– Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori’s quote hangs on my wall at school, reminding me that in all I do, I am striving to create engaged, independent learners who take ownership of their learning. I do what I can to limit the time children are expected to sit and listen for long periods and try to encourage workshops where children can work at their own pace with autonomy and agency. This is when I see my students happiest, and the best learning occurs. But how do you make that happen for a room full of children with different needs? Math Menus are one way that has successfully worked in many of the classrooms I work in as an Instructional Coach.

In the classroom

My school has time every day devoted to Math Skills Block.  Some schools call it WIN time or “What I Need.”  It’s a time when instruction is differentiated to meet the needs of all the learners in the classroom. If you were to walk into a classroom during Skills Block, you would see some children working in small groups with a teacher, classroom aide, or specialist.  Some children may be pulled out of the classroom to receive IEP services.  Others may work independently or with a partner on math menu activities.  The room has a buzz, and people are moving about, working at tables, on computers, or gathering with friends on the floor to play a game together.  Overall, there is a sense of engagement where everyone works on math, but not all in the same way.

Some teachers use math menus with the whole class, and others use them for independent work, as they work with small groups of students for differentiated instruction.  Either way, it is a valuable way for children to practice and have fun with the math skills they are learning by using them in games and other activities.

Creating the menu

When creating a math menu, I always ask, “What skills do I want my students to have more practice with? What games or activities can help them practice these skills? What computer programs would be a valuable use of their time?” Then I gather ideas and organize them on a grid so children can choose between activities they want to do.

Before using the menu with kids, teaching, modeling, and practicing each activity with the whole class is essential to ensure students can work on each task confidently and successfully.  This can be done in small groups or with the entire class.

I always make sure to go over guidelines with students, such as making sure each choice is complete before repeating any of the activities on the menu or differentiating expectations on how many activities each student should complete by the end of the week and which ones are “must do.”  We also discuss which activities should be completed alone and which can be done with a friend.  Having a math folder available for students to keep their incomplete work during the week helps organize student work so children know what still needs to be finished.

Here are some examples:

Math Menus can be designed from simple to complex.  Some teachers just list the work choices on a grid, and others have a more elaborate theme, such as comparing math choices to choices on a restaurant menu with an order to complete them. One thing that most menus have in common is they often include review worksheets, games to play with peers, and time on a math computer game such as IXL, Prodigy, or Dreambox.  Children rotate between these activities to complete their choices within the time frame chosen by the teacher.

Sources for games

An excellent place to find activities for your math menu is in the math curriculum you use with your class.  Many math programs have game components you can teach to the whole class and then use as menu options.  Here are some of my favorite activities and games that I have included on math menus:

Tenzi:  Kids of all ages love this simple dice game and other dice activities.

Loops and Groups:  A simple game to practice multiplication facts.

Addition Top-It:  This can be played with number cards or dominoes to practice addition facts.

Board Games:  Games are a great way to reinforce math skills while playing with a friend.

Printable Math Games: Here are many printable math games and resources all in one place.

Illustrative Math Games:  Games for all ages sorted by skill and grade level.

Love Maths Games: Minimal materials are needed to play these games, usually just dice or cards.

Chalk Games:  If an adult can bring a small group outside, chalk games are always fun, like this multiplication labyrinth made for friends to hop along.

Assessment

One thing to consider is how you will assess students’ work on their math menus.  After students finish each activity, I ask them to have a teacher in the room initial that square on the menu to show it was completed, and they showed their work to an adult. For any paperwork students finish, I staple it right to the math menu so that at the end of the week, I can look through a child’s work packet and assess understanding by how many activities were completed and the quality of work attached to the menu.

When looking through students’ work, I may group kids by abilities and decide to pull small groups the following week based on skills they need more practice on.  For example, if a group of kids struggled with adding multi-digit numbers, I would pull them together to play a specific game with me the following week and reteach that skill.  The work samples I collect during skills time and the observations from myself and other teachers in the room help me form these groups.  At the end of the week, all work is sent home with a note commenting on how much each child accomplished.  It is an excellent way to communicate with parents and show them what their child is learning in math.

For my record keeping, I take a class list and record a check, check plus (+), or check minus (-)  to track who is completing grade level, above grade level, or below grade level work during math menu time.  Sometimes I will add a one-sentence note with observations from the week for each student.  I don’t always have the time to do this, but when I do, it is a valuable way to collect informal assessments for report cards and parent conferences.  It also helps me plan my instruction for the following week by assessing which skills students are mastering independently and which skills need more instruction.

Benefits of math menus

Using math menus is a great way to make math fun for your students.  Giving them autonomy and choice in their math learning helps them build independence, learn from their peers, and practice needed skills.  It also frees up teachers to pull small groups of students and differentiate review work as needed while the rest of the class works independently.  And it gives teachers time to step back and observe their students at work.  Teachers can pop in and out of groups, have informal math conversations with students, and get an overall sense of who their students are as math learners.  It is informative to watch and see which activities draw their attention and which ones they tend to avoid.  These reflections are valuable information when planning your math curriculum and deciding which activities best engage your students. The best thing about math menus is that they make math time fun!

The post The complete guide to independent math menus appeared first on Truth For Teachers.

But then it gets a little louder, and then a little louder, and before you know it, things feel out of control.

The only thing you can do is raise your voice to settle down the room–something you didn’t want to do.

You think to yourself, There must be a better way. These kids are out of control.  What can I do to calm them down?

The hard part is there usually is not one magic answer that works every time in every situation.  But there are strategies you can use to prevent disruptive behaviors before they begin.

In the book Running The Room: The Teacher’s Guide To Behavior (click for a free summary), the author, Tom Bennet, describes two ways of addressing student misbehavior.  One way is the Fire Brigade Model, where you are constantly running around putting out fires as bad behavior comes up with little time or energy left to focus on teaching.

Another method is the Fire Prevention Model, where you get ahead of those bad behaviors and focus on shaping your classroom environment and routines to avoid as many fires as possible.  This method saves you time and stress, so you can focus on what you love most- teaching.

The way I look at it, classroom management is broken down into four key areas, and all of them are important.  Designing SPACE, creating ROUTINES, building RELATIONSHIPS, and having firm EXPECTATIONS.  They all can be used to settle down a room or, even better yet- keep it calm before the tipping point arrives and things start to feel out of control.

Consideration #1: Space

Have you ever walked into a room that suddenly made you feel welcome and at ease?  Certain spaces have a way of doing that.  There are many ways you can arrange your classroom to create an inviting space for children.

