So a guilty pleasure of mine is watching "day in the life vlogs" on YouTube: I just love seeing what other people get up to on a daily basis and how others live their lives. Well, this inspired me see if any teachers are vlogging as I thought that would be really relatable, enjoyable to watch and I might learn a thing or two as well!

It has taken me quite a while to find what I was looking for (hint, if you're a teacher vlogger: use those words in your title somewhere so we can find you!) but I have found some fantastic people on YouTube recently! If you're interested in watching other teachers show you their classrooms and talk about what they are doing at school, then I'll save you loads of time with this collection of the best of the teacher vloggers in one place, right here!

In no particular order, meet the vloggers:

1) Tina Bietler - she's a 4th grade teacher who does daily vlogs in her classroom and also updates us on what she does for her students while she's at home. She's a very dedicated teacher and incredibly hard working! It has been a lot of fun watching her set up her classroom this summer and having her take us round the teacher store (I SO wish there was a UK equivalent over here - if anyone knows of any, drop me a note in the comments!). She's really inspirational and I love how organised she is and how much care and attention goes into her teaching.
Check out her channel here!

2) Bridget Spackman - Her channel is The Lettered Classroom and she's also a 4th grade teacher. How this woman manages to vlog every day is beyond me! I love that she brings us along to school with her and will check in during her breaks and after school to let us know what she has been doing with her students. It was also so much fun watching her set up her classroom this summer too! I love the excellent attention to detail and nothing is too much for her students - she'll often be vlogging at school late into the evenings and out and about for school supplies on the weekends. Check out her channel here!

3) Greg Smedley-Warren - he is a Kindergarten teacher and his videos are really unique as he shows himself actually teaching in the classroom! As you're watching him teach (he calls these his SmorgieVision series!) you can also see how his classroom is organised and what his daily routines are. He also films other videos with fun teaching tips too - a great channel you should definitely check out here!

4) Adam Peterson - his channel is Teachers Learn Too and he is also a Kindergarten teacher! He films awesome top tips in his classroom and he shares new things he is trying out in his lessons. He comes across as very innovative and always willing to try new things out, which I just love. He demonstrates how he makes some of his classroom resources so you can do them too, and he takes time to explain fun teaching ideas he has tried with his students!
A great channel, check it out here!

5) La Tawnya Robinson - her channel is SmartieStyle and she teaches 5th grade. She's really new to vlogging, she just started this week actually but she's a natural! I like that she is super stylish and starts her videos with a teacher OOTD (Outfit Of The Day)! She talks to you on her way to work in the car, discusses more about her role, her routine and what she is teaching her students - plus I love that her videos are really long!
​Check out her channel here!

I hope you enjoy watching these awesome teachers who are willing to share their teacher lives with the world! The pool of teacher vloggers is still teeny tiny, which is a shame as I just love watching other teachers - I find it really motivating and inspiring! There are quite a few teachers on YouTube who just do talky videos on all things education, which are also great to watch and maybe that can be other blog post one day! But if you like the day in the life vlogs in particular, I think you'll really enjoy following these teachers around.

​Have I missed anyone that I really need to know about? Do you enjoy watching vlogs too? If so, who do you enjoy watching?

I don't know about you, but I've found that students generally start off their education keen to learn, asking lots of questions and seemingly not too worried about getting things "wrong". Then something happens along the way (most likely teenage hormones and test stress) when fear of getting the answer wrong can paralyze them from sharing their thoughts for fear of "public humiliation" or failure.

At the end of last term I recently had one of my students stay behind after class to tell me that she felt sad because she was getting laughed at for her contributions in all her lessons - she said the students are always careful to do it out of the classroom, away from the teacher's ears... I found this so sad and it really got me thinking: as far as I am concerned, there are no stupid questions or answers in my classroom. I always make an effort to praise any sensible contributions in class whether right or wrong and I'm very quick to act when anyone laughs at someone. Sadly some classes haven't gelled as well as others though and are teasing in secret; it seemed this group was one of them. This is yet another reason why teaching Character Education in secondary schools is so vital.

So it made me wonder, how many times does this actually go on that we as teachers are never aware about?

I came up with an idea to encourage more students to speak up without fear of getting an answer wrong or saying something they later felt was "stupid", and it worked really well! So if you find some of your students are reticent to contribute in class for whatever reason, I have some suggestions that should help encourage them to share without fear and build more of a supportive community in your classroom!

The idea is to eradicate the fear of incorrect answers being "bad".  How do we do that you ask? Well here's a fun idea that you can try in any lesson that will get all your students contributing with confidence!

