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Teaching the Good Stuff

Info and ramblings from teaching and learning about trauma, play, and nature

A little bit about me…

I’m a Student Advocate teacher on a quest to research all things trauma, play, and nature. I live the southwest suburbs of Minneapolis with my husband (Scott) and my two children. In attempt to keep myself accountable, I started this blog to document random thoughts and epiphanies from reading, learning and teaching. I’m a believer in fresh air breaks, letting kids lead, play in the classroom, the importance of recess, and teaching kids how to regulate through hard places.

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  • Just for Five Minutes
    As a teacher who helps coordinate recess, I spend a lot of time on the playground. I can’t tell you how many times a day a student approaches me with a bumped knee or upset stomach (Tire swing. Every time.) I know that sending that child into the nurse will not only significantly cut theirContinue reading “Just for Five Minutes”
  • Running Up the Slide
    A few years ago I took my youngest, Auggie, to a playground nearby. I chased him around for a bit, and then watched as he attempted to play with the two or three other kids at the park. Inevitably, he ended up at the big twisty slide. First standing at the top and throwing aContinue reading “Running Up the Slide”
  • I Love You, Mom…and the Tesla
    We recently traveled as a family to Florida. Four days of volleyball nationals in Orlando, followed by three days at the beach in Sand Key near Clearwater. It was the perfect culmination to a fun but stressful end to my daughter’s club volleyball season. (November to June for the record!) We spent a lot ofContinue reading “I Love You, Mom…and the Tesla”
  • Yes, and…
    When my high school daughter was little she loved going to Cherry Berry. (Ok, she still does, but it was on another level of joy at five years old.) I can still picture her in deep contemplation, standing in front of the tall metal levers- debating over which frozen yogurt flavor to unleash in twisty strands.Continue reading “Yes, and…”
  • Unwavering
    I am in a season of auto pilot. Drive the kids, order groceries, make dinner, go to work, maybe sneak in a run or a workout. Repeat. We joke that we are day-by-day, planning the next day of coparenting and codriving. On top of that, this is the second weekend in a row, by sheerContinue reading “Unwavering”
  • Magnetic Goodness
    I’m starting this post with three stories: Here’s the first. Years ago I had a hard conversation with a friend at the time. She had been distant, so I summoned up my courage and asked if our friendship was ok. The floodgates opened and she responded with a laundry list of ‘offenses’ I had committedContinue reading “Magnetic Goodness”
  • She Sees the Thestrals
    She was another mom in a group of friends my daughter hung out with when she was little. I really enjoyed her; great sense of humor, always willing to have the girls get together, and pleasant to chat with. But there was a hesitancy about this mom friend. A slight pause, a glancing shadow crossingContinue reading “She Sees the Thestrals”
  • The Top Five
    Well people, we made it. Another school year down and I finally (finally) find myself in my happy place on the desk with a glass of raspberry iced tea. And although I am beyond exhausted, I am grateful and reflective about my first year in this position (K-5 Student Advocate/Social Emotional Teacher). I have neverContinue reading “The Top Five”
  • The Mystery in the Field
    “We need your help, Mrs. Wangen!”, I heard as two kindergarteners pulled on each of my arms, dragging me across the snowy field just beyond the Sweeney Elementary blacktop. I approached a huddle of eight or nine stocking-capped heads hunched over a spot in the snow. “We found something!”, one of them smiled up atContinue reading “The Mystery in the Field”
  • Olfactory Power
    Growing up, my grandparents always had a wood-burning fire on Christmas. I’m guessing the fireplace was used on other occasions, but to this date my childhood mind can only recall Christmases. I could smell it when we pulled up, my sister and I clutching our most treasured doll or Fisher Price speciality from the morningContinue reading “Olfactory Power”
  • Taking Up the Gaps
