Blog - A Teacher's Best Friend

Organizing Your Teacher Desk Workspace

August 15, 2018

What happens to you when your teacher desk/workspace is cluttered and disorganized? Chaos? Time wasted trying to find things? Duplication of efforts? (Finding a pile of copies you made last week that you just re-copied) Frustration? Aggravation? Here are my tips for organizing your teacher desk / workspace.

Having an organized workspace takes three easy steps. First, you have to reflect on how you need your workspace to function. Second, you have to be intentional about your workspace. These two steps will help you create a workspace that works. And finally, you have to maintain it daily.

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How to Plan Ahead for a Stress-Free School Year

August 8, 2018

I am notorious for creating brilliant ideas that I want to do in class tomorrow. Not a great strategy unless money and sleep-deprivation are no object. I remember a time while preparing for a lesson on ‘questioning’, I wanted to make laminated cards on rings that were color coded and had leveled question-starter-stems on them.

Of course, our laminating machine at school was broken (as was the case frequently), and I wanted to use the cards for a lesson the following day. I had put time and effort into creating the cards and my options were, (a) let the students use them without laminating (i.e. they would get ruined and I would have to redo them once the laminator was back up) or (b) take them to Kinkos to be laminated.

Now for any teacher who has never paid her own money to get things laminated at Kinkos, you will have no idea just how excited I was to get these cards done. I was dead set on it – despite it costing me $98.34. Yup. That happened. I remember as soon as he told me the cost, my stomach sank. But I really wanted those pretty, laminated, fancy cards – and wouldn’t it make my students realized how much I loved them and cared about their education?!

Maybe – but it still hurt financially for the entire rest of the month! And PS – we used those dang cards so much the kids knew all the questions by heart (not a bad side-effect).

But with a little pre-planning, I could have saved myself a lot of money, that sinking feeling, a late night in Kinkos, and a lot of stress. Okay – so titling this post “how to plan ahead for a stress-free school year” is a little misleading – I admit it. We all know that no school year is absolutely stress-FREE no matter how much planning ahead you do. But it can be less stressful and you can do more of the things that you want to do for your students with a little planning ahead.

Let me explain. [Read more…]

Getting Organized for Back to School

July 30, 2018

I’m a self-proclaimed organization ‘geek’. Nothing makes me more happy than school supplies on sale this time of year. In fact, when I was little, I would save up my money to go to the office supply store and buy folders, pens, and sticky-notes. I know…I was a teacher in the making for sure!

But the good news about all that is that creating organization systems is something that comes relatively easy for me. And since I get some (geeky) satisfaction out of labeling and organizing, my systems are always being examined and retooled (or….that may just be a justification for buying more office supplies…)

As we get ready to go back to school, I wanted to share some of my tips (those systems that have been tooled, retooled, examined, and reexamined throughout my life). These are my tips for getting organized for going back to school:

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Setting Goals for Going Back to School

July 25, 2018

It’s that time of year – or will be soon – for newly purchased notebooks, sharpened pencils all accounted for, the thin lines of new whiteboard markers, washed desks awaiting handprints and chairs awaiting new friends. The time of year that is crisp with newness. The time of year that is so promising and idealic. The time of year when students return to your classroom – bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with chlorine and sun streaked through their hair, and smiles on their faces as they see their friends and teachers again.

Teachers all over the country are beginning to think about going back to school. And even if you aren’t going back for a while, the summer unwind has taken place, you are recharged, and you are now able to start thinking about what you want to do differently next school year.

You may have gone to a fantastic professional development session this summer, participated in some amazing twitter chats from your professional learning network, gone to a conference, or visited a teacher friend from across the country. All giving you new ideas and things to try for next year.

How do you sort through all you want to do this year? How do you set, maintain, and sustain your goals for going back to school?

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Summer Reflection as a Teacher

June 22, 2018

Most all teachers are now on summer break, and it’s natural to want to just let down your hair and relax. And I don’t blame you. That is exactly what you should do. And while you are floating in the pool with a margarita in hand, let your mind wander back to this past school year and do a little reflecting. Here are my tips for effectively digesting the school year.

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Summer Reading for Wholehearted Teachers

June 12, 2018

Summer Reading List for Wholehearted Teachers - A Teacher's Best Friend - Life Coaching for Teachers

Ahh summer. It’s a time for us teachers to rejuvenate, reflect, take time off, and just relax!! And it’s almost here!! I know a lot of you are in the last few weeks of your school year, which is why I wanted to send on this little suggested summer reading list now before you peace out for summer.

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Time-Saving End of the Year Teacher Hacks

June 7, 2018

Have you already begun your countdown? There are just a few weeks left of this school year. Will you end this year frazzled, tired, and completely dazed? Or will you end the year happy, purposeful, and peaceful? Here are some time-saving end of the year teacher hacks to ending the year with my joy, peace, and purpose. [Read more…]

7 Tips for Getting More Sleep as a Teacher

May 30, 2018

Teaching is an extremely draining activity – both physically and mentally. Standing all day, strutting our fast-paced “Teacher Walk”, and at least 500 squats to desks. Plus add in emotional fatigue, and it’s no wonder we’re exhausted!

Sleep is our body’s natural way of nourishing and replenishing our resources. But most of us teachers are completely sleep deprived. How can we get more sleep as teachers?

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Encouraging the Hearts of Students

May 1, 2018

As teachers, we create the climate in our classrooms. If we are negative, our students will react. If we are positive, our students will react. Students react to the energy we bring and the climate we set. Through our actions as their teacher – the leader of the classroom, we set the tone for learning, encouragement, and mutual respect…or something else.

The day to day pattern of the climate we set becomes the culture of our classroom. We know that the classroom culture can help kids thrive, or tear them down. There is tremendous power in this – and tremendous responsibility. [Read more…]

Taming Your Teacher Gremlin

April 26, 2018

You know that little (loud) voice in your head that tells you that your ideas are bad, that you aren’t good enough, that you’re not beautiful enough, that you don’t have enough… I not-so-fondly refer to that voice as my gremlin. That gremlin is only out to steal our joy, kill our dreams, and make us play small. Here’s how to say “take a hike” to that vicious, destructive gremlin:

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