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Social Emotional LearningAs any teacher knows, dealing with kids can be a bit like herding cats. They're often full of energy, easily distracted, and prone to outbursts of emotion. But while dealing with chaotic classrooms may be exhausting, it's also important to remember that behind all the noise and mayhem are real kids with real feelings. That's why it's so important to incorporate social and emotional learning (SEL) into our teaching. By teaching our kids tools and strategies for regulating their emotions, we can help them to develop good mental health habits that will last a lifetime.  Look for ways to support your students' mental health. When they're feeling good, they're able to learn and be successful in school. That's why social emotional learning (SEL) should be part of your classroom management plan. SEL is all about teaching kids the skills they need to regulate their emotions and avoid meltdowns and anxiety attacks.  SEL ToolkitThere are many different tools that can be used for SEL. Here are a few that may be suitable for your SEL toolkit. Drawing: When students start to feel overwhelmed, encourage them to take out a piece of paper and start drawing. It doesn't matter what they draw, as long as it's something that makes them feel calm and relaxed. Headphones: Have headphones available to help kids focus. These can block out distracting noise and help them concentrate. Music: Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of music to help kids refocus and get back on track. Sensory Activities: Squeezing and releasing fists or tapping on the body can help kids release tension and calm down. Pushing against a wall can also sometimes help. Deep breathing: This is a simple, but effective strategy that can help kids relax and avoid an anxious state. Reading: Getting into a good book can sometimes redirect attention. Quiet spot: A spot without distractions allows kids to just settle and calm down. Splashing water on face: This could also snap a person out of an anxious state. Taking a walk: Going for a quick walk or maybe delivering a message to another classroom or the office can often redirect and calm a person down. Counting: Focusing on counting may help to calm panic feelings. Sitting on a wiggle cushion or a ball: This may help with sensory movement and allow focusing. **** Check below to get a free copy of calming strategies posters for your classroom. ****  One way to support social emotional learning is to provide these tools and strategies for kid's mental health. We can teach them how to identify and label their feelings, how to understand and cope with big emotions, and how to develop positive relationships. Additionally, we can provide opportunities for them to practice these skills through social-emotional learning activities and games. By supporting social emotional learning, we can help our kids to develop the skills they need to lead happy and fulfilling lives.  We need to be patient, kind, understanding, and present with our kids. They deserve our time and attention. When we give them that, we're helping to build a foundation of trust and love that will last a lifetime. Ultimately, every child is different and will respond to different tools and strategies. The important thing is to have a variety of options available so that you can find what works best for each individual child. By incorporating SEL into our teaching, we can help our kids to develop the skills they need to thrive both inside and outside the classroom. Calming Strategies PostersHere are some posters that might be helpful for your students. They are available for free for my newsletter subscribers. Click here to get your copy.  With a toolkit of SEL strategies available, you will no longer wonder how to deal with a chaotic classroom.There may still be times when mayhem happens, but kids will have the necessary tools to manage their emotions and classroom control will be attainable.    Related Posts
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The Power Of Self EsteemPositive self esteem and a positive attitude is very important for success in life. I believe it can be a game changer for kids if they learn to value their self worth and uniqueness. Kids that struggle with their own worthiness, find it hard to care about others. Helping them feel good about themselves will build self confidence and set the tone for a more successful year.  Lessons From Tigger And EeyoreAttitude has the power to change the way the day goes. Just look at Tigger and Eeyore. Although Eeyore is a lovable character, he see everything through dark clouds. It takes his friends to encourage him to try things out and find good in his world. Tigger is very happy go lucky and almost too bouncy and positive at times for his friends, but he sees the fun and excitement in everything and wants them to see it too. Imagine how it must feel for children to always see themselves as an Eeyore. “I can’t do anything right, I might as well not try because I am going to mess up. I’ve misplaced my tail again!” This won’t give them much incentive to try to do things or even imagine that life could work out well. “Tigger” children are game to try anything and don’t worry about the outcome. Excitement and fun is the focus Because of this, they keep going and trying even when it doesn’t work out the first time. We don’t have to be bouncing off the walls to have a positive outlook on the world, but it's important to see joy and not just negatives.  