Five Things I've Learned about Teaching in 27 Years

As a teacher, you are always a student. Learning is never done. I just finished up year number twenty-seven, and teaching has taught me some pretty important lessons through the years. 

1. Teaching is more than just a job. Seriously, teaching is hard, but it is unbelievably rewarding. I have been fortunate to have been able to watch my students through the years as they grow up, graduate, and become adults. And they are truly amazing! You never know how they are going to be as adults (when they are still little), but seeing them all grown up is rewarding. Students come back to you with stories about your class that you had long-since forgotten. They may get taller than you, smarter than you, and make more money than you, but the influence of a great teacher is never forgotten. I have had students write papers about me as their favorite teacher, years after the fact. I have had students come back to our school, walk into my room, and with a huge smile and a hug go down memory lane again with me about the good 'ole days...and remember when. I have parents thank me and students too. Teaching may feel hard in the moment, but the effects are lasting.

2. Teaching is not for the faint of heart. Teaching is work...it is WORK in all caps! But if you aren't afraid of work, then you will be fine. I'm not saying you have to eat, breathe, sleep, and live teaching, but I am saying that you will work harder than many other jobs, and the work never feels done. There are things that will have to wait. Do NOT live at your classroom at the expense of your family. However, to be successful, you will have to put in some extra time above those "contract hours"...and that's OK.

3. Breaks are not just for vacationing, they are for truly allowing you to thrive and survive. Many non-teachers like to point out that teachers work just 180 days a year and have an abundance of breaks in-between. That may be true on paper, but it sure isn't true in reality. Actually, I am contracted from August 1-May 31, so even though we have just 180 days with students, teachers work more than just student contact days. Those breaks however, are a necessity. Teachers go 90 miles a minute while school is in session and they definitely sacrifice some on the self-care front. These sprinkled in breaks allow teachers a small period to recover before hitting it hard again. In my job, I am it. No specials, no planning period, no free time to eat lunch in the staff lounge. I am with my students from the time they arrive at 7:30 to the time they either leave or start aftercare at 3:15. I love my students, but that doesn't mean the rejuvenation and relaxation isn't only appreciated, but necessary.

4. Teaching is fun! Teaching was my dream job as a little girl. I was THAT girl that made worksheets, raided the garbage cans when the teacher cleaned out the closets of old school books and materials, and went home to teach my dolls. Teaching is new and different each day. It changes with each class. I could NEVER be one of those teachers who have all of their lesson plans done for the year before the first day ever arrives. Teaching evolves and changes with the students. I throw in activities that suit their personalities and preferences. Having students who are obsessed with sports means that at some point sports are going to show up in my curriculum. Whether we do sports-style games for math facts, read non-fiction books about sports, share a STEM project idea based on a book we read, or have sports themed math games, I will find a way to connect to my students. 

Teaching isn't stagnant, it is ever evolving. It is broad enough that you can use so many different methods to deliver the goods, so to speak. I can use games, videos, team activities, classroom transformations, have guest speakers, the sky is really the limit. I cannot get stuck in a teaching rut and never deviate from a textbook. I stick with standards and find ways to incorporate a little fun as often as possible. 

5. Children are the same. Times change and challenges change, but children deep down desire the same thing: belonging. They want to please you. They have a desire to be heard, cared for, loved, be seen, celebrated, and accepted. And if I can create a classroom environment that facilitates that, I have done my job well. At the end of the year, I want my students to understand math more, be better readers, know about science and social studies. But more important that that, I want them to know that they belong and that they are loved. That is a true gift. 

Teacher Self-Care

Let's face it, teaching is one of the hardest jobs you could ever love. Teachers work tirelessly and even though they have a seemingly great schedule, you will regularly find teachers working at home past contract hours, during vacations, and even during summer break. Although teachers generally do love what they do, they also need to take time for self care. Here are five tips for taking care of yourself, in case you have forgotten how to do it.

1. Do something you love. Some people have lots of things they love to do, while some do not have any personal hobbies. It may come as a surprise to people who have many hobbies, but there actually are people who find it hard to figure out hobbies of their own. I remember a coworker of mine who once said when our new staff was getting to know each other and sharing our hobbies, that she felt uneasy thinking about her hobbies because she really didn't have any. She determined to figure it out and she has turned her lack of a hobby into a beautiful one that she now shares with many people. I don't find it hard to have hobbies. But I do find it hard to have time for them all.  

