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"I stuck to it until I got it done." That's my dad, sharing a few of his stories of being in the United States Navy in the 1960s.  Growing up I experienced first hand his determination, his grit, and most certainly his pride in our country.  On this episode, my daughter Reilly and I sit down with our favorite veteran on Veteran's day November 11, 2024 to ask a few questions about what it was like to go through boot camp and live on the bottom of an aircraft carrier.  My dad shares his experiences from "A School" becoming a Machinest Mate, restoring the USS Beverly Reed, bunk rooms, mess halls, and powering the USS Forrestal aircraft carrier from the engine room.  AND dating my mom before their was a world wide web, email, or smart phones...waiting in line at a payphone, and the art of the a love letter.   A year later, Veterans Day, November 11, 2025 we release this episode in honor of my dad, and all active service members.  Today is a day we set aside to honor you - but let's remember that gratitude doesn't live on a calendar.  Every day is an opportunity to thank someone for their service.  As you move through this day, pause for a moment of appreciation - and ask yourself, what will you do with the gift of this day to show your gratitude?   Thank you dad, I love you! Renee

I'm joined by my colleague Allison Herrick. We invite you to a discussion we've been having for several months - a hot button topic in the world of education - The Science of Reading VS The Science of Reading Movement.  Our goal in this discussion is to disrupt, perhaps agitate a bit...or simply - to invite curiosity, ask questions, and to think critically. What happens if we don't activate our critical thinking skills in the fast moving pace of information on a day to day basis? What happens if we read with only one perspective in mind? What happens when policy is made, decisions are made with one source of information? Together, we invite you to join the conversation, and build your critical thinking toolkit not only for the current trends and discussions, but also in our everyday lives.  Here are a few (friendly) reminders to help you practice critical thinking and critical reading: Find out before you flip out. "Say more about what you mean by..." Who conducted the research you're referring to? Who funded the research you're referring to? Get curious before furious. As a team, we actively seek information and research on many things, The Science of Reading movement included.  We've compiled a few that we'd like to share with you linked here.   Until next time, let's continue to read, write, and (critically) think together!

Join Reilly and Renee on the eve of her first day of first grade! Reilly shares ideas for teachers, students, and caregivers for how to handle big emotions that are normal, (and expected), when you start a new school year!

Join Reilly (and Renee) as they look back at her 6th year around the sun and look forward to her 7th year ahead! Reilly shares a few of her proud moments, new activiteis she tried as a 6 year old, a bit of her current reading life, and goals she's looking forward to taking on this year...and some sound advice to her (current) and future self.  Cheers to you Reilly! Happy 7th Birthday!

Meet Reilly Kate. She's 6. She's a reader. She's a writer. She's a thinker.  In this episode, Reilly selects a few pages from Hey Ant! to discuss the importance of understanding characters in the books we read. She looks closely at a few pages, and then connects the ideas to Ivy and Bean, and (of course) Harry Potter. When we have a process for thinking about characters in books, we also have a process for thinking about others in the world around us...but perhaps more importantly - about ourselves. "Books help you realize who you are inside. Books help me understand who I am." - Reilly

Ready to get ahead of the curve? Ready to disrupt antiquated systems? In this episode I'm joined by Meg Seitz, founder and CEO of Toth Shop, a communications agency that centers your voice and your story for entrepreneurs at all stages of development. Together, we demystify a few core entrepreneurial core concepts - mission, vision, goals, and messaging and how they can set you and your school community up for success. Join us to level up your leadership in ways that ground the year ahead in forward thinking, innovative  frameworks for growth, joy, and success!

There's a space between better and best...and that's where growth happens. Are you willing to hold space for the tension that inevitably accompanies growth? Change? Are you willing to muddy your clarity in the name of growth? Change? Brian Sepe joins the podcast and shares his vision for successful change agents - it's a willingness to suspend clarity, to get curious, to reflect, to live in the gray. Brian inspires us to bring our best every single day for kids. In our conversation, he explains that part of being our best is chasing progress one step at a time.