Optimism lesson suggestionsDo a lesson on optimism and pessimism using the example of Tigger and Eeyore. Expand it to share a couple of scenarios with kids in different situations that show how a positive or negative attitude affects the outcome of the situations. Discuss ways to change the situations. Example 1: At the beach: One boy wants to swim to the dock. He talks about diving off the edge, playing water tag, doing flips and having fun. The other complains, "The water is too cold, I can't swim very well, it's too far, I'd rather stay on the beach and watch." Example 2: The teacher introduces a new game. Sally is excited and ready to play. She gathers all the necessary equipment and asks her friend Nancy to join her. Nancy is hesitant. She worries that she won't be any good at it. She can't remember all the rules. She creates roadblocks that prevent her from trying. Add in more activities and lessons about self worth, self confidence, and power words. This can make a huge difference to how students respond to each other and situations that arise in the classroom.  The sooner we can help kids to see that they are unique and special, the sooner they will strive to be the best they can be. Their goal should be to improve themselves and not try to be someone else. A positive attitude is key. One of the sayings in my class was “Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?” This was a reminder for both the kids and myself that we need to check our attitudes and see if they are helping us to be successful.  In a world where we are surrounded by negative, a positive attitude is even more necessary. It is our job as teachers, to help kids see that they are valued and important and that they have much contribute to the world around them. We also need to help them develop good team skills and support them if they slip up. If we provide them with the tools to be good team players they will soar in a competitive world, pick themselves up when they fall, dust themselves off, and continue on. They will accept the minor setbacks are part of growing, not failures and they will be able to move forward.  Some Activities And ResourcesSuccess and Power words Bucket filling activities Acts of Kindness Optimist or Pessimist Task Cards I Am posters Name Acrostics  Last time, I wrote about a strong classroom management plan. If you add a self esteem component to your plan, you will have a positive classroom environment and a more successful year. Remember attitude is everything. Focus on what is going right and build a caring and respectful class community with these two things. You've got this! Positive Classroom Management Strategies and Self Esteem Go Hand In Hand I would like to give a free set of the smiles/frown edition to any of my email subscribers.   Related Posts
It Is Time To Take A BreakSpring Break has arrived for many people. In fact, some districts are returning to school soon. I hope that you have been able to take some time to relax and re-energize. It is so important to take care of yourself. This has been a stressful couple of years and now that we can start doing things again, hopefully you will be able to take time to enjoy spending time with family and friends.  Many of you have finished your report cards and conferences and can now move on to the next term. Others will be preparing for assessments. Use the time off to take a mental break so you will be refreshed and ready to handle the testing and reporting ahead. If you are getting ready to start new projects or assignments, the temptation is to do some of the work while on vacation. Although this seems like a good idea, in some cases it can have a negative effect because it can interfere with actually relaxing and de-stressing. Our bodies and minds need to take time to relax if we are to remain healthy.  Why It Is Important To Take Care Of YourselfI had a conversation with someone the other day and she told me that she is in great pain and has anxiety because she didn't take the time needed to let her body and mind heal after a car accident and some other stresses a while back. Now whenever she gets stressed her nervous system goes into overdrive and she is in pain. She had to take a stress leave from work as a result. Her message is: Don't be in too big a hurry to get back to doing everything. Give yourself time to mentally and physically relax and recharge. The Stress Is RealTeaching now is harder than it has ever been and it is causing many teachers to rethink staying in the classroom. Now it is more important than ever to look after yourself so you can look after others. This reminds me of being on an airplane and being told to put on my own oxygen mask before helping put masks on others. Our instincts tell us to help our kids first, but if we don't have an oxygen supply ourselves, we won't be able to help them. The same is true for us as teachers. If we don't have anything less to give, we can't help others.  Literacy And Math Suggestions For SpringWhen you are ready to return to class, if you are looking for resources for your students that are spring themed, I have a few that might work for you. They require little preparation and they are fun activities for the kids to do. Here are some different spring sight word resources that might be helpful for guided reading groups and literacy centers.
For Math, here are a few that will help with number recognition and place value.
