November 10, 2025 • 18 mins
Tired of being told to “just be grateful” while you’re juggling a crowded class, endless testing, and a to-do list that never ends? I open up about gratitude without the guilt—how to honor real exhaustion and real care at the same time—so you can model emotional health without faking it. Instead of platitudes, I break down the difference between a scarcity mindset and actual scarcity in schools, and why empathy—not forced positivity—is the thing that helps.
I share classroom-ready ways to make gratitude meaningful: a quick daily journal that trains students to notice specifics, hands-on craft reflections that slow the pace and deepen thinking, and story-driven STEM stations that weave kindness and empathy into problem solving. You’ll hear easy discussion prompts that hold two truths at once—“What felt hard?” and “What are you still grateful for?”—so kids learn to name the mess and the meaning without pressure to produce silver linings. Along the way, I talk about boundaries, breath, and the right to want systems that work while still showing up for students with a full heart.
If you’re craving practical, human-sized steps that build connection and calm in November and beyond, this conversation is for you. You’ll leave with simple routines, kid-friendly language, and a new lens on gratitude that doesn’t erase the hard parts. Subscribe for more honest teaching talk, share this with a colleague who needs permission to rest, and leave a review telling me one small thing you’re grateful for today.
Links Mentioned in the Show:
Thanksgiving STEM Story Stations
🌿 You can’t pour from an empty cup — but with the Sub Survival System, you’ll never have to panic when you need a day.
Ready-to-go sub plans designed by a teacher who’s been there.
Because rest isn’t a luxury — it’s part of the job.
👉 [Explore the Sub Survival System on TpT]
Subscribe and Review:
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher episode 267.
(00:03):
Gratitude without the guilt.
Projects that actually matter.
Hey, so today we are talkingabout gratitude without the
guilt.
And yes, that title is doing themost.
Because guess what?
So are you.
And I think we need to talkabout how we can teach gratitude
(00:26):
without it becoming one morething that we're expected to
feel, to say, to model, to postabout, to reflect on, and
somehow turn it into astandards-aligned bulletin
board.
Yes.
Does that sound familiar?
Today's today's One TiredTeacher episode is for teachers
(00:46):
who are tired of being told tobe grateful when you're already
giving everything you have.
Hope you stick around.
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher.
And even though she may need anap, this teacher is ready to
wake up and speak her truthabout the trials and treasures
of teaching.
Here she is, wide awake.
Wait, she's not asleep rightnow, is she?
She is awake, right?
Okay.
From Trina Deborah Teaching andLearning, your host, Trina
(01:21):
Debori.
SPEAKER_01 (01:23):
Hey, so let's talk about the gratitude guilt trip.
Let me first explain something.
When when we're told to have apositive attitude, to be
grateful, to make our ownweather, to um, you know, put
the uh a smile on our face, todo it for the kids, all those
(01:46):
things, when we're told thatthey're acting like we have a
scarcity mindset, which meansthat we only see the negative
and we only see the bad.
And even with my TikTok seriesof the We Do Not Care Club
teacher chapter, I I've had justa few people say things like,
you know, what about the kids?
(02:08):
And you, you know, do teachunbiased.
And I'm like, What?
And I'm like, you're not gettingit.
You're not getting the point.
The point isn't to create aspace for people to complain and
whine and be disgruntled.
It's a place so that people feelheard and seen and recognized,
(02:30):
acknowledged, respected, andmaybe even kind of inspired.
So that there's a bigdifference.
When and again, like a scarcitymindset is never being able to
see anything hopeful and seeingeverything as the worst case
scenario.
But sometimes when there's anactual scarcity like there is in
(02:53):
the school system, then having ascarcity mindset makes sense.
And pretending like we don't,and telling people to just get
over it and smile and nod alongis actually doing more harm than
good.
So if you have a child who isconstantly tripping and scraping
(03:14):
their knee and whining andcomplaining and always telling
you they need a band-aid andcrying and causing a big
commotion over just a teeny tinylittle scrape, you might think,
okay, they've got a scarcitymindset, and I need to help them
pick themselves back up, dustthemselves off, and carry on.
(03:34):
However, if there are actualtripping hazards everywhere they
walk and they are not only justtiny scraping, they are gashing
their knee or even having theirknee completely cut out, then
that's not a time to just pickyourself up and carry on.
That's a time to be like, oh mygosh, what's happening?
(03:56):
How can we get this to stop?
So I just wanted to explain thedifference because I often feel
like some people are missing thepoint.
The point is our teachers aretrying to tell you that they
need help, they need for thingsto change, they need to be
(04:17):
recognized, they need to betreated respectfully, and not
just teachers.
Like a lot of people ineducation, our
paraprofessionals, you know, ourcustodians, our cafeteria
workers, even our administratorssometimes are in this situation
where they're not treatedfairly.
And and when you try to boildown where these problems are
(04:38):
coming from, it's they it's ait's coming from a lot of
different areas.
So it's just something to keepin mind.
All right.
So let's let's the first thingthat we can do is like let go of
the gratitude guilt trip.
And you know what I mean.
You know when it's like youshould be grateful to how
summer's off, and you should begrateful that at least you get
(04:59):
holiday breaks, and you shouldbe grateful that just focus on
the positivity, and at least youstill have a job.
That is like the most annoyingthing.
At least you still have a job.
Like sometimes we can go get ajob at Costco and make the same
(05:21):
amount of money with a lot lesspressure, and there's not a
scarcity mentality in Costco,it's actually an abundance
mentality.
So people need to stop sayingthings like that as a way to
help someone because it's reallydemeaning and really
insensitive.
And I I what I think we have thebiggest problem right now in
(05:43):
everything that is going on is alack of empathy.
We just have such a lack ofempathy, and that is really sad.
So when we turn gratitude into aweapon in the burnout Olympics,
this is what we're saying loudand clear.
(06:04):
We're saying you can befrustrated and grateful.
Both of those feelings, both ofthat atmosphere can survive in
one place.
It's okay for you to be upset,it's okay for you to be mad
(06:24):
about a system that isn'tworking very well for you or for
students, but you can also begrateful for something because
there's that student or thatco-worker or that comfy chair or
your classroom with windows, orthe fact that you have two
closets instead of one, oranything like that can be
(06:46):
something that we look to and begrateful for.
That doesn't mean we have topush all of the other stuff
beside aside.
It means that two things can betrue at once.
You can be overwhelmed and stilllove your two students, you can
want things to change and stillshow up with your heart.
(07:09):
That's not a contradiction.
I can say we do not care aboutcraziness, but we do care about
kids.
We do care about making adifference, we do care about
teaching kids something thatlights them up and helps them
learn and makes them, you know,it leaves an impression on them
(07:32):
for the rest of their lives.
We can still have both feelings.
We don't have to say we do notcare about anything, and that's
not what we're saying.
We're saying we do not careabout XYZ, we do care about ABC.
So let's just remember that.
It's not a contradiction, it'sbeing human.
(07:55):
That's being a teacher.
So if you've ever felt guiltyfor not feeling grateful enough
when you're barely hanging on,this episode is your permission
slip to let go of that guilt.
Let it go.
Take a deep breath.
