May 24, 2025 • 38 mins
TD Flenaugh and guest Lauren Moseley discuss strategies for a strong start to the day, emphasizing the importance of a welcoming and productive morning routine. Moseley, a national board-certified teacher, shares the "Strong Start" program, which includes morning greetings, goal setting, purposeful partnering, community-building activities, breath work, and sending love affirmations. She highlights the impact of positive morning routines on student engagement and emotional well-being. Moseley also reflects on her journey from criminal justice to teaching, influenced by the need to inspire and support children. She advises parents to be mindful of their morning routines and to engage with their children's teachers regularly.
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Episode Transcript
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TD Flenaugh (00:00):
A strong start.
(00:00):
Have you had a morning that wasnot particularly welcoming or
(00:04):
productive or even frustratingor even infuriating? Well, today
we're going to talk about how tohave a strong start that could
lead the way to a veryproductive day and getting you
closer to achieving your goals.
(00:25):
And parents, there's tips foryou on how to get your students
together as well. Okay, tune in.
Hi. Thank you so much forjoining the falling for learning
podcast. I am TD Flenaugh. Wehave this podcast to help
parents and caregivers withhaving the resources, strategies
(00:47):
and tools needed to make surethat their children are on track
for learning and to stay ontrack for success. Okay, today
we have a special guest. It is anational board certified
teacher, Lauren Mosley, who hasbeen teaching kids across the
(01:08):
United States for at least twodecades, and she's going to
bring her expertise about how tohave a welcoming, wonderful
productive, strong start. Sowelcome Miss Moseley.
Lauren Moseley (01:31):
Oh, hello. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you
so much for having me. This isthe 100th episode. Am I? Am I
right? 100 ping.
TD Flenaugh (01:41):
I don't have any sound effects, but it is episode
100
Lauren Moseley (01:48):
that's amazing.
Well, I am so proud of you andso grateful for all the work
that you're doing and the waythat you have transformed the
space into a place where parentscan come and get some tips. And
I just, I just love hearing allyour podcasts and all the things
that you're doing. So yeah, I'mlooking forward to the
TD Flenaugh (02:10):
thank you so much.
When I heard about your strongstart, I really wanted to know
more about you know what thatmeans, what it looks like, how
you developed it over time. Butbefore we get into those
details, I always ask my guests,what helped them fall in love
with learning?
Lauren Moseley (02:31):
Wow, that's a great question. I'm going to say
it was probably being, you know,as a little girl, having the
freedom to explore. And myparents, you know, were I grew
up in the 70s. I'm aging myselfhere. But you know, it was a
(02:55):
time where you were kind of leftto go outside and play and don't
come back in the house until thestreet lights come on, and just
having that freedom to be outand explore. I mean, I loved
nature. I loved animals andinsects, and I was always
(03:18):
digging for worms and collectingflowers insects, and I was
curious. I was such a curiouschild, so I think my love for
learning really started withjust an abundance of curiosity
and a need to open up thingslike, you know, just try to find
(03:39):
out how my jewelry box. Workedthe little ballerina that spun
on top. So you took it
TD Flenaugh (03:46):
apart, or what?
Lauren Moseley (03:48):
Yeah, so I would, I would take things
apart, what's inside of this.
And so, you know, I also lovebooks, and I loved reading. I
wasn't a great reader, but Iloved like looking at the
encyclopedia and looking at allthe pictures we had, like the
set of the Britannica insideencyclopedias back in the day,
and just even flipping throughand looking at the pictures was
(04:10):
just I was awe inspired. So
TD Flenaugh (04:14):
tell me, what do you mean you weren't a great
reader? Tell us more about that.
Lauren Moseley (04:18):
Yeah, I know I wasn't a great reader. Only I
well. I didn't realize I wasn'ta great reader until I started
school, because prior to that,the first book that I could ever
read was was green eggs and ham.
I believe I remember my momasking me to read that book. I
want to say it may not have beenGreen Eggs and Ham. It may have
(04:39):
been some Dr Seuss book fromback in the day. I'm saying
Green Eggs and Ham, but it maynot have been that something,
something may have been a Dickand Jane book, I don't know, but
something that my mom would haveme, she'd be on the phone with
her girlfriends and like, oh mygosh, Lawrence, reading here,
here, come here, come read. Youknow, come read to your aunt, or
come read to your grand. OtherAnd so before she got off the
(05:00):
phone, I always had to, youknow, flip through a few pages
and read a little bit becauseshe was so excited. But when I
went to school, I was in the inthe red bird group. Okay,
TD Flenaugh (05:11):
hold on. No, you got like you were saying that
you weren't a great readerbefore you got into school, like
before kindergarten, or beforethat? Are you talking about pre
kindergarten.
Lauren Moseley (05:23):
I'm saying when I started school, probably
kindergarten. I could read. Icould read a little bit, but
once I got in school, I feltlike I was in the group of kids
who were not the great readers Isee. Do you know what I mean?
You have the red group. The red,I think it was birds. It's like
red bird group and the yellowbird group and the green bird
(05:45):
group. I was in the red birdgroup, so I knew all those
engine right? And we, we were atthe small table doing the
intervention kind of stuff.
Okay, it wasn't calledintervention, but it was
definitely the red bird group,and I remember it felt like
perhaps I wasn't the bestreader, but I love books, so I
(06:05):
eventually graduated out of thered bird group, and maybe by
second grade. And I rememberthird grade, I really was
feeling a lot more confident,and felt like a reader by third
grade. But first, you know,kinder, first, second, I think I
was on the struggle I was on thestruggle list, okay,
TD Flenaugh (06:29):
yeah, but the exploration kept you drawn to
learning. Yeah,
Lauren Moseley (06:36):
yeah, absolutely. I think always
wanting to know more kept me notshut down by the fact that I
probably wasn't the best readermy mom would read to me. The
first book she ever read to mewas Justin Morgan had a horse,
and after that, all I wanted wasa horse. And every time there
(06:58):
was an opportunity to get a giftfor whether it was Christmas or
my birthday or Easter. Hey,could I get a horse? Because
Justin Morgan has one, and Iwould really like a horse. So,
yeah. So there are thingschildhood memories that stand
out around literacy, around, youknow, going to museums and going
(07:19):
to ballet, you know, differentthings with the arts. And I know
my childhood was very rich withexperiences that kept me
curious. And I think that wasthe thing that even though I
wasn't a great student,necessarily a grade wise, it may
have had something to do withthe amount of talking I did as
well. I was very, verycommunicative as a little one. I
(07:43):
still have my report cards,because my mom does not throw
away anything, right? I havereport cards that have. It's the
proof of Lauren talks too much.
I see conduct wasn't awesome.
But again, I I, I did lovelearning, and I still do Okay,
(08:03):
yeah.
TD Flenaugh (08:04):
And so what about your like, tell us about your
education. Like, you know, yourcollege level education, high
school level education, likethose activities that lead to
what you do now.
