We Need a Little Kwanzaa

                                         

How do you celebrate "The Holidays" in your classroom? I have been seeing tons of pictures online, and honestly, most seem to be geared totally toward Christmas. Teachers dressed as elves, Ugly Christmas Sweater Days, Elf on the Classroom Shelf, and Christmas decorations everywhere. This always makes me pause and wonder if all the children in the classrooms whose posts I see are from Christian homes: homes that actually celebrate Christmas. 

I can tell you from my own childhood experiences that it is hard to be different during Christmas. It feels so lonely and alone. Even if they are not expressing this, many children are feeling this at this festive time of the year. 

For me, the celebrations at this time of the year are all about the values they instill in our hearts, not about the specific names or even specific religious practices. As a teacher of mostly diverse populations over the years, I have loved learning about the diverse celebrations that actually occur at this time of the year. The similarities have always amazed me. For one, the presence of candles in the rituals associated with so many of our winter holiday celebrations. Candles can symbolize so many different things, but they all succeed at bringing light and love into our hearts. Each of the winter holidays we have studied in our Rainbow City classroom has also come complete with lifelong values tidily wrapped up to reaffirm during the holiday season.

And so, as we sing, wrap, greet, feast, and otherwise make merry during these winter months, it's also a great time to address values education with our children. What do we stand for? What's most important to us? What really lies beneath the shiny ribbons and glorious boxes?  Unless we teach in a religious school, we probably shouldn't be teaching religion at any time of the year. But values? Solid, character-building values? Of course we can address those!

In my opinion, Kwanzaa is a perfect holiday to address values that many of us hold dear already. This just may be the perfect year to get a Kwanzaa celebration going in all of our homes and classrooms, or at least in our homes in preparation for considering Kwanzaa as a more universal holiday to celebrate together in class next year. It is cultural rather than religious, and is filled with lights, colors, gifts, togetherness, and joy. 

If you prefer not to put a label of a specific holiday on your celebration of values, it will still work. Who could argue with celebration of unity in your classroom community? Or a celebration of the creativity that dwells within each of us? Responsibility? Self-determination? Purpose? Of course! All of these are so connected to what we try to instill in students every day in every lesson!

You might want to start by introducing a value each day (or each week) in your Morning Meeting discussion. Or start with journals. Start somewhere this year, and build on it next year. I have blogged about this before, but a favorite activity in my classroom for years was a carousel of holidays, where we shared the values, foods, and fun of each of our own special holidays. Here's a post you may be interested in:

For an actual Kwanzaa celebration or lesson, you might like this bundle I've put together for you!

Studying Christmas around the world may be fun and enriching for a homogeneous classroom, where all families celebrate Christmas. (Are you sure that EVERYONE in your class celebrates Christmas? Have you asked? Just asking again for a friend...that lonely child that I once was.) Even if you're positive that you stand before a truly homogeneous Christian class, taking a look at the values and celebrations of others can't hurt, and may be enlightening! 

Wishing you all the peace and joy that you seek in this holiday season!

I hope you have found a few ideas here to make this season of reflection more meaningful this year in your classroom. Please know that I am grateful for each and every one of you who reads this blog! 

If I can do anything else to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

For more great December teaching ideas, be sure to check out these Teacher Talk bloggers! 

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

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Building Community During the Holidays

Couldn't resist bringing back this older post today because it still brings so much of what I am feeling as the holidays approach - especially my favorite: Thanksgiving! I hope that you will find some ideas here for building community and sharing empathy during the season ahead!

Our family has a reunion every year at Thanksgiving time. We are scattered all over the country (actually all over the world) now, but each year as many as possible try to meet up for a banquet cooked by professional chefs (yay!) rather than by any of us. We meet in a hotel back where I grew up and spend several days just enjoying each other and loving on our newest generation. It takes me back to my childhood, when most of the meals were home cooked, certainly at Thanksgiving, and when most of my extended family hung out together all the time. We were there for so many of the milestones in each other's lives, sometimes because they were official and came with an invitation, and sometimes because we just happened to all be there. We were all always there, either at my parents' house, or my grandparents' house, known simply as "down the house" (In Pittsburghese, "You gon' dahn the hause?" Or, "See ya later dahn the hause.") We never said yinz in our family, but we sure pronounced words like dahn and hause just that way. It brings a tear. Sigh.