Designing an environment that is organized, free from clutter, and has well-defined places for students to work and play all contribute to a room design that sets your classroom up for success.  Consider these strategies when designing your room:

• Flexible seating is an attractive option for children and allows them to choose a workplace that is most comfortable for them.
• Organized materials help children grow in their independence and confidence in the room by quickly being able to find what they need. It promotes a sense of comfort and engagement by having work materials easily accessible to them.
• Cozy reading corners with a clearly labeled library give children a designated space to read, relax, and take a quiet break when needed.
• Decorating with warm, neutral colors, soft, dimmable LED lights, and decorative plants can create a calming environment.
• Using area rugs and furniture can create a variety of clearly defined workspaces that provide opportunities for small group and partner work to happen.

Student-centered environments make children feel welcomed and valued, knowing they matter and belong in this space. These strategies contribute to a well-designed space that sets the tone for a calm, centered workday where children can succeed.

Consideration #2: Routines

Establishing routines that work for you will be the cornerstone of your classroom management.

How do you want your students to behave in the classroom? What happens when they do not comply?  What learning protocols do you value and want to use regularly with your students?  How do you want to design your daily schedule?  How will you guide students through transitions?

Teachers must make these important decisions ahead of time, teach these routines through explicit modeling, and practice each one repeatedly.

Some people think you need to put as much time into teaching routines as you do teaching your content because, with well-run classroom routines, it is easier for focused instruction to happen.  Think about these critical parts of the day and what you and your students will do when:

• Entering or exiting the classroom
• Transitioning between activities
• Taking bathroom breaks
• Collecting and distributing materials
• Asking for help
• Signaling for quiet
• Finishing work early

You can download a free script for teaching, modeling, and reinforcing procedures here.

Once routines are established, be consistent and maintain them daily, reteaching them to students throughout the year or tweaking them when they no longer seem to be working.  The structure of daily routines provides a sense of order and predictability to the day.  Routines are calming for children who feel anxious when they do not know what is happening next and help create a safe learning environment.

There are many different kinds of routines to incorporate into your day.  Some can be used to build classroom community, such as starting with a Morning Meeting every day.   Others can guide student learning through protocols like think-pair-share during classroom discussions.  Routines can also bring calm to a room when the energy is rising. For example, meditations, breathing exercises, or even going outdoors for activities in nature are all routines you can introduce into your day that can bring new energy, reset student behavior, and help children focus more.

Investing time in establishing and maintaining the routines you value most in your classroom will allow you and your students to enjoy a classroom that runs smoothly and calmly most of the time.

7 beliefs about teaching routines that will cause you to lose your mind

Consideration #3: Relationships

A strong classroom community is built on genuine relationships with students that allow them to feel a sense of belonging. When students know they are seen, valued, and heard by their teacher and peers, it helps them know that even if they make a mistake, there are people who still want them to succeed and do well. Forming relationships with students is one way to show them you genuinely care about them.

When students face social-emotional challenges that impact their behavior, they respond to teachers who have earned their trust and respect.  In this article, Dave Stuart Jr. talks about forming Moments of Genuine Connection with students, so students feel valued, known, and respected.

You can do this by checking in with each student individually as often as you can.  It could be as simple as greeting every child by name at the classroom door before class begins.  Or creating a checklist where you make sure to have a private, brief conversation with several students every day, making sure to get to everyone within the week. (You can download a free checklist here.)

When getting to know your students, ask yourself, “What is the emotional tone of my classroom?  How do my students feel in this space?  Have I greeted all my students by name today?  Have I had at least one positive interaction with each student today? Is there a student who needs extra support or attention today?” Try to create a welcoming space that allows you to connect with each student as an individual and take a genuine interest in their lives.

In knowing your students well, you will be able to notice signs of distress if a problem develops in the class with one student or a group of students.  Then you can intervene early- ask questions, listen, and try to find out where the root of the problem started.

One way to address the issue is by determining the need behind the student’s behavior.  This can go a long way in preventing behavior problems from escalating.

Beneath every behavior, there is a feeling. And beneath each feeling is a need. And when we meet the need rather than focus on behavior, we begin to deal with the cause, not the symptom.”

-Ashleigh Warner 

Despite everyone’s best efforts, problems in the classroom do happen, resulting in disruptive behaviors and hurt feelings.  Bringing your class together after disruptions occur to model genuine empathy and respectful language for those involved can be a way to acknowledge and process those difficult feelings.

Ask your students questions like, “How are you feeling?  What is something you can do to calm your emotions? How can we show empathy to those who are struggling?”  These are ways to validate and process the challenging moments that arise in the classroom.

Hopefully, nurturing relationships and a sense of belonging will encourage students to reset during challenging moments so they can move calmly through the rest of the day.

Classroom meetings: Your most powerful tool for creating a respectful, inclusive class culture

Consideration #4: Expectations

Having clear expectations for students means setting clear rules, teaching what they will look like, and establishing logical consequences. Classroom rules and expectations are essential in creating a calm learning environment.

Once you have established rules together, use direct, concise, and simple language to remind students of them throughout the day. What we say and how we say it can tremendously impact the classroom. Our teacher language can model respectful, fair, and caring interactions for students.  Using effective language encourages children to respect and follow the rules.

Even simple, direct two-word phrases can be enough when given in a strong voice to recenter a classroom and remind students of your expectations.  “Calm bodies.”   “Kind words.”  “Eyes here.”  “Voices off.”

Be ready to respond, reiterate rules, and teach consequences when children do not follow classroom expectations.  Responsive Classroom teaches the use of these specific strategies to use when developing logical consequences in the classroom-

• “You break it, you fix it” can be used to mend emotional and physical messes. For example, a child can rebuild a block tower after accidentally knocking it over. Likewise, a child can repair hurt feelings with an “apology of action” by doing something to soothe the injury, such as drawing a picture or playing a game.

• Temporary loss of privilege is a simple way to help a child remember to responsibly use that privilege (art materials, group time). For example, losing a privilege for a class period or a day can help a child pause to remember or relearn a rule.

• “Time-out” or “Take a Break” is a strategy to help children learn self-control. A child who is disrupting the work of the group is asked to leave for a few minutes. This gives the child a chance to regain composure and rejoin the group when ready.

Creating quiet spaces such as a Calming Corner in the classroom for students to take a break can create a place for students to leave the group when they are disregulated to reset while other kids continue learning.  By having separate spaces in the room, students having a challenging time meeting expectations have a place to reset themselves.

Have a sensory toolkit available to help regulate students who need to be away from the business and noise of the classroom, and hang a poster in that space to remind students of other strategies to use:

• counting backward
• deep breathing
• getting water
• journaling or drawing

Another strategy is to give students who need to take a break a special job, like running an errand or being a helper to the teacher by organizing or passing out materials.  Redirecting off-task behavior by providing reasonable choices and options for alternative activities at that moment is a positive way to help kids to reset.  Sometimes, these strategies can be enough of a distraction to refocus students’ attention and better prepare them to meet expectations for learning.

Children can rise to high expectations, but they need to be clear on what those expectations are and know that limits and logical consequences will be consistently followed to create a successful and safe school day for all.

