playing in my car if I'm on any kind of drive-around-time. It's not surprising that I gravitate to a lot of subjects that intersect here, with GTG.

A rather new-to-me podcast I landed on is called The Internet of Nature. The podcast, created by Netherland-born and Canadian-raised ecological engineer Dr. Nadina Galle, has this overview:

"Can nature and technology—long viewed as opposing forces—work together to stabilize our climate, sustain our urban environments, and benefit our health? Dr. Nadina Galle is an ecological engineer on a mission to find out. Join her every Wednesday as she interviews top CEOs & innovators on their technologies for building greener, healthier, and smarter communities. Each episode contains powerful stories behind the entrepreneur, delves into questions usually shied away from, and explores where the internet and nature converge."

It's definitely a philosophy that strikes close to my heart too. I've long-thought (and often circle-back to) the idea that technology is the innovative solution to our environmental challenges!

Nadine Galle's Season 4 Episode 10 of The Internet of Nature is called "The More High-Tech Our Lives Become, The More Nature We Need with Richard Louv of the Children and Nature Network." There is A LOT packed into that title alone! One of the biggest parts is the episode's guest: Richard Louv. Author of ten books, Richard Louv's most notable one (which he mentions in the podcast led to his calling) is his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. Originally published in 2005, Last Child is where he introduced the concept of "nature deficit disorder." He was one of the first to pull together scientific research on the benefit of nature on our health and well-being. Richard Louv also is one of the co-founders of the Children and Nature Network, a website created in 2006 as a way to reconnect people with nature. The resources on their website alone could have me reading for days, reminding me to get outside 

It's no surprise that nature deficit disorder was a large part of the podcast discussion between Richard and Nadina in this episode. Despite his book being 17 years old, we need nature more than ever. Richard discussed the idea of "hybrid mind." While he is often times called "anti-tech," he truly is not--he sees the need and advancements that tech brings. But as with everything, it should be one of those "all things in moderation" issues. Along with the benefits of tech... there is a point of oversaturation. We need to counter it. Nature is that perfect foil. Hence the hybrid mind: the more we are connected to tech, the more important and vital nature is for us! Naturally (pun intended), the more "tech-i-fied" we become, the more we need to be outside. 

If we learned anything with how Covid impacted us in 2020, we certainly learned that we are tech-centric bodies in motion. Sometimes, too much so. Zoom school helped us continue learning, yet it was not ideal nor as impactful as in-person educations. Boundaries and borderlines overlap between home and work. 24-7 news, emails, texts, notifications....it is too much. It gives the illusion of being constantly available while we're constantly connected... and often bosses and businesses take advantage of that. It definitely creates a digital anxiety in the stress of all this wired-connection without enough human or environmental connection.

We are collectively getting fried, and we need nature to help rescue our hybrid minds.

Along those lines, Nadina and Richard's conversation turned slightly to politics... but only in the sense that "politics should keep its hands off nature." So many issues in the world have been made binary in an "us-them,""good-bad," "blue-red" mentality. When did being stewards of the environment become partisan... and more importantly, why?! One's love for nature should not be at all associated along political party lines. We ALL share the planet. We ALL need nature. Whether we all know it or not!!!

 Clearly, the podcast interview gave me a lot of food for thought and has stayed with me for awhile. I definitely recommend taking a little time out to go have a sit and listen. Whether it's in your car, or out in nature!

Podcast cover image from https://open.spotify.com/show/3h08dRknSkAXNWwtxSSuMI, Hybrid Mind image created using canva.com

Favorite Recent Finds from Free Technology for Teachers

I've mentioned before that I'm a frequent fan of Free Technology For Teachers website created by Richard Byrne. Over the last several months I've been stockpiling some of my favorites and wanted to share them here with you. The thing I like the best is that they are short and easy to read, he often adds a video which highlights the best parts of hhis finds, and he just finds so many amazing things out on the internet. If you are an EdTech coach, following him is a must! 

Here are a few of my favorites posts of his from the last 6 months.

EdTech

A Good Place to Find Free Images and Music for Classroom Projects

How to Use Custom Fonts in Google Forms to Improve Readability

Transforming the Traditional Learning Environment with BookWidgets

My Big Playlist of Canva Tutorials

Try Canva's New Whiteboard Templates With Timers

Language Arts & Geography

Geo Artwork - A Fun Game About Geography and Art

Ten Good Templates for Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts Activities

Amazing! This Interactive Story Building Lesson Still Works!

