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"How do you do it all?"

Someone asked me, "How do you do all of this and have a young family?" I am used to hearing people say, "Do you ever sleep?" Yes, I sleep. In fact, I need at least 8 hours of sleep each night. Rest is important for me to function at full speed as well as for my recovering brain. It's a fair question. When I was a beginning teacher, I would arrive at school early in the morning and stay there until past dinner. Then, most nights I was doing work at home before bed. It would've been really difficult for me to be an excellent teacher if I were just now starting with littles at home (not to say that others who are just starting and have littles at home can't be excellent teachers, just that it would've been hard for ME). But due to that hard (and likely unhealthy) work back then, I have a lot of strategies in my teacher tool kit and many resources to pull from. I also spend an hour each day in the summer working on resources that will help me durin...
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Be brave, not perfect.

This isn't the greatest Ted Talk ever made, but the message spoke to the teacher (and mom of a little girl) in me. This just became class rule number 4 for ALL students, not just girls. 

For those of you who don't know my first 3 rules:
1.  Make your teacher look good.
2.  Always do what's right, especially when no one else is looking.
3.  Give your teacher all York Peppermint Patties after trick or treating.

4.  NEW! Be brave, not perfect.
*They vary from year to year depending on the needs of the class and my favorite candy. Some classes have had more "rules."

Ted Talk: Teach Girls Bravery, Not Perfection

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