While I usually reflect the most on Self-Reg, this past week, a combination of experiences have me thinking more about co-regulation. It all started when Mr. Cumming began his ECE Field Placement in our class. He'll be joining our class for six weeks, every Wednesday...
Tomorrow we go back to school after a week long March Break. Tomorrow will be the first time that we'll be heading back to school after March Break in two years. Along with this return, there's also a decrease in many COVID restrictions, including masking, cohorting,...
Once a week, I have a prep in the middle of the school day. With more rooms being used around the school this year, I usually end up sitting in the staffroom for my prep. Since this prep time is near the Second Nutrition Break, I often bring my lunch with me to the...
There are many words of wisdom from both Stuart Shanker and Susan Hopkins that I think about when contemplating Self-Reg, but one point that I return to often is that "Self-Reg begins with relationships." While I might know this in theory, never have I been more aware...
For me, wrapping presents is stressful. I never seem to get enough paper to cover the whole gift. I have high hopes to making those perfect corner folds, but the reality never seems to match my expectations. And how exactly are you supposed to wrap gifts that are not...
In our classroom, we talk about Self-Reg a lot. Children share when they're stressed. We discuss triggers. My teaching partner, Paula, has even spoken to the class about the brain, and kids use words such as the amygdala and the pre-frontal cortex, when talking to us...
Last week, I knew that my teaching partner, Paula, was going to be away on Wednesday for an appointment. She booked the supply in advance and all was well until her supply had to unexpectedly cancel on Tuesday night, and the job remained unfilled. Driving to school on...
The other day, I had a period 4 prep. It's only one day in a five day cycle, where due to the timing of my prep, I will be re-entering play when I return. This period 4 prep is an interesting one, as my teaching partner, Paula, is also on her lunch during this time,...
The other day, I went to get a haircut. I'll be heading back to school soon, so I wanted to book a haircut and highlights before going back. I've gone to different hairdressers over the years: from drop-in places to those where I book appointments. When COVID first...
The other day, I was doing some work for camp on my computer and I noticed this email icon at the bottom of my screen. Nine thousand five hundred and thirty-one unread messages?! Thank goodness this is an email address that I just use for junk mail and not my Board or...
Once a month, I write a post for The MEHRIT Centre blog. I usually know what I'm going to write about early on in the month. I let the ideas percolate, and then I blog. This month though, I'm stuck. My mind is empty, or maybe, it's full. Full of year-end tasks to do:...
In August when I learned about all of the COVID restrictions for this upcoming school year, I broke down into tears. How are we supposed to keep kindergarten students in their own spaces all day long?How do you eliminate hugs from kindergarten?How do you enforce...
Before we left school for the April Break, I had a really interesting conversation with my teaching partner, Paula. Our conversation had us wondering: right now, are we all caught in a perpetual stress cycle? In Ontario, the Coronavirus numbers are currently out of...
A couple of weeks ago, I reached out to an acquaintance (let's call her, "Ellen") through email.** I had a question to ask her, and I thought that she might be able to provide some insights to a query of mine. This is not a colleague or a good friend, but it is...
On Friday, my teaching partner, Paula, was away. After we cleaned up at the end of the day, I thought that we would discuss some highlights to share with Mrs. Crockett. Many children had stories to contribute, so they took turns talking. Little did I know that one of...
In Southern Ontario, elementary school students are about to enter their second week of remote learning. Last Sunday, Aaron Puley, a vice principal in our Board, tweeted me this question in response to a tweet shared by The MEHRIT Centre....
Every Who down in Whoville liked "special days" a lot, Except for their teachers, Crockett and Dunsiger, Who often did not. These days seem so joyful, So awesome, so fun, But we had to wonder, Are they perfect for everyone? One day was for hats, Head pieces, and such,...
I love a quiet, early morning start to my time at school. While our school building doesn't open until 7:00, I'm usually there at 6:35 to set-up our outdoor space. The timing works so that I'm done the set-up by the time that my pass card unlocks the front doors. This...