    Embarrassingly, I’ve written about my Costco aversion before. Probably more than once. But with Walmart and any mall a close second, there is nothing else that sends me into a cold sweat of panic. My logical-minded husband doesn’t quite understand my neuroses, in fact, Costco is his happy place. He makes a big event, takingContinue reading “Taking Up the Gaps”
  • Perfectly Sucky
    Back in October, 2015, I carried a newborn Auggie in his bucket car seat through a blustery parking lot and into the doors of a local mom’s group. I settled into the squishy floor seats with a group of ten or so other new moms and smiled at the room. Because Auggie was adopted, IContinue reading “Perfectly Sucky”
  • Exhausted and Thankful
    Well, I knew it. Without the luxury of space and time, the writing falls to the wayside. These days the question I’m asked most frequently (besides, ‘where is Charly going to high school?’) is ‘how is your new position‘? My usual response is ‘busy’. Often followed by elaborations of ‘eye-opening’ and ‘the needs out thereContinue reading “Exhausted and Thankful”
  • The Other Side of the Glass
    Last weekend I chiseled tiny specks of white paint off the windows in our cabin shed. Having recently mastered (or survived) our first attempt at using an electric paint sprayer on the small interior walls, fine sprays of white splatter somehow evaded our protective newspaper and clung to the glass in clusters. Every time IContinue reading “The Other Side of the Glass”
  • Declarations from the Deck on a Thursday Night
    My second year of teaching, my principal called me into her office at Arkansas Elementary in Aurora, Colorado on the tenth day of school. She grimaced in sympathy as she told me there was a staff overage and I was being transferred to another elementary across town. I thought. My life. Was over. There’s somethingContinue reading “Declarations from the Deck on a Thursday Night”
  • Throwing Fish
    I decided I was going to be a teacher during “I Have a Dream” week in third grade. By fourth grade I started my own babysitting business- perhaps under the literary influence of Kristy and her team of kid-kit wielding sitters in The Babysitters Club Series. (For the record I was NINE…so nobody hired me.)Continue reading “Throwing Fish”
  • Faith in Humanity
    The other night we headed down to the dock with armfuls of lifejackets for a post-dinner, pre-sunset pontoon ride; a family favorite. As we rounded the last leg of our slow cruise, the pontoon suddenly died. My husband and brother-in-law sheepishly hypothesized an empty gas tank while my mother-in-law shook her head in mock exasperation,Continue reading “Faith in Humanity”
  • Love Letter to Summer
    I’ve started three blog posts in the last month, only to abandon them halfway, the intense content eclipsing my drive to write; causing me to pause, only to start a new post the next week. I wouldn’t call it writer’s block necessarily…it feels more like writer’s overwhelm. But the need to write is bursting. LikeContinue reading “Love Letter to Summer”
  • Dopamine and Oxytocin
    *How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?…ten tickles. (tentacles) *Why does a mermaid wear seashells?… B shells are too small and D shells are too big. Ok, perhaps those fall in the category of “Dad Jokes” or groaners, but these last few days have reminded me of the necessity for laughter.Continue reading “Dopamine and Oxytocin”
  • When Does Learning Become a Delight?
    I despised them when I was in college. Sitting there, all fresh (NOT moving slowly this morning as a result of the kegger at Sigma Chi) in the front row of the lecture hall. Raising theirs hands, taking lengthy notes and having the audacity to….well, enjoy learning. They frequently asked long questions in the veryContinue reading “When Does Learning Become a Delight?”
  • Jerry Maguire Lessons
    I’ve always had a thing for movie quotes, tending to spout off a line from a movie- often at odd times when I should instead say something human. I’ve talked before about how I won Scott over on our second date with a line from ‘Dumb and Dumber’. (Clearly he had high standards.) But latelyContinue reading “Jerry Maguire Lessons”
  • The Troll Hand
    It was my senior year of undergrad at the University of Minnesota. My roommate Carrie and I walked to class; we were living off campus then, so we always parked in Dinkytown for free and walked into campus for our elementary education classes. We hurried quickly, running late as always, jumping over piles of late-fallContinue reading “The Troll Hand”