This Teacher Life

Teachers love a check-list. It feels SO good to cross things off and say… DONE! But sometimes in all the stress and struggles of the school year we realize we need more than just a check-mark. We need our principals to hear us. We need our students to embrace us. We need our community to support us. In this motivational, heart-felt episode we will dive into the difference between a check mark and...

There are lot of things that educators are thinking and feeling right now, but they aren’t all getting talked about. We know education had changed. But… is there way more to that? We know that there is a lot of new leadership and teachers. But… how is that impacting us? We know that we are struggling at time. But… is there something essential to remember. In this episode of the This Teacher Life p...

Last year was your classroom a tornado of disorganized, disrespectful, or disengaged students? Is your teacher heart currently a tsunami of frustration, fear, or  freaking stressed? If you said YES to any of that I hear you. And I have the exact strategy to solve it! In this episode of the This Teacher Life podcast I share a super simple classroom management hack that will make the start of this s...

Are you an energetic teacher who has a passion for continuous improvement and looking for a fun, fresh perspective? Are you a new teacher who is looking to start your career with some positive momentum? Are you a veteran teacher who has been in the classroom for years and feel like you are stuck in a rut? Are you a worried teacher who is so concerned about how we can recover from what has happened...

Is there a behavior or classroom expectation that drives you crazy? Would you like to increase student motivation and decrease problems with students? Do you want to add a little bit of fun while also creating organized, effective, and engaged kids? If you said YES to any (or all) of those things then you are in the right place! And all you need for this idea is a dice. Seriously! Get everything “...

“I didn’t see that coming.” “Wow! That threw me through a loop!” “Whoa! That’s different.” “Ugh. Another change?” Have you found yourself in an unexpected situation or moment as a teacher? if you said YES (because you find yourself in expected moments all the time) this episode is for you. As teachers, how do we keep moving and keep motivated when it feels like unexpected is knocking on our door e...

I did an activity with my students where 100% of students were participating, smiling, and excited to learn. Sound too good to be true? It’s not! And guess what, I planned this lesson in less than 1 minute! The idea that I’m sharing in this episode is PERFECT for advisory, morning meeting, SEL time, or just a great relationship building lesson. It will no doubt be one of your favorite new activiti...

Teacher burnout is the highest it has ever been! There are 3 main reasons why educators are declaring they are leaving for good. Can you predict why? Are you experiencing any of these same problems? In this episode we will explore why teacher’s leaving is at an all time high but more importantly, what you and I can do about it. This motivational episode will dish out the facts, but also help you f...

Do you find planning awesome lessons for students to be a time vampire? We know that quality activities make a huge impact, but the time and effort it requires is overwhelming. That is especially true for our advisory, morning meeting, and SEL. Often times schools don’t give us any resources for this important time OR they give us curriculum that feels cheesy, unauthentic, and kids hate it. In thi...

What does your morning routine look like as a teacher? Is it chaotic? It is predictable? Is it stressful? Does it truly prepare for an awesome day in your school with students? In today’s episode you will learn how to maximize your morning by remixing your routine a little You will hear exactly what I do in my car Monday-Friday to help make the most of every single second. Routine drive results an...

Being gone from school can be SO stressful! Sometimes we think, “Oh my gosh, it’s just easier to not leave then it is to write sub plans!” But what if I told you there are 2 simple things you can add/change to your plans that make it SO much easier. Your students will be engaged while you are gone AND their behaviors will be awesome! Sound too good to be true? It’s not! Check out this episode that...

Are you looking for ideas that will boost classroom engagement, help with relationship building, are perfect for SEL, AND kids are going to motivated to participate? Well this one game will help with ALL of that! Seriously. Finding high-quality, low-prep teacher ideas can be hard. But this game is perfect for all grade levels and is so easy to implement! I promise your students will be begging to...

