Through sharing the various things I do in and with my classroom to other teachers on social media, I get asked a lot of questions about what I do, or how I do it. I find that many teachers have a hard time with where to start and also, how to continue without tossing community building to the corner.
Here's the reality; creating a routine for community building that incorporates mental health and well-being can be tough. We need to figure out where to start, what resources to use, how to make it relatable and age appropriate for our students, but also how to find the time given how crazy our schedules can be.
I will say this though - I have zero regrets taking the time I have taken to build community. The environments in my classroom speak volumes and have been such a safe place not just for my students, but for me as well.
I've narrowed down what I do to a few points that I hope will help you as you try to find your groove.
1) Establish 3 important teachings to focus on throughout September.
I wouldn't do more than 3 because that can be a lot and truly, these teachings should be natural and not involve much planning. Ask yourself, what are important things that I want my students to practice in the classroom, that I can always model?
I choose to focus on these 3 things
1) Emotional Tanks: What they are, how we fill them, how we drain them.
2) Affirmations: What they are, why they are important, how we can use them.
3) Anxiety: What it is, normalizing it, recognizing it, reducing it.
Now, there are a ton of different things that I teach throughout the year; leadership, identifying emotions, circles of control, and more, but I've found that 3 is the magic number. Keep in mind, what I choose to do does NOT have to be what you have to do! It's whatever YOU want and think is beneficial for your classrooms.
2) Sacrifice time at least once a week to practice what was taught.
I said it before - we have crazy schedules as teachers and there are days where we run out of time for what we had planned. This point really means you need to get used to building this routine. If it means you end a lesson early, continue a work period the next day, DO IT!
There is no sense in teaching students what you teach them for community building and well-being if it's not applied constantly or practiced.
Practicing can be various games, gratitude journals, community circles, or even a mindfulness moment! Whatever matches your teachings.
When teaching my class about e-tanks, I try to create a different game every Friday that allows that to focus on filling their own e-tanks and also the tanks of others (I'll create a separate blog post with some of these games). When another teacher enters our classroom, I pose a challenge to my students and ask how we can fill up their e-tank. If I notice a student is not feeling their best, I approach other students and ask them what we can do. TONS of opportunity for practice!
3) Do not feel the need to reinvent the wheel.
Another note? Do NOT feel like you have to reinvent the wheel here. There are SO many resources on there that are free and classroom friendly. If you check out my Linktree you'll see 4 different resources that you can take and use! But more importantly, some of the best community building activities are created naturally through the unique needs of your class. Not every activity will work with every class - that's just unrealistic. We always say that every child is different and it's true! This is also what makes every single class different.
With that said though, you never know until you try!
One of my favourite games is the tapping game. It's a simple, zero-prep activity that requires the attention of your class. I turn off the lights and instruct my class to close their eyes and rest their heads on their arms. When resting, I explain that I will be choosing 3-4 students as my designated TAPPERS. If they feel me tap them, that means I have chosen them to be a tapper and they may open their eyes and stand up, but must stay quiet so that nobody knows it is them. Once I have chosen my tappers, I explicitly instruct my students by saying "my tappers have been chosen - from now on, if you get tapped, keep your eyes closed and your heads down". To my tappers I say, "I will give you a prompt - gently and on the shoulder, tap as many students in the class that you f
eel fit this prompt". From there, I use prompts such as "Tap a student in the class who is a good friend", "tap a student in the class who is funny and makes you laugh", "tap a student in the class who is a great team player". Throughout the game, I also walk around and without making it obvious, tap every student in the class. You will be surprised how many students your tappers tap! I do about 3-4 prompts and then do 3 rounds with different sets of tappers each time. The consolidation after the game is the most important part. I always start off with asking "how did this activity make you feel?" and the responses almost always bring tears in my eyes. It is a total feel good game!
So in a nutshell, there is tons out there if you look and especially if you ask!
Looking to hear more? Be sure to check out my podcast episodes on Jacob Chastain's
"Teach Me, Teacher".
