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Latest Episodes:

The LED Project #79: Everyone Matters w/ Greg Smedley-Warren Jul 14, 2018

Show notes

On this episode we are joined by Greg Smedley-Warren of The Kindergarten Smorgasboard! Greg is an incredible kinder teacher in Nashville and has created The Elevate Conference and The TKS Bootcamp, a math and literacy program for elementary school. During our conversation Greg discusses the immense diversity of Nashville and how he creates relationships with students in a class that has students who speak six different languages. He talks about how he overcomes the language barrier by being deliberate and explicit when building relationships with kids. His tip--eat lunch with your kids. Greg does every single day!! Greg also speaks on the need to take risks as teachers and invite the failure that can often times result from those risks. To round out the conversation he talks about his Elevate events and how teachers are using the TKS Bootcamp. We're so grateful to Greg for coming on the podcast and for the contributions he makes to education everyday! Here's how you can learn more about Greg and The Kindergarten Smorgasboard: https://thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/bootcamp https://thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/ https://www.elevateyourclassroom.com/ On Social Media: The Kindergarten Smorgasboard

The LED Project #78: Call Us Leaders w/ Zach Lois Jul 12, 2018

Show notes

On this episode we had the distinct honor of talking with former Special Forces Soldier turned middle school history teacher Zach Lois. During this conversation Zach talks about how his time in the military and the lessons he learned has impacted him as a teacher. After growing up in Southeastern Wisconsin Zach as traveled the world during his military service and that experience has shaped how he approaches education. This episode is filled with practical wisdom for teachers, but what stood out most to us was his belief that every teacher should be called a leader. We 100% believe this to be the case and hope after this episode we all take a more active role as leaders for our schools and students. Thank you again to Zach for his service and for sharing his story on the podcast! You can follow Zach on Instagram @classroomcommando Thank you so much for your support of the podcast! Please feel free to reach out with any questions: Email: podcast@theledproject.com Instagram: @valueaddsvalue and @its.wil.law.iii Twitter: @valueaddsvalue and its_wil_law_iii Facebook: Lighthouse Educator Development

The LED Project #77: Let Education Mend Our Nation w/ Allegra Levine Jul 10, 2018

Show notes

On this episode of the podcast we're joined by Allegra Levine who is an English Teacher in NYC and the founder of Teach To Teach. Allegra's slogan for Teach To Teach "Let Education Mend Our Nation" and she does so by donating one book to a school in need for every item bought from her store. Not only does Allegra have an incredible mission, but she also is a dedicated educator. During our conversation she talks about the need to give students freedom when it comes to writing and how through writing she can help them advocate for themselves. Allegra also stresses the need to surround yourself with great people as an educator because as she put it, "Your reputation is who people think you are, your character is who you really are." This was such an enlightening conversation and if you haven't checked out the work that Allegra is doing you owe it to yourself to do so! Here's how you can connect with Allegra: https://teachtoteachshop.com/ Instagram: @teach_to_teach Know any great educators that deserve to tell their stories on the podcast?! Please let us know! Email: Podcast@theledproject.com Instagram: @valueaddsvalue and @its.wil.law.iii Twitter: @valueaddsvalue and its_wil_law_iii Facebook: Lighthouse Educator Development

The LED Project #76: Art with Mrs E. Kaitlyn Edington Jul 08, 2018

Show notes

On this episode Kyle is joined by Kaitlyn Edington! We're sorry Wilkie was busy during the recording, but making his wife's anniversary present to precedence over the podcast this time. We wish we could have gotten this episode out to you before we went to Teach Your Heart Out, but we can assure you that Kaitlyn is even more wonderful in person than she is on the podcast. During our conversation we talked about her experience leaving home to teach in another state and how that shaped who she is as an educator. Kaitlyn speaks beautifully during the podcast on how kids lose their desire for the arts as they start to become more self conscious of their work and others opinions of it. And we finish up the conversation with how adults can benefit from pursuing the arts. It was such a fun conversation and we were so lucky to get to meet Kaitlyn in person last week! To connect with Kaitlyn follow her on Instagram @artwithmrs.e!!