Our Thanksgiving celebrations through the years always included the long table for adults and the kids' table. I believe I sat at the kids' table until I graduated from college and was married with a tiny apartment table of my own. It was a good place to be, and a great place to grow up.

We hosted a brunch at our house recently, and my favorite grandson (aka only grandson) asked if we could move the kids' table to the end of the adult table so that it would be just one long table and we all could sit together. What a brilliant idea! I wish I had thought to ask my grandmother the same question. Her kids' table was seriously all the way in the living room. We always felt that we were missing something over there! Brunch was so much fun that day, and the furniture arrangement just might have had something to do with it!

Thoughts of Thanksgivings past and future also brought me to the thoughts of the season of excess, which seems to start earlier and earlier each year. I thought I had finished all of my holiday shopping yesterday, but thought of several items that I wanted to add today. A tiny voice in my head said, "Enough!" The voice was right. I took some time tonight to think of all the things that I have enough of. I certainly have enough clothes to last forever. Six bags are ready for donation right now. I have a precious family to love, and I know they love me, so enough love. I have probably far more friends than any one person deserves, so enough friendship. Since I've rekindled my love for dancing and exercise, I am mostly blessed with good health. I do request that you stay away from me though if you have not had your flu shot. Learned that the hard way. Enough food? Probably too much, given my never-ending struggles with the scale.

Yes, enough. I am so sure that I have enough that I have no holiday wish list of my own. The days ahead might just be a good time to consider with your students and children or grandchildren, nieces, and nephews - whoever is important in your life - what exactly each of you has enough of. And then, you might want to extend the conversation to ways you can reach out and share with others who might not have enough. Some examples (some that I've talked about in previous blog posts) might be:

• Adopt a family to gather and wrap holiday gifts for.
• Pack winter comfort bags for the homeless.
• Visit an elderly residence and play board games or sing. 
• Plan an act of kindness to do every day (or even once a week) for someone else.
• Share your holiday spirit by learning more about winter holidays celebrated by others in your community and around the world.

An amazing book that I've just discovered is I am Enough by Grace Byers. It is a lovely way to remind our children that each of them is a precious gift to the world.

For resources to make your teaching life a little easier in the days ahead, and to learn about winter holidays celebrated by others, click here! Winter Holidays with Rainbow City Learning
For resources to emphasize Gratitude, click here! Celebrating Gratitude with Rainbow City Learning

In the days ahead, I wish you a seat at the table surrounded by those you love, and the most precious of gifts to open: friendship, caring, and awareness of the needs of others.

For more November thoughts and tips, be sure to check out the posts of my blogging friends.

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts

that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at    TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

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Seven Fun Halloween Candy Activities for Your Class

It's Candy O'Clock! The store shelves may be lacking some essential paper items, but they are currently chock full of Halloween candy of every description in those cute little individual bags! Trick or Treating is so much fun, but how many kids can actually eat all the candy in their haul? It's estimated that most kids will consume about 3,190 empty calories from their Trick or Treat bags. For most kids, that won't even make a dent in the stash. Here are some suggestions to make better use of the annual sugar rush and make your classroom goblins want to share!

The Legend of the Switch Witch

My head is currently spinning while trying to find out who owns the concept of the Switch Witch. Apparently, you can't copyright an idea and so the Switch Witch legend is now part of the public domain. The original Switch Witch book is available on that book selling internet giant and also at some smaller booksellers. I purchased a cute witch and book from a Colorado company (switchwitches.com) which I thought would be useful for upper elementary students. This book talks about the magic of Switchcraft. 

