I am striving to build a bit of balance into my life, I say this as I am blogging on Christmas Eve.  :)  

One of the things that gives me absolute pleasure is European Christmas markets.  I began my obsession with them during the four years I lived in Koeln, Germany beginning in 2009.  What a place to get introduced to markets!  

Now that I live in Europe again, I had to continue my quest to visit more markets and see beyond Koeln.  To be honest, they will always remain my favorite, because of four beautiful, difficult, and growing years.  They are part of the fabric of my life's journey. 

Did I make Traveling Teacher videos?  No.  I was so enthralled by the experience that I completely forgot. This must be what it means to enter your second childhood. 

I was fortunate to visit three markets in Belgium: Bruges, Gent, and Brussels.  Some people might want to compare the Beligan markets to German, but there is no point.  They are two different countries with constrasting cultures.  The things that I found were the same: good food, glühwein, and handicrafts.  

In Germany, I was able to go back to Köln, but it was jam-packed.  I could barely walk in Heumarkt and Neumarkt.  It was not fun.  I realized that when I lived in Germany, I would avoid the weekends, which made it so much fun. 

On the flipside, I was also able to visit Aachen, München, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  I was fortunate to find lesser populated spots in each of these markets and really enjoy the environment.  There is something magical of being cold, drinking a hot beverage, and being amongst people.  

Seven markets in total is amazing.  Next year, I plan to visit Stuttgart, Weimar, Strasbourg, and Vienna.  I can so do this!

For those who don't celebrate Christmas, these markets are still fun.  There are non-alcohol and veggie options.  It's about being together, celebrating happiness, and enjoying the season.  

More the merrier, I always say!  Join me next year for more market mayhem. 

​As I've been traveling the world, I've had to face many obstacles along the way.  In September 2023, I was headed to Brussels to spend the fall working in Europe and Africa.  My first leg to JFK was massively delayed and I ended up missing my connection to Brussels.  Thankfully, Delta Airlines was so accommodating and booked me on the same flight the following evening. 

As a result of the interrupted flight, I had to quickly find a place to stay in the nearby area.  Due to the heavy storms, all of the airport area hotels were booked.  I had to go farther afield to Long Beach, NY.  

What seemed like a terrible disaster at first became a new adventure.  I stayed in a marvelous room in a lovely hotel.  The staff were so welcoming and accomodating.  I spent the next day walking up the beach board walk and eating lovely seafood. 

In this situation, I had two choices: complain about my situation or turn it into an opportunity.  When we turn it into an opportunity, we become resilient.  We learn to manage our obstacles and setbacks with grace and see the bigger picture. 

Did I complain in the beginning?  Of course, I am only human.  But, I quickly realized that the situation could have been much worse, like sleeping in the airport for 24 hours without a warm bed or shower.  

How are we teaching our learners about the importance of resilience in managing the difficult moments?  Where are there opportunities within our curriculum to discuss times when things do go our way.  

Something to think about when planning your next unit or lesson plan for the week. 

Greetings from Copenhagen, Denmark!  

I can't believe I've had the priviledge of visiting this rather remarkable city.  There are many sites to see, but I had my heart set on the Happiness Museum from the start. 

In a previous post, I shared a bit about the Happiness Institute, a team of a people who are researching the causes of happiness and how we can make it more sustainable in our daily lives.  You can imagine my excitement when I discovered they had a physical place where you can experience it for yourself. 

While at the Happiness Museum, I happened to meet Anna who was managing the front desk.  She works full-time at the Happiness Institute and a founding member of the museum.  She was kind enough to take the time to meet with me about their mission and purpose.  Here is the interview. 

As I have reflected on my visit to Copenhagen, I can understand why Denmark has been voted the happiest place on earth.  This is a tall order, but when you regularly focus on well-being it manifests in daily actions and your culture. 

I can't wait for a second visit to this museum. 

I had the pleasure of visiting London for a part of my fall break.  One of the highlights was meeting up with Adam Hill.  If you are reading my blog post, you probably already know how much I admire Adam and his work with STEM.  He is an experienced PYP educator with a passion for all things Ed Tech. 

Last year, Adam launched his own consultancy.  Since then, he has partnered with Google, SeeSaw, Brisk Teaching, Canva and more.  I really admire his ability to fill a niche of science, technology, engineering, and math into learning.  We need more of this in our schools. 

If you want to get better at STEM in your school, be sure to check out Adam's website and social media accounts.  You won't be disappointed. 