Five Google Earth Activities to Get Kids Interested in the Outdoors

Visual Dictionaries for Kids

Ten Fun Things for Students to Map

Eco & Science & Math

Climate Kids Helps Kids Learn About Climate Change

A TED-Ed Lesson for Every Element on the Periodic Table

Five Fun Science Games for Kids

Five Concepts You Can Teach Through Geocaching

Science Friday is a Must-bookmark for Science Teachers

Electric Lessons - Energy 101

My Favorite Fall Video Project

NOAA Sea to Sky - 1000+ Resources for Science Teachers

Roller Coaster Physics

PhET Virtual Workshops for Teachers (Math & Science)

Image from https://www.freetech4teachers.com

NatGeog Explorer Mindset Framework

I think I have NatGeo on the brain lately, because all roads keep pointing back to here. I recently shared some excellent learning resources from there (link) and a bit earlier in the summer I shared this infographic which highlights the Explorer Mindset.

What I should have realize was the graphic organizer was built from a pretty solid and empowering framework. I love that it "is a guide to developing the Explorer Mindset in the next generation of planetary stewards."

In this video from National Geographics' Explorer Mindset Framework page, marine ecologist/geospacial analyst Whitney Goodell discusses the importance of her work to our planet...which also details an explorer mindset in action.

The Explorer Mindset Framework is built from the Attitudes, Skills, and Knowledge [ = ASK] that is at the heart of an explorer. Here is slide 1 of their 8 slides details the qualities that make up the framework. You will want to download it all as it is an excellent resource!!

Additionally, be sure to check out this downloadable resrouce: The Explorers Mindset Toolkit. It is dated from last year's school year, however it is a valuable resource for elementary school teachers.

Here is a shorter video showing the Attitudes, Skills, and Knowledge in action: 

As I watch these videos, and look at the framework, my wheels in my brain start to spin about ways to employ these skills in the classroom. We definitely want our students to be risk takers, full of curiosity, working together, being empowered, solving problems based on our observations. 

These are all the skills that lead to innovation. As teachers, we have an enormous task to inspire our students to become lifelong learners. As I've said before, it is through all of these skills, attitudes, and knowledge that we will start to conquer some of the difficult problems we face in this world. 

May we all be the next generation of planetary stewards!

Images from https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/file/Explorer_Mindset_Framework_June_2022.pdf?_gl=1*kalpt*_ga*NjA2MjYyMjEuMTY2MDkyNjIyMA..*_ga_JRRKGYJRKE*MTY2MDkyNjIyMC4xLjEuMTY2MDkyNzEzOS4wLjAuMA.. and https://blog.education.nationalgeographic.org/2021/09/21/dear-educators-no-one-explores-alone/

Videos from https://youtu.be/9BM11wtxtnk and https://youtu.be/9KPtcbXZtkQ and can also be found on https://www.nationalgeographic.org/education/about/explorer-mindset/

"Design the Best School Year Yet With Canva"

And we're off and running and most teachers and students are back to school by Labor Day (if not before).

What is unique about teaching is that each school year is a brand new stand-alone. You can create it to be however you'd like. For veteran teachers, you get the decision to create your classroom culture. You can pull out the tried and true tricks from years past, or you can shake it up and create something new.

Digital design platform Canva for Education (which is supremely, wonderfully FREE to educators), can help you do whatever you want to create all school year long.

I've been a big fan of Canva for years, but I felt like I hit the jackpot when I ran across Kasey Bell's August 23rd [Episode 169] of her Shake Up Learning's podcast: "Design the Best School Year Yet With Canva!" I got really jazzed by all the untapped potential in Canva that was still out there. 

With canvas there's so many of the "Teacher-y" things you can create: name tags, classroom posters, class syllabus or schedule templates, newsletters etc. But you can also create mind maps, graphic organizers, presentations, awards, videos, whiteboard activities, feeling checkins...the list goes on. On top of that, you can also get your students creating--which sometimes is where the magic begins!

Kasey has a lot of creative ideas listed in her podcast. 

Additionally, here are a few more places you can investigate:

• Click here for some cool "Back to School" Teacher Design Playbooks from Canva.

• Check out Canva's Design School for their courses, tutorials, and events. Their "Teach With Canva" series may be your one-stop-shop for all sorts of goodies. "Canva For Students" also has a wealth of tutorials.

• Dive into the wealth of videos over at the Canva YouTube Channel.

• If you are teaching students younger than 13, you may want to be sure to cover your bases and send the Parents/Guardian Consent Form home to parents.

Images from https://shakeuplearning.com/blog/design-the-best-school-year-yet-with-canva-suls0169/, "Create in Canva" created using https://www.bitmoji.com.

