Latest Tip of the Week

Beginning Again with Gentle Resilience

You’re starting to think about heading back. The room is still quiet while your mind is already turning. You find yourself thinking about routines and transitions, about your students coming back in after break, and the ways you’ll help everyone settle back in when the door opens.

Early January brings a natural restart for everyone. The calendar turns, and the classroom slowly finds its rhythm again. You’ll reestablish routines, revisit expectations, and offer steadiness where it’s needed most. Those first few days matter. They shape how the room feels and how learning unfolds.

In all of that planning, it’s easy to focus entirely on what your students will need. This quieter space before they return is also a chance to take care of yourself.  One practice that helps is taking a brief pause before the school day begins to reflect on how you want to show up. A single sentence can steady your thinking and gently guide your actions for the day ahead. Sitting with it for a quiet moment and even writing down your thoughts gives you a place to begin and helps to anchor your thoughts.

This practice is what shaped our book, Daily Sparks. Carol and I wrote it for moments just like this—when the year restarts and teachers are preparing to carry a great deal. Each Spark offers a short reflection you can return to again and again, helping you build resilience through calm, clarity, and care.

As you think about walking back into your room and everything it will ask of you, know that you don’t have to carry it all at once. These small moments of reflection won’t take away the work ahead, but they can change how it feels. Returning to a Spark each day helps quiet the swirl in your mind, steady your footing, and feel rooted in what matters most.

Here’s a Spark straight from our book so you can try this practice for yourself and experience the calm and clarity your mornings can hold. One quiet, intentional moment at a time.

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