10 ways to calm a class after lunch or recess

What happens when these strategies aren’t enough?

Despite all your best efforts to keep a calm environment for your students, moments will arise when things are different from what you anticipated.  There may even be many moments when it’s a struggle to think of a logical consequence or to find the right teacher language or the calm voice you want to use.  Sometimes things escalate more quickly than expected, and we do not always use the best response.  In those moments, give yourself grace, knowing you are doing the best you can and tomorrow will be another day to try again.

If someone in the classroom is having a bad day or the daily schedule has to be changed to accommodate a special event, these things can contribute to the whole day feeling off.  Students will react to these changes differently, and not all of it is under your control.  Sometimes you need to be flexible and do the best you can in a given moment.

In those challenging moments, sometimes even the teacher needs to “take a break.” That might mean pausing to take a few deep breaths before responding to a situation or calling a colleague for help.  Talking with another teacher about the ups and downs of the day might help you find humor in the situation or process the problematic parts when humor cannot be found.  Either way, it can help you get ideas for how to address similar problems in the future.

If these strategies are not working, it may be time to seek the support of other professionals who can look at the situation differently and be better equipped to meet the mental health needs of specific students.

But most of the time, looking at your classroom space, routines, relationships, and expectations is an excellent way to start creating positive experiences in the classroom for you and your students. It will help you bring more calm moments into the room so you can focus on what you love most- teaching!

15 creative & respectful ways to quiet a class

The post When students are too loud, noisy, or energetic, here’s how to infuse calm in the classroom. appeared first on Truth For Teachers.

I’m one of those people who always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I heard a calling early in life and never doubted it. When I was a teenager, my church looked for volunteers to take care of young children in the church basement during services. I eagerly signed up. I wanted to be there every week, helping pass out the tiny cups of apple juice and graham crackers for a snack. Guiding little hands as they reached for fat crayons to draw colorful pictures or leading children in storytime or sing-alongs. I loved every minute.

So it wasn’t a surprise when I decided to major in elementary education in college, preparing myself to launch into a long career where I knew I would find success and fulfillment. I was thrilled to set up my first classroom in the early 1990s, a first-grade on the lower east side of Manhattan. I remember the long tables and tiny chairs — the small tubs with newly sharpened pencils and workbooks waiting to be opened for the first time. The children who filled the room taught me how to be a teacher. They showed me what worked and what didn’t work. I learned from them and with them that year.

I also remember the exhaustion that would overwhelm me at the end of each day that no one in my teacher preparation classes told me about. After school, I would walk through the classroom picking up papers and pencils left behind by the kids until one day, a student’s parents (also teachers) stopped by to see me and saw what I was doing. “Oh, no!” they said as they saw the tired look on my face, my hands full of pencils and scraps of paper. “You don’t pick them up. You have the students pick them up before they leave for the day. That’s their job.” I never thought of that. No one ever told me.

There are many things no one told me as I began teaching. Decades later, I am still learning ways to be more efficient in my work. Sometimes it still feels like I am picking up endless amounts of pencils at the end of a day, looking for a better way.  The exhaustion that I felt back in my first year of teaching has stayed with me for most of my career.

Teachers are hard-working, dedicated, and generous people, right? So I just assumed exhaustion went with the job. That was until I was introduced to the Truth For Teachers 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club (40HTW).

I remember when I first heard about the program. I was folding laundry on a Saturday morning while listening to a podcast by Angela Watson about time management. She mentioned the program, and I immediately thought, “40 hours?  No way! There is no way I could do my job in 40 hours!” But I decided to give the program a try. Not only was I looking for ways to prevent burnout in my job, but I was also looking for teaching strategies to help me survive pandemic teaching, and this program offered both.

I signed up for the full-year course and committed to listening to a part of each monthly module once a week while I did the inevitable family chore of folding laundry. Putting time for it into my schedule helped me commit to the program and thoroughly consider each part. There are many lessons I have taken away from the podcast and the 40HTW program, but here are the ones that have been most valuable for me.

Strategies for using a list-making system, prioritizing tasks, and being efficient during the day

Practically speaking, the 40HTW list-making system helped me learn how to organize and prioritize tasks so I could focus on the most important things I had to get done during the school day. I learned how to batch similar tasks together and decide when the best time of day would be to accomplish them.  It helped me look at my day more carefully and plan wisely on how I would use my available time. Therefore, I could achieve more and be less overwhelmed by my to-do list. Learning how to be more efficient with my work during the day meant I could bring less work home. I eventually accomplished the most important tasks between 8:00-4:30 during the week, with weekends free of schoolwork most of the time.

Gr K-12 Stress-Free Report Card Comment System

The report card writing system I learned from the 40 Hour program was a game-changer for me! I cannot describe how much stress it took away from report card writing time. Instead of dreading the task, I actually enjoyed writing report cards about my students because the templates in this resource gave me ideas and a structure to use that alleviated much of the time I was spending trying to create original comments for each student. As a result, I completed the task in half the time! Reflecting on my students’ progress, strengths, and challenges became a manageable task. I learned strategies to help me complete the job efficiently without giving up an entire weekend (or more) to do so.

Gaining a new perspective

The most important thing 40HTW gave me was a new perspective. I came into teaching when it was culturally acceptable for teachers to work all the time. (Some things never change!) The pandemic did not help this because the lines between home and school became so blurred that I felt like I was working all the time.

Giving up nights, weekends, and early mornings was what I did because it was assumed teachers were dedicated people who had to work long, hard hours to get the job done and be effective in their work. 40 Hour helped me challenge that idea, heal from that mentality, and rethink that perspective.  It helped me remember that I work under a contract, and I am not obligated to work past my contractual hours.  Every hour I give to school after those hours end is my choice.  Suddenly I realized I needed to make better choices.

Protecting my time

With this new perspective, I became more careful about how I spent my time and to whom I was giving it. I realized time was like pieces of a pie — there was a limited amount.  How much of the pie did I want to give to schoolwork? I slowly began doing things differently and letting go of guilt when things were left incomplete. I realized my time matters. I matter. My health and my time with my family matter.

There are times in your life when you do have to give more — the first few years of teaching, starting a new grade level, or a new school — but overall, teachers have to learn how to set boundaries around how much of their time they are willing and able to devote to schoolwork and put more value on the amount of time they give to their own personal needs. 40 Hour Teacher Workweek helped me be as efficient as possible during my work hours, learning better management systems for my classroom and personal planning time, so I could be an effective teacher while still having more pieces of that pie leftover for me!

As a result, I was able to take classes on topics in education that interested me, and I began a side hustle of writing about what works in education, all of which have made me a better, stronger teacher in the classroom and a happier person overall.

