Teaching is such a complicated, difficult profession. Don't worry about being great at it. Focus on being faithful.
Be Faithful to Teaching
Feeling Everything
Is everyone in your classroom, including you, feeling ALL of the emotions? These are 15 practices I've embedded in my classroom to help students reflect on their emotions and better manage them. I know I personally have a LOT of feelings, and if you're a teacher, you're probably a bit of a mixed bag as well. Maybe this can help you and your class(es) process all those feelings. Stay well!
Keep a Calm Classroom
I am a hard core introvert. For anyone who finds the Myers Briggs personality framework applicable, I am an INFJ, meaning I am introverted, intuitive, feeling, and judging. If you're an INFJ, then you might automatically feel an affinity for me as I probably would for you knowing that information. On an introvert-extrovert scale, I'm... Continue Reading →
15 Ways to Create Movement in the Classroom
Here are 15 ways to create movement in class that will promote discussion, collaborating, review of material, sharing ideas, and classroom community. Most of these could be used within any discipline for young children as well as high schoolers. Find something that works for you!
20 Morning Meeting Ideas For Staying At Your Desk
I love games and activities in morning meeting! While I know that carpet time may be gone as we re-enter classrooms, there are so many possibilities for maintaining connection and community even with physical distance.
Below are songs/chants and activities that I think would work well while staying at a desk space. These could make for great energizers or brain breaks as well. While many of these require standing up and sitting down, they should be able to stay in their area.
5 Structures for Online Morning Meetings
If you teach elementary, you're likely familiar with the idea of a morning meeting or class meeting. This is typically a time for community building and connection. When we had to switch to online learning in Spring 2020, I knew I wanted to keep elements of morning meeting. Here are 5 ideas (picture prompts, collaborative google slides, partner games, whole class games, and Flipgrid) for building connections online.
6 Ways for Classroom Jobs to Love You Back
Classroom jobs were helpful, but not consistent, and honestly - it felt like more work. I felt desperate trying to get random things done and change their popsicle stick jobs every week. I realized, though, that kids love jobs. There’s always someone who wants to do it or will make it happen. So I changed my structure. Here are the keys I found to successful jobs.
11 Ways I changed my thinking
We're in the people business. We need to examine our beliefs and constantly make room for ourselves to grow not just in learning new tech tools for distance learning. I want to interact with others in a way that creates a better world.
A Letter to my Students
I wrote a letter to my class the day that school closed for the year. It made me cry a little so I didn’t send it off. Everything was sad enough. I added a piece today because we had a great (3/4 of a) year together and this journey online is a bit unforgettable too. My class this year is fun online; I feel lucky that I get to do this with them. At the same time, my heart aches for their losses as the capstone year of elementary school. It may not compare to the loss of graduation for a senior, but their young hearts are broken nonetheless. Many have waited for these special events since Kindergarten. Their life will move on for sure, but there’s so much loss tied up in this pandemic. This is just a little slice.
Charmed by Challenge 