Shaping Little Minds

I am bringing back my friend and client, Ashley. She got to experience 1:1 coaching and had such a big learning curve that she re-signed. She ended up being in coaching with me for a total of 6 months. To give you a bit of background, she has been an early childhood educator for over a decade but found herself struggling more than she ever has in previous years and looking for added support.  We d...

We’re diving into what you can do when things get hard throughout the school year. It is inevitable that teachers will go through hard times in their classrooms; whether it be student related, admin related, or just all things classroom related. Sometimes that hard can actually impact our feelings about returning the following year. I felt like this was the perfect episode to have right now as so...

I've said this before, and I'll say it again... support for new teachers should be mandatory.  My clients were lost, overwhelmed, and stressed out before they got the support they truly needed to feel successful in the classroom.  Client A went from stressed, overwhelmed, and on the brink of burnout to loving her life and reigniting her love for teaching. Client S is a brand new teacher...

Why teachers don't work in contracted hours:  So much to do, so little time to do it We feel guilty if we don’t stay late or work overtime We worry that we are bad teachers if we don't work overtime We're changing that inside of my bootcamp! Find out more by clicking this link and snag your spot today.

I’m going to outline 5 steps you can take as a new teacher to prepare for your first year of teaching. I know that so many new teachers see all of the things they have to do and start to feel overwhelmed. So, I’m breaking down each of the steps I used to take when entering a new school year.  Familiarize yourself with the curriculum Create classroom rules, routines + expectations Start working bac...

This week we are discussing the link between mindset and behaviors. Angie is a mindset coach, speech therapist, and has worked in the autism field for a couple of decades.  She also a former foster mom, adoptive and biological mom. Her work is amazing! So today, she is going to talk to you all about the connection your mindset has to some of your students' behaviors. I loved learning about th...

It can be hard to figure out how to prepare for an interview, especially when you're likely interviewing for the first time.  I have five steps you can take to be fully prepared for an upcoming interview. Know what you want Do your research Update your resume Get Information Write a follow up email Applying for a first year teaching position can be stressful and challenging at times. I want t...

Today’s podcast episode will cover what you can do over the summer to not only get the rest you need but also feel prepared for the coming school year.  I’m going to share two very specific actions you can take that I truly believe are most important over summer break.  Intentional rest 1-2 hours of work each week I believe there’s a messy in between that can help you feel rested but also get you...

As teachers we are our students advocates throughout the school year. But what about advocating for ourselves?  I have Katie Selby on the podcast. She has learned through various challenges what it really means to advocate for yourself and therefore, became a paraprofessional wanting to advocate for students.  In this episode, we cover: Definition of advocacy What it means to advocate for yourself...

I know some of you have already finished your school year, but where I am there are still about 2 weeks of school left. On today's podcast episode, I give you four strategies that will help you end your year feeling more confident and less burnt out.  Focus less on the act of "teaching" Set intentional "me time" Navigating behaviors Stick to boundaries These are the four s...

I believed that to be a good teacher, I needed to do it ALL. I was always so busy and telling myself: "I have to lesson plan over the weekend, otherwise I'll fail as a teacher" "Teaching is a profession where work needs to be done after hours" "Being busy means I'm successful" "Teaching is hard" I was always waiting for the next vacation so I could...

Things have shifted and I learned some important lessons throughout this maternity leave coverage these last several weeks.  All of these lessons would not have been possible without the support and guidance I invested in.  I had to find different boundaries to set I can create my own energy in and out of the classroom How I dealt with mindset struggles Getting through these hard lessons has made...

Today’s podcast episode is all about the mistakes I made when I decided I wanted to transition out of the classroom. This episode is really to help you learn from my mistakes so you don’t repeat them and so that you can create a better outcome more quickly once you transition rather than it taking you over a year to get to that place, like it did for me.  Putting all my eggs into one basket Believ...

Have you ever considered that ensuring children know how to navigate their emotions in an appropriate way will help you to continue managing your classroom in a way that works for both you and your students? Today, I bring you that perspective after a hard first week covering a maternity leave. We discuss: Keeping calm in the midst of chaos Creating a routine in the classroom Reading books about e...

Have you been considering transitioning out of the classroom? Maybe you're worried you don't have the qualifications for other positions outside of teaching;  maybe you don't know what you'd be good at; or you are just nervous and want to hear about someone else's experience.  You're in the right place!  On today's podcast episode, I had Jill Berkowitz talk about...

Do you have centers within your classroom? Have you ever thought about how layout of your classroom could actually affect the learning? In today's podcast episode, we cover: What centers are + what they're used for Why centers are important in an early childhood setting Reflective questions to think about Center suggestions to consider With that being said, there is always extra support...

I have always valued movement in my classroom when I was a full-time teacher and wanted to encourage you to incorporate movement into yours. In today's podcast episode, I was lucky enough to bring my good friend Lauren on to speak about movement. Lauren is a PE teacher who has been in the education space for over 20 years.  We discuss the benefits of movement. We dive into various books in wh...

If you are ready to feel confident in your preparation, know how to manage your time + prioritize tasks, and create space for YOU you're going to want to tune in. In this week's podcast episode, I outline 3 of the biggest issues I see as teachers start to prepare for parent-teacher conferences to help you eliminate stress + overwhelm even though more work has been added to your plate. I...

I have a guest with an incredible story. Her name is Michele Benyo and she is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist®, early childhood parent coach, and the founder of Good Grief Parenting. After her 6-year-old son died of cancer, her 3-year-old daughter said, “Mommy, half of me is gone.” This heartbreaking statement focused Michele’s career as an early childhood parenting specialist on the impact...

We all have excuses as to why we are too busy to make plans or too busy to spend quality time with our partners or spouses.  Teaching is always busy and I doubt that will change. It's a matter of changing our thoughts around our ability to integrate work + life; letting teaching be a small part of your life rather than you entire life. In today's episode I dive into 3 excuses I hear teac...

In this episode, I am bringing my friend Brittany onto the show to talk about her first year as an enrichment teacher.  You'll hear about: What her first year has been like The mentorship she's received What resources have helped her most  The challenges she's faced as a first year teacher, and Words of wisdom for other new teachers There are so many important lessons in this episod...

Have you ever wondered what 1:1 coaching calls are truly like? You've heard that they are 60 minutes and geared toward your needs as a teacher but is that really accurate? In today's episode, I break down some topics of conversation inside of my 1:1 calls with a client. This client is an assistant teacher + is struggling with bringing stress home with her and doing work on her days off. ...

This may be a more controversial topic to discuss but I thought it was important. I have always believed that a degree can get you further than you imagined when your end goal is to be a classroom teacher. I might have been wrong... or at least my thoughts around that have changed. On today's podcast episode, I have my good friend + roommate as a guest because she has made some tremendous str...

Happy New Year!! Here is your first episode of 2023. We are diving into ditching the stress of going back to work after a long break. Here's what we cover: Identity work; who are you at the core?  Journal Prompts to help you take action Setting boundaries I have been lucky enough to be asked to participate in this year’s Leader’s Lounge Virtual Summit hosted by Beth Cannon.    This year, I’ll...

2022 was a hard year for many, myself included and today, I wanted to share some lessons I've learned over the last year. I wanted to share these lessons with you because I truly believe they are invaluable and can help you grow + move into the new year positively. There is a way to integrate work and life without burnout Identity outside of your work is crucial Being productive is not everyt...