Although school is almost out, does that mean learning needs to stop? To all of the kids’ disappointment, it does not! According to Summer Learning Academy, an average student loses about two months of grade level equivalency over the summer. Therefore, in today’s episode, I'm sharing summer review strategies that will keep kids learning and engaged through reading, language arts, and math.

Resources Mentioned:

Head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/summer-review-strategies

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You’ve almost done it - made it to the end of the year! You’ve taught so many new concepts, your students have accomplished and learned new skills, you’ve gone on field trips, you’ve had celebrations, and now you’re exhausted and feel like you can’t cross the finish line to summer. I have one of my favorite guests on today, Chrissy Nichols, to talk about end of year fatigue and what to do about it.

Resources Mentioned:

Head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/end-of-year-fatigue

Connect with Kelsey:

Join Wife Teacher Mommy Club. 

Follow her on Instagram @wifeteachermommy.

Join our Facebook group: Wife Teacher Mommies Unite.

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With Teacher Appreciation Week coming up, I started thinking about the impact that teachers have on their students’ lives. How one small or big thing you do in your classroom can help shape their future, career path, or their attitude towards something. It reminds me of the quote from the musical Hamilton - What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. I love that quote because it perfectly defines the role of the teacher and the difference they make in their students. So today’s episode is all about the legacy of a teacher.

The funny thing about a legacy is that in the moment, you don’t know the impact you’re having until it’s months or even years later. The day to day grind of teaching is exhausting. From lesson planning, gathering materials, finding resources, grading, dealing with behaviors, communication with parents, differentiating assignments, and so much more, it’s hard to see the positive changes you’re making.

Resources Mentioned:

Head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/legacy-of-a-teacher

Connect with Kelsey:

Join Wife Teacher Mommy Club. 

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Join our Facebook group: Wife Teacher Mommies Unite.

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I think today’s topic will resonate with you all. It’s a topic that hits close to home for me regarding my son, which is all about reluctant writers. I’m so excited because we have the literacy guru on today’s show: Megan Polk, who is also a presenter at our summer virtual conference, Educate & Rejuvenate! Both Megan and I have a great conversation regarding reluctant writers and how to boost their engagement, interest, and motivation when it comes to writing.

One of the things Megan specializes in is bridging the educational gap of content through grade levels. We’ve talked on previous podcasts before about the learning gaps due to COVID, and writing is no exception. Not only are students reluctant to write, but adding in their gaps, makes it seem impossible for our students.

The majority of our conversation was surrounded by building a student’s confidence and celebrating the small victories in their writing that will eventually lead to big victories. Other solutions include modeling how to write, providing scaffolds, establishing routine one-on-one writing conferences, focusing on one writing skill at a time, and sharing their writing with peers or younger grade-level classes.

Resources Mentioned:

Head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/reluctant-writers

Connect with Kelsey:

Join Wife Teacher Mommy Club. 

Follow her on Instagram @wifeteachermommy.

Join our Facebook group: Wife Teacher Mommies Unite.

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Today is a special episode for me. We have a guest on today’s podcast, but it’s not just any guest, it’s Tori La Rue, who happens to be my sister! In today’s episode, we’re talking about crucial reading comprehension skills and how you can differentiate them.

Throughout the episode, we discussed a lot of different strategies to help students improve their reading comprehension, but the one way we find the most important is activating background knowledge. While this is a set that some teachers might skip due to time restraints, but think about it. You can’t learn anything without previously connecting it with something you’ve already learned. That’s background knowledge!

Other skills that work on reading comprehension are finding the main idea, figuring out the meaning of words through context clues, and drawing conclusions and comparisons from the text. Based on our conversation, we realized that this skill is not only used in the classroom, but are life skills that can grow and develop.

Resources Mentioned:

Head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/reading-comprehension

Connect with Kelsey:

Join Wife Teacher Mommy Club. 

Follow her on Instagram @wifeteachermommy.

Join our Facebook group: Wife Teacher Mommies Unite.

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Welcome back and happy Friday! Fridays always make me happy, and another thing that makes me happy is talking about everything sub plans. This is something I’m very well known for here at Wife Teacher Mommy, and it’s something I’m passionate about. That's why in today’s episode, we’re talking about how to write sub plans that actually keep subs coming back to your classroom!

One of the biggest stressors as a teacher is creating sub plans, but an even bigger stressor for a sub coming into your classroom is not having sufficient or easy-to-find sub plans and other important information. Throughout this episode, I unpack all the ways to easily write sub plans and have materials ready for any time you need to be away from your classroom.

Resources Mentioned:

Head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/how-to-write-sub-plans

Connect with Kelsey:

Join Wife Teacher Mommy Club. 

Follow her on Instagram @wifeteachermommy.

Join our Facebook group: Wife Teacher Mommies Unite.

