It was August of 2006. I was shopping in the produce section of the grocery store when I received a call from a vice principal at a local high school asking if I’d be interested in applying for a half-time Career & Technical Education/Family & Consumer Science position teaching culinary arts and interior design. I will never forget that moment because it had taken me completely by surprise.  Five years prior, ​I had taught high school Family and Consumer Science in San Diego, but had decided to stay-at-home with our daughter, two at the time, when we made the move to Oregon. Our son was born a year later and I settled into life at home with our littles. I was content and hadn’t been thinking at all about going back to teaching, but something was beckoning me to pursue this call. My son had just started preschool, I would be teaching two subject areas I loved alongside my own high school Family & Consumer Science teacher, and I would still have flexibility to help in my children's classrooms. The weeks that followed were a whirlwind as I accepted the job and was swept back into the world of public education.

I'm so glad I decided to take that leap into the unknown. The past seventeen years serving in my district have been the most challenging and rewarding years of my life. I have taught thousands of amazing students, led both our CTE department and a small school within our high school, and transitioned to a district role as both a Tech Integration Specialist and Student Engagement & Professional Development Specialist. I've grown exponentially as an educator and leader as I’ve collaborated with incredible colleagues and have been led by amazing administrators that have mentored and supported me. 

To every colleague I've had the honor to work and collaborate with, to every school and district leader that saw something in me that I didn't, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will forever be grateful to all of you for believing in me, supporting me, and helping me grow into the educational leader I am today. It has truly been an honor to serve with you. It has been an incredible journey rich with memories that I'll always hold dear to my heart. It's hard to say goodbye, yet, suddenly I know..."It's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings" -Meister Eckhart

I recently had a 2 hour layover in the Seattle/Tacoma airport; one of my favorites because of the awesome food, live music, and the cutest little gift shop to browse in. I was perusing the jewelry in one of the many cases when a silver necklace caught my eye. It had two little bars hanging from a chain. The words were hard to make out, but when I put on my reading glasses I saw two little words etched in each.

Woah. If any four words in the English language could sum up my last 8 years, it is those. I was hit with a burst of emotion as so many memories of the risks I’ve taken began swirling in my head.

​First time trying a new edtech tool in my classroom
​First edtech conference
First time hosting a Twitter chat
First time flying alone
First time presenting at a conference
First blog post
First published book
First podcast episode
First keynote
...the list goes on​

More opportunities to leap
More people to learn from
More people to impact
More adventures
More passion
More joy
More magic

I admit there have been times that I have let my fear and insecurities almost convince me that I wasn't worthy or capable. There have even been stretches where I've let other's people's negativity and doubt, cloud my thinking and temporarily steal my joy. However, over time pushing past what was comfortable into the unknown has helped me to realize my own strengths and passions, discover truths about myself that I would have never known, and become more of who I was made to be.
​
As I look back on 2022, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all the risks I've said yes to that have led to incredible adventures around the globe, amazing new friendships, and magical opportunities.

 As I peer around the corner at 2023, I see a whole calendar year of adventure and dreams that are waiting for me. What adventures are around the corner for you? What dreams are waiting for you to pursue? What opportunities can you say yes to? What friendships are waiting to be developed?

And, yes. I bought the necklace and have worn it almost every day since. Will you say yes to the risk? You never know what magic awaits.

Co-Written with, Tara Martin @TaraMartinEDU
What?
The #GratitudeSnaps Challenge is as easy as 1-2-3. Focus each day on one thing for which you are grateful.  It could be a thing, a person, a feeling; it’s personal to you.
Who?
Educators, students, community members...anyone who would like to participate is more than welcome. The more positivity we can flood the world with, the better. ​
How?

1. Create a GratitudeSnap by connecting it to something positive in your life.  Add pics, text, anything you choose.
2. Take a picture with your phone and share why this image makes you grateful. You can use any picture app or design platform to create your #GratitudeSnaps. Tara will be using SnapChat and Tisha will be using Canva. Click this link for many apps used to make #BookSnaps, which can easily convert to #GratitudeSnaps. ​

Where?
Post it to Twitter including #GratitudeSnaps & tag us @TaraMartin EDU and @tishrich.
When?
Let’s begin our 24-days of #GratitudeSnaps on Tuesday, Nov 1st, 2022. It will last until Thanksgiving, November, 24th. You're welcome to keep it going; there is certainly no "time frame" on being grateful. The world has plenty of negativity, let’s spread a grateful attitude! We have so much of which to be thankful.

I was at Target recently and found this awesome 12-sided foam die for $3! Each side has a different exercise. Ie. 10 burpees, 25 crunches, 10 squats, etc.

