Category Archives: Education

Points of Interest in Senegal

Senegal, Africa is divided into 14 regions, which are broken down into 45 departments, branching to 103 subdivisions, and several ethnicities.  The term “African” should not be used loosely as a generalized term to identify people who are born or … Continue reading

Posted in Adventure, Culture, Education, family, landmarks, Photography, restaurants, Senegal Africa, Teachers, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Gorée Island, Senegal

“Welcome home.” Those two words held so much power when I was greeted at the historic site of the transatlantic slave trade which took place on Gorée Island.  The largest slave trade area off the west coast of Africa is … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Culture, Education, family, landmarks, Photography, Religion, Senegal Africa, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Peace & Harmony in Joal-Fadiouth

Joal-Fadiouth is in the Thiès region of Senegal.  The village and commune names are combined because the narrow peninsula of Joal is linked to the small island of Fadiouth.  Fadiouth, also called Shell Island, is a name given from the … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Beaches, Culture, Education, landmarks, Religion, Senegal Africa, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Kick-off the 2020-21 School Year Virtually: How to Create a Welcome Back Slide Deck for Your Students & Parents

A lot of school districts will be teaching classes remotely to start the 2020-21 school year.  We do not know how long this is going to take, but we have to hit the ground running as we would if we … Continue reading

Posted in Education, family, Louisville, Teachers | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Each 1 Teach 1

Contractually, we do have a much needed break.  A true educator, however, is always refreshing content knowledge, and evolving with pedagogy.  Our goal is to make each school year more impactful than the others.  A lot of us complete required … Continue reading

Posted in Education, fitness, health, Louisville, Teachers, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Lesson Ideas for Online Physical Education

Taking a break from travel and running posts to give an update on what distance learning looks like for the 200 Smootents in my middle school physical education classes.   JCPS KY Non-Traditional Instruction:  It was a challenge to grasp how … Continue reading

Posted in Education, fitness, health, Teachers | Tagged , , , , | 30 Comments

The Little Rock Half Marathon & 5K Recap

The Little Rock, Arkansas race series have been on my radar for quite some time.  They are known for their huge, over-the-top medals and unique race themes. The 2020 theme was “Totally Awesome” as a tribute to the 80s. Training … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Education, fitness, half marathon, health, landmarks, running, Teachers, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 36 Comments

Spotlight on Imane

Imane is one of my former Smootents (Ms. Smoot + Students) from Whitney M. Young Job Corps Center.  Her family moved from Chad to Louisville, KY in 2007. We met shortly after when Imane was scheduled to my Reading class. … Continue reading

Posted in Culture, Education, family, mothers, Teachers | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

New Season, who ‘dis?

Fall Break from school called for a quick trip to Florida to visit my parents. The timing was perfect due to a crisis situation regarding my work as a therapeutic foster parent. Sleep has been difficult, and working out has … Continue reading

Posted in Education, fitness, Florida, health, running, Travel | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration

The Black Expo in Indianapolis, IN is a celebration of African American culture.  Underserved communities have a one stop shop with over $2,000 worth of free health screenings, job applications, voter registration and supporting black owned businesses. Being in Indianapolis … Continue reading

Posted in Art, concerts, Education, family, foster parent, health, Indiana, Indianapolis, landmarks, mothers, Travel | Tagged , | 8 Comments