In a recent #Slowchathealth post, Andy Milne, shared a story about a “classroom moment” where his students took control of the learning environment and taught each other. The topic was menstruation and how to be supportive. A young man asked what more could boys do to be supportive, and this is what happened: “As I …
Continue reading Creating Environments for “Classroom Moments”
Almost all I think about these days is class culture, and I know I am not alone. For me, this means a culture that builds trust, embraces confusion, encourages attention and sparks curiosity and joy, After 30+ years as a high school English teacher, creating and sustaining this culture is simultaneously more difficult and more …
One constant during my 29 years of teaching is that the break from school at the end of the calendar year – winter for me and summer for my Southern Hemisphere friends – comes at just the right time. Leaving for school in the dark, arriving home in the dark, the end of a long …
Continue reading Looking Back, Moving Forward: Meaningful Year-End Reflections
Happy Friday, teachers! We've made it through another (long) week, and before you rush (or in my case, wearily stroll) into the weekend, let’s take a few minutes to pause, reflect, and recharge. Fridays can be more than just a countdown to the weekend; they’re a chance to reconnect with ourselves and the people who …
Continue reading Reflect & Recharge: A Friday Ritual for Teachers
With World Mental Health Day upon us, it's a good moment to reflect on how our mental well-being is connected to movement. In a world where stress and anxiety levels are rising, we often look for quick fixes, but one of the most powerful tools to support our mental health is something we already know …
Continue reading World Mental Health Day: Moving for a Healthier Mind
“Fundamentally as every teacher knows this job of education is a human one. It is about relationships...When teachers are able to prioritize relationships and focus on the quality of their connections with kids, we see over and over again the teachers feeling more effective and the kids being more engaged, learning more and feeling more …
Continue reading Creating Connections Through Classroom Rituals
Being intentional with how and where we allocate our focus can be challenging and overwhelming in our hectic, busy lives. It is easy for me to experience cognitive overload … so many books, articles, blogs, workshops; so much to learn and think about! It’s exciting and daunting at the same time, often resulting in an …
I began using a “Mindful Minute” one day a week in my health classroom to give students a chance to “arrive” and provide them with another tool to use for their mental emotional health. As an introduction to mindfulness, I asked the students if they had ever used mindfulness and then shared this video Mindful …
As we look to wrap up another year in which health dominated our lives thanks to the ongoing global pandemic, here's a look at the top 5 most read #slowchathealth blog posts. #1. Choosing Your #OneWord2021 was by far the most popular post of the year, perhaps because it followed a pattern of annual posts …
With social-emotional learning very much at the fore during this remote/hybrid/pandemic period of education, I find myself focusing on the emotional wellness of my students more so than ever before. My lessons are chunked effectively, are delivered at a slower pace, and my curriculum has been well and truly "Marie Kondo'd." While mindfulness and meditation …
This week's guest post comes from Leah Lipschitz, and she shares her mindfulness journey, from first seeking it out, to incorporating it into her self-care routine. With the social-emotional health of our students, and also of our teaching peers, very much at the forefront of our modern lives, this blog post will be of interest to …
This is my 6th year of choosing a #OneWord to guide me through the year ahead. The theory behind this idea is that our guiding word points us towards the type of person that we want to become.
Close your eyes and imagine your dream vacation. Is water present? Perhaps you are taking a romantic walk on the beach, or are sailing near a Caribbean island. Or are you on the slopes, skiing in Europe. Maybe you even have photographs at home of you and loved ones with water in the image - …
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