The legend was originally created to help a diabetic toddler to see another use for the trick or treat candy that she couldn't eat. According to legend, various Switch Witches travel all over the world before Halloween. They will exchange your Halloween candy for other fun toys/gifts. They watch over you in a way similar to the Elf on a Shelf concept.

My classroom application: My Rainbow City classroom always had a store (We called it the Rainbow City Boutique!) open on Fridays. Kids could exchange classroom dollars earned through good behavior and work efforts for school supplies, handmade items by their classmates, or materials to make their own items to sell. More about how this economy worked can be found here. 

Whether you have a classroom shop or not, you can place a cute witch doll on a table next to a box which can be sealed (like a plastic storage container with lid). Our school was on the edge of a forest. Forests have mice. Need I say more? Didn't think so. 

After Halloween, your students can bring their wrapped Halloween candy to school and trade it in for whatever you (The Switch Witch) decide to offer in exchange. You can use a witch doll or dress up yourself. I'm pretty sure that a parent might be willing to dress up and volunteer for this job as well!

For a followup writing activity, ask your students to write a letter to the Switch Witch about what they would like in exchange for their candy! Find that activity here: 

What will you do with all the candy you collect? Save it and read on!

Harriet's Halloween

Many years ago, an AIMS (Activities in Math and Science) activity was published in their journal using the picture book Harriet's Halloween Candy. The story was about an anthropomorphic dog who didn't want to share her Halloween Candy. The activity was all about sorting according to different attributes such as chocolate/not chocolate, individually wrapped/package wrapped, plastic wrappers/paper wrappers, by color, by ones they like/don't like, etc. 

Upper elementary kids should be able to come up with four different ways to sort their stash. I made a sorting page for you to use below. You're welcome.

After sorting, my class would make goody bags to be handed out at the local food pantry as a treat for homeless kids or those unable to trick or treat in their own neighborhoods. Some senior citizens centers will take these donations also. 

Cute graphics on this page are from Melonheadz.

Getting to Know Us Again

Depending on how quickly you opened your room and got students back to school, you may or may not have tried this fun Morning Meeting activity. You can play it with Skittles, M&Ms, or any wrapped small candies. I've played it with pennies, and some teachers use toilet paper squares. As students enter the circle, ask them to "Take as many" as they need. As you go around the circle, each child has to say something about themself for each of the number of pieces they've chosen. 

This game can have so many adaptations: Say something nice about a classmate for each piece, say something new that has happened in your life for each piece, tell something new you learned in class last week for each one, use them to tell the steps of something that you know how to cook or build or create.

So many ways to reacquaint ourselves as a classroom community!

Poetry Writing

Here's a funny and fun poem for Halloween from Shel Silverstein's book, Every Thing On It. The cute graphics on this page are from the amazing Glitter Meets Glue. You're welcome again!

Kids can write their own poems, using this as a model. Who do they think invented Trick or Treating? They can also write Five Senses Poems or another poetry form about Halloween. 

STEAM

From Saving Sam (or Fred or...) to Pumpkin Catapults and Pretzel Stick Bridges, there are so many ways to use candy in your STEM/STEAM activities. If you've collected candy from the Switch Witch suggestion, you can use it again and again to supplement your Maker Space and STEM/STEAM activities.

Here's a fun one from my Stepping Into STEAM resource. 

Notes and Awards

Pay it forward! Use some of your "switchcrafted" stash to attach to thank you notes for PTA or Staff Appreciation days. Some years, we have sent care packages to our troops. It is also fun to attach candy to Clean Desk Awards. 

 Candy Book Discussions

 I have used M & M Book discussion cards during Daily 5 time. Wow! Not only was I able to have 10 book conferences in less than one hour, but I could really tell how deeply those books had been read. 

Worked with two multi-level groups of 5 each. Students randomly selected an M&M from their Halloween-sized bags (perfect time of year to try this), and told the group about their book as the prompt directed.

 
Did not hear one "I pass." or one "I don't know." The conversation flowed, and the students were thrilled to keep their cute laminated M & M bookmarks to prepare for their next discussion.  Eight more students signed up for conferences for the next day, and several were heard as they packed to go home that they couldn't wait to get back into their independent reading books that night.
A fun day interacting with my readers! Hope you'll try it!  

