ATB Challenge - Week 6

Welcome back blogging buddies for week 6 of our ATB Challenge!

Every Sunday I will be posting a new challenge for you to try out.   Each challenge will be geared toward eradicating teacher burnout in the long run.  Challenges consist of simple activities, or suggestions, that will encourage a healthy lifestyle, stress-free living, and positive thinking that will benefit you both inside and outside of the classroom.

Here is your Week 6 Challenge:

If you are kind to your body your body will be kind to you.  Healthy snacks will keep you energized throughout the day and will keep your spirit running high.

Prepackage your snacks for the week in advance.  Measure out each serving and place them in zip-lock bags or in small containers so you can quickly grab them and go throughout the week.

I love this image of healthy snack ideas under 100 calories from Pinterest.

What are your favorite healthy school snacks?

Tune in next Sunday for Week 7.

Dear Earth,

Happy Earth Day Blogging Buddies!

My class loved reading National Geographic's Human Footprint so much last year that I decided to use it with this year's class as well.  You can see how we used this book a little differently last year here.

This year, after reading the book, students wrote a promise to decrease their negative human footprint on the Earth.

We used their footprints as the leaves of our hallway tree display.

We printed some hearts to fill in the blank spaces that contained Earth Day vocabulary.

What did you do today for Earth Day?

ATB Challenge - Week 5

Welcome back blogging buddies for week 5 of our ATB Challenge!

Every Sunday I will be posting a new challenge for you to try out.   Each challenge will be geared toward eradicating teacher burnout in the long run.  Challenges consist of simple activities, or suggestions, that will encourage a healthy lifestyle, stress-free living, and positive thinking that will benefit you both inside and outside of the classroom.

Here is your Week 5 Challenge:

Spring has finally sprung.  So, what are you waiting for?  Get outside and enjoy the increasingly nice weather.

Enjoy the sun, smell the fresh air, enjoy the sound of the birds chirping.  Walking can be extremely relaxing.

Check out all the many varied benefits of walking here.

This is by far my favorite challenge.  Most nights my husband, daughter, two dogs, and I go for a long walk to the park.  It is about a 3 mile round trip walk.  Getting outside in the fresh air and moving lifts my spirit, helps my body relieve any tensions built up from teaching, clears my mind, and provides my husband and I some time to talk.

Don't have time for a nightly 3 hour walk?  I don't blame you!

Try these tips to get more steps into your day:

1 - Set small goals.  15 minutes here, 10 minutes there.  Eventually the walking time will add up.  Every little bit helps.

2 - Find a walking partner.  This could be your spouse, child, neighbor, best friend, or dog.  Anyone could be your walking partner.  Not only will they enhance your walking enjoyment, but they will encourage you to get out and walk more often.

3 - Walk to the store.  If the store is too far away, park further away.

4 - Plan your time.  If you schedule in your walk you will be more likely to do it.

So what are you waiting for?  Stop reading and go for a walk.

Then tune in next Sunday for Week 6.

Writing On a Stick

Are you looking for a way to spice up your writing centers while incorporating a fun spring theme?

Check out my writing on a stick sets.

These are quick and easy to put together.  Just print, tape, and go.

I have students grab a prompt and use the accompanying stationary to write various genres during their writing center time or if they finish work early.  I select a few students to read their writing at the end of the day while we wait for the buses.

Check them out here in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

ATB Challenge - Week 4

Welcome back blogging buddies for week 4 of our ATB Challenge!

Every Sunday I will be posting a new challenge for you to try out.   Each challenge will be geared toward eradicating teacher burnout in the long run.  Challenges consist of simple activities, or suggestions, that will encourage a healthy lifestyle, stress-free living, and positive thinking that will benefit you both inside and outside of the classroom.

Here is your Week 4 Challenge:

More water?  Really?  Will that really help prevent teacher burnout?

Surprisingly, it may!

The benefits of drinking water are infinite.  Check out this image I found here on Pinterest.

So, how are you going to squeeze in a few extra glasses of thirst quenching H20?

Tune in next Sunday for Week 5.

ATB Challenge - Week 3

Welcome back blogging buddies for week 3 of our ATB Challenge!

Every Sunday I will be posting a new challenge for you to try out.   Each challenge will be geared toward eradicating teacher burnout in the long run.  Challenges consist of simple activities, or suggestions, that will encourage a healthy lifestyle, stress-free living, and positive thinking that will benefit you both inside and outside of the classroom.

Here is your Week 3 Challenge:

Do you get enough sleep each night?

While scrolling through Pinterest I came across these 30 Lesser Known Facts About Sleep:

Last week I asked you to unplug.  I am going to use some of the extra time I have gained from unplugging an hour before bed to add sleep.

I am going to start by trying to get to bed 5 minutes earlier each night until I have added on a full 1/2 hour to my nightly sleep.  Doesn't sound like much, but I know the extra 1/2 hour will make a huge difference throughout my day.

How can you add more sleep to your night?