Classroom jobs are a great classroom tool, both to manage transitions in the classroom smoothly, increase time spent in the TL (target language), and to help create a culture that is special to each class. It helps create a bond between the students and brings everyone together as a team. There are many great blog posts about classroom jobs, however these are the jobs that have worked best for me, in an elementary setting. Many of them were inspired by Ben Slavic's work. Some are unique (as far as I know). I've promised to blog about the jobs that work well in my room many times; and have finally found time at the airport on the way back from presenting at the incredible CiMidwest. To save you some time, I am including a free download to my job badges. My students wear these in lanyards around their necks. In previous years I have used props to identify jobs, but for elementary students the props were a big distraction. They are proud to wear the badges, but mess with them less, so this works better for me. Download your copy (if you are a Spanish teacher) here. If any teachers of other languages would like these, let me know, and I can delete the Spanish words and leave them blank so you can write in your own words.

What jobs do I use?  Read below for a list and a brief explanation of each job.

Artist - Draws characters or stories as they happen.  Can use these pictures for a retell, or add words to them and add them to your FVR library.

Writer - Writes the story in Spanish or in English.  Helps me keep track of what is going on in each story.

The watch- tells teacher 5 minutes before the end of the class.  I often have so much fun with my students I forget to watch the time.

The boss - Walks around at the end of class and makes sure class is in order, doesn’t clean the mess, tells others to pick up after themselves.

Host-  Greets visitors, offers them a comfy place to sit (can kick kids out of the best seats if they say it in the TL (target language)  and a glass of water.

Doctor- If someone sneezes, stands up and says 1,2,3 and class says ‘salud’.  Escorts kids to the office for injury or illness if necessary.

The door- Answers the door during class and asks for the password if letting people into the class.

Points- adds class points or teacher points for me when I am too far away from my point place.

Props- Brings me props (or retrieves props we throw across the room).

Calendar - Changes calendar date, and helps me with the calendar (older students can lead calendar)

Mini Teacher -  Passes out or collects paper , turns off lights, and brings me things from across the room, and chooses two helpers to quickly pass out badge jobs at the start of class. At first I call out the Spanish words and they pass them out.  When they have acquired the words they call out the jobs in the TL too. 

Designer- If the room does not look good when they enter the classroom, the designer fixes it up (and can pick a friend to help)

Spy- Takes top secret messages from me anywhere in the school they need to go (the office, another teacher) sneaky like...  They also "spy" on kids during class and report to me when kids speak English (so I can give myself points).  The spy also reports to me when students speak in the TL OUTSIDE of class.  So I can give the class points.  This is the MOST popular job.  It also gets the kids speaking lots of Spanish outside of the class, because they hope the spy will report on them.  I don't care how many points my class gets (see here for a link to La Maestra Locas' blog and an explanation of the point system I use). 

No English- If this person hears someone speaking English they have to say ‘No English, Spanish Spanish’ in the target language. If they say it before I can get to the board to give myself a point, I cannot give myself any points. 

King or Queen- Makes decisions I don’t want to in the story (usually low pressure decisions like where someone lives).

Expert- Makes up details we don’t know in a story (how fast a car is, how far away the sun is, etc.).  Whatever they say, we "believe" for the story.  For example, if I asked the 'expert' what the fastest car in the world was, and they say 'a school bus', we are going with a super fast school bus for the rest of the story.  

Computer Crew (3-4)- When we use computers they are in charge of re-setting computers for the next class, plugging them in (if necessary) and making sure headphones are wrapped.

Sub- Takes the job of any and ALL absent students

The below jobs fall away when students do not need to hear the English anymore. 

What? - When we say ‘qué’ (what in Spanish) the “What” person, stands up, shrugs their shoulders and says “What” in the voice of Gato, from El Perro y el Gato.  Not very helpful if you are not a Spanish teacher.  Perro y Gato video at the bottom of this post in case you haven't seen it. 

Who? - Says ‘who who’ like an owl when I say ‘quién’ in the TL

Where? - Looks back and forth quickly and says where, where, in a scared voice (as if looking for a monster) when they hear the word ‘where’ in the TL.

When? - Taps on an imaginary watch, and says ‘when, when’ in an annoyed voice when we say ‘when’ in the TL

How- Says ‘how how’  in a shocked voice (as if they broke their favorite toy) when we say ‘how’ in the TL.  

Why? -  Raises their hands and says ‘why’ in an anxious voice when we say ‘por qué’

Because- Says ‘because’ in a annoyed voice when we say ‘because’ in the TL.

How much- Makes money sign with fingers when we say ‘how much’ in the TL.  

Translator- helps new students or guests in the room

That's it, my favorite jobs.  I used to have classroom actors too, but almost all my students want to act, so I have decided to not make it a job, to give more students the spotlight. 

​Hope that helps, let me know if you have any questions! 


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This is the second time I have helped organize a conference (the first time last year at MittenCi).  Even with a great team of people (Grant, Haiyun, Marta and Kelly are incredible); it is a crazy amount of work, exhausting, and a bit consuming.  Especially as I am a full time teacher, and a mom to three. However, if I am asked to do it again next year, I know I will say yes in a heartbeat.  Why do we say yes to these endeavors over and over and keep coming back?  

Equity and inclusivity, for our students, and for ourselves. If you have never been to a conference there is nothing quite like it.  As language teachers, we are often the only teacher in our school, or part of a small group.  Sometimes overlooked, or left to our own devices, it is easy to feel isolated and to lose the bigger vision of our full potential. Especially when you see the benefits to your colleagues of being able to talk to others that teach what they teach every day. When you attend a language conference you realize that you have a whole family of people who are making the journey with you.  Even though we can connect on Facebook, there is nothing quite like connecting to other people that are passionate about the same type of teaching you do in person. People who understand your struggles and triumphs.  Who can renew and inspire you and encourage you to keep on doing the amazing things you do for your students.  Your words, comments, or lesson ideas, may have helped inspired someone you've never met.  You may have been inspired by someone that needs to hear that they are making a difference.  When we connect with other teachers that share our passions, there is nothing quite like the inspiration it gives you to keep doing what you are doing.
"Don't reinvent the wheel" is a popular saying, but as language teachers, we often have to build our materials and ideas in isolation.  Talking to others that teach what you teach, getting new ideas, and figuring out how to fit them into what you already do, is empowering.  I never leave a conference without a notebook worth of things I want to try.  I often bookmark great ideas on blogs or facebook groups, that I never actually make it back to because I need more details before I proceed.  At a conference, I always leave with things I can try immediately.  Even last night, after a full day of writing down brilliant ideas; I was sharing favorite Movie Talks with the brilliant Carla Tarini (and re-writing my lesson plans for next week in my head).  Walking away from a conference, I never fail to feel inspired and ready to bring the world to my students.   

Our brains are wired to see the world as "us" VS "them".  This is a part of our ancestral drive to prosper.  As hunters and gatherers it was critical to our survival protect our family groups and tribes in order to flourish, and to survive we had to  be able to recognize dangers in others that are not part of our own groups.  However, we can do better. 
Neuroscience shows that when we point out the similarities between ourselves and people who look, talk, or act differently; when we explain the meaning behind cultural practices that may be scary because they are the unknown, our brains start to reframe how we see others.  We are no longer "us and them" we are "us and us".  We all live on this small, but beautiful rock, out in the middle of space.  No matter our countries of origin, our skin colors, our religious, cultural (or even political beliefs) we are all in this TOGETHER.  In a time when politicians and the forces that propel our world seem determined to point out our differences, and reinforce the "us VS them" mentality, we have a unique chance and responsibility to make a difference.  One student at a time, one day at a time.  We can connect our students to people and places that they might never have seen, in ways that we might never have imagined, within our communities, and with the world at large.  We have a chance to connect our students to their own full potential and to help them see the beauty and possibility of greatness in others.  We have a chance to create future leaders that see the "us" that humanity needs to reach a world that is inclusive and equitable for all. ​ Walking through the halls yesterday, listening to the different languages being spoken, and connecting with new and old faces, all I saw was us and us and us and us.  And that is a beautiful thing. 

"Building relationships is the single most important thing we can do as teachers."  - Bob Patrick, Keynote, CIMidwest2017

We all know that students do best when we personalize lessons to where they are at in their lives. To their own interests, abilities, and journeys.  This can be a tricky task, and overwhelming, especially when you first start out in the CI world.  Listening to other teachers share their struggles, triumphs and best ideas is the path to the skills needed to personalize what we do for our students.  It doesn't matter if it is your first conference, or your 50th, the ideas that you walk away with will advance you farther along the road to a program that can meet each of our students where they are at in the moment.  Which is where we need to meet them if we are to help them reach their full potential.  I was not able to attend any full sessions as I had confernce responsibilities.  However for the sessions I was able to sit in on I learned so much that I can use to open the world to my students. As always, I wish I could have attended ALL the sessions. 
In Bob Patrick's session I learned about no stress ways to teach CI and avoid burnout.  From dictations, to using a same story in multiple ways.  These are important words for teachers to here.  In Justin Slocum Bailey's session I found new ways to do PQA that my students will love. Craig's Klein's session had incredible ideas on how to use curiosity and humor to compel student interest in their language learning.  From Amy Vanderdeen I learned new ways to increase the size of my FVR (free voluntary reading) library, and from Becky Moulton I learned about the need to mentor others, and how to do so with compassion and grace.  
As always, my only true regret at this conference, was not being able to see and talk to everyone.  We need a whole week, and sometimes even that is enough.  I wish I could have spent time talking to all the attendees, and listening to all the presenters.  Whether I learned from you, simply crossed paths in the hall, waved at you across the room, or shared a heartfelt moment of collegiality, thank you for being a part of something incredible.  The chance to make our classrooms, and yes even the world at large, an equitable, inclusive, and personally beautiful place for all.  Hope to see everyone next year on Sept. 29th, at CiMidwest2018. 

Friday at school a new para-pro walked into my room, and I had one of those moments where I was pretty sure I was looking at a former student, that I couldn't quite place.  In my defense, it turns out I had her two 3-week stretches, during a year where I taught 800 students 10 years earlier, so she understood my not recognizing her.   She said she remembered me because she never forgot learning the German* alphabet after 3 weeks in my class (not to interrupt the flow of the story, but if you are wondering WHY she remembers German from my class when I am a Spanish teacher see the asterisk at the bottom of the post).

She remembered the German alphabet after 3 weeks in my class 10 years before,  because I am a believer in trying to seize the little moments in the teaching day to squeeze in extra input.  I didn't spend much time directly teaching the alphabet (even before being a CI teacher). We only have so much time with the students, and every second counts, and they need all the input we can give them.  When I taught her class German all those years ago, I squeezed the alphabet into my 3 weeks by saying it as I spelled out words, singing/chanting the alphabet with the class when we passed out papers, and/or transitioned between activities, and quick games that lasted less than 5 minutes. These small moments that could be left open to students to get off task are the perfect chance to fit in more comprehensible input.  When we had it down in song form, we did it in a call and response chant.  I even had baseball parents tell me that 6th grade boys team sang the alphabet song, our number songs, and the what is your name song in German on the way to games.  I love hearing about students doing class activities in their free time. To me, it is the best kind of success when they want to keep doing the language on their own. 

