Do What You Love

“I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint - and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you. ” 
― Oprah Winfrey

This is by far one of my favorite quotes. Why? I get to do what I love and share with others to inspire them to do the same. I recently was promoted to Executive Board Member for Whole Brain Teachers of America. I have been with WBT since 2013 when I became an intern. My goal was to become Gold Certified and share WBT with other teachers. I loved how WBT changed my teaching career. I knew I could walk into my classroom any day and my students knew what to expect. I wanted to share this with other teachers who were struggling like I was before WBT. I made it to my goal in March of 2016. I became Gold Certified and a National WBT Presenter. Many conferences later, I feel like I've helped other teachers see the amazing light of WBT. I have also worn many other hats in WBT such as creating a personal WBT blog, supporting the Forum on the original WBT site, working on the WBT Virtue Math Team, co-managing the Schoology Bronze Course, being a Guide on the Silver Course, and now being the Director of the WBT School Program and the Principal of the WBT Virtual School! It has been quite the journey but every step towards my success has been worth it. I honestly have to pinch myself at times because I have come this far. If you LOVE what you do, nothing can stop you from having your dreams become a reality. I hope this post will help encourage you to persevere and to never give up!!!

Here's a link to a video of me teaching the parts of the brain to my 2nd grade smarties!

https://youtu.be/WJitUHLpGqc

Viva WBT Vegas

Last week I was in Vegas for the Whole Brain Teaching National Conference. I had never been to Vegas so when I heard the conference was going to be held there, I was ecstatic! My wonderful friend, DeAndra, accompanied me there and we had a blast!

View from our room.

As some of you may know, I recently became the 15th WBT Certified Instructor. I'm now saying 15 is my LUCKY number!!! I couldn't wait to get off the plane and see my amazing WBT family. We got somewhat settled then headed to Las Vegas High School where the conference was held. I was greeted with big bear hugs and squeals! I was squealing myself because I finally got to meet Stacey Byl who was the LUCKY number 16 for certification! I also gave Nancy Stoltenberg a huge hug because she helped me SO much this past school year and I can't forget Coach B!

Lucky #15 and #16

Day 1 we talked about Beginner and Intermediate WBT. Loved getting the refresher and seeing teachers' faces light up with the funtricity of WBT!!! These levels focus on Class-Yes, Mirror-Words, Hands and Eyes,Teach-Okay, Scoreboard, and Super Improver Wall. What was awesome about the conference is that it mirrored the NEW WBT web site aka TEACHER HEAVEN!!! Sarah Meador, Melissa Ortuno and Heidi Martin did an extremely fabulous job. It's so easy to navigate and plus it's colorful! Here's the link! 
Whole Brain Teaching

1st and 2nd Grade Presenters: Stephanie Meder, Nancy Stoltenberg, Deb Weigel, and Joyce Ray

Day 2 we discussed Advanced and Legendary WBT which goes into using the Wrong Way/Right Way, Recess Practice, Practice Cards, and Bulls Eye Game. These are very effective ways to help your most beloved rascals!

Day 3 was Semi-Divine. Here's a snippet of what's seen on the new WBT web site for this level!

I spent Day 3 with Coach B. We talked a lot of writing which I LOVE the writing part of WBT. My smarties took off in their writing last year of WBT. We can't teach ALL the skills at once so Coach B said, why not teach them one at a time and let them improve on those skills! You can find more at the new WBT site for writing! I highly recommend it!

So my time in Vegas was mostly spent with my WBT family but I am NOT complaining. I did see some cool hotels, street performers, and maybe played a slot or two but what a blessing it is to be part of this WONDERFUL educational movement. WBT has brought so many teachers out of a rut and to TEACHER HEAVEN!

Vegas Fun!

I feel refreshed and I can't wait to share the love of WBT with others as my journey continues as a WBT Level 5 Board Certified Instructor. 

A huge THANKS to Las Vegas High School for your hospitality!

We Work For Food

We walked into OCA with the smell of frying bacon, sausage and fresh hot biscuits. We knew this was going to be a great and delicious day! We were greeted by the amazing principal and staff. We instantly felt at home. The nerves were swept away by the yummy breakfast.

Then it was time to get our presentation going. We were on a roll (no pun intended). As the presentation was going on, we were being filmed for Coach B. Since we are rookies, we have to watch our presentation and discuss our areas of improvement and strengths. Well.....let's say some areas of improvement are chunking more and.......let's also say the video DOES add 10lbs...right?
Speaking of those extra pounds, the awesome OCA staff made us a home-cooked lunch. Therefore we DO work for food!!!

All in all, we had a BLAST and can't wait to do more presentations! We are on our way up the Super Improver Wall, improving in ALL areas.

Oh, my Sweet Wonderful Class!

