Services Offered

Ready for a workout? Our teaching practices have a significant impact on how students feel about themselves as learners. Join me as I share ideas on how making certain changes to your approach to learning can help your students understand and manage their emotional responses to success and failure. Mental flexibility is as important as physical flexibility. Join me in exploring how small shifts in teaching practices can enhance flexible thinking and improve how students feel about themselves as learners. 
This session will focus on:
Identify the components of flexible thinking.
Explore thinking and mindset programs to find what works for your teaching style.
Integrate descriptive feedback using self-reflection and peer coaching tools into daily classroom routines.
Incorporate the modelled language of feedback vs. praise.
This session will inspire participants to nurture and model brain gymnastics in classroom routines. Be ready to look for organic opportunities to build flexible thinking in a student-responsive approach. 

Feeling like your classroom has a lot of energy? Could everyone use a few minutes to reset and refocus? Join me to explore regulating tools that can work for you and your students this year! Learn how to set up your students and classroom for daily relaxation by finding space, outlining expectations, modelling tone and using props. Experiment with using ready-made guided imagery excerpts and practice writing your own.

This session will focus on:

1. Identify what a natural relaxation break could look like for your class.
2. Explore using guided imagery, breathing techniques and regulation props to support students both in and out of doors.
3. Practice incorporating relaxation techniques with the facilitator for tools to use tomorrow.

Taking purposeful and mindful breaks during the day supports mental well-being, but where do we fit this all in? Using research-based practices and story-telling techniques, participants will work with the facilitator to incorporate mindful techniques into lessons and to build in natural break times for guided relaxation. 

See the world outside of the school doors in an entirely new way, and see the excited faces of young children light up when they identify a “look for” item. “I see roots!”, “I see circles on the wheels of cars!”, “I see lines going this way and lines going that way on the sidewalk!”. Get ready to SEE! Participants will be enlightened by the learning opportunities of a community walk.  

This session will focus on:

1. Take a guided walk with the facilitator, drawing attention to different engagement opportunities that incorporate a multitude of “look for” items.
2. Discuss what was seen on the walk and brainstorm learning possibilities that are student-responsive to the interests of the class. 
3. Introduce natural, unspecified materials that can be gathered and brought back to the classroom for further learning or used in situ.

Using the guiding aspects of Gillian Judson’s “Walking Curriculum”, participants will be able to engage young learners during walks with purpose. Work with the facilitator to be student-responsive, incorporate unspecified materials (especially from nature!), and target learning outcomes from the provincial curriculum. 

Educators who are enthusiastic about students using community spaces for daily physical activity to support health and wellbeing won’t want to miss this! What excites you about where your school is located? What are your barriers? What are the hidden treasures that you seek? Look no further than the school yard.

This session will focus on:

1. Examine community spaces and identify barriers to using those spaces.
2. Create a map of the community spaces and formulate a plan for the various learning opportunities within that area.
3. Collaborate as a group to support using community spaces for learning. Are there teacher mentors available? Are there easily accessible materials that can be used in the outdoor space? Is there a partner teacher or class to journey with?

Educators will be ready to invite students on an outdoor journey to community spaces that can be used to support the health and well-being of students by exploring familiar environments. Never look at that tree the same way again!

Attention educators hoping to remove the barriers to getting your class outside! Are you looking for simple and quick ways to remove barriers to get your students outside? Let’s work proactively to address the concerns of “This is boring”, “I’m cold, “I’m hungry”, and “I have to pee.” I can smell the fresh air already!

This session will focus on:

1. Identify common barriers related to taking students outside (ie: bodily functions, appropriate clothing, etc.). “I can’t, because…”
2. Explore cross-curricular resources to remove barriers for educators and flip thinking to “I can’t wait”.
3. Generate a Get Outside Supply List. Pack a backpack and prepare for “I can and this is all I need.”

Are you looking for simple and quick ways to remove barriers to get your students outside? Find out ways to problem-solve around the infamous “I have to pee!” and other student responses. Let’s work together to remove the barriers and to put authentic learning experiences into action.

Get ready to feel empowered to navigate the path toward effective teaching practices that enhance student learning with a focus on positive experiences. Look no further than the Student Story to make your first small step in rethinking your grading practices. 

This session will focus on:

1. Examine the student story with a focus on adaptations and accommodations.
2. Evaluate developmentally appropriate practices that guide with heart and insight.
3. Incorporate opportunities to enhance student accountability and increase the levels of overall success by reflecting upon your own educational journey.

Explore student profiles and recommended accommodations to recognise practical strategies that will create positive learning experiences for all of your students. Examine trending practices in the primary classroom and discover methods that support positive experiences for your students’ education journey.

Do your students have ants in their pants? Find out ways to integrate movement into all of your learning activities without needing to set aside more scheduled time for unrelated body breaks. Let’s maximise the learning and maximise the opportunities to move!

 This session will focus on:

1. Identify cross-curricular areas to naturally build in movement.
2. Examine developmentally appropriate seated positions and expectations. Question: What else is there?
3. Explore a movement-based lesson and reflect on student success with this new approach.

Get ready to move. Get ready to learn. Get ready to switch up your ideas that get students out of their seats. Get ready to have fun exploring movement with your students, be it on the floor, on a chair or on a desk!

What is a sensory-safe classroom? Why should this play an important role in my planning? Educators will address the five senses, in addition to vestibular (balance), proprioceptive (movement), and interoceptive (internal), to identify student needs. By addressing what is happening in a student’s immediate environment, teachers can proactively remove triggers and focus on learning. 

This session will focus on:

1. Define sensory input and how it affects learners
2. Explore the five senses plus three
3. Reflect upon how this look in my space and how I can be proactive

Work together to explore students’ availability to learn and how to create a sensory-safe classroom environment for all learners to succeed.

What is a sensory-safe classroom? Why should this play an important role in my planning? Educators will address the five senses, in addition to vestibular (balance), proprioceptive (movement), and interoceptive (internal), to identify student needs. By addressing what is happening in a student’s immediate environment, teachers can proactively remove triggers and focus on learning. 

This session will focus on:

1. Define sensory input and how it affects learners
2. Explore the five senses plus three
3. Reflect upon how this look in my space and how I can be proactive

Work together to explore students’ availability to learn and how to create a sensory-safe classroom environment for all learners to succeed.