Lauren Moseley (08:19):
Okay, yeah. So I went to Southwest Texas State
University, and I was a criminaljustice was psychology major,
criminal justice minor, and Iwanted to be Clarice from
Silence of the Lambs. I wantedto go into the field of criminal
(08:41):
psychology, and after one of myclasses, we had some inmates
come in and talk to us abouttheir journey through the
justice system. And it was sodepressing. It was so sad. The
resonating theme of all of theseinmates that came in to speak to
(09:01):
us was that they did not havepeople who believed in them when
they were kids. They didn't haveteachers that believed in them,
and they didn't have a verystable home life. And I remember
thinking, wow, you know what adifference teachers make, right?
You know a good what adifference a good teacher can
(09:21):
make? Yes. So I was also amember of, or still am a member
of, Alpha Kappa, Alpha SororityIncorporated, and we had a
tutorial program after school,and we partnered with the local
church, and it was only supposedto be for, like, maybe a couple
of months or a semester, orsomething like that. But I
really enjoyed it. I enjoyedtutoring the kids and being with
(09:44):
the little the little ones andyeah, so that was something that
was really it's it was one ofthose moments where I felt like,
I think this is what I want todo in life. I think I wanted. Be
with the little kids. I want toteach them. I want to inspire
them to be curious like, youknow, like I was when I was a
(10:06):
little kid. So even though Igraduated with criminal justice
and psychology degree, I startedthinking about getting a
teaching credential aftercollege. And I felt like, if I
can't help, you know, helpingpeople once they've already gone
into the justice system, or thecriminal justice system. Yeah,
(10:27):
it's after the fact. What if I,yeah, was an amazing teacher and
and what if I was that personthat could inspire and be the
safe place and be the the onehelped a kid read so that they
could have some opportunities,and some, you know, a foundation
when they got older. So afterthat, I was like, Yeah, I and I,
(10:51):
you know, it's funny, I told mymom and my dad, because they're
both educators too, right? WhenI was in college, they talked to
me about being a teacher. I'mlike, I don't want to be a
teacher. They don't make anymoney. And I remember calling my
mom and saying, You know what? Ithink you're right. I think I
need to do because mama will dowhat you love. That can't always
be about the money. You got todo what? What makes you happy?
(11:14):
And I remember saying, Mom, Ithink this makes me happy. I
really think I want to do this.
This is the thing. When I thinkabout kids and think about being
in their lives, I actually getexcited. Whereas, you know,
working in the criminal justicesystem felt it was depressing.
To be honest, was like, Oh mygosh, how do we what do we do?
Yeah, that is, yeah, that's,that's part of the journey I
(11:40):
went on to get a master's incurriculum and instruction. And,
you know, felt like I was stillhitting some walls in terms of
my own growth and development.
And just felt like I still,because I want to learn
something, I want to learn, howcan I be a better teacher? And
that's when I heard aboutnational board so I thought, Oh,
(12:03):
this sounds like a challenge.
Was, as you know, way harderthan my masters, way, way
harder.
TD Flenaugh (12:15):
So those of you who don't know a national board
certification is an advancedcertification for teachers. It
is, you know, it has someweight. All across the nation.
If you're relocating, yournational board certification,
pretty much follows you you'reable to be certified. There's
(12:35):
maybe a little bit you have todo, but pretty much it's you're
certified. It's an advancedcertification, and there are
many things that we have to doto show that we have the
expertise, right of anaccomplished teacher. So, yeah,
Miss Lauren. Miss Lauren Moseleyis a national board certified
(12:57):
teacher, and that's how I mether in the process, though, in
the renewal process. So she wasone of my instructors,
facilitators, as I was, as I wasrenewing my certification. So
yes, so yeah, tell us about yourjourney for national board
certification. Oh,
Lauren Moseley (13:17):
boy, wow. That might have to take that might
take a couple of podcasts. Ittook me. It took me five years
to certify. And not and notbecause, well, let me just start
from the beginning. I thoughtthe certification process was me
proving that I was anaccomplished teacher, and what I
(13:41):
realized through the process isit was actually about me
becoming more accomplished andlearning. And so there was a
great deal of learning andreflection that was going on,
because when I got my teachingcredential, I was part of the
emergency credential program.
Yeah, remember that we are instate of emergency, they would
grab anyone who had a heartbeatand stick them in front of some
(14:03):
children and
TD Flenaugh (14:05):
say, degree in a heartbeat. Yes, that's all you
needed. So
Lauren Moseley (14:09):
I literally was learning on the job, and had no
language for what it was that Iwas doing. I just did the thing,
and the kids did some learning,and we had ice cream and cake at
the end of the school year tocelebrate, and it was over. And
then I did it again the nextyear. Like I didn't have
language for, you know,instructional strategies or
(14:30):
scaffolding. I didn't, I justdidn't know what to call it, but
I was doing it. Yeah, so when Iwent through the process, I
guess my writing, how I wroteabout my experiences wasn't
clear, and that's a big part ofnational board is making sure
you're clear, that your writingis concise and that it's very
convincing, and there's lots ofquestions to answer, and you
(14:51):
have to interpret the questionsand interpret the language. And
yeah. So it took me a long time,and then, of course, we had the
pandemic. Yeah. Yeah. And inthat, that kind of slowed things
down, because we went to onlinelearning, and there was some
extensions, because lots ofpeople were trying to pivot and
figure out, like, how to adjustto this new reality, yeah. So I
(15:15):
had a year added on to thealready four years, and it
doesn't take it. You don't haveto do it in four years, as you
know, that was just my mypacing. So after the extension
and and being able to go throughthe process during the pandemic,
it actually was really great,because I did a lot of
(15:35):
reflecting during the pandemic,and I think it was the the
shutdown of the world. There'sreally nothing else to do but
work on my it was the deepreflection and, like, soul
searching reflection in termsof, like, how do I help my kids
in this new environment where weare all on a screen, right? So
(16:00):
that kind of was the catalyst, Ithink, for me, finally getting
to the place where I could talkabout all the different things
and have all the language. And Ithink the most amazing part of
the whole national awardexperience was the year that I
submitted was also the year thatI got, I was given the Teacher
(16:21):
of the Year Award, and, yeah,and it was kind of like a full
circle moment for me, because itwas, like the hardest year. It
was the hard you know, teachingduring the pandemic was hard for
every educator, and it was thetimes when I felt like I'm not
doing enough to they're notgoing to be ready like they were
(16:42):
our classrooms. But it wassomething about my ability to
support my kids emotionally. Andyou know, as you know, we are
teaching and parents aresometimes in the same room,
especially the teachers who workfrom home, and so they're
hearing everything. And it wasactually my parents that that
(17:03):
nominated me for Teacher of theYear. And one of my parents was
actually a principal. So hewould, he would record me
teaching, and then take it tohis staff and say, Hey, need you
guys. This
TD Flenaugh (17:18):
is my choice, doing that, you know, until after
breaking the law. And that's
Lauren Moseley (17:26):
right, so yeah, I'm like, Are you supposed to be
doing that? But I think thepoint he was trying to make was,
you know, he would just catch medoing things with his son that
he felt like were, you know, washelping his son to to get
excited about coming to onlineclass. Yeah. And he said, you
know, he would wake up in themorning and his son would
already be logged on, ready togo, and he wouldn't have to even
(17:48):
do anything. He was therewaiting for me. He's like,
sitting in the front of thescreen waiting for me to log on.
