Well there you go, schools are shut down; very possibly until the start of the next academic year. I have been struggling to get my head around these changes, as have we all.

Teachers are being thrown in at the deep end with distance learning and are being asked to go remote in many cases and teach online. For some, this is reasonably doable as you may have been integrating technology in your lessons already, but for many of you it's like a whole new job description as you navigate unfamiliar waters and feel like a first year teacher again.

Add to all this drama, what are our poor students going through?! They're finding these changes challenging too, many of whom struggle to study and focus in lessons let alone with all the distractions available to them at home! And so while teachers are navigating this new remote learning world, you are also expected to support the students as they struggle to study at home too.

Just when we thought teaching couldn't get any more challenging..!

In order to help ease some of these struggles, I'm going to share with you some tips and resources to help make this whole transition to distance and remote learning a bit smoother.

OK first of all let's talk about you, teacher friend. If you're struggling to go remote and want to learn how to teach your students virtually, my advice is to use Google Classroom.

I have been using it for many years and it's been a life saver! 

• You can create virtual classrooms for particular groups of students (and teachers)
• You can create assignments for students to complete
• They can complete these assignments and turn them in to you
• You can see what your students are doing LIVE when working on assignments
• You can leave them specific comments on particular pages of their assignments​
• You can grade these assignments and leave them feedback
• You can see a spreadsheet of grades for all assignments
• You can ask questions as bell ringers or exit tickets
• You can differentiate assignments for different students
• ​You can have group conversations
• You can set quizzes
  ... and sooo much more!
  
  If you are interested in learning how to use Google Classroom for remote learning, you can access this online course for FREE:

I hope that course helps you get started with remote learning. If you have any questions along the way, please reach out to me at katie@teachersresourceforce.com and I'll do my best to help you out!

If you have specific questions about how to create digital resources for use with tools such as Google Classroom, then you can enroll in this course which goes into more detail for you.

Now let's talk about the kids. They are struggling with this too, and as time goes on, things will get harder for them. That's why it's crucial to get them started on good habits from now! How can you do that? What advice do you give them? Fear not, you don't have to do anything other than give them a copy of this study from home guide / journal:

You can send your students this guide / journal to help them in their home study routine. It guides them through how to plan their schedule and routine by reverse engineering their day using their assignment deadlines or personal academic goals.

It also addresses how they can look after their own well-being while they are stuck at home. It addresses body aches due to excessive desk / computer hunching, too much screen time and how to keep fit and mentally healthy.

You get a 17 page printable journal for them to fill in (with a quote colouring page included for some calming, screen free zen time!), and there is a digital version available too for them to type directly into the document, should they prefer. You can mail the journal to them or send it to your students remotely.

So worry no more about how to guide your students in working from home! ​

You're probably used to regular check ins with your students to see how they're getting on and being someone they can always talk to.

Well now with distance learning that is suddenly so much harder! But it's not impossible. I created these Google check-in Forms that you can post on Google Classroom that students can complete every day if you choose to. It's a great way of taking attendance if you're teaching remotely! It's virtual morning meeting where you can see how your students are feeling and whether they need some extra TLC. There is also a virtual afternoon meeting so you can see how they're feeling after a day of online learning and what they might need from you in the future:

This resource contains 4 different attractive Google forms for you to use with your students. Simply post them on Google Classroom to get a check in and take attendance at the same time!

The forms included are:
• Morning Meeting Google Form Check In: check on your students’ well-being and how they are feeling, and give them an opportunity to share important information with you and have that 1:1 attention if they need it.

• Afternoon Meeting Google Form Check In: check on your students’ well-being and progress on the day. You can compare how they’re feeling from the morning, discover what they have learned and enjoyed, and what they’ve found challenging so you can cater to their needs in the future.

• Initial Remote Learning Google Form Check In: Gain an understanding on your student’s learning environment at home. In your classroom you can control the learning environment, but once it comes to remote learning that is out of your hands. Learn what kind of device, internet access and study space they have as well as what their initial concerns are.

​• Interim Remote Learning Google Form Check In: As remote learning is a new playing field for many of us, it’s important to regularly check in on your students to see how they are finding the experience. With this form you will learn what they are finding valuable and gain an insight into what might help improve their remote learning experience in the future.

See, you can still be the caring teacher you love being, even without being able to see your students face to face with these well-being check in forms for remote learning!