Advocating to be treated as a professional

Another thing I have learned from 40HTW and podcast guests on Truth For Teachers is how important it is to advocate for yourself as a professional — a professional who receives more planning time and less recess duty time. It is so important for teachers to come together and use their shared voices to create the working conditions they need and deserve to make the best learning environment possible for students. Being a part of 40 Hour gave me the skills, motivation, and inspiration from others to do this.

I learned how to stand up for what I believed was right for my students, connect with similar-minded colleagues, and advocate together for what we needed to do our jobs well — like getting the professional development we needed, having more planning time to prepare high-quality learning activities for students,  and time during our workday to collaborate with colleagues.

For example, when remote learning wasn’t working for my students, I advocated for having a local university come in to facilitate a PLC to help us develop the outdoor learning program at our school.  It ended up being the most rewarding professional development we had all year. By holding a space for educators to come together to learn and support each other, our jobs become more sustainable.

Being a new teacher (or a veteran teacher) is a hard job. Teachers need other teachers to guide them along the way to make this work sustainable in the long run. This benefits teachers, and it also benefits the students we serve every day.  I’m so grateful for the support and resources 40HTW has offered me. This kind of support is something every teacher, new or veteran, needs and deserves.

Through this program, I’ve been inspired by other educators committed to creating a positive, child-centered learning environment for students and a sustainable workload for teachers.  It does not need to be one or the other. In a post-pandemic world, where most of us are reimaging what education should look like- both are equally important in creating healthy, thriving schools.

By the way, the custodian at my school complimented me the other day on how picked up my room always is at the end of the day.

“There’s never any paper or pencils on the floor in your classroom!” he said in surprise.

“That’s right!” I replied. “The kids do that. I learned that trick from another teacher.”

We need each other.  The Truth For Teachers community is a supportive place to learn those tips we all need to be the best educators we can be, so that teaching becomes a sustainable, fulfilling career we all can be proud of.

The post How I reallocated my time to create a more sustainable teacher workload appeared first on Truth For Teachers.

“No,” I answered.  “But sometimes it certainly feels like I do.”

The pandemic has blurred the lines between home and school for many teachers. It lingers like an uninvited guest who has overstayed their welcome, overshadowing the work we do every day, with worries of school staying with us wherever we go.

Whether you are a School Board member, district leader, principal, teacher, parent, or student, you know how emotionally challenging this has been. The pandemic is not something any of us wanted. But here we are, over two years later, exhausted from the havoc it has left behind in our schools.

Since I am a classroom teacher, I know this story best from inside the classroom walls. But, there are other ways of seeing it, and one thing I know for sure is that no one’s role in this pandemic has been easy.

Classroom teachers have a unique perspective because we are the ones who have experienced the pandemic with the children. We are the ones who have welcomed them into our classrooms each day while still struggling to find our way through the logistical, cultural, and political battles of Covid-19. We are the ones who shaped pandemic learning day after day for our students, trying to offer comfort and certainty when there was little to offer.

And we are tired.

NPR reports that teachers this year are leaving in droves. Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, says, “Without exception, every stop I made, from Kentucky to Oakland, I heard those similar stories of educators who were exhausted, overwhelmed, feeling unloved, disrespected.” Unfortunately, this is true in schools all across America.

Is there anything we can do about it?  

What does authentic, genuine support look like for teachers?

How can school leaders retain the talented teachers our students need? 

I believe change can happen when policies are put in place, systems are established, and teachers receive the support they need to do their jobs well.  These policies often start at the top.

Here’s some advice for school leaders who want to keep great educators in the classroom, followed by tips for teachers to get the support they need.

The school leader’s role in retaining teachers

1. Facilitate healing conversations

For teachers to move past the trauma they have faced, we must facilitate healing conversations. During the pandemic, classrooms closed down overnight, with students never returning to projects only half complete. Teaching routines were constantly interrupted, moving between remote, hybrid, and in-person learning without planning or training.

Conflicts arose at every turn, and teachers did not always agree on the best way forward. Nor did they always feel included or supported by those making decisions that put their health and livelihood at risk. At the same time, some teachers faced unprecedented and unwarranted criticism and threats over the curriculum they chose to include or not include in their classrooms.

These enormous losses and upheavals can’t be overlooked. For a community to move forward, they have to be addressed and discussed together as a staff, led by someone trained and competent at facilitating conversations where all voices can be heard. When a safe place is created for difficult emotions to be spoken, past trauma can begin to heal, and teachers can come together as a community that supports each other in the demanding work in front of them.

2. Be present

It is essential for school leaders to be present in classrooms to see teachers’ current challenges up close. Some of the best school leaders I’ve worked with are the ones who did daily walkthroughs in my classroom and spent a couple of minutes quietly observing what was happening. The intention of these non-evaluatory visits was to get a pulse of the school to know the strengths and the needs of teachers and children working there.

So when I went to my principal for support, they could say, “Yes, I understand. I’ve seen that happening. Let’s problem-solve together.” Or when my principal wanted to offer me a suggestion or a compliment, it was based on actual work I was doing, “The flexible seating you’ve arranged for your class seems to be working. How did you come up with that?” With specific, genuine feedback instead of empty praise, teachers feel seen, valued, and heard.

Schools leaders and instructional coaches need to spend time in classrooms. Help teachers see what’s going well and what needs to be adjusted. Then, when you make decisions or offer solutions, you know from experience what your teachers are dealing with.

For example, have you ever tried teaching enthusiastically and compassionately to a room full of children with a mask on for six hours?  Do you understand how challenging that is? If not, give it a try to see what it looks and feels like. Then when you sit down at the table to have conversations about classroom practice, teachers know you care.

3. Honor teachers’ time

As teaching methods constantly change during the pandemic, every minute counts for teachers who never have enough time. Having agendas and clearly outlined objectives for meetings values teachers’ time. Providing teachers with a 30-minute duty-free lunch and separate planning time each day honors teachers’ time. Allowing them to do what they need to do — design learning and instruction for their students — shows you understand how important their work is.  

Due to pandemic staff shortages, teachers have consistently lost the planning time they need to do their jobs well. That must come back. One of the most important things school leaders can do to support teachers is hiring additional staff to cover unnecessary duties for teachers.

Find ways to give educators the time they need to plan, reflect, learn about a new curriculum, evaluate student work, meet with colleagues, and communicate with parents.

Hire community members, parents, or other school employees to cover planning periods, lunch duties, and recess coverage so teachers can accomplish their essential work when they are not in front of students.

If these tasks are not completed during the school day, they must be done after teachers’ contractual hours. This is a huge factor leading to exhaustion and teacher burnout today.

4. Use shared decision-making

When developing solutions to address today’s challenges, teachers must be part of the conversation. They need a place to offer their professional opinions based on real-life classroom experience. When school leaders consistently make decisions without them, teachers feel unheard. Whether it is the purchase of a new curriculum or creating a school masking policy, bring teachers to the table to create a shared vision for moving forward.