So, I mean, just little amazing.
Yeah. So it was, it was a hardit was the hardest thing. I
think I cried every day forseveral, several months. I think
I cried every day, going, Oh mygosh. How are we going to do
this? You know, how is the worldgoing to produce kids who can,
(18:09):
you know, survive if we can't bethere with them? But we found a
way to make it work. We did. Andthat kind of goes into, you
know, talking about strong startand just the social, emotional
part of learning that is soimportant, okay? And I think
TD Flenaugh (18:28):
there, we're gonna have a short break, and we'll
find break about this strongstart.
Lauren Moseley (18:35):
Yes,
TD Flenaugh (18:41):
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(19:06):
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Okay, we are back with LaurenMosley, and we're going to find
about bound find out about theStrong Start Program. Go ahead,
(19:31):
tell us more.
Lauren Moseley (19:33):
Okay, so strong start is a part of our whole
child model for social emotionallearning. And I can't say that I
developed it. I think I'm reallygood at implementing it and
connecting the pieces of all ofthis. You know, the totality of
(19:56):
the program is a lot ofdifferent things, but the part.
That I think really helps mykids is the what we do first
thing in the morning. So strongstart. I like to I like to quote
our counselor, she says, wedon't just have a great day, we
make it a great day, and part ofit is the intentionality of
(20:17):
giving kids the the tools todefine how they're going to go
about the rest of their day. Sothat's why we call it strong
start, because we want to startthe days we have the beginning
thing, the first thing we do isa morning greeting. So soon as
the kids cross the threshold,they get to choose their
(20:39):
greeting, either a high five ora hug, and I know a lot of
educators do that, but that's apart of the strong start making
sure that everyone gets a hug,that I look at each child in the
face and greet them as they comein and let them know how
grateful I am that they'rethere. The next thing we do once
they get settled in is we cometo the carpet and we have like,
(20:59):
a little morning meeting, andpart of it is we set our goals
for the day. So in the verybeginning, we had very simple
goals, like, Hey, I'm going totry my best, I'm going to have
listening ears, I'm going tofollow directions, I'm going to
share my thoughts. Like foursimple goals, and the kids would
talk about the goals and whatthat's going to look like for
(21:21):
them. And at the end of the day,we revisit and we say, okay,
how'd it go? You know, did youshare a thought today? Do you
feel like you did a great jobfollowing directions? And it's
pretty amazing when you givekids language and you give them
a goal that over time. I mean, Ihave first graders so you know
(21:41):
it, this is several months ofrepeating these same goals, but
over time, you really do seethem start to use the language
of, hey, you know what? This isreally hard, but I'm trying my
best, because that was my goaltoday, and having them be very
intentional about about whatthey're doing. So goal setting,
we have purposeful partnering,where they do a small, quick,
(22:04):
little short, like two, threeminute activity, where they'll
have a discussion with theirpartner. Like today's prompt was
pick four things that aredifferent and four things that
are the same between you andyour partner go and then they
just chat, chat, chat, chat,chat, chat. And there's laughing
and giggling and silliness, andit's a lot of fun. And then you
(22:26):
ring the bell, and then the nextpart of strong start is some
kind of community buildingactivity. And again, they're
always fun. They're usuallyinvolve some kind of movement.
Today we we sang the the songfrom the movie, sing, I'm still
standing. So everyone got up,and the lyrics are at the
(22:47):
bottom, and by now they all knowthe lyrics, so they're jumping
around singing, I'm stillstanding again. Lots of fun,
lots of energy. And then thelast thing we do is call sending
love. Oh no, I'm sorry. We dobreathe and focus. So we do a
little breath work where wewe'll use a video to like, you
(23:09):
know, smell the flower and blowout the candle. So we'll just
that kind of brings us down,because we've been jumping
around, and then that brings usback down. So they they're
really good at picking theirbreathe and focus activities,
and they always have ones tochoose from, because, you know,
by this time of the year, theyhave like, 12 breathe and focus
(23:30):
exercises they can do. And thenthe last thing we do is called
sending love, and it's ouraffirmation for self, self
affirmation, and then anaffirmation for someone that
they are sending love to. Solike a kid might say, you know,
I want to send love to my mom.
You know, she's, she's got acold, and she wasn't feeling
(23:50):
good this morning, and she wasreally grumpy and not feeling
good, and she kind of yelled atus. But I'm going to send my
kid. I'm going to send I'm goingto send my mom love. So that's
what my kids are saying aboutthis. It's a good thing too,
because you also learn, you alsoget kind of like a peek behind
the veil of their their lives,like you kind of see what's
(24:11):
going on in the background oftheir lives, and then we do our
affirmation. It's just a poemthat that they say, and they all
know by heart right now, so it'sreally cool to hear them say it.
Um, yeah. And then that's it.
And then we start our day. Takesabout maybe 1520 minutes at the
(24:32):
most. And I tell you, there aredays when I've been tempted to
skip it, and they always go,what we're not doing Strong
Start today. And I'm like, Ohyeah, you're right. You're
right.
TD Flenaugh (24:47):
Okay, so I remember you told me that you had one
goal. I mean, there's lots ofgoals, but a good overarching
goal for strong start. Do youremember what you told me is
that they were supposed to. Alllaugh, right?
Lauren Moseley (25:02):
Yes, all laugh.
It has to bring joy. They allhave to, at some point, laugh
and just have like that.
Everything's gonna it's gonna bea good day. Because if you start
the day laughing, if you startthe day happy, yeah, that's
that's a win, because some ofthe kids, you know, we don't
(25:22):
know what happened before theygot to my door, but some of them
are sad. Some of them, you know,you can tell, they just woke up
and hair is, you know, drool andlike, you know you didn't wash
your face, huh? Oh, you slept inthat shirt like there was a
rush, you can tell. And youknow, I It's my job to set the
(25:44):
tone for how the day is going tobe. So I have to get them happy,
you know, I can't control whathappened in their life and what
happened before they got to me,but I can, for that window of
time, you know, help them to getover it a little bit so that we
can move on with the day.
TD Flenaugh (26:04):
So So tell us, like, how many students would
you say you feel like when yousee them in the morning, they're
affected by whatever happenedbefore they got there? Like,
negatively,
Lauren Moseley (26:17):
I would I would say every kid at some point has
had a bad morning, okay? And Isay it's, everyone at some point
has had a bad morning. Yes,period. It they are, they are.
They are six years old. And atsome point mom had mom or dad or
(26:41):
someone had to get on them thenight before or in the morning,
or they were even, even if it'sjust they were late, yeah, you
know, being late for some kidscan be really, uh, upsetting.
