Let me tell you a quick story about my journey with social emotional learning. I remember when I first started teaching {way back in 2006} and I thought I’d crush it in the behavior department. I imagined that my kids would sit, listen, raise their hands, and generally behave like angels. I’d have ... READ the POST
Building Your Social-Emotional Classroom CASEL
Social-Emotional Learning has a lot of components that are built into it. CASEL is an organization that has done a tremendous amount of work around all of the different ways SEL comes into our lives. It can be overwhelming, so let me break it down for you as simply as possible. CASEL has five ... READ the POST
Getting To Know Your New Students
Back to school is a busy and crazy time! There are so many things we have to do. I believe that getting to know our students is one of the most important things we have to do. But how do I fit it in?! I Have So Many Students! You are not in this boat alone. If you're like me and have two ... READ the POST
The Importance of Identifying and Validating Students
A student's identity is one of the most important things that we should value as teachers. Identity is something that can vastly improve the social and emotional health of our kids. Validating those emotions and identities is just as important! What Does Identity Mean? Our identity is who we ... READ the POST
Heading Back to School With Social-Emotional Learning
The kids are coming back to school soon, and we need to be ready for them. Especially this summer, where we might be going back to a wide array of teaching models, bringing social-emotional learning into our back to school routines is more important than ever! What is SEL? The short answer is that ... READ the POST
Morning Work: Should Educators Assign It?
When I started teaching, and for the next 10 years following, my students always came into my classroom and did the same thing every single day: they'd take off their coats and bookbags and put them in their lockers, they'd check in for lunch, and then they'd immediately get started on some sort of ... READ the POST
