Breakfast On The Farm 2025

Happy June Dairy Month; ours started off sweeter than a cup of Culver's custard because our family dairy hosted Brown County's Breakfast on the Farm on June 1st. Check out the news coverage {here} and {here}.

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Leaning In and Leading On

Where has the month gone? Is it Christmas week already?

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October Optimism

Happy October, dear reader; if you've been looking up,

you may have noticed that the skies have been stunning.

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Inspiring Gratitude Tears

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week 2022; today I'm feeling grateful for this invitation to share my reflections around gratitude and grief, around empathy and kindness on The Kindness Podcast with Nicole J. Phillips.

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Carried By Love

Today I'm reflecting on the messy and unpredictable grief journey.

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In The Missing

Today I'm working with intention to sit in the missing, reflecting

on the passing of not just one, but both of our youngest brothers.

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Who Needs A Pep Talk?

Happy Friday; quick check in to see who needs a pep talk?

First, click {here} to listen in on my Rise podcast episode

with Julie and Holly, my new friends in Illinois.

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In Your Element

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week.

Words don't seem sufficient to thank our educators

for everything they do every day, in their element,

but here's my attempt at expressing my gratitude.

Thank you, teachers; YOU are cherished and loved.

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PurposeFULL People Debuts

Happy May Day. 

Today I'm over-the-moon with gratitude and delight to help launch 

Character Strong's newest Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Character resource, their comprehensive K-5 Toolkit, PurposeFULL People.

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A Dozen Ways To Share Kindness

The belief that April showers bring May flowers 

has me thinking about this Karen Salmansohn invitation:

What if, when we shower people with kindness,

certain flowers (or other kind acts) would bloom?

Well, that's how the kindness boomerang works.

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Need Some Help?

Happy Easter weekend. How will you celebrate?

I'm still savoring this kind interaction from earlier this week

after we mowed the lawn for the first time this season.

The mist that dampened the air was gaining momentum; 

as John and I furiously worked to get the sidewalks swept, 

a sweet superhero came by on his scooter 

and waved as he slowly rolled by. 

I recognized him as Hudson, the neighbor down the street whom I'd met a few times before; I knew he was transferring to my former school, so I asked him how his school year was going and how he liked Bales. He asked what I like about being a school counselor and how long I had stayed at that job.

Then, as if out of the blue, I heard three of the kindest words: 

Need some help?

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Every-Day Magic

Today I'm excited because we're kicking off Season Two 

of our Character Speaks podcast with Carrie Taylor,

a passionate first-grade teacher up in Virginia.

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An SEL Smorgasbord

Today I'm energized because I've been working on my keynote

and breakout session for my trip to Indiana next week.

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Grow On The Go

Today I'm excited as I started the day listening to a podcast on my walk before church, grateful for the chance to grow on the go. And it gave me the idea to share my top six podcast picks. Click the picture to tune in and subscribe.

Counselor Hans Appel just launched this inspiring student-led podcast; soon I'll get to interview them on Character Speaks. Don't miss their episode with servant-leadership guru James Hunter.

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Be The MAGIC

Today I'm excited because comment #7 of the ten comments 

was chosen as the winner of a copy of Be Where Your Feet Are.

I love giving stuff away.

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#CharacterSpeaks Podcasting Joy

Today's excitement comes from a bold, scary step out of my techno-comfort zone; our first podcast is now live.

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Fostering A Can-Do Spirit

Today I'm excited because I was invited to talk about empathy, compassion and kindness on this Kindsight 101 Podcast. It was such a delight to visit with Morgane, the interviewer, who crafted insightful inquiries and totally knew her stuff. Grab some coffee or tea and click the image below to listen in.

I'm also tickled because my stuff is almost completely out of boxes from my move out of our Leadership Central learning lab. True story, it's very hard for me to let go of things, especially the hand-made cards of gratitude and love in my Smile File from my superheroes and ideas I thought I might need one day, like this ring that we picked up over a decade ago, when the kids and I took a Developmental Assets Walk with the Bay Area Alliance through Challenger Park. 

I'm pretty sure there were eight beads, because the idea was to stop at eight stations along the way, one for each of the Asset categories, and collect beads while talking with the person at that station about that Asset. I figured we could easily adapt this to our six-pillars framework, so I saved the beads that most closely aligned with our true colors and put it in a box with so many other treasured ideas, to try it one day. I advocated for a Pillar Power Walk many times, but to no avail. Still I kept this idea, perhaps for such a time as this. 

How would you use it in your character building? Could you give out beads as students go through your core values lessons? Could you host a Family Character Night and give families an opportunity to make these together? Could students collect beads with every stop on campus (classroom, library, music room, STEAM lab, etc) that they visit at Open House? Could there be a certain colored bead to align with the emotions or skills they've attained? Unlimited possibilities for these colorful rings that students can hang on their backpacks or use as a keychain. 

Today's picture book pick of the week by Julia Finley Mosca and Daniel Rieley came in the mail yesterday and I'm pretty jazzed about it, possibly since I always figured I wasn't a math person. {Turns out there's no such thing.} 

And probably because it's such an inspirational read.

Meet Raye Montague.

She's a woman.

She has dark skin.

And she's a whiz at math.

Back when she was growing up, 

those three things didn't add up.

It was during a time when inequality was amped up.

In fact, her genius was over and over again passed up.

But this can-doer never gave up.

This is her success story, spotlighting her big big dreams, how hard she worked to become an engineer, and what she endured and overcame to get the recognition she'd earned as the first person to design a ship using a computer. Check out this growth-mindset title; it'll inspire your can-doers to reach higher and never give up.

Our chapter book of the week was buried in my boxes

of stuff because I'd taken it to school to share it with

a few of my students and suggest it as a summer sizzler.

I even had this bookmark that my friend Paisley made for me

hanging out on the title page, to remind me

to share it with you, dear reader.

  But it got lost in the move, until yesterday.

It's a Fantástico race in a Grand Prix of the Food Truck kind,

which I struggled a little bit to explain to one of my

students on the autism spectrum as I was recommending it.

He couldn't understand how Food Trucks could go fast. At all.

Anyway, in this tasty treasure by Richie Frieman, 

Maddy dreams of buying herself a bike

and sees entering the Food Truck competition

with her brother Cole and her grandfather Pop Pops 

as an avenue to make that dream come true. 

This savory intergenerational tale finds the trio overcoming incredible odds and slowing down to go fast over 

those proverbial speed bumps in the road of life

to reach the finish line and realize those dreams.

Maddy finds out that it's going to take 

a can-do attitude,

a whole lot of perseverance and grit, 

and a little bit of magic.

Even unkind Kenny, one of Maddy's obstacles,

 might soften and sweeten a bit on the Prix path.

Check out this book; I predict it'll win a spot on your heart.

What are you go-to strategies for helping cut through I can't

and fostering a can-do spirit in your learners?

  

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