You know, they may maybe nothingpersonal, but they mom was just
rushing, and they woke up late,you know, just that quick,
(27:04):
quick, quick, quick, quick, go,go, go, go. And they got to
school late, and they're walkingin late. That can be, you know,
the whole day is going to beshot if you don't do something
to help turn that around. But,yeah, I would say, to prepare
well,
TD Flenaugh (27:20):
yeah, like in the morning, like before, like,
there are those days, but isthere something that they can do
to help with their kids cominginto the school? Because we know
that they're affectednegatively, if it's a big
argument or or something likethat,
Lauren Moseley (27:38):
yeah, I, I would say, you know, and people are
human, and parents are I'm sure,are doing the best that they
can. And I really love myparents, and I, I bet it's a
scary place sometimes to comefor a parent to come to school
and have to sit in front of theteacher and the teacher say,
(27:59):
hey, let's talk about Johnny. SoI try to, I'm really gentle with
my parents in that way, becauseI know that there's a lot of
responsibility that they havefor their child, and I know that
every parent thinks their childis a reflection of them, which,
you know, yes, yes and and wehave to remember that kids are
(28:22):
are their own individuals, andso they do come with a unique
set of characteristics. Havingsaid all that, I think if
parents could do a better jobbeing mindful that how you
prepare in the morning starts atnight starts the night before.
So being organized, making sureyou have all the things ready
(28:47):
the night before, kind of helpsfor a better transition in the
morning, making sure that yousay, as a parent, that you
believe in your kids, yeah, thatyou believe that they're going
speak words of just affirmationinto their lives every morning.
(29:10):
Again, going back to thoseclasses I took in college, I
think that was the thing thatthose guys that were in prison
serving very long terms saidthat, Hey, I didn't have anyone
who believed in me. So I thinkjust telling your kids that you
believe in them, Hey, I knowyou're going to do great today.
I believe in you. You're smart,you know, just positive,
(29:33):
positive, affirming words Ithink are so, so important.
Yeah, yeah. I think you and mykids, my kids do tell me
everything. Little kids tell useverything. But I think one of
the things I hear a lot from mykids is that, you know, they
(29:54):
really know when parents arestressed, so when we get to that
sending love. Yeah, they'll say,I like to send love to my dad,
because he was, you know, hehe's not doing well, you know,
maybe he's his, he didn't gethis new job yet, and he's still
waiting to start his work, andhe hasn't started yet, and he's
(30:16):
really sad, you know, my momworks really, really hard, and
she's tired a lot. You know theythose are the things. So they
know they feed off that energy,and they know, so just realize
that how you the gift, the giftthat you can give your kid is to
(30:37):
allow them to be kids and and ifwe can not burden them with the
worries of adult hood. You know,if we can protect them from the
worries of adulthood, that thatwould be nice, yeah, and just,
and just know that they, theyare, they are trying their best.
(30:59):
I think kids come to schoolevery day, and I don't think
they intentionally say, let'ssee how I can, you know, not do
my best, right? I can irritatemy mom and dad or irritate my
teacher. That's not, that's nottheir hearts. I really, I really
believe in kids in that way. So,yeah, did I answer the question?
TD Flenaugh (31:21):
You did, you did answer like, what parents can be
mindful of, because they don'talways, obviously, they've
dropped their child off. Theydon't know what it looks like
when they're inside of the room,and they may be an environment
where they don't have a strongstart, right? Obviously, we're,
you're bringing that to sharewith people. So it's something
(31:44):
that they need to be mindful ofand think about, like, how does
that affect their kid? Like, asa mom, I've definitely done it.
I know I've, like, you know,argued at my daughter and then,
like, go in that class, youknow. Like, you know, I would
get calls like, she had a roughday. Like, you have to always be
(32:04):
reflective of that. Like,obviously you helped set that in
motion, right? But you know, andyou know you could even save it
for, like, after you get hometoday, at least I could talk to
you about it this evening,rather than, like, let's talk
about it now on the way toschool or whatever it is,
Lauren Moseley (32:24):
yeah, yeah. And, you know, I'll tell you,
teachers are the same way, like,we have to also make sure that
we are in the best mental spacewhen we're dealing with kids,
because I don't want to bring mybaggage into the classroom and
let that impact how I teach andhow I address my kids. So, you
(32:45):
know, I think that's one of thereasons I started really
thinking about SEL even waybefore the pandemic. It was
because I was trying to dealwith my own stress and my own
needing to breathe deeper. Youknow, my chiropractor was, like,
you breathe really shallow. I'mlike, I like, you don't know how
(33:05):
to breathe. I'm like, of course,I know how to breathe, how to
smell the flower and blow outthe candle. Like, you know those
strategies that aren't just forkids, they're for everyone, and
even, I think even my I rememberwhen we were online learning, we
had this thing, this meditationcalled be the pond. And it was
(33:29):
from one of the Zen Den YouTubevideos. And I remember this kid
says, you know, I have all thesefish swimming around me, the
angry fish, the happy fish, thesad fish, but I'm not any of
those fish. I am the pond. And Iwas like, Yeah, that's right.
And one of the moms, one daysaid to me, yeah, my kid, I was
stressing out about somethingand and, you know, this little
(33:53):
girl tells her mom, Mom, youjust need to be the pond. So
even the things that we'relearning, yes, it's they're
using it to help their parentsout, which I think, I honestly,
I think that's a really powerfulthing. So educators, we're not
only transforming our students,we could be potentially
(34:14):
impacting whole families.
Absolutely, you know,
TD Flenaugh (34:19):
yes. So before you leave us are, is there any like,
anything else you want to leaveus with, or advice for parents
and educators out there we have,you know, parents and educators,
homeschooling parents, parentswho also, you know, obviously,
send their children to school,anything you final takeaways.
(34:43):
First,
Lauren Moseley (34:45):
I think I would say to parents, especially just
reflecting on the way thateducation is is changing and
evolving. A lot of the waysthat. I learned is not how kids
are learning today, and just tobe mindful that, you know, kids
(35:07):
are learning and they're ondevices a lot throughout the
day. And I think more thananything, kids need to be
physically engaged and andmoving and active and outdoors,
if possible, as much as aspossible, just because I think
(35:30):
they're inside so long, in frontof a device for for a good part
of the day, even even the littleones. So I always, I even gotten
to the point where I very rarelygive homework, and I tell my
kids at the end of they go homeand go outside and go play. So
(35:53):
parents, help your kids findthat time to be outdoors and to
run and play and get on theirbikes. And there's, you know,
get that energy, get that bloodflowing, get some fresh air. And
parents, you know, don't be toohard on yourself, because we're,
we're all the whole communitythat's around your kids are.
(36:15):
We're all growing and changing.
We're all learning. Yeah, so,and I always like parents to
believe in educators too, thatit's a partnership, you know, so
don't be afraid to engage withyour child's teacher and, and it
should be a regular, ongoingactivity that you are
intentionally contacting yourchild's teacher and in the end
(36:39):
and vice versa, that parentsshould also hear from their
child's teacher. I have ClassDojo. This is not a plug. I am
not being paid by them. ClassDojo is amazing. I love Class
Dojo and my parents. I post onClass Dojo like I don't know
more than I do Instagram orFacebook or any other kind of
social my social media app isClass Dojo. So yes, so that is,
(37:03):
that is what I would say.
TD Flenaugh (37:11):
Well, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you
audience. Make sure you dosomething today that is going to
give your kids the competitiveadvantage. Thank you.
Thanks again for supporting thefalling for learning podcast.