One thing I have been passionate about is getting learners to take daily action.  I think when we speak about action, we tell learners to create an action project.  This is more like service learning, which is not the same.  

​I wanted my learners to take meaningful, bite-sized action each day to change the way they think, feel, speak, and act.  About four years ago, I created the guide using agency daily to explore this idea.  The cover looks like this and you can find it here for free. 

Within the guide, I created a poster that guides away from doing concrete actions to changing dispositions.  I believe this is more powerful than saving the rainforest.  When a child internalizes big ideas into their practice, they are creating a disposition of what it means to be a learner.  To me, this is more important.  Here is one way to achieve this goal. 

This idea is not new.  About 11 years ago, I heard teachers bring up these practices in our unit planning sessions.  They were revolutionary to me, because it went beyond the physical act and internalize how I might change the world in a small way.  Mind blown.  

​One of my fondest memories in high school was taking horticulture class.  My teachers always wore flannel, because she was continually elbow deep into dirt.  I found the process of taking something natural and turning it into a work of art quite fascinating. She taught us the power of balance, symmetry, and color. 

As an adult, I am still drawn to flower arrangements that evoke an emotional.  In my 20s-30s, I would frequently attend the Bouquets to Art held by the de Young museum/ Legion of Honor.  Floral designers would create arrangements that aligned with key pieces witin the art collection.  I was always amazing how they took sculptures and turned them into mermaids, nymphs, and sirens. 

From the lens of an educator, where are we offering our learners the opportunity to engage with nature through the lens of horticulture?  I'm getting ideas right now for my learners in the new year!

There are times when you have to pinch yourself.  This is one of those moments for me.  Here I am in beautiful San Jose, Costa Rica as a workshop leader for the IB organization.  I get to travel, meet many wonderful people, and learn more about who I am.

Below is the workshop leader team that I had the priviledge of working with while presenting at The Lincoln School.  What a delight to meet such passionate and experienced IB educators. 

While in town, I was able to meet Roberto in-person, whom I had the priviledge of coaching as an IB workshop leader.  What a delight it was to meet his lovely family. 

These are my feelings one morning as I was looking outside of my hotel balcony before a day of training.  Pinch me, because sometimes I can't believe this is my life.  I am truly blessed. 

There are moments when I am leading workshops that the passion within me overflows like a waterfall.  This is no exception, because I'm at Florida IB Schools.  The participants in my session are on fire, which fuels me up too.  

I love moments like this, because they remind me of why I do this work.  I want to help others to see things differently, so it trickles down into the classroom.  

​What is something you are passionate about?  Please share!!!

Everyone has a teacher origin story.  Here is mine. 

I began teaching in the 2003-2004 school year at Orchard Elementary.  It was the school that I attended for fifth and sixth grade.  My mother taught there too, so we were colleagues for my first year.  

I had just finished half of my teacher preparation program and spent a week helping my mom set up her classroom.  On late Friday afternoon, I was approached about teaching a class for upper elementary learners with emotional disabilities.  I jumped at the chance to gain some real teaching experience and work again. 

When I look back at that time, I was so green.  I just had my passion for teaching and my mom in my corner.  What else do you need? 

I won't lie, I bumbled a lot during the first half of the year.  I didn't know how to teach special needs learners.  I didn't understand curriculum development either.  The one thing I did have was instincts:  when a child was hungry, emotional, pensive, and self-depreciating.  I knew how to love a child and let them now someone was in their corner.  This can mean a lot to a child when they feel all alone in the world. 

To be honest, I was just reflecting all the times I saw my mother act the same way as a teacher.  I would continuously lean on her wisdom of how to proceed.  She gave me good advice about letting go of my fear and leaning into my empathy.  

Even 21 years later, I believe it was one of the best years in my teaching career.  I taught the whole child by the end and not just the head.  By mid-term, my learners were able to self-manage their anger and we were doing actual learnng.  It was so wonderful to see.

As I stood next to this sign, it was of pride.  My mother is no longer alive, but I could feel her presence there guiding me on.

I had the chance to return to my hometown for a quick visit while leading a workshop in the bay area.  At the last minute, I decided to drive by my childhood home.  With mixed emotions, I revisted the place where I played with Barbies, dreamed about my boy crushes, and spent many happy Christmases.  They say that you can never go home again.  Here are my thoughts. 

A place is just that and this was my home.  It will always be special to me, not matter what.  It's the place where I developed from a young human into an adult woman.  Many tears of laughter and heartache were shed in those walls.  