For your own interest, it would be a good idea to count the number in each pile so you can gauge the class's knowledge on the subject, but once you have done that the "YES" pile can be discarded: it's the other "NO" pile that is the special one! You are now looking for #TheBestNoEver! Sift through the answers and make a new pile that you think has the best wrong answers, share them with the class and open a discussion on them!

Some points to consider:

• Try to encourage your students to be supportive and not laugh at any of the responses - the idea is to gain an understanding as to why someone would think this answer and to help them out. This really creates a sense of unity and support in the classroom.
• Explain that this is anonymous and no one has to share of they got the answer wrong or not - make them feel safe.

Some prompt questions you could ask:

• "Why is this such a great wrong answer?"
• "Is there any truth to this answer?"
• "Why do you think someone would come to this conclusion?"
• "How could we help someone understand this topic better?"

​Once you have discussed a few of the best wrong answers ever, you can ask your students to research and create some resources / study material that highlight common wrong answers to a question and any tips they can offer on helping their peers get it right! 

In doing all of this, your students will not only be able to be honest about answering questions, but you will be able to encourage a supportive atmosphere in encouraging students to help each other out and create study material (whether they got the original question right or wrong is irrelevant!).

So next time you have any students reluctant to answer questions in class, try the #TheBestNoEver activity with them and build that confidence and community in the classroom!

What do you do to encourage students to not fear wrong answers? Let me know in the comments!

After the initial emphatic hugs and tears of joy after being reunited with their friends after a long summer apart, the enthusiasm of being back at school can decrease pretty quickly for teens!

I guess it doesn't help that we drill them with admin and rule reminders on the first day back..! Although those steps are often necessary to get them back into their routines, it doesn't have to be such a tedious experience. Here are some ideas to get your students inspired  and ready to learn when they come back to school, or whenever you feel it's time for a refocus!

1) If you've been following me for a while, you may know that I am a big advocate of "big kids" colouring. There are so many studies that prove its effectiveness at reducing stress and helping with concentration. If you're interested in learning more about this, check out some of these articles:

7 Reasons Adult Coloring Books Are Great for Your Mental, Emotional and Intellectual Health by Huffington Post
Health Benefits of Adult Coloring Books by WellnessMama
7 Amazing Benefits of Coloring for Adults by LifeHack

I have a whole range of teen friendly colouring pages and they are all based around positive quotes or Growth Mindset: you can see the whole collection of colouring pages here!

This set is the latest to be added and it's something a little different as they are pennants! The idea is that they are coloured in and then hung up around your room in a chain! Simply punch a hole in each corner as seen below, then tie a string through them all and hang them wherever you like! There are 10 different quotes in total in this set.

The best bit is that these are all positive quotes about learning, and the fact that students can take some ownership in expressing themselves by colouring in these in will mean they have their own unique stamp on your classroom decor! ​It's also an easy and effective way of incorporating Character Education into your lessons too.

​2) The second thing to get them feeling positive, is to actually allow them to have an informal chat with their friends about their summer and what they are looking forward to this year, all while they are colouring these in. You could even do a speed dating type activity where students move around every few minutes so they can have a chat to more people in the room. To avoid a complicated mess, I'd keep a pack of pens or pencils on each desk that stays put so students are not fumbling carrying around loads of things while they move! This is a great way of building your class community and making good use of this relaxing colour-time!

​3) To get them really thinking about the significance of these quotes, ask them to analyse one/some/all of them, and reflect on what they mean and how they can apply to them to their own attitude towards learning. To make this really easy for you, I have a free quote analysis resource (available in the VIP area) that you can use in my store that's perfect for this activity! 

​4) I previously mentioned that students really like putting their stamp on their classroom, so why not give them some ownership on decorating their space! It's so easy for us to get a little possessive about decorating our rooms, but students like having a say too and they're more likely to feel part of the community if they make some of the decisions or have their work on display. So why not set aside some time at the beginning of the year or during your morning meetings, for students to design a wall display or an area of the room. You can then do a class vote on the best designs and they can then have the responsibility of making it happen! Less work for you and more ownership and greater sense of community for the students = win!

5) The final idea to get your students positive about learning when coming back to school, is to set a fun homework or research task whereby you could ask them to find some of their own favourite growth mindset quotes. They can then make their own classroom decoration or resources based on their favourite quotes! All this focus on positive attitude towards learning will really get it in their subconscious and set them off on the right foot.

I hope you have found some of these ideas helpful! If you do use any of my colouring pages, please send me a photo - I would LOVE to see how you're using them and what your students are creating! You never know, there might be a little gift in it for you too! ;)

UPDATE: I have now extended this series to include some "self-esteem" specific pennants to help boost confidence and character in your students too! Check them out below:

I wish you the best start to the school year - let's make this the best one yet!