New Episodes go live everySaturday at 5pm you can watch us
(37:35):
onyoutube.com/@fallingforlearning
or listen on all major podcastplatforms such as Apple, Google,
Audible, Spotify and much morefor more resources, visit
fallinginlovewithlearning.com wereally appreciate you. Have a
(37:55):
wonderful week.
A strong start.
(00:00):
Have you had a morning that wasnot particularly welcoming or
(00:04):
productive or even frustratingor even infuriating? Well, today
we're going to talk about how tohave a strong start that could
lead the way to a veryproductive day and getting you
closer to achieving your goals.
(00:25):
And parents, there's tips foryou on how to get your students
together as well. Okay, tune in.
Hi. Thank you so much forjoining the falling for learning
podcast. I am TD Flenaugh. Wehave this podcast to help
parents and caregivers withhaving the resources, strategies
(00:47):
and tools needed to make surethat their children are on track
for learning and to stay ontrack for success. Okay, today
we have a special guest. It is anational board certified
teacher, Lauren Mosley, who hasbeen teaching kids across the
(01:08):
United States for at least twodecades, and she's going to
bring her expertise about how tohave a welcoming, wonderful
productive, strong start. Sowelcome Miss Moseley.
Lauren Moseley (01:31):
Oh, hello. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you
so much for having me. This isthe 100th episode. Am I? Am I
right? 100 ping.
TD Flenaugh (01:41):
I don't have any sound effects, but it is episode
100
Lauren Moseley (01:48):
that's amazing.
Well, I am so proud of you andso grateful for all the work
that you're doing and the waythat you have transformed the
space into a place where parentscan come and get some tips. And
I just, I just love hearing allyour podcasts and all the things
that you're doing. So yeah, I'mlooking forward to the
TD Flenaugh (02:10):
thank you so much.
When I heard about your strongstart, I really wanted to know
more about you know what thatmeans, what it looks like, how
you developed it over time. Butbefore we get into those
details, I always ask my guests,what helped them fall in love
with learning?
Lauren Moseley (02:31):
Wow, that's a great question. I'm going to say
it was probably being, you know,as a little girl, having the
freedom to explore. And myparents, you know, were I grew
up in the 70s. I'm aging myselfhere. But you know, it was a
(02:55):
time where you were kind of leftto go outside and play and don't
come back in the house until thestreet lights come on, and just
having that freedom to be outand explore. I mean, I loved
nature. I loved animals andinsects, and I was always
(03:18):
digging for worms and collectingflowers insects, and I was
curious. I was such a curiouschild, so I think my love for
learning really started withjust an abundance of curiosity
and a need to open up thingslike, you know, just try to find
(03:39):
out how my jewelry box. Workedthe little ballerina that spun
on top. So you took it
TD Flenaugh (03:46):
apart, or what?
Lauren Moseley (03:48):
Yeah, so I would, I would take things
apart, what's inside of this.
And so, you know, I also lovebooks, and I loved reading. I
wasn't a great reader, but Iloved like looking at the
encyclopedia and looking at allthe pictures we had, like the
set of the Britannica insideencyclopedias back in the day,
and just even flipping throughand looking at the pictures was
(04:10):
just I was awe inspired. So
TD Flenaugh (04:14):
tell me, what do you mean you weren't a great
reader? Tell us more about that.
Lauren Moseley (04:18):
Yeah, I know I wasn't a great reader. Only I
well. I didn't realize I wasn'ta great reader until I started
school, because prior to that,the first book that I could ever
read was was green eggs and ham.
I believe I remember my momasking me to read that book. I
want to say it may not have beenGreen Eggs and Ham. It may have
(04:39):
been some Dr Seuss book fromback in the day. I'm saying
Green Eggs and Ham, but it maynot have been that something,
something may have been a Dickand Jane book, I don't know, but
something that my mom would haveme, she'd be on the phone with
her girlfriends and like, oh mygosh, Lawrence, reading here,
here, come here, come read. Youknow, come read to your aunt, or
come read to your grand. OtherAnd so before she got off the
(05:00):
phone, I always had to, youknow, flip through a few pages
and read a little bit becauseshe was so excited. But when I
went to school, I was in the inthe red bird group. Okay,
TD Flenaugh (05:11):
hold on. No, you got like you were saying that
you weren't a great readerbefore you got into school, like
before kindergarten, or beforethat? Are you talking about pre
kindergarten.
Lauren Moseley (05:23):
I'm saying when I started school, probably
kindergarten. I could read. Icould read a little bit, but
once I got in school, I feltlike I was in the group of kids
who were not the great readers Isee. Do you know what I mean?
You have the red group. The red,I think it was birds. It's like
red bird group and the yellowbird group and the green bird
(05:45):
group. I was in the red birdgroup, so I knew all those
engine right? And we, we were atthe small table doing the
intervention kind of stuff.
Okay, it wasn't calledintervention, but it was
definitely the red bird group,and I remember it felt like
perhaps I wasn't the bestreader, but I love books, so I
(06:05):
eventually graduated out of thered bird group, and maybe by
second grade. And I rememberthird grade, I really was
feeling a lot more confident,and felt like a reader by third
grade. But first, you know,kinder, first, second, I think I
was on the struggle I was on thestruggle list, okay,
TD Flenaugh (06:29):
yeah, but the exploration kept you drawn to
learning. Yeah,
Lauren Moseley (06:36):
yeah, absolutely. I think always
wanting to know more kept me notshut down by the fact that I
probably wasn't the best readermy mom would read to me. The
first book she ever read to mewas Justin Morgan had a horse,
and after that, all I wanted wasa horse. And every time there
(06:58):
was an opportunity to get a giftfor whether it was Christmas or
my birthday or Easter. Hey,could I get a horse? Because
Justin Morgan has one, and Iwould really like a horse. So,
yeah. So there are thingschildhood memories that stand
out around literacy, around, youknow, going to museums and going
(07:19):
to ballet, you know, differentthings with the arts. And I know
my childhood was very rich withexperiences that kept me
curious. And I think that wasthe thing that even though I
wasn't a great student,necessarily a grade wise, it may
have had something to do withthe amount of talking I did as
well. I was very, verycommunicative as a little one. I
(07:43):
still have my report cards,because my mom does not throw
away anything, right? I havereport cards that have. It's the
proof of Lauren talks too much.
I see conduct wasn't awesome.
But again, I I, I did lovelearning, and I still do Okay,
(08:03):
yeah.
TD Flenaugh (08:04):
And so what about your like, tell us about your
education. Like, you know, yourcollege level education, high
school level education, likethose activities that lead to
what you do now.
Lauren Moseley (08:19):
Okay, yeah. So I went to Southwest Texas State
University, and I was a criminaljustice was psychology major,
criminal justice minor, and Iwanted to be Clarice from
Silence of the Lambs. I wantedto go into the field of criminal
(08:41):
psychology, and after one of myclasses, we had some inmates
come in and talk to us abouttheir journey through the
justice system. And it was sodepressing. It was so sad. The
resonating theme of all of theseinmates that came in to speak to
(09:01):
us was that they did not havepeople who believed in them when
they were kids. They didn't haveteachers that believed in them,
and they didn't have a verystable home life. And I remember
thinking, wow, you know what adifference teachers make, right?