If you can’t find this 12-sided die, I also found this version at Amazon, for $8.88. Alternatively, you could buy a 4-sided dry erase die at Dollar Store or on Amazon and write a different exercise and rep amount on each side. You could write wild on one side, if you wish to add some chance!

Instructions:

1. Set a timer for the amount of time you have to exercise: 10, 20, 30 minutes or more.
2. Roll the die and complete the exercise it lands on. 
3. Roll and repeat until time is up!

There are so many reasons to love this! The die is foam so can easily pack in a suitcase for travel, the movements don’t require equipment or a lot of space, and you can adjust the time. You could even double the movements, if you chose or create your own variations!

When we can add a little chance to our workouts, it can make it just a bit more fun! I'd love to hear your ideas for gamified twists on your favorite workout! Reply or share on Twitter or Instagram using the #MLmagical hashtag!

Over the course of a week I noticed many of my friends on social media were posting a perplexing grid of squares in yellow, grey, and green with a secret number code. The more I saw it, the more intrigued I became.  I couldn't figure out what it was that was filling my Twitter feed, but I was intrigued! 

By the seventh day, I couldn't take being in the dark any longer...I had to know! After a little Google research, I had solved the mystery and discovered the daily web-based game, Wordle. The instructions were simple and in a matter of minutes, I had joined millions of others in guessing the word of the day. It has now become a morning tradition to play a game of Wordle along with my morning coffee. This is why I love it, and also why I think it has become so popular so fast.

Community
Just as my curiosity was sparked by seeing the grids appear in my Twitter feed, I also felt like I was missing out on something special. There was a community of people that knew what the secret code meant and I wanted to be a part of it. Also, every day everyone in the world playing gets the same word. So when you share out your grid on social media, everyone is comparing your daily stats to their own. It gives everyone a sense of camaraderie to know the experience is shared.

​Common experiences bond us and make us feel like we belong. When we create a sense of community in our classrooms, students feel like they are part of a family. Incorporate shared experiences that make all students feel a sense of belonging and you will find that your classroom will become a very special community of learners that grow together.

Strategy
When I talk to other Wordle players, I am often asked, "How do you pick your first word?". Some pick at random, some have the same they use every time. Regardless, every player develops a strategy for what word will be entered first in hopes to increase the probability that the word will be guessed in the fewest amount of tries.

​When we strategize, we are critically thinking about the game and what is going to generate the best outcome. When we teach students to strategize, we are helping them develop important skills that will empower them as learners.

Chance
Regardless of the strategy you use to select your first word, there is still an element of chance involved. You may select a word that just happens to include 3 or more of the correct letters, or you may strike out and not get any letters correct at all. This levels the playing field knowing that even the most strategic and skilled wordsmith, may have an unlucky day.

​When we incorporate some elements of chance into learning, it adds agency and fun. Add a gamified twist to a lesson by adding dice or a spinning wheel and student engagement will soar!

Scarcity
No matter how much you love playing Wordle, you only get one shot a day. This increases the stakes a bit, knowing that the daily word puzzle will only be available to figure out once. One chance to play; one chance to share with the world. The good news is, there is always tomorrow.

It's a lesson in supply and demand. When items are limited, we are much more interested in them and their value is at a premium. What if we created exciting learning experiences in our classroom that are only available for a "limited time"? How much more interested would students be in the learning?

Intuitive
The directions were short, full of visual graphics, and easy to understand. I was playing within a few minutes. If the directions were difficult to understand or too lengthy, I may have decided to pass no matter how curious I was. See the actual directions from the Wordle site below. 

Finding ways to make learning intuitive for students is so important. Break down instructions into its simplest form, add pictures, and keep it short. This can make all the difference in how confident and comfortable students feel approaching the learning.

Free Access
Wordle is accessible on any web-based platform, and it's free. Enough said!

Equitable access is critical in learning. Do all our students have access to the experience we create for them? Making sure every student has an equal opportunity to learn and access the tools we give them is vital. If students can access the learning in class, but not all have an opportunity to access it from home, it creates an unfair learning environment for our students. Being mindful of this when we create our lessons, is so important.

Like any game that I play, I am always trying to figure out a way to bring it into learning. I have created a template in Canva that you can play in any classroom. See the video below to learn how to play.

Wordle & Pico Fermi Bagel-Inspired Canva Templates
Below I have shared two different game templates to use with your students. The first one is the Wordle-Inspired Canva template. The second one is very similar, but you play with numbers instead of words! The directions for each are in the first slide of the template. Simply click on the button below and you will have your very own template to use with your students!

Have fun and share out your ideas on Twitter and tag me: @tishrich!