Use efficient protocols to gather and reflect on the knowledge of your staff.  Facilitate faculty meetings that are safe places to share ideas and discuss issues. On a district level, give teachers a representative seat on the School Board or leadership team to have a voice in decision-making.

With Google Forms, it is easy to survey the teachers in your school or district to hear their suggestions and concerns about what is happening in the classroom.  Be transparent about the results and share them with the staff. Then, pull it apart and discuss it together. But then, most importantly, follow through on their recommendations and use that information to shape policy, protocol, and standard procedures that affect teachers’ workdays.

Of course, not everyone will get their wishes to come true, but just knowing your voice was heard and considered by all is empowering, makes teachers feel valued, and goes a long way in creating a shared vision where people feel included.

5. Communicate clearly

Things are constantly changing in schools depending on the current state of the virus, politics, or other pandemic impacts, making timely communication essential. Well-organized systems are needed to move hundreds of children in and out of a school safely each day. These systems need to be communicated clearly for a school to operate efficiently.

School leaders can update staff regularly by having a weekly staff newsletter with helpful information, encouragement, questions answered, agendas, and procedures outlined. There is comfort and reassurance in the clarity of details. The more organized these daily operational procedures are, the more teachers can focus on teaching.

With the pandemic, the need for school-wide protocols was increased significantly. Where are students eating indoors? How are we controlling traffic flow in the halls to avoid overcrowding?Who’s providing coverage for absent teachers? How are we evaluating and responding to increased student needs?

These are important systemic decisions that need to be determined together as a community, so all people feel heard and implemented consistently, so teachers are not left wondering. Without clear communication, teachers become overwhelmed by constantly creating and implementing the routines and policies that students need to make it through a successful school day.

6. Provide relevant professional development

This certainly is not the time to overload teachers with new ideas that are not directly related to surviving the upheavals of pandemic teaching. Instead, teachers need training in dealing with the overwhelming immediate issues confronting them each day.

How do we account for the growing range of abilities due to inequitable learning environments at home during the pandemic? How do we care for students’ social-emotional health? How do we build back trust in our schools? How do we provide manageable workloads for teachers? These are essential issues that need to be addressed by giving teachers the relevant professional training they need to meet the current demands of their jobs. Other important initiatives must wait.

During the pandemic, teachers had to bring their classrooms online overnight, and many of us had little or no training on how to do this. This leads to huge amounts of stress when you are left to figure things out on your own or left to repeatedly seek out individual support. Give teachers training in the systems, pedagogy, and curriculum they are expected to implement in their classrooms.

Sometimes, this can look like bringing in trained experts to model best practices during faculty meetings or a professional development day. Sometimes it can look like bringing teachers together to learn from each other. Provide ways for teachers to take learning walks through each other’s classrooms or set up mentors to support each other.

This year, I am in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) that meets once a month. The facilitator has every teacher upload a few pictures to a Google Slideshow of an activity they did during the month that worked well or a challenge they would like to get feedback on. By being in this space together, teachers share the highs and lows of what classroom life looks like right now. Community is formed as we celebrate successes, share strategies, and help each other through the challenges. Having dedicated time during contractual hours to do this and a facilitator who makes it happen helps teachers feel less alone, more supported, and valued in their work.

7. Listen to teachers

The needs of teachers will be different depending on your district, school, and student population.  So how can you best support the teachers in your school?

Listen to their concerns. Take them seriously.

I have seen this happen through a “Rose, Thorn, and Bud” exercise at the end of a faculty meeting where each staff member anonymously writes one thing that is going well, one thing that is challenging, and one thing they are hoping for. Look to see if there are common themes. Bring the concerns back to the staff with transparency, use meetings or in-service days to problem-solve together, and develop a plan for moving forward.

Instead of encouraging “self-care” as a way to ease teachers’ stress, come together as a community to care for each other by developing strategies to work through the challenges as a team. Ensure adequate support staff is available to help teachers address students’ current academic and mental health needs — so they are not shouldering those burdens alone. Don’t ignore the challenges, ask for positive comments only, or walk back into your office and shut the door. Be present and be a part of the solution.

If you are a district leader or School Board member, this activity can also be done anonymously through Google Forms and lets you hear directly from your teachers. Taking the time to listen to teachers’ voices and acknowledge that you heard them shows you genuinely care. It is a way to receive honest feedback about systemic policies and gives teachers a place to speak freely about the challenges facing your school community so you can see where change must happen.

What can teachers do to get this kind of support?

1. Create a solidarity team

Teachers need a supportive community to help them navigate the revolving door of changes and expectations the pandemic has brought to our classrooms. Look for other like-minded teachers in your school or district to discuss these challenges. If that community is not available, look online for support, ideas, and inspiration.

This year, I found tremendous support through the Truth For Teachers community and Edutopia, where other educators share stories of best practices. When I was out of ideas, they had some great ones to offer. In the same way, it was rewarding for me to provide others with similar support. There is satisfaction in giving and receiving feedback from others experiencing the same challenges. These online communities consist of positive, realistic, forward-thinking teachers who, on many days, gave me the hope or practical support I needed to keep going.

2. Speak up

Advocate with other teachers in your school to the administration or School Board for changes that need to happen, such as abiding by the language in your contract or making sure adequate safety protocols are in place in your building. Speaking up as a group is a powerful tool, especially if you can find solidarity with others in your school.

Seek help from your local or state teachers’ union if you are a part of one and know the rights you have in your contract. Your union leadership team can bargain for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), a legal document describing an agreement between the union and school district, for changes in contractual language that meet the demands of today’s learning environment. This MOU can establish better working conditions for teachers and is often an excellent place to start creating change.

If you cannot find solidarity with colleagues, don’t be afraid to speak up on your own. Write letters, attend meetings, advocate for what you know your students need. No one knows your students and their needs better than you, so don’t be afraid to speak up to the people who set policies for your school.

For example, when remote learning was not working for my first graders, I advocated loudly to school administration and our School Board for an outdoor learning program to be established at our school in response to the pandemic. I worked hard with other teachers and parent volunteers to make that happen. What are your needs? What are the challenges that face your school or classroom? Make those concerns known to those in leadership roles and try to get others to speak up with you.

3. Set boundaries

For your health and well-being, set limits on how much time you devote to school. You most likely work under a contract, and after your contractual hours are over, you have control of how many hours you give to schoolwork.

Find ways to focus your energy during the day to be as productive as possible and accomplish the essential tasks on your list. Then at some point, say, “This is enough.”  Make a plan to leave school (and the heavy teachers’ bag full of work) behind, and head home to care for yourself and your family.

You are important, and your time is important. The thing your students need most is a healthy, caring adult to show up and be present for them every day.  The best way to do this is to find ways to care for yourself and set boundaries on how much time you will give to work.  Take deep breaths and remember you are doing the best you can, and that will have to be enough.

