A teacher asked me this week how to pack up your classroom if you only have a limited amount of time.

Margo was being allowed into her classroom for 3 hours to pack up. Talk about being overwhelmed! She felt frustrated, stressed and exhausted just thinking about it. Who can blame her?!

As teachers are slowly being allowed back into their classrooms to pack up for the year and get students' personal belongings ready to be picked up, their time to do this may be quite limited. Where do you begin this daunting and emotional task?

In this episode, I break down how to be fast and efficient in your end-of-year packing up. I've got some tips and tricks to help you get the job done without leaving yourself a hot mess to face when back-to-school time rolls around. 

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Over the years, I've found a few simple tricks that make packing or even just regular classroom cleanup simpler. Maybe they'll will help you, too.

Here's a peek at...

As hard as it is to start thinking about next school year, now’s the time that important conversations are being had in your school and district about what the new normal will look like.

In order to have a voice in those conversations and truly come out better in the fall, you need to start thinking about what next year, ideally, would look like in various situations.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

When your entire school year or even just a good part of it becomes up in the air before school even starts, stress and overwhelm can take over. 

If you truly understand what the new options for school are and have a grasp on what that means in real time for you and your students, you'll be better prepared to be part of the conversation and to plan for whatever model you end up with in your school.

Here's a peek at what else is inside this episode:

• 3 Possible Teaching Scenarios for next year:

  • Online School
  • Regular Classroom [Modified]
  • Hybrid Model
• How to prepare to...

Our words matter. While we all know words have power, how often do you speak without thinking first? 

Are you ever at a loss for words? Maybe you're the type of person who just says what you think and regrets it later. Either way, it's not good. We want to be able to speak to our students powerfully and with intention. While that comes naturally to some, it's a lot harder than it seems for most of us. 

Today's episode is all about how we use words in the classroom.

Words have the power to inspire, encourage or defeat. They can cause us to take action or quit. The same is true for our students. Words have consequences - sometimes good, sometimes neutral and sometimes bad. We need to be intentional with our words.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Here's a peek at what else is inside this episode:

• Why we have to be careful with our words.
• How to hear yourself and your students. 
• Why you should plan and practice your words for common situations.
• How one teacher...

Are you looking for a way to make a little extra income? Maybe you'd like to be home with your own kids but still want to do some teaching. Well, this episode is for you!

Teaching gets harder and more complicated every year, so I'm all about having options as a teacher. And once you become a mom, you're faced with all kinds of new challenges. Will you still teach or will you stay home with your kids for a bit? There can be pressure on every side. Everyone's got an opinion on that!  Whether you want to have more time with your kids or you just need more income but teaching isn't something you want to completely give up, there's a flexible option for you.

My guest today is Loren Deitrich, a VIPKid Teacher. She's here to share her journey on how she successfully went from elementary classroom teacher to SAHM [stay at home mom] and teaching English to kids online.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Our journey as teachers can take some surprising turns and my guest today is no...

So let’s chat today about your new normal. Balancing virtual teaching, self care and, for some of us, mom life.

As we work from home in these trying times, we have to continue to keep up with our work while still managing our own families and home life while figuring out all of the details of this new way of teaching [and taking care of ourselves]. 

Here's a few tips to help you apply what we know about organization, routines and habits to this new life you're living.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

First off, you need and deserve a break. If you aren't giving yourself a mental and physical break every day and week, you are going to wear yourself out and make yourself sick. And that means… you’ll be unable to help anyone else. I know that's not a newsflash, but it needs to be said. We all need to admit it. Working all the time is not sustainable, and working all the time when you're in a stressful situation, is even worse. I know it can feel like...

Imagine having your grading and planning done on a regular basis so that you can leave work at work instead of taking it home.

You know what it's usually like... grading papers at the dinner table, while falling asleep on the sofa, etc. I know not taking work home seems like a pipe dream. Don't worry, I have a plan. Shocking, right?!

Click here to listen to the podcast.

First off, you need and deserve a break. Teachers are some of the hardest working people I know. I'm just gonna put it out there and tell you the truth. If you aren't giving yourself a mental and physical break every day and week, you are wearing yourself out. I know that's not a newsflash, but it needs to be said out loud. We all need to admit it. It's not a sustainable life.

In fact, when we get the mental and physical rest we need daily and weekly, we're more productive, happier and more focused at school and at home. I know taking a break seems counterproductive when you have a lot to get done. But, it's...

Today is all about menu planning for efficiency, saving money and time and for better health. Now let me just set the stage for you for a minute. If you've ever stood in front of an open fridge and wondered what's for dinner [or you're sick to death of sandwiches for lunch] this episode is for you.

You can listen to this episode here.

It doesn't matter what you do for a living, but as teachers, I know we live life at 100mph in the classroom and at the end of the day, we're TIRED! It's hard to come home and have to feed a family or even just yourself. If you have a spouse that does all the cooking... go thank them. Go make them a drink! You are blessed!

For the rest of us, I'm here with Lisa Seigle from A Menu for You. Today, she's going to teach us about menu planning and how it can solve your what she calls your "Dinner Dilemma" so meal times are one less stress in your teacher life. 

Lisa is a wife, a mom and an almost empty nester. She's a home cook who took her love of...

It's LIVE! the Teach Joyfully Podcast is finally up and running. Here's the highlights from the first episode.

This episode is all about classroom management and how to deal with students who interrupt. This is an age old problem. And although we're teaching online and can ignore the problem by muting students' microphones, eventually we'll be back in the classroom and the problem won't have gone away. So, now's the time to prepare.

You can listen to this podcast episode here.  The highlights are below.

Let me tell you a little story.

Recently, I was working in a small private school, the teacher in this room had asked for my help in managing students who were constantly interrupting - interrupting other students, interrupting during independent work time interrupting the teacher when she was trying to teach in small group time. You get the idea. I'm sure you've been there. So, I came in and observed for a bit as the class went about their normal routines.

Now when I do...

Classroom teachers have battled behavior issues as long as there have been schools. Whether you're like most of us and currently teaching online or preparing for next year in the classroom, teaching students your expectations is important. That doesn't change no matter where you teach.

Do you ever use picture books to help you teach?

I do. All the time! In fact, I don't think I know how to teach many things without picture books. It's just become part of my teaching style. Part of that is because I find lesson more fun and engaging with a picture book and so do students. The other benefit is picture books make learning more memorable. 

Teaching About Classroom Behavior

Teaching about desired classroom behavior is no different than other subjects in this regard. Picture books can play a vital role in helping students both understand and remember all the behaviors that make our classrooms run smoothly. In fact, they help build our classroom community, identity and culture. 

As more kitchen tables become classrooms, the need for resources and realistic, educational things to do at home becomes even greater. We can help our students and families supplement and enrich while keeping kids busy after their lessons are done. 

So...

Free online resources for you and your students with [a few] ideas for extending offline. 

Authors, Books, Art, Illustrators + Literacy

Draw LIVE online with Mo Willems daily HERE

- When you're done, extend your drawing with more characters or a setting and write a story to go with your drawing.

Hear Peter Reynolds read aloud LIVE daily at 12:00pm EST on his Facebook page. HERE

- Draw a picture of one character from the story. 

- Hear a story read by a celebrity. Storyline Online  or search for the book you want read aloud on YouTube. It's probably there.

Check out your favorite author's pages online. Here's a few: Dan Gutman   Jan Brett    Dave Pilkey    Rick Riordan...