There is an undeniable magic in surrounding yourself with inspiration.  
I invite you to surround yourself with words and objects that inspire you!
Put it in your classroom, but don't forget your car, your school bag, your bathroom mirror, and your closet.  
The places that are often ignored are important, too.
You never know what moment might be the one that words sink deeply into your soul like a gentle rain on parched earth. 

You might have loads of inspiration already, but if you want to gather some more, check out my etsy shop, Brave Inspiration.  It's filled with art prints that include inspiring quotes.  I would be honored to have you check it out, and while you're looking around let some words soak into your soul.

​Wishing you magical inspiration for your new year!

The gift of affirmations has been powerful in my life.  I'm relearning how to use them as a powerful tool.

Today I have a gift for you--a printable poster of affirmations for Brave Teachers.  I hope you will print a copy for you and then print one to hang up where other teachers can see it--the workroom or restroom are two good bets.

​I hope you have an amazing weekend, and I look forward to bringing you more magic on Monday morning!

There is so much magic in the process of making!
Making something with your hands.
Creating.
Gaining the confidence to say, "I can do that."
You might make something to eat with your students or something to give away.
You might make a small garden or a reading clubhouse from appliance boxes.  (An local store might even deliver them to you.)
​One of my favorites is making art with kids.  One place I wrote about it is HERE.
Making is a powerful component missing from so many kids' lives.
​It would be HUGE Magic for you to ignite that spark in your students.
Can you find a way for kids to use their hands?  How?  Please let me know.  I'm curious!

Adding magic to your lessons and your students' learning does NOT have to be super difficult or complicated! 

The easiest place to start is in Science and/or Social Studies.  If you need a starting point, begin with doing some demonstrations with just a few volunteers coming up to assist.  This means the mess is contained to one area, but the students are still taking a more passive path of learning. 

If you want to step it up a bit, make the lessons hands on.  Let the kids do the complete demos on their own.  This works great in stations set up around the classroom and students divided into small groups.  If you're students aren't used to this you will need to train them how to simple work as a group and clean up before they move on.  It's so worth it for a bit of magic and pizazz that your students will really remember.

HERE is a place I wrote a bit about a specific set of hands on learning.

​Where might you add some magic to your lessons this year?
How can you keep it simple with the focus on learning?

​Have some fun with this one!  If you enjoy the magic, it will be contagious to your students!

Monday mornings are tough for teachers.  At least they were for me when I was in the classroom.  It was a time of overwhelm and self shaming.  I couldn't believe how much stuff I didn't get done over the weekend.  (Even though my expectations were unrealistic and I usually gave at least 8 hours to work every weekend--sometimes more.)

I'm throwing you a challenge today. . .

What can you do to make Mondays MAGICAL for you this school year?

Can you meet a friend for breakfast?  Take an early morning yoga class?  Only hold onto the things that truly must be done for the new week?  Commit a random act of kindness for a coworker or students each week?  Plan something every Monday after work that you really look forward to doing?

And when you get that one handled, how about this challenge:

What can you do to make Mondays MAGICAL for your students?

Can you invite in guest readers each Monday?  Have a special time of sharing or class meeting on Monday?  Do some wake up exercises every Monday morning?  Work on a special project just on Monday?  Have them commit random acts of kindness on Monday?

What ever it is, I'd love to hear from you!
and 
​I'm trying to think of how to make Mondays Magical right here!

I've loved this Rumi quote, and it has guided me over the past few years.  I hope you will let these words magically soak into your heart as you prepare, plan, and begin the new year.

I don't even have words for how important kindness is.
It's essential to have kindness for self and others.
Kindness is perceived as weakness.
Do whatever you can to change that perception.
Teaching kindness by example is one of the most important things you can do.
It is difficult.  
It takes time.
Do it anyway.
It takes so long for kindness to begin to grow and take root.
Nurture it.

One of my favorite activities was making kindness wands with my students.  We always made two--one to keep and one to give to someone else.  You can read a bit more about this HERE.

What do you do to teach, model, and nurture kindness?

I first published these tips over on an old blog Tales of This Fourth Grade Teacher, and today I publish it here just for you!