4. Leave the door open to other possibilities

Some of you may be in the position of having given all you can to your current school, and it still is not a good fit for you. Listen to the signs your body is giving you. I’ve heard stories of teachers crying in their car before entering the building or being up all night worrying if they had the strength to return in the morning. These are signs it is time to move on to another school, another district, another job.

Remember that the door is open. It is empowering to know that you can search for better options for yourself. If your employer no longer meets your needs at this point in your career, you can look for a new employer whose values line up better with your professional goals. If you need support in doing this, check out the Teacher Career Coach for a community that will support you every step of the way.

These strategies have always been an essential part of building strong, healthy school communities but are even more critical now as we face daunting challenges the pandemic has left behind. So let’s make sure these supports are in place for our teachers. Let’s do all we can to hear their voices, support their work, and find ways to make it more sustainable. The well-being of our students and the success of our communities in a post-pandemic world depends on us.

How to know if you should quit teaching after the 2022-2023 school year

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Today it was raspberry — their favorite. Some children unpacked little blankets to sit on to protect themselves from the cold snow. Others, bundled up in their snow pants, preferred to sit on tree stumps we had placed in a circle to serve as outdoor seating. I brought out a new read-aloud I knew the kids would love about the beauty of winter trees. Then we were going to look closely at the pine and hemlock trees that surrounded us. We were studying their features to discover similarities and differences so we could write about them. The kids had their nature journals attached to clipboards with prompts, “I see…  I think…  I wonder…”, which we use to guide many of our nature studies. With its canopy of tall evergreen trees above us, this winter playground was the setting of our science class for the day, and we were all excited to begin.

Moments like these remind me how transformational teaching during a pandemic has been for me. Like many teachers, I found myself doing things I never could have imagined doing before. One of those things has been bringing my class outside for outdoor learning. Initially, I did this because it seemed like a healthier environment for my students to learn together during a pandemic. But what I found was that the benefits from teaching outdoors are many. As a result, I picked up one new teaching strategy to build upon and share with others.

Even before the pandemic, teaching outdoors was an idea I had been harboring for a while in the back of my mind hoping to try someday. My school sits on a beautiful campus surrounded by woods, so I had been thinking for quite a while, why not use it? This was the environment my students were growing up in, and I wanted to take advantage of the natural resources around us.

Then COVID struck. I found myself staring into a computer screen to see my 6-year-old students staring back at me from their muted Google Meet squares. And suddenly I knew — it was time. I knew there had to be a better way to teach them when we couldn’t all be together safely indoors. So that is when I opened the door and said, let’s go outside.

I didn’t know what I was doing in the beginning. I am not a science teacher or a naturalist by any means. So I started small, searched for resources to help me, and found them readily available. I found out I was not the only one trying to make this happen for students. Many schools around the country were also implementing outdoor education as a safe way to bring students back to school and keep them safely together at school.

When the 2021-2022 school year began, my school returned to in-person learning with everyone wearing masks indoors. I knew I wanted to continue outdoor learning as an ongoing part of my curriculum for many reasons. So I committed to having a Wednesday In The Woods program, where my class would spend most of the day together outdoors on Wednesdays, which is a half-day of instruction at our school.  I also planned on including other outdoor lessons into our schedule throughout the week whenever possible.

Compiled here are some of the benefits I’ve found from teaching outdoors, along with resources to help you get started. It doesn’t take much to begin. Just a willingness to try and the ability to be resourceful in finding what you need. Chances are you’ll have happy, skipping children behind you, ready for the adventure.

Benefits of teaching outdoors

Research shows there are many benefits to children’s academic learning, personal development, and environmental stewardship from outdoor education. Here are a few that I have found to be most valuable.

• Outdoor learning brings joy to students and gets them more engaged and excited about their learning. Maria Montessori is famous for saying, “One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.” When I tell my students we are going outdoors for a lesson, their faces light up. Being outdoors gives them space to move, run, and explore. There isn’t the same need for ongoing quiet, waiting, and listening as when working indoors.  The curiosity and joyfulness being outdoors brings out in my students inspires me to continue planning more outdoor learning experiences for them.
• When safely distanced, the kids can remove their masks and breathe in the fresh air.  We take in our surroundings, and our bodies relax as we spread out on our work blankets and bring out our clipboards for the day’s lesson. Increased physical activity from time spent outdoors helps us find balance in a day filled with hours of sitting indoors.  Children who have difficulty regulating their bodies during indoor instruction are much calmer, focused, and engaged in instruction outdoors.  Having space to move and wiggle without distracting the kids around them gives them the freedom to be who they are.
• Outdoor activities help build community and add playfulness to our classroom day. For example, having time with friends in nature — building a fort or fairy house in the woods, going on a gathering expedition or scavenger hunt together, or discovering a beautiful insect on the playground — helps build friendships, shared experiences, and positive relationships with peers. In addition, these kinds of activities teach children about teamwork and the value of working together on a task.
• Using the outdoors as a resource is a great way to bring content to life and engage students in their learning. When kids dive into place-based learning connected to their local community, they become stewards of their environment and learn to care for these local resources. Whether your school is in the middle of the woods or surrounded by city streets, there is much to learn from your school’s natural environment. By exploring the playgrounds, fields, gardens, or neighborhood parks near your school, children see that nature can exist everywhere- in the cracks of a sidewalk, under the stairs, in abandoned lots, or on the edges of neighborhood lawns — and it is our job to care for it.

7 Ideas to get you started (even in winter)

• Start small. An open space is all you need to bring your class outdoors for 30 minutes to do a read-aloud in the fresh air or take a nature walk around the neighborhood to see what signs of nature you can discover using your senses. It’s also a great way to incorporate movement breaks into your day to help regulate children who have a hard time sitting for long periods indoors.
• To make moving outdoors even more manageable, have an “outdoor kit” ready to go with all the supplies you need for teaching outside. For example, this could be a wagon with wipe boards or clipboards, markers, and foam squares to use as seating.  Then you can easily throw in any other materials you need for a particular lesson and have all your supplies readily available to transport outdoors.

•  Create an outdoor learning space in a convenient location.  Find a spot that is easy to get to from your classroom, close to bathrooms, and away from major distractions. At my school, there is a sidewalk very close to the exterior doors leading to my classroom, which we often use to spread out for math group lessons. A nearby tree provides shade on sunny days, and it’s easy to get back inside if we forget something.
• Find seating options that are easily transportable and work for your students.  Individual blankets, foam tile squares, sledding saucers, or 5-gallon paint buckets turned upside down are all great options.  Tree stumps, though not as portable,  also make excellent seating options!

