Motivating, encouraging, and celebrating life
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for more details here. Photo by Zachary Nelson on Unsplash I was one of those principals who loved learning about temperament or character types. If you’ve been in the educational profession for any length of time you’ve taken them. Most tests have four different types (although the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® MBTI test® has 16). Perhaps you know
Years ago I heard about a leader that would greet her staff with “Happy National ______ Day!” and hand them a piece of gum, sticker, or a small token to go along with the holiday. I could imagine walking into her building with an expectation of celebrating something fun no matter how small…or how momentary. Different and fun…my two reasons for the creation of the
Do you celebrate your staff’s accomplishments? A few years ago, my husband and I traveled to a neighboring state to watch our grandson play baseball in a tournament. I believe he was 8 or 9 years old at the time. After winning a game, the coach sat them down (with all the parents and grandparents around) and proceeded to tell them everything they needed to
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for details here. Physical Touch Physical Touch is included in the book, 5 Languages of Love which makes perfect sense to me. But when it comes to the workplace, the subject of physical touch gets…a little touchy! The authors of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace acknowledge this fact but believe “appropriate acts
All classroom teachers have had the thought. Every administrator should go back to the classroom…at least once! Teachers: Hey, maybe administrators will remember how hard it is! What about how much MONEY we pay out-of-pocket? Or how much TIME (not to mention “BLOOD, SWEAT, and TEARS”!) it takes to run a classroom? So I did. For one whole year. The long, gloomy hallway As a classroom
The love of my earthly life moved into his heavenly home 12-13-2022. Since Gene passed away, surprisingly, I rarely feel lonely. I have Jesus to talk to. And I’ve been talking a lot…day in and day out…pretty much non-stop! I told Him that I was doing all the talking and it would be nice if He would tell me what I’m supposed to be doing
I recently asked elementary principals to rate their staff morale on a scale from 1-10 (10 being out-of-this-world wonderful!). Over 100 principals responded. Here is how they rated staff morale: The responses came in the month of May. Typically, a month where teachers are administering end-of-year testing and well, end-of-year EVERYTHING has set in! My heart was saddened by principals dealing with “school closings”, “needed staff
Busy, busy, busy!! For most of you, the school year has come to an end. Congratulations! I hope you are taking the time for reflection and looking at all the positives this year held. If you are in a leadership position, I know some of you are already planning for next year…or…perhaps the next big thing. But please, please, give yourself permission to rest first.
Are you looking for good team-building and problem-solving activities? Here are a few I’ve tried as an elementary school principal. If I thought it was accomplished with a good amount of success, I gave those activities a “thumbs up”. I’ll also share a few that I thought fell short! Look for the “thumbs down”! MAKE YOUR BED I call this one, “Make your Bed” as
This post may contain affiliate links. See the full disclosure here. “It’s not often that I receive an email that does not include a due date, complaint or request.” This statement was embedded in a return email to me from an elementary school principal after I sent her a thank you! A sad statement but a truthful one I know. I realize by reason of the
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for details here. 2020 is a year most people will not forget…but many would like to. History will proclaim it as the year the pandemic hit. A run on toilet paper, masks (of many types), virtual school, six-feet apart social distancing, and stay-at-home orders was just the tip of the iceberg. My husband Gene
If you’ve visited this page previously, I’ve changed it up! I’m attaching a link to a FREEBIES category so that you can add to the cart and then have unlimited downloads for that product. That way I can update the items along the way without you losing the link. I hope that makes sense! And if it doesn’t, no worries…just click the link below for
