Emotional Well-being in the Classroom
Schools can be an ideal place to support the social and emotional well being of students, and we can offer many opportunities to build resilience within our students. When students feel supported and understood, there are usually less discipline problems in classrooms, students can focus on their school work more readily, and students can begin to develop their communication skills.
Using many of the strategies created by Dr. Daniel Siegel, author of The Whole Brain Child, and Mindsight, as well as, The Yes Brain, and Dr. Joan Rosenberg, author of 90 Seconds to a Life You Love, we have compiled our tried and true strategies and resources when supporting our students’ emotional needs.
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Personal Memoir Unit
Writing a personal memoir is clearly the more challenging piece of writing, and one in which brings value and clarity to a person’s life. We have taken our memoir writing unit and created activities and a presentation. You can find it in our Teachers Pay Teachers store.
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Our Current Obsessions
With the start of the new year and all its splendor spread out before us and 2019 solidly in our review mirror, we thought it would be fun to start the year off with a list of the things we are currently interested in so you can follow along in our paths to discovery…as well as our ways of relaxing. What better way to get to know us a bit more than to take a dive into what we are currently watching (you may be surprised), what we are reading, and what we are listening to.
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Is Thrive Market Worth It?
What is not to love about Thrive Market? They have all of the same products at Whole Foods, but a a fraction of the cost. Thrive has it all!
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How to Build the Best Cheese Board
Awe cheese. Is there anything better than some delicious, creamy, sometimes odiferous cheese? Add in some crackers and meat and you have dinner in my house! If I’m going to a party or trying to be extra fancy, I’ll create a charcuterie board that fits the theme of the event. Celebrating the end of summer? Going to watch some college ball? Pre Thanksgiving celebration? I can make a cheese board for that! I mean they really are the be it and end all of party plates.
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Building Classroom Community Through the Use of Puzzles
Classroom communities are important. When students feel like they are part of a community, they are much more likely to become active participants in the learning environment. Whenever we think about being a part of a family or community, we think about holidays spent around a kitchen table working on puzzles. The feeling of accomplishing a 1000 piece puzzle over the course of a weekend or holiday break is rewarding and satisfying.
Read on to find out how we use jigsaw puzzles in our classrooms to build a class community.
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Our Favorite Healthy Toothpaste for Pearly White Teeth
Many conventional toothpaste brands often will use questionable ingredients that over time can contribute to serious health problems.
Here are some of our favorite products for clean dental care:
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Vacation Workouts- Work Hard to Play Hard
If you find yourself in need of some new workout clothes, look no further. Below we have listed our favorite splurges and steals, their pros and cons, and links to where you can find them.
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Practicing Mindfulness in the Classroom
There have been several studies that show how beneficial it can be to practice mindfulness daily. The American Physiological Association lists some benefits as reduced stress levels, improving working memory, improved focus, less emotional reactivity to situations, and more cognitive flexibility . HELLO? Isn’t that like everything we try to improve in a classroom?
When it comes to the Common Core Standards, one of the areas we find that the most growth is needed is in the speaking and listening strand. One strategy that we have introduced into our curriculum over the past few years to help build those skills is adding podcasts into our classroom instruction. There are many benefits to adding podcasts into your classroom instruction. If you’ve ever wondered about how podcasts could benefit your instruction, read on dear TTD followers, we have got some ideas for you!
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Is Master Class Worth It?
Have you checked out the website Master Class (https://www.masterclass.com)? If not, you should! For a $15 a month subscription, you can have access to online classes taught by top experts in the field. They are adding new classes all the time. As an added side bonus, they are also beautifully filmed and curated.
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Educational App Spotlight: Showbie
We have a website we absolutely need to share with you all. This is NOT an advertisement, just two boss teachers writing a blog post about one of the absolutely most important websites that you need in your life. Here at the TTD we strive to be almost completely paperless. Read on to learn more about our favorite App, Showbie.
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Our Favorite Clean Beauty Undereye Creams
So, I am always on the hunt for an eye cream that not only works, but is made with clean ingredients and sustainable packaging. I have tried a lot of eye creams over the years and here are my favorites in no particular order because they all work great:
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