For a convenient download of the  pages shown above, just click here! (No longer free, but just a dollar! Really! Come on!)

ALL of the ideas in this post, and many more can be found in my Halloween Bundle. Save yourself some planning time, and enjoy the celebration along with your class! Just click below!

BIG NEWS!

If I can do anything else to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

Wishing you and your class a safe and fun Halloween this year!

For more October thoughts on teaching, be sure to check out the posts below by the amazing bloggers in Teacher Talk. 

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

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A New Way Forward in Election 2024

It's my birthday month. The following represents my views. If you have a politically charged comeback, please just say, "Happy Birthday" and keep stepping. I have to approve each comment before it ever appears anyway! 

So much to think about concerning our country and the world. The Presidential debates have begun, and at this time appear to be over after the first one, and it's getting more and more uncomfortable up in here. Neighbors and former friends are digging in their heels on opposite sides, clearly dependent on which echo chamber is providing their news reports. What on earth do we tell our children, our students, and even each other about the qualifications of the candidates? One of these people will soon be selected as the "Leader of the Free World". I can't help wondering what The Dowager Empress would have to say on the discussion from the last debate. Before long, we will have a chance to vote and will know the outcome. We may very well have the first woman in office as President of the United States. 

I've always wondered if things would be different if women were really in control of governments. Wondered if the focus would be more on being kind to each other, less on the need to show up with the biggest weapon. Who knows? The girls aren't always so kind to each other either.

I belong to quite a few teacher groups, both online and in person. Although I am officially retired, I guess I will always consider myself a teacher, and I love to be around those who are still so actively involved. Every couple of days it seems, someone enters the discussion online or shows up at the restaurant or walks into the teacher's lounge with a similar complaint. "It's (insert month here), and my class is still so out of control. Kids are so mean to each other. I have bullies in my class. I hope they don't keep talking and screaming through my evaluation." I sometimes helpfully suggest the proven system I used which can seamlessly work with the standards and bring kids together as a learning community. Works like magic. Honest. You won't read about it here. I'm tired of suggesting it. No one seems to be listening. You can email me if you'd like a link to those resources.

I often long for a kinder and simpler time when kids had someone to look up to. My suggestion? Let's offer some role models for kids to look up to. Let's start with us. Mainstream America has been involved in a campaign of disrespect for teachers for waaaaayyyyy too long now. One of the Presidential candidates actually said during the debate that teachers are performing gender change operations on students during the school day. Seriously? With what equipment? In which operating room? Last time I visited, school buildings don't have this capability. What tools are they using? Crayons and glue guns? I remember when kids looked up to their teachers and wanted to grow up to be just like them. (Those of us who have been involved in education long enough will remember those days. They were real.) Starting with us simply means to me to walk into that classroom every day with a clean slate. You have no bullies. You have no loud and disrespectful kids in that room. You are a great teacher with the greatest class ever. Now let's get the day started. They may just surprise you and act the way you would like them to act.

Now for role models. Our next president may very well be a woman. No political endorsement either way here. It's a fact. She may just win it while her opponent is acting like the worst fourth grade discipline problem kid on a long recess with no supervision. (Maybe he had poor role models. Don't know. Don't care. No excuse for him.)

I like to show my students positive female role models in life and in careers throughout the year, not just during Women's History Month, and finding new examples of strong and successful women all around us, I am continually amazed that I never run out of new and exciting discoveries.

A few examples:

Kathryn Sullivan of NOAA, who placed the Hubble telescope in space, and now protects the oceans and atmosphere of our planet, launching a media campaign for #EarthIsBlue and educating our young people about the importance of protecting this jewel of a planet that has been entrusted to us.

Marie Daly, an African American PH.D. chemist (did I mention the first one?) who researched healthy foods and lifestyle habits that could lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. She did this in the 1940s. She also gave back by way of encouraging young people of color to apply for careers in science and medicine.

