10 Screen Free Toys for the Classroom
This post contains affiliate links. There’s a point in the year (usually once routines are solid and the pace has picked up) when “free time” in the classroom starts to feel a little off. You...
Read MoreWhy Behavior and SEL IEP Goals Take 700 Years to Write
There are some IEP goals I can write pretty quickly. If I have good baseline data and a clear area of need, I can usually figure out where I want a student to go with...
Read More
Great Wolf Lodge Family Staycation
This is a sponsored blog post. All opinions are my own! We just got back from a two-night stay at Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee, IL and it ended up being one of those...
Read More
20 Ways to Encourage SEL at Home
Most of what I write is for teachers, but if you’ve ever worked in a classroom, you already know this: what happens at home and what shows up at school are deeply connected. SEL at...
Read More
The Science Behind Mood Tracking
Let’s be honest: most kids are expected to “manage their emotions” without ever being taught how to notice them in the first place! We ask for calm bodies, kind words, flexible thinking… and then hand...
Read More
Why Reward Systems Fall Short
I can guarantee that if you use reward systems, at some point in the year the reward systems start to feel a little fragile. You have the charts, the systems, the prizes and kids are...
Read More
5 Alternatives to Taking Away Recess
If a student is having a hard time, taking away recess can feel like the obvious move because it’s clean, immediate, and sends a message. It also… usually doesn’t work. (And not in a “kids...
Read More
Resetting Classroom Culture Mid-Year
There’s a point every school year when the wheels start to wobble a little. Routines get loose, patience runs thin, and the class inside jokes turn into class-wide distractions. You look around and think, “This…isn’t...
Read More
Do Fidget Tools Actually Help Kids Regulate?
Walk into almost any elementary classroom right now and you will probably see at least some kind of fidget tools. Teachers often keep stress balls, tangles, Velcro strips under desks, small cubes with buttons, or...
Read More
5 Common Calm Corner Missteps
Walk into almost any elementary classroom right now and you will probably see some version of a calm corner. A soft rug, maybe a few stuffed animals, a poster with breathing strategies, glitter jars, flexible...
Read More
7 Picture Books about Immigration
This post contains affiliate links. Our students bring family histories, languages, traditions, and migration stories that shape who they are. One of the most meaningful ways to honor that reality is through picture books about...
Read More