Millennial Mom Thoughts

We’re kicking off the holiday season by sharing memories from our childhood travel experiences as well as sharing current travel strategies with our own kids. And thanks to our talented podcast music director (aka Brian Spicklemire) we have a new holiday twist to our theme song! Helen starts by sharing some updates and corrections from earlier episodes. Jordan introduces her new segment called:  S...

When you have your own podcast, you can make your own rules -- and Helen decided to make a rule that when it’s your birthday, you get to celebrate by being asked a bunch of questions. So that’s exactly what we’re doing for episode 18! We kick things off with Helen sharing about her latest running endeavors. Jordan (while filled with rage) then shares an update (or lack thereof) to the apparently n...

Helen shares some exciting professional news to start off this episode: being included in an upcoming book and leading a workshop at a writing symposium. Jordan shares about her next screening of the Can’t Look Away film and an opportunity to speak with a parent group about executive function skills. We then dive into some difficult topics, including what sextortion is, who the “Yahoo Boys” are, a...

Jordan opens the episode with the great success of the Spooklemire Haunted House. Many attended (including Helen) and fun was had by all. Helen and Jordan then dive into their earliest childhood memories with reading and some of their favorite books. Helen discusses a literacy narrative assignment she often gives to students to reflect on their journeys with reading, and she notes how they often i...

In an effort to understand how we got here (here being our careers in education), we reflect back on all of the various job and volunteer experiences we have had along our journeys towards education. First, Jordan and Helen share about their latest Halloween activities as well as an accidental soup-in-the-pantry incident. Jordan then dives into listing off the many jobs she has had since high scho...

Millennial Mom disclaimer: Jordan used AI to come up with this episode’s title. And coincidentally enough, we are talking about AI in our jobs for this episode! Jordan and Helen start off sharing their recent Halloween activities, and Helen finally reveals her fun, coordinated family costume. Helen shares her thoughts after viewing the Can’t Look Away documentary as Jordan prepares to do her secon...

Helen starts out the episode blowing our minds (or at least Jordan’s) by sharing about the wild world of ultramarathoning. Jordan shares about her first experience with the community screening of the documentary, Can’t Look Away , and wrestling with feelings of disappointment, appreciation, frustration, and pride. But despite the low turnout for the first screening, a second screening has already...

The internet used to be a place that you physically went to, and now it’s accessible 24/7, often located in your very own pocket. Jordan starts out the episode by sharing an update on her first scheduled film screening of Can’t Look Away, and Helen cracks us all up with a joke. NSYNC fans will appreciate this episode because Jordan takes us back to her days sending out a weekly email newsletter on...

In episode 11, we dive into the world of algorithms to try our best to understand them. Jordan shares an update on her documentary viewing event that is scheduled for October 6th. Helen and Jordan both share their how they use WhatsApp for communication. We go over the rules of the latest recess craze sweeping Morton aka gaga ball, and Helen tells us how she made a trip back to the apple orchard....

In our tenth episode, it’s time for us to reflect on our goals, accomplishments, concerns, and future plans for this podcast. We start off by diving into the wild world of the multitude of Facebook groups in our town and their eccentricities. Helen gives her hot tip of spreading peanut butter with a spoon - NOT a knife - and we then give a brief preview to our upcoming Halloween plans. We each sha...

After a very busy pumpkin-filled week, aka the Morton Pumpkin Festival, aka P-fest, we have our most meticulously planned episode ever...jk. We planned nothing! For our non-Morton listeners, P-fest is a multi-day autumnal extravaganza, and we share our experiences from this year and years past. We talk about our childhood memories of listening to the radio and our experiences with winning (and not...

In episode 8 we are talking about all things AI...well, at least some things AI. We start with a fun podcast update: we have new theme music written by none other than Brian Spicklemire! Jordan talks about her latest interview about the Wait Until 8th movement on the Morton school district podcast, CareU, and Helen shares her exciting adventure in an amateur pumpkin baking competition. And then we...

In episode 7 we’re responding to not one but two listener emails! For the first email, we address the reasoning behind the desire to review educational apps due to potential safety and privacy concerns. Our second listener email came from a local business owner who shared their thoughts and concerns based on our episode 5 discussion on attention & focus; this listener shared how when hiring em...

We open with an exciting announcement: we have an email address! Contact us with all of your questions, comments, thoughts, ideas, and more at MillennialMomThoughts. Podcast@gmail.com . Helen shares an update on her syllabus for her course at Illinois State University. Jordan gives a life update about how it feels to have a first day of school as a parent of a kindergartener. And then we take our...

We open the episode with a funny listener story (which also proves we have a listener!) and then Jordan shares the exciting news that she will soon be interviewed for the Morton 709 school district podcast, CareU, to share more about the Wait Until 8th initiative. Helen talks about when she is her most focused self as well as how her focus and attention have changed since becoming a mom. We define...

It is back-to-school time, and our fourth episode is all about the Wait Until 8th pledge. We open by discussing Jordan’s recent experience being interviewed by Ben VandenBerg for his Morton MUSE & News podcast, which shares stories of Morton community members. We discuss what the Wait Until 8th pledge is (and what it is not) and share the reasons why this movement matters, then consider ways t...

In our third episode, we are talking all things screens! We start by discussing a recent New York Times article, “Real Risk to Youth Mental Health Is ‘Addictive Use,’ Not Screen Time Alone, Study Finds .” We reminisce about memories of screen use at home and in school. We discuss our mixed feelings about school districts being 1:1 with devices for all students, recognizing the complexities of the...

In our second episode, we are talking about some of the main points from the book that kicked off this whole podcasting journey, The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, and how childhood has shifted from play-based to phone-based. We share our first experiences with cell phones and childhood memories of play, which includes Jordan’s underground rap career and Helen’s first major playground injur...

In our first episode, we share why we decided to start a podcast together and what we each hope to accomplish. We start the episode with a dramatic text message exchange reenactment about how this podcast came to be, then we share the story of how we met. We talk about who we are as parents and our professional backgrounds as educators. Jordan discusses the impact of reading The Anxious Generation...