FVR (Free Voluntary Reading) is one of the best ways to increase our student's language acquisition, but there have been lots of great posts about FVR, and this will not be one of them.  Instead the focus is other ways to sneak input into the little moments of our day-to-day.

Focused brain breaks help.  One way I did this with the alphabet was a "race" that took roughly 3 minutes of class time.  Each student was randomly given a letter of the alphabet on a notecard. The goal of the race was to to put the alphabet down on a chair at the front of the class in the right order. The race begins when the student holding the card with the "a" calls out "I have the a" in target language.  Stands up and runs the a to the chair at the front of the room, turns and runs back to their seat.  They must sit down before the next student can stand up yell "I have the b" and race the letter to the teacher in the same manner (we time ourselves with a stop-watch and try to beat our best time, and other classes). 
This could be done with a sequential story the kids know well, numbers, or an activity where one action has to happen before the next action happens (as long as students are familiar with the vocabulary ahead of time). 
It doesn't matter what you would like your student to acquire, there are many novel ways to fit in extra input.   I have more games for the alphabet like Face Off, which can be played with numbers as well as letters.  Brain breaks, and transition times can be used in ways such of these to fit small doses of input in novel ways.  
You can read about more mini Games for bursts of input by clicking on the word games for more details about variations.  

​Another brain break that has been a small moment gone big, is the game "For you/for me".  Inspired by the more 'aggressive' hand slapping game I played as a kid.  In the kinder and gentler adaptation of the game two players stand across from each other.  One player holds out their hands to the other player as if they are offering them something (my students pretend there is invisible chocolate in there hands).  The player holding out the 'chocolate' (we can call him Kevin) says in the target language "for you" to their friend (we can call the friend Bob).  Bob tries to grab the imaginary chocolate.  When Bob reaches for the chocolate Kevin yanks his hands back quickly and says in the target language (for me). If Bob does not touch Kevin's hands before he takes them back; play continues and Kevin says 'for you' again in the target language (para ti/para mí).  If Bob touches Kevin's hands (and the invisible chocolate) before Kevin takes his hands back, they switch roles.  Now Bob offers the invisible chocolate and Kevin tries to grab it.

My students LOVE this game and it is so quick that it is good for when there is a technology problem or I have to answer the phone. I knew 'Para mí/ Para ti"  was a hit when teaching it for the first time to a new rotation of students (so I had taught this game to other 3rd grade classes, but not this particular class).  When I started to teach the game, one of the students called out, "Oh...so that's what everyone was playing in the bus line."

What makes this game even better, is that they have acquired the language from this game.  "For You/For Me" in class has allowed me to jokingly say "for me" when I see students with treats or trading cards in the hall.  This is a great way to bring the language into other parts of their school day.  They always yank their item back and say "for me" in the target language when I pretend to reach for it.  The other day I walked by students in the hall carrying a plate of cookies.  All of them yelled out "¿Para mí?" Joking with students in Spanish is music "para mí" any day. This game has been a hit as young as Kindergarten.  

Cootie catchers with PQA questions to spur conversation among students are another small thing gone big that sneaks in extra input. Whenever I use a cootie catcher for PQA I get extra CI in for my students in two ways.  First, we fold the cootie catcher as a class, all directions given in Spanish of course.  The students are glued to these directions as the desperately want to make a cootie catcher on their own.  They count in Spanish as they play with them (check out the video below if you haven't used them before) and play with these at recess, on the bus, and at home (and sometimes even when they are not supposed to, think fidget spinner big people)! 

Teaching kids handclap games are also a great way to get them practicing Spanish outside of the classroom as they love to show off their skills to friends.  I spent part of a class teaching this to my first graders, made the video below available on the website, and had students sending me videos of mastering it at home the same night. 

I learned about story retells from Blaine Ray at a training,and they a favorite way to push Spanish out of the classroom are story retells (where they use dolls, toys, friends, family members or pictures to retell a class story to a friend are also a big hit with kids and parents).

You can also bring Spanish home by encouraging kids to watch shows, or cartoons inSpanish.  I give my students optional homework.  Each week, they have the option to play on my website (where I make 3 or 4 of the 'buttons' found here (free), available for them).   Each button includes cartoons, stories, games and music that go along with what we are doing in class.  

Students have the option of playing on the above website, playing on Sr. Wooly (if they are in 2nd or 3rd grade), or playing on Du0lingo.  Students usually prefer my website or Sr. Wooly if they are older.  I have 500 students, and generally get 500 to 2000 hits on my website a week.  Students who go regularly (proudly self reported) show noticeable gains in class, and parents report students love doing "Spanish homework" at home.  

A class 'pet' that goes home with a different student each class also increases time spent with the TL.  The student names the pet, answers some PQA style questions about it, and prints or draws a picture (or sends one to me to print) with the pet.  They speak Spanish with the pet at home and take them out around the town with them.  I have had very shy students take the "Spanish pet" to Mexican restaurants and end up going back to speak with the kitchen staff and other servers at the restaurant in Spanish when they explained what the pet was from.  To read more about this project, click here. 
The video on the left was made by a Kindergarten student and her 2nd grade brother (he narrated and she acted it out).  The second video was made by the same two students the following year.  They made these videos for fun, and were so excited to share (shared here with permission).  

Other ways I try to sneak language in during the day are at the start and end of the day.  Whenever I can, I greet students in the morning in the target language with, "hello", "good morning", and comments on the weather.  I love it when students start joking around with me about the weather (i.e. saying "It's hot out" when it is snowing, etc. and laughing as if it it is the funniest joke).  Then they start joking around with it each other that way as well.  

I also take advantage of times the whole school is gathered together and waiting for an assembly or in line to sing Spanish songs that all the students know, both impressive to non-speakers and a great way to bring the Spanish speaking outside of the classroom when the whole school sings or dances in Spanish.  Greeting students in the hall, or asking a student how they are or about their weekend in the hall are all great ways to sneak in even more TL.  

​All these small moments increase student input in big ways. I have been very happy with the results in my own students.  Many of these tricks may already be known, but I hope that you learned a way to increase your student's time in the target language!  

*If you know me, you may be confused by the fact that the student remembers German from my class when I am a Spanish teacher.  In my 13 years in my district I have taught many things as my certifications qualify me to teach in the classroom, and also Science and Spanish up to 8th grade.  Although I taught Spanish my entire career in one form or another (be it as an after school program, summer program, or in the classroom); I have also taught 3rd grade, 5th grade, Intro to Spanish/French/German, Quest(K-3 Science), Middle School Spanish, Academic Support, and Elementary Spanish (5 years now).  ​​

Our modern lifestyle is generally more sedentary then that of our evolutionary ancestors.  Whereas they spent large portions of their day walking long distances, lifting heavy things, sprinting, and stretching as needed; we tend to sit a lot more and move a lot less in general.  While we move less, we still are incredibly busy, and the idea of finding the time to work out can be overwhelming.  I know that with working full time and three little kids at home, the days of going to the gym or spending two hours doing yoga are over for me (at least for now).  Many nights I can barely keep  my eyes open long enough to get the kids in bed and fold the laundry (many nights the laundry pile grows instead of being folded).  I often do not feel like I have enough time for playing with my kids or leisure activities as it is, but I like being active, and the benefits of an active lifestyle are many.   In fact, recent studies say that are sedentary lifestyle is extremely bad for us.  Read about this in depth here or here:  Sitting is the new Smoking.   Unfortunately, the effects of a sedentary lifestyle are not reversed by exercise and diet, so it is important we start moving now.  There are many benefits to getting ourselves moving. 

Benefits of aerobic exercise, resistance training, and yoga include: 

• Neurogenesis: increased neural growth in the brain. 
• Protects memory and cognitive function
• Increased stamina
• Activates the immune system
• Decreases blood pressure
• Controls blood sugar
• Strengthens your heart
• Boosts mood
• Keeps arteries clear
• Improves sleep
• Improves balance
• Increased flexibility
• Increased relaxation
• Protects your bone
• Increases life span

The problem is of course, in spite of all the great benefits I do not have that much time in my day.  Although I can't get to the gym, I have found ways to 'sneak' fitness into my day that have given me results that work for me. By this I mean, I feel stronger, more flexible, and have more energy.  I do NOT have the "perfect body", this was not, and is not my goal.  If your goal is also overall good health, strength and flexibility below are my tips for fitting in fitness when there isn't any time!  Of course, I am not a doctor or yoga teacher so consult with a professional if you are worried about injury or health risks. 

 2)  Mid-morning or after lunch I do the forward bends as is in the set above.  After lunch or at the end of the school day I do a more challenging lunge set.  I start with Warrior 2 (first picture), then add a bending lunge (second picture) and a twisting lunge (third picture).  In the twisting lunge, you can get an even deeper twist, if you twist the opposite way.  After I do the lunge poses, I hold downward dog for an extra set, and then do yoga push ups.  How many push ups should you do?  As many as you can do and still do them correctly.  Once they are easy, add another.  I started with 5 yoga pushups, and now I do 15 (but I added extras slowly over time).  If you want to see perfect Yogis doing these poses, you can Google them easily.  Please excuse the selfies below, I couldn't find pictures that would show the actual poses without taking them myself or paying for them.  I had planned to re-take them in looser clothing, but realized I would never get around to it, and thus never publish this post, so I went with what I captured on my first (and only) attempt.  

I do the evening yoga poses as is in the 7 Yoga Poses to do everyday set before bed.  

​For those that have the time to add a little bonus strength training to their week,  I highly recommend this 5 minute yoga routine for your arms 3 to 5 times a week.  
If you are new to yoga, or worried about flexibility you may want to start with these poses. Yoga should be a stretch, and may strain muscles occasionally, but it should not hurt.  If a pose hurts, you probably have something that is not lined up correctly.  I recommend stopping, and researching or taking a class if necessary to correct these errors, you don't want to hurt yourself!

Aerobic exercise is slightly harder for me to fit in, as I don't have a long block of time in which I can do it.  I fit little bursts of increased heart rate throughout the day by doing things like running up and down the stairs (often two at a time).  I even do this at school if I don't think anyone is looking (though I don't recommend this if you are worried about falling. I will volunteer to get things on a different floor so that I get an extra chance to move sometimes. In class, if I notice my students looking tired we will stand up and do some in class jumping jacks or fast walking together.  There are lots of ways to do little TPRS/CI (comprehensible input) workouts. These are good for you and the students, and can increase energy and learning ability.  My students and I dance, run virtual obstacle courses, jump, run, walk, and do yoga all in the target language.  Studies show that students often retain information better when it is tied to physical exercise.   
​I've also started doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) three or four days a week.  There are 10 years worth of studies showing that HIIT training can provide many of the same benefits of longer aerobic workouts.  I've only been doing this for about a month, so can't attest to it being the perfect answer to needing to fit more cardio in, but it gets my heart beating faster, is fun, and can be done in about 10 minutes.  I'll update this post if I keep it up and find benefits. 

In addition to all of the above, I go for walks, bike ride, play the tickle monster, and have dance parties with my kids.  None of this is done with the goal of working out, but just to have fun while moving!    