As you gear up again, check out this blog post for some great projects to try for social studies. Our Solar System project is a fun one to do for science as well.  Turn Off Your Teacher Brain For AwhileDon't let this confuse you. I still think you need to take time to relax and turn off your teacher brain to enjoy other moments during the break, but I know that as the day to return comes you will have trouble doing that, so I wanted to give you some resource ideas that will help get you back in the teaching mindset again without too much stress. From there, you can move on to more heavy duty material and instruction. Remember, the kids have also taken time to shut out school for a couple of weeks and they will need to be eased back into study mode.   How Self Confidence Impacts Our Self WorthDo you sometimes feel like you are surrounded by people who are better than you? Are you sometimes afraid to participate because you don't think you will be good enough? It may surprise you to find out that this is a common feeling and most people experience it at one time or another. Many people will try to fake it and attempt to hide it from others, but I suspect if you did an anonymous survey, you would probably have a high percentage of people saying it is true.  Believe in yourselfSometimes when you are surrounded by others who excel, it is hard to put yourself out there. You feel like you don't measure up and you might get criticized or ridiculed by others. I get it. I have a high achieving, talented family and I often feel like I am the "weakest link". The funny thing is, others feel that way when they are around me because they look at me as being the high achiever and talented one.  What I have learned along the way, is you sometimes need to put yourself out there and try, even when it is hard. Asking for help is difficult for us as adults, but we are always encouraging our students to do so. I guess we should take our own advice and do the same.  A Personal Example In school, I found writing difficult, particularly poetry. This feeling carried over to my teaching, and I found it difficult at first to embrace teaching poetry. I could do the basics and I could help my students get started, but I found it challenging because sometimes I didn't feel that I could do it well myself. I needed to remind myself that I could do it and focus on this. When I was in school, we would have to do many different types of writing, including poetry, and sometimes I was successful, but often I felt that I wasn't doing a great job. I got varying reactions from my teachers which made me start to doubt myself. It wasn't until I was in Grade 11 that I felt I could even write well. That year was a changing point for me because I had a teacher who believed in me and encouraged me to keep writing. My short stories improved and my confidence started to build. Poetry was still a challenge, but I felt that I was able to at least meet the criteria. I realized that writing is subjective and what some people like, others don't. It wasn't always a case of my writing being "bad", it was a case of my not being able to convey my feelings in a way that connected with some individuals. Once I learned that, I attempted to write more and use more variety and description. I started to get more positive feedback and this helped me to get through the assignments. I continued to keep trying and I started to feel like I could write well.  How it made a differenceFast forward to my classroom and my students throughout the years of my teaching career. I was able to see this struggle with my kids in different subject areas and I was able to be the teacher that encouraged them. Sometimes it took a while, but in most cases, I was able to see growth and even a love of reading and writing develop in them. Math was a bigger challenge, but that even began to take on a different effort as kids started to see themselves as capable. Confidence began to flourish and successes became more evident. I used the following posters as our classroom themes. I believe these sayings and I tried to help my students to take them to heart and believe them too.  How teachers make a differenceAs teachers, we have a huge influence on our students, whether we want to admit it or not. It is important to help them to become strong, confident, and valued people that are able to go out into the world and be successful. We don't know what they will choose to do in their lives, but we can give them the tools to strive for their goals. If we encourage them to continue to keep trying when things get tough, they will learn perseverance and determination. If we acknowledge their progress, they will start to gain confidence and realize that they are capable of more. If we treat them as valuable, we will help them to see their own self worth. In this time of mental health struggles with young people, this is very important. We need to be our students' cheerleaders and guides.  Teachers need encouragers tooWe also need to be encouragers to our friends and colleagues who may be struggling to feel like they are worthy and valued. Especially now with the struggles of teaching during a pandemic. Our confidence has been shaken and we are sometimes beginning to doubt ourselves. If you are feeling uncertain or wondering if you are doing a good job, I want to assure you that you are not alone. You should be proud of yourself for hanging in there during difficult circumstances. If you are feeling like you need help, don't be afraid to ask for it. There are many people out there who would be happy to help and provide support and encouragement. I can tell you from experience, that you can get through tough times with support. Who knows, down the road you may be the one providing support to others as they struggle through tough times. It happened to me, so I know if can happen to others.  