Environmental Justice Index

I love a good mapping tool and online interactive. The Environmental Justice Index is just that type of tool that can help communities become aware (and track) environmental risks. Using a combination of data from the US Census, EPA, CDC, and more, the Environmental Justice Index helps track a myriad of information.

From their Fact Sheet: 

"The Environmental Justice Index (EJI) is the first national, place-based tool designed to measure the cumulative impacts of environmental burden through the lens of human health and health equity. The EJI delivers a single score for each community so that public health officials can identify and map areas most at risk for the health impacts of environmental burden. Social factors such as poverty, race, and ethnicity, along with pre-existing health conditions may increase these impacts. This tool helps public health officials prioritize action for those communities most at need."

The Environmental Justice Index tracks the following Health Index Indicators (click here for the PDF & graphic organizer):

• Social vulnerability
• Racial/Ethnic Minority Status 
• Minority Status
• Socioeconomic Status
• Poverty
•  No High School Diploma
• Unemployment
• Housing Tenure
• Housing Burdened Lower-Income Households
• Lack of Health Insurance
• Lack of Broadband Access
• Household Characteristics
• Age 65 and Older
• Age 17 and Younger
• Civilian with a Disability
• Speaks English “Less than Well”
• Housing Type
• Group Quarters
• Mobile Homes

• Environmental Burden
• Air Pollution
• Ozone
• PM2.5
•  Diesel Particulate Matter
• Air Toxics Cancer Risk
• Potentially Hazardous and Toxic Sites
• National Priority List Sites
• Toxic Release Inventory Sites
• Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Sites
• Risk Management Plan Sites
• Coal Mines
• Lead Mines
• Built Environment
• Recreational Parks
•  Houses Built Pre-1980
• Walkability
• Transportation Infrastructure
•  High-Volume Roads
• Railways
• Airports
• Water Pollution
• Impaired Surface Water

• Health Vulnerability 
• Pre-existing Chronic Disease Burden 
• Asthma
• Cancer 
• High Blood Pressure
• Diabetes
• Poor Mental Health

All of this definitely highlights the intersectionalism of all of these issues and why environmental justice is social justice.

The Environmental Justice Index Interactive itself allows you to put in a location and then zoom in to see where its overall index falls between high, moderate to high, low to moderate, low, and no data. I was able to zoom into both my hometown county and city. I was able to get a lot of data--down to how high the prevalence of blood pressure is (or any on the list above). It's a lot of data on one location!

Indented quote from https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/placeandhealth/eji/fact_sheet.html, image from https://twitter.com/CDCgov/status/1559555588358492160

National Geography Education Resources

With that back-to-school brain swirling, I've noticed that National Geography Education has a lot of good finds lately. Here's just a few that might work for you:

• Mapmaker Collection -- In their Mapmaker Collection Library, there are at least 40 lessons and activities using Mapmaker, their Geographic Informations Systems tool. Geared for grades 5-12, students can go in-depth and study a multitude of geography, anthropology, sociology, history subjects using this tool.

• Blackline Maps -- With the national boundaries changing, sometimes those maps in our archaic file cabinet swiftly become out of date. Who better to know maps than NatGeo? You can fine-tune it to get the map you want, with the layers you want, both with and without labeled nations.

• Resource Library -- Nearing 3000 different resources, there is definitely something here for everyone. Search by topic or check out the filters to find just about anything. Filtering by content type is one of my favorite ways to approach it. (I love a good infographic, and their's are spectacular!!)

• Online Courses for Educators -- If you are the kind of person who just can't get enough, checking out these free, self-paced online courses might be just what you are looking for. The range of topics varies, and each one details fully the time-table required to take these course. Some are on demand, while others are time-specific paced cohorts. The 90 minute self-paced "Applying Geographic Thinking Skills With Your Learners" class has an amazing infographic you can download about the different geographic perspectives that I love that is open until January 1, 2023.

• Explorer Classroom also has a wealth of past online events you can watch as well as interactives for your and your students. 

• National Geographics Facebook Page -- If you like to curate your Facebook feed with inspirational resources, following this page is great. They often share many of their resources and you can learn new online curricular tools every day while scrolling through your FB feed. I love it!

There is a wealth for everyone, and it's easy to get caught up in all of these resources and lose yourself to learning!

Logo from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com

Growing Together With Community Gardens

We've all come to know the saying, "It takes a village."

That seems to go with just about everything. 

Community gardens is another way to grow together and strengthen both relationships with your neighbors and work to build something together that benefits you all. The concept of urban gardens is not a new ideas, but like ideas--there's always a number of ways they can be created. They can be in a shared neighborhood lot, alleyway, or local area accessible to all. Many big cities have neighborhood lots dedicated to just this where it's tended together and the fruits of the labor are shared together. Not to mention, it can be very rewarding volunteering your time and energy on a shared project like this.

