As you know, I spent the week in Palm Springs, California at a PBL training.  I was so inspired and excited to be part of so many educators coming together to refine our craft of teaching in order to give our students and their families the gift of an education that...

"This is our big night.  It's time to show off all our hard work!"  Our little performers whispered (and shouted) such things as they anxiously awaited their big show on Thursday night. ​ Through my teaching career, I have had the privilege to serve a diverse...

A few of my main goals (and joys) as an educator are showing my students that they are capable of more than they think and inspiring them to explore new things, stay curious, and enjoy learning, investigating, and asking questions.  On Friday, PNA celebrated this in a...

It brings me so much joy as a teacher to hear my students whisper or exclaim, "This is the best day ever!"  It's a phrase I have heard repeatedly this year from our sweet little ones.  It is even more rewarding knowing that authentic and engaging learning and...

This week, we had a lot of events that took us out of our routine.  One of our sweet little ones asked me, "Why did you take us to Moon Mouse when we're not even studying space?!"  Aside from the fact that I love that our little ones know we usually have guest...

As I mentioned in two of my previous blog posts, I recently read an article from The International Literacy Association, "Creating Passionate Readers Through Independent Reading," that confirmed my philosophy of best reading practices, practices that PNA embraces as...

Part of the authenticity aspect in project based learning is having students follow real-world processes, the same processes that scientists, authors, readers, and engineers follow.  During our Iditarod sled build, we follow the engineering design process. First, I...

According to the Buck Institute for Education, the leading resource for PBL, projects should be launched with entry events.  Regarding entry events, BIE says:  "Rather than simply announce a project, we can generate interest by creating a special event that takes our...

As I mentioned in my last blog, I recently read an article from The International Literacy Association that confirmed my philosophy of best reading practices, practices that thankfully PNA embraces and that teachers implement in each of the classrooms through the...

Every year on Martin Luther King Day, Pacific Northern Academy has an assembly to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  This year, student council planned the annual event with a beautiful assembly and a "day on," in which students learned about Dr. Martin Luther King,...