You've got this. You are valued, appreciated, and worthy. Believe in yourself. Here are some posters I made that may help remind you and your students that you are valuable and worthy. Click on the image to check them out.  Sign up for my newsletter and get a free sampler of posters.   How The Way We Feel Affects How We Look At The WorldHappy New Year! It is hard to believe another year has passed. Who would have thought we would still be in the midst of a pandemic almost two years later. This year, it is important to be able to move on and look forward even though we are still dealing with restrictions and concerns over the virus that continues to impact our lives. We often focus on all the things that are going wrong and these things can make it difficult to see things that are going right in the world. I would like to challenge both you and me to try to find the good out there and make that a focus for 2022.  Imagine how we could change the world if we were able to find the good in people instead of criticizing them. Think of all the positive energy we could add to a situation if we started to focus on what is right in the world. A teacher friend of mine sent out an email the other day that was a great reminder of this. She uses colours for moods and puts them in her planner each day to indicate what kind of day it was. She noticed that when she looked back at the year, she had many days that had positive moments that she might have forgotten about if she had not made a note of them.  I have also seen different posts about gratitude jars. If we put one thought of gratitude on paper each day, or even each week, and put it in the jar, at the end of the year, we will be amazed at how much we have to be grateful for. Since it is the new year, this might be a good time to try that.  In the fall, I wrote about gratitude and created a gratitude journal for the four seasons. You can find out more about it here. This is a great place to record thoughts and reminders of things to be grateful for. Kids would benefit from using this type of journal. It is important to learn how to appreciate things and focus on what we have instead of always thinking about what we want.  I have created a personal feelings template that can be made into a personal feelings journal for the year. It is available on my followers free resources page for subscribers. I have added it to my Teachers Pay Teachers store for those who wish to purchase a copy.  Our attitude affects how we feel. If we are hopeful and positive, we will make it through challenging time. I hope that you will have a year full of good memories. Hang in there. We've got this!   Related Posts
Mental Health First and Academics SecondI remember talking to a friend of mine one day about how things had changed and she reminded me that there were some positive things that came out of last year that hopefully would be continued this year. For instance, kids were washing their hands more often, staying home when they weren't well, taking more care with belongings, cleaning up better, and focusing more on their own work instead of socializing so much. Of course, there were also many things that were missing that were important for social emotional learning. Being able to return to in person learning and carefully starting to do group activities really made a difference for some kids. I realize that not all schools went totally back to in person teaching, but hopefully they will soon. We learned how important personal connections are as we were prevented from being together for so long. This was a wake up call for many as the number of children suffering from mental health issues increased significantly in the last year and a half. It goes to show how important it is to ensure that we focus on the social emotional well-being of our students. Academics are important, but not at the expense of a child's mental health.  Teaching SEL Helps Develop Good Mental HealthWe, as teachers, nurture the kids and help them to develop positive self esteem and self confidence. It is important that we help them to see that they are special and valuable. Often, when kids act out, they are really crying for attention or help with issues that they may not be able to voice or even recognize. We need to look past the behavior and try to see what may be causing it. This is not an easy task and we may not get it right, but if we are able to let the child see that we care, hopefully it will make a difference.  Getting back to the basicsI heard from many teachers that this year has been a big challenge because of the wide range of levels they need to teach in their classes. Since the start of the pandemic this gap has grown. Some children flourished with online learning and others floundered or didn't even show up. Assignments were left incomplete, comprehension was sporadic, and trying to teach a skill or concept to everyone at the same time virtually was often very difficult and unsuccessful. Now that many children are back in the classroom, the teacher needs to reassess what they know and where the gaps are so that they can continue on. This may lead to many stressful moments for both the kids and the teachers, especially during assessment times and testing times for those schools that are required to do standardized testing. I know it may seem unmanageable at times, but it is important that the focus be on what is good for the kids. If it means stepping back and revisiting material that was previously covered in order to provide the base for future learning, do it. If it means that you have to teach in small groups to reinforce and reintroduce concepts, do it. If it means that you won't get to some of the material this year, then so be it. Pushing through the curriculum just to complete it won't benefit anyone. You will feel like you didn't do your best teaching, and the kids will not get the understanding and knowledge needed to be successful in future lessons. Everyone will feel frustrated and stressed.  