I hope this post helps a busy teacher (or anyone) sneak some extra fitness into your day.  If you have other tips, or favorite fun activities to help others get moving, please share in the comments! 

Earlier this week I finished re-reading the book "Social, Why Our Brains are Wired to Connect". Social, is incredibly COMPELLING input but, also a lot to take in, so I am giving myself an extra "repetition"by reading again.  ;) 
The author argues that our need to connect with others like us, is an incredibly fundamental part of what makes us happiest as human beings.  He also argues (and backs up with an impressive amount of data), that we are happiest when we are working with others.  He gives compelling evidence that we are capable of incredible things when our brains work together. Our true potential can not be reached when we work in isolation (as many of us do during the school year).  The value of this conference both to improving our profession, and to ourselves as human beings is immeasurable.  I feel lucky to have been able to share the weekend with so many inspiring educators. Before I forget about all the wonderful experiences this week (and before I totally crash tomorrow night) here is a bit (or maybe a LOT)  about IFLT17. 

Please forgive the errors in this post, I always think I will sleep at conferences and I always end up a bit sleep deprived instead. If I wait till I have laid down on the couch tonight I am afraid I will miss capturing the excitement of the weekend (and/or this post would not happen). :) 

At IFLT17 language acquisition super stars (I promise I didn't photo shop myself into the above photo ;) and other teachers from across the world come together to support each other and work together to push the profession into new territory.   All these brains and this knowledge working together to improve the profession is inspiring and up-lifting. Every time block at IFLT this year (much like last year) had multiple sessions I wanted to attend.  It is always so hard to choose.  But choices were made, and here are a few of the great things I learned.  I wish I had time to attend ALL the sessions!  

I ended up on the same flight on the way to IFLT as Teri Wiechart.  I felt lucky to get to spend some time in conversation with Teri. She is such a kind person, and has done so much to help spread language acquisition.  Monday started with Coaching4Coaches with Teri and her incredibly talented team of coaches.  This class was something I needed.  TPRS and CI are skills that needs a lot of practice.  Coaching is an art, and I learned much that I can bring back to my district and to other teachers from her class.  This class will be invaluable in helping newer teachers in our district.  I am so grateful to her for all her work on IFLT.  Also, for the incredible IFLT App that Teri manages.  I can not possibly name everyone that should be thanked for IFLT (I do have to go to sleep at some point, caffeine can only get you so far). However, it is impossible to mention IFLT without mentioning Carol Gaab.  Even when she talks to an auditorium full of people, she makes it seem as if she is talking right to you.  Both kind, incredibly energetic, and a powerful advocate for teachers.  I am so grateful for the work that Carol, Teri, and all of their team has done. 

The keynote was given by the prolific and compelling Sr. Wooly.  He spoke about something that can be a source of stress for language teachers, the worry that we are not "authentic" sources of language for our students because we are not native speakers. If we are not authentic (after all our years of practice), what are we telling our students about their potential for learning a language? His talk connected with the audience and is important to hear.  Knowing that someone who has accomplished as much as Sr. Wooly has, worries about their authenticity as a teacher (which is something I think we all question sometimes) is empowering.  Greatness does not often happen without a few failures first.  A failure is just a step along the path.  

After the keynote was the busiest part of IFLT for me.  First  I guided a forum on Language Acquisition with pre-literate students with teachers from around the world.  Although I had a list of 6 or 7 questions, we spent most of our time on the first two questions because we had so much to say to each other.  Loved having the time to speak with other educators working with young children. While there are three other elementary teachers in our district, I am the only language teacher in my building with my 500 students.  I may be incredibly excited about something I've done in my classroom, or a major leap in my understanding with my students progress, but nobody at my building would get why I am excited.  My IFLT  support network is an invaluable resource both for sharing ideas and improving my practice (which is probably why I post so much). Hooray for the FB group!

After the Forum I headed off for my first Leader Launch Session on Games in the CI Classroom.  Games can be a great way to get lots of repetitions of very, very compelling CI. I was a camp counsellor, have taught for 12 years, and have three kids, so I have a lot of games up my sleeve. It was fun to share some of my favorites with a room full of enthusiastic teachers. After my games forum, I headed off to talk about another of my favorite topics, the brain and learning.  The Mirror and Mentalizing System in action in the classroom were the main topics of my presentation.  Thank you for taking the time to listen if you spent part of your morning with me.    If you are interested in the material from any of my presentations, check out the link here. 

After lunch I went to see the energetic, fun, and very, very talented Maestra Loca.  If you have not seen her blog, check it out right away.  Even if you do not have her energy, or teach a different grade, there is something you can learn for your classroom from this talented teacher.  Her session was full of joy.  I was so happy to finally meet my elementary teaching partner in crime.  

The end of my first day was spent was Keith Toda playing Mafia in Latin.  I was killed off in the first practice round, but Keith made it up to me by letting me be Mafia the second round. ;) La Maestra Loca already has a great post about his session, but he definitely gave me a few new ideas for Bad Unicorn (which speaking of) an impromptu game sprang up one night, it was so much fun to play with a group of language teachers from across the country. I happened to have Unicornio Malo cards in my room because I was going to explain how to play in my session if there was time (there wasn't, I chronically plan too much both in my classroom and when I present). I wish we had been able to play in another language (no chart paper or places to write)!
​

Wednesday I spent the morning with Mira Canion and Kelly Ferguson learning about ways to include culture while staying in the CI.  Lots of practical ideas to implement right away in the classroom, good for teaching culture, and inspiring deeper thinking.  Mira and Kelly are both funny and personable presenters.  They also talked about coffee a lot, which was very compelling for me first thing in the morning. ;)  My students will totally be geeked I met the author of "Capibara con botas', which is another bonus.

I record a lot of videos with my students, but have never been to film school (or sadly read any books about filmmaking). Learning the basics with Sr. Wooly and Kelly Ferguson taught me a lot about how to make  videos for and by my students WAY better.  I cannot wait to see what I can produce with and for my students applying these new techniques. I also laughed so hard during the final session in this presentation that my stomach hurt (which is a good thing).  Here is an early attempt at editing from my group's video.  It was so fun to make this video with a group of peers that I had met in the facebook groups, but never in person.  We can continue to support each other through out the year this way.

Next were "Lunch Time Talks" with Leslie Davison.  We had roughly 100 teachers each day, willing to spend even their lunches learning from each other.  How powerful is that? Lunch time talks can be more stressful than a longer presentation, because they are only 5 minutes and go so quickly. Everyone did a great job, and it was fun to learn different things from faces across the country.  I gave a Lunch Time Talk about using breathing to control stress. To learn more, click here. The lunch time talks were well done, and I learned so much that I am looking forward to investigating.  Thank you to the fun and knowledgeable Leslie Davison for organizing these the last few years!

Next up was the phenomenal Jason Fritze of Fluency Fast talk about elementary procedures.  I could hardly write fast enough to keep up with his great ideas. Sadly my phone was dead, so I got no picture, but I do have many pages full in my notebook! I finished up my day with coaching.  It was great to be able to start working with other CI teachers and learn from each other' s teaching.  I appreciate all the coaches, but am especially grateful to Gary Di Bianca for letting me coach and learn with him.

I had heard for many years to go see Alina teach if you ever had a chance, and Thursday it finally happened.  Not only did I get Alina, but Mira Canion popped in, and the two ended up working together for much of the lesson.  They made a hilarious and entertaining team for students and teachers in the session. All were compelled and comprehending incredible amounts for beginning students.  Must like in the previous session my notebook filled up quickly!  I wish I had been able to fit in a language lab in Mandarin with the amazing Linda Li.  Maybe next year, since Ohio is within driving distance for me. 

After the language lab, and helping set up Lunch Time talks, I headed off to a Collaboration Room on Grammar in the brain with Kirsten Plante.  It was so much fun to meet someone as into the brain as I am, I am so happy we had time to discuss the brain in your group, the time flew by, and I hope we get to chat again in the future! 

​As with IFLT last year, my only regret is that I did  not have time to see and do more.  A lot more pictures than I normally post of myself in this blog, but I can hardly believe I was able to meet so many amazing educators in one place.  I wish I could have had time to work and learn with all of them.  I have collaborated with many of them online before, but there is something special about meeting in person.    

The value to ourselves as human beings to attend a conference like this is something that can only be experienced.  Coming together to work with other teachers that are excited about changing education for the good of students and teachers is like nothing else.  Discussing ideas in forums and collaboration rooms , creating projects, observing, questioning our practices, and all the excitement and laughter is something I wish that every teacher could experience, every year.  Our full potential as educators, is reached when we come together to learn from each other, and to support each other.  I will be a better teacher next year, because of everyone I met at this conference.  Whether it was learning new things to try with my students from La Maestra Loca, Alina or Jason, deciding to play a last minute game of Unicornio Malo when I was steps away from going to bed (I am so glad I stayed up) in the hotel lobby, making a video in Señor Wooly's Film Class that made ma laugh so hard my stomach hurt, or listening to Dr Krashen and BVP take our questions, each part of the conference helps grow our profession in different ways.  "I AM a language expert, language is NOT like other subject matter."  Thank you to Dr. Krashen and BVP for your wise words.  Thursday was the perfect end to the last full day of IFLT17.  

Friday morning went by quickly with a fascinating session on Assessments with Diana Noonan.  Assessment may not sound interesting unless you are a language dork, but for us teachers it can be compelling when done right.  My last session was with the dynamic Mark Mallaney.  I can't wait to bring his CI techniques back to the middle school teachers in my district. 

When I came to IFLT last summer, I promised myself I would only go to this 1 conference, and that I really wouldn't go to any again for a long time.  Halfway through the week I was already plotting my return.  This year, I "for real" promised myself I would not go next year (2018), because I definitely used up all of my teacher improvement money (and then some) to make IFLT2017 happen. However, I know already, that if I can make it work, I will be back again next year.  Having the support of your peers, and being able to work together to create practices that are infinitely better because we were able to learn from each other, is something that is incredible to be a part of, and hard to resist. I am so happy I was able to learn with so many amazing teachers this week!  

If you asked me for links to materials or to post parts of my sessions and I do not do so soon, please let me know, I just forgot (as I have said, sleep deprivation). :) 

Thank you to all the organizers, presenters, and coaches that made this happen.  Organizing a conference is a crazy amount of work.  I am truly grateful to all involved! 

Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel —Socrates

I have so many new ideas for next year, and even though I will enjoy the rest of the summer, I can't wait to get started, and to share the excitement with my students.  Thank you to everyone for a week well spent, I feel lucky to have been a part of it.  I hope to see everyone at a conference in the future (and on the FB groups of course).  Safe travels!!!