• Be prepared for the weather.  An old saying from Scandinavia goes, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.” This is undoubtedly true for outdoor education. Invest in suitable clothing that will keep you warm on cold days and dry on rainy days so you can go outside in all weather as long as it is safe. In addition, teach your students how to prepare for the weather and give parents tips on dressing children warmly. Some schools seek donations from sites such as Donors Choose to create a lending closet with extra rain and snow gear on hand for children who do not have appropriate clothing. Also, check out your local thrift store, or ask families who have outgrown their winter clothing for donations so you can always have extra gear on hand for students who need it. The adventure of huddling up together, sipping mugs of hot tea on a frigid day, or searching around a vernal pool in the drizzling rain to discover frog eggs on a rainy day, are some of my favorite memories of being outdoors with my students. Being outdoors in all weather teaches children how to build resilience and face challenges even when it is difficult (and not always comfortable) to do so.
• Set boundaries for safety with your students whenever you are outdoors. Begin your outdoor time together by identifying the space you will be using to learn and make a note of any safety hazards nearby to be cautious of (parking lots, roads, poison ivy, a broken fence, etc.). Outdoor lessons can begin the same way as they would in the classroom, by circling up and putting eyes on the speaker. Establishing outdoor routines and boundaries helps children see the space as an outdoor classroom, which is different from being outdoors during recess time.
• Assess the spaces around your school, and talk to community members about how they might be transformed into greener spaces. Enlist the help of community members  in creating spaces near your school that would be good for outdoor learning. While it might be more natural to think of building outdoor classrooms in rural areas, it’s possible to envision and create outdoor spaces in urban areas, where existing infrastructure can be transformed into outdoor learning spaces to meet the needs of a school. For example, explore neighborhood parks, grassy areas, courtyards, or construct garden beds on school grounds to grow vegetables and flowers. There are many examples of urban schools that have transformed their schoolyards to create inviting outdoor spaces for children to learn.

Resources To Guide You

• Transferring parts of your instruction to outdoor learning is not an easy task.  Seek support from other teachers who are striving to do the same thing. One place to look is Inside-Outside, a community of Nature-Based educators who provide teachers with resources and inspiration to open the door and head outside. Their position statements are full of helpful ideas, solid research, and all the information you need to begin.
• A Forest Days Handbook is an easy-to-read handbook, which is very helpful in explaining how to establish routines, schedules, and learning spaces for being outdoors. It will help you begin planning for outdoor instruction and gives plenty of examples of the work other classrooms are doing. The information is easy to access, can be applied to different grade levels, and provides essential questions to consider when designing your program.
• Green Schoolyards America is another supportive community to learn from. Their website is full of helpful resources and examples of schools around the country implementing outdoor education for their students.

If you are looking to breathe some fresh air into your classroom environment, try teaching outdoors! All you need is a willing spirit, a sense of adventure, and the desire to open the door to a new way of learning for your students. Joy, balance, and well-being may be a few of the many benefits you will find.

The post How you can teach outdoors (even in the winter!) appeared first on Truth For Teachers.

This article is written by Truth for Teachers writer

One thing I love about teaching is that no matter how difficult the previous school year may have been, August always offers us the invitation to begin again. This year that is true, unlike any other.

Collectively, we all need to begin again. Teachers need to look back and make sense of the school year we left behind. What did we learn? What valuable things do we want to drag out of the Covid days and keep? What do we want to let go of and never return to?  Hopefully, this summer gave you a little time and space to reflect, courage to try again, and hope to envision something better for the school year ahead.

If you have spent the past year or more teaching remotely, in hybrid settings, or doing in-person school with covid restrictions in place, this school year may feel like you are starting all over again. You may be wondering a lot of things.

How did I do this before?!  What new routines for ongoing safety protocols do I need to establish?  How will I nurture relationships with children who have not seen a normal school day for a long time? How can I find ways to set my students (and myself) up for success? How do I create a classroom environment that welcomes children back to school post-pandemic? 

Regardless of what your state or local school district mandates, safety protocols will still be on everyone’s mind as school reopens, especially since not all children will be vaccinated. Many teachers, students, and families may continue to feel cautious as memories of COVID-19 linger, and we all try to ease ourselves back into normal routines. Wearing masks, maintaining physical distance and washing hands were all important in keeping us safe and healthy at school last year — and may still be needed as a new school year begins.

As you make your way back into your classroom to take on the challenge of beginning again, here are some tips that can help you create a smooth transition back to school for you and your students — one that embraces what a joyful classroom can look like in a post-pandemic world.

Make safety protocols fun

When setting up the routines you plan to use with your students this year, use kid-friendly language to set the tone and explain these safety protocols so young children can feel more comfortable following the rules.

One way to do this is to greet your students by name at the classroom door each morning with a high five, elbow bump, or just a big smile and friendly hello.

Welcome them into the school day and check to see that safety protocols are met on arrival. Hand washing is one well-established safety protocol that kids in school last year were well trained in and is definitely one routine we want to continue.

On entering the classroom, have children do a wiggle dance as you sing a song to the tune of “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” while applying hand sanitizer or washing hands: “Front, back, and in between, in between…helps keep our hands clean, really clean”. While doing this, if your students are still wearing masks, have them check to make sure their “superhero masks” are on right; remind them that all superheroes wear their masks correctly and tightly around their face. Then they are ready to enter the room to begin their day.

Teach children to respect personal space

Teaching children how to maintain appropriate physical distance is another healthy routine to continue this school year.  Trying to implement physical distancing is not an easy concept with young children — they naturally want to run and be close together. But giving each other personal space at certain times is always a good idea.

When walking in halls or around the classroom, have them “spread their wings or fly like a bird” to give each other space to move around the room and not bump into anyone else.

When moving from one space to another at school or while taking walks outside, use a rope with tape holds spaced three feet apart to show children what a safe distance looks and feels like. Children can hold on to their spot on the rope when moving as a class. This safe, distanced way of moving can be your class train where all are invited to come aboard.

Hula hoops or individual blankets can also help establish space boundaries between children when gathering as a group.  Learning how to keep some physical distance from others is an excellent concept to practice right from the beginning and will go a long way in reducing conflicts between children as they work and play.

Create a peaceful learning environment 

When children return to the classroom for the first time, they will likely experience many emotions. Some of them may not have been to school for a very long time. Some younger kids will never have been to a physical school, and some will have experienced severe loss and anxiety. There are many ways to set up your classroom space to make it a welcoming, peaceful place for children to return to.

Have calming music or nature soundscapes on when children enter the room in the morning; that sets the tone for a calm day of learning and lets children know that school is a safe place to learn and be with their friends.

Soft lighting in the room makes the classroom feel inviting and comfortable for your students, more like a home environment some of them are accustomed to learning in.

Have a daily schedule posted so children know what to expect during the day. This helps set kids up for success by letting them know what will be expected of them. It’s been a long time since we have seen a normal school day. What will that look like in your classroom? Having a visual schedule is especially important this year, as most children are coming from a school year where routines and expectations were constantly changing, which may have caused anxiety for many of them. Maintaining consistent routines brings comfort and helps children feel confident knowing what to look forward to each day.

