On My Way To School with Adam Peterson

Dan Finkel is the Founder of Math for Love, a Seattle-based organization devoted to transforming how math is taught and learned. Dan develops curriculum, leads teacher workshops, and gives talks on mathematics and education nationally and internationally. His TEDx Talk, 5 Principles of Extraordinary Math Teaching, has been viewed over a million times.

Dan’s curriculum has been used by thousands of students, and is known for its combination of rigor and play. The math games he co-created with his wife, Katherine Cook, have won over 20 awards. They include Prime Climb, Tiny Polka Dot, and Multiplication by Heart.

Brittany is an elementary school teacher turned stay at home mom of 3 kids ages 7 and under. Her oldest son, Austin, was born extremely premature and was at risk for developmental delays. She began filling their days with simple and engaging learning activities for him to do at home, working on essential early childhood development skills and saw first hand how powerful and effective play-based learning is.

She started her instagram account, @stayathomeactivitymom, in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, to share fun activity ideas with family and friends. Within a few months, it grew to a few thousand, and the rest is history! Stay at Home Activity Mom is still an instagram account sharing free activity ideas, product recs, teaching and parenting tips, and more! She also has a website where she provides tons of educational resources for parents- downloadable preschool units to do at home, subscription activity kits available for purchase, individual kits and activities, sensory jars, and more!

 Brittany feels so lucky that she gets to play a small part in nurturing childrens’ curiosity and cultivating a love of learning!

Jerry Kolber is the co-creator and Showrunner of National Geographic’s #1 series, BRAIN GAMES, for which he received a Prime Time Emmy Nomination. Kolber and Atomic are a frequent collaborator with icon Pharrell Williams, having created and producer BRAINCHILD (Netflix) with Pharrell, as well as two upcoming documentaries.

Kolber is the co-creator and host of the world’s most popular 3x weekly kids educational podcast Who Smarted?, which had three million downloads in its first year.

Kolber’s other creator and Showrunner credits include Inked (A&E), Confessions of a Matchmaker (A&E), GE in the Wild (with Mythbusters’ Adam Savage), and the space documentary 14 Minutes from Earth (Netflix).

Kolber grew up in the swamp in South Florida. He was an avid cyclist, theater kid, and nationally ranked Lincoln-Douglas debater.

Kolber didn’t know regular people could make movies until he met a group of regular people at NYU who were studying to make movies, where he was studying theater production and design.  Kolber’s first job was as Business Manager of the legendary Jean Cocteau Repertory Theater on the Bowery.

Kolber followed his time at the Cocteau Rep with a summer in the immediately- post-Communist Czech Republic, attempting to produce theater in circumstances better suited to producing a nervous breakdown. Upon his return to the states, Kolber began working in the stage theatrical departments at major movie studios, including Universal and Disney.

Kolber began his career in television in the production finance department at Dick Wolf’s Fox hit “New York Undercover”, bridging the gap between finance and creative. He was the production auditor on the first seasons of HBO’s Sex And The City, and Bravo’s Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, ultimately becoming line producer of more than fifty episodes of Queer Eye while learning to put the hair product in from the back.

Kolber went on a wild ride in the rapidly expanding early landscape of unscripted television, working for E!, fuse, Bravo, Disney/ABC, National Geographic, Discovery ID, MTV, Animal Planet, and multiple A&E series, as an in- demand Co-EP,  showrunner, and writer of unscripted entertainment.

He always knew that one day he would bring his love of entertainment and disdain for outdated one-size-fits-all education together and Brain Games provided the first of many opportunities to show what was possible. Since 2010 Kolber, his team at Atomic, and their amazing partners have been responsible for some of the most successful and beloved edutainment programming in the world.  Kolber is a long-time resident of Manhattan’s Lower East Side.

Elizabeth Bare is the creative mind behind TheKinderheartedClassroom.com. In this episode she tells her story of growing up in foster care, a teepee, and eventually moving WAY away from home at the young age of 16. Her mindset is full of hope and positivity and is an inspirational story you don't want to miss!

About Elizabeth: Elizabeth is a creative at heart! She's done a little bit of everything it seems and always gravitate towards other creatives! She's gone through about every phase a creative can go through including tinkering around in photography/videography, owning her own Etsy business, being self-employed, and now creating teaching resources for educators. Find her on her website, YouTube, and social, all at The Kinderhearted Classroom!

John Fuller is a retired elementary school teacher.  I taught for over 30 years both domestically (Los Angeles, Washington D.C, Boston, Seattle, and the Bay Area) and internationally in Delhi, India. Today, I live in Orinda with my wife, Jacquelline, and have two adult daughters, Hosanna and Sophie. As a writer of children’s books and a resident of Silicon Valley, I love the intersection of technology and kids.  Fly Car was created to draw families closer together, to encourage kids to dream big and chase their moments of inspiration.

Ms. Roboto was written to have readers truly think about the future and the world they will live in where man and machine will work closely together.

Former MLB slugger and 2-time World Series Champ, Scott Spiezio, talks about his highs and lows of being in the big leagues. He shares his story playing in the biggest game in baseball, the turn his life took when he got into drugs and alcohol, and how he turned it all around with a positive outlook on life. Scott is now sober and is sharing his love of the game by giving lessons to young athletes at his hometown training facility.

Sarah Thomas is a Personal Trainer, Fitness Instructor, and Nutrition Coach for women 30+ who have tried it all and are ready to live a lifestyle of food freedom, without deprivation and create lasting energy. For more than 22 years, she has been teaching women how to balance their hormones and metabolism, create a positive mindset and a powerful WHY, so they can take back control of their health and finally feel their best.