1.  Know your limits and stick to them--know how much time you will commit in a day/a week/ a month/ a year to the tasks you need to do--planning/grading/cleaning/set up/ extra stuff.  
2. Be realistic and stick to it.  For example:  I have 30 minutes to grade, and that is all today.
3. Close out distractions from your personal work time--no internet, friends, kids, coworkers, etc.  The time moves fast, and you know what you have to do.  Carve out that quiet work time and keep it sacred.
4. Say NO! politely but firmly.  Some ways to say it are:  “I wish I could, but I’m not able to add anything extra right now.”  “That sounds like a good idea, but it doesn’t line up with my goals right now.”  “I wish you well, but I am not able to participate at this time.”
5. Do something that brings you joy every single day--cook, walk around your block, knit, play with your kids, clean your house, listen to music, whatever it is for you.  It might be very simple like smile as you walk down the street.  You are only able to give from the overflow of your joy, so keep your joy well filled and overflowing!
6. Honor your humanity.  You are not a teaching machine or robot.  You are a human being.  When you recognize and accept this in your self it will be much easier to recognize and accept in other people--especially your students.
7. Practice being present.  Stop and look at people when they are speaking to you.  Don’t let your mind wander.  Really be there.  In the long run it saves time and resources.
8. Keep guilt and shame at bay--they will steal your joy and deflate your effectiveness.
9. Move your body every day--and I don’t mean around your classroom--unless your dancing around before or after school!  Preferable move outside. 
10. Fuel your body with the best nutrition you can.  Be intentional about the ways you fuel your body.  The better the nutrition you put in the more effectiveness you will be able to put out.  {On days when you eat a bag of M&Ms, accept it, let it go and move on.  Refer to number 8}
11.   Spend as much time in nature that you can.  Vitamin D from the sun is a big deal.  Moving outside is a big deal.  Time in nature is proven to improve mood and overall outlook. 
12.   Get enough rest.  This is more than just sleep, and sleep is very important.  Plan down time for yourself and your family.
13. Learn something new.  This can be for your job or just for fun.  Take a pottery class.  Learn to salsa.  Whatever is going to keep you moving forward in your life.
14.   Don’t get sidetracked by other people’s ideas.  There will always be other people who are doing amazing things that are different than you.  Don’t let yourself be filled with doubt because you aren’t doing what someone else is doing.  You bring your A game, and don’t worry about someone else’s A game.
15. Ask for help.  When you are feeling overwhelmed, ask for help.  It doesn’t mean you will get it, but keep asking different people.  Eventually the person who was meant to come along side you will be there.
16. Have a place and way to vent.  It might be a long run on Saturday morning or a glass of wine with a good friend.
17.   Don’t worry that you’re not doing things the way everyone else is.  Some people will always be ahead of you, and some people will always be behind you.  The important thing is that you know where you are going.
18. Have a good support network.  For me the best support community turned out to be online and outside of education circles.
19.   Accept people as they are, and know that we can only change about 10% of ourself.  People have set personalities.  Accept this.  Your only able to change one person, and that is you!  Accept this.
20.   Make a gratitude list.  It might be something you write down or it might be an informal and mental part of your bedtime ritual before you fall asleep.
21.   Accept the fact that not all people are trustworthy.  Decide what part of your life you want to be public {it might be big or small} and then fiercely guard the part that you want to keep private.  
22.   Social media is rarely your friend--see #21
23.   Remember when people are mean they are usually broken and hurting.  Their behavior says much more about them than you--especially if they make it public.  You do NOT need to engage with them EVER
24.   Behave with integrity.  Keep your word.  Respect other people.  This is a lost are, but many years ago my dad said, “You will sleep better every night if you do the right thing.”
25. Choose kindness whenever possible.  It’s always possible.  {I’ve seen those words credited to the Dali Lama and Mother Theresa.}  Sometimes the kindest thing we can do is walk away or stay quiet.

This is a special invitation to you to join us for a magical month to kick off a magical year!  This month I will be pulling out old posts, creating some new content, providing activities and offering suggestions to make this a magical year for you and your students.

I believe that every brave teacher has a  unique way in which you bring enthusiasm, energy, and inspiration to your class.  No one else does it exactly like you, brave teacher.  That is your magic!  

Over the next several weeks as your school year begins, I will be cheering you on!

​Let's make this a magical year, brave teachers!

I was reminded this week with what would have been Maya Angelou's 90th birthday of the opportunity I had about a dozen years ago of hearing her speak.  We were in an enormous theater with thousands in the audience, but I felt like she was speaking to me.  She was speaking into my soul with honesty and humor and wisdom and authenticity.  She was so eloquent and saucy.

Her words always inspire me to strive toward authenticity.  It was not an ideal of my upbringing, so it is uncomfortable.  Being myself is something I am growing into.

So, Brave Teacher, how are you doing with embracing your amazing authenticity?
How do you show up in a place that most often honors conformity and stay true to you?
How do you support and honor authenticity in your students?

May we rise to the challenge of becoming our amazing selves a bit more each day.

The Friday Freebie is a little watercolor and marker poster with the Maya Angelou quote that you can print or save to your computer.  You can find it here:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B98mbYRaEywlMTZIelM0LWQxcGc

Wishing you a weekend filled with blessing and warmth and moments of authenticity
xo Brave Mim