While homework aids students with repetition exercises and memory, it can often limit evening family time. These three strategies will help children succeed in school without homework.
Dear White Teachers, Are you like me, a white teacher in a classroom with mostly students of color? Do you feel secretly uncomfortable at the idea of talking about race in the classroom? Keep reading...
"One of the most successful research-based strategies I used in my classroom was free and only took 30 seconds." Curious? Keep reading.
We recently read Eric Jensen's book, "Teaching with Poverty in Mind". Find out more about why we love the concept of the emotional keyboard.
Nutrition is a vital part of a child's development. For children living in poverty, there are obstacles that prevent access to healthy food, which in turn affects their performance in school.
In this post, we discuss the inherent bias in standardized tests and how students' life experiences and socioeconomic situations affect their ability to perform on standardized tests.
How much does it cost to educate a child in poverty? We break down school funding and look at the effect of poverty on education cost.
How we talk about poverty matters. In this post, we take a look at how we define and talk about poverty.
Both boys and girls bully and are bullied. In this post, we take a look at some key differences in how boys and girls bully.
Taylor Freeman shares a powerful story about a time when she asked students to line up by gender... and what she learned from it.
Spaces and places, and how we move within them, are deeply rooted in gender. In this post, guest author April Larremore asks if these spaces are serving boys and girls equally. Read more...
Continuing to learn about how gender plays a role in education, I recently visited Young Men's Leadership Academy, and all-boys Middle School located in Southern Dallas. Read more about my visit.
I recently toured Solar Preparatory School for Girls, an elementary school in the Dallas Independent School District. Read my thoughts about this amazing all-girls campus!
It is widely accepted that careers in STEM fields are dominated by men, and that women and girls do not pursue these fields at the same level as their male peers. Through my research and practices, I want to share seven ways to help girls gain interest in STEM. Read more...
Today's conversation is with Mr. Jim Taylor, director of admissions at Cistercian Preparatory School, a small, private, all-boys school in Irving, Texas. Read more about what makes a boy's school unique...
It’s common to walk into an elementary school classroom and hear a teacher say, “Good morning, boys and girls!” Is there any harm in this approach? Let's take a look at the research.
This post comes from former Momentous School teacher, Jorgelina Marin, on helping students' develop a strong sense of self.
As adults, one of our first instincts is to protect and comfort children who are afraid. But that instinct can be challenging when a child’s fear is real, and there’s nothing we can do to protect them from it. One big area where we see this fear is around the topic of immigration. Keep reading...
Misconceptions and misinformation can quickly become the norm if educators do not address differences within a classroom. Here are some tips for how teachers can be proactive in the process of talking about race and ethnicity in the classroom.
"We were on a seventh grade class field trip. I don’t remember where. I do however, remember being in the elevator. He stood behind me and touched my body, without my consent." Read on...
For some back-to-school motivation, watch this story of how relationships make all the difference.
Make yourself comfortable and enjoy this full tour of our elementary lab school, where we focus on social emotional health in concert with rigorous academics.
It’s back to school season, which means teachers everywhere are setting up classrooms and getting ready for the new year. At Momentous School, August means home visits: a week-long excursion visiting every student in his/her home. Keep reading...
The students at Momentous School are hard at work on their summer reading. And we know they're enjoying it, because we can see their progress! Read more about how we went digital with summer reading...
We made an intentional shift in the way our cafeteria works and it’s made a world of difference. Keep reading...
"It wasn't too far into the year when Cristina considered quitting her job. She loves teaching and knows that it's her passion in life. But this student had pushed so many buttons that she thought it might be time to walk away." Read more...
Teachers often set expectations for students. But another step is sometimes left out: expectations for the teacher. Read more!
We don't like to play favorites, but... we do love this classroom! Join us for the next stop on our tour of Momentous School.
We’re big on parent involvement at Momentous School. Learn about how we involve families in our school community through our Parent Center.
Ever heard a teacher say, "Please don't touch the walls"? At Momentous School, we say, "Go ahead! Touch the walls!"
As part of our tour of Momentous School, read about our huge entry art project designed by school families.
Want to know more about what happens in our elementary school? Join us as we showcase our work and strategies in action.
