The Summer I Became a Maker

August 9, 2016.Reading time 15 minutes.

I’ve heard the word pushed in my meetings and educational conferences in a million different ways. Making. MakerSpace. Maker project. Maker initiative. Make, make, make. It can be frustrating, as an educator, to have new teaching trends and discoveries constantly sent your way. And admittedly, from the outside, the idea of making in education looks like […]

Code like a Girl

December 4, 2015.Reading time 11 minutes.

Here’s a fact about me that not many people know: my father is British. Yep, with the accent and everything. He grew up in Radcliffe-on-Trent, a large village in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire (my Nan still lives there, in the same house!). He left his family and his home and immigrated to America in […]

Book Fair Magic

October 8, 2015.Reading time 3 minutes.

Prepare yourself: I’m about to share something shocking with you. Most librarians don’t like Book Fair. (I’m using very tame language here.) And I get it. The hours are long, the companies aren’t always gracious, and the workload is intense. Emotions are high, you count a thousand pennies a day, and it’s busy every single […]

[Updated] Resources for Talking to your Child about Death, Loss, and Grief

June 1, 2015.Reading time 6 minutes.

Many children lose someone that they love early in their lives. It is hard to watch a child in pain, and even more difficult to help heal the heart of someone you love while you, yourself are hurting. Whether the loss is of a parent, grandparent, friend, or beloved pet, understanding death, its permanency, and […]

Resources for Talking to your Child About Anxiety

May 15, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

Summer is coming. The weather is heating up, the days are getting longer, and the school year is winding down. While this is a joyful (and rambunctious) time for many, the transitions that come at the end of the school year can be a struggle for some students. Being tested on their growth, preparing to […]

Resources for Talking to Your Child about Diversity, Race, and Racism

April 29, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

It can be a scary time to turn on the news, and an even scarier time to talk to an impressionable child about what they are seeing and hearing about the world around them. But that means that it can also be a critical time to have an open, honest conversation with your child – a […]