One of the first things that I learned as a new teacher was how to value my time. I remember spending hours cutting out and “mac tac-ing” (covering in plastic) over 50 teddy bear name tags for my first kindergarten students. I had a sore hand for days. An experienced teacher reminded me to never… Continue reading Value Your Time
Tag: teacher
Rethinking Accepting Help
I will admit that I’m not great at accepting help. Recently, it came as a revelation that allowing others to help me, may be truly meaningful to them. I’d never considered help from the perspective of the giver before. I thought that I was “taking” from others when I asked for their assistance. I resisted… Continue reading Rethinking Accepting Help
Enjoying A Sideways Move
In my early years of teaching I made my first move from teaching kindergarten to teaching grade one, and I was met with a strange response from the parent community: congratulations. It made me laugh, and slightly annoyed. People outside the field of education equate an opportunity to teach a higher grade as a promotion.… Continue reading Enjoying A Sideways Move
Letting Go Of Control And Trusting Your Intentions
Changing my intention and trusting that this will help has been a tough lesson to learn. It’s been difficult because I resist letting go. I want to control the situation and make it happen. But the truth is that all I need to do is change my intention and then trust the process and the… Continue reading Letting Go Of Control And Trusting Your Intentions
Older And Progressive
There are many ageist beliefs that I’ve seen at work, but the idea that older teachers are more conservative in their methods than the younger ones is a pet peeve of mine. Perhaps you’ve seen it in your job, where the younger employees assume that the older ones are out of touch and backwards? They’ll… Continue reading Older And Progressive
Growing From A Caretaker To A Listener
I’ve recently become aware of the caretaker role and how much I have invested in being a caretaker for family and friends. I thought it was a good thing, but now I’m seeing it differently and realizing that caretaking has a harmful side that I never intended. As Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you… Continue reading Growing From A Caretaker To A Listener
Rest Is A Right, Not A Reward
I was listening to therapist, KC Davis on a podcast this morning,* when she said something that was mind-blowing to me. When we were kids, we were raised to finish our chores first and then we’d get to play. Rest was seen as a reward for getting our work done. Davis pointed out that as… Continue reading Rest Is A Right, Not A Reward
We All Need Play
Play has often been reserved for children and considered something superficial once our lives are filled with grown-up concerns. As an elementary school teacher, I arranged my science lessons as play-based investigations. The students would have fun exploring stable structures and quickly learn how to create a secure base with the materials. However, play is… Continue reading We All Need Play
Love What You Do
What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant?” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. I loved teaching this way. I remember being embarrassed that I was earning a paycheque when I taught my first kindergarten class. I was enjoying what I was doing so much, I… Continue reading Love What You Do
Going BIG
How much space do you take up in the world? I am staying small. It’s a choice. After three years of the pandemic telling me to keep my world small to stay safe (remain home, avoid others), I’ve found that it’s become my normal state. But unless there’s a pandemic, a war, or a lion… Continue reading Going BIG
Retired, And Now What? 