I love to curl up and get lost in a good book. I feel sad when it comes to an end. Photography is another thing I absolutely love. I could spend hours photographing my favorite people or places. Scrapbooking has been a part of my life for many, many years and I just absolutely love it. Saving memories through scrapbooking is so important to me. Travel is something I have always enjoyed as well. Music is also something I love to do. I love to play the piano, I dabbled with the violin a few years back, and I love participating, with my husband in our church praise team. Some other hobbies I enjoy are: crafting, sewing, and of course creating for Teachers Pay Teachers. 

If you have not found your passion yet, it is an absolute must. Think about what brings you peace. What connects you to friends? What brings you joy? Those passions can be turned into something that can help you have some down time and care for yourself.

2. Get away. Unplug. Create a staycation. Go on a real vacation. You chose your level of getting away here. If you really do not have time, maybe you can just unplug for a few hours, a day, or a few days and focus on doing things for yourself, spending time with your kids or spouse. If you all have some time together, but want to stay close to home, a staycation is the perfect choice. During this school year we did a staycation over spring break and went to some local places that were within driving distance. It was perfect for us for this time. I am sure there are little places in and around your town that you pass and have never gone to. Now is your opportunity. You will be getting out of the house and spending time with your family. It does the body good to have a change of scenery every once in a while. If you can swing it, take a vacation to someplace new. We love going on road trips. It also saves a lot of money as opposed to taking a plane. Stopping at sights along the way makes it extra special. We love bringing our tent and roughing it for a few days. It feels great to be in nature and also saves so much money over spending the time in a hotel. 

3. Indulge. Watch that show you love. Eat a special treat you can't resist. Get a mani/pedi. Put some new highlights in your hair. Purchase a new outfit that makes you feel great. Take time to treat yourself to something special.  

4. Complete a project. Don't put it off any longer. Finish the quilt you started sewing 5 years ago. Clean out your closet and donate what you don't use. Paint your room with that can of paint that has been waiting for you. Finishing projects brings fulfillment to your life. It makes a big difference and makes you feel like you accomplished something.

5. Get out in nature. Nature has proven health benefits. Nature soothes your soul like nothing else. Just five minutes surrounded by nature is proven to lower stress levels. Whether it be sitting on your back porch on a cool evening, strolling through the forest, hiking up a mountain, watching the sunset at the beach, or birding, find a way to connect to nature. Whenever I do, I can literally feel the stress of life rolling away from me. It has that much power in my life. 

 Now that you have some ideas for self-care, what are you waiting for? Get out there and spend some time caring for yourself. You will thank yourself for it. 

Sprinkle a Little Magic While Bidding the School Year Goodbye

This week is it, the end of online school. We will pack away the ipads and the worksheet packs with very little hoopla, and say goodbye to another year. The year that made history. It feels strange saying it, but summer is upon us and in another week, we will begin a new normal without any connection to these tiny or not-so-tiny humans that have made a way into our hearts forever.

But does it have to be this way? I am here to say that it does not! We do not have to slide from this school year into summer with little notice and no celebration. These babies may have been in our classes for three fourths of a year, but they will be held in our hearts forever. So let's get out our party hats and see what we can do to sprinkle a little magic while bidding this year school goodbye. 

If you have been a teacher for any amount of time, you know that teachers love to see what other teachers are doing so they can, well, get ideas for their own rooms. Sometimes you can just take an idea and run with it or other times, you tweak the idea to make it your own. There are thousands of teachers on YouTube, Pinterest, posting on blogs, on The Gram or even Facebook. If you spend enough time there, you could come away feeling inadequate, but just remember you are not seeing the day-to-day, but the highlight reel. This is the best of what they do in their rooms and  while it can be magical, just remember, it is NOT the day-to-day. We all have magic in our classes if we stop to look around. 

With that being said, I love looking for new ideas around, especially on Instagram. One of my friends and coworkers is known as  Learning With Mrs. Fresh. I love her idea of putting together little bags for her students.  She included a letter to each student as well as a class picture. She added in some fun touches (candy, pen, glow stick). How easy is that? And what better way send the class off on summer break and let them know that you care? Also, her school did a virtual school spirit week, which I adapted and am using during the last week of school. Let's bring the fun engagement. We can STILL do it, despite being separated by distance. Here is a look at what we are doing on the last week of school. 