As I say goodbye this time, I am not sad.  Instead, I am nostalgic.  More than anything, this place reminds me of my mother who has passed on.  She was the one who made it a home and I will be forever grateful. 

I used to think that my whole person traveled with me along my life's journey.  But now as I age, I think we deposit pieces of ourselves in certains places along with the people.  

As I revisted my hometown, it was like pieces of my childhood flooded to my mind.  My family gathered at our favorite Mexican restaurant or my dad nipping down for a haircut at his barber shop. 

The beauty of it all is that we can retrieve these pieces of ourselves by revisiting places that were so instrumental at a time in our life.  My places are Vacaville, CA, San Francisco, New York City, Floral Park, NY, Alberta, Canada, Melbourne, Australia, Dubai, UAE, Cologne, Germany, and Brussels, Belgium.  So many places to pick up pieces of my story. 

As a child, especially those teenage years, I didn't realize how blessed I was to grow up in my hometown.  I always wanted to be in edgier places like Oakland, San Francisco, or New York.  Instead, I was stuck in "Vacaville", which had no life for a young inspiring professional.  The one thing I did have was a strong sense of community through my church and people I grew up with in my neighborhood

In all, I spent 25-30 years living in and out of Vacaville.  I would always return home after having adventures in New York City, Alberta, Canada, Melbourne, Australia, Koeln, Germany, and Dubai, UAE.  

On every major holiday break and summer, I would always return home to see my family.  My parents knew that the first stop would be to my favorite restaurant, Murillo's. 

I can't count how many times my family ate together at this local Mexican restaurant.  I can see my mom laughing over a basket of chips and my dad complaining that he ate too many.  

Now that my mom has passed away and my dad lives in Texas, I rarely have the opportunity to return home.  In August 2023, I had the opportunity to lead a workshop in Berkeley, about 45 minutes away.  Just like old times, I picked up my rental car and drove directly to Murillo's to reminisce and create new memories.  

This video captures my happiness with returning back to the best hot salsa ever made and my favorite combination plate of a shredded beef tostada, cheese enchilada, rice, and beans.  

I need to return home more often. 

When I hear the sizzling sound of Galbi or Bulgogi, my mouth begins to water.  It reminds of me of moments where my mother and I would gather around a low table and sit on cushions to eat.  We would share traditional side dishes of japchae, kimchi, and kimbap.  

Whenever I walk into H-Mart in Houston, Texas, I am transported back to being a young girl eating with her mother.  She has passed away now, but it feels like I am five years old again. 

What are your favorite food memories?  Who is with you?  Why does this matter so much to you? 

It's hard not to get nostalgic when you walking in the actual footsteps of music legends.  It's hard to believe that Elvis Presley used ot hide in clubs to listen to black artists.  Legends like B.B. King would play for hours to anyone who would listen. Most learners don't realize that these legends created the sounds we have today for most pop songs. 

How are we getting our learners to inquire into our past, so they can see the rich tapestry of music that has been created through time?  Every contemporary artist has its muse from the past.  

Who is a musical legend that you admire?  What about their music sings to your heart?

One of the hardest things that we can do as a human family is to own our history.  There are moments where poor choices have been made.  We are human.  But, there can also be a lesson learned, so the same mistakes are not repeated in the future. 

We cannot rewrite our past no matter how terrible, sad, or chilling it is.  It has happened.  At the same time, we cannot beat ourselves in the present for past deeds by others. We did not create them.  But, we have a duty to humanity that we recognize atrocity when it has happened and try to make reciprocity.  This is what it means to be human.

This is a challenging topic, because there are so many perspectives about past events based on life experiences, beliefs and values, and cultural roots.  My hope is that we own our history without justification.  We own the mistakes.  

At the same time, we celebrate how we have evolved from where we began. 

In the video below, I am owning my history.  It is at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee and also the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. 

I remember the first time I walked up to this site.  I couldn't believe it was so exposed to the elements, yet looked exactly the same as it did in 1968.  I stood in the parking lot and cried crocodile tears.  I wept for the choices of the past: segregration, lynchings, slavery, and every type of inhumanity that has taken place against black people in America.  I wept for the black people who are still be targeted in America.  I wept for learners at my last school who are trying to break the chains of poverty in their community.  I wept for injust behavior in the world.  

As people, we cannot move forward until we own our history and weep for those who have suffered and try to make it better for those who are living in the present. 

