teacher inspiration
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A Blog Post about Blog Posts
I know that’s quite the title for a post, but it’s the best way I can think to describe what I want to share here! I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can use this space to support those of you are serving so many different roles in the early care and education field – especially those of you who are childcare professionals. I love sharing fun posts about activities, projects, and printables – but these are the easy things. There are so many great ideas already available, and to be honest I know that coming up with things to do with children isn’t the hardest part of the…
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Using Amazon Idea Lists for the Classroom
It’s safe to say that online shopping is one of my favorite past times – I’m sure that says A LOT about me! There’s a tool that I’ve been using recently to help organize my wish lists and favorite purchases and it can be used in so many different ways. I’ve got to share what I’ve been doing with Amazon Idea Lists for the classroom. An idea list is an excellent place to keep all of those items that you’re thinking about, looking for, or really loving. These lists are easy to share with others so that you can collaborate. This makes planning classroom or school events something that can…
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Leaning into what brings me joy
I got a little vulnerable with you on Monday – this time of year is tough. The pressure to jump back into a routine after the holidays, when I’m not really ready for that, causes some friction. Add the dreary weather and joy can be a little hard for me to come by. I’m working through it by leaning into the things that I know bring me joy – a “Joy List” if you will! Whenever I’m feeling a little down – whether it’s because I’m burnt out at work, clouds and cold are impacting my mood, or I’m just in need of a pick me up – I like…
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Finding the Joy
This is the time of the year that’s the most difficult for me – the happiness of the holiday season is over and I feel like I’ve been thrown back into work without actually getting the rest and relaxation that I’d been so looking forward to. It’s burnout at it’s finest. Plus the weather is gray and dreary, which never helps. This is the month when I have to be truly intentional about finding my purpose in the work that I do so that I can enjoy it. The real question is, how do I do that??? There’s not an exact science to it – I’ve tried a variety of…
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Ask for donations – and actually get them!
Let me paint a picture – You have this great activity planned and you can’t wait for the children to get really creative with it, so you make a list of materials that you need and hand it out to all of the parents with a deadline for their classroom donations. That deadline comes and you’ve received 1 or two items off your list. Now you have a choice, do you cross the activity off your list or find another way to secure the materials you need – even if it means buying them yourself? Raise your hand if this has happened to you – is your hand raised? Mine…
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Great Teacher Outfits
One of my favorite posts that I’ve ever shared is a collection of my favorite clothes to wear to teach in. I published this post in 2014, so I figured it was time for an update. Here are the items that I find myself wearing over and over. This Swing Dress is the single most comfortable thing that I own. It looks great with leggings, and mine is long enough to wear without leggings when the weather gets warmer. I ordered it from Amazon and there are a ton of colors and sleeve lengths available and it’s only $18.99! (Affiliate link) This LC Lauren Conrad top from Kohl’s is both…
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Personalized Puzzles
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My Favorite Teaching Quote
I’ve shared this quote here before, but it’s always worth sharing again! This is my all-time favorite teaching quote because it helps me keep my priorities straight and remember to follow the children’s lead. I always tell the teacher I work with that you should be able to learn as much from your students as your students learn from you, and this quote is a constant reminder of that! Download a printable version here
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10 Tips for Building Relationships with Families
When I started “Family February” I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to write that many posts about one topic – I should’ve known better. Not only are families a huge piece of the work that we do – because children’s lives are so highly influenced by the experiences of their families – but I also love love love family engagement. I know it’s technically March, but I want to wrap up my Family February with a little bit of a summary. So here are 10 tips for building those relationships with families: Be available – If a family member needs to talk to you find a…
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Lesson Planning Supplies
Raise your hand if your new years resolution had something to do with making sure your lesson plans get done sooner – this was always me. I felt like I knew what I wanted to do the upcoming week, but actually sitting down and planning it all out was the one task that got pushed off all week. Then, when I did get time to put my lesson plans together I would find that I really didn’t have enough ideas, or all of my ideas needed a ton of prep work – prep work that I didn’t have time for. I’m here to give you a couple of suggestions so…
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Resource Review – The Wonder Weeks
I know that back to school season is in full swing, but I thought I’d do something a little different this year. Instead of sharing tips, tricks, and classroom ideas (because I’ve shared plenty of those already) I thought that I would share some of my favorite resource books. Everyday this week I’ll do a review of a different book that I have read, loved, and use regularly. These will be books that are part of my own personal resource library and have helped me in some way – whether they’ve made planning easier, changed my teaching philosophy fundamentally, or helped me understand my students better. I hope that you will take…