After my post about avoiding Burnout through breathing, sleep, and diet, I had quite a few questions about what exactly we eat, and finding the time to fit the food into a busy lifestyle.  This post has  more details about the diet and practical tips for getting started. If you haven't read the previous post, I suggest you start there, as this post is a follow up, and will make more sense if  you start with the first post.  The original post gives an explanation for why eating this way can improve your health, and I would not have tried this diet myself without knowing the why, as it involved some big changes to my eating habits.  It also includes some information about sleep, yoga, and deep breathing. This post though, is all about the food, which while it is also the most work, it is also where I experienced the biggest changes to my health.  
You are what you eat and when you eat the right foods, you go a long way towards good health. Although I spent many years sick and seeking treatment with conventional doctors (at least 10), it wasn't till I started experimenting with diet that I found my way to good health. Although I am not a doctor, and you should of course talk to a doctor before making diet changes if you have health problems, I write this in hopes that the years of research and experimenting I put into my health, will help you or a friend with your health.


In general we DO eat mostly vegetables (2 or 3 servings with every meal), then a single serving of protein, and some fruit).  We would eat nuts, eggs, and seeds if we could, but my  youngest is allergic so we do not have them in the house.  These are great and healthy ways to add variety to a healthy diet if you do not have allergies. 

In general we DO NOT EAT processed foods (other than occasional cheats), do not eat dairy (other than occasional cheats), do not eat items with added sugar (other than occasional cheats), and only eat grains once a week (other than occasional cheats).  Perhaps you've noticed a pattern of cheating?  That's because you can maintain health gains and weight loss as long as you come back to eating healthy.  I will go into more detail about how to find the ideal healthy to cheating ratio for yourself later (very scientific ;) ) but for the first month I recommend eating as close to the following rules as possible:
1) No dairy
2) No processed foods
3) No added sugar
4) No grains
Why?  Giving yourself a month (or as close as you can get) will give your body a chance to reset itself, and the need for sugar that eating the Standard American Diet (SAD).

Eating healthy ends up taking more time in the kitchen.  In spite of being married to a chef for many years, I managed to avoid learning a lot of how to do much in the way of cooking.  My clearly inferior skills in the kitchen were not needed, so I just helped a bit. I started this eating healthy with relatively few cooking skills, and preparing healthy food for the week took me a LONG and frustrating time, almost 4 hour of my Sunday to prep food for the week!  That prep included veggies, fruits, and proteins for lunch and breakfast.  When I t0ok the time to get everything in it's place (mise en place), by picking up a few key items for the kitchen, and a few important skills; I cut my time on food prep for the week in half, depending upon how much I wanted to get done (i.e. how lazy I felt about cooking on that day).   The two keys to less time in the kitchen needed (other than time to increase my skills) were good knives, and cutting techniques.  Chefs the world over have spent a lot of time defining the 'right' way to cut things.  The 'right' way is usually the most efficient way to cut the item (whether it be vegetable, fruit or meat).  Although my husband has a book about this, I often find it quicker and easier to just 'Google' how to cut whatever new item I am trying to prepare.  This step takes a lot of extra time at first, but if you are not already familiar with how to cut and prep your food, taking the time to establish the correct way to do it now, will save you lots of time in the future.  Videos like the examples below make it easy to pick up these skills!

Don't underestimate the importance of a good set of knives (this would not have occurred to me before I married my husband, so please excuse me if this seems to basic), but good knives make life much easier!  We used to have a set of Wutoff knives at home, but my husband uses them at work.  We bought a cheaper, but very functional  set on Amazon.  We chose these knives based on my husband's professional opinion, and the recommendations in the book "What Good Cooks Know" from America's Test Kitchen (which is by the way a great book to get if you need to stock up your kitchen).  We have the following knives at home (and love them).  If you can only get a few knives, start with the Chef's Knife, and the Pairing Knife. 

Victorinox 8 Inch Fibrox Pro Chef’s Knife - This is the knife I use most often in the kitchen!

Wüsthof Classic Paring Knife Classic - For smaller items.
If you want to stock up on a full set of knives we also like and use:

Victorinox Swiss Army 6 Inch Fibrox Pro Boning Knife with Flexible Blade
and...
Mercer Culinary Millennia 10-Inch Wide Bread Knife - We don't eat bread often, but when we do, this comes in handy! 

What exactly do I prep for the week on Sundays?  I usually cut fresh vegetables for salads (carrots, mushrooms, etc.), cook sweet potatoes and mushrooms for lunches, and prep meat or eggs for the week as well.  

Breakfast
Eggs are great breakfast food, and can be prepared quickly in a variety of ways.  Sadly, our youngest was born with 22 food allergies (which is a whole different story) so eggs are off our menu for now.  However when we could eat them, we had them most days for breakfast, one of three ways:

1) Egg Muffins:
 It's easy to make enough to last the week.  You can throw a wide variety of meats, vegetables, and/or herbs, into muffin trays, pour scrambled eggs on top of it, and cook in the muffin trays.  These can be put in the fridge and reheated each day of the week for about 5 days.  We limit cheese in our house (really limit it right now as my youngest is still allergic) but here are 12 recipes to get you started.

2) Hard Boiled Eggs in a Hurry:
If you need a faster breakfast try ​it's also easy to get perfectly done hardboiled eggs by baking them in the oven when you don't have the time for egg muffins.  Read about that here.  Hard boiled eggs with left over vegetables and some fruit are a great, quick breakfast.

3) No time on Sunday Eggs:
 Finally, for weeks when you just don't have the time to cook for the next week, cooking scrambled eggs on low in the morning usually only takes about 5 minutes.  Keeping the temp. very low makes it possible to leave the pan (for making all important coffee) without burning the eggs.  Throwing leftover vegetables from last night's dinner are also an easy way to vary scrambled eggs. 

4) No time for Eggs:
Having a week when you don't feel like making eggs?  Just make some extra protein on Sunday for the week OR plan to cook extra with each night's dinner, and eat it again for breakfast. 

Lunch:

1) My favorite thing to eat for lunch is a Mason Jar Salad.   Simply put the dressing on the bottom, add some hardy vegetables (I like to put carrots, radishes, and/or tomatoes in my bottom layer, followed by peppers, and mushrooms), finish with your salad greens on top (as far away from the dressing as possible).  When you are ready to eat it, simply flip the jar over, shake it up, and dump it out. I pack the protein separately. You will have a fresh, well dressed salad ready in minutes (easy to fit in on a 20 minute teacher lunch schedule).  You can make these on a Sunday, and they will still be good on a Friday).  

2) If it's not the right time of year for salads, I usually go with a protein, a few vegetables, and some fruit for lunch.  This is where the Sunday cooking time comes in, I generally cut up some carrots, and cook some mushrooms, broccoli, or sweet potatoes to put in lunches during the week.  Sometimes I will cook a meat like chicken for lunches too.  Our lunches usually contain some avocado as well, for a healthy fat.  Sometimes we are also lazy and use a healthier prepackaged lunch meat (no hormones, nitrates, added, etc). A good quick lunch is a piece of lunch meat with some avocado wrapped in it (with a bit of sea salt).  If you have more vegetables prepped, adding some cooked mushrooms, or roasted garlic to the roll up is also great (or rolling up the the whole thing in a large leaf of lettuce to add some greens to the meal).  The kids eat the same lunches as the adults, even at school.  My children and I use Planet Boxes which are stainless steel with compartments.  These make it easy to pack a meat, a few vegetables, and a few fruits in lunches.  When I don't have the time or will to cook on Sunday for lunch for the coming week, we plan to make more at  dinner, and use leftovers in our house for lunch.  Below is a slideshow of a week worth of lunches at our house.  There are a lot of repeats, but this is what is fresh now and in the garden, I'm okay with it (and so are the kids)!

 Dinner
Dinner usually consists of meat, 3 different kinds of vegetables and some fruit.  There are a lot of possible variations here, especially as you look at what is available locally.  I highly recommend the website NomNom Paleo for easy to follow, kid friendly recipes.  The cookbook is great too!

Staple Veggies:  We try to provide a variety of fruits and veggies to our kids, but we have some veggies that the kids love and are quick and easy and, and show up frequently. 

1) Broccoli:  Trim it, put a pot on the stove to boil, add salt till the water tastes like salt water.  When water comes to a boil, throw the broccoli in and let it cook for 5 minutes.  While cooking, prepare a bowl with cold water and ice.  After the 5 minutes put the broccoli into the ice water.  Let sit for a minute, drain and toss with olive oil and salt to taste.  Quick and easy and good for when you need to use the oven to cook other things. 

2)  Cauliflower:  Two great and quick ways to prepare:
a) Trim it, toss in olive oil salt and pepper with a few cloves of garlic.  Cook at 450 till golden brown.  Turn at 10 minutes and give it at least another 10 minutes.
b) Cauliflower mashed potatoes.  Steam cauliflower till tender, drain and throw in the food processor with olive oil (or butter) salt, and a garlic till taste.  Blend till like mashed potatoes (totally fools my kids). 

3) Sweet Potatoes:  My KIDS love Sweet Potatoes one way and one way only, and this is the way (I think this is the only thing I make that they actually like my way better than 'Dad's way.  Pre-heat oven to 450.  Peel and slice between 4 to 6 sweet potatoes.  Slice the potatoes thinly.  Toss in olive oil with 8 cloves of garlic. Lay out on sheet trays, and sprinkle on salt and pepper.  Flip the potatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper on the other side.  When the oven is ready cook them for 20 minutes, take them out and flip them over and cook another 8 to 15 minutes, checking every 5 minutes or so, the finished product will look almost burned but not quite, so good!

4) Mushrooms:  My kids love cooked mushrooms, and we eat them both as a stand alone vegetable and as  an addition to salads or lettuce wraps at lunch.

 My sons were easy to sell on healthy eating, as we have been eating this way since they were old enough to eat food.  My daughter however was a hard sell.  She was 4 when we started eating this way, and would often say she 'hated' the new food.  Especially as she was used to eating homemade bread and pasta every week.  Three things that really helped 'ease' her transition:

1) If you eat the SAD diet (Standard American Diet) your body is programmed to eat large amounts of sugar (and expects and craves it) because most of us eat too much of it (I know I used to, and still do sometimes), but your brain is also made to be able to recognize when something has high nutritional value, and even if you do not like something initially, you can grow accustomed to the taste when their is a high enough nutritional pay-off.  I always have my daughter take at least 3 bites of food she says she 'hates' so that her brain can learn to 'like it'.  I explained this reasoning to her and she got it.  She takes her bites without complaining now and encourages her siblings to do the same.
 
2)It also helps to include a familiar vegetable kids already like (for example broccoli) with something they are less familiar with (i.e. brussel sprouts) that way you know the kids will have something to eat even if it's not their favorite. 

3) Get the kids involved.  My kids love to peel potatoes, wash lettuce, snap beans, and assemble salads (which they are way more likely to eat if they help make). My daughter is very proud of her little 'dog knife' (it's the one with the orange 'tail') hanging with all of our knives and loves helping with it. 

I was okay with my kids occasionally not eating a lot for dinner when they said they didn't like it, they learned some valuable lessons.  My pediatrician is very supportive of our diet, and said if anyone ever questioned it to let them know are kids are thriving on it.  They are often surprised that my youngest has gained weight so well, since usually it is hard to get kids with so many allergies (22) to gain weight.  He is thriving and happy on this diet!

The following books are helpful to read when developing your diet, and will help you understand how foods effect your body.  Fair warning, you can't 'un-know' this information (as my family like to say).  A lot of this information changed the way I see the world quite a bit.

