Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Making the Most of Your Summer Break Without Breaking the Bank
If you are lucky enough to have some free time during summer break, take advantage of it. Don’t let the summer days slip by. Make the most of your summer without spending much money!
Sleep In and Take Naps
How often do you really get to do this? According to the American Sleep Association, sleep is a basic, biological need, and if we are deprived of sleep, our bodily systems fail. The average adult needs about 8 hours of total sleep time each day (ASA). So, no need to feel bad about sleeping in that extra hour or taking a quick snooze on the couch during the day. It’s for your health!
Find Free Activities
Make a list of the free festivals, carnivals, fairs, and other summer activities that your city or town has to offer during the summer. When you notice you have a free day, see what’s on the list for that day and have fun!
Exercise
Use your summer days to get back into an exercise routine. Use your break to fine tune your routine so you can transition easily into the following school year. The best part about summer is that there are a variety of activities you can do: swimming, biking, canoeing, kayaking, skating, jogging, hiking . . . well, you get the idea.
Have a Staycation
It’s time to explore your own town or city. Take a stroll through a local hiking or nature area. Visit a local museum, zoo, or aquarium. Eat out at a new-to-you restaurant. Or simply lounge at the pool soaking up the sun.
Get Outside
There are many benefits to spending time outdoors. As the Harvard Health Letter titled “A Prescription for Better Health: Go Alfresco” says, spending time outdoors will raise your vitamin D levels, encourage you to get more exercise, make you happier, improve your concentration, and might make you heal faster.
Spend Time with Friends
Carve out time each week to have lunch with a friend, or a group of friends. Maintaining meaningful relationships is important to your well-being. The Mayo Clinic says there are many health benefits to having friends including boosting one’s happiness, reducing stress, improving self-confidence, reduced significant health problems, and longer life spans.
Get Ahead on Professional Development
If you have “extra” time during your summer break, think about squeezing in some professional development so you won’t have to work on it during the school year. Don’t have the monetary resources to take coursework? No need to worry, here is a list of 6 Free Professional Development Resources for Educators.
Organize
Take a few hours each week to do that “spring cleaning” you never got around to. Focus on one room or area at a time. Purge, clean, and organize. You’ll feel like you can tackle the upcoming school year with ease if you have a clean and organized home.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychology professor, created the terms “fixed mindset” and “growth mindset” after studying behavior in children. These mindsets refer to a person’s belief in their intelligence and learning. Having a growth mindset allows one to believe they can develop and expand their intelligence, so they work harder to do so. Students who exhibit growth mindsets are shown to do better in school than students who have a fixed mindset. People with fixed mindsets believe their intelligence is limited and nothing can be done to change it.
Teachers LOVE to teach students to develop a growth mindset. We are our students’ cheerleaders, support team, and personal encouragers in the classroom. A student in our classroom will do their best and achieve to the best of their ability. We recognize when students need help, encourage them to seek assistance, help them find strategies to succeed, and watch, smiling, as they use what we’ve taught them to become more autonomous in their school work, all the while patting yourself on the back and thinking “Yep! I helped do that; growth mindset. BAM!”
But what about teachers? Can this growth mindset and fixed mindset stuff be applicable to educators, too? Do you notice any educators who are lacking this mindset? Are you one of them?
I understand. Being a teacher can be rough. Something changes each year, and it’s usually just after you’ve mastered it. Like those fancy new tablets that were just ordered, or the latest writing textbook your building just adopted. Typically, teachers aren’t excited about change when what we have been doing seems to be working . . . or so we thought.
Just like our students, we should be demonstrating a growth mindset. We can’t get stuck focusing on the things that have worked for us for the last five years. Our students are changing, their needs are dynamic, and the world we’re sending them out into is ever-evolving. It is our job to continue finding innovative ways to reach the youth in our classrooms. Educators must be open-minded to changes and challenges that come our way. We must believe that what those same changes and challenges will make us better at our job, and, in turn, create lifelong learners of our students.
Teachers who demonstrate a growth mindset:
Collaborate with colleagues
Take ownership of mistakes and share them with students
Seek out assistance and mentoring
Share teaching goals with colleagues
Learn from weaknesses and challenges
Maintain a positive attitude and use positive language regarding their own abilities
So, at your next faculty meeting, before you scowl and snicker about the latest changes coming your way, stop and think about what you would tell your students. Maintaining a growth mindset can make you a happier, more successful educator.
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Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Did you know that using humor in your classroom can help your students learn? In a Monitor on Psychology (American Psychological Association) article titled “How laughing leads to learning,” author Zak Stambor reports “when used effectively, classroom comedy can improve student performance by reducing anxiety, boosting participation and increasing students’ motivation to focus on the material.”
Before you start jotting down those one-liners, consider the following guidelines before implementing comedy in the classroom:
Timing is everything. Plan out when you’re going to insert your comedy into your instruction. Students may remember the content better if it is tied to something memorable, like a humorous anecdote or joke.
