HAVING THE LIFE YOU WANT

This self-paced online course explores best practices for fostering inclusion, equity, and effective classroom management in early childhood and K-12 education. Through readings, videos, podcasts, and reflection-based assignments, participants will deepen their understanding of how to create calm, supportive, and inclusive spaces for all learners.

Key Learning Areas:

✅ Understanding Inclusion & Equity – Defining inclusive education and reflecting on personal beliefs and practices.
✅ Building a Culture of Belonging – Strategies for fostering student connection, equity, and care.
✅ Behavioral Supports & Responsive Relationships – Approaching challenging behaviors through relationships and culturally responsive strategies.
✅ Classroom Environment & Visual Supports – Designing physical spaces and routines that promote student independence and regulation.
✅ Teaching Behavioral Expectations – Using visuals, routines, and reinforcement strategies to maintain a structured classroom.
✅ Transitions & Daily Routines – Developing smooth, engaging transitions to support student regulation.
✅ Social-Emotional Learning & Peer Interactions – Encouraging collaboration, empathy, and social skill development.
✅ Advocacy & Equity in Education – Addressing systemic barriers and developing small-scale advocacy efforts to support marginalized students.

P.E. teachers want to start the year strong with many warm-up activities and games to keep students engaged. These activities are key with the purpose of assessing the class on how they can play team games, taking notes on which students may need extra help with certain skills, and lastly trying to get the students to interact with everyone in their class. During this course you will read articles and posts pertaining to the importance of P.E. in schools today. Participants will watch videos of activities I do with my classes and be able to incorporate them into your P.E. programs.

Do you want to feel more fulfilled, successful and joyful at work? Do you feel depleted energetically and overwhelmed by what is being asked and expected of you as an educator? Do you have the energy necessary to tap into your creativity, productivity, and optimism needed for excellent teaching and learning? Working with Elena Aguilar’s book, Onward, you will cultivate your emotional resilience to help you thrive as an educator.

Are you wondering how to generate a STEM buzz in your classroom? Tinkercad is an amazingly easy-to-use, powerful program for creating 3D digital designs that are ready to be 3D printed. This 3D modeling program empowers students to design all kinds of things, from custom homes to Mayan statue replicas, to cell models and engineered 3D-printed fidget spinners. 

This course is designed for K-12 teachers, both for a personal connection with nature and for helping students connect with nature. Teachers will explore the impact of the natural world on our bodies, minds, spirits, and overall sense of well-being. In addition, teachers will learn how being in nature benefits students, calms their nervous systems and enhances cognitive, observational, and creative problem-solving skills. 

Classroom Management is essential to the creation of a productive, creative and brave community. It is the bedrock to all the potential learnings that can be. However, it is one of the most nuanced and most difficult things an educator is called to do every single day. Our relationships with our students are the foundation for everything that happens throughout the day. Yet, it is incredibly challenging having to balance the many pieces of our job. Using the Responsive Classroom’s The Morning Meeting Book as our guide, we will dig into the purpose and execution of daily morning meetings in classrooms from grades K-8. 

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States. It is estimated that 18% of the population struggle with anxiety and depression. The course text by Dr. Drew Ramsey, Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety, aids us in establishing a path toward enhanced mental health through food.

Join this class to discover how to cultivate you and your student's right brain creativity and curiosity. Explore basic drawing skills and techniques while tapping into the Right Side of the Brain. You'll learn the fundamentals of creative right brain basic drawing, Gestalt, light and shadow, space, edges, and these relationships to each other while building creative drawing confidence.

This course meets OSPI's STEM requirements.

Looking to have both you and your students create lessons that are even more exciting, effective and interesting than what you doing right now?  Interested in matching those types of lessons with your current curriculum?  Ready to take your class to the next level? If you answered yes, then this course is for you.

With a simple video camera, computer and one of the many free media production tools available, anybody can become a video producer.  Now we can go beyond just the text and enter the visual.

All assignments are available online and designed to help you become a sophisticated producer one step at a time.  Assignments come complete with samples and suggested software. 

The evidence is incontrovertible: Aerobic exercise can physically remodel your brain for peak performance. Our text, SPARK presents startling research proving that exercise truly defends against ADD, depression, and aggression. Learn about amazing case studies: the revolutionary fitness program in Naperville, Illinois that made this school district's 19,000 kids #1 in science test scores in the world!

Have fun building art into your teaching by exploring Portland's extensive collection of public art. Course materials, tours of the city and the 'Percent for Art Program' will help you use historic murals, bronze and stone sculptures, paintings, carvings, ceramic tile work and more to enhance your elementary and secondary art and social studies programs. You will develop integrated art lessons that involve students in cooperative learning projects.