My whole school is not hosting a school spirit week. But what's to stop me from doing that in my class? Nothing at all! I am most excited about our Taco Tuesday. In class, we have regular lunch bunches. Students look forward to coming to sit and eat lunch with me on Fridays. I always bring treats for the students who are in lunch bunch. A lot of times, I have made homemade chocolate chip cookies for them. I took this idea and decided to enjoy lunch with my class on Zoom. What I was trying to figure out was a treat for them. Then I had the idea to send them home (after our last pick-up) with a bag of ingredients so they could make their own cookies. So, that is just what I did. I made each of them a bag of supplies and passed it out to them. I am uploading a quick tutorial on YouTube so they can bake the cookies at home with their parents and then have them for the lunch bunch on Tuesday. I cannot way. And neither can they. I keep getting questions about when they can bake the cookies. This is going to be fun!

Another idea that I loved on Instagram was these affirmation flowers. I saw them on Pencils Top Pigtails. I loved this idea so much that I decided to create some of my own.

The only thing was, that I sent my husband out to Dollar Tree to snag some of these for my project and they only had Fourth of July themed ones. That was fine, but I had my heart set on these bright ones with multiple colors that were so beautiful. I went to another store and it was the same story. I just could NOT find the ones I wanted anywhere. A week later, with nothing, I decided that I would just get the patriotic ones and the kids would not know the difference. I went back to not one, but two stores and just found three of them total. I decided to go to one more store that I had not been to previously and I hit the jackpot and was able to get enough for my whole class in the colors that I wanted. I was so excited! I am planning to do a drive by, not sure if you would call it a parade, but at least to plant a flower in the yards of my students and spread a little love. 

Whether you do something "big" or "small" teacher, you are amazing!  

Keep On Keeping On

I was nearing my breaking point, and I knew it. It had been over a week since we went into hiding from this invisible virus that is spreading like wildfire. We left the house very seldom to get things we needed or to exercise. We kindly declined social gathering invites and basically hunkered down. 

I was glued to the TV newscasts, in horror at what I was seeing and hearing about all the death around the world, lack of toilet paper and other essentials, and the level of contagiousness this virus had. Something had to give.

I was a ball of nerves, fearful for my little asthmatic, and thinking about all the what-ifs that could possibly go wrong with each and every member of my family facing this with uncertainty about the future. 

I couldn't make myself do much, I sat or walked around in a daze so worried about all the things on my mind, but telling myself to have faith, trust, not to worry. But as much as I told myself that it would all be OK, my doubt would creep in, nearly drowning me in the process. 

Monday of week two, I headed to the school. We met as teachers, keeping our distance as much as possible and talking about what this whole distance learning think should look like. 
I decided I needed to give all this worry a rest. To let it go. To face the fact that my worry, my fear, my irrationalness in all this was transferring to my own daughter, keeping her up at night wondering if she or the people she loved would survive this pandemic. Hearing her words, "I wish I could die and come back when all this is over" hung around my shoulders weighing me down with helplessness. It was a turning point, watching her struggle. I knew I had to muster some normalcy for her...for us both. Be strong for the two of us. Quit watching the news so much, it was quite frankly scaring her as much as it was scaring me.

I determined that I would wake up. Read, play, draw, and have fun just being with my babies. I would take time to slow down, enjoy this moment we've been given, and really take time for my kids. 

We drew on sidewalks (and watched how if affected others walking by...the best), baked, did art projects, played board games, and enjoyed each other. I went to bed on time, and slept the best I have in days...with no tossing or turning for hours. I even slept in. And you know what? The Earth went on without me worrying about it. And I woke up happier and refreshed. 

I know worry may creep in again, but I'm ready to push it down. I will treasure these days as a gift that I have been given and spend time loving on my family and doing things that I don't normally get to do in the hustle and bustle of real life. 

Next week we will begin teaching online and also doing homeschool. That will be a new challenge, but for now everyone is excited about learning from home and this new adventure. So, here's to today's adventures, tomorrow's adventures, and to the future! Cause it's gonna be O.K. 

Start Your Year on a Positive Note...and Keep it That Way

Starting the school year can be a challenge. I like to start it on a positive note and work hard throughout the year to keep it that way. Here are five easy tips to help you start your year off on a positive note and keep it that way too.

1. Send a letter of greeting to each parent. If you can get a hold of parent addresses about a week or so before school starts, send a letter of greeting to each parent introducing yourself and telling something about you. Be sure to include some things students will be learning during the school year. I also like to send a post card to greet the students individually. Students LOVE to get "real" mail and parents will enjoy passing this note along to their child. 

