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Read aloud time is my favorite time of the day with every age group that I’ve taught! Nothing is more bonding than experiencing a book together and the deep personal connections that are made through discussions on the characters!

55 Positive Things to Say to Kids #wordsofaffirmation #speaklife #setthetone

Going back to work after break can be difficult, but remember that there are students who have been anxiously waiting to come back to school and are excited to be with you again! Greet them at the door with sincere happiness to see them!

#classpet

A student said to me this week, “I think the reason we can all focus in your class is because you give us time to be silly and hyper, and you’re silly with us, so when it’s time to focus, we focus.” Thought provoking feedback from a middle schooler.

A silent classroom is not necessarily an engaged classroom. The success of a teacher is not measured by the quietness of their students.

When I was training to be a teacher, I heard that “A teacher should be respected not loved”. Now as an experienced teacher, I argue that this gives teachers the misconception that they need to be feared, when actually you can gain respect through love.

I start every single day sitting on the floor in a circle with my students while we spend a few minutes sharing about what is going on in our lives. This is the number one thing I’ve never changed about my teaching over the years, because it pays off.

Today a student asked me to come read with him during independent reading time, and I can’t express how beneficial that time was. It’s so bonding to enjoy books together!

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.” One morning this last week, I held a student while she cried so hard it soaked through my clothes. Our students have so much that they carry on their minds and hearts. They fight battles too.

When I told my students that school was canceled for the rest of the month because of COVID-19, they came up with a plan to come to my house instead. They said, “It wouldn’t be ‘school’, it’d just be you having a bunch of friends over, and then you could read to us everyday!”💔

School is NOT closed for the year. The building is. If you listen closely you can hear the hum of hard working teachers, administrators, and support staff preparing to save the day in ways and means never seen before. Yes, we are brokenhearted, but these broken hearts will lead

It’s a difficult time to be hard of hearing and depend on reading lips. I learned this the hard way today at a doctor’s appointment where I left in near tears because everyone has to wear masks and I can’t understand everything that is being said.

I may, or may not, have just walked out the front door and then walked back in just to call to my dog, watch it run at me so in love and excited to see me again, and then snuggle together in the entryway like I’d been away for days! #QuaratineLife

This evening, five of my students FaceTimed me just to chat. I’ve been struggling with the idea that my maternity leave is ending and that I have to leave my baby, so this is just what my heart needed to remind me of why I teach. #relationshipsfirst

No new mom wants to hear that she looks tired and how you can’t relate because all your children slept through the night since birth.

When I was in college, I was taught that “teachers should be respected, not loved”. Now as an experienced teacher, I argue that this mentality leads teachers to believe that they need to be feared. When in reality, you can earn respect through connection and consistency.

Being unable to read lips because of masks gives me so much anxiety, on top of worrying about bringing sickness home to my baby. This thought gives me empathy for my students and the additional insecurities and worries school may bring for them.

An administrator once asked me if I teach for the kids or for the money in response to me asking for a raise. I was making $28,000/year. Manipulating teachers to do more for less needs to stop. We are professionals. We deserve to be treated as such.