What are your kids doing during lunch?  The obvious answer is eating.  But in a 50 minute lunch period, I'm sure most of them are done eating within 10-15 minutes.  So whats happening during the other 35 minutes or so?

     The Lunch period is one of the few periods where children get to interact and socialize with one another with some freedom.  But with all the instruction going on, how do they learn to properly socialize with one another?

     From most teachers and administration, I'm told, the cafeteria is where most of the social problems reside.  This is because the children have been given a "break" and are surrounded by other student bodies up to 2,000%!  How do we engage students and keep their focus on their own class while having them socialize properly?

     This is where the Idea of the embedded game table came to be.  A lot of schools utilize games and game boards in their school cafeterias.  But what happens with those games?  They need to be stored, distributed, set up, given out, boxes or packages held, cleaned up, fallen pieces looked for, and repeated for every period before they become to used up to be used.

     Now imagine if you never have to distribute another game because the games are a part of the table!  Distributing and cleaning up are things of the past as students would control the pieces.  Losing the pieces would not be a problem as well because schools can utilize their math counting chips (manipulative) and for other games students can use their own items as tokens.  The only thing you need for most games are dice!

     The cafeteria is a place to relax and enjoy your time away from class.  It is an outlet of sorts.  But if students aren't engaged in their own space, they will look for other outlets.  And thats where problems happen.  Outlets include playing with hands, throwing food, fighting, yelling, running, or sneakiness.  We need to have more positive outlets. These game mats are just one thing to add to that space to reach their minds in the right direction!  Changing our learning environments inside and outside of the classrooms a necessity to gain the attention of our students.

      As of right now, these AnywhereKnowledge game mats (patent pending) are not available for sale yet, and will be donated to local schools in the Tri-State area by means of a GoFundMe account I have opened up.  

     If  you guys have any questions, comments, or concerns about the program, feel free to comment or contact me!  Thanks!

Skyler Mariani

      I am not a teacher.  I am not an administrator.  I am not a parent.  Who am I?  I am part of the team within the school that gets to See It All!  I get to see all of the happiness, struggles, overwhelming faces, proud faces, angry faces, and most certainly the frustrated faces of the children, parents, staff and administration.  I get to see it all!

     I am the one whom people get to let off their 20 second vents of frustration to. The one people use as an outlet for help, the one people look down upon because of his title, the one people reach out to because of his talents. I am one of the middlemen that helps the school run. 

     I am also a big kid at heart.  Children come to me and tell me their problems with ease knowing I don’t have to give them a grade at the end of the day.  They also know I am someone of a different caliber who isn’t a teacher that can understand them and be honest with them.

     My title is a supervising school aide.  Like any teacher, you are not defined by your title.  You are defined by what you do.  I can list the many things I do such as clerical work, accountability, watching over 250 kids any given period, Deejay parties, set up shows, help out parents, dismissal, arrival, support teachers, etc.  But its, not what I do, it is the why.  I do it for our kids.  Children First.

     Like any educator, you look to help and do your best with lack of time.  Which is why I decided to start this blog.  I want to help.   I’d like to help as many people as I can come across by sharing my thoughts, ideas, and experiences.  And I too look for help, thoughts, and ideas from as many people as I can come across, so that I may continue sharing those thoughts. 

     My main focus is on mobile technology.  Many of you who are reading this may have received the link through some sort of social media outlet, email, or word of mouth.  Social media sites are primarily reached by smart phones, emails are read on smart phones, and when I tell people about the site, they immediately pull out their cell phones. 

     The focus on technology is especially for the children.  As this generation continues, their reliance on mobile technology grows more and more.  It is time to bridge the gap between the teachers, students, and parents when it comes using the technology the right way.  Schools at large are really bumping up their technology centers.  But there still seems to be something lacking.  To some educators, technology comes easy and naturally to use.  To others, it can be a burden,  especially if there is no guidance to use it properly in a classroom setting.

     I see it all the time.  There are simple and easy ways to use tech in and out the classrooms.  But when the feeling of being overwhelmed comes in, adding something new can be a truly stressing process.  Why wouldn’t anyone feel stressed?  Adding anything new, without proper guidance to an already full plate, will not make it an easy process.

     With this site and blog, I’m hoping we can all help each other by chiming in on our personal experiences, our processes, our pictures, our videos, our hopes, dreams, our problems, and our solutions.  I will also share programs I have personally created outside the classroom.  Programs which can be utilized for in and out of classroom settings.  I have only been able to share my ideas and works in person at professional developments held by Digital Age Learning once a year.  

     So I invite you into my world.  I promise, no judgment will be placed on any comments or writings.  We are only human after all.  I am here to help in any way I can.  And I hope you are too!

Until the next time,

Skyler Mariani

P.S.  Please excuse the site as I continue to update it.   I appreciate your time looking over it all.  And please feel free to comment here or send me any feedback.