Keep it appropriate. It’s best to avoid foul language, no matter how “mature” your students might be. Also, be sure the comedy is age appropriate. If students don’t understand the joke, it will have less impact.
Make it relevant. Your humor should be connected to the content being taught, but also to the students whom you are teaching. Don’t use an outdated joke for a modern concept. You’ll be hearing crickets instead of giggles.
Know your audience. Will the class lose focus if you get too silly? Adjust your level of humor and its frequency according to the needs of each class.
Get funny before a big test! Using a bit of comedy before a big test can reduce student anxiety and improve performance.
Don’t overuse it. You don’t have to be funny ALL the time. Your students may miss important content if you’re constantly cracking jokes.
Avoid sarcasm. Some students may not perceive your style of sarcasm and can be put off by your flavor of humor. Some people may also feel offended by sarcasm; they see it as a lack of respect.
What if I’m just not that funny? No need to worry. If you can’t get them laughing, you should at least be able to put a smile on your students’ faces using some of these suggestions:
Incorporate memes, videos, or songs
Add funny items to test/assignment questions
Post funny quotes in the classroom
Dedicate a bulletin board to jokes, cartoons, puns, etc. Ask students to bring in items.
Have a Joke-of-the-Day, invite students to share
Laugh at yourself, share with students your own ridiculous experiences and stories
Humor can be an effective teaching tool. Capturing the attention of students with a joke may help them remember content more clearly. A bit of classroom comedy can also lower student stress and anxiety levels and improve student engagement. Having a bit of a funny bone also makes you seem more human to your students, thus creating a more comfortable setting where students are more likely to learn.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Speaking with students about traumatic topics can make any teacher uncomfortable. However, it is important to open up dialogue with students, especially when something distressing occurs. Our students are not immune to traumatic situations. Teachers play an important role in helping students process tragic events. Don’t shy away from talking to students about sad or scary situations. By speaking with your students, and having honest conversations, you send a message to your students that you care for them, support them, and will be available to them should they need you.
10 tips to remember before you begin talking about a difficult subject:
Make parents aware you’ll be discussing the event in your classroom
Find out what students know
Listen to students
Be as specific as possible, and clear up any misconceptions
Answer questions with facts, and if you don’t know, don’t speculate
Reassure students of their safety at school
Be prepared with plenty of resources – limit graphic pictures and videos
Talk about it – allow plenty of time for questions and discussion
Keep it simple – mostly for elementary students
It’s okay to get emotional – talk about why
After you’ve engaged your students in this emotional dialogue, don’t forget to take care of yourself. These conversations can wreak emotional havoc on you.
It’s okay to give yourself a break after your mentally exhausting discussions. Try to do things that will make you happy, lift your spirits, or have a positive impact. Avoid, or turn off, all sources of media . . . at least temporarily. Take a walk or do some yoga. Read an uplifting book. Spend time with family or friends. You can even do some volunteer work or get involved in activism group.
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Honor and celebrate George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and other United States Presidents, this President’s Day. Use our FREE educator-curated resources to assist you with teaching your students about President’s Day.
Videos
President’s Day PBS LearningMedia – Presidents Day is an opportunity for the country to acknowledge the leaders of its government. See how it evolved from a birthday party for George Washington to an observance for all of the Presidents.
President’s Day Time For Kids -Learn what it takes to become president.
George Washington History.com -How did George Washington turn a rag-tag group of men into a disciplined fighting machine?
Humor of Abraham Lincoln History.com -Lincoln often utilized his sense of humor when making political statements, and also to silence his critics.
The Success of Abraham Lincoln History.com – Today he is known as one of the greatest American presidents, but at the time of his election no one would have predicted Lincoln’s success.
Presidents’ Day Lessons – Center for Civic Education – Teach your high school students about the constitutional legacy of George Washington, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, and Ronald Reagan this Presidents’ Day. These free, ready-to-use lessons will engage your students in learning about these important presidents and how they shaped the history and Constitution of our nation. Each lesson was written and reviewed by scholars and contains questions to test student knowledge. Elementary, middle, and high school students can learn the constitutional powers and limitations of the executive branch with our selection of classroom-proven lessons from our We the People: The Citizen & the Constitution student texts.
President’s Day Collection – Share My Lesson – In addition to free lesson plans, educational resources and classroom materials on the accomplishments of U.S. presidents like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, you’ll find some unexpected gems to help your students learn about the instrumental work and lasting legacy of some former first ladies, too.
President’s Day Activities and Lessons The Teacher’s Corner – The Presidents Day seasonal pages will provide you with resources to help your students learn about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, as well as the office of President. Ideas within this section include: journal activities, lesson plans and internet resources.
21 Fun Presidents Day Activities and Crafts TipJunkie – Celebrating President’s Day can be so much fun with these 21 easy presidents day activities and crafts for kids. I’ve got free printables and templates for George Washington wigs, Abraham Lincoln’s hat, cabin crafts, President’s Day crafty food, and so much more!
What are your favorite President’s Day Lessons, Activities, or Videos?