Jane Goodall, who lived among and studied the wild chimpanzees of Tanzania. I had heard of her before of course, but did not know of her extensive work in science education for young people.

Just a few. The list is long. Strong, ambitious, motivated to reach and grasp and learn. And then to give back. Leave a legacy. Role models we can aspire to. No one cares if they were large or small. They had no need to point out the size of their own or any other person's body parts or crowd size. Their interests were in leading from the heart, with all the knowledge they could acquire, in an area they had a passion for exploring. What more could we ask of our own children, or of our leaders?

So for this month, at least, and hopefully going forward, let's try encouraging all of our students to read like a girl, interact like a girl, study like a girl, discuss like a girl, aspire like a girl, and to lead like a girl. Let's encourage them to do all these things in the way the best of our role models (including you!) would do them. Get involved in some research and project based learning focused on these and other role models. And watch those immature behaviors and unkind actions melt away.

You may like browsing these resources to get started (just click!):

If I can do anything to help make your job easier this year, please let me know in the comments below! If I use your idea for a new blog post, you will win a TpT $10 gift card. If I create a new resource for Rainbow City Learning based on your idea, you will win a free copy of that resource to use in your classroom! (Note: all comments are reviewed before appearing on my blog. It may take a few hours for your comment to appear! Thanks for your patience!)

For more ideas to try this month, please check out the fabulous bloggers of Teacher Talk! 

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TPT. For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

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Teach What's Important

Happy New School Year, teachers! I hope you all have those wishlists set up on Amazon, and that your family and friends are busy making all of your wishes come true for this year! So much has changed since I've left the classroom, but I think that wishlist idea is a definite move in the right direction! 

So many friends have been super busy setting up their rooms and getting ahead on the lesson plans. With all the required standards to meet, and district adopted curriculum to pursue, deciding what goes into the plans for a day, a week, or a month seems like a huge task. 

The most important lessons you can teach in these early days can set you up for student success and your own peace all year. May I suggest teaching that you are someone who cares about each student, and who can be trusted? I would also like to suggest that you teach students that they belong to a caring community this year, and can count on each other. Our brains are so much more open to new learnings when not burdened by stress. Take the time to read parent letters about their children, and to talk with each parent even if it's not conference time yet. The more you know about your students as people, the better you will be able to serve them as learners. I know it's surprising to many adults, but kindness, empathy, collaboration, and compassion actually have to be taught. We may be born with the basics of these attributes, but young children need some instruction and direction to develop these traits. My third and final suggestion is that you always teach that learning is fun! You do that by example. If you are truly interested in the subject matter that you are teaching, and enjoyed learning about it yourself, share that with your students. Enthusiasm is infectious! Click on the highlighted words above fo some Rainbow City Learning style activities to get there!

A favorite little set up trick of mine was to take some time on the first day to just observe my students with the class list in my hand. Saying nothing, I would just smile, looks at the list, and look at the kids. Then I'd close the door, and say very quietly, "It's true! The office really did put ALL the best kids in my class! Wow! I hope they don't realize that they have done this. Shhhhh...please don't tell them! We're going to have the best year ever!" You need to practice this, using your own way of saying things, until it sounds real and natural. If they believe you, and I think they will, the result is pure teacher magic!

This is a time when many school districts are discouraging and even forbidding the use of TPT resources. While I am not trying to convince you to adopt a ready to print curriculum from my store or anyone else's, there are definitely some time saving shorter activities that will help you to create the classroom atmosphere of your dreams. They can be used to build the base for a solid year with all the attention to curriculum standards that you need. I hope you'll visit Rainbow City Learning on TPT, and put a bundle together that will work for your classroom! Small bites or activities taught more intensely at the beginning of the year, and then sprinkled lightly throughout the rest of the year! Why not try it? Would love hear from you how it is working!

If you would like to try a preselected bundle of activities to build your community and share the pure joy of learning, why not start with one of my monthly themed bundles? Click the links below to get started!

Wishing you the best school year ever!

For more ideas to get your year off to a great start, check out these posts from our blogging group!