It will take time for children to adjust to the length of a full school day, so keep your students moving throughout the day to help them stay focused and calm.  Play lively songs during transitions and soothing meditations after recess so kids can reset and center themselves for the rest of the day. This adds fun to the day, gets kids laughing together, encourages mindfulness, and helps build a joyful community.

Offer flexible seating

When young children return to the classroom, it can be challenging for them to spend a lot of time in an assigned work spot. Offering flexible seating gives them a choice in what is most comfortable for them and helps the classroom feel more inviting. Bouncy balls, wiggle seats, yoga mats, small rockers, and seating cushions at low tables are all options for making a classroom feel more attractive for your students.

Letting children choose new spots to work in each day keeps things interesting for them and helps them learn what kind of seating arrangement helps them do their best work. Space out sit spots around the room with as much distance as possible to help create the physical distance some children may need to feel safe in the classroom.

This year we will bring in a few tables for small group seating, which allows us to meet the needs of having more children in the room and adds variety to the individual seating options that children can choose from. It also gives space for small group instruction to take place again.

Provide individual storage tubs

Decide how you want to store materials for student use. Last year, my students had all their materials stored individually to reduce the risk of virus transmission.  I may keep some of those storage tubs this year because they helped teach my students how to be responsible for their materials and organize them neatly. We even had individual “take and go” play boxes filled with Legos, watercolors, puzzles, and pretend animals. We may keep some of these as an option for children who would rather work independently in their own workspace or for small groups of children to share together.

This year there may be more opportunities for group work and shared materials to enter the classroom again, but having several options available will help students know they have choices in how to work and play together safely. Having materials stored individually also makes it easier for students to grab what they need if you want to take a lesson outside or to another location in the school for small group work.

Focus on social and emotional connection

When returning to school for the first time, it may be hard for some students to focus on academics right away. Have a social-emotional learning plan ready to gently welcome students back into the school routine.

One way to do this is to reach out to each child and meet them where they are emotionally, whether that’s excited and ready to jump right in or hesitant or even fearful. Before school begins, send out a survey to your student’s parents asking them questions about their child to get to know the family better. This year, be sure to include questions about the pandemic and concerns the family may have about returning to school.

Throughout the school day, teach children the importance of identifying, understanding, and managing their emotions. Let them know they can ask for help when needed. Having a “calming corner’, or a quiet space for children to go when they need a break from the business of the classroom, is a great way to support children with the transition back to a full school day.

In our calming corner, we have an old-fashioned telephone with a cord attached that children can pick up and pretend to talk to someone when they have big feelings that need to be expressed. This often helps calm anxieties so children can return to their work when ready.

Building connections among children can also ease them back into in-person learning and help them feel safe at school.

A class mascot is a great way to do this. Every day, my morning meeting features an appearance by our turtle stuffie, Twiggles, who will be with the class all year. Each morning Twiggles asks the kids, “How are you feeling?” The kids talk to Twiggles, and he listens to their answers, and sometimes he asks them funny questions that make the kids laugh, like “I’m a turtle, and I’ve never been to school before. What should I do here?”

On Mondays, we share Fabulous (or not-so-Fabulous) News with Twiggles, and we get to know what is important to each member of our classroom community. In conversations with Twiggles, each child feels valued and heard. Sometimes he even shows up at our morning meetings with a friend to help us talk about how to care for each other.

Get outdoors

One thing I am bringing with me from pandemic teaching is getting my class outdoors for instruction. It has become a permanent part of my teaching after experiencing how much joy it brought to my students last year.

There are many benefits to teaching outdoors, including easing anxiety and engaging students in their learning. Just a short activity outdoors like a snack or read-aloud or playtime can go a long way in building community, resilience, and excitement for being back at school. Time outdoors offers a welcome relief from students’ assigned indoor work spots, and it can give them a chance to take off their masks if still wearing them and take a deep breath of fresh air.

When I first started teaching outdoors, I did so mainly for practical reasons. I wanted to find a safe way for my students to gather and be back at school for instruction during the pandemic. But the more I started looking outdoors, the more I realized how much there is to learn and how many ways there are to integrate the curriculum in ways that inspire curiosity for students.

Each season brings new things to study in nature and limitless possibilities for engaging your students in outdoor learning. There are great resources to help you get started that can be adapted to different age levels. Even the smallest outdoor activity can feel like an epic adventure, especially for kids who find it hard to adjust to the length of a regular school day inside a classroom.

Not all learning has to be an indoor project. Being outdoors offers the freedom to be more relaxed and helps kids regulate their bodies so they can adjust to the increased expectations of being back at school.

Make room for hopes and dreams to be shared

Many teachers have hopes and dreams for what the school year ahead might hold, and so do students.  Making time to share what each child looks forward to in the year ahead helps establish a community where each child feels valued and heard.

One way to do this is to read If You Find A Rock, a beautiful story that celebrates rocks everywhere — and the mysterious places they are found. It offers inspiration to go outside to find smooth stones around the school or to bring in a rock from home. As a special project, have each child paint a rock and write one thing on it they want to hold onto for the school year ahead. It can be a “memory rock” of something valuable they learned from last year. Or it can be a “wishing rock” to hold something they wish for in the year ahead. It’s a great way to help children reflect and set a small goal for the year ahead that is important to them.

There are resources available to help you plan similar activities to build community in your classroom right from the beginning, where children’s hopes and dreams can be heard and celebrated. Some resources have been adapted to meet the safety protocols put in place due to the pandemic and can help you create a joyful morning meeting that brings your class together to set the tone for a positive day.

All the efforts you put into building community and establishing routines in your classroom will be well spent, especially for children who have not experienced a structured school day for a long time or who may feel timid entering a classroom full of children again.

Take care of yourself

More than anything, make a promise to take good care of yourself this school year. The past year or more has been a stressful time for teachers, and we are all still trying to figure out what school will look like as we move towards a new normal.

Be gentle with yourself, and find the help you need within your school or in teacher communities online if support is not available at your school. Find ways to make your physical and mental health a priority so you can be there for the children.

One thing the kids need most is a caring adult who can show up and be present for them every day. If you feel calm, rested, and happy to be back at school — the kids will feel that, too.  

Setting the tone for returning to school is not an easy task. Still, with these simple steps, you can create a positive space for joy and connection to happen again for students in your classroom, even with reasonable safety protocols in place.

Remember, you are a superhero to your students, with or without the mask on, and you can do this! Embrace the invitation to begin again with confidence knowing you have what it takes to create a classroom community that welcomes your students into an exciting new adventure in the school year ahead.

The post How to ease the transition back to in-person learning for kids (and yourself) appeared first on Truth For Teachers.