3 FREE AND SIMPLE WAYS FOR TEACHERS TO PRACTICE SELF-CARE

Hello busy teacher friend,

Self- care is a popular topic among teachers recently. That's probably because as educators, we're constantly giving all of ourselves to the amazing little people around us daily that when we do have down time, we don't know how to use it! Let's face it, as amazing as our job is, it can also be completely exhausting. Because I am so passionate about being a teacher, it can sometimes be difficult to step away and find the time I need for myself. Yes, there are always items on all of our to-do lists, but what good are you to family, friends, or your students if all you ever do is focus on work and you never take time for you?

As I began winter break in December, one of my resolutions was to be more intentional about self-care. Here are 3 totally free self-care activities I put in my planner weekly.

ST. PATRICK'S DAY COUNTING MATS FOR TEEN NUMBERS

Happy March, teacher friends!

That's right, it's already March. I can't believe it either. It feels like we blinked and February was over. Today I'm sharing a fun, simple, free activity that's perfect for this month!

My students love anything themed and I love when they get to practice growing their number sense. I also love it when activities can be combined with anything that develops their fine motor skills. Counting mats are a great combination for this kind of practice! Your students will love these free St. Patrick's Day Teen Number Counting Mats. They'll be an exciting addition to your math lessons or hands-on center this month.

Grab this FREE activity and read about the various ways you can use them in your classroom over at The Kindergarten Connection. 

VALENTINE'S DAY COUNTING CENTERS

Confession time: Incorporating themed centers is not one of my strengths. I tend to stick to what works. That doesn't mean that I use the same centers over and over. I have a center organization system that works and a sufficient amount of activities, they're just not always themed. My themed centers for the year can fit into one plastic bin.

Why does this bother me? Well, this year my team has tried to stick to a weekly theme. And you know what? The kids LOVE themes. We try to immerse the students in it entirely across subject areas. A few weeks ago our theme was penguins. We read penguin books, learned about the life cycle of a penguin, and even made our greeting for Morning Meeting: Waddle Like a Penguin.

Knowing that incorporating a theme into as many aspects of our day as possible helps keep my students engaged and excited about learning, has made me realize that I need more themed activities for our centers.

Valentine's Day is coming up and I've been working hard to add themed activities to our learning fun. From Valentine's Day STEM (written for The Kindergarten Connection) to a Cards Writing Center, and now Counting Centers for Math! The following 3 activities are ideal for students to practice identifying, representing, and writing numbers 1-20.

HEART ENGINEERS: VALENTINE'S DAY STEM ACTIVITIES

It's time for another holiday teacher friends and that means even more themed fun! What's better for Valentine's Day than hearts? My kindergarteners absolutely love anything that has to do with building so on this special holiday, I combine STEM fun with all things hearts. Your kids will love these Heart Engineering STEM Activities that come with free printable recording sheets to help your students extend their learning.

These activities are a great addition to your math, science, or Valentine's Day Party plans. I hope you and your students have fun exploring, playing, and learning!

Grab the FREE printable and learn about these Heart Engineering Activities over at The Kindergarten Connection! 

WRITERS WRITE CARDS CENTER

Alright teacher friends, I don't know about you but sometimes I really struggle to come up with a variety centers for my kiddos. This is especially true for our writing center. I have several go-to activities that they love. There is a center organization system in place and activities are rotated so they're not doing the same thing all the time but it still feels repetitive to me. I would love for them to be exposed to different kinds of writing that are simple to complete for them and simple to set up for me.

This is the thought that made me decide to create templates for different kinds of writing we all do in real, every day life. With Valentine's Day coming up, cards seemed like the perfect first center to try.

DIARY OF A TEACHER ON BREAK

Hey teacher friends,

Raise your hand if you have not taken nearly enough time for yourself in the past (and by past I mean recent present). Are you raising your hand? I am. I've spent way too much time working this year, and while I'm proud of my accomplishments and the growth I see in my students because of it, I also know that focusing on work as much as I have is not healthy.

As I left school for winter break last week, I promised myself that I would not spend my entire break working. In fact, call me crazy, but I am not doing any school work this break. I am blogging and I am working on my TPT business a tad, but still definitely not full time. I am incredibly grateful to have a full 2 weeks off and intend to make the most of it. I asked teachers on Instagram this question to the right... and of course I didn't think to share the results on this blog in time.. but I do remember that most teachers selected "catch up on work" in this poll. 

