Social-Emotional Learning
"Passionate about educating the whole child, social-emotional learning is a core tenet of my teaching philosophy."
Be Yourself!
To cultivate a classroom culture of inclusivity, my first grade class worked together to publish a pattern book, It’s Okay to Be Yourself!, inspired by reading It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr, with the message of celebrating each other's differences and uniqueness. After creating the text through shared writing, every child illustrated and recorded one page of the book. From this, we created a bound version for our classroom library. I also collaborated with the media and technology teachers to create a video version that was sent home with families to inspire parental involvement and interest in classroom activities. This is a great activity for the beginning of the school year to build an inclusive classroom community!
The Power of Kindness
To build awareness in the community on and offline, and to amplify student voice, I filmed and edited a video capturing K-6 students’ perspectives on kindness. Students unpacked this character trait through the SEL curriculum, The Positivity Project. Have a look to brighten your day!
Growth Mindset: Your Brain is a Muscle!
I emphasize the importance of a growth mindset with my students. Combined with mindfulness, it’s a powerful blend to build resilience in the face of what’s new and difficult. Students see the brain as a muscle that strengthens with training; practice improves intelligence; and mindfulness helps students cope with obstacles. I regularly revisit the idea, encouraging students to meet challenge with enthusiasm.
Mindfulness & Yoga
As a certified yoga instructor, I integrate mindfulness and yoga to foster relaxation and coping skills in the classroom and after school. I cater to different learning styles by reading yoga and mindfulness books out loud, leading follow-up discussions, and facilitating activities. Parents share that students love the lessons and even ask to do them at home.
Celebrating Curiosity
I always shape lessons around student interests. So it was a joy to film and edit a schoolwide video at PHCS on the curiosities fueling each student’s future dreams as part of the SEL program, The Positivity Project. The video became a major asset in amplifying student voice on and offline.
Student-Centered
Check-Ins
Daily morning meetings build a close-knit classroom community. On days we do check-ins, each student shares how they are on a scale of 1-10. To infuse student interest and help the community learn about each other, each child adds their own theme (i.e. 1 as a poisonous snake, 10 as a cute puppy).