Judy Feuer Walden was in her late 40s, with a son and daughter in middle school, when she decided to return to school so that she could follow her 6th grade dream and become an elementary school teacher. During her decade of teaching, she taught kindergarten, 2nd grade and 3rd grade in a public elementary school. She writes intimate letters to readers in The Schoolhouse Experiment: Reimagining School at Home and in the Classroom.
Thinking Outside the Box
In my last year of teaching, I set aside the standard curriculum at the start of every week and introduced what I called “Outside-the-Box Thinking.” Monday mornings began with a game or a challenge. I would have my students first work individually, and then after a certain period of time, collaboratively. One such challenge was
Trust Your Instincts
Once we become parents we are constantly faced with watershed moments when we have to trust our instincts and make the best decision that we can for our child—even if it means deviating from the expected path. Most parents agree that when we are faced with these moments, the answers aren’t always crystal clear and,
Crossing Paths on Morning Walks
The alarm goes off at 5am. We leave the house at 6 and we’re on the trail by 6:30ish. Every morning as I stumble out of bed, pushing past sore muscles and rubbing sleepy eyes awake, I remind myself how lucky I am to live minutes away from beauty. Hiking in the mountains in the
Abraham Lincoln
Dear Pamela, I found this cool, small company called Litographs based in Boston. I was impressed that besides printing very unique shirts, etc. with words, they also encourage reading and donate books to communities. In addition, when I ordered the shirts, they were donating all of their proceeds for two days to Black Lives Matter.
Play-Doh
Dear Pamela When you told me the other day that you had stashed small give-away containers of Play-Doh in your Little Neighborhood Free Library, I knew that all would eventually be right with the world. I know this because Play-Doh, that malleable blob of vibrant color from my childhood, always gave me permission to empty
A Teacher’s Perspective on Effective Classrooms
If we peek into the most effective classrooms, we will probably see not just students thriving, but also teachers thriving. We all know that with so many kids with different needs and so many demands to juggle, every day won’t be perfect for each and every child. In the October 2017 issue of The Atlantic,