You know a good what adifference a good teacher can
(09:21):
make? Yes. So I was also amember of, or still am a member
of, Alpha Kappa, Alpha SororityIncorporated, and we had a
tutorial program after school,and we partnered with the local
church, and it was only supposedto be for, like, maybe a couple
of months or a semester, orsomething like that. But I
really enjoyed it. I enjoyedtutoring the kids and being with
(09:44):
the little the little ones andyeah, so that was something that
was really it's it was one ofthose moments where I felt like,
I think this is what I want todo in life. I think I wanted. Be
with the little kids. I want toteach them. I want to inspire
them to be curious like, youknow, like I was when I was a
(10:06):
little kid. So even though Igraduated with criminal justice
and psychology degree, I startedthinking about getting a
teaching credential aftercollege. And I felt like, if I
can't help, you know, helpingpeople once they've already gone
into the justice system, or thecriminal justice system. Yeah,
(10:27):
it's after the fact. What if I,yeah, was an amazing teacher and
and what if I was that personthat could inspire and be the
safe place and be the the onehelped a kid read so that they
could have some opportunities,and some, you know, a foundation
when they got older. So afterthat, I was like, Yeah, I and I,
(10:51):
you know, it's funny, I told mymom and my dad, because they're
both educators too, right? WhenI was in college, they talked to
me about being a teacher. I'mlike, I don't want to be a
teacher. They don't make anymoney. And I remember calling my
mom and saying, You know what? Ithink you're right. I think I
need to do because mama will dowhat you love. That can't always
be about the money. You got todo what? What makes you happy?
(11:14):
And I remember saying, Mom, Ithink this makes me happy. I
really think I want to do this.
This is the thing. When I thinkabout kids and think about being
in their lives, I actually getexcited. Whereas, you know,
working in the criminal justicesystem felt it was depressing.
To be honest, was like, Oh mygosh, how do we what do we do?
Yeah, that is, yeah, that's,that's part of the journey I
(11:40):
went on to get a master's incurriculum and instruction. And,
you know, felt like I was stillhitting some walls in terms of
my own growth and development.
And just felt like I still,because I want to learn
something, I want to learn, howcan I be a better teacher? And
that's when I heard aboutnational board so I thought, Oh,
(12:03):
this sounds like a challenge.
Was, as you know, way harderthan my masters, way, way
harder.
TD Flenaugh (12:15):
So those of you who don't know a national board
certification is an advancedcertification for teachers. It
is, you know, it has someweight. All across the nation.
If you're relocating, yournational board certification,
pretty much follows you you'reable to be certified. There's
(12:35):
maybe a little bit you have todo, but pretty much it's you're
certified. It's an advancedcertification, and there are
many things that we have to doto show that we have the
expertise, right of anaccomplished teacher. So, yeah,
Miss Lauren. Miss Lauren Moseleyis a national board certified
(12:57):
teacher, and that's how I mether in the process, though, in
the renewal process. So she wasone of my instructors,
facilitators, as I was, as I wasrenewing my certification. So
yes, so yeah, tell us about yourjourney for national board
certification. Oh,
Lauren Moseley (13:17):
boy, wow. That might have to take that might
take a couple of podcasts. Ittook me. It took me five years
to certify. And not and notbecause, well, let me just start
from the beginning. I thoughtthe certification process was me
proving that I was anaccomplished teacher, and what I
(13:41):
realized through the process isit was actually about me
becoming more accomplished andlearning. And so there was a
great deal of learning andreflection that was going on,
because when I got my teachingcredential, I was part of the
emergency credential program.
Yeah, remember that we are instate of emergency, they would
grab anyone who had a heartbeatand stick them in front of some
(14:03):
children and
TD Flenaugh (14:05):
say, degree in a heartbeat. Yes, that's all you
needed. So
Lauren Moseley (14:09):
I literally was learning on the job, and had no
language for what it was that Iwas doing. I just did the thing,
and the kids did some learning,and we had ice cream and cake at
the end of the school year tocelebrate, and it was over. And
then I did it again the nextyear. Like I didn't have
language for, you know,instructional strategies or
(14:30):
scaffolding. I didn't, I justdidn't know what to call it, but
I was doing it. Yeah, so when Iwent through the process, I
guess my writing, how I wroteabout my experiences wasn't
clear, and that's a big part ofnational board is making sure
you're clear, that your writingis concise and that it's very
convincing, and there's lots ofquestions to answer, and you
(14:51):
have to interpret the questionsand interpret the language. And
yeah. So it took me a long time,and then, of course, we had the
pandemic. Yeah. Yeah. And inthat, that kind of slowed things
down, because we went to onlinelearning, and there was some
extensions, because lots ofpeople were trying to pivot and
figure out, like, how to adjustto this new reality, yeah. So I
(15:15):
had a year added on to thealready four years, and it
doesn't take it. You don't haveto do it in four years, as you
know, that was just my mypacing. So after the extension
and and being able to go throughthe process during the pandemic,
it actually was really great,because I did a lot of
(15:35):
reflecting during the pandemic,and I think it was the the
shutdown of the world. There'sreally nothing else to do but
work on my it was the deepreflection and, like, soul
searching reflection in termsof, like, how do I help my kids
in this new environment where weare all on a screen, right? So
(16:00):
that kind of was the catalyst, Ithink, for me, finally getting
to the place where I could talkabout all the different things
and have all the language. And Ithink the most amazing part of
the whole national awardexperience was the year that I
submitted was also the year thatI got, I was given the Teacher
(16:21):
of the Year Award, and, yeah,and it was kind of like a full
circle moment for me, because itwas, like the hardest year. It
was the hard you know, teachingduring the pandemic was hard for
every educator, and it was thetimes when I felt like I'm not
doing enough to they're notgoing to be ready like they were
(16:42):
our classrooms. But it wassomething about my ability to
support my kids emotionally. Andyou know, as you know, we are
teaching and parents aresometimes in the same room,
especially the teachers who workfrom home, and so they're
hearing everything. And it wasactually my parents that that
(17:03):
nominated me for Teacher of theYear. And one of my parents was
actually a principal. So hewould, he would record me
teaching, and then take it tohis staff and say, Hey, need you
guys. This
TD Flenaugh (17:18):
is my choice, doing that, you know, until after
breaking the law. And that's
Lauren Moseley (17:26):
right, so yeah, I'm like, Are you supposed to be
doing that? But I think thepoint he was trying to make was,
you know, he would just catch medoing things with his son that
he felt like were, you know, washelping his son to to get
excited about coming to onlineclass. Yeah. And he said, you
know, he would wake up in themorning and his son would
already be logged on, ready togo, and he wouldn't have to even
(17:48):
do anything. He was therewaiting for me. He's like,
sitting in the front of thescreen waiting for me to log on.
So, I mean, just little amazing.
Yeah. So it was, it was a hardit was the hardest thing. I
think I cried every day forseveral, several months. I think
I cried every day, going, Oh mygosh. How are we going to do
this? You know, how is the worldgoing to produce kids who can,
(18:09):
you know, survive if we can't bethere with them? But we found a
way to make it work. We did. Andthat kind of goes into, you
know, talking about strong startand just the social, emotional
part of learning that is soimportant, okay? And I think
TD Flenaugh (18:28):
there, we're gonna have a short break, and we'll
find break about this strongstart.
