Heated Mousepad
How’s the temperature in your classroom? We considered adding “classroom blanket” to our list, but then we came across this important invention during a casual scroll through social media. From our research, the heated mousepad comes in two different styles: heated pad or fuzzy glove. Whatever your preference, we think a warmed-up mouse is just what your desktop needs.
Six Minutes Podcast
This favorite comes straight off my fourth grader’s list of recommendations. Six Minutes Podcast follows the story Holiday, a girl without a memory of who she is or where she came from. Each episode runs between 6-13 minutes. Our kiddo’s class listens to one every day as they transition from lunch recess back into the classroom. Her teacher says everyone comes inside and quiets down quickly (sometimes even shushing their friends) so they can hear what happens next. Season 4 just started in September, but don’t worry: Seasons 1-3 are available wherever you get your podcasts and each season comes jam packed with 100 episodes!
National Geographic Explorer Classroom
Since 2017, Explorer Classroom has connected classrooms with real live National Geographic explorers during 45-minute virtual classes offered throughout the year. Each event comes with opportunities for questions and answers, interaction, and storytelling with some of the organization’s most cutting-edge scientists and researchers from around the world. Register for a live session or catch up on previous events in their archive.
PBISApps Community of Practice
Did you know a group of us gets together online every month to talk about PBIS? It’s called the PBISApps Community. It’s free to attend and we want you to be there! Every Zoom session starts with a little bit of content, followed by a lot of time for discussion, questions, and problem solving. Whether you’re at a school, the state level, or anywhere in between, the PBISApps Community supports your implementation and gives us all an opportunity to share and learn from one another. Sign up for December’s event today…rumor has it we’re giving away a Stanley tumbler!
Desk mat
Just because we love an organized workspace doesn’t mean we have one. Imagine our excitement when one of our directors, Robin Spoerl, showed up to work with a new organizational tool that was both chic and functional. The desk mat designates a space for all your other desk accessories to land. It’s a corral for your keyboard, mouse, and notepad. Store your loose papers in a secret folder and keep your charger cords accessible with a special magnetic holder! So simple…so perfect.
Lighted Letter Board
Management and Support Team Lead, Diertra Lomeli, is a sucker for a good deal. So, when she saw this mini lightbox at a local store, she could not pass it up. It now sits just outside her office with the words “In a Meeting” illuminated when she’s on the phone. You could use a board like this to indicate when it’s time for group work or when it’s ok for the noise level to go up. Plus, it’s super cute! We know you’ll have the perfect spot for it in your classroom.
Online SWIS Suite Signups
We want everyone to be able to get the SWIS Suite without jumping through hoops, so we expanded our subscription process to give schools a way to subscribe directly online. Simply fill out the form with some basic information and one of our customer support team members will send you the license agreement to complete the process. It couldn’t be easier!
Little Frog's Guide to Self-care
Maybell Eequay is an artist. We first found her on Instagram when her little green frog in its red mushroom hat and fashionable footwear appeared on our feed. This illustration with its inspirational quote forms is such a cozy pair, it’s only right the little frog got itself a little book for its positive affirmations. Not only is it the perfect size to carry around in your teacher bag, we think this book would look right at home on a table in your teacher’s lounge.
Lesser Evil Popcorn
We love a good snack and this is a good snack! If you’ve eaten pre-popped popcorn in a bag, we need you to know Lesser Evil popcorn is different. It’s buttery in the way movie theater popcorn is buttery with just the right amount of salt. Somehow they achieve this cosmic level of goodness without leaving a greasy mess behind on our fingers! We love the Himalayan Gold Organic Butter flavor, but we might need to give their seasonal Chocolate Candy Cane popcorn a try soon.
The New York Times Learning Network
The Learning Network is a free resource from The New York Times offering fresh opportunities for students to learn about and engage with the news happening in the world around them. I love the picture prompts, the “What’s Going on in This Graph?” series, and I can’t wait to see the results of the photo essay contest exploring community. Add the site to your bookmarks, that is if it isn’t there already.
Smart Plugs
For years now, my in-laws have talked to their lamps, telling them to turn on and off in their home. It always felt like a magic trick. Now I know, it isn’t magic; it’s smart plugs. Plug these babies into any outlet and enjoy access to any electronic’s on-off switch from the comfort of your phone. Do you have a light you constantly forget to turn off at the end of the day? With smart plugs you can put that light on a timer to turn it off long after you’ve left the classroom. Can’t reach the switch on your iPad charging station? Simply tap your phone and you’re good to go. Magic!
Classroomscreen
We see you out there creating immersive, multimedia experiences in your classrooms. Switching back and forth between websites, slides, and apps requires a post-graduate degree to manage it all. Enter Classroomscreen — a whiteboard space to dock all the materials in your lesson plan. Drag and drop any of the 25 free widgets including timers, polls, and random name generators into the workspace so everything is all together in one place. Add your slide deck and embed a video. Stop moving back and forth between tabs and start using Classroomscreen! You’ll love it.
