The Mindful Educators Podcast

Are you ready for it? The question we are asked the most: Do you have to meditate to have a mindful classroom? Our answer: NO! Would it be great and ideal if you did? Yes. But as with all things, the key to making something part of your life is taking baby steps. And because we thought there might be teachers listening who may want to up level their mindfulness game in the classroom but for whatever reason are not ready to begin with meditation or breath work, we created this episode. So if you are interested in building a more mindful classroom we suggest looking at what you are already doing and layer it with mindfulness. With our heavy workloads, no one needs more to do but adding some intentionality around practices you are already using will anchor your classroom in a more mindful way. In this episode we discuss these 5 ways to create a more mindful classroom: 1. Focus on all things connection 2.Use metacognition to connect students to their thinking brain as much as possible 3. Reflect, reflect, reflect 4. Implement relaxation exercises during transition times 5. Practice gratitude Lastly, in our own version of Show and Tell, check out the end of our podcast where we share what we are into or what we have recently learned this week. Listen in and join us in creating a community of mindful and connected educators one classroom at a time! Our shares:: Erin: Fantastically_fourth_grade on Instagram Dave: Playing Connect-4 or any game, as a way of connecting with kids

Have you ever fallen into the trap of trying to make everything "perfect" or fearing making a mistake? Well, if you are like us, the answer is yes. On today's podcast we are talking about perfectionism in teaching, and how historically, teachers have been held to high standards where mistakes and not having all of the answers was frowned upon. These perceptions, we believe, have all contributed to the mounting stress teachers feel to get it right all of the time which fuels the perfection game. We dive deep into the conversation around conscientiousness vs perfectionism and share some of Brene Brown's wisdom in this area from her book Dare to Lead. Finally, we leave you with 3 ways to use mindful awareness to move through these feelings of perfectionism in order to relieve some of your stress and become more transparent and vulnerable making all of us more approachable as teachers and leaders. Lastly, in our own version of Show and Tell, check out the end of our podcast where we share what we are into or what we have recently learned this week. Listen in and join us in creating a community of mindful and connected educators one classroom at a time! Our shares: Erin: Facebook watch show: Returning the Favor with Mike Rowe Dave: The concert documentary by Bruce Springsteen: Western Stars

In today's episode, we are talking about something that impacts most people in the workforce. Stress. However, according to a recent Gallup poll 46% of teachers report high daily stress, tying them with nurses for one of the most stressful occupations in America today. We could recite lots of alarming statistics about stress, the burnout rate and the trend of new teachers leaving the profession in alarming numbers but our major concern here on The Mindful Educators Podcast is what can we do with this information? Teachers are stressed, burnout is real, and clearly educators who are under too much stress are less likely to be able to deliver high quality instruction or connect in positive ways with their students. While this systemic problem isn't going to be solved overnight, hopefully we can offer you some support in combating stress associated with teaching. Specifically, listen in as we share how we both experience stress differently and how we are becoming more aware of our stress by answering the critical question, "How do you know you are doing too much?" Reflecting on this question will allow teachers to relook at their self care practices to support their emotional needs. Lastly, in our own version of Show and Tell, check out the end of our podcast where we share what we are into or what we have recently learned this week. Please take a listen and join us in creating a community of mindful and connected educators one classroom at a time!

In this episode of The Mindful Educators Podcast we discuss the power in habits, those structures and routines we try to implement in order to live our best lives. While all of our episodes tend to be geared towards teachers, we also think teaching our students how to create impactful habits supports their social and emotional learning. As mindful educators, we believe habits are an important part of goal setting and if you are setting and achieving goals, you must be crushing it in life. And if you're crushing it in life, you must be crushing it in the classroom. Which all means you are creating a positive school and classroom cultures one mindful habit at a time. Lastly, in our own version of Show and Tell, check out the end of our podcast where we share what we are into or what we have recently learned this week.

Jim Stroker is a life coach, motivational speaker, teacher, father and personal friend to both of us. Intentionally chosen as our first guest, Jim has had a huge influence on our lives. In this episode, Jim personally shares his struggles both in and out of the classroom and the tools he uses to get through them. He also offers his top tips to support educators in the challenge of their day to day jobs. If you are looking for pure motivation and inspiration, this episode is for you! If this interview inspired you on any level, feel free to share it on social or with your friends and fellow educators. Lastly, please listen in to the end of our episode where we rope Jim into our version of Show and Tell. This is one episode not to be missed!

Today we share the last part of our four part series on connection. In this episode we talk about the power in connecting to the content you are teaching. We feel strongly in connection as the foundation of a strong school and classroom culture and mindfully connecting or reconnecting to your content in a new way can reignite your passion for teaching. Specifically listen in for 3 ways to reconnect to what you are teaching so you can inspire your students in a deeper way. Lastly, in our own version of Show and Tell, check out the end of our podcast where we share what we are into or what we have recently learned this week. Please take a listen and join us in creating a community of mindful and connected educators one classroom at a time!

Today we are sharing part 3 of our 4 part series on the power of connection. In this week's episode, we focus on the importance of forming connections at work. In a profession that can be pretty isolating at times, we discuss how we can foster these meaningful relationships in order to increase our happiness and productivity. Take a listen as Dave specifically shares what it's like to start over again forming new connections as he embarks on a new position this year, and the strategies he is putting in place to help him mindfully create those connections. Lastly, in our own version of Show and Tell, check out the end of our podcast where we share what we are into or what we have recently learned this week. Please take a listen and join us in creating a community of mindful and connected educators one classroom at a time!

In today's episode we are sharing part 2 of our 4 part series on connection. The beginning of the year is a great time to pay attention to the different ways connection can be used as the foundation for the year. In part 1 we highlighted ways to create more self awareness and inner connection as educators and this week in part 2, we are discussing the power of connecting with students. Knowing students perform better if they are feeling understood, valued and cared for by their teachers, this connection is the critical cornerstone of building a safe learning environment. Listen in for ideas on new ways to help deepen this powerful student/teacher relationship.

Happy September friends! New beginnings are such a good time to bring a mindful awareness especially in the area of supporting yourself as you begin the year. In this episode we talk about using September to mindfully focus on the power of connection. It's so powerful, we thought we would try something new: a four part series all around connection. Each week in September, our podcast will dive deep into using the power of connection to align your year and build a strong foundation for you, your students and your staff. This mindful awareness will help you build a positive classroom and school culture. So it's going to roll out like this: The first week of September we will be talking about the power of connecting with yourself. The second week of September we will be discussing the power of connecting with your students or staff. The third week of September we will be focused on the power of connecting with your colleagues. The fourth week of September we will be highlighting the power of connecting with your content or what you are teaching. We purposely aligned the series in this order because we truly believe in teachers taking care of themselves first so they can then support their students in the classroom. The result? A month focusing on connection which we are predicting will lead to an amazing start! If you are listening to this podcast any time after September, you can apply the 4 part series at any time. Let's go!

In today's episode, we discuss our plan to mindfully step into the new year. It is perfect to think about at the start of school or honestly at any time you want a reboot! Both of us have unique dreams and visions for our upcoming year but our intention is to commit to an idea that has to do with our own mindfulness as teachers, not a classroom goal we will be trying to achieve to benefit students. Those are great too, however, we are suggesting a "teachers first" motto this year. We want our ideas to support us in managing our stress and emotions throughout the year. Lastly, in our own version of Show and Tell, check out the end of our podcast where we share what we are into or what we have recently learned this week. Please take a listen and join us in creating a community of mindful educators one classroom at a time!