Shaping Little Minds

This is the time of year when teachers start to countdown the days till the end of the school year. This is the time of year where the mindset starts to become: “If I can get through X number of weeks or days, I’ll be good to go!” What if you could LOVE teaching and thrive?  I’ve got 3 tips for you: Tip #1: Set Boundaries Tip #2: Do things that bring you JOY Tip #3: Create space for intentional re...

Something so many teachers, new and veteran alike, struggle with behaviors in the classroom. It can feel impossible to navigate behaviors among all the other things happening inside the classroom. I did maternity leave coverage last school year and this class was TOUGH. I had been in the classroom on and off for nine years and I was struggling. So, today’s podcast episode is 3 ways I learned to na...

I have the incredible Ashley Strong Smith. Ashley is a courage coach who helps women live out intentional, courageous and dream-filled lives. We had the most incredible conversation and Ashley gave SO much good insight about how you can live a more courageous life outside of the classroom. Please help me welcome Ashley to the podcast! We talk about:  what it means to live a courageous life actions...

I never thought I was good at time management until I learned the tools to help me. As teachers we HAVE to manage our time during school hours otherwise we'll find ourselves working at all hours of the day and night and truly burning the candle at both ends. Sometimes without the right tools, it can feel close to impossible. That's why I recorded today's podcast episode give you the...

If you raise your voice, but feel like maybe you shouldn't or you don't have enough experience, this is the PERFECT podcast episode for you to tune into. As teachers, we can do so much more than just teach. We can teach others about what we do inside the classroom! It's something I started doing in 2020. It was scary but so worth it!  Carla is joining me to talk about this idea of r...

Burnout has become a normalized part of society but specifically normalized in the education space. I know that from the comments you see all over the internet from other teachers saying that it’s normal or it’s just a part of the job. I’m going to say that this absolutely should NOT be the norm. We are in the midst of a teacher shortage and there's a good reason for it.  In this episode, we...

It can be really hard to be flexible as a new or even struggling teacher. When it comes to flexibility in the classroom it’s about knowing when to change course, accepting that it won’t be perfect, and being prepared for anything that comes up during the school day. We break all of this down inside the podcast episode by asking: How does one know when to change course?  How can we accept that our...

Mindfulness is not only an important part of a persons life but also a part of the classroom for both yourself and your students. Today's guest is a Certified Mindfulness & Meditation Teacher and the founder of Goldminds Canada, a mindfulness for kids organization that creates a safe space for kids to talk about their emotions and participate in fun exercises that introduce them to deep b...

Literacy is an integral part of learning for children of all ages. It almost as important, if not more important, for children in early childhood. Early childhood is when children acquire a love of learning. In today's podcast episode, I had Beck from Grow with Beck which is an early education company that helps young learners develop literacy skills, early learning, and kindergarten readines...

Classroom routines are probably one of the hardest things to teach our students as new teachers. Many times, we over think and over complicate or doubt our abilities to be able to not only implement routines but also make them stick. Today we're talking about how to teach the routines you want to see inside your classroom. I give you a detailed explanation along with questions you can answer...

New teachers struggle to know where to begin once they get assigned to their own classroom. Unfortunately, I've spoken to many of those teachers; some are starting mid-year and some already started but are feeling not good enough. There are tools and knowledge teachers need that isn't given when you're in school for teaching. In today's episode, I dive into the first step teach...

As we move into 2024, I truly believe it's important for us to not only set goals for the new year but also reflect on the year that passed. Celebrate the good and find ways to navigate the bad differently in the following year. Today, I'm sharing six lessons I learned in 2023, after a truly difficult 2022. I'm walking into 2024 excited and ready to take action on my BIG goals! Happ...

This is one of the busiest times of year for educators as a whole. Thanksgiving never really feels like a true break and the time between Thanksgiving and winter break can feel excruciating, overwhelming, and truly exhausting. A lot comes up both in life and in the classroom. So how do you manage that? In this episode, I share four tools that have helped me thrive in the classroom when I was feeli...

It's really easy to get consumed in our teaching careers. Many of us spend SO much time wanting to excel in teaching that we suddenly lose ourselves in the process. In today's podcast episode, I dive into 3 components that can help you to start finding yourself again: our thoughts, our behaviors and our habits. We discuss how each one can pull you down but also how they can actually prop...

Coaching has become a sort of buzzword in the education space. It's important to understand what coaching can actually do for you and what you need to be looking for in a coach before you decide to work with them. Plus it never hurt to talk about the benefits of coaching!  Today, I got to speak to my friend Autumn all about coaching teachers and what that looks like.  Autumn is a career coach...

It can feel uncomfortable to set boundaries as a teacher, especially during a busy season. What if I told you boundaries can actually help create more space for you even during a busy season?  In this episode we discuss what could come up in the coming weeks, why that can be so hard to navigate without the right support, and the three main reasons we either don't set any boundaries and we set...

Most people think of balance as a 50/50 split. Personally, I believe a balance is about not only enjoying your job as a teacher but also enjoying life outside of the classroom. I believe we go through seasons. In today's podcast episode, I give you 3 steps to help you start to find a balance both in and out of the classroom.  Step 1: Create harmony in your classroom Step 2: Set Boundaries Ste...

When I started teaching, I was consumed by my work and so much so that I stopped exercising, declined invitations to social events, and rarely saw my family. Instead, I would come home after an exhausting day and I would stress over student issues or create lesson plans. It shouldn’t surprise you when I say… It didn't take me long to burn out and start questioning who I was outside of the cla...

I want to preface this by saying: there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with wanting a Pinterest perfect classroom. BUT if it’s causing you stress, anxiety and you feel like you’re going broke in the process… we should talk about it.  So the question is… Is this a self imposed expectation? Is it a societal expectation? Is it a school expectation?  I want to remind teachers of this: Your classroom will...

Teaching children how to read can feel hard and tricky. The Science of Reading is a curriculum that helps educators teach their students to read. It is the data based research that has been found to assist learners who struggle with reading and writing. I have a special guest on the podcast today coming to you all the way from Australia. Her name is Emily and she is going to discuss the science of...

Today’s episode is diving into myth #2: You have to be available 24/7 to be a good teacher. Here’s what we’ll cover: Why being available 24/7 doesn’t actually make you a better teacher What being available 24/7 can actually do to your nervous system 3 ways you can stop being available 24/7 and create peace of mind For whatever reason, teachers feel that they need to always be available; responding...

I got to chat with the play and mindset coach, Kara, where we dive into the importance of play as adults and what that can do for our inner child. There’s so much in here PLUS Kara has various resources for you to jump in on at any time.  This is what we cover: What play can look like as an adult What you can do to incorporate play If you find play "silly"  Healing our inner child throug...

Over the next several weeks, I’m going to be busting myths regarding what being a “good teacher” looks like. These episodes will go live every other week, with some incredible guest episodes in between. Today’s episode is the first of four and we are talking about the idea that you have to work outside of contracted hours to be a good teacher. Have you ever been told that in order to be a good tea...

Carla is an early childhood educator, speaker, podcaster and so much more. She is joining me on the podcast today to raise awareness to the importance of raising our voices as early childhood educators. She talks about how you can start to raise your voice, shares resources you can dive into, and shows a way to get past any imposter syndrome you might be feeling. Just remember: raising your voice...

Renata is an intuitive nutrition coach who helps women to nourish their body, mind and soul. I wanted her to have this conversation with me because it is back to school season and I KNOW how busy it can get. I asked Renata to share what skipping a meal can do to your body and why it’s so important to nourish your body even during busy seasons. Highlights: What is nutrition and what nutrition looks...