You are cordially invited to join my brand new Twitter chat. For those of you who may not be familiar with this type of forum, a Twitter chat is an opportunity for us to share ideas, strategies, and best practices about important topics, connect with like-minded educators, and engage in meaningful collaboration.

I created the #TeachTheWholeChild chat for elementary and middle school teachers (K-8) who are committed to helping students learn the Common Core Standards, yet who know that teaching is about so much more than that. Our mission is to teach the whole child—empowering students to succeed academically, build strong character, learn valuable work habits and social skills, and take charge of their health and wellness. Above all, we want children to have positive school experiences in which they can enjoy the learning process, develop their strengths and passions, and maximize their amazing potential.

The next chat will be scheduled sometime in the near future. My goal is to host a chat every other week, but because this is a new endeavor, the scheduling will, of course, be flexible. No long-term contracts required. Drop in when you can.

Here’s how it will work. On the Sunday before each chat, I will post on my Facebook page a topic and some questions for us to consider. The chat will take place the following Wednesday. During the chat we will post our answers and start a dialogue with fellow participants using the hashtag #TeachTheWholeChild. (Be sure to use this hashtag in all your tweets so that everyone's contributions can be found in one continuous thread by typing the hashtag in the search box and clicking "Latest.") The potential for us to learn from one another and grow as professional educators is exciting.

Hope to see you there.