Lauren Moseley (18:35):
Yes,
TD Flenaugh (18:41):
let's rewrite method and the rewrite method
workbook are your go to resourcefor helping kids to learn to
fall in love with writing. Ithas the tips, tools, resources,
strategies and skill buildingactivities to help kids fall out
(19:06):
of writing Hoot and into lovingto Write, get your book set
today.
Okay, we are back with LaurenMosley, and we're going to find
about bound find out about theStrong Start Program. Go ahead,
(19:31):
tell us more.
Lauren Moseley (19:33):
Okay, so strong start is a part of our whole
child model for social emotionallearning. And I can't say that I
developed it. I think I'm reallygood at implementing it and
connecting the pieces of all ofthis. You know, the totality of
(19:56):
the program is a lot ofdifferent things, but the part.
That I think really helps mykids is the what we do first
thing in the morning. So strongstart. I like to I like to quote
our counselor, she says, wedon't just have a great day, we
make it a great day, and part ofit is the intentionality of
(20:17):
giving kids the the tools todefine how they're going to go
about the rest of their day. Sothat's why we call it strong
start, because we want to startthe days we have the beginning
thing, the first thing we do isa morning greeting. So soon as
the kids cross the threshold,they get to choose their
(20:39):
greeting, either a high five ora hug, and I know a lot of
educators do that, but that's apart of the strong start making
sure that everyone gets a hug,that I look at each child in the
face and greet them as they comein and let them know how
grateful I am that they'rethere. The next thing we do once
they get settled in is we cometo the carpet and we have like,
(20:59):
a little morning meeting, andpart of it is we set our goals
for the day. So in the verybeginning, we had very simple
goals, like, Hey, I'm going totry my best, I'm going to have
listening ears, I'm going tofollow directions, I'm going to
share my thoughts. Like foursimple goals, and the kids would
talk about the goals and whatthat's going to look like for
(21:21):
them. And at the end of the day,we revisit and we say, okay,
how'd it go? You know, did youshare a thought today? Do you
feel like you did a great jobfollowing directions? And it's
pretty amazing when you givekids language and you give them
a goal that over time. I mean, Ihave first graders so you know
(21:41):
it, this is several months ofrepeating these same goals, but
over time, you really do seethem start to use the language
of, hey, you know what? This isreally hard, but I'm trying my
best, because that was my goaltoday, and having them be very
intentional about about whatthey're doing. So goal setting,
we have purposeful partnering,where they do a small, quick,
(22:04):
little short, like two, threeminute activity, where they'll
have a discussion with theirpartner. Like today's prompt was
pick four things that aredifferent and four things that
are the same between you andyour partner go and then they
just chat, chat, chat, chat,chat, chat. And there's laughing
and giggling and silliness, andit's a lot of fun. And then you
(22:26):
ring the bell, and then the nextpart of strong start is some
kind of community buildingactivity. And again, they're
always fun. They're usuallyinvolve some kind of movement.
Today we we sang the the songfrom the movie, sing, I'm still
standing. So everyone got up,and the lyrics are at the
(22:47):
bottom, and by now they all knowthe lyrics, so they're jumping
around singing, I'm stillstanding again. Lots of fun,
lots of energy. And then thelast thing we do is call sending
love. Oh no, I'm sorry. We dobreathe and focus. So we do a
little breath work where wewe'll use a video to like, you
(23:09):
know, smell the flower and blowout the candle. So we'll just
that kind of brings us down,because we've been jumping
around, and then that brings usback down. So they they're
really good at picking theirbreathe and focus activities,
and they always have ones tochoose from, because, you know,
by this time of the year, theyhave like, 12 breathe and focus
(23:30):
exercises they can do. And thenthe last thing we do is called
sending love, and it's ouraffirmation for self, self
affirmation, and then anaffirmation for someone that
they are sending love to. Solike a kid might say, you know,
I want to send love to my mom.
You know, she's, she's got acold, and she wasn't feeling
(23:50):
good this morning, and she wasreally grumpy and not feeling
good, and she kind of yelled atus. But I'm going to send my
kid. I'm going to send I'm goingto send my mom love. So that's
what my kids are saying aboutthis. It's a good thing too,
because you also learn, you alsoget kind of like a peek behind
the veil of their their lives,like you kind of see what's
(24:11):
going on in the background oftheir lives, and then we do our
affirmation. It's just a poemthat that they say, and they all
know by heart right now, so it'sreally cool to hear them say it.
Um, yeah. And then that's it.
And then we start our day. Takesabout maybe 1520 minutes at the
(24:32):
most. And I tell you, there aredays when I've been tempted to
skip it, and they always go,what we're not doing Strong
Start today. And I'm like, Ohyeah, you're right. You're
right.
TD Flenaugh (24:47):
Okay, so I remember you told me that you had one
goal. I mean, there's lots ofgoals, but a good overarching
goal for strong start. Do youremember what you told me is
that they were supposed to. Alllaugh, right?
Lauren Moseley (25:02):
Yes, all laugh.
It has to bring joy. They allhave to, at some point, laugh
and just have like that.
Everything's gonna it's gonna bea good day. Because if you start
the day laughing, if you startthe day happy, yeah, that's
that's a win, because some ofthe kids, you know, we don't
(25:22):
know what happened before theygot to my door, but some of them
are sad. Some of them, you know,you can tell, they just woke up
and hair is, you know, drool andlike, you know you didn't wash
your face, huh? Oh, you slept inthat shirt like there was a
rush, you can tell. And youknow, I It's my job to set the
(25:44):
tone for how the day is going tobe. So I have to get them happy,
you know, I can't control whathappened in their life and what
happened before they got to me,but I can, for that window of
time, you know, help them to getover it a little bit so that we
can move on with the day.
TD Flenaugh (26:04):
So So tell us, like, how many students would
you say you feel like when yousee them in the morning, they're
affected by whatever happenedbefore they got there? Like,
negatively,
Lauren Moseley (26:17):
I would I would say every kid at some point has
had a bad morning, okay? And Isay it's, everyone at some point
has had a bad morning. Yes,period. It they are, they are.
They are six years old. And atsome point mom had mom or dad or
(26:41):
someone had to get on them thenight before or in the morning,
or they were even, even if it'sjust they were late, yeah, you
know, being late for some kidscan be really, uh, upsetting.
You know, they may maybe nothingpersonal, but they mom was just
rushing, and they woke up late,you know, just that quick,
(27:04):
quick, quick, quick, quick, go,go, go, go. And they got to
school late, and they're walkingin late. That can be, you know,
the whole day is going to beshot if you don't do something
to help turn that around. But,yeah, I would say, to prepare
well,
TD Flenaugh (27:20):
yeah, like in the morning, like before, like,
there are those days, but isthere something that they can do
to help with their kids cominginto the school? Because we know
that they're affectednegatively, if it's a big
argument or or something likethat,
Lauren Moseley (27:38):
yeah, I, I would say, you know, and people are
human, and parents are I'm sure,are doing the best that they
can. And I really love myparents, and I, I bet it's a
scary place sometimes to comefor a parent to come to school
and have to sit in front of theteacher and the teacher say,
(27:59):
hey, let's talk about Johnny. SoI try to, I'm really gentle with
my parents in that way, becauseI know that there's a lot of
responsibility that they havefor their child, and I know that
every parent thinks their childis a reflection of them, which,
you know, yes, yes and and wehave to remember that kids are
(28:22):
are their own individuals, andso they do come with a unique
set of characteristics. Havingsaid all that, I think if
parents could do a better jobbeing mindful that how you
prepare in the morning starts atnight starts the night before.
