Keeping the Wonder: An Educator's Guide to Magical, Engaging, and Joyful Learning

Love this book! So much inspiration for my classroom. Definitely recommend for all teachers!

After spending the last 24 hours reading “Keeping the Wonder,” I can say with confidence that this is my favorite PD book!✨I love that this book doesn’t expect or want you to change your entire teaching method. I have read plenty of PD books that are great, but they become overwhelming when trying to think about how to implement their strategy in the classroom✨I love that the authors give you easy and quick ways to make your classroom a little bit more wonderful.✨I love the stories that are weaved throughout the book. The stories are where I learned the most and gained ideas for my own classroom. The journalism and “Scarlet Ibis” stories are my favorite.Thank you for writing a great book!

This book is written by four English teachers, who decided to work together to write a book that inspires other teachers to rekindle their “sense of wonder”, in order to better connect with their students. The book is divided into four parts, with a total of 21 chapters. The authors identify four different “elements of wonder”: surprise, curiosity, freedom, and inspiration. Each part is focused on one of these elements, as the authors take turns adding their insights on the subject.Part One focuses on surprise, and the five chapters provide suggestions and advice about how to create an environment in your classroom to surprise your students without distracting them too much. Ideas range from creative classroom furniture, to surprise music sessions, to unusual classroom supplies like invisible ink. Fun activities like scavenger hunts and crime scene investigations are just some of the exciting suggestions in this section.Part Two is about curiosity, and there are four chapters with ideas about how to keep your students engaged and curious. Some of the ideas discussed include exotic field trips, messy experiments, and cryptic clues placed about the classroom. There is also advice about how you can choose your responses carefully, to avoid discouraging your students.Part Three discusses freedom. Here the authors describe how to focus on a student centered model of instruction. The Universal Design for Learning framework is explained, as well as strategies to encourage students to explore reading books and participate in discussions.Part Four is about inspiration. Most of these chapters deal with motivating and supporting your students, but there are also some fun activity ideas suggested. Mystery Hangouts, Virtual Expeditions, and art appreciation activities are just some of the ideas presented in these chapters. Throughout the entire book there are also short sections written by other teachers that describe activities or ideas they used in their classrooms that worked well for them.Overall, I thought that this book had some great ideas and tips for teachers that are looking to create a more fun and positive environment; while also helping their students become excited about learning. The constant switching between authors was a little bit distracting, and there wasn't much in the way of scientific data, but I feel like this book is still worth reading if you are a teacher. It is always nice to have a few more ideas and tools to keep your students interested.

I’m a 4th grade teacher and after a difficult year with the pandemic and all that came with it, this book was a breath of fresh air.The four authors, all classroom teachers, each contribute to the chapters where they tell engaging stories and leave juicy tidbits of magical teaching wisdom sprinkled on every page. There are also a lot of guest authors who explain in detail specific things they do to make their teaching career and classroom more enjoyable for both themselves and their students.As I read the book, I would often stop to jot down details and recommendations on post it notes and in my phone. The teaching ideas in this book are so easy and inexpensive to implement. They are little things that any teacher can do to make their classroom a wonder-filled and adventurous place. The ideas all snowballed and by the end of the book, the reader is left with confidence and a new empowered vision for how their classroom could be.I highly recommend this book. It gave me a sense of renewal and hope just when I needed it most.

This is a must have for teachers of all age groups!!! This book is the ultimate guide for ideas on how to tap in to your students' natural curiosity to create meaningful and memorable learning experiences. There are countless strategies from four very well respected educators. If you want some inspiration to up your teaching game, this is THE book! I personally loved how the authors shared their personal experiences in the classroom and that their strategies are all based on RESEARCH. This books is not fluff! It is extremely well researched and well written. This book is the ultimate guide for keeping things fresh, interesting, and exciting in your classroom. The ideas are not unattainable in terms of effort and out of pocket costs. This book is extremely relatable. I would love to see this be required reading for ALL teachers. When we are able to capture our students' attention and create a wonder filled environment, deep learning can be achieved for all. This 223 page book has no less than 11 pages of research referenced. ELEVEN!!! You can feel 100% confident that these teachers know what they are talking about! It also doesn't hurt that the book is absolutely beautiful. There are gorgeous illustrations sprinkled throughout. I can't wait to bring the wonder and magic back to my classroom with some of these strategies and ideas!