The following is a list of my favorite resources for creativity, writing, teaching, and living that I return to on the daily. I settled on seven as the lucky number because I was born in ’77, my birthday falls on the seventh month, and five just wasn’t enough.

7 Favorite Podcasts (current as of 2024)

This podcast is a favorite because it feels like you are sitting in the attic with Dax and Monica just having a great time. I need this on long drives when I just want to laugh, and the stories are always great. Guests call in to respond anonymously to prompts such as: amusement park disasters, babysitting gone wrong, and many more.

Wish I’d Known Then…

Jami Albright and Sara Rosett are two writers that interview other writers about the things they wish they had known when they got started writing. The two of them are fun and relatable, and I love their interview style. They also attract guests that are a lot like them. Again, two people I just really like hanging out with and learning from!

---

Modern Classrooms Project

This podcast is new this year, but the ideas and models for learning are not. The hosts of this show do a great job of getting to the foundational elements of instruction. They have a model for learning that puts the student in the driver’s seat, frees up the teacher to confer with students rather than give direct instruction, and is highly individualized. This is the future of education!

Do You Even Blog

Pete is such an entertaining host and puts out so much knowledge in everything he does. He is also super relatable to those of us still starting out. Although I have been slowly building a better blog for at least 2 years now, I continue to need his advice. I am a slow learner. This podcast is highly recommended if you want to learn about blogging, podcasting, or creating a YouTube channel.

Strong Sense of Place

This podcast is quickly becoming one of my favorite things to listen to, but its a bit dangerous as my reading list has become a little overwhelming. I have set a goal to read 50 books in the year 2021, and this podcast is going to help me do it. Traveling the world is a dream for me, and I may only be able to actually do it by reading. The hosts do a great job of selecting five books, fiction or non, with the same setting and explaining exactly what makes them great reads.

All it Takes is a Goal

Jon Acuff is like your favorite older brother who knows everything about everything and shares it all with you in a way that makes you feel loved, inspired, and motivated. He has written tons of books about starting and finishing projects and everything in between. He is also hilarious and has a way of seeing others and sometimes showing them their value while interviewing them in real time.

The PEBC Phenomenal Teaching Podcast

I had the opportunity to attend a week long training in Denver on PEBC practices and my teaching changed forever. This was hands down the absolute best training because the thinking strategies are all about naming and noticing the thinking we are doing as we learn. This podcast is like returning to that training on a regular basis, reminding me of what phenomenal teaching can be.

7 Favorite Books for Teachers

Big Magic

Big Magic is a book about creativity, but truthfully, it was written for me specifically. If you know me, you know that I believe magic is everywhere. You just have to have special glasses to see it. Gilbert is giving us the glasses in this book. Most importantly, she reminds us that all of us have magic within us, and it is our responsibility to share it. I can’t think of a better message to believe for ourselves and to share with our students.

Wonderous Words

Learning how to read and write all over again as an adult is a gift I will forever thank becoming a teacher for. Wondrous Words teaches us how to look at writing like we would look at any other piece of art, but also shows us how to do it ourselves. It is written for teachers, but challenges all of our own beliefs about writing in ways that are encouraging and inspiring.

Bird by Bird

Ann Lamott names all of our negative thoughts about writing and even life, and then tells you to do it anyway. She reminds us that books are “as important as almost anything else on earth, because they help us understand who we are and how we are to behave.” I will always love this book for teaching me to trust myself, write awful first drafts, and not take myself too seriously.

Furiously Happy

If you can love a book, like you can love a person, this one is the one. Seriously, this book is awesome. I laughed out loud pretty much all the way through this book. All of us are messed up, but this girl gets a gold star for putting her mess out there for all of us to see. I count my lucky stars to have met Jenny Lawson, by reading this wonderful book.

That Workshop Book

Classrooms are workshops. Listening to teach involves knowing your students as people. People who already have great ideas and love to learn. This book uses actual models of classrooms that are changing what teaching and learning looks like. It looks like making something, cooperatively, and valuing what all the people are bringing to the table.

The Inside Guide to the Reading-Writing Classroom

When I first started teaching, I was terrified. I wished to have a mentor, who valued the things that I did, encourage me when I was lost, and remind me why I wanted to do this work. After my first couple of years, I was given this incredible gift and followed it almost day by day, lesson by lesson. This method of teaching values student thinking and creates communities of people who listen to each other.

On Writing

My favorite quote of King’s is “To write is human, to edit is divine.” Admittedly, I haven’t read any of Stephen King’s books but this one. I know enough about nightmares to steer clear. This memoir is more about how stories are found things. King’s success is mind-blowing, but when you read his memoir, you feel a bit like he just lives next door. Its comforting to know that one of the most successful writers of all time tells us not to make such a big deal out of our writing. Just write, everyday.

Favorite Picture Books

Check out this blog post for a list of my favorite picture books. I couldn’t decide on just seven, so I made myself write a whole post on them! I probably love picture books more than anything else!