Shaping Little Minds

Due to gun violence in the US, it's understandable that schools are focused on physical safety. On today's episode, Coach Ed Bradley discusses his desire to bring emotional and psychological safety into schools as priority as well. 

Coach Ed Bradley is a retired educator and coach with more than 20 years of experience and the co-founder and co-owner of Powerful Minds Counseling. He is a best-selling author, educational consultant, motivational speaker, certified life coach, and Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor who provides training that helps educators recognize, respond to, and connect young people experiencing mental health challenges with appropriate support. Through Powerful Minds Counseling and the Empowered Minds Collaborative, he works to strengthen school culture, support educator well-being, and help schools see the person before the behavior. 

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Because Coach Ed knew a student really well, he was able to get him the counseling he needed and saved him life. He was planning to take his life over break.
• Knowing your students psychologically and emotionally can help prevent them from harming themselves and one another
• It's important you address concerns rather than keeping it to yourself and thinking you can help on your own. 

CONNECT WITH COACH ED:

• https://www.coachedbradley.com
• https://www.empoweredmindsonline.org
• https://www.powerfulmindscounseling.net

Support the show

Your classroom most likely feels chaotic because of a lack of systems or a lack of clarity around the systems you do have. 

Systems are the processes in which you do something inside of your classroom and the lack of systems is usually the reason the classroom feels chaotic. So let’s talk about the different systems you can implement into your classroom in the next 24 hours that could support you and create a sense of calm. 

We dive into 3 systems you can take with you and implement into your daily routine:

• Morning Routine
• Post Lunch and Recess Routine
• Transitions

It’s important that we develop these systems at the start of the school year in order to set us up for success and set up the classroom as a place of learning.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Rooted: 3 Days of Building Classroom Foundations. A live 3-day Zoom workshop for new and student teachers, October 19-21 at 7pm ET (It was POSTPONED). Replays included. Only $9!

MORE FROM ADVA:

• Follow Adva on Instagram 
• Follow Adva on LinkedIn

Right now, you're probably reacting to every behavior that pops up. You feel like you're constantly putting out fires and never actually getting to teach. This isn't what you signed up for. That's why, today's episode is giving teachers the 3 shifts that completely changed the way I handle behavior after my first year of teaching and three years in early intervention.

* Shift #1: It's not about control. It's about predictability and connection.
* Shift #2: A circle time that fits little ones (7 minutes, MAX)
* Shift #3: Routines over academics

Here's my challenge for you this week: Grab a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. Write "Behaviors" on one side and "My Response" on the other. List the behaviors you're seeing (and the ones you know might come up), then plan how you'll respond to each one. Behavior is communication. When you plan ahead, the chaos gets quieter.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Rooted: 3 Days of Building Classroom Foundations. A live 3-day Zoom workshop for new and student teachers, October 12-14 at 7pm ET. Replays included. Only $9!
• From College to Classroom [Adva's book]

MORE FROM ADVA:

• Follow Adva on Instagram 
• Follow Adva on LinkedIn

This is when things start to really show up for teachers. This is also when teaching can start to feel HARD and you question if you'll even make it through. That's why, today's episode is giving teachers 3 systems they can start to implement before October to minimize that stress and chaos.

• System #1: A predictable arrival routine
• System #2: Transitions that do the work for you
• System #3: Your end-of-day shutdown

Here's my challenge for you this week: Don't try to implement all 3. Pick ONE. The one that would make the biggest difference in your classroom right now. Start there.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Rooted: 3 Days of Building Classroom Foundations [a 3-day workshop for new teachers]

MORE FROM ADVA:

• Follow Adva on Instagram @coachforteachers
• Follow Adva on LinkedIn

Support the show

If you've ever been to a professional development workshop, wanted to take something specific into your classroom but then either weren't supported in that endeavor or not knowing how to implement it... you're in the right place.

Dr. Cheryl Hovey is an early childhood educator, consultant, and national presenter with more than 30 years of experience in the field. Her work focuses on infant and toddler development, temperament, resilience, and leadership, bringing research and real-world practice together with humor, honesty, and strategies educators can actually use.