I did not write this post to share every detail of my break with you. I wrote it to be honest about that fact that teachers NEED breaks. We need periods of time where we don't focus on work and we do enjoy our time off. I wrote it to hopefully inspire other teachers to do the same. If you're like me and struggle to keep a healthy work-life balance, I hope this post inspires you to get started. If you've been trying to be more intentional about taking time for you and for self-care, then please share in the comments how! I'm sure we'd all love to get more ideas on how we can better take care of ourselves :) Teachers are human too and we need rest.

TEACHING IN DECEMBER: MAKING IT MAGICAL AND MEANINGFUL {plus some freebies}

Happy December, teacher friends!

I know that December can be a very busy time, not just at home, but also at school. But can I just state something... I love teaching in December. Yes, our students might be a tad chatty. Yes, we have deadlines to meet and prepping to get done for when we get back from break. So yes... this month can be stressful. Until I take a step back and think about those sweet little ones we are so blessed to teach every single day.

This time of the year is incredibly magical to them. We truly are fortunate to get to teach during this special time. We have an opportunity. We get to create an environment that incorporates the magic of  the holiday season and academic skills. And that's exactly what I strive to do during December. Here's how:

ORGANIZING CENTERS TO MAXIMIZE STUDENT INDEPENDENCE

Hey Teacher Friends!

There are so many amazing ways to organize centers, but it's important to find a system that works for you. True Teacher Confession Time: When I first started centers in my classroom (as a first year teacher) I was so lost. The idea of my students rotating around the room, where to store centers, how students would get them ... I just couldn't wrap my head around it all! As a result, my centers definitely were not as efficient and effective as they could have been.
Looking back, I'm glad I had this experience, because it allowed me to develop a system that really works for me and my students. Today I'm going to share how my center system increases student independence in my classroom .... and I teach Kindergarten, by the way.
Just because they're my favorite... I'm going to show you my Math Centers in this post (but my Literacy Centers work exactly the same).

TIPS FOR MAKING THE MOST OF MORNING MEETING

Happy Fall, Teacher Friends!

It's officially November and we are finally getting the hang of this whole "school thing" in Kindergarten. If you teach little ones, you know that it can take some time before all parts of your day are up and running completely because teaching every little procedure is beyond important.

Rolling out a Morning Meeting that followed The Responsive Classroom format was a goal of mine this year. I am happy to share that a complete Morning Meeting is finally happening and it's also one of my favorite parts of the day.

2017 CLASSROOM REVEAL: PINEAPPLES & PURPOSE

Hi Teacher Friends!!
I just can't believe how fast the time flies. We have already headed back to school and my classroom is ready to be revealed! I wasn't required to be back in my classroom until August 16th, but of course I was in there by August 1st.

Typically, I may go in a day or two before teacher workdays start, but this year I just couldn't stay away. I thought long and hard all summer about changes I wanted to make in order to have a more purposeful and student-centered learning environment. And of course... all the pineapples ;) Because of all the changes, I spent just about every day in my classroom since the start of August and lots of time at Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, and our local Teacher Store. #teacherproblems

Here are a few spaces in my classroom and how I've made them purposeful for my little leaders:

6 THINGS YOU MUST DO BEFORE SUMMER BREAK

Alright teacher friends, it's about that time again! The end of the school year. Your brain is scrambling with so many thoughts...

First of all, how did this year fly by, yet again?!
Are my students ready?
How is it time for report cards already?? The fourth quarter JUST started!
Must plan the end of the year party...student gifts...parent volunteer thank-yous...next year's welcome letter...

I could keep going but I think I'll stop because I can feel my stress-level rising just typing this.

Among these responsibilities also comes packing up for next school year. And this whole thing has me thinking. Every year I say, "Next year I'm going to be more organized." "Next year I'll have all of my intervention activities prepped in August." "Next year, next year, next year. Well next year comes (always faster than I thought it would) and with all of the other beginning of the year responsibilities, I never get it done. Come the following June, I'm saying it again. Next year.... Well, no more for this teacher!