***Use code TPeterson10 at burnfatandfeast.com to save $10 off your first month of the program!***

Follow her on Instagram @burnfatandfeast

Aleli Vazquez holds a doctoral degree in Higher Educational Leadership with a completed dissertation on an Evaluation Of The Trauma-Informed Approach in One Elementary Title I School. She has over 19 years of experience in both public and private education. Dr. Vazquez began her career in Puerto Rico, where she was born and raised. She spent many years in the classroom as a K-2 teacher holding a Bachelor's in Elementary Education. In 2011 she relocated to Florida. After serving as the Assistant Principal at Apopka Elementary, Dr. Vazquez joined the administration team at Meadow Woods Elementary as a school principal in 2017. She is now in the process of opening a new elementary school in the Lake Nona community.  Dr. Aleli Vazquez values continued education and, as such, has attended the following Harvard Institutes: Turnaround Leaders, New and Aspiring Leaders, Urban School Leaders, and Family Engagement in Education. She is also affiliated with the following institutions: Orange County Association of School Administrators (President-Elect), Florida Association of School Administrators, Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (Legislative Chair), National Society of Leadership and Success, OCPS Mental Health Commission/Trauma-Informed Committee (Chair).  As a school principal, she was recognized in 2020 as the Orange County School Counselor Association Elementary School Principal of the Year. She earned the Florida Department of Education Family and Community Involvement Award for her school. She was also recognized as the Southeast Learning Community Principal of the Year 2020 and was one of the top three finalists for Orange County Public School Principal of the Year. She also leads one of the district's trauma-informed model schools.  Her educational philosophy is that every child is deserving of high-quality education facilitated by a caring and knowledgeable adult. Instructional strategies need to accommodate different learning abilities and meet the needs of individual scholars. Education needs to be engaging, creative, rigorous, and innovative. The school is the community's heart, and it is imperative to have strong bonds with the families and the community to lead scholars to reach their maximum potential.

Follow her on Instagram @drqueenv and Twitter @alelivaz

Dan St. Romain is a national independent educational consultant who provides staff development and consultative services to educators and parents working with children at all developmental levels. Dan is passionate about helping individuals shift their perspective on discipline, understanding the best ways to provide support given the challenges posed in today’s society.

Jonathan Alsheimer is the unorthodox, energetic, and entertaining middle school teacher who refuses to live a life of limitations and works with UFC Fighters, Celebrities, and Clothing Brands. Jonathan is the author of "NEXT LEVEL TEACHING".

As a passionate educator and National Keynote Speaker, Jonathan Alsheimer will present on the limitless possibilities of teachers as a driving force impacting an infectious classroom and school culture. NEXT LEVEL TEACHING is about every teacher bringing their unique flair to better their school every single day, going the NEXT LEVEL engaging your students, establishing community partnerships, building powerful relationships, and always striving to be "That Teacher" that their students remember!

Jonathan Alsheimer also speaks to students about overcoming adversity, giving maximum effort, respecting each other and adults, and striving to make an impact on their schools in a session entitled "NEXT LEVEL IMPACT!"

Jonathan, teaches at the world-renowned Fred Lynn Middle School, which was featured in two documentaries "Relentless" and "Relentless: Chasing Accreditation", has been featured as the teacher who forged a partnership with UFC Fighter and light-weight contender Paul Felder to bring a message of never giving up, fighting for their education, and empowering the students to believe in themselves, all principles that Jonathan promotes in his classroom.

Jonathan Alsheimer also partnered with Fear the Fighter, MMA clothing brand to establish a stop-bullying campaign with "Relentless" Principal Hamish Brewer. Jonathan Alsheimer didn't stop there and established a formed a relationship with Chris "Drama" Pfaff, MTV reality star and CEO of Young and Reckless to bring clothing to his "students in need" and worked to build student leaders in his school.

As Jonathan always says, "Game-changing is not a cliche motto; it is a way of life... some talk about it while others live by it!

Phil Wingo's journey into the world of specialty coffee may be a little different than most. Prior to starting Sandhill Coffee, he had never served a cup of coffee in a café. Even bigger picture, he did not work in the food industry. How did he stumble into the coffee world?  To him it was a “what’s the worst that can happen?” Job offers were not flying in so let us give it a try.

I know it's hard sometimes to voice concerns we have in the building, but if you don't voice them who's going to know you have the concern in the first place?  The trick?  Voice them in a positive way!

Sorry, went off a little rant here...

Life is too short for missed opportunities and regrets.

Ask for help when you need it.

Repeat after me...IT IS OK TO SAY NO SOMETIMES!

There is only so much we can control.  Dr. Lori Elliott shares her tips for keeping this positive mindset as part of your daily routine!

Nothing about this year has been the best it has ever been.  But it is up to us to make it the best possibel!

Today is OFFER day and tomorrow is WE day for YELLOW week!  Offer compliments to everyone you know!

Today is LEARN day for YELLOW week!  Encourage your students to LEARN about those around them!

Today is LISTEN day for YELLOW week!  Do you listen intently when others talk?

Today is ENGAGE day for YELLOW week!  Do you engage in meaningful conversations on a daily basis?

Today kicks off Yellow Week 2021!  Today is YOU Day!

I chat with Deedee Wills about the never ending quest for perfection and how focusing on positivity over perfection can help you in your classroom and life!

YOU ARE ENOUGH!!!

I chat with Tara Martin about how a simple comment can make someone's day!

Follow Tara: Instagram @tarammartin.real  Twitter @TaraMartinEDU

Spread out the hard work so you don't spread yourself too thin.

Welcome back to On My Way To School!  So excited to relaunch this podcast with all of you amazing educators!