Follow on Pinterest for more helpful resources.

Thank you for joining me for another episode! This week’s topic may not be everyone’s favorite, or it may seem too daunting of a task for you to think about doing with your students, but it’s an important unit to cover. Today I’m talking about research skills for elementary students.

It’s towards the end of the school year and you’ve worked all year on your students’ reading, writing, and math skills, but may have put science and social studies on the backburner. Well that changes today!

I have created a five step research unit that will not only have your students learning, but be engaged in what they’re learning! My five step research skills for elementary students includes: modeling research skills, a research journal, written report, a hands-on project, and showing off their work.

Resources Mentioned:

Head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/research-skills-for-elementary-students/

Connect with Kelsey:

Join Wife Teacher Mommy Club. 

Follow her on Instagram @wifeteachermommy.

Join our Facebook group: Wife Teacher Mommies Unite.

Follow on Pinterest for more helpful resources.

This week’s topic on social-emotional learning is so important because I truly believe it’s a vital part of a child’s development. In this episode, I’ll be discussing the 5 pillars of social-emotional learning and how you can teach them to your students or at home with your own children.

To celebrate the launch of Wife Teacher Mommy: The Podcast, we're doing an amazing giveaway that we have never done before! We are giving away an entire year of Wife Teacher Mommy Club and a stainless steel tumbler to one of our listeners! Here’s how to enter:

If you don't use Apple podcasts, you can just send us a message with your review.

Giveaway closes April 1, 2022.

Resources mentioned

Head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/5-pillars-of-social-emotional-learning

Connect with Kelsey:

Join Wife Teacher Mommy Club. 

Follow her on Instagram @wifeteachermommy.

Join our Facebook group: Wife Teacher Mommies Unite.

Follow on Pinterest for more helpful resources.

I’m very excited about today’s episode because it’s a topic I strongly believe in: ways to give you your time back. One of those ways is to stop grading on the weekends. As teachers, we are more than committed to our job, but that can sometimes lead to losing ourselves during the school year. To help shift your mindset and thinking, I asked Chrissy Nichols to join the podcast to help you re-evaluate your work/life balance.

Chrissy Nichols has been teaching for over twenty years in both independent and public schools in the US and Europe. She is the founder of the coaching group The Chrissy Concept which serves smart, dynamic teachers who want to feel better about their lives and relationships at school. Chrissy specializes in helping teachers who feel overwhelmed and burned-out with tools to master time and improve any challenging relationship.

To celebrate the launch of Wife Teacher Mommy: The Podcast, we're doing an amazing giveaway that we have never done before! We are giving away an entire year of Wife Teacher Mommy Club and a stainless steel tumbler to one of our listeners! Here’s how to enter:

If you don't use Apple podcasts, you can just send us a message with your review.

Giveaway closes April 1, 2022.

For all the resources mentioned in this episode head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/stop-grading-on-the-weekends

Connect with Kelsey:

Join Wife Teacher Mommy Club. 

Follow her on Instagram @wifeteachermommy.

Join our Facebook group: Wife Teacher Mommies Unite.

Follow on Pinterest for more helpful resources.

As teachers, we often feel an obligation to be at school instead of taking a day off. We come up with every excuse in the book: my class won’t be okay, it’s harder to make sub plans than actually be at school, I need to prioritize my job over my health, and so much more. In our current world and situation, teachers are feeling guilty about not being at school now more than ever, especially with the rise of sub shortages. However, I’m here to tell you NOT to feel guilty!

Just like we can’t control how many students we have in our classroom, the resources provided by our district, or the schedule of our day, we also can’t control the lack of substitutes in our buildings. Unfortunately, these are the cards we’ve been dealt with as a school system. Meaning, this guilt does not fall on YOU!

Taking a day off to attend to your health, the health of a loved one, or whatever your reason is, does not mean you’re not a good teacher or doing your job. In fact you’re doing the exact opposite. In today’s episode, I further outline reasons why you shouldn’t feel guilty about sub shortages and how not taking days can lead to teacher burnout. Remember, you are more than just your job, so begin by prioritizing yourself!

To celebrate the launch of Wife Teacher Mommy: The Podcast, we're doing an amazing giveaway that we have never done before! We are giving away an entire year of Wife Teacher Mommy Club and a stainless steel tumbler to one of our listeners! Here’s how to enter:

If you don't use Apple podcasts, you can just send us a message with your review.

Giveaway closes April 1, 2022.

For all resources mentioned in this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.wifeteachermommy.com/podcast/guilty-about-sub-shortages

Connect with Kelsey:

Join Wife Teacher Mommy Club. 

Follow her on Instagram @wifeteachermommy.

Join our Facebook group: Wife Teacher Mommies Unite.

Follow on Pinterest for more helpful resources.