2 . At the start of the school year, call every parent within the first week. Seriously, take the time to call each one and thank them for entrusting their child to you. Tell them that you look forward to working as a team and share something positive that you have noticed about their child. It is so important to do this before any misbehaviors have a chance to happen. Generally, students are in the honeymoon stage the very first week of school, so I choose to make a phone call home during this time so that the first contact from me once school has started is a positive one. 

3. Set up a communication binder. Be proactive and set one up before school even starts. Keep a record, throughout the school year, of each and every communication. It can save you if you are ever in a tough spot. Documentation is key. Save every email. Document every phone call. Write down conversations you have with parents in person. This will help you keep track of all interactions. I like to keep a binder where I can write down each and every interaction. 

4. Send positive notes home. I set a goal to try to send one positive note home at least every two weeks to each child in my class and while I am not always able to accomplish that, parents really do enjoy getting little notes of praise from the school. To do this, keep a clipboard of positive note printables on a clipboard. Write each child's name on one of the notes. When you see something to celebrate, write a quick note. Send it home at the end of the day. Doing it this way helps you keep track of who you still need to send notes home with. I use one of these cute little printable note sets to keep it super simple. 

Here is another piece of advice on this one. If you have a child who is not easy, and let's face it, there's usually one every year, give these notes of praise even more often. Remember teachers, fair is not always equal. Fair is making sure each child receives what he or she needs and I make sure the students in my class know that they will not all be treated exactly the same because that may not be what he or she needs. Students with difficulties often have low self esteem, but you can help build that child up and strengthen your relationship with him or her by looking for things he or she is doing well or right. Be sure to be sincere and let him or her know exactly what you appreciate.

5. Have an open door policy. I know teachers who never give out their personal phone number or only allow parents to see them at certain times. I want my parents to feel and know that I am available to help them when needed. In the twenty years I have been teaching, I have NEVER had any parent overuse my phone number. Instead they are always respectful, apologetic, and thoughtful when they have to use it during my personal time. It certainly gives them a feeling that I care about their child and them and that feeling goes a long way. I am available to meet with parents after school as needed. It is not often that I need to meet with a parent or take a phone call, but I want them to know that I am there if they need me. 

Good communication will knock out a whole host of problems before they have a chance to begin. It is the number one way to keep parents informed, feel a part of the school experience, and be on your side. It is worth the time and effort. I am not a natural communicator. I am a quiet person, but knowing this about myself has made me push myself even harder to keep up the communication. So let's do it! Let's start this year on a positive note...and keep it that way.

If you need some resources to help, you can check these out. Click on the pictures below to be taken to the store.

Elf Surveillance in the Classroom

Christmas time is right around the corner and with it, Elf on the Shelf dolls are showing up in schools around the world, bringing the magic of the holiday season to classroom. Check out these fun elf surveillance reports. They are a fun way to spread positivity this Christmas season! You can find them right here.



It's time to dust off some of the old holiday games as well, check out my math resources to help make your holiday bright and bring some fun to math time. 

Staying Positive

One of my most important goals this year is to connect with my families. I want to make them feel like I think their child is loved and is and special person. One way that I am planning to do this is by sending home positive notes on a regular basis. It is so easy to focus on the negative and many times that is all that parents hear about their child especially the difficult ones. I admit, it is going to be challenging some days, but I really want to send some love their way at least twice per month. I created some little notes that go along with my theme that will help me out on this. These llama notes are simple, fun, and cute. I can't wait to use them.

Here's how I am organizing it all. First, I purchased a small clipboard specifically for the purpose of holding positive notes. I will write names on the notes at the beginning of each month and then look for ways to send them home. Is Johnny, who isn't usually quiet, having a great day of quiet learning? Time to pull out one of those notes and add a few words and sign it. When Jackie stops to help someone and wasn't even asked, time for a note home. 

I think that by looking for positive, I will see more positive. I sent my first note home today. And that little boy, who has had to have a lot of negative notes sent home in previous years, was glowing!

Last week I sent a few of these out and got great responses from the parents who received them. I even had one parent thank me and also let me know that I could also send negative news. LOL. 

How will this affect the relationships with the students and parents? Well, that is yet to be seen, but I do know that people tend to try to live up to what you think of them. So I want each student to think they are my favorite student ever. I want them to live like they are. I want the parents to look forward to hearing communication from school instead of dreading it. Many times they already know the problems their student struggles with. Why not show them that someone sees their child as they really are, a treasure! Who knows, maybe this could move mountains in the classroom. I am willing to give it a try.

You can find these little notes here.