Here comes.. Whole30!

Feeling like you need a jump start to get the school year going in the right direction? 

I am the kind of person who needs a plan to stay on track. I need weekly grocery lists, meal prepping in advance, and yummy recipes. And what better time to get in a good routine than the start of a new school year? Enter: Whole30!

Starting Monday August 31, I am going to do another round of the Whole30. I did it for the first time back in May, and it was truly life changing. So, why not do it again! And recruit some of you do to do it with me :-) #togetherwearebetter

The Whole30 is not. a. diet. You can eat as much as you want - as long as you live within their "rules" - which is eating good, wholesome food. Yes, it will sound like you are cutting out a lot of your "favorites", but this is only 30 days! And as someone who has done it before, it is truly worth it! 

If this sounds like something you need in your life, then let's do it together!

In the words of Ryan Gosling... "So it's not going to be easy. It's going to be really hard. And we're going to have to work at this everyday but I want to do that... Will you do something for me? Will you just picture your life for me? What's it look like, 30 years from now, 40 years from now?..."

Yes, we CAN do this and we will!! And I've made it cute and easy for you with some <FREE> meal planning downloads!

But, while the planning guide will keep you going, I highly recommend you also purchase the Whole 30 Cookbook. It will answer all of your more detailed questions and give you yummy recipes to last you through all 30 days! 

Still not sure? Check out the Whole30 website, which has TONS of resources and support. Comment below if you plan on joining me for this journey! 

#MakerMonday

As part of my blog makeover, I came up with a few "themed" posts that I could do throughout the year.. so here is the first #MakerMonday!

I taught summer school this year, and this time invented my own classes to teach. I came up with an idea for a GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Math & Science) class, inspired by so many wonderful people and ideas, including Lindsey Petlak's STEMagination Station, Super Awesome Sylvia, Made with Code, GoldieBlox, and many more! I had two classes of wonderful girls, separated in grades K-1 and 2-3.  

If I could teach GEMS everyday of the rest of my life, I would absolutely, 100% do it! I had the BEST time! Each week brought something new, from using literature as inspiration for activities (like the Wizard of Oz, Mo Willem's Pigeon books, If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss, Harry Potter), to sew electric projects, Squishy Circuits, building with Goldie Blox, coding and programming robots, and more.  It is impossible to choose a favorite activity that we did, but just watching the building unfold out each day of simple items and a little bit of imagination was magical. These are a couple of our Animal Catching Machines from If I Ran the Zoo by Dr. Seuss:

They look simple, but the engineering, creativity, thought, and imagination put into them by kindergarteners melted my heart each day. 

Check out the <Tinker> section for some photos of the GEMS awesomeness! 

Blog Overhaul!

Hey everyone! I'm back... and I can't believe it has been since March since I last posted! #badblogger

I reflected about the reasons I stopped blogging back in March... 1) I was swamped at school and so busy teaching and learning that blogging got put on the back burner & 2) I realized that my blog was too narrow for who I am. Yes, I will continue to post tech tips, but there is so much more to technology integration than that.. and me!

So, I sat down yesterday and started hashing out a plan. The first thing I did, was make a big change by deleting the name "iWonder" and changing it to "iTeacher Lauren". This has been my Twitter handle for several years, and it was always the address this blog was at via Blogspot. I think it will open new windows of opportunity for me to post about much more than just tech tips! So the first thing I changed was the header and then....

<< I BOUGHT MY OWN DOMAIN!! >>

Yes, I now own iTeacherLauren.com!! So, make sure you bookmark it :-) 

Next, I realized my content tabs were irrelevant, so I decided to just do a complete design makeover. With our Learning Commons being built this summer, I want to post and share my experience teaching in a new, innovative space. I want to connect and collaborate with other educators about what they are doing in their MakerSpaces and how we can imagine new possibilities for our students. And overall, I just hope to inspire other educators! 

Now, let me tell you something. Until yesterday, I literally knew nothing about html code or using PhotoShop. But, I was determined to get this up and running before the craziness of the start of the school year, so I dug my heels in and got to work. I watched several tutorials on YouTube, got frustrated, and persevered to make it all happen. Yes, this was {yesterday} and today it is all up and running! Thanks to Ashley at Schroeder Shenanigans for inspiring me to SINGLE TASK!

In a nutshell, that's my short story of why I was determined to make a change, and I am {oh.so.happy} with the result. I hope you are too, and I am so excited to continue this journey!

Cheers to a fresh start and new beginnings!