Supporting Lonely Students
Our teacher hearts have all broken from this all too familiar sight – the student sitting alone at lunch. The one wandering the edge of the playground during recess. The one who never seems to...
Read MoreUsing Monthly SEL Interactive Calendars
People tell me CONSTANTLY that they believe in SEL, just don’t have time for another program or curricular initiative. Most teachers aren’t skipping SEL because they don’t value it, but the day is already packed....
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Building a Schoolwide Calm Space Network
Every school has students who need time and space to regulate before they can return to learning. The problem is that too often, “taking a break” looks like wandering the halls or being sent out...
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The Third Thing Strategy
This post contains affiliate links. If you’ve ever tried to get a student to open up after a tough moment, you know it rarely works to sit them down and ask, “So what happened?” Most...
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Classroom Morning Chaos Ends Today
This post contains affiliate links. Three words we can all relate to: classroom morning chaos. Mornings can feel like a whirlwind. Buses arrive with big feelings and bigger stories. You are collecting homework and forms...
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On Trend Teacher Shoes from Amazon
This post contains affiliate links. Like you, I spend most days on my feet moving from the copier to a small group to recess duty and back again. Over the years I have become picky...
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When the Compliant Kid Isn’t the Regulated Kid
This post contains affiliate links. In many schools, we’ve been conditioned to interpret a quiet and compliant student as a regulated kid. Calm is often praised, silence is rewarded, and the students who aren’t disrupting...
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Ethically Using Behavioral Momentum for Work Refusal
This post includes affiliate links. There’s nothing quite like that moment in the classroom when a student flat-out refuses to work. Maybe it’s a silent stare, a muttered “no,” or a dramatic slump onto the...
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Student Threat Assessments: A Straightforward Guide for Teachers
Let’s be real, nothing shakes you quite like hearing a student say something alarming. Maybe they mention wanting to hurt themselves. Maybe they joke about hurting others. Maybe they write something violent in a journal...
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Why Every School Needs a Collaborative Coloring Wall
Picture this: a huge piece of paper stretched across a hallway wall, filled with black-and-white outlines of animals, nature scenes, or doodles. Throughout the day, students stop by with a crayon in hand, color in...
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Why I Don’t Use PBIS in My Work With Students
This post contains affiliate links. There’s something tricky about writing this post. It’s not that I don’t have strong opinions about PBIS. I do. It’s that when I say I’m not a fan of it,...
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