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A Whole Page For Informed Decisions

It’s here, it’s here, it’s here!

The last few months I’ve been writing articles on different types of schools you can choose as a parent. The choice can be so overwhelming, with many different options and many different choices within those options.

The choice seemed overwhelming to me, so I sought out to help others make their decision easier by researching the different schools and lining out the facts. I tried to stray from a pro/con list because there are some facts about these schools that can be a pro for one family, and a con for another family.

So here it is! A page where you can read more about each school.

Informed Decisions For Different Types of Schools

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The Benefits Of Independent Play

Last week I wrote down some of my thoughts about independent play and how it took time for my daughter to learn how to play. Play is not just something kids do for fun. It’s actual work. It is how their brains put together new experiences and learn to interact with the world. And while I was trying to push my daughter towards more independent play so that I could have a few minutes alone to work on what I needed, there are also many other benefits you can find from independent play. 

  • It fosters imagination. It gives them time to explore a whole new world that has yet to be created. 
  • It aids in problem-solving. When someone else isn’t there helping them solve their problems of blocks not fitting together right or the tower not stacking properly, they start relying on themselves and their own problem-solving skills. 
  • It boosts confidence! Allowing them the opportunity to utilize their own toys and manipulate them in the way they want can create confidence in themselves that otherwise may not be there if there is someone else present playing with them. 
  • Independent play can be a great way to prepare them for school. Working independently is a part of anyone’s education, and learning how to do this through play can prove to be more beneficial in the long run. 
  • It teaches them about alone time. Yes, as a parent you are given a few minutes of alone time to accomplish what you need to, but it’s also teaching your child how to have alone time and use it to recharge or accomplish what they need to. 

The next time you feel bad telling your kids to “go play”, you don’t need to! Allowing them independent playtime can be great for many reasons. Keep your eye out over the next few weeks for my post on how you can foster independent play for your own kids that may not do well with playing on their own. 

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Conclusion: Using MBTI In The Classroom

the youth of our future is inspiring

This post is part of a series of posts on teaching to different personality type indicators as found in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. To see more, head here.

Over the past several weeks I’ve been writing about using Myers-Briggs in the classroom and how it can be beneficial as a teacher. Last year I wrote about each specific type in the classroom, but more recently I’ve written about the more broad types: Extroverted students, introverted students, intuitive types, sensing types, etc, etc. 

I wrote these posts because while using MBTI in the classroom is useful and helpful, it can be very difficult to type every single one of your students and know how best to help them. So instead, I broke it into bigger categories. I think it can be easier to pick apart introverts versus extroverts, judgers versus perceivers, etc. This can make it more attainable for teachers and aids in the classroom to learn more about each child and help them in the best way they can. 

I truly believe that with a little bit of research and effort to understand Myers-Briggs deeper, it can become an incredibly useful tool for learning more about your students, yourself, and your colleagues. 

You can see all of the posts here.

Have you used the knowledge of MBTI in your teaching and how have you found that it helps you in your teaching? 

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Play Is A Learned Trait: It’s Not Always Natural For Kids

Play, play, play! 

If you throw the word “play” up in the search bar of this particular blog, you’ll find a plethora of articles on children and play. 

Here’s a full page with my play articles somewhat organized.

But there’s another point I want to touch on when it comes to play. This article comes from a time a few years ago when my oldest child  was almost two years old. I was trying to make dinner and the typical battle of trying to either keep her busy in the kitchen, or distract her with toys outside of the kitchen ensued. I generally love cooking, but have such a hard time with it when I have a kid standing right at my feet demanding attention! 

I kept saying the same thing over and over to her- 

“Go play! Please! Go find some toys and play!” 

This battle continued for days and weeks on end. Nothing ever worked! 

I started researching online ways I could get my daughter to play on her own, and there were some great ideas out there. However, I read one piece of advice that I so badly wished I would have saved so I could reference! But the article stated this- 

Play is not something that just comes naturally to every kid, it’s a learned skill they all need to develop over time. 

It was such simple advice, yet it was still advice that changed my whole perspective! I was a great parent at pulling out a sensory bin or whipping up a quick color match activity. However, I was never a parent that pulled out the blocks and showed my daughter how to build. Or drive the toy cars. We never played pretend with the baby dolls or made the plastic animals move. If no one ever showed her how to play with the toys, why should I have expected her to know what to do with them? 

Over the next several weeks we spent time down on the floor together building towers and rocking babies to sleep. And then it was a slow transition to “invitations to play” where I would leave out a small set up to spark my daughter’s imagination and I would let her take it from there. 

Eventually, she learned the skill of play, and making dinner became so much easier! We continued to practice playing together and she continued to practice it by herself when I needed the time to be alone. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start in the right direction. 

My hope is that if you’re struggling with getting your child to play by themselves as well, this article can be eye-opening for you as well. 

Tell me in the comments how you helped your child learn the art of play! 

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Teaching the Judging Type: Using Myers Briggs in the Classroom

This post is part of a series of posts on teaching to different personality type indicators as found in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. To see more, head here.

In the Myers-Briggs world, Judging vs Perceiving is how we interact with the outside world. Between the two, we will use both of them, but our natural instincts are to move toward one versus the other. This post is focusing on the Judging types in the classroom. 

Traits that can define a Judging type: 

Organized. 

Always planning. 

Neat and tidy. 

Knows what they are doing in the future. 