Theory Books:
Grain Brain- A great book for explaining the impact of gluten and sugar on the brain.  You will never look at a delicious piece of bread the same again! Mwahaha (wah!!!) :)

Brain Maker- Very interesting description of how important gut bacteria and the micro-biome is to our overall health.  It was information in this book, that helped me realize my son had food allergies before he tasted any 'dangerous' food.  I was able to clear his skin of severe eczema (that we could not clear with medicine) and give the doctors a pretty accurate list of what I thought he was allergic to before the allergist tested him.  The doctors were skeptical at first, but are now all very interested in this research.  My pediatrician told me she thinks work with the micro-biome will be the next big field in medicine.  It is also the reason the only supplement my family all takes is a good pro-biotic.  Born with 22 food allergies, at his testing a few months ago,  my son had a 50% reduction to all his allergens across the board.  This could be just him growing out of them, but those are impressive numbers.  I have been using information from this book to try to help him (I consulted my pediatrician, allergist, and asked Dr. Perlmutter, the author, a question before I 'experimented' with probiotics and my youngest.  I am glad that we have tried it, and hope he continues to see good results.   

The Omnivores Dilemma- A great explanation of the path of our food from farm to table.  Important but also sad.  Michael Pollan is a great author, and I've enjoyed all of his food books I have read. 

In Defense of Food- An exciting explanation for why eating more traditionally is better for our health. 

Practical Books:
Nom Nom Paleo - My favorite Paleo cookbook, easy to follow, easy to make, kid friendly, and fun to read. 

Against All Grains- A great cookbook with everything from breakfast to dinner (including some pancakes and muffins)!

Paleo Takeout- Good for those new to Paleo that want something that resembles food from the SAD diet (and some tasty treats).

Well Fed Paleo- Easy to follow recipes, and a really great description of how to prep for your week on Sunday. 

The New Family Cookbook- America's Test Kitchen- Not strictly Paleo, but once you know the basics of the diet you can 'Google' Paleo substitutions (or in some cases just leave things out). This book will tell you how to pick the best food, along with fundamental cooking tips that will just make all your meals better!

What Good Cook's Know - Everything you could want to know about what equipment to buy for your kitchen. Systematically tested by America's Test Kitchen (reliable and knowledgeable)

Documentaries:
Below are a few of the documentaries I've watched in relation to diet, and where I've streamed them. This is not an extensive list and I will try to add to it as I come across more information.   It was watching 'Forks Over Knives' with my husband that finally convinced him we needed to experiment with our what we ate, for the sake of our health. 

• The Perfect Human Diet (Amazon Prime)- A great explanation of what is healthiest for people to eat, along with a lot of science to back it up, from an evolutionary standpoint.  Many people make the mistake of thinking that Paleo means you are eating like a caveman.  The idea of Paleo is to eat foods closer to what people in general ate more traditionally when we first evolved, not to eat huge hunks of meat and insects (though some people do like insects, and Cricket Flour is becoming a thing)!.  Paleo doesn't mean you eat mostly meat.  Most people who eat Paleo eat heavy on the vegetables, a portion of protein, and fruit. 
• Hungry For Change- (Amazon Prime)- Good information about problems with the SAD diet, but they try to scare people off meat, without giving solid science to back up their claims.
• Food Inc (Netflix & Amazon Prime)- Narrated by Michael Pollan (one of my favorite food authors) and Eric Schlosser examines the agribusiness and the path of our food from farm to table.  Very well done, and important information.

• Forks Over Knives (Netflix)-  A great explanation of what is wrong with the SAD diet.  The only problem I have with this documentary is that they are against all meat, and use The China Cornell Oxford Project as a reference.  The China Study is a huge meta-study analyzing data on three hundred sixty seven variables, in 65 counties in rural China.  The data generated 80,000 statistically significant correlations between diet, lifestyle and disease.  Great information can be drawn from it, but the documentary Forks Over Knives cherry picks the data a bit, and treats all meat the same (i.e. a hamburger from a fast food place, is lumped in with a free range, organic meat.  Looking at the data from the original China Study shows no statistically significant link between consuming animal proteins and cancer.  There is an in depth overview of why animal protein is okay here.  I still eat animal protein, but we eat it as organic and free range as we can afford.  Not only is it less cruel to the animals, but it is also healthier. Aside from thinking about what is injected into some animals in captivity, animals that grow up in a constant state of stress are animals that are awash in stress hormones their whole lives.  You consume these hormones when you eat these animals.  It is more expensive to buy the better meat, but we eat larger portions of vegetables and smaller portions of good meat to compensate.  We also have a large garden in the summer (though that is 100% my husband, I just help). :) 

Intermittent Fasting is the last practice I do to improve health.  In a nutshell, it is calorie restriction, either with a long fast a few times a year, or by skipping a meal on a daily basis (usually breakfast). Our ancestors did not eat constantly the way we do now, and would often go for periods of time without food.  I used to hate when people would say , "I forgot to eat", because I would get shaky and headaches if I didn't eat, and I couldn't understand how others could just forget to eat.  The shaking and headaches came from the sugar drops and spikes in my blood stream when I ate the SAD diet.  When I switched to this way of eating, I can easily skip meals and not even feel hungry.  That is because my body has a proper store of energy built up and ready to burn when I don't eat (and by occasionally fasting I give my body the chance to burn it).  This is not something that I would recommend doing until you have been eating Paleo for a few months.  When my husband and I started doing it (note the kids do NOT do it) we barely noticed skipping the meal, and not eating breakfast made it easier to get ready in the morning.  We fast by not eating after 10pm at night, until lunch time the next day.  Eating healthy, I don't even miss breakfast.
​  Why do it?    Intermittent Fasting (not eating for 12 hours if you are doing it on a day to day basis as we do) gives your body a chance to burn stored fat,  go into a state where it cleans out damaged cells, increases the production of new neurons in the brain, and has even been shown to lengthen the telomeres at the end of our strands of DNA (telomeres are related to longevity).  

In conclusion, I hope this was a helpful post for those considering making a switch in their diet.  They were big changes for me, but the health benefits I've seen for myself and my family have been life changing.  Thanks to diet changes we've got rid of severe eczema for my son, and severe migraines for myself.  We have all lost weight, and have way more energy.  Several friends and family have had similar results, but I won't share their stories without permission.  Hoping that this post helps someone find their way to better health!

I began working with children as a camp counsellor in high school, and worked in an exploratory pre-school at Eastern Michigan University while in college. My teaching career started with four years as a classroom teacher (3rd grade and 5th grade), followed by starting an exploratory language program for my district, a year as a Science teacher for K-3, a few years as a middle school Spanish teacher, and finally four years as an elementary Spanish position as I wrap up my 12th year in the classroom.  Throughout my teaching career I also taught Academic Support after school Spanish and Summer Spanish.  My undergrad was in Elementary Education, with minors in Spanish and Science, my Masters was in the Art of Teaching, and my +30 focused on Spanish, Science (mainly neurology), and education classes.   My time spent in the classroom, and watching students develop at various stages in their lives, sparked a deep interest in neurology and how our brains work.  Through my studies, and through insight I have gained as I learned about language acquisition as a CI (Comprehensible Input) teacher, I have many ideas on ways we can integrate what makes CI so compelling into the general education classroom. Many of my biggest successes in the general ed. classroom have an explanation in neuroscience or C.I.   What follows in an explanation of how to move some of the core concepts of C.I., such as personalization, compelling input, and story telling, into the general education classroom. 

If you do not already know basics about how the brain works please check out my post entitled, Classroom Theory.  I went into a lot of detail on the basic function in the brain in this post.  This blog will help you understand where the recommendations in this article come from. If you already have a good basic understanding of how the brain works, read on for practical ways to apply neurology and CI in the classroom. 

Behavior Theory
The amygdala is part of the brain’s limbic system.  When it senses threat, it becomes over-activated. In students, an overactive amygdala is associated with feelings of helplessness and anxiety. In this state of stress-induced over-activation, new  information cannot pass through to access the memory and association circuits in our brain.
This is called the affective filter by language acquisition expert Stephen Krashen. This term describes an emotional state of stress, during which students are not responsive to learning and storing new information. Objective physical evidence of this state of stress can be seen on brain scans. Growing up in poverty, or in an abusive home also has a strong negative impact on our student's abilities to learn. What this means, is that often our students that have the hardest time learning, that can be the most disruptive in the classroom, are the ones that need our patience and support the most.

On the other side of things, positive motivation in the classroom impacts the speed at which we learn, and the release of neurotransmitters that increase executive function and attention.  

“The highest-level executive thinking, making connections, and “aha” moments of insight and creative motivation are more likely to occur in an atmosphere of exuberant discovery, where students of all ages retain that kindergarten enthusiasm of embracing each day with the joy of learning.”
-Judy Willis MD 

Behavior Application
During my years as a middle school Spanish teacher I was one class short of  my position being full time. Thus, I was given an Academic Support class to keep my schedule full.  An Academic Support class meant a small classroom of students that were struggling in their general education classrooms for various reasons.  These students were failing or far behind in classes for various reasons, my job was to help them pass.  

At first I tried strict rules and checking homework logs.  This was a failure.  These students had already been in a constant state of stress throughout the day, both in classes where they did not have their homework and felt behind; and the normal teenage hormonal roller coaster associated with being a middle school student.  They didn't need to feel like they were being judged anymore, and when I tried making them work quietly, with a homework log it was just one more thing on their plate.  The students feeling like they were being judged led to their affective filter remaining high, and made progress frustrating.  Being in a small class with other students that liked to challenge teachers, the students would often try to mess around and compete to make the others laugh when they should be quietly working.

As I continued to work with the kids, they taught me a lot about what did work for them.  First a friendly smile and a few minutes of talking when they entered my room.  We'd all just sit and talk for about 5 minutes, about whatever they wanted.  Often they would share something frustrating that had happened with their day.  Then students would each pick their own spot in the room (this was the beginnings of going deskless for me).  Some laid on the floor, others sat at a table and chairs, a few were under desks.  Wherever they chose was okay for me, as long as they were productive.  One at a time I would call the students up to my desk and we would check Powerschool and each of their teacher's websites to look for missing homework and upcoming tests or assignments.  I didn't react with judgement when a student was missing work.  I'd just ask if they needed help, and make a 'to-do' list for each kid.  After checking in with everyone I would circulate and help the students as needed.  This non-judgemental support, and the freedom of picking their space (being shown trust) as long as they were productive were my first two steps in the right direction.  Grades slowly began to improve, and the students gave me less of a hard time. 

Even with these interventions I still had a student that challenged me daily.  Even when the other students were at their best, he would find a way to disrupt the classroom and get everyone off task.  The key for this student was talking to him on his own.  After one particularly frustrating incident I asked him into the hall to talk.  Rather than begin by addressing the problem behavior; I looked him in the eye and asked him how I could help him.  He immediately began telling me about a fight he had that morning with his father.  After telling me about yelling at his dad, he seemed as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.  He returned to class and worked diligently for the rest of the class.  It took time, but eventually he learned that rather than create a disruption when he needed attention, he could just come and ask me to talk.  Even though taking the time aside from the other students seemed hard at first, the small moments invested with this student had large positive gains both for the student and the classroom in general. 

"Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of the vessel." - Socrates

As my year with these students grew to a close, I worried about what would happen to them when they left my classroom and moved on to high school.  My students were improving but many of them lacked an important ingredient to success, motivation.  I had previously spoken with my students about what they wanted to be when they grew up, and tried to use this as a motivating factor for studying certain subjects.  I took things a step further, as I felt they needed to hear the importance of an education to their future, from someone other than a teacher or parent. For every student in my class I set up a connection to a professional that did their dream job.  Two of my students Skyped with a National Geographic photographer, one went and did a job shadow with a Chef at a popular local restaurant, another spoke with a pilot on a phone, and yet another exchanged emails with the LaCrosse coach from Michigan; we even had soldiers visit the classroom.  

All of my Academic Support students passed their classes, but more importantly they began to see theirselves and their potential.  They personalized their learning and understood why it should be meaningful for them, and they let down their affective filters and started to reach their potential. 

​

Behavior & Motivation Theory
One of the things I find fascinating about the human brain is the presence of 'mirror neurons'. These are neurons that activate when we see someone doing an activity that make us feel as if we are experiencing the activity ourselves.  Have you ever been so into a sports game that you feel like you are in the game?  Or felt yourself wince in sympathy when you see an injury?  Or wrinkle your nose in disgust when a character on a TV show smells something gross?  This is because neurons in our head light up that make us feel as if we are experiencing what we are viewing. Scientists are still debating whether the purpose of these neurons is to help us understand the actions of others, or even the intent of others (or maybe both); but the implication I see for the classroom is that if we are passionate and energized, our students mirror neurons will respond in turn.  However if we are burned out and exhausted, our students feel that too.
​ Interested in reading more about mirror neurons?  Click here for a good overview. What this means for motivation in general in the classroom, is be enthusiastic about what you teach, believe in it.  If you are into what you are teaching, your students will pick up on that, if you are not, they will also pick up on that too.  You'll know that is true if you think about any PD you have ever attended, what made the difference between a good PD and a great PD?   If you can show the students your passion for your subject, it will ignite their passion in turn.  Remember, mirror neurons are watching!
Teacher burn out is another important issue to address, when teachers are burned out students pick up on that too.   For ways to address that issue, please read my post here. 

Importance of Prior Knowledge
Anyone that has attended an education curriculum class, knows that teachers are supposed to activate students prior knowledge when starting new material.  Whenever we recall information from our memory, we modify the information that we recall, to connect it to new things we learn. When we store the information again, it has changed to accommodate our new knowledge. Connecting new information to previously stored knowledge, helps us store the new information.  

Math
Math was not my favorite class as a student, however I came to love it as a teacher.  How can brain science be applied to math class?  Several ways! 

One, our brain, much like a muscle, gets better and faster at what we practice correctly.  However, practicing a skill incorrectly can ingrain incorrect behavior in our brain.  Furthermore, if we do not understand the skills needed in Lesson A in a math sequence, then often the following lessons are not effective as they build on the skills in the first lesson.  Therefore, making sure students understand concepts is key. One of my checks for understanding when I taught math was a nightly math assignment. Each student had roughly 10 problems from the lesson that day.  Parents knew that students were not expected to spend more than 15 to 20 minutes on this homework at night (if it took them longer than that it meant they didn't understand it, and the affective filter would go up, making further practice useless and potentially harmful to success).  Each day at lunch I would quickly grade my 60 math papers.  Anyone that had trouble with the homework would have their papers sorted into a separate pile.  Near the end of the day a few parent helpers came to my room (I had pre-trained my 'math parents' at the start of the year).  They would take the pile of incorrect homework into the hall, and meet with each student that had struggled with the work to correct the problems with the student.  Parent helpers would give the students a few new problems to make sure that they now understood the concept. Students earned all points back for the corrected homework that they missed when they turned it in originally.   A few ways to do this if parent volunteers are not plentiful would be to have older student volunteers tutor students, or perhaps pre-student teachers from local colleges in need of pre-student teaching hours.  To cut back on grading time, a multiple choice Google Form test could be created (not ideal, but Google self-grades now and you should be able to spot struggling students still, especially if students know they won't get in trouble, but will get help if they don't do well). 

Another brain based practice I used in the math classroom was to apply math in ways that were meaningful to the students.  For example, when we were practicing story problems I had each student research the price of a toy they wanted.  We then brainstormed a list of chores they could complete to earn money, and decided a fair hourly rate for each chore. Students then had to figure out approximately how long it would take them to complete which chores to earn their toy.  

We also spoke about exciting future applications for math skills, from architects to space travel, budgeting a trip, to the number Pi.  Students need compelling material to see how math applies to their future as a part of their reason to learn something.  It is not enough to tell students learn this because I said so, or for a grade, we must show them why the information is important to them if we expect them to truly desire to learn it. 

In our district we took a standardized test called the NWEA.  Expected growth was 1 year for all students, my students achieved between 2 to 2.5 years of growth, and I did not try to 'teach to the test'.  Standardized tests are not everything, but it is one measure of growth that is easy to share. 

Reading
New exciting work in the field of literacy, shows that the greatest increases in vocabulary (both in your first language and any additional languages you may learn) comes from reading.  What's more, it doesn't matter what the students are reading (Captain Underpants or more scholarly texts) as long as they are reading COMPELLING material they will be engaged.  For more information on Free Voluntary Reading check out S.D. Krashen's work here.  This could work in a language arts setting, by giving students time to free read every day.  Rather than a reading log, or assignment to go with each chapter, the teacher could have students do a book review after reading the book, to recommend it to other students. The 'book review' could come in many different forms including (but not limited to) a comic strip about the book, a character analysis of their favorite character, an online review with room for comments from other students, a video review, etc.  Giving students many different ways to express themselves will allow each child to shine.  Joy in learning, leads to increase in brain activity.   A short book recommendation or representation of a favorite chapter, would be an easy way for the teacher to check for comprehension, without the student feeling the need to read for a test. Teachers can also have students read to them occasionally if necessary to check progress.  Do not be afraid to show your students your love of reading.  Take the time to read with them, let them see that you read too, mirror neurons are watching! 

When having your student choose a non-fiction reading piece, consider giving your students several different pieces to choose from (or using the internet and a safe search engine to choose their own topic).  Students will do better at informational text when the information is compelling.  The skills they gain reading compelling material, will still help them in their overall reading ability, and will make all material easier to read (even something that isn't as compelling on a potential standardized test). 

Additionally, recent MRI scans show that we use two different part of our brain to read.  When we are reading something we believe we will need to remember for a test, we use the pre-frontal cortex (the part of our brain responsible for logic and reasoning), however when we read for pleasure, we generally use the mentalizing part our brain.  The 'mentalizing' system is the part of our brain that handles relationships and our place in the world.  MRI studies also show that in most people this is the most active part of our brain, becoming active whenever our brain is not directly using the pre-frontal cortex to solve a problem (even when it's only for a few seconds).  The mentalizing system is generally quicker at storing new information, and a great resource to help students learn new information more quickly. Perhaps because they use it to tie the new information to their own 'story'.  When students read self-chosen, compelling material for pleasure.
​

Science
Science is a passion for me, and I enjoyed teaching it both as a classroom teacher, and as a Quest teacher (a "Special" science class for Kindergarten through 3rd grade).  As with the other subjects, it is important to show the students your passion for the subject.  Teach your students the standards they need to know, but as before, it is important to make it meaningful to them and help them connect it to the larger picture. If possible, making the material compelling always increases the rate at which we learn. 

An example of how this would work in a science unit is when I taught magnetics to 2nd graders.  We did the general activities that were suggested in the science curriculum (learning about push and pull, and what objects are magnetic and which are not, magnetic poles, and magnetic fields etc).  However then we connected it to the larger world and made it meaningful.  We talked about the magnetic field surrounding our planet, and how about how sometimes the magnetic poles flip! After learning about how scientists are starting to use nano-particles and magnets to deliver medicine to tumors we used magnets to guide 'nano-particles' (aka safety pins on a maze of the brain I drew) to tumors.  Students loved class, and learned so much, because the material was compelling and important to them.  They could see it's value to the world. 
Student Choice
When letting students have choice in their learning, compelling material creates itself.  An example of this would be taking a larger topic, for example, 'The Wetlands' and breaking it down into smaller parts that appeal to different children.  I did this as part of a 5th grade unit.  The Wetlands were part of our curriculum.  I wanted to personalize this material for the students so I broke the Wetlands up into different topics.  Amphibians, water plant, surrounding plants, reptiles, birds, mammals, etc.  Students secretly wrote rated the topics based on which was most interesting to them.  They were placed on groups based on their interests.  Each group researched their topic.  E-mailed a biology professor at a local college with a question, and created a unique and exciting way to share what they had learned to the class.  We did role playing games to help them understand the eco-system.  We took a field trip to a local wetland and my old biology professor guided us through the eco-system.  The students became so passionate about the wetlands that they wanted to host a fundraiser to donate money to protect them.  We hosted an after school karaoke fundraiser.  Not only did the students have a great time, but after we donated our money to the Sierra Club, the class became the first group of children to win the Sierra Club Group Chair award for their donation and project. 

When presented with compelling material, difficult concepts can become manageable, and students become more willing to take on risks and challenges.  

I wanted my students to understand the concept of learning from our past to further our future, and tied it to a science unit that provided both compelling and challenging material and some deeper thinking.  I was watching 'The Universe' when I first heard the Issac Newton quote "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants."  This quote seemed like the perfect jumping off point for my theme, and tied nicely into our unit about space.  I chose a 8 to 10 scientists who's work had built upon each others.  Ranging from as far back as Aristotle to as recent as Neil DeGrasse Tyson.  I taught students a little bit about each scientist, and then let them choose one scientist to research.  I printed leveled readers about each scientist ranging from very easy with big pictures, to very dense articles several pages long.  I let the students self-select.  I was surprised to see that most of the students, even my struggling readers, chose the longest text.  When I asked them why they chose their text, it was because they were excited about the materials.  I've never seen students apply themselves to such challenging material with such excitement before, but it wasn't because of me, it was because the material was self-chosen and exciting to them.  The best reward of the school year came a few days later when two of my boys who were sometimes more into sports than school, told me they had been arguing the whole bus ride in about whether Einstein or Newton was the best scientist.  That was my favorite 'argument' of the school year.

The success my students had in science was not because of anything special about me as a teacher, but because the material became meaningful and important to the students.  

