How to Welcome ESL Newcomers to Your Class

ESL newcomers are students who do not speak English as their first language. As a newer teacher, I remember the first time I received a student who spoke little to no English. I don’t know about your teacher training program, but mine had given me very little in the way of concrete steps or resources to use in this scenario. If you are reading this, you are probably finding yourself in a similar situation.

Continue reading

How to Make Back to School Less Stressful

The new school year signifies a reset, a fresh start, a chance to do it all over again but BETTER this time. Unfortunately, summer break is incredibly short. There is not enough time to fully relax and get in all the prep we would ideally like to. This is especially true of the last few years. Overwhelm and impending burnout never seem to be far away. I can’t fix it all, but I can help you with some small changes that will yield big results when it comes to starting the year off right!

back to school backpack
Continue reading

Classroom Olympics

If you’ve been wondering how to put together Greek Olympic games in your classroom, you’re in the right place!

These are the classroom Olympic events that we used at our school. Feel free to borrow and adapt these ideas to create a special day for your students!

Continue reading

Curbing Isolation & Loneliness

This post is a little different from my norm but oh so applicable given the current situation. On any given “normal” day loneliness is a common battle. Loneliness causes people to feel empty, alone, and unwanted. Lonely people crave human contact, but their state of mind makes it more difficult to form connections with other people.

Continue reading