It’s “back to school time” and many educators are looking for activities to help them start the school year off on the right foot. Over the upcoming weeks we will be offering a series of posts focused on building a positive foundation for a productive classroom learning environment. Along with the upcoming activity posts, readers [...]

Check out yesterday’s Wood ‘N’ Barnes Friday Lesson Post. Inspired by Journaling in the Classroom: An educator shares how she has used journaling prompts from The Me I See, 2E with her students. Heidi Pauer, a High School Language Arts Teacher from Bow, NH, shared a couple of fun ideas with us. The first was [...]

This week The Firefly Group posted an article in their online newsletter about using the Miniature Metaphors Processing Tool.  Thanks to Brian Remer and The Firefly Group for your review! The Firefly Group works to create a collaborative learning environment by using playful methods. They work with businesses, non-profits, and government agencies in mission & [...]

Latest Wood ‘N’ Barnes Friday Lesson: Thoughts on Sharing Journal Entries With Others Excerpts from The Me I See: Click Here to Read Full Post

The Disappearance of Neighborhood Games of Kick-the Can, Part Two: Strategies for Helping Participants of All Ages Learn Through Play.   In Monday’s post I mentioned that I had observed a trend of children and adolescents missing out the development of important social & emotional skills because of a lack of time for “free play” [...]

In my work with students in a variety of schools and treatment programs I have noticed over recent years that they increasingly seem to struggle with group decision- making. I often observe students on the playground during recess coming to ask teachers for help in resolving even the simplest disagreements or conflicts. They often depend [...]

What is Experiential Education? How is it relevant to my work as an educator or counselor? The experiential approach to education and group work is based on the idea that change and growth take place when people are actively (physically, socially, intellectually, emotionally) involved in their learning rather than just being receivers of information. The [...]

Just recently I returned from a trip to Ontario where I had the honor of being this year’s guest speaker at the annual Adventureworks! Author’s Symposium.  I  appreciated the positive energy and enthusiasm of everyone who attended my  two workshops: The Art of Experiential Group Facilitation and Teachable Moments : Processing Tools  & Techniques. It [...]