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Support from admin is critical to be able to fill the gap between knowing and doing in an early childhood classroom.
• Having a strong foundation is KEY for you to be the educator that's meeting expectations each day.
• Children develop in time, not on time.

CONNECT WITH DR. CHERYL:

• https://www.ezed2go.com
• https://www.instagram.com/ezed2go

In today's podcast episode, I got to talk to Coach Rae -- an established coach and mentor in the early education sector. She supports teachers via her Hey, Coach Rae Educational venture, promoting the importance of collaboration among staff and understanding the efficacy of quality systems.

Coach Rae and I have similar stories in their growth paths in our journeys as early childhood educators. This episode is all about taking the risk if you feel it's time for you to grow beyond the position you're currently in. 

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• The path to growth in education doesn't necessarily end with you in administration.
• Purpose is something you discover and something that you build
• When you experience fear in doing pursuing something new within education, don't let that stop you.

CONNECT WITH COACH RAE:

• Instagram
• https://www.heycoachrae.com

In conversation with new teachers, the anxiety around parent communication comes up often. In this episode, we dive into:

• Setting the foundation for parent communication
• Delivering "bad" news to parents and a preferred method of communication
• 3 strategies to help you navigate parent communication 
• Importance of setting boundaries in communicating with parents

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Built to Last: Classroom Foundations for Teachers [grab those scripts!]

MORE FROM ADVA:

• Follow Adva on Instagram @coachforteachers
• Follow Adva on LinkedIn

If you were building a house, you'd want to build it on a solid foundation. So why are new teachers expected to build their teaching careers on a rocky foundation?Part of new teachers building a solid foundation requires them to be provided with mentorship and in-class support. 

It's why I wrote my book, From College to Classroom. And it's why I'm launching my course, Built to Last: Classroom Foundations for Teachers. Building a solid foundation doesn’t come from learning as you go, although you could try that. It comes from investing in your knowledge and learning from those who have done this before. 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• Get the book!
• Built to Last: Classroom Foundations for Teachers [Course Waitlist]

MORE FROM ADVA:

• Follow Adva on Instagram @coachforteachers
• Follow Adva on LinkedIn

If you've ever struggled to navigate challenges as an early childhood educator, this episode is for you! Today, I have the incredible Dr. Jamie Lewis as a guest. Dr. Lewis is an award-winning early childhood education leader, entrepreneur, speaker, and Founder/CEO of SheEO Educational Institute and New Horizon Learning Academy in Louisiana. With years of experience in childcare leadership, mentorship, and professional development, she is passionate about helping educators build strong programs, develop confident leaders, and create lasting impact for children, families, and communities. Please help me welcome Dr. Jamie Lewis to the podcast!

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Parents struggle for childcare due to a lack of funding and therefore creates a loss of income for preschools
• Teacher retention is another challenge, struggling to find teachers
• How your admin handles struggles that you bring to the table makes a huge difference in the way you feel about your job as a teacher

CONNECT WITH DR. JAMIE

• Instagram
• https://www.sheeo-institute.org
• nhlanola.com

MORE FROM ADVA:

• Grab the book!
• Follow Adva on Instagram @coachforteachers
• Follow Adva on LinkedIn

You're starting the school year and feeling the excitement but that excitement is also mixed in with a little stress and a little overwhelm. That stress and overwhelm may have you shutting down or going even harder -- doing everything you can, even if it means you sacrifice your life outside of teaching. In this episode, Adva dives into ways in which you can start the school year without feeling the burnout creeping in within weeks of the first day of school.

3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Bringing fun back into life is so important, especially as we get into the thick of busy season as teachers
• Setting boundaries from day 1 is crucial to your well-being
• Your homework: do 1 fun thing for yourself this week! No matter how busy life and work may feel.

MORE FROM ADVA:

• Grab the book!
• Follow Adva on Instagram @coachforteachers
• Follow Adva on LinkedIn