The LED Project #75: Life with Sprinkles w/ Nicki Dingraueto Jul 05, 2018

Show notes

On this episode we're joined by The Sprinkle Topped Teacher herself Nicki Dingraueto! This was such a fun conversation for us as she shares our love of fitness and sweets! During our conversation Nicki talks about how she incorporates movement and flexible seating to keep kids engaged in learning and how those things have increased her students success. She has also been a vocal advocate for teachers in Arizona's Red For Ed Movement and encourages all teachers to get the mental health support that they need. When it comes to teachers who are protesting Nicki emphasizes that in every state where there have been protests it has been about much more than teacher salaries. Nicki talks about the lack of resources students are facing across the country and why it a necessity that students get the resources they need. Our favorite pieces of advice from Nicki-- surround yourself with good people and eat more donuts!! We're so grateful for Nicki coming on the show and we're excited to let you listen to her story! Follow Nicki online as The Sprinkle Topped Teacher and shop her TPT store https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Sprinkle-Topped-Teacher

The LED Project #74: Teach Your Heart Out Day 1 Jul 04, 2018

Show notes

Here is our reflection on Day 1 of Teach Your Heart Out Las Vegas. To put it mildly it was one of the most powerful experiences we've ever had. We'll be back next week with more reflections, but we can not stress enough that every teacher needs to be a part of this community. Follow them on social media or go to their website https://www.teachyourheartoutcon.com/ To get this shirt go to https://thewrightstuffchics.com/collections/t-shirts

The LED Project #73: Maneuvering the Middle w/ Noelle Pickering Jul 03, 2018

Show notes

Noelle Pickering is a former middle school math teacher who now blogs and creates online resources and training at https://www.maneuveringthemiddle.com/. During our conversation Noelle talked about how math skills are still critical even though we have tools that can solve "math problems" for us. She tells a funny story of needing a moving truck and the customer service representative not understanding how the basic dimensions determine whether things like beds and couches would fit. After talking about some of her favorite math resources we asked Noelle about how she creates classroom organization. Her answer, "find your pain point when it comes to organization and fix that first." We think this is such good advice because it is hard to solve any problem if you haven't first identified the pain point. We are so grateful that Noelle spent time with us and if you want to connect with her she can be found as Maneuvering The Middle on social media. Let us know how we're doing and who you'd like to have us interview: Email podcast@theledproject.com IG: @valueaddsvalue Twitter: @valueaddsvalue Facebook: Lighthouse Educator Development Website: theledproject.com

The LED Project #72: Social and Emotional Learning w/ Rebekah Ozuna Jul 01, 2018

Show notes

Rebekah Ozuna is a Pre-K teacher in San Antonio, Texas, who has an incredible passion for social and emotional learning. During our conversation with Rebekah she discussed how some students are not sheltered at home and they come to us in a very raw state. Rebekah beautifully lays out how we must first provide for the social and emotional needs of our students before we can address their academic needs. Rebekah says that even in the Pre-K setting how we model appropriate social and emotional skills goes a long way in teaching our students how to handle those situations. Rebekah is the head of the Aspen Institute's Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development where they are working to understand the needs of our students on all levels and she brings that experience to this powerful conversation. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did! Here's how you can learn more about and connect with Rebekah: IG: @missozuna https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/national-commission-on-social-emotional-and-academic-development/

The LED Project #71: Redefining Success w/ Eric Crouch Jun 24, 2018

Show notes

We were so lucky to have the opportunity to talk with Eric Crouch who we're so excited to meet this week at Teach Your Heart Out Las Vegas! As Eric said it was so fun to get to talk shop with one of the most dynamic educators we've met. During our conversation Eric talks about the pillars of his teaching-- collaborate, communicate, critically think. He uses these as the basis for most everything he does in the classroom and finds that they increase the student buy in. If you don't follow Eric on social media you should because not only is it funny and insightful, but much of what he puts out is made by students in his film editing club. Eric talks about "the vulnerability of video" and how he believes video is an asset that, "allow bulletin boards to come down and be replaced by windows." Eric strives with his students to give the choice and stake in the success of the classroom and it is something we can all benefit from learning more about. We hope you enjoy this episode of the podcast and thank you so much for tuning in! To follow connect with Eric: Instagram: @adventureswithmrc and https://www.youtube.com/user/manningexpress1

The LED Project #69: Find Your Tribe w/ Erica Bristor Jun 24, 2018

Show notes

Erica Bristor is a Pre-K teacher in our beloved HTX and fellow lover of all the food Houston has to offer! During our conversation with Erica (IG: @missbristorsbusybees, TW: @ericabristor)she describes what the world of Pre-K is like to two guys who have very little knowledge of it. She emphasized for us that its not just coloring and recess, but that she strives to create habits with her kids the most important of which are developing their reading skills and social courtesies. Erica and Kyle share the experience of moving to Houston without knowing a soul and how proud they are of that choice. Erica also stated that although we have a long way to go in making our educational system what it should be we all must remember that we are making a difference. And she points out that no matter what goes on outside of our rooms we are always in control of what we do within our four walls and how we serve our students. Finish it up with her three favorite Houston restaurants and you have a recipe for a great podcast! Thanks again for supporting the podcast! We will be making some big announcements in July so stay tuned to see what else we've been up to in 2018 and where we are going in 2019!

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