You can also download the initial remote learning check in Google form for free using this link below:

Finally, let's not forget about the parents! Oh how they are struggling with all these changes too - working from home while having to home school their children. Their feedback is fundamental in helping our students succeed, as for the first time the tables have turned and they're the ones seeing their students more than teachers. Use these Parent Feedback Google Forms to get their point of view and learn more about your students' home learning environment:

This is new territory for all of us: teachers, students and parents! Learning is going to look dramatically different for the foreseeable future, so I hope these resources and freebies help you in your journey to distance learning! Drop a comment below if you have any questions, I'm here to help.

Oh the test stress. We all know it too well through our own experiences and now having to put our students through the same thing too.

It sucks - for everyone!

However to this day, there is one thing that has helped so many of us get through tough situations and that is through the use of motivational quotes!

Think about it - how often do you take note of positive quotes on Instagram or Facebook? Or what about in your home or classroom? Is there a motivational quote on display anywhere?

I bet there's a good chance there is!

That's because they do actually help. They work as little fire-starters that get your booty into gear and inspire you to keep going.

So when I started creating motivational quote colouring pages for my students back in 2014, it wasn't much of a surprise when they would tell me that they really helped them! Since then thousands of teachers around the world have been using my colouring pages to help their students during the testing season.

However... recently I had a brainwave to crank this theory up a notch! Keep reading to learn more...

It is no surprise that testing is a leading cause of stress and anxiety among school children, and in this article on The 5 steps to help your students manage their stress, I shared that "teen stress is even rivalling that of adults, and half of all teenagers weren't sure they were doing enough to handle their stress, with many expressing feelings of overwhelm, sadness and exhaustion."

Unfortunately we can't not test them, but what we can do is help and encourage them to get through these tough times.

For many people, simply being inspired by a motivational quote can have a huge, empowering effect!

There is a scientific reason why these motivational quotes really do help so many of us - here are just 3 of them:

1) You feel like you're being coached, especially if you are inspired by the author of the quote. You feel that if they did it, you can do it too!

​2) Short and catchy quotes are memorable which helps you continue to recall them and be inspired by the words for a long time to come.

3) It's in our DNA to be aspirational. We want to look up to role models and leaders, and one way we are able to do that is through their inspirational words.

I have been condoning colouring therapy for many years now. To me, it's not "fluff".

Many, many students have confirmed that they find colouring therapeutic and relaxing and it does physically help them with their anxiety. It's all about mindfulness and being in the moment.

Yes we know we have a lot of content to get through as teachers, but our students' well-being and ability to handle stress simply cannot be pushed aside.

This is the reason I created quote colouring pages: a combination of both colouring therapy and motivational quotes! It really does help relax and inspire your students, and if you are interested in learning more, you can read about it here.

Recently, I was thinking how to use this concept to help our students even further...

It's all well and good relaxing and colouring the pages before the test, but what about during the test? If having motivational quotes on display is inspiring as a reminder, then how could we incorporate this?

Then I had a brainwave - quote colouring table tents:

What if, students could get the benefit of relaxing colouring therapy before the test to help calm their nerves, but also have this quote on display on their desk during the test?

This concept has a multitude of benefits. When students colour their quotes, they create an emotional connection to the resource. They remember colouring specific parts in and with it come the thoughts and emotions they were feeling as they were doing it. By having their personal tent in front of them during the test, not only will they be inspired by the words, but also by the feelings of calm they felt as they were colouring it in.

If you think this sounds a bit "woo woo", I encourage you to try it yourself and see what I mean! You may find you can recall exactly what you were watching on TV, or what you were daydreaming about at the time. Fascinating stuff! So let's use it to our advantage to help our students.

I am still a huge advocate for motivational posters around the room and it's an effective way of covering the walls and decorating your classroom!

These table tents offer an additional option for your students. By all means you can use both posters and tents! But the emotional connection students have to their own work as well as seeing their favourite quote right in front of them as they are doing their test, is empowering and inspiring.

Depending on time restraints, I know a lot of teachers like to give the colouring pages to students who finish tests early rather than spending time before the test colouring these in. That is absolutely fine and if you choose to use them that way, you can get your students to keep the tents they colour in and save them for a future test so they can still have their own work in front of them during a test.

You could also let students take some of the tents home and colour them in while they are in a relaxed head space, and bring them to school with them the next day to display during their tests.

Any way we can help our students through the stressful emotions of taking tests is only ever a good thing, and I hope these motivational colouring tents do that for your students this testing season!

If you are interested in using these colouring table tents with your students, then you can download the bundle at a discount below and you will get 15 different designs to choose from:

If you'd like to "try before you buy", you can download a colouring tent for free first! Simply input your name and email below and it will be sent straight to you: