Teachers deserves so much gratitude but especially now as many of us have found ourselves teaching in a whole new way.
Some of us come from schools or districts that are well-funded in technology and trained in using Google classroom or other platforms and others of us are scrambling to find away to connect with our students due to a lack of resources either from school or home.
But all of us are making due. Whatever your situation is, I hope you, your students, and families are safe.
Now lets get to some resources that I hope might help you out right now.
My friend has published another book in her series about Jake the Growling Dog ( I shared the first one on this blog before) and she recently sent me a copy of the new book Jake the Growling Dog goes to Doggy Daycare. This series is about respecting differences in others, kindness, and making friends. If you click the picture you can learn more about it on Amazon.
She was also kind enough to send two coloring pages that you can download for free from my Subscriber Library if you sign up to my newsletter. Pictured is one of the two coloring pages. After I read the latest book to my students I sent the coloring pages to their emails so they could print and color the pages if they wanted to have a fun activity while stuck at home.
I also wanted to share a quick story about teaching and the importance of self-care and staying healthy, along with a freebie.
Awhile back ago I found my self increasingly stressed out and it was affecting my health. I started getting muscle pain and cramps. I woke up really stiff and walking was very painful. My calfs felt like they were on fire. You may have heard of plantar fasciitis.
In true teacher fashion I suffer from busy body disease and wasn't making enough time to focus on myself or health. My doctor said if I didn't make some big changes I should probably just quit teaching and find a less stressful career.
I thought he was absolutely insane thinking I would quit a career that I loved and most importantly how would I pay my bills?
After making a lot of changes, going to physical therapy, and working to make healthier choices I actually began to feel tons better over the summer.
And the following school year I said no to additional committees, stipends, and left work at work because my health and well-being wasn't worth it.
If you have ever gone to physical therapy you know that the amount of visits insurance allows doesn't last forever. As soon as you stop exercising your injuries come back with a vengeance in no time.
So, I created a way I could track my own self-care and health goals to keep myself accountable. This has come especially in handy when all I want to do is snack and watch Netflix after I'm done teaching online each day.
I have also found that regular exercise also helps to keep my anxiety at bay. The first week of quarantine I was miserable and fearful. I knew I had to get moving again for my own mental well-being besides making sure that my muscle pain didn't return. This has really helped me to get back on track.
The second free exercise resource I use is Adriene's Free Yoga video series on YouTube.
I have also found this book to be helpful as it has many ideas for self-care, including activities that promote mindfulness and self reflection as well as some fun ideas. It's available on Amazon or check your local bookstore.
Finally, if you are on Instagram I'm part of a group that is giving away diverse books here. You can enter the giveaway through Friday, May 8th 11:59 PST
Let me know in the comments or email me if you used any of these free resource and found them to be helpful!
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