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk this school year, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TPT. For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

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Summer is Almost Here

 

Summer is almost here! Can you feel it just ahead? This is the time to pack up your room, pass out your Super Summer Kits, collect your fabulous teacher gifts, and collect lots of hugs, smiling through your tears. Don't cry. I'm here to tell you from the other side of your teacher life that your students loved you and appreciated all you did for them this year. When they look back on their school years, the older they get, the more they will realize what you did for them. Many of them will even find ways to tell you. I promise. 

As teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe once said, "I touch the future. I teach." As
you close up shop for this year and start to plan for next year, never forget that in all you do and say and plan, you touch the future every day. What an awesome superpower to have!

Reaching out into the future, you may find an idea or two in this bundle from Rainbow City Learning. The Summer Activity Calendar is a must! Lots of ideas for other add ins. 

What was the Super Summer Kit? It was simply a large ziplock bag or white 8 1/2 x 11 envelope filled with an activity calendar, a list of books "Recommended in Rainbow City" by other students, a goodbye letter from me filled with memories of our year together, and hopes I held for them as they grew up and away, fun writing suggestions like nature observations and different ways to make fun books and journals, a list of fun local day trips and summer field trips, and a summer bucket list brainstorming activity called "I Would if I Could". Kids used these throughout the summer with no future deadlines or pressure. Some even took them to camp for some downtime suggestions to share with bunkmates. I made a colorful and personalized cover page for each one, and loved having this unique gift to greet them on the last day of school as important as the backpack bags I greeted them with on the first day!

Since I have now have evidence that so many are hugely successful adults, and since those who looped with me or returned to a classroom of a teaching friend that I could check in with came back refreshed and even smarter, I have to conclude that the Super Summer Kit was enough. The thick worksheet books that parents used to clamor for at our local book shop every May and June seemed daunting and uninteresting to me. What kid wants an assignment to complete every day all summer long, in  the interest of "keeping skills sharp"? Kids need their vacation and down time just as much as we adults do to refresh, recharge, and renew our interest in learning. I always found that the activities that I selected for that kit (most found right here in this bundle) were a "just right" approach to summer learning.

So, if you are lamenting the end of the school year, even while looking forward to your own summer plans, and want to send your babies off with a fun and learning filled kit for their summer, I hope you'll check out these summer resources from Rainbow City Learning for a happy slide through summer and into the next school year. And don't worry, they're still making more! (Love and kisses to Joanie, now in Heaven. She always told me not to cry on the last day because they were making more (kids) and when they were ready, they'd send them!)

For more summer inspiration, please check out the fabulous bloggers of Teacher Talk! This is our last linkup until August. Posts in this linkup are limited to Teacher Talk member bloggers only.

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at TPT. For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

                                         

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What's Saving Your Life This Spring?

I hear you... counting down the days...days till the next break...days till summer...days till retirement. Been there, done that! And now, looking back at our teaching life from retirement, I hear Joni Mitchell singing in my ear, "I've looked at life from both sides now..." The view from here isn't all sunshine and roses, but I can make a few observations with most of the emotion now stripped away. I adore my teacher friends, still in the classroom, and still making a tremendous contribution. I have former students, children of my heart forever, now working as teachers or just entering the profession. I want only the best for each of them and you, and I hope this post will have a little something to ease you on down the road to summer! 

This is an idea that comes from an idea that one of my fav bloggers revisits every year. If you haven't read posts by Modern Mrs. Darcy, I highly recommend her blog. She has so many ideas for lifelong readers and book lovers, like us!  

According to Mrs, Darcy, "The idea comes from Barbara Brown Taylor’s wonderful memoir Leaving Church. In it, she tells the story of how once, when she was invited to speak at a gathering, her host gave her this instruction for her speaking topic: “Tell us what is saving your life right now.” She said the genius of the question is that though most of us know exactly what’s killing us, it’s harder to name what’s saving us. It’s too good a question not to revisit from time to time, and so we’ve done it annually at the midpoint of winter. (Or, in 2024, thereabouts.)" 