Dive deeper into our relationship with Susan Kaiser Greenland by reading about our recent Skype session.
Our Director of Education Sandy Nobles shares more about our in-depth work with Susan Kaiser Greenland. Read more...
Learn how one teacher overcame the urge to yell when frustrated, and how that impacted her classroom.
"We were blown away by their responses." Read more about this amazing brain project!
Momentous School families write vision statements for their children. Watch this video to learn about the incredible impact this has on our families and teachers.
Momentous School teachers visit each student in his/her home at the start of the school year. Watch this video to learn more about the impact that home visits make on the kids, parents, and teachers all year long.
Our students spend more time in our classroom than they do even with their own families. How can we make this home away from home a comfortable place? Try this simple idea from our fourth grade teacher, Kim Robinson.
All year long my fifth grade class talks about champions. What is a champion? Are champions only athletes? Are champions only famous people? Heavens no! All of us can be champions!
In the number one most viewed TED talk of all time, Sir Ken Robinson argues that schools are killing creativity. Read on to learn more about this message, and a chance to hear from Robinson in person!
Instead of returning an assignment with a bunch of red marks, try this strategy to help build grit.
What makes Momentous School so unique? Experience a day in the life with this video.
A Momentous Institute intern asks her fellow college students about social emotional health. What does she discover in their responses? Read on.
Momentous School teacher Jennifer Hartmann shares a strategy she uses to help kids express their appreciation for each other.
Momentous School teachers Sarah and Rene think that every school should have a gratitude tree. Read on to see why.
Watch this short video on how Momentous School's principal, Sandy Nobles, uses social emotional health strategies to reinforce positive discipline.
Learn how Momentous School teacher used mindful observation with her fifth grade scientists.
Momentous Institute's Director of Education shares how she approaches discipline with social emotional health in mind.
Momentous Institute staff and students share the definition of empathy.
Before the start of each new academic year, Momentous School teachers visit students at their homes. This helps build a great relationship between home and school.
Learn more about how Momentous School visits each of our Pre-K families in their home throughout their first year. Home visits help strengthen the parent-school connection and set students up for success both at school and at home.
Flash Focus on Relationships, a presentation from staff at Momentous Institute. Jennifer Hartmann shares about Relationships: The Difference that Makes a Difference.
What is a typical day for Momentous School? Check out this video to learn more about how we infuse social emotional health into everything that we do.
We believe that all parents truly want the best for their children and have high hopes and dreams for their futures. At Momentous School, we ask all parents to complete a vision statement for their child. We use these to help guide our students and to refocus on the big picture if things go off-track. We encourage every school to add vision statements to their beginning of the year routine!
Want to know how we incorporate mindfulness into the classroom at Momentous School? Watch this short video to learn more.
Learn more about Momentous School, a lab school in Dallas, Texas dedicated to social emotional health.
We're all familiar with classroom agreements, but have you considered adding agreements for what students can expect from their teacher? Learn more in this quick video.
3 self-care practices to help teachers prepare for the upcoming school year.
Classroom expectations and procedures for teachers to consider in preparation for the school year.
Most teachers are familiar with the classic clip chart, a behavior management technique designed to help students control their behavior and make good choices. Flip the Clip turns this concept into a method that is positive, respectful and results in a classroom culture with strong social emotional health.
Momentous School 3 year olds perform "The Brain Song" by their teacher, Juanita Cabrales. Enjoy!
Testing can be just as stressful for teachers as it is for our students, so it's important to remember to take time for ourselves during this time.
The glitter ball is our favorite strategy for helping kids understand the power of breathing to calm their big emotions.
Try using Friendly Wishes to have your students practice empathy for their friends and classmates!
One of the keys to building safe relationships with students is making sure the adults on campus have safe relationships among themselves. Vickie Echols fills us in!
Harllee's new principal, Amber Shields, talks about her excitement in starting her first year as Principal for Harllee Early Childhood Center and working with Momentous!
When hoping to build safe relationships with a new class after summer break, it's important to consider your space (the learning environment) and time!
Ruptures and mistakes can be fairly common to classrooms and, although they are unfortunate, they can be used to further build repairs with your students by focusing on repairing those mistakes or ruptures.