So being organized, making sureyou have all the things ready
(28:47):
the night before, kind of helpsfor a better transition in the
morning, making sure that yousay, as a parent, that you
believe in your kids, yeah, thatyou believe that they're going
speak words of just affirmationinto their lives every morning.
(29:10):
Again, going back to thoseclasses I took in college, I
think that was the thing thatthose guys that were in prison
serving very long terms saidthat, Hey, I didn't have anyone
who believed in me. So I thinkjust telling your kids that you
believe in them, Hey, I knowyou're going to do great today.
I believe in you. You're smart,you know, just positive,
(29:33):
positive, affirming words Ithink are so, so important.
Yeah, yeah. I think you and mykids, my kids do tell me
everything. Little kids tell useverything. But I think one of
the things I hear a lot from mykids is that, you know, they
(29:54):
really know when parents arestressed, so when we get to that
sending love. Yeah, they'll say,I like to send love to my dad,
because he was, you know, hehe's not doing well, you know,
maybe he's his, he didn't gethis new job yet, and he's still
waiting to start his work, andhe hasn't started yet, and he's
(30:16):
really sad, you know, my momworks really, really hard, and
she's tired a lot. You know theythose are the things. So they
know they feed off that energy,and they know, so just realize
that how you the gift, the giftthat you can give your kid is to
(30:37):
allow them to be kids and and ifwe can not burden them with the
worries of adult hood. You know,if we can protect them from the
worries of adulthood, that thatwould be nice, yeah, and just,
and just know that they, theyare, they are trying their best.
(30:59):
I think kids come to schoolevery day, and I don't think
they intentionally say, let'ssee how I can, you know, not do
my best, right? I can irritatemy mom and dad or irritate my
teacher. That's not, that's nottheir hearts. I really, I really
believe in kids in that way. So,yeah, did I answer the question?
TD Flenaugh (31:21):
You did, you did answer like, what parents can be
mindful of, because they don'talways, obviously, they've
dropped their child off. Theydon't know what it looks like
when they're inside of the room,and they may be an environment
where they don't have a strongstart, right? Obviously, we're,
you're bringing that to sharewith people. So it's something
(31:44):
that they need to be mindful ofand think about, like, how does
that affect their kid? Like, asa mom, I've definitely done it.
I know I've, like, you know,argued at my daughter and then,
like, go in that class, youknow. Like, you know, I would
get calls like, she had a roughday. Like, you have to always be
(32:04):
reflective of that. Like,obviously you helped set that in
motion, right? But you know, andyou know you could even save it
for, like, after you get hometoday, at least I could talk to
you about it this evening,rather than, like, let's talk
about it now on the way toschool or whatever it is,
Lauren Moseley (32:24):
yeah, yeah. And, you know, I'll tell you,
teachers are the same way, like,we have to also make sure that
we are in the best mental spacewhen we're dealing with kids,
because I don't want to bring mybaggage into the classroom and
let that impact how I teach andhow I address my kids. So, you
(32:45):
know, I think that's one of thereasons I started really
thinking about SEL even waybefore the pandemic. It was
because I was trying to dealwith my own stress and my own
needing to breathe deeper. Youknow, my chiropractor was, like,
you breathe really shallow. I'mlike, I like, you don't know how
(33:05):
to breathe. I'm like, of course,I know how to breathe, how to
smell the flower and blow outthe candle. Like, you know those
strategies that aren't just forkids, they're for everyone, and
even, I think even my I rememberwhen we were online learning, we
had this thing, this meditationcalled be the pond. And it was
(33:29):
from one of the Zen Den YouTubevideos. And I remember this kid
says, you know, I have all thesefish swimming around me, the
angry fish, the happy fish, thesad fish, but I'm not any of
those fish. I am the pond. And Iwas like, Yeah, that's right.
And one of the moms, one daysaid to me, yeah, my kid, I was
stressing out about somethingand and, you know, this little
(33:53):
girl tells her mom, Mom, youjust need to be the pond. So
even the things that we'relearning, yes, it's they're
using it to help their parentsout, which I think, I honestly,
I think that's a really powerfulthing. So educators, we're not
only transforming our students,we could be potentially
(34:14):
impacting whole families.
Absolutely, you know,
TD Flenaugh (34:19):
yes. So before you leave us are, is there any like,
anything else you want to leaveus with, or advice for parents
and educators out there we have,you know, parents and educators,
homeschooling parents, parentswho also, you know, obviously,
send their children to school,anything you final takeaways.
(34:43):
First,
Lauren Moseley (34:45):
I think I would say to parents, especially just
reflecting on the way thateducation is is changing and
evolving. A lot of the waysthat. I learned is not how kids
are learning today, and just tobe mindful that, you know, kids
(35:07):
are learning and they're ondevices a lot throughout the
day. And I think more thananything, kids need to be
physically engaged and andmoving and active and outdoors,
if possible, as much as aspossible, just because I think
(35:30):
they're inside so long, in frontof a device for for a good part
of the day, even even the littleones. So I always, I even gotten
to the point where I very rarelygive homework, and I tell my
kids at the end of they go homeand go outside and go play. So
(35:53):
parents, help your kids findthat time to be outdoors and to
run and play and get on theirbikes. And there's, you know,
get that energy, get that bloodflowing, get some fresh air. And
parents, you know, don't be toohard on yourself, because we're,
we're all the whole communitythat's around your kids are.
(36:15):
We're all growing and changing.
We're all learning. Yeah, so,and I always like parents to
believe in educators too, thatit's a partnership, you know, so
don't be afraid to engage withyour child's teacher and, and it
should be a regular, ongoingactivity that you are
intentionally contacting yourchild's teacher and in the end
(36:39):
and vice versa, that parentsshould also hear from their
child's teacher. I have ClassDojo. This is not a plug. I am
not being paid by them. ClassDojo is amazing. I love Class
Dojo and my parents. I post onClass Dojo like I don't know
more than I do Instagram orFacebook or any other kind of
social my social media app isClass Dojo. So yes, so that is,
(37:03):
that is what I would say.
TD Flenaugh (37:11):
Well, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you
audience. Make sure you dosomething today that is going to
give your kids the competitiveadvantage. Thank you.
Thanks again for supporting thefalling for learning podcast.
New Episodes go live everySaturday at 5pm you can watch us
(37:35):
onyoutube.com/@fallingforlearning
or listen on all major podcastplatforms such as Apple, Google,
Audible, Spotify and much morefor more resources, visit
fallinginlovewithlearning.com wereally appreciate you. Have a
(37:55):
wonderful week.
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