And so, my darlings, here we go! Onward to Teacher Appreciation Day, with each of us indulging in a little self-appreciation in the days ahead.

Currently Saving My Life

Pink - Pink saves my life. Deeply affected by Barbie, the movie, just that bright, saturated Barbie pink color saves me every day. I surround myself with touches of it, and gazing at them makes me happy. Clothing, nails, shoes, Zumba shoes, ink, markers, acrylic paints, glitter (sorry, not sorry), drinking cups, and my favorite song by Pink herself, "Never Not Gonna Dance Again". Wait till you see my new pink dress that I am saving for Mother's Day! I will wear it all day whether I am alone or with family. Because it saves me. 

Dance - Dancing saves my life. I love going to Zumba class with all the sweet young things. I tell them that I have returned to stumble along behind them, but after a few short minutes (maybe a song or two into the hour), I feel that I am actually doing something that approximates dancing! Can't find a class near you? Make a playlist on Youtube. I love the routines by ZumbaDaze! Try it! I promise you'll love it, and it just may save you, if only for an hour a day! Dance like no one is watching. Because they likely are not!

Cooking - Creative cooking has always saved my life. Due to hubby's recent lifestyle changes required for his health, I have temporarily suspended my love of trying new recipes and especially exploring Korean cooking, as I've done for the past year. If you are interested in dabbling, I started with Eric Kim, but then found Maangchi's blog. Maangchi saves my life. Her love of cooking is infectious! Also, Molly Yeh from Girl Meets Farm is magnificent in the way she blends Asian and Midwestern cooking. And her kitchen...Sigh...Don't get me started!

The way I'm saving my life with cooking has boiled down (😂) to simplicity. We eat mostly protein and veggies now. Could get boring, but some easy things that you and your family might love are: Egg Roll in a Bowl (recipes everywhere)! Who ever thought of cooking cole slaw mix? Brilliant! I expanded that idea to cooking various bagged salad mixes, adding spices, flavored oils, or sesame oil, light soy sauce, whatever, and adding cooked protein - chicken, beef, turkey, shrimp, or tofu. Yummy and done in a hot second!

Reading - But of course! I am and always have been all about the books.

Currently loving: 

Museum of Failures by Thrity Umrigard 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

For more and detailed suggestions for reading for you and your students, check out this post:

What's Saving Your Life Right Now?

As you continue the countdown mentioned above, save your teaching life with some ready-to go Spring lessons and activities from Rainbow City Learning!

I would love love love to hear what's saving your life right now! Please answer in the comments below!

For more Spring classroom ideas, don't miss these great posts by our awesome members of Teacher Talk!  

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts

that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at    TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions.

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Create a Zen Classroom

Full Moon ahead? Major school break coming up? Too much excitement for students in the class before yours, or on the bus ride to school? Yikes! That could mean that your day is set up for major headaches, much waiting for quiet and attention, and a constant struggle to get through the lesson plan.

But what if you could bring an atmosphere of calm and peace to your classroom each and every day, no matter what may be happening just outside your door? Welcome to the Zen Classroom! Here are some easy-peasy ways to bring back the calm and get on with the learning:

Of course, we all have heard of brain breaks, and many teachers are already making great use of brain breaks and brain gym activities on a regular basis. I'm wondering if you've tried just breathing at the start of a lesson, after a transition, or when things get a little out of control. You can bring your class right back to center and focus with just a minute or two of focused breathing. Have a sign ready that says, "Breathe". Have a pre-agreed posture that kids automatically get into because they've learned it. It can be sitting up straight in their chair, criss-cross applesauce on desktops, or on a pre-designated spot on the floor. My students often enjoyed taking a seat on the floor under their desks to find a quiet personal spot.

When the sign is displayed, students can engage in one of several types of breathing. Simple and slow  in through the nose and out through the mouth, one of many yoga breaths than can be learned and at the ready for these moments, or whatever breath helps each child to slow down and get calm. Different kids will have their favorites, and one or two that will work best for them.