August 19, 2015, 22 first graders walked into my classroom. Some were shy. Some were bouncing of the walls. Some were scared and some were eager to see what first grade was all about. We sat down at the carpet, introduced ourselves and began our Whole Brain Teaching year. Immediately I could tell who would strive to become a Living Legend on the Super Improver Wall and who would benefit from the amazing ways of WBT. I was ecstatic that this would be THE YEAR to become certified. The months went on with learning. The Power Pix Wall began to fill. The Brainies Wall began to become a huge part of our oral writing. We practiced and practiced with Teach-Okay. Did many 5 -Step Lessons but all the while having a blast! My smarties were becoming experts at WBT. Then came THE VIDEO. We were determined for our video to become exemplary and it was. THEY worked hard. It's all because of their grit. Not once did they whine when I told them, "one more time."

Now tomorrow is the last day of school. There will be MANY tears as these smarties head onto second grade. I know they will take all their WBT strategies with them and will succeed. However, I want them to know that although I am supposed to be making a difference in their lives, they forever changed mine. I love you my sweet, oh so sweet wonderful class, forever and always.

Forever a Legend

It's been a fast year but a great learning one for my smartie, Jarin! (I have permission from his mom to post about him). Jarin came to me in August, eager to learn but there were challenging days. As I got to know him, I knew he needed to have something to work towards. That's where the Super Improver Wall helped tremendously.This is one my favorite aspects of WBT. It gives each student something to work towards and encourages them to improve.

I gave Jarin one behavior goal to work on a week. I explained to him that if he improved on his behavior goal, he'd earn a star. For every 10 stars each student earns, they move up a level on the SIW. There are 10 levels with  Living Legend being the highest. He was determined to be a Legend in my class. After a while he started to earn stars for an academic goal. For example, every text level he went up, he'd get a star. It amazed me how hard he tried to improve...just for a star! I could see a change in Jarin. He grew in confidence and his behavior began to improve. I'm so proud to say that Jarin did it! He achieved his goal by being a Legend! He will forever be a  Living Legend in my classroom and when my next group of smarties enter the classroom, there his picture will be hanging on the wall. Jarin- Forever a Legend

It's All Worth It!

It all started in 2008, when I was frustrated with classroom management. It was my second year of teaching and I was teaching Kinder. I was not being successful with the techniques I was using on my own so I decided to YouTube classroom management for Kinder. The first video that popped up was Andrea Shindler's Whole Brain Teaching video. I sat in amazement as her kinders were all focused on her then turning to their neighbors and teaching. I couldn't believe she had ALL her students fully engaged! I knew I needed to learn more about this Whole Brain Teaching. I watched her video again and began taking notes. The next day I used some of the strategies in my kinder class and WHOA they were responding VERY well. I used a little at a time, getting comfortable with WBT. The next couple of years I began to incorporate more and more into my classroom. I was constantly on wholebrainteaching.com looking for more ways to help my smarties become engaged in their learning. I joined the book club and read, WBT for Challenging Kids.
Fast forward to 2013, I was teaching 1st grade. I became an intern with WBT and began my certification process. I wanted to use what I've learned to help other teachers in my building and most importantly be the best WBT teacher for my students. I was eager to film my first video for certification. Unfortunately, my video was not exemplary. I knew I needed to step it up and grow. I made another video for the 14-15 school year. I was better and did grow but again my video was not exemplary. Now I was DETERMINED to be certified! I attended the 2015 WBT National Conference in Pineville, LA. I met Coach B, the mastermind behind WBT, and he encouraged me! I attended his advanced class and learned so much more!
Now it's the 15-16 school year and I made my classroom a WBT model classroom, worked with my smarties EVERY DAY, and watched every WBT periscope I could. I was feeling pretty good about my video for this year. So I did it, well I guess you can say my smarties did it. They worked SO hard to help me get certified. I sent my video to Nancy Stoltenberg and she raved about it!!! I thought to myself, this is it!! She sent the video to Coach B. I was waiting to hear back and received an email. It said for me to give Coach B a call. He had some suggestions for me. I dialed his number, had my pen ready to take notes. Needless to say, he said I DID IT!!!!! I can't begin to tell you all the excitement I felt!! Tears streamed down my face. I did it. My video was finally exemplary and it was all worth it!

Newest WBT Rules

In WBT, there are 5 rule plus the Diamond Rule. Recently, Coach B introduced the virtue rules that are added to Rule #4 Make Smart Choices. The rule now states, Rule #4 Make Smart Choices! Glorious Kindness, Leadership, Courage, Invinvcible Grit, and Creativity. All the rules are said every day with gestures but on certain days Rule #4 comes into play with more detail. For example, Kindness Monday, Leadership Tuesday, Courage Wednesday, Grit Thursday, and Creative Friday plus all virtues. My students especially love Leadership Tuesday because they need to act and look
like 3rd graders to earn Super Improver Stars! 😉

Check out Heidi Martin, WBT staff member and first grade teacher, recite the WBT rules! Click the link below!

WBT Rules

To learn more about WBT, go to www.wholebrainteaching.com