Gravitrax
Marble runs are typically a plastic set of connecting tubes, slides, and funnels assembled into a tower to make a marble roll all the way from the top down to the collection plate at the bottom. Traditional marble runs are great for younger kiddos, but what about middle and high schoolers? Enter Gravitrax — a marble run with more science and engineering concepts built in. Create sprawling marble universes with their expansion packs or power up your run with their switches and signals. Even check out this lesson plan to build a run involving Newton’s laws of physics!
Teacher Acknowledgements
For our November Expert Instruction episode, we learned how the team from Green Local Schools in Green, OH took their acknowledgement system to the next level by partnering with Starbucks. When anyone in Green stops by for their daily dose of caffeine, they get to nominate a teacher, cafeteria worker, bus driver, or other staff member who demonstrates what it means to be safe, respectful, and kind. The person with the most nominations receives a gift basket from Starbucks and they get to nominate a student who exemplifies those same expectations. The system uplifts the adults doing such good work, strengthens teacher-student relationships, and builds community partnerships in their PBIS implementation. Such a win-win! How do you acknowledge teachers in your school?
Noise Cancelling Headphones
When the decibel level in your classroom reaches jet-engine loud, everyone could use some quiet time. When you don’t have the luxury of walking into a soundproof room, why not bring the soundproof room to you? Pop on a pair of noise cancelling headphones after work and I promise you the tension in your shoulders will start to relax. Research has even found that decreasing or blocking out ambient noise can improve concentration and focus on a given task. Snag a pair for yourself or invest a set like these for your students and see how it helps!
Ruthie Payno-Simmons’ Keynote Address
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Dr. Ruthie Payno-Simmons is the Associate Director at the Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center (MAP Center) and she was a keynote speaker at this year’s National PBIS Leadership Forum. In her speech, she gives us examples from her own time as a student in addition to her work in education to show how “stock stories” don't tell the full picture of your students’ experiences. When you know their “concealed stories” you create a full picture of what students need. Cheers to conference organizers for inviting Dr. Payno-Simmons to the event and for recording her keynote for posterity. We think you’ll learn something new with every viewing!
NYT Games
The New York Times puzzles are always so clever and thoughtful. My love for them began with the crossword (particularly the Sunday edition) and has since expanded to include Wordle, Connections, Strands, and the Mini Crossword. The games are fun for everyone, including your students! There are so many ways to incorporate them into your daily routines. Get the app or play them directly in your web browser for a daily dose of fun!
Shut the Box Game
You know a game is great when you and a friend discover it independently and immediately tell each other about it. This is such a game. Shut the Box isn’t new — it dates back to the 18th century as a game played after a long day at sea. Roll a pair of dice and lay down any set of tiles totaling the sum of the numbers you rolled. The goal of the game is to “shut the box” by laying down all 12 tiles. It’s part math, part strategy, all fun!
Conference Season
With the end of winter comes the beginning of spring which can only mean one thing: Conference season is just around the corner! This year we’re taking our show on the road to some great spots. We’ve got our eye on few other locations, but for now, here are the dates and locations on our current itinerary:
- March 12-15, 2025: Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference
- April 23-25, 2025: Northwest PBIS Conference
- June 29-July 2, 2025: International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Live 25
- July 22-24, 2025: California Multi-tiered Systems of Support Professional Learning Institute
- October 21-25, 2025: National PBIS Leadership Forum
Coffee
Some of the items on our favorite things show up across multiple years. Coffee is one of those things, and for good reason. Whether you have a 4-cup-a-day habit or you prefer one strong cup of rocket fuel, coffee is almost certainly a staple in every teacher’s lounge in every school. That’s why it continues to be a favorite! Check out Stok’s peppermint mocha cold brew for a festive take on your afternoon cold brew.
Peepers Reading Glasses
Every year we like to include at least one item from Oprah’s list of favorite things. This year’s item is: reading glasses. Oprah loves the Peepers brand and we do too. They come in all the magnifications you need, but most importantly, they come in so many fun colors, shapes, and styles. (I snagged a pair of Spotlights in tortoise/black.) Plus, some have added blue light protection for those of us staring at computer screens all day. If you’re in need of a new pair of reading glasses, check out Peepers!
Puzzles
We started puzzling in the office last year and we haven’t looked back since. Our puzzle table is still going strong and we’ve developed a few tips for you.
- The number of pieces matters. A 750-piece puzzle is good for a few days of effort, but a 1,000-piece puzzle offers a nice balance of challenge and enjoyment.
- Distinct color variations in the puzzle are important.
- Don’t leave the puzzle table without connecting at least one piece.
- Know when to quit a puzzle. We quit our first puzzle this year and we all cheered when we put it away without completing it.
Ravensburger puzzles are classically excellent. Find your next one today!