Just a minute or two spent breathing in this way will restore peace and calm to each student in your class. Because I love you, and because I really want you to try this, here's a free poster for you! Just click, download and print!

                      

Try setting up a yoga poster or two at each of the stations (math, writing, etc.) in your class. Set up a routine with kids that before attempting each academic station, they will practice a pose and/or a breath. Kids and you will see a definite upswing in success, I promise! It's just a great way to clear your head and to save a space in your brain for the learning to sink in. Try it with those dreaded times tables or even a passage from Shakespeare! You just may be surprised!

The most wonderful benefit of starting some of these practices with your kids is that they are truly life practices. Kids will remember and even automatically start breathing or assuming certain positions in stressful or difficult situations or even when preparing for a test, first date, or job interview in the future. You will have given your students a gift for a lifetime by starting some of these habits now in your classroom.

Here's another great use for those yoga posters or yoga cards!
Set up a series of yoga mats, or bath/beach towels, or just areas marked off by tape around your room (or playground!). Place a yoga card/poster at each area. connect the course with yoga straps stretched out (or tape) or yoga blocks laid in a row (can also be stepping stones from the garden or paper stepping stones). I love to use paper stepping stones with messages written on them like, "Just Breathe!" or "Find Your Focus!" or "Be Calm!" or even "Chill!" Laminate them and tape to the floor or ground. Instruct students to follow the paths you have set up from station to station where they will  spend from three to five minutes practicing the postures and/or breaths posted there.

If you make setting up the obstacle course a class job, it will be a very easy and short setup for you, and a yoga obstacle course can be done as frequently and easily as a brain break. Definitely try it outdoors in the Spring for a calm and organized recess with a purpose!

Individual sets of yoga pose and breath cards in each student's desk make it possible for individuals to use these relaxation techniques whenever the need arises. That might not be at the same time for every student! When students have quick access to visual cues, they can try out some new or trusted poses or breaths whenever they need them. A new way of redirecting behavior for you just might become, "Try a card!"

Try hole-punching and adding a "ring-it" to individual decks. Kids can cut out the cards, hole-punch, and assemble themselves in third grade and above. Don't make more work for yourself by creating all the decks yourself when kids can give some zen back to you by doing it themselves. (Of course, cutting and assembling does have its rewards. Try binging on Netflix while cutting!)

 In my classroom, a very popular volunteer position was "CPA Parents". These wonderful (usually full-time working) parents would check their kids' backpacks each night for bags of materials from me to "Cut, Paste, Assemble" (CPA). All the work would usually be completed that evening and returned to school the next day. It's like having a team of fairy godmothers and godfathers just waiting for you to make a wish! Bibbidy-bobbidy-boo! It's an easy way for parents who must work, but want to volunteer in the classroom to take part.

Coloring books and zentangles of all kinds have been increasing in popularity for several years now, and it's no wonder! Focusing in on coloring changes your breathing and is a calming and restorative practice for kids and grownups alike. Using different colored pencils, crayons, markers, and even touches of watercolor adds to the experience. I love using coloring pages with a message. Kids will internalize the message as their fingers make strokes inside and outside the lines. Try printing posters (your choice - make them yourself or make it easy and purchase some) in black/white or grayscale for kids to color in. You can add to your classroom decor with posters personalized by your students. A win for all!

I hope that some or all of these suggestions will help you to create the kind of space in your classroom that will make you feel peaceful and happy while traveling to work to each day, looking forward to teaching and learning as you have always hoped it would be!

You might find some of the resources in these two bundles helpful in your journey to zen:

For more Spring classroom ideas, don't miss these great posts by our awesome members of Teacher Talk!  

If you would also like to be a part of Teacher Talk, we are a group of teacher bloggers who share posts

that are heavy on the ideas with just a little selling of our educational materials at    TeachersPayTeachers.com.  For more information about joining The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative, go to https://bit.ly/3o7D1Dv.  Feel free to email me at retta.london@gmail.com if you have any questions.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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