Invest in Resilience

Invest in YOU: Restore, Refresh, and Reset in Time for Fall

We know it’s been a strange year.

The COVID-19 pandemic, and now the crisis around racial equity, will create an environment of stress and uncertainty this school year. Now that it’s summer, take the time to invest in your own resilience as you look ahead toward fall.

Explore 12 weeks of curated content designed to get you restored, rejuvenated, and reset in time for the next school year. And leave you with healthy habits to tackle any challenge.

We will update this toolkit weekly. Keep checking back for new resources to read.

Celebrating

The Small Things are Worth Celebrating

Charles W. Chestnutt, the late 18th-century author and political activist wrote, “We sometimes underestimate the influence of little things.” It is easy to do it — underestimate something due to its size. We set these big goals or expectations for ourselves and for others, and when they aren’t met or when things come short…[]

Get Ready, Get Set … UnWind! Taking Some Time for You

You did it! You made it through the end of the school year — which is an accomplishment each and every year, but never so more than this year, when your classroom was taken away from you. For most, you lost your class in a way you never had to navigate before, all within a…[]

Reflecting

Reflecting by Journaling

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart – William Wordsworth We’ve all had a lot happen in the past several months. Emphasis: A LOT. Think about the changes we’ve all endured in such a short amount of time. Have you been able to process it all? Now that it’s summer and you have…[]

20 Ways to Get Started Journaling for Mental and Spiritual Health

Download These Journaling Templates

Sometimes, the hardest part of reflecting is taking the time to do so. Habits can take up to three months to form, so to help with the pursuit of goal setting and journaling, we wanted to share some templates that you can use. In this downloadable packet are four different formats — find the one…[]

Unbroken

Bringing Heart to the Center of COVID

Even the littlest acts of kindness can go a long way. When COVID started to shut down schools, educators did what they always do — they stepped it up to help their students and their community better cope with their new norm and they tried to bring some heart to the center of COVID…[]

Educators – An Unbroken Spirit

In a time of crisis, amazing things can happen. You don’t have to look far back into history to see how individuals can respond with innovation and resilience instead of subsiding to what could have been a perilous ending. During World War II, the world saw innovations that changed the world as we knew it…[]

Unbroken: A Victory for Hope Webinar Recording

Join us for this 60-minute webinar as host Heather Fuller and special guest Luke Zamperini discuss cultivating purposeful talk based on the ultimate story of resilience, the YA version of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.

Unwinding

Unwind with Hobbies to Spark Creativity and Imagination

As educators, you are often creating new experiences for your students and trying to encourage them to try something new. But when was the last time YOU tried something new? Why not try and step outside of your comfort level and see where it takes you? Look, there are a lot of reasons why you…[]

The Art of Downtime

Going through life too fast The amount of information that is at our disposal through modern technology is more than we could have ever imagined even 10 years ago. There is so much stimulation that our brains have yet to evolve in an effective way to handle it all. And with COVID-19, our world has…[]

Giving Permission for YOU Time

Taking care of yourself is a valid goal on its own, and it helps you support the people you love. – National Alliance on Mental Illness As an educator, your profession involves teaching children or teens, supporting your school and parent community, and basically giving it your all! Sometimes embodying your role as an educator…[]

Empowering

Resilient Educator’s Recommended Reading List

How many of you dreaded the summer reading list during your school years? Be honest! I was a voracious reader, yet would read anything and everything except those titles mandated by next year’s teacher; it was an annual battle each summer. Now as adults, many of us yearn to find the time to pop a…[]

Why Do You Teach? Six-Word Challenge

As a former teacher, my New Year didn’t start on January 1st. Rather, it would begin at the start of the school year come August or September. And even though I’m not in the classroom anymore, I still find myself buying a new pack of pencils or scented markers each fall to mark the occasion…[]

Perseverance

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Book Club Recommendations

From as early as the 1600s, book clubs have been a way for people to connect, reflect, and grow together. Book clubs have spanned mail-order businesses, bookstores, libraries, TV shows (thank you, Oprah!), and online forums. It is estimated that there are more than 5 million book club members in the United States alone. As…[]

Dr. Seuss’s Words of Wisdom from “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” and Other Books

Many of us grew up loving Dr. Seuss books. To this day, you probably can recite at the very least a line or two of his rhymes by heart. Kids worship him, parents adore him, and teachers revere him. We teachers, in particular, have created Pinterest boards galore showcasing classroom projects, bulletin boards, and learning…[]

Perspective

How to Expand Your Perspective

Have you ever met someone that just seems to always look at life through the lens of being half full rather than half empty? Does that individual, although not oblivious to hardship or challenges, still seem to have a positive outlook on life? It’s amazing how powerful one’s perspective can have on one’s life not only for themselves but on others…[]

Lessons About Resilience from Winnie the Pooh

Just over a year ago, I had the opportunity to go back to London, where I always make sure to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum. I actually went back a second time in the same week because they were having a limited-time exhibit, Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic exhibition. The walls were full of sketches…[]