​Facing our fears is one of the biggest challenges, whether you are child or adult.  It's not easy for sure, because you have to show your areas of weakness.  No one likes to do that.  

I'm afraid of heights as you will find out further in the video.  What do you think I will do?  Will I face my fears or give in? 
​

​One of my favorite things about life is music.  There is something that sings to your song when your favorite band plays a song that connects to a time in your life.  When I visited Copenhagen, I had the pleasure of listening to live music and watching a documentary about an influential band in the late 90s to early 2000s.  

How are we creating memories through music with our learners?  Do you know the type of music that they enjoy listening to at home?  Do you play any of these songs in your classroom? 

​Something to consider. 

​Welcome to the Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium!

This is a place that has come to be like a second home to me with people I care about.  This very spot used to be a large car park filled with black, sooty buildings.  Now look at it!  There has been such a vibrant restoration to the past.  

There are still so many things that i must learn.  This is living history. 

Greetings from Copehagen, Denmark!

I don't know about you, but when I sit in my perspective for too long, I shrink my capacity for a growth mindset.  My ideas become the only ones that seem valid, because I have been cultivating them so long.  There is a tendancy to reject other ideas, because this would mean that we would have to change.  

Change is scary for many people, which is why they don't evolve their perspectivce, even when they know it is no longer correct or serves them.  This is dangerous, because we create a false narrativce of what the world should be, instead of what it actually is.  

Let's broaden our perspective of the world through travel, books, music, and art from other cultures, learn a new language, and so much more.  

What will be your starting point? 

How are we being more flexible with our learning spaces?  How do they reflect our learner's needs and not our own as the teacher?  

This delicate balance is always at the forefront of my mind as I navigate new spaces each week.  As a full-time trainer, I am always perplexed by shared spaces and how I will make them intimate for my participants.  I use everything from windows, doors, sides of cabinets, vending machines, etc.   Usually, I am in cavernous spaces, such as libraries and cafeterias, because they are large enough for a whole group.  

At FLIBS last year, I was gifted an entire villa for my workshop with a rooftop terrace overlooking a pool.  For some, this might have been a distraction.  Instead, I looked at it as a golden opportunity to connect with the outdoors in break out rooms.  My participants, especially the ones from Colorado, really appreciated the opportunity to work in mixed spaces.  

How are you turning your learning spaces from lemons to lemonade?  We know that most classrooms are smaller than they should be, so how do we reframe them to work for our learners?  

One possible way is to ask our learners how to redesign our space, so it's flexible and more aligned to their learning preferences.  An obstacle quickly turns into a win-win for everybody!

​I am super excited to come to you from the Natural HIstory Museum in New York City with my friend Misty Paterson.  Talk about an experience!   This museum has it all. 

More importantly, how are we getting our learners to engage with the natural world by taking them to see science museums in our cities?  How can we embed this into our units of inquiry and teaching?  

If I'm excited about going into a science museum than surely a young learner will enjoy it too!

I am so excited to lead a workshop back in St. Pete Beach, Florida.  When I entered my classroom, I won't lie that my eyes bulged out.  I was in a private villa with a rooftop terrace.  This was not your typical classroom. 

The learning environment is everything.  I had to quickly figure out how to make the space work and lean into the participants.  A large group of my people were from Colorado, where it can be cold.  We spent most of our time outside.  

How are you flipping the environment on the fly to get the most of the experience? 

I never thought I would get to the point where I am helping to put on a conference.  What a blessing.  A big thank you to Denise Kraft for her belief in me and allowing me to participate.  

I will never forget this moment friends. 

We all have moments of excitement.  i'm standing in the same room as Kath Murdoch at the Igniting Inquiry Conference.  She is presenting with Misty Paterson.  Eek!  I can't believe I am here and meeting with her in-person again. 

Like many of us, I am always inspired by her ideas and touch on the learning community.  Thank you Kath for all you do!

New York City and I have a longstanding relationship.  I moved to Long Island, NY when I was just 18 years old to live with my older brother and his family.  It was a magical time of self-discovery and wonder.  

This was the time before cell phones and the internet.  You had a paper map of the city and your intuition.  I came to love everything about the place from the people, the noise, the pizza, and the bagels. More importantly, it was the first city that embraced me whole-heartedly and said, "Welcome Home."

As an adult, whenever I return I am filled with memories of my first love, my family, and my growth into a young woman.  I will forever be grateful for what NYC has taught me about myself, culture, and the arts. 

Here is another example of beauty which is the Grand Central Station.