Social Studies
This is an area that I only taught for a few years, so have less experience in, however the theory should still apply as we still learn with the same amazing brain.  Show the students your passion, and they will be passionate too.
Connect the material to something important to the students.  Look at larger patterns in history if possible, and compare them to patterns present in the world today to increase the importance of your lesson.  Show students how the past influences the present. 
When studying a certain time period, consider creating several sub-topics about the time period for an independent research project for students.  For example, if you were studying the renaissance period, sub topics might include: food, drink, fashion, nobles, townspeople, various jobs, trends, art, sculpting, etc.  Students could research the topic, and present their area of interest to the class in a compelling and creative manner.  Another similar idea is to let students pick a notable person from a time period to research.  They could come dressed as the person to class, and pretend to be the person for a day.  Presenting a small presentation, then answering questions.  This is actually a favorite project that I completed in a Humanities class in high school.  It serves the purpose of making a compelling connection to history. 
​One final idea is introducing new topics as a story before reading a more factual account.  As I mentioned previously when discussing reading:
Recent MRI scans show that we use two different part of our brain to read.  When we are reading something we believe we will need to remember for a test, we use the pre-frontal cortex (the part of our brain responsible for logic and reasoning), however when we read for pleasure, we generally use the mentalizing part our brain.  The 'mentalizing' system is the part of our brain that handles relationships and our place in the world.  MRI studies also show that in most people this is the most active part of our brain, becoming active whenever our brain is not directly using the pre-frontal cortex to solve a problem (even when it's only for a few seconds).  The mentalizing system is generally quicker at storing new information, and a great resource to help students learn new information more quickly. Perhaps because they use it to tie the new information to their own 'story'.  When students read self-chosen, compelling material for pleasure.
If we introduce a topic as a story, we activate the mentalizing system and increase interest.  Take a topic like the French Revolution.  If instead of laying bare the facts first.  Consider starting students  with part of a fictional account of Marie Antionette's life pre-marriage, or her days leading up to her encounter with the guillotine.  Perhaps a part from a novel about living as a starving French peasant, or a scene from Les Miserables.  If we can connect our history to our own lives, the information becomes more valuable and easier to acquire. 

Art and Music
As I have not taught either of these subjects, this is again just theory, but many of the same ideas can apply here.  For art, consider lettings students choose an artist to imitate (either their work or their person).  Consider letting students vote on their favorite work of art, or present and defend their favorite in a bracket style play off. 

In music consider letting students choose their music.  Assign them different music to listen to each night, or listen in class and then vote.  Allowing students to defend their favorite piece of music, or submit a piece to the class to play can also increase personal stake and interest.  Teaching students about the lives of the composers can also help increase their personal connection to the music.  

In Closing
I am far from a perfect teacher, and did not mean to write this blog post as a chance to brag about some of my favorite teaching moments.  The purpose was to share the teaching moments that were the most successful for me, that are supported by recent brain research.  I hope some find this helpful (if you made it all the way here)!  For further reading about the brain check out my blog post here, or recommended reading post here.   I hope everyone has a restful, joyful, and productive summer!

I've blogged in the past about why I believe TPRS and CI are the best way to teach a language from a brain based perspective; but today I want to write about about why I switched teaching methods, from a more personal point of view.  As a teacher who taught Spanish in the legacy method for many years, changing to this method of teaching can be a lot of work initially.  It involves a major change in both what you do in the classroom, and in how you see yourself as a teacher (at least it did for me).  I've written about my early struggles here.  What was the motivation for all this change??

To explain the motivation behind my madness, a brief explanation of the origin seems in order.  I am certified as an elementary classroom teacher, as well as Spanish and Science for K-8th grade. I spent the first four years of my career as a classroom teacher (3rd and 5th grade) before moving on to start an exploratory language program for my district (Spanish, French, and German), teach exploratory Science to K-3rd grade, Middle School Spanish for a few years, and finally elementary Spanish.  Throughout my entire career, even when I wasn't teaching Spanish during the school day, I taught Spanish after school, or during the summer.  My point is this, I taught many different subjects throughout my career.  Although my curriculum changed, one of the central tenants I always try to maintain in my teaching is that, "education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel."  It was easy for me to inspire kids in subjects like math, science, and reading as I could show them how these things were immediately useful. Teaching these subjects was fun, and I had millions of ideas when I lesson planned. Language was always harder for me. When I taught language as an after school program, or during the summer, I had more fun because I could choose my curriculum, slow down, and integrate lots of games to maintain interest level. However, I was never satisfied with the amount of language my students retained.  I never felt very successful when trying to stay in the target language 90% of the time because I felt like I was losing too many of my students.  
When I taught middle school there wasn't much time for creative lesson planning, as there was SO much curriculum to cover in so little time (workbooks, workbooks, workbooks).  I sold students on Spanish by talking about the benefits to them personally.  Each year I would show the below shark tank clip and talk about how knowing a second language would help them earn more money, both potentially right out of school and when looking for a job.  I spoke of the bigger picture, and of the hard work now paying off later.  

We worked hard.  Students would dutifully show up before and after school and at lunch for help.  We would study grammar, and practice vocabulary on Quizlet.  Students studied, and slow processors worked as hard as they could to barely pass.  This was not because I had hard students, or because I was a bad teacher (my test scores were on average with the rest of the department).  It was because we were asking students to learn too much, too quickly, in a way that is in almost direct opposition to how our brains naturally learn language.  I know this now, but I didn't then.  I knew my students liked me as a teacher, but Spanish was never the class listed as a favorite by students (and I will admit to jealousy).  I didn't know there was a better way, but I would soon, and it would change everything. 
​

Fast forward a few years down the road and my district added an elementary language program. I helped guide the development of the program from the first day. Our first year we started with a pre-made curriculum that the district purchased.  It was a well rated program that had many of the things we were looking for, play, authentic stories, songs, projects, and staying in the target language 90% of the time.  It was a good program for us, and a solid place to start, but there were still problems.  Most of the books the program recommended reading to students were way above their comprehension levels.  The program also moved at a pace that only seemed to introduce topics instead of teach till mastery (other than topics like the calendar and weather). Students seemed bored much of the time.
That summer everything changed, when a German teacher at our high school convinced my district to bring Blaine Ray in for a one-day training.  He demonstrated TPRS (teaching proficiency through story telling) by having our teaching group act as students while he taught us in German.  Not only did I laugh more than I had ever laughed at a PD before, I also found myself able to read an entire one-page story in German by the end of his demonstration.  I can still remember words and phrases he taught us from that one day training.  Suddenly, a whole world of possibility was open to me.  
I went home to write my first TPRS story that weekend (it was a bit painful, but I felt the need to create something that would be just write for my elementary students).  Even though I felt like I stumbled through my first story my students LOVED it.  They begged for more, and couldn't wait to come back to Spanish the next day.   They actually CHEERED when we started the second part of our story.
When I think back to my own days learning Spanish, if I am truthful, I didn't really enjoy Spanish classes till I was in college and taking literature and conversation classes.  Stories and communicating with others are both POWERFULLY engaging, and powerfully motivating when it comes to learning a language.  TPRS and CI (teaching proficiency through storytelling and comprehensible input) get rid of the parts of learning a language that are painful and not used to communicate (a focus on grammar rules and vocabulary lists) and engage learners in interesting and compelling material from day one.
Challenging new activities (like learning a new language) are hard work, and force our brains to strengthen pathways between neurons, or create new ones altogether.  If we are motivated by communication with others or to understand a story our brains can be very good at learning a language, and the more we practice, the faster we can learn.  However, iff we bury the exciting parts of language learning in grammar rules and vocabulary lists our brains have very low levels of motivation to acquire  language and it becomes a hard task. 
Since my first TPRS training, I have thrown myself fully into this method of teaching and have never looked back.  The above picture is actually from my second  Blaine Ray training (I am the one almost 9 months pregnant in the picture above).  I've attended many additional trainings, and keep laughing and learning new things at each one.  I've even started presenting at trainings too now,  sharing my methods for teaching elementary this way, and using neurology to enhance TPRS and CI even more in the classroom at all age levels.  Although my sense of personal satisfaction is very high with this method of teaching there are a few bigger reasons I am sticking with this method of teaching:

1) No students are left behind.  Although I have slow processors and fast processors, they are all making progress.  This method of teaching makes differentiation very easy, and allows all learners to acquire language in their own time.   

2) Students are empowered to learn language that applies to them and to be active participants in their learning. 

3) Students retain so much more than they did with old methods, and take risks when speaking the language that I never saw before beginning to teach this way.  Don't take my word for it, read more from a parent here. 

4)  Students LOVE Spanish.  It's no longer a matter of selling Spanish to students, Spanish sells itself. 

​I can't wait to see where these students take their love of learning and other cultures.  This is just the beginning and with a passion for learning about the world around them at such a young age, there is no limit to what they can achieve. 

It happened every year, generally in March for me.  I'd find myself losing some of my energy in class, not quite as patient as I should be, and eager to get home and shut down at the end of the day.  Teacher burnout is a problem that hurts both teachers and students.  It also seemed inevitable to me and many others at some point each year.  I love my job (as do most teachers), but it also means I always am adding to my 'to-do' list because there is ALWAYS more I could be doing for my students. However, when we don't take care of ourselves as teachers we are not doing our students any favors.  
One of the things I find fascinating about the human brain is the presence of 'mirror neurons'. These are neurons that activate when we see someone doing an activity that make us feel as if we are experiencing the activity ourselves.  Have you ever been so into a sports game that you feel like you are in the game?  Or felt yourself wince in sympathy when you see an injury?  Or wrinkle your nose in disgust when a character on a TV show smells something gross?  This is because neurons in our head light up that make us feel as if we are experiencing what we are viewing. Scientists are still debating whether the purpose of these neurons is to help us understand the actions of others, or even the intent of others (or maybe both); but the implication I see for the classroom is that if we are passionate and energized, our students mirror neurons will respond in turn.  However if we are burned out and exhausted, our students feel that too.
​ Interested in reading more about mirror neurons?  Click here for an interesting overview. 

A question I've heard at several conferences or workshops is, "how do you have the energy to do TPRS all day every day?" Although the answer to this question is complex (and an important part of the answer is finding a TPRS style that works for your personality); there are other things that teachers can do to increase energy, and maintain a sense of calm in the marathon that is the school year. I finished this post a while back, and hesitated to share as this is a bit 'off topic' and health journeys can be personal. However, I saw enough personal benefits both for myself and my family that I wanted to share in the hopes that someone else will be helped.  This blog is about a few of the things that I have done that have made major differences for myself both in and out of the classroom (diet changes, sleep, and small moments of calm). 
SLEEP DOES A BODY GOOD
We will start with the 'easy' change which is more sleep.  Your brain and body needs it!  When we sleep our brains make connections, categorize and consolidate memories, and even get rid of chemical build up from the day time.  You can read more about that here.  Without enough rest our brain is not at its best, and you can't be either. When we sleep our bodies regulate hormones, repair tissue, restore energy, as well as other important functions we are only beginning to understand. I know that as teachers it can be hard to turn off the day, and I know that our 'to-do' list is constantly growing. However we owe it to our students and ourselves to make sure we sleep enough.   
Breathe
Which leads me to my next topic, breathing.  As a teacher, it is easy to race from one topic to the next trying to get as much done as possible for students. However as we race around, our heart beats begin to race, and our breathing quickens.  These pro-longed periods of stress put our bodies in a state where it is hard to slow down, which makes it hard to listen to our students in the ways that we should.  It is hard to be in the moment when we are teaching if our body is still racing to finish a worksheet and run copies.  It is also hard to have enough patience to deal with our most challenging students when our body is in a rushed state (and the most challenging kids are the children that need to see understanding, not frustration when they look into our eyes the most).  This year our district sponsored Mindfulness training after school in the Fall.  Though it was hard to give up my evenings to do the training (I had a 'to-do' list to accomplish), I am grateful that I did.  Now I know the importance of paying attention when I feel my heart racing and breath speeding up.  This can be solved with the simple presence of mind to do some deep breathing before moving on (and it can be quick too).  Next time you are racing from one job to the next, or just before starting a class try the following:

1) Breathe in to a slow count of 4 through your nose. 
2) Hold your breath for the count of 6.
3) Breathe out to the slow count of 8 through your lips. 

