Brain Ninjas

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Teacher Wellness

Last Minute Substitute Teacher Ideas When Plans Fall Through

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If you are a substitute teacher and the plans have fallen through, you need this post full of ideas. We cannot recommend planning for the worst more, but this post will get you through the start of day until things get sorted out. Come read it!

Have you been hired as a substitute teacher at the last minute? Are there no substitute teacher plans in place or you can’t find them? We pulled together this list of activities you can use to get your day sorted out. Most of the activities are designed for upper elementary, but you might be able to adapt them for your group of students.

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9 Things To Do During the First Month of School

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Getting back into the school year is an exciting time, but there is can be so much to do that it can be difficult to prioritize what needs to be done first. Come read through our must-do list during the first month of school in your upper elementary classroom and we'll help you out.

As a student, I never appreciated the first month of school. It always seemed like we didn’t get too deep into the content and spent a lot of time playing games and doing art projects. It wasn’t until I became a teacher that I recognized how much work teachers do during the first month of school. While we created a list with nine of the most important, there really are so many more that could be added.

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You Got Your First Teaching Job…Now What?

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Congratulations! You got your first teaching job and are now an elementary school teacher. All that hard work has paid off and you are gainfully employed in your vocation (or calling or job to pay the bills-your choice). Now the real work begins. But don’t panic. We’ve been there! Read what you need to know to get your new job started off on the right foot.

Congratulations for getting yor first teaching job. Now the hard work begins. But where do you start? Don't worry. We've got a list of things you can do to get your school year started off right (and none of them involve teaching yet). Come have a read and put your mind at ease.
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7 Amazing Team Teaching Tips

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Have you ever had to share a class or classroom with another teacher? Team teaching can be a challenge even when you get along well with another teacher. We've got some advice and strategies to get you through a year of team teaching. Come have a read.

If you’ve ever shared a class or a classroom with another teacher, you might have called yourselves co-teachers or team teachers. What’s the difference between co-teaching and team teaching? We’ve discovered that most people use these terms interchangeably, but we’re going to challenge you to think about it in a different way. Do you like sharing a classroom with another teacher?

Sometimes team teachers are thrown together whether they planned it or not. Here are some ways to make the most of your team teaching situation.

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Are You an Overachieving Teacher? Read This Now

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Is your need to be an overachieving teacher hurting you overall mental health and productivity? Is being busy more important than your own happiness? It's hard for us people pleasers to balance our need to please with healthy boundaries, but come see some of the ways we've learned to let it go and live happier.

Even writing this post, I recognize that my overachieving personality is going to make sure it’s perfect and it will never be as perfect as it needs to because I am an overachieving teacher.

It’s just who I am and I know this, so I actively try to not be me (and sometimes I even overachieve at that). Some people call it being uptight. Others think I’m a perfectionist. I just feel like I like things done right. And to be honest, it hasn’t served me well.

If this resonates with you at all, then read on.

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When to Quit Your Teaching Job and Why It’s Ok

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There are lots of reasons to quit a teaching job and none of them have to do with the teaching part. It's ok to change your teaching job. Come read this list of reasons to quit and how you can start the process (spoiler alert-none of them mean walking away from teaching completely).

If you’re anything like me, you were playing school with your dolls, neighbours or siblings as soon as you could walk. Teaching is just part of my soul, but there might come a time in your life when you should quit your teaching job and that’s ok.

If you are looking for a post that will tell you it’s ok to quit your teaching job to run away with the circus, this isn’t really that kind of post. This isn’t what you can do instead of teaching.

Instead, this post is about knowing when it’s time to change the teaching job you are currently doing. That could be a change of subject matter, grade level, locations, training or type of school position. Change is a good thing. It can breathe life back into your calling.

Read on to find out when you should quit.

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