Teachers, are you so excited about summer break? You should be! We, as educators, have worked SO hard this school year: teaching kids, reaching kids, inspiring kids, and breaking through to kids. Now, it is time to re-fresh and re-charge, but I’m wondering if your summer in structured in a way to make the most of it? In this episode I share 4 simple ideas that will help you maximize your mom...

Teachers, are you finding yourself a little stuck right now personally or professionally? Do you feel like you want or need to be “more than just a teacher” When we use the word “just” we cut ourselves short because being a teacher in an incredible profession. But perhaps you have other ideas, passions, and projects you would like to pursue. So what’s holding you back...

Is your classroom currently a tornado of disorganized, disrespectful, or disengaged students? Is your teacher heart currently a tsunami of frustration, fear, or  freaking stressed? If you said YES to any of that I hear you. And I have the exact strategy to solve it! In this episode of the This Teacher Life podcast I share a super simple classroom management hack that will make the end of your awes...

Teacher burnout is the highest it has ever been! There are 3 main reasons why educators are declaring they are leaving for good. Can you predict why? Are you experiencing any of these same problems? In this episode we will explore why teacher’s leaving is at an all time high but more importantly, what you and I can do about it. This motivational episode will dish out the facts, but also help...

Raise your hand if you like having fun. (Every student AND teacher just raised their hand) Teaching can be hard. Being a student can be hard. But what if there was a way to make sure that every single Friday in your classroom was ending on a great note? In this week’s episode of the This Teacher Life we explore how a simple activity can get kids laughing, learning, and loving your class. I a...

Do you currently have some students that are giving you a run for your money? Do you currently have a few kids who seem SO hard to reach and teach? Do you feel like relationships are really hard to build in the spring time? What if I told you that 1 classroom activity could change all of that? If you want to have a thrilling end to this school year, I AM sure you are in the right place. In this we...

What if you never had to grade another paper again? Would you be thrilled? What if you never had to sit through another boring meeting or PD that is a waste of time? Would you cheer? What if the way we worded questions guaranteed kids would participate,  reflect, and disagree appropriately? If you are looking for an idea  that could change your classroom culture in a good way, you are in the right...

Do kids talk in your class? You may have said YES! They are just talking while you are teaching OR talking about something off-topic. You have have said NO! They are very quiet, dis-engaged, or hesitate to talk. The good news is, I have a simple, but significant structure to get kids talking, participating, paying attention, and even pausing before blurting. In this week’s episode of the Thi...

Teacher friend, how do you feel about a Monday? According to research about 59% of people declare Monday is their least favorite day of the week? Do you agree? Another important question is, do you think students agree? The reality is, Mondays are hard. It can be really difficult to rebound from the weekend and move from fun to focused! But what if I told you there is totally a way to make your Mo...

Are your students struggling with organization, attitude, participation, engagement, or motivation? If you said YES this episode is for you! Classroom management can be super hard, especially these days, but this simple, effective, and  easy to implement idea could change everything. It costs nothing to do it and I promise your students will LOVE it! What does spinning and winning mean for classro...

If you are needing help with classroom behaviors, student motivation, or building relationships, I’ve got you covered. Sometimes the best way to improve those 3 areas of education is to approach it with the theme of: HOLD. What does that mean? My hold off, hold ground, and hold hands concept could blow your mind and warm your teacher heart all at once! In this episode we dive into 3 ideas th...

Teaching is probably harder now then it ever has been. We all hope that it can’t get any harder than this too. But if I told you there was one way that education could get easier and better forever, and all it took was more sharing? In this episode we explore 3 super simple sharing strategies that are going to boost the climate and culture of your school and your individual teacher life. Don...

As teachers, we all have unique gifts that we can utilize to unleash greatness in our classroom. In this episode I will share a quirky game that I created on the fly to boost student engagement and motivation. It is so easy to implement and I’m positive it will work in your classroom too. Not only that, during this short and sweet episode you will also find ways to unlock your unique skills...