by Lynea Gillen | Aug 9, 2020 | K-12 Education, Parenting
The 6th grade students at the Outdoor School were looking at the results of water samples they had just taken when a great blue heron landed in a tree above our heads. All the children turned to gaze at it, their eyes huge with excitement. What is that? they wanted to...
by Lynea Gillen | Sep 15, 2019 | K-12 Education, Tips
A lot of folks seem to think that all kids have trouble shifting from unstructured summertime to the structure of the new academic year. Some do, of course. But when the first day of school rolled around here, my granddaughter Anna jumped out of bed, excited to get...
by Jim & Lynea Gillen | Feb 24, 2019 | K-12 Education, Physical Fitness
Physical education is a crucial part of a child’s overall education. It presents limitless opportunities for instilling healthy habits while supporting their growth and cognitive development. Yet ask a random group of adults what they remember about PE class, and...
by Jim & Lynea Gillen | Dec 16, 2018 | K-12 Education
Think back to when you were small and grownups asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up. Your answers probably changed a lot over time. One month, you wanted to be a veterinarian, the next, an astronaut. Or teacher. Or cowboy. Or scientist. Maybe you did grow...
by Jim & Lynea Gillen | Aug 19, 2018 | K-12 Education
In angry, challenging times like our own, it’s all the more important for us to pay attention to reminders of the best we can be. They are a source of hope, courage, motivation. And right now, we have a marvelous reminder in the acclaimed documentary Won’t You Be My...
by Jim & Lynea Gillen | May 6, 2018 | K-12 Education
When high school English teacher Brittni Darras learned that one of her students had tried to kill herself, she was grief-stricken. Darras had known her as “a friendly, intelligent, beautiful, driven, young woman.” As Reader’s Digest recounted, Darras felt helpless...