You've got thisYou may be reading this and saying to yourself, "But you don't understand. It isn't up to me. I am responsible for teaching this curriculum so that my students can do well on the tests." I get it, but I also get that the kids won't do as well on the tests if they don't have a proper understanding of the material. As I said earlier, we need to protect their mental health. Even if it means the academics have to be limited for a short time. When you give extra support and teaching in the areas that are weak, the kids will develop the skills and confidence to move on to more difficult material and they will ultimately fair better with future assessments and the curriculum requirements. Remember that every group has had some disruption and that there are many children that are struggling with the academics across the country, and maybe even across the world, so you are not alone with this predicament.  You've got this. Your students will start to catch up as you support them where they are. Remember to encourage them along the way and help them to see that they will be successful and they will be able to reach for their goals and succeed along the way. Next week I will give some specific ideas for getting back to the basics for primary children. Hang in there. The holiday break will be here soon and you will be able to recharge and regroup. It may not always feel like it, but you do make a difference for your kids. You are a star. Keep on shining even if the light doesn't seem very bright at times.   Related Posts
Thanksgiving And GratitudeThere is always occasion to be thankful and to show gratitude, but at this time of the year, it is a main focus here in Canada. Next week is Thanksgiving and despite all that is happening around us in the world, there are many things to be thankful for. This is the time to stop and take time to remember and recognize the good things and the things that we have been blessed to have or experience. This is especially important right now for our mental health.  Of course, this may not be an easy task for many because of all the negative stuff we are bombarded with daily, but it is very important for our own mental well being and for our interactions with others. It is hard to be positive and happy when all we hear and see each day is negative. We need to start filling up our buckets and those around us with gratitude and blessings. As we begin to focus on these things, our attitudes will change and we will be able to be more positive and productive. People will want to be around us rather than avoid us and we will ultimately fill more buckets and spread kindness around us.  One way we can begin is to review what bucket filling is and why it is important. We can also start a gratitude journal and write down a list of things that we are grateful for. Another activity that works well is a compliment sheet for others. Often we don't realize that we are helping others feel good and doing things that they appreciate. A compliment sheet allows others to share what they notice or appreciate. It is amazing to watch kids beam when they see that they have made a difference for others.  I have created some seasonal gratitude journals. You can check them out here. I am giving a free copy of the fall journal for you to try. Get your free copy now.  For most people, Thanksgiving time is a special time for family. It is a time to gather together and share a meal and just enjoy being with each other. Last year, many of us didn't have the opportunity to get together because of the pandemic. Sure, we were able to meet through video chats, but it was not the same. It really brought home how much gathering together was important when we weren't able to do so. I am hoping that we can make up for that this year and really look forward to being with everyone. I hope that you are too.  Of course, not everyone will have a happy time during the Thanksgiving weekend. We need to be aware of those who may have challenges and try to help them to have a reason to be thankful too. This might be helping out at a soup kitchen and sharing smiles and stories with others. It might be inviting someone who is all alone over to join you for dinner. Each situation will be different and the options will need to fit in with the families doing the giving and sharing, but if everyone does something to make it a happier time, we will all benefit. The saying, "Giving is better than receiving" never was truer. There is no better time to help change the outlook for people from a negative, hopeless view to a positive and hopeful view. Together we can help make this happen.  Of course, there are also all of the typical types of activities done at school that can be included as reading, writing, or math activities to help the kids focus on the meaning of Thanksgiving. These are important learning activities, but I still feel that we need to go further than just sharing information. We need to adopt a kindness attitude. What better time to do acts of kindness than now.  Acts of kindness can be very simple and free. Sometimes people think they need to spend money to give to others. A smile, helping hand, visit, or phone call can also help to make someone's day better. We can help in so many ways if we just stop and think about others and how we can make their day a little brighter. If we do acts of kindness for others, we will set the example for our students, and our own families.  I believe that an attitude of gratitude and thanks will make the world a better place. If we are grateful for what we have, we will have a positive outlook on life. We will be able to share this with others and fill our buckets and theirs too. It truly is important for good mental health.  