Brooke Geller and Renee Houser discuss their "Systems Thinking" approach to supporting school communities and leadership. Together they discuss finding your professional learning network, wise resistance, saying yes & figuring things out later, the importance of listening,  distributive leadership, and taking it all in one nibble at a time.   We can all leverage leadership. Join Brooke and Renee as they share lessons they learned from running in Central Park, eating pancakes, and serving one another as thinking partners.

I'm joined by Rachel Hatteberg Walt, the founder of Craftingood. Together, we discuss in this episode the importance of supporting the children in our lives to cultivate the spirit of gratitude which in return inspires a heart of generosity, compassion, and kindness. Rachel gives us the tools we can do this not only in the holiday season, but extend it throughout the entire year. We can use our talents and creativity to Craft Some Good for others!

Whether you're a caregiver supporting at home learning, a teacher thinking through remote, hybrid, or brick & mortar teaching scenarios, Chase, Sophie and their pack of puppets have something to offer all of us! I'm joined by educators and artists Sophie Meuch and Chase Woolner who share simple puppeteering strategies that we can add to our everyday life work with children that bring joy, engagement, and support their social and emotional learning.  Let's together think through the possibilities that puppets give us as an incredible opportunity to leverage the joy in learning. Let's imagine a pivot with puppets!

"How do you spell…" ever hear that question? Spelling is an interesting piece of the word study puzzle, and I'm grateful for educators like Pam who joins us on this episode! Pam Koutrakos is an educator, parent, consultant, and author of bestseller "Word Study that Sticks published by Corwin Literacy. Together, Pam and I think through practical, budget friendly, engaging, and fun experiences we can practice on a daily basis to foster and cultivate a curiosity of word awareness (and learning in general) for the children in our lives!

I'm joined by Bethanie Colwell who shares her story from teacher, to coach to edupreneur. Bethanie experienced a wake up call when a student she worked with took her life. This jolted Bethanie to ask us all, "What are we doing to support the children in our lives in ways that prevent the loss of life? What are we doing to support children so that that they can live out the fullness of their lives?" Bethanie urges us to consider designing learning, curriculum, and conversations that say - YOU MATTER! She's leading the way in a LOVE REVOLUTION...one inspired by beloved Fred Rogers who reminds us, "Knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the best opportunity for growing into the healthiest of people." Let's design safe spaces for all children to thrive through human connection, kindness, and caring for ourselves, and one another. Viva la revolution!

In this episode, my daughter, Reilly Kate joins me as my special guest. Reilly is a reader, writer, and thinker. In this episode she brings a stack of latest favorite books to read. We begin the episode (after a microphone test and exploration) with a discussion of Kelly Dipucchio's picture book: Gaston - a story about LOVE! Two puppies discover that family is less about appearances and more about love. Reilly shares with us several of her theories, ideas, questions, and wonderings about all things Princesses, the possibilities of a career at NASA, falling and getting back up. She's 4 soon to be turning 5. I'm 45. I'm biased, she's the best. I'm grateful that I get to be her mom! I can't wait to see what her 5th year around the sun will bring. Happy Birthday Reilly Kate! I love you!

Meghan Ryan shares with us her personal journey of dealing with her soul gunk. We've all got soul gunk! Soul gunk prevents us from seeing our privilege, our bias, our whiteness, our blind-spots, our racism. When we deal with our soul gunk, we're able to feel more fully ourselves. When we are fully present, we're able to see those around us. Meghan shares with us what she learned through her own journey and how it has helped her in over two decades of her clinical work of supporting adolescent and young adults navigate and manage their emotional literacy, advocate for themselves, and for one another.  Follow Meghan on Instagram @MeghanRyan

We are known by the stories we tell, so...are we telling them? How are we telling them? Why are we telling them? In this episode, we're joined by special guest Antonio Sacre. Antonio is a performing artist, author, and consultant to educators. He supports educators in thinking (of the many ways) how story fits into curriculum.  Now more than every, our stories matter. Whether we're teaching in brick and mortar classrooms, distance learning platforms, or at home learning...telling stories helps us to connect, focus, dream, and imagine the possibilities.  Thank you for joining Antonio and me as we together, think through the magic of story in our everyday lives. You matter, your voice matters, and therefore, your story matters...so tell it!