PurpleBunnies

I love to 'fish.' I catch more of the bottom of the river and branches than I do fish. But, always an optimist, I seek the thrill of...

By Trisha Dotts, NBCT SEL/STEAM Deer Park Elementary School Deer Park, Washington Updated: a day ago #promising #brainHappy #education...

Have you ever been frustrated when the disruptive or students with learning disabilities seem to ruin your lesson? Teachers are weird. ...

I have this great friend. Chandra. She is happy to be one of those inspirational people who have a great attitude even though she...

Youthful Ideas It is important to respect the ideas of our youth. Their proposals are exciting and can be paradigm-shifting. Looking at...

For those grieving at the end of this school year. Equaling. I have never liked the idea of lowering a standard, or easing the...

As teachers, we are familiar with two, of many theories about human learning. 1) Bloom’s and 2) Maslow’s But, Maslow was wrong.

You’ve heard it. Child pitched with a bit of whine-- ”Stop it!” “You can’t sit there!” “Move over!” “You can’t start yet!” “But I want...

Our (Deer Park Elementary) students have been developing language and analyzing how empathy and compassion are necessary components of...

“I’m sorry.” Is this statement part of your classroom management language? As I write these thoughts out in print, I see why “I’m sorry”...

I just earned Purple Bunnies! A student shouted within 30 minutes of first hearing Purple Bunnies even exist. I thought, “Man, I wish I...

Are you wasting student's time? Man, this first couple of weeks is so exciting. We meet our students. Hopefully, meet our families and...

The last post introduced the idea of “Synergy” that the Deer Park Middle School Voices class organized in the school cafeteria. The...

Part 2. My last post covered our middle school’s first Synergy event. Hosted by Voices of DPMS. Each week at our middle school, a small...

Part 1. Each week at our middle school, a small group of 8th-grade students (Voices) leads the whole school in building relationships and...

DPMS Voices In the previous post, I introduced our school’s model for reaching every student with Social Emotional learning through peer...

Voices of DPMS To increase the quality of peer relationships, my middle school developed a special program for our students in North...