Don't forget to grab your free copy of the fall gratitude journal here. For free resources, tips, and ideas, sign up for my newsletter.  Getting back into the swing of thingsSummer break is over. School is back in session! For some, you have already been in session for a few weeks. For others, this is your last weekend of break. The question on many teachers' minds is "What will this year bring?" Some kids are excited, some are anxious, some are disinterested, and some are unhappy. There are so many emotions during the regular return to school, but with the uncertainty and constant changes last year as we navigated through the unknowns of the pandemic, some emotions escalated. Many kids experienced more anxiety, confusion, and frustration as they tried to learn in new environments and situations, many parents experienced anxiety and frustration as they navigated online and at home instruction, and teachers experienced anxiety, uncertainty, frustration, and burnout as they tried to balance in person, online, and hybrid teaching situations.  There was hope that we would be closer to a more normal school year, but things are still changing and we need to be ready to change gears at any moment. This uncertainty is causing teachers stress even before school begins. Many of my teacher friends are still waiting to find out what grade level they are teaching, how many students they will have, and even where they will be teaching. Primary teachers ready to go kitIt is important to have some things ready for any situation to help get through the transitions of the first weeks. You might call it a survival kit. This kit would need activities for various grades, subjects, and configurations of students. The question is, what should be in this kit? Here are some ideas for primary grades. (Some could be modified for intermediate classes, but since most of my teaching was in primary, I have decided to focus on that level for this sample.)  Literacy ideas that are ready to goHere are some literacy activities that will engage and provide reading and writing practice for your students. Selections are from various free and paid products. The full products are listed below. Refreshing Idioms Task Cards (sample from the full product) 5 Senses Stories Story Board Fun (activity from Back To School Math And Literacy Ideas) Summer Parts Of Speech (one set of cards from the package) Fall/Autumn Parts Of Speech (one set of cards from the package) Find The Evidence (sample pages) Soundo (part of Alphabet Game Boards) Vocabulary Mandalas (one mandala) Basic Vocabulary Activities ( activities from the product)  Quick and fun math activitiesHere are some fun math activities to help your students work on basic math skills. Selections are from various free and paid products. The full products are listed below. Ipad Glyphs (sample from the full product) Pumpkin Glyphs (sample from the full product) Measure Up! (activity from Welcome Back To School) Summer Sports Activity Bundle (activity from the bundle) Measurement Games Team Events ( one event from the games) Number Mandalas Addition and Subtraction ( one of the mandalas) Literacy and Math Game Cards (2 game cards)  Science fun and experimentsThese science activities will keep kids entertained while learning about science facts. Selections are from various free and paid products. The full products are listed below. Amazing Weather Facts Posters (freebie) Are You A Rectangle Or A Square (freebie) String Telephones The Clink-Clunk Test  Team building activitiesTeam building is important at the beginning of the year, but also throughout the year. Here are some activities that can be done in groups or with partners. Back to School Ice Breaker (freebie) Escape Room What Am I? Vocabulary activity (one activity from the set) Find Someone Who (activity from Back To School First Week Activities) Stumpers (activity from Back To School First Week Activities) What Am I? (sample pages from What Am I?)  Self esteem activitiesMaking sure that children understand that they are valuable and important will help to develop positive self esteem. Here are some activities that will help with this. Paying It Forward (freebie) Optimist or Pessimist Task Cards (one set of cards) Goal Setting And Reflections (freebie)  Brain breaks and active gamesHere are some active classroom games that can be played as brain breaks or in the gym or outside to provide movement and stimulation between other subject activities.  Each of these areas is available as a separate package, or you can get the whole bundle to keep on hand for activities to use throughout the year. It will be helpful when you need to prepare for substitute teacher on short notice or if you just need a quick activity to use. You can find the kit here. As I indicated, this is just a sample of some of the things that could be done. It will be up to you to add your own creativity, experience, and preference to your ready to go kit. For more ideas and resources, you can check out the various categories in my TeachersPayTeachers store. If you are looking for back to school resources, you can check out my recent blog post for resources and tips. I wish you all the best as you venture into a new school year.  Note: This resource has been updated and more resources have been added to it. For free resources, tips, and ideas, sign up for my newsletter.  Returning To SchoolThe first week back at school can be different things for different kids. Some dread returning, some are scared, some are excited, some are nervous, and some don't really know what to feel. We need to be aware of all these different emotions and find ways to help each child feel comfortable and excited to learn. This won't be easy, and there may be some kids that take a while to adjust, but it is a goal that we should aim to achieve. If kids are eager to learn, it makes life easier for the teacher as well. It can be challenging to motivate and encourage kids if they don't seem to be interested and they resist participating.  