Take a few minutes to do this simple activity next time you are feeling rushed (racing heart, fast breathing), and see what a few deep breaths can do for you!  I even use this in the car sometimes when the volume of my children in the back seat is a bit much!
If you want to take 'breathing' to the next level try adding these 7 Simple Yoga poses to your day.  Each combo takes less than 5 minutes.  Starting by holding each pose for 3 breaths, when that is easy, add another breath while you hold the pose. I've added a few variations and done them for the last 2 years.  I'm up to 16 breaths a pose, and definitely feeling stronger, and less achy.

The Food
Relatively speaking, the first two changes should help you feel a lot calmer and more refreshed. However, for us, those lifestyle changes were much easier compared to the food changes we ultimately made.  Breathing and sleeping more helped us feel better, but changing our diets helped us in ways we never imagined. First a bit of history, to explain where these changes come from.  It is a bit personal, but I share in the hope that my story may help you as well.
During college I started having severe migraines. For those that have never had a migraine, these can be extremely painful (as in worse than giving birth, or being poked in the eye by a bungee cord, yes I've had personal experience with both).  For 10+ years I tried everything I could to get rid of the migraines.  I saw different doctors and neurologists. Tried many preventative medicines and practices, including (but not limited to): yoga, acupuncture, cranial sacral therapy, meditation, and (my least favorite) injecting numbing medicine into the nerves in the back of my head to stop them from sending pain signals.  This may seem extreme but I had extremely painful migraines almost daily, and without medicine  (which made me very tired) I'd end up in the hospital.  Migraines would last for a week, and I couldn't eat or drink. 
At roughly the same time  in my life my son developed a dairy allergy, and I read the book, "Brain Grain" by Dr. Perlmutter.  The combination of these two factors caused my family to cut dairy, grains, and sugar from our diet.  We gave up processed foods too (though yes we do cheat, more on that later).  This felt like a small death in the family at first (especially as my husband is a chef, and delicious Kerry Gold butter) was a staple.  The result of cleaning out our diet?  We lost tons of weight without ever feeling hungry (I'm back to the size I was in high school).  Our energy levels also shot up (again back to the level of energy I had in high school, which is helpful with 3 little kids to chase around, and 200 students a day).  The shaky feeling I used to get with a headache if I didn't eat frequently disappeared completely.  Best of all, the migraine medicine I was filling 3 times a month?  I went 9 months without filling it.  I still get occasional migraines, but it's usually when I've been cheating too much on our diet.  The migraines I get now are still worse than a headache, but are not nearly as severe as they used to be. My son, who had severe eczema, now has clear skin.  The positive changes go on and on.  Changing our diet is the thing my family has done that has made the biggest difference in our overall health and energy levels.  I highly recommend reading "Grain Brain" and "Brain Maker" both by Dr. Perlmutter, as great jumping off points for information on how to change your diet.  In case anyone is wondering, no I do not know Dr. Perlmutter (though I did bug him with a question once or twice) and am not trying to push his products, I just found these books to be very informative. 

The hardest thing for us when we first started this diet, was figuring out how to fit the increase in cooking time into our schedules. . Generally our meals consist of one portion of healthy meat (more on this later), 2 or 3 portions of vegetables, and fruit. My husband jokes that the cashiers at the store always give him weird looks because of the high amounts of avocado and banana in his cart. There are a few shortcuts I recommend that make it easier to fit this diet into a busy schedule that I'll talk about shortly.
 
Breakfast
 One way I've found to make eggs easier during the school week, is to make 'egg muffins' on Sunday, and store them in the fridge.  It's easy to make enough to last the week.  You can throw a variety of meats, vegetables, and herbs, into muffin trays, pour scrambled eggs on top of it, and cook in the muffin trays.  These can be put in the fridge and reheated each day of the week for about 5 days.  We limit cheese in our house (really limit it right now as my youngest is still allergic) but here are 12 recipes to get you started. It's also easy to get perfectly done hardboiled eggs by baking them in the oven when you don't have the time for egg muffins.  Read about that here.  Finally, for weeks when you just don't have the time to cook for the next week, cooking scrambled eggs on low in the morning usually only takes about 5 minutes.  Keeping the temp. very low makes it possible to leave the pan (for making all important coffee) without burning the eggs.  Dinner leftovers always work too and are a frequent flyer at my house. 

Lunch
 My children and I use Planet Boxes which are stainless steel with compartments.  These make it easy to pack a meat, a few vegetables, and a few fruits in lunches.  Lunch is often dinner leftovers in our house, or a combination of dinner leftovers with some new fruit or vegetables to change things a little.  During the right time of year, my favorite adult lunch is making a salad in a jar. Starting with dressing on the bottom of a mason jar layer in vegetables (tomatoes, celery, carrots, etc.) to get a nice level of vegetables above the dressing level.  Add lettuce at the top, and store meat in a separate container.  When it's time for lunch, shake the jar to coat your salad and lettuce, pore onto a plate, add your meat, and enjoy a fresh salad.  If I make these salad jars on Sunday night, I can make 5 to last the school week. 

Dinner 
Dinner usually consists of meat, 3 different kinds of vegetables and some fruit.  There are a lot of possible variations here, especially as you look at what is available locally.  I highly recommend the website NomNom Paleo for easy to follow, kid friendly recipes.  The cookbook is great too!

Fast food
What about those nights when you just can't cook?? We all have them, but if pizza isn't an option anymore, we usually opt for a pre-cooked chicken at our favorite grocery store.  Combine this with some guacamole, veggies and fruit, and you can have a quick meal in minutes. 
What about cheating?  I've found that I can eat one 'non-paleo' meal plus one dessert a week and still not have any problems with my migraines.  More than that and they usually come back, which helps me stick to my diet. When/if you start this diet, I recommend trying to stick to the diet as cleanly as possible for a month to evaluate how it makes you feel.  If it seems like things are going well, slowly add a few cheats back in each week.  Notice how they make you feel, and decide what works best for you based on how your own body reacts.  A few of my favorite treats for when I'm trying to be good include: 

Candied Pecans-  Paleo other than the sugar, add these to raspberries and blueberries for a fruity treat that almost tastes like pie. 

Banana ice-cream- Better than it sounds, and a great way to use up old bananas. 

Liar Balls- Almost like candy but not quite.

Diet, sleep, and calming down with deep breathing, were the keys on my journey towards better health (although I did do a few other extreme things like learn to make my own make up and toothpaste, that is a story for a different blog post).  This was a bit personal for one of my blog posts, but I my health problems made me miserable and held me back before I began researching a route back to better health.  If this blog helps even one person find their way, it was well worth it! 

On a side note, although I do have a Science certification, and did extensively research the above health choices, it's always a good idea to talk to a doctor before making big changes, especially if you have a history of health problems!

Idea # 2- 2 Minute MINI story
My students seemed like they needed a break, and looking at the 'Super 7'*  verbs I had written on my classroom door I had an idea.  I decided to make up a '2 minute story' about a student in the class.  The student LOVED being the center of attention, the other students filled in the missing parts of the story by calling out an answer and were VERY interested/engaged, and the star student acted it out.  It was silly, it was high frequency word use, and it showed me how comfortable the students were with each of the verb forms.  It may seem simple and obvious (and I'm sure it's been done before), but it was new for me, and I wanted to share the idea:
On my classroom door I have the Super 7 verbs (and a few forms) written in the following order (the order typed in the blog, not the order in the picture, the door has been updated since I took the picture) 
Hay (There is/there are)
Es (he/she is)
está (he/she is)
tiene (he/she has)
quiere (he/she wants)
va (he/she goes) and...
le gusta (he/she likes)

The story was simple, and the activity is not that different from asking a story in TPRS.  The difference was we didn't circle, it was quick and completely focused on a student, and the students quickly called out the ends to the sentences and we just went with the one that seemed the most interesting.   The whole process took only 2 minutes and everyone was extremely engaged: 
There is a girl.  
The girl is "Beth".  
Beth is smart and funny. 
Beth is in Grand Rapids. 
Beth is mad.
Beth has chocolate.  Beth does not want chocolate.  Beth wants a hamburger. 
Beth goes to Burger King.  Burger King does not have hamburgers.  Burger King has chocolate.  Beth goes to Godiva.  Godiva has hamburgers.  Beth goes home.  Beth is happy.

Not that different from traditional TPRS, but the pace, and the focus on a particular student seemed to lead to very high levels of interest. :)

*The Super 7 are frequent use verb forms.  To read more about them click on the link above.

Idea # 3- ¿Are you a....?
The actual game can be done in 5 minutes or less; however the movie talk I used to introduce the game was too fun not to share!
The movie talk opens with two men sitting across the table eating dinner. One of them asks, "Do you want to see how animals eat their food?" to the other. The video then proceeds to show the first man demonstrating how various animals eat their food. It may not sound like comedic gold, but it is quite funny. I pause it as it hits each screen, when students can read the name of the animal, but haven't seen the action yet.
I point at the first person (that is eating like a person) and ask:
"Is he a boy or is he a lizard?" in the target language.
The students say back "He is a boy.".
Then I point at the man pretending to eat like a lizard and ask, "Is he a boy, or is he a lizard?" (or whatever animal he is pretending to be)
The students say back "He is a lizard" or whatever is the correct answer.
Then we watch the action. We pause and talk about it and laugh.
While we are watching two student actors are sitting at the front of the room with a bean bag between them for a 'table' (and plastic cups and plates). After we watch each scene in the youtube video, we pause and act it out with the students. NOW I get a chance to ask the student actors:
"Are you a boy or are you a lizard?"
student "I am a boy"
"Are you a boy or are you a lizard"
"I am a lizard".
Then, only moving as I say, the student actors act out the scene. This was TONS of great reps and great laughs with my students every time I did it.
The Game
For the game, students sit in a circle. One student walks into the middle of the circle and pretends to be an animal (the movie talk will really inspire them). The other students can guess in the TL by saying "Are you a...". The student answers with "I am a ....." or "I am not a ......"
For example:
The student in the middle is acting like a dinosaur (stomping around, waving their tiny arms, roaring, etc).
A student raises their hand and asks
"Are you an elephant?" (¿Eres un elefante?)
The actor replies
"I am not an elephant." (No, no soy un elefante.)
Another student asks
"Are you a dinosaur?"
The actor replies
"Yes, I am a dinosaur" (Sí, soy un dinosaurio).

The student that guesses correctly either gets to go next, or gets to pick the next volunteer. In elementary most everyone wants a turn. You could replace animals with other things to (movies, books, weather, famous people, etc).


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