There's also the idea of yard sharing. The Food is Free Project details what this might look like:

The ideas of yard sharing could have a unique appeal, but of course there are always ideas to consider, including your local laws and municipalities or any HOA restrictions.  Not everyone is keen on the native yard look!

To learn more about how you can share the wealth of health and grow together as a community, check out these resources:

• Food Is Free Project--About Us & Resources sections
• Savvy Gardening's Front Yard Vegetable Garden Ideas: Grow a Mix of Food and Flowers
• Soil Science Society of America's What Is a Community Garden?
  
• Insteading.com's "Grow Your Own: Top 5 Yard-Sharing Websites"
  
• Shared Earth: Help Us Make Better Use of the Planet, One Garden at a Time
• Matador Network's "5 Community Gardens That Are Setting an Example in the United States"

Video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlC-4MgfICU and image from https://savvygardening.com/front-yard-vegetable-garden/

It's That Time of Year Again: Back to School

'Tis that time of year again! B2S. BTS. Back to School.

As the "first day of school" photos of friends across the country also started peppering across my Facebook feed, I ran across the following from motivational speaker Thomas C. Murray. I follow him along with many other educational leaders and organizations. In doing so, I have curated my own bit of inspirational, educational feed filled with this along with all things environment, edtech, technology, and innovation.

Along the way, I ran into this, posted by Thomas by Kelsey LaMar, which I think is the perfect send off to teachers this fall. Whether you are just beginning in schools, or returning back for your first, fifteenth, 31st year like me, or more, you are a great teacher. If you've been teyaching the last 3 years, you've been through a lot, but you've made it! You tackled a lot of challenges during the pandemic and growth as a teacher! Most importantly, you will do great things this year too!

Thank you Kelly LaMar (from her Aug 14th Facebook post), for speaking to me and to all of us! Your words mattered... a lot. May we all pass your words, and words of encouragement of our own, forward. Have a good year, my teacher friends!

"It wasn’t the text I was expecting as I pulled into the parking lot on my first day back at work. And yet, there it was. 

 

It was short and simple. To the point. Sent to me by a principal that I haven’t worked for in over three years. 

 

“I hope you have a wonderful year. You are an amazing teacher. Your school and your students are so lucky to have you.” 

 

It was exactly what I needed to hear at the exact moment I needed to hear it. 

 

Cue the tears. 

 

Over the next few days, friends that I’ve worked with over the years received texts also. We’re spread across the country now. Many of us haven’t worked together in years. But yet, we were remembered. We were encouraged. We were seen. 

 

Here we were. Veteran teachers. Reduced to tears. 

 

We joked that our old administrator was out to single-handedly end the teacher shortage and burnout. 

 

It was a joke, but it got me thinking that maybe there was a little truth to it. 

 

Now hear me out. I’m not saying an encouraging text will end our problems.

 

It won’t end low, unsustainable pay rates. It won’t end the hours and hours of unpaid work expected of us. It won’t end the overfilling classrooms. It won’t end the mental load we all carry. It won’t end the lack of resources. It won’t end the behavioral problems that worsen every year. It won’t end the classes we are required to cover during our plan time. It won’t end the lack of substitute teachers.
It won’t. 

 

But maybe, just maybe, our words really are our most powerful weapon. 

 

Maybe, weary after years of teaching on the proverbial front lines, all we needed to know was that we were doing a good job. Our work was valued. 

 

When you enter my classroom, you’ll see notes pinned above my desk. Letters I’ve received over the years from administrators, coworkers, and parents. Little messages that remind me on the hardest days that my work is important. That my talents are recognized. That I am loved. 

 

This text? It was a reminder that I have the power to make someone’s day. To remind them of why they love this job so much. To look at them and see the immense value that they bring to their students and schools. To speak life into their weary hearts. 

 

So friends, today I encourage you to do the same. 

 

When you see the beauty in a student interaction. When you see the enthusiasm brought to a lesson. When you see the grace given where it wasn’t deserved. When you see the classroom that exudes peace and joy. 

 

Speak up. Tell them. It may be just what they needed to hear at the moment they needed to hear it.
And friend? In case you haven’t heard it in awhile, you’re an amazing teacher. Your students and your schools are lucky to have you." ~ Kelly LaMar

 

Kelly LaMar text from her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/talesfromtitle1/posts/pfbid02YRVptXdhAgHkY1QQJ8Pyyh58D8FXuYHUNyaAdQX5Ro4j7uFqqGiS9RfgKL1zEWysl , image created at www.canva.com using my Bitmoji.