Tips To Make The First Week Back PositiveThere are many different things that you can do to help make the first week back positive and help the kids to engage in their learning. Here are a few suggestions. Use games and ice breakers to help kids to get to know each other and work together as a team. This may be uncomfortable for some of the kids, so be aware of this and try to relieve some of the anxiety or lack of comfort by pairing them with someone they know, or by being their partner or team mate. Make sure the activities are low pressure so that they can be fun, but not too stressful. If you have kids that were with you last year, give them roles of leadership and allow them to help guide the new kids through the rules and routines and be "the teacher" sometimes. Have them buddy up with some of the others who may be feeling nervous or anxious about joining in.  Summer AdventuresI often had my students write about their summer holiday and all the adventures they had. But, as I learned that summer break is not always a happy time for some kids, and it is something that they may not feel comfortable sharing about in a written activity or an oral sharing time, I made some adjustments. I started to share some of my summer adventures with my classes and then do a quick written summary example with them. I then gave kids an option. If they wanted to, they could share their own summer adventure. If they found this difficult, they could write an imaginary story of summer adventures or they could write about another topic. The goal was to get them back to writing so I wanted them to have options that would work with their experiences.  Team Building And Developing Positive Self EsteemGetting the class to become a team and learn to work together, is really important if you want to have them develop trust and respect for each other. There are many ways to do this, but I feel that the most important piece is creating positive self esteem and a caring attitude towards others. There are many activities that can be done to help make this happen. I often begin my year by teaching about Tigger and Eeyore and how they view the world. We look at the difference between optimism and pessimism and how that can affect our day. I created some optimist/ pessimist task cards that allow the kids to talk about different situations and how they can react positively or negatively in them. Once we have learned about optimism and pessimism, I talk to the kids about attitudes and how important they are. I use the phrase, "Attitudes are contagious. Is yours worth catching?" I like to have this posted in the classroom as a reminder when lots of complaining happens.  Success Words, Bucket Filling, And MoreDeveloping self confidence and a belief in oneself is necessary if one is to feel successful and valued. There are several different things that can be done to help with this. Name acrostics, all about me activities, and talent shields are some examples. One of the activities I like to do is "success or power words". It is amazing how these words can become so powerful when they are a focus. Many of my students would find things that said "believe" and point them out to me when they learned that it was my power word. I even received a couple of gifts that had the word on them. You can find out more here. Bucket filling activities are also a great way to help kids to see how they cause others to feel based on their words or actions. I remember sharing stories with my class about different situations that happened to me. One time my daughter had her young children talk to me on the phone because they needed reminders to fill buckets instead of emptying them. They immediately changed their behaviors. (Was it the bucket filling reminder or was it wanting to please Grandma? Does it matter, it worked.) I like to tie in Acts of Kindness to bucket filling. They complement each other nicely. It is great to see the kids focusing on others instead of themselves, as well.  Brain Breaks And MovementMake sure to include some brain breaks and movement activities during the day. Remember, if we get exhausted the first week back, kids do too. They have been away from school for a couple of months and they need to readjust to sitting and doing activities for several hours of the day.  Each Day Is A Fresh StartKids need a reason to want to be at school and learn. If they have a cloud of negative behavior following them around, it is hard to feel motivated to try again or to improve. It is important to allow them to have a fresh start every day and to recognize the improvements in both attitude and behavior. We would want a fresh start and maybe even a do over, so it makes sense to provide this for our kids. This has been my policy for many years. I also find that if I don't look into the history of a child or get the low down from previous teachers immediately, unless it is related to a health or safety issue, or an IEP, I get to form my own opinion of the child and they have a chance to start with a clean slate. I learned how valuable this was a few years ago when I had a child with behavior issues that I was unaware of and after 3 weeks in my classroom, his mother commented that it was the longest he had ever been in a regular classroom. At this point, I did check into his history and I learned of some of the issues, but because we had already built up a relationship and he had not exhibited huge behavior issues, we were able to have a successful year. I did have to make some adjustments to different assignments and allow him to have some flexibility in his learning style, but it worked.  