Tag Archives: KFP

Co-Pilots.

I’m sure many of us feel this way, but my project/curriculum would never have been conceivable had I not been partnered with the North Carolina Science Festival.

My mentors, Marissa Hartzler (NCSF K-12 Programs Coordinator) and Jonathan Frederick (NCSF Director) were instrumental in my creation of this curriculum and the success that came from it as I implemented it in my classroom.

With Marissa and Jonathan!
With Marissa and Jonathan!

Between the three of us, we were constantly exchanging emails with links and ideas for the curriculum. We would find an article that would link us to a video that would remind us of this other activity we saw on NASA’s website and the trail sharing continued. Marissa was an incredible sounding board for my ideas and brought a welcome perspective as a K-12 program coordinator and previous educator.

As I went about teaching my curriculum to my class last semester, I asked Marissa to come co-teach a lesson with me. She was able to come and work with both of my classes, which was amazing considering that’s two hours of time in a day that isn’t back-to-back. We discussed weather patterns and how weather impacts flight and launch dates/times, and she was able to discuss in more detail the current events we saw with the Antares rocket launch. We tracked the ISS with my kids and factored in the weather forecasts at the time, highlighting how there are people at NASA doing that very job in that very moment (needless to say, my kids thought that was one of the coolest things EVER).

Marissa also brought my kids a stuffed Kelvin, the NCSF mascot, for our classroom. Kelvin now hangs out in the front of the room and the kids LOVE having him as our class mascot. 🙂

Our class mascot (and the NCSF mascot) Kelvin hanging out with us at Astronaut Boot Camp!
Our class mascot (and the NCSF mascot) Kelvin hanging out with us at Astronaut Boot Camp!

The collaboration to make this curriculum happen has been unreal. I have been connected to people at Morehead Planetarium, librarians from across the state, UNC children’s literature experts, NCSU aerospace engineering students, and more — all thanks to the mentorship I’ve had with Marissa and Jonathan at the NCSF.

Huge ups to my mentors for all their hard work and flexibility throughout this project; couldn’t have done any of this without such incredible co-pilots!

The Air is Thinner Up Here

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So this is what it feels like up here, huh? On top of the world, on top of my education game, on top of a mountain.

I just spent a week in Cullowhee, NC at NCCAT with a group of some of the most fabulous educators I’ve had the privilege of meeting.

It’s kind of hard to put into words how perfect this past week was for me. I always feel like SUCH a nerd when I’m at school and in meetings with other teachers. I often feel over-zealous and almost misunderstood when I find so much joy and excitement in creating a really incredible, integrated project and discuss the infinite pleasures I find in my teaching profession.

How refreshing to be in the same room with almost 50 other people who feel the way I feel about all this — about reaching kids, about pushing students to achieve their fullest potential, about getting kids completely stoked about learning.

The number of take-aways from this past week are innumerable. I not only learned how to push my kids, but I pushed myself this week, too. The day we spent on the Nantahala River was definitely something out of my comfort zone — I’m not much of a swimmer, and with zero rafting experience and a terrifying “in case you fall out of the raft” video, I was feeling a tad apprehensive. If I could have flashed forward a couple hours from the start of the rafting experience, I would have NEVER imagined I’d be jumping in the river with a new best friend.

It was thrilling, it was cold, it was everything I needed.

I think one of my favorite things about this Kenan experience thus far is how it pushes me. I enjoy getting out of my comfort zone and learning and growing as a person and teacher, and this is the exact thing I needed right now.

Aside from channeling my inner-Bear Grylls on the river, I learned about a ton of new technology tools I can use in my classroom for myself AND my kiddos. It was so interesting hearing about a flipped classroom — I’ve heard of flipping before, but I never knew much about it and I certainly had no idea how I could (IF I could) ever do that in my third grade classroom. I love that there are options involved — I don’t have to flip EVERY little thing, but rather I can choose what to flip. Also, how brilliant is it to video a lesson to show your kids for when you’re absent?! Mind: blown.

It was also generally amazing to have the opportunity to connect with other Kenan Fellows, both past and present. How wonderful hearing about old projects, their impact, and the projects everyone is currently working on with their mentors! It was also neat connecting with people from my PLN on Twitter. I always knew that Twitter was an amazing platform for education, and there I sat with others I followed for so long. So grateful for you folks!

Even with all the negativity encompassing North Carolina education, I have so much hope. There is so much good happening with educators and in schools in this state, and I am beyond blessed and honored to call myself a Kenan Fellow with all you passionate, driven, stellar human beings.