How to pick out a Judging type in the classroom: These will be your students with the neat and tidy desks. They will be the ones constantly asking what the rest of the day, week, and month hold as far as what they will be doing in school. 

How to support a Judging type in the classroom: Keep things as consistent as possible. Trust that majority of time they are on top of their assignments and can likely handle more, if needed. Giving them an overview of the day’s schedule can be wonderful for them, they want to know what’s next and how these events affect other events. 

How to help a Judging type grow in the classroom: Give them support through activities that are in a go-with-the-flow situation instead of structured and predictable. Pair them with a Perceiving type during a group project to give them the opportunity to see both sides of how a project can be completed. 

Do you have any tried and true tips for teaching students that are the Judging type? 

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Sometimes, I’m Not A Good Teacher

I walked into my classroom one day just feeling… off. That’s the best way I can describe it. I was tired and already annoyed before my students had even walked into the classroom. I didn’t greet them at the door like I typically did, and found myself bothered by the fact that they all walked into the classroom talking with one another. 

The morning was dragging on, it felt hard to get through our morning meeting, 15 minute phonics lesson, and reading groups. FINALLY, it was time for recess! But then I remembered something awful….. I had recess duty! It was the perfect way to make my day even worse. By the time 28 sweaty kids, plus myself, walked back into our classroom, a classroom with NO air conditioning, mind you, I was just done. My kids asked if they could do some free drawing during our read aloud time and I snapped at them. During our math lesson I was not tolerating any funny business, whatsoever. 

I was not a good teacher that day, and worse off, I was down on myself for not being a good teacher. Finally, the day ended and all 29 of us went our separate ways. On my drive home I recounted my day and regretted being so short and unhappy with my class. Did they deserve to be the ones taking the brunt end of my bad day? No! They talked a little extra and were a little extra loud in the hallway, so what? They are first graders. They deserve some grace! 

I ended my drive trying to figure out how to make it up to them the next day in class. Plenty of ideas flew through my mind. Ice cream party? No. Extra long recess? Not good enough. Then, finally it came to my mind. 

The next morning I greeted each one of my students at the door with a smile and directed them to the rug to start our morning meeting a little earlier than normal. I had them all seated in front of me and told them I had something important to tell them, and with eager eyes they looked up at me waiting to hear what I had to say. 

Then, I sat in front of all of my kids and apologized. I opened up my heart and was vulnerable in front of these 6 and 7 year olds. I admitted my mistake and let them know that it wasn’t their fault that I had an off day. I told them they are really great kids and that I was extremely lucky to be their teacher, and I meant it! And I told them we would have a better day. 

And we did! 

Here’s what I learned from that day. First, it sucks to have bad days! It’s hard to walk away from a day feeling defeated and regret your decisions. But it’s also okay to have those days. A bad day of teaching does not make you a bad teacher. 

But here is the part that is the most important to remember: 

It’s okay to have those bad days if you take the time to reflect on them and troubleshoot the day (or situation), so that next time you’re in that situation you can handle it a little better. It absolutely will not be perfect, but it’ll be a stair step process as you troubleshoot the next bad day and try to improve each time after. This is what leads you to the tools you need to cope with the bad teaching days. Troubleshooting and trying again. It’s what we teach our students to do anyway, isn’t it?! 

You’re not a bad teacher- it’s just a bad day. You’ve got this. 

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Teaching Perceivers: Using MBTI In The Classroom

This post is part of a series of posts on teaching to different personality type indicators as found in the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. To see more, head here.

In the Myers-Briggs world, Judging vs Perceiving is how we interact with the outside world. Between the two, we will use both of them, but our natural instincts are to move toward one versus the other. This post is focusing on the Perceiving types in the classroom. 

Traits that can define a Perceiver: 

Flexible and spontaneous. 

Ready to adapt to whatever the world brings. 

Can seem messy, unorganized, or sporadic. 

They wait until the last minute to do their school work. Nearing deadlines are the best motivation for them! 

Perceiving types do not like to organize the world, they want the world to organize them. They are going to be your students with messy desks, typically turning in their assignments late, and paying little attention to the clock. They like to feel the room, watch their surroundings, and make decisions as they go, instead of lining it all out ahead of time. 

Ways to support a Perceiving type in the classroom- First and foremost, respect them! Perceiving types can get a bad rap because they do not follow social norms. However, this is their preferred way to interact with the world and will thrive if allowed to be themselves. Try to give them gentle reminders about deadlines, important dates, and events, if possible. 

Ways you can help a Perceiving type grow in the classroom- Give them hard, fast deadlines and hold them to it! Line out the daily schedule and be consistent with it so they can stay on track, but be respectful of their need to adapt to changing situations. 

A common misconception is that Perceiving types are not organized or do not have a plan. To Judging types, this seems sensible! However, they do have an organization system and they do have a plan, it only looks different from what you are expecting it to be. 

In my personal opinion, the Judging/Perceiving types are two opposite types that I believe can be the hardest types to understand each other when we are the opposite types. I am very much a Judging type, but I have many close friends and family that are Perceiving types. It’s frustrating for me that they will not create a plan and stick with it in our day to day interactions. While on the other hand, they become frustrated with me because I am constantly pushing them to make a plan, but they function with a go-with-the-flow attitude. 

That’s why I believe understanding these types in the classroom is essential for success! It can be helpful as a teacher to understand the opposite types so that when you inevitably end up with kids in your classroom that do not interact with the world the way you do, you can understand why and appreciate them for what they do.