Have Fun With Your StudentsHave fun with your students and let them into your world. It is important for them to make a connection with you. I find it interesting to see how they react to some of my personal stories about my family, my pets, and my adventures outside of school. They often have wonderful connections and they love sharing them with me. Years ago when I first started teaching, I was told not to relax and smile at first. It was thought that it would be easier to maintain control and manage the class this way. I learned that it was better to share a part of me and build the relationship immediately. Kids want to feel included, not managed. Enjoy being with your students and they will respond accordingly.  I hope these tips have helped and that you will have a wonderful year. Next time I will share some resources and activities with you. In the meantime, if you are interested in getting some free resources, sign up for my newsletter.  What are core values and beliefs?Core values are traits, beliefs, and guiding principles that direct a person or group's behavior and purpose. These values are sometimes deeply rooted and not easily identified, but they are the window to a person's perception of the world. It is important to understand what these values are and how they affect behavior. Schools have values that they follow. They create mission statements that indicates these values. It is important to understand these values and then create a learning environment that demonstrates them. Some examples would be: mutual respect and responsibility, people-focused, inclusive, collaborative, positive and diverse, focused on developing student potential and excellence. People have their own personal set of values and beliefs as well. These are the driving force behind everything they do.  Depending on where you look, you can find many different lists and categories for core values. If we consider character traits as demonstrating core values, many of these are what we consider positive and valuable. What are some traits that are important to you? What do you hope to instil in your students? Consider the following: honest, responsible, caring, compassionate, curious, creative, determined, ethical, generous, giving, displays gratitude, hopeful, inclusive, kind, optimistic, patient, resourceful, inclusive, fair These are a few of the different character traits that can also be part of someone's core values. There are many more, but I hope you get the idea. Why is it important to know your core values?As a teacher, I feel that my core values affect how I approach my students, teach my lessons, and engage in collaboration with my colleagues. One of the goals in education is to teach children to be responsible citizens and to help them reach their potential. We share values and beliefs with them and help them to develop positive values and beliefs in themselves. If we don't have a clear idea of our own values, how will we be able to effectively do this? Knowing your own core values will help you to create positive relationships with your students, teach them to be successful and valued members of the community, and create a positive learning environment.  Identifying core valuesI changed my values somewhat over the years as I developed my understanding of what was important and non-negotiable in my teaching career. I began to recognize that certain approaches and behaviors impacted my teaching and my relationships with my students. I found certain things key to their success and these became the cornerstone for my teaching. My biggest belief is that everyone can learn and be successful. If we support kids and believe in them, it is amazing what they can accomplish that they never dreamed was possible. I still remember substituting in a resource room early in my career and doing activities with children with many different challenges. It was interesting to discover that this didn't phase me. We did many things that were unexpected and engaging, and it was so exciting to see the children participating in whatever way worked for them. The support staff were surprised to see them accomplish some of the tasks. I think sometimes it is good not to know what limitations people supposedly have so that you don't let that determine what you can or cannot do.  Another important value for me is teaching kids to have a positive attitude towards life. I often start off my year teaching about optimism and pessimism and how attitude has the power to affect your daily life. We use the phrase "Attitude is contagious. Is yours worth catching?" and we focus on attitude being everything. It is amazing how things in the classroom change when we approach things with a positive attitude. Nowadays, this is looked at and approached as having a positive mindset.  As I became more aware of how my attitude and approach to teaching impacted my students' learning, I made sure to find ways to improve and help my students to strive to reach their potential and be successful in their learning.  These core values and beliefs directed my teaching instruction and my interactions with my students. I will be sharing some of the ways in future blog posts. As you reflect on what your core values are, I hope you will be able to see how you positively use them as you help students thrive and reach their potential. Just as we want our students to recognize and value their strengths and talents, it is important for teachers to do the same. Thank you for all you do for your students.   |
About Me Charlene Sequeira
I am a wife, mother of 4, grandmother of 9, and a retired primary and music teacher. I love working with kids and continue to volunteer at school and teach ukulele. 
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