Planning

Self-Care: Getting Mentally Prepared for a New School Year

Entering a new school year can be stressful and daunting. The long summer days are winding down and back-to-school anxiety starts to creep in. But with a little mindfulness and intention, you can start off the new school year right! The power of intention “Our intention creates our reality,” says Dr. Wayne W. Dyer. Living…[]

Professional Development Goals: How to Set Them

Now that you’re a superstar goal-setter with a whole toolbox of actionable tricks for actually reaching said goals, it’s time for another challenge. This week, take a look at everything you’ve learned on the goal front and apply it your career. I know. We’ve been hyper-focused on personal development for the past eight weeks and…[]

Tech Try It! With Zoom

Are you a Zoombie? This fall, many classrooms are going 100% distance learning. Rather than preparing classroom space and walls to welcome students, teachers have been preparing their distance learning plans. Zoom has been adopted by many schools for distance learning. It’s because it’s easy to use, reliable, can be used on laptops, tablets, or…[]

Tech Reflect

SAMR: A Thought-Provoking Edtech Adoption Model

In the world of technology, it can be easy to gravitate towards what is new and shiny. The latest and greatest gadgets, apps, and platforms captivate us with updated features and functionality, just-in-time content, and oh-so-clever design. It’s hard to ignore the buzzes, chirps, and flashes! The same can be said of edtech in the…[]

At the Heart of TPACK: A Pedagogical Model

We know that education loves its acronyms, and yet sometimes the hardest part is remembering what each stands for, never mind what each means! Recently we dived into the SAMR Model (pronounced “sammer”), to learn how technology can be used as a Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, or Redefinition when designing learning experiences. TPACK, which stands for…[]

Tech Try It! 5 Need-to-Know Tools

What are your “go-to” tech tools that you can’t live without? The ones that make teaching more efficient, effective, and engaging for students? Check out this list of five need-to-know tech tools. These tools can be used in face-to-face or distance learning, spanning most grade levels 3-12. All of the tools have fairly robust free…[]

Preparing

The Powerful Practice of Positive Self-Talk

Positive self-talk. It’s one of those things that sounds all hippy-dippy, but it’s actually pretty fundamental. We all have an inner voice, and how that voice speaks to us directly impacts our mood, our mental health, and our actions. Learning to flip the script and put a positive spin on your internal dialogue can have…[]

Tech Try It! Parent Communication Tools

If there’s ever been a time when school-to-home communication needs to be strong, it’s now. With many schools moving to distance learning, parents are the key in supporting students with successful at-home learning. And we know that strong parent engagement drives improved student outcomes and performance (WestEd, Parent Involvement Project). But nowadays, family engagement looks…[]

Defining Your Class Culture During Distance Learning

Fill in the blank: The culture of my class is _____________________________. What came to mind? Was it easy to define, or did you struggle to describe it? The beginning of the new year is all about starting fresh and setting norms, guidelines, and defining your classroom culture with students. But what does that look like…[]

Nesting

What does your classroom say about you?

Our personalities can come out in many ways, and we tend to broadcast those personalities pretty loudly though the way in which we set up our spaces. From the colors we choose to the layout of the room, a classroom setup can be just as revealing about someone’s personality as the way in which they…[]

Designing your virtual classroom

Most teachers look forward to the ritual of setting up their classroom for back to school. Stapling up construction paper on bulletin boards, hanging up posters, organizing books and bins of supplies, and getting things ready for students is something of a ritual. But this year, many classrooms sadly sit empty, and many teachers are…[]

Lift Off

Back-to-School Icebreakers for Every Grade

We have all experienced it. Those first day jitters. That first day of a new job, the first day of a new program or club that we joined and if it was especially memorable, we might be even able to remember that first day of school way back when. Firsts can bring up fears and…[]

Setting Goals for The School Year During COVID

As a teacher at the start of this school year, you likely feel anxious and out of your comfort zone. Maybe way out of your comfort zone! Most, if not all, classrooms are different right now due to COVID-19, whether it’s distance learning, hybrid learning, or social distancing in the classroom. You’ve already had to…[]

Back to School Planners, Tools, Lists – Oh My!

It might be safe to say that now the rest of the world knows what many teachers have known for a long time – teachers have one of the hardest and time consuming jobs out there. Teaching requires planning, and a lot of it. With time outside of the classroom now blurred more than ever, it is important to ensure that you are saying as effective and efficient as possible…[]

Resilient Habits

Long days and free time provide a great opportunity to incorporate self-wellness into your lifestyle. Explore these strategies to fortify your mind and body. Discover more teacher wellbeing activities.

5 Ways to Let It Go When the School Year Ends

You made it. Another school year successfully under your belt. Those last few days can be IN. SANE. So before you dive into your summer

An educator working on controlling her thoughts

7 Ways to Control Your Mind So It Doesn’t Control You

Okay. So you’ve given yourself a minute to just be. Amen to that! Now it’s time to start bringing some intention to what’s going on

Supercharge your Professional Growth Through Self-Reflection

Reflection. It’s quite the buzzword in the world of education. Critical reflection is a key component of professional growth. You take note of what dazzled

Deep Readings

Explore some philosophy, current events, and thoughts about resilience from our handpicked, curated selection of book titles. And don’t forget to share the list with your fellow teachers, students, parents, and anyone else who may benefit from these great readings!