My Favorite Things #savmp #teamkid #naesp15

I'm here to admit that my favorite movie of all time is Sound of Music. It actually happens to be my wife's favorite as well, so in turn, our two children have already watched it quite a few times with us. One of the best benefits are all the amazing songs throughout, it's hard to not start singing them and have a huge smile on your face.

Just last weekend I was riding our Bakfiets around town with my kids and my two year old son started singing My Favorite Things. Of course my daughter chimed in and as I'm pedaling my thoughts drift to school and my favorite things about being a Principal.

So, this post is inspired by The Sound of Music - My Favorite Things about being Principal!





1. If you want to learn about your school, sit at the lunch tables with kids and just talk with them. This is such a great place to 'not' be the Principal and when I first started doing this three years ago the kids weren't sure how to take it. It only took a few sit downs at lunch for them to realize I was just hanging out to chat! Sit with kids and just listen, so powerful and fun.

2. Recess - Kickball, knockout, foursquare! You name it, I love recess and that's where you get to see the kids on such a different level. And also take care of 'little' discipline issues and help guide them to a better choice next time. Lately kids have been wanting to race me, they always talk tons of trash about being faster than me....they're not, I'm the fastest person at the school! :)

"Mr. Welcome can you please kick the ball, you always boot it to the moon!" #youbet

3. Social Media Interns have totally changed how I view Digital Citizenship, and how we as educators should be teaching the ropes to our kids. We're on our third cycle of interns and it's so great watching them learn and grow. I'm always on our Twitter feed throughout the day and I still get excited when a Tweet pops up on our @jseroadrunners account that I didn't send. Follow #kidtweet for all their #eduawesome sharing each day!

4. Morning Drop-Off - I LOVE morning drop-off and greeting all of our students with a smile, wave, high-five, bump, or sometimes a hug is needed. On really special days, wearing our Roadrunner costume is a new favorite thing! Every Principal needs a mascot costume, can't wait to wear it again!

5. Kids don't need to be sitting in a desk to learn and collaborate. Love that our students take their laptops outside, in the grass, on the floor and their learning discovery continues! 

6. Riding tricycles around campus, that is one of my favorite things! Kids go absolutely crazy when they see this for the first time, parents do as well! 

7. A new favorite thing is having teachers take selfies in my Candlestick seats and then Tweeting out. That's why I bought them, put a smile on someones face and get excited about being at school!

Even my Principal of the Day Hannah loved sitting in the seats, stop by John Swett and see for yourself!

8. Reading to classes is the BEST! For those that don't know, I choose a different book each month and read to every class on campus. Kids get so excited for each new book that I choose and read, definitely one of my favorite things!

9. My all time favorite thing about being Principal is the opportunity each and every day that I have to make a positive impression on kids. I love talking with kids, supporting them, laughing with them, guiding them, giving a high-five, helping to correct them and overall just being surrounded by so much amazing energy!

What are your Favorite Things about being a Principal/Teacher/Director/Superintendent?!

#teamkid