On my coffee table

I will be the first to admit that I don’t usually sit down to read leisurely books. As of late, I have been more into podcasts (I’ll do another post all about that too). I have a tendency to read books about education and varied practices in the classroom. Over the years, I have collected quite a few books and I would love to share them with you! Most can be found on amazon* (and my coffee table) at a reasonable price.

1.The Playful Classroom by Jed Dearybury and Julie Jones, PhD.

The book starts off with the first chapter titled, “The Case for Play” and boy does it deliver. One of the things I love about the authors is they aren’t afraid to get into the research and details about play and why less play in the classroom is failing our children and education. Jed and Julie walk the readers through their life experiences, researched based activities and how to implement this in your classroom the next day. This book is an easy read, because the authors write as though you are having a cup of coffee with a good friend.

2. Balanced and Barefoot by Angela Hanscom

This book is a phenomenal approach written by a pediatric occupational therapist. Angela noticed that children started falling out of their chairs more often, lacking basic sensory skills. More children were becoming enrolled in occupational therapy-which was actually pretty rare. Using her skills as an occupational therapist, Angela created a program called Timbernook that encourages free play in an outdoor environment that fosters physical movement and whole child development. I had an opportunity to talk with Angela and visit a local Timbernook program, and it completely opened my eyes to a new way of education and learning. Children were rough playing, getting dirty and climbing trees- all three of these things are not typical at a traditional school. All of the children were eager to learn, took risks and gained confidence in their abilities. Angela spoke at a TEDTalk which I will link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXLaoDucF0k

3. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

I received this book from a teacher of mine the night I graduated high school. In the book, my teacher wrote an inspiring letter that expressed they read this book every summer prior to the new school year- and passed the book along to me as an encouragement to continue being a leader and mentor to others. Since receiving 7 Habits, I have read it every summer before the new school year, as a way to show respect to my former teacher. Ironically, this book was also a required reading in my professionalism class in college so it was a win-win for me! The main message of this book is to create change and be effective in your personal or professional life, you yourself need to take a step back and reflect on your own self. Each chapter includes practical steps and implementations that you can use in your life. I would highly encourage any educator and professional to take a look at this book. If you don’t like reading- there is an audio version through audible*!

What books have you been reading lately or left an impression on you? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

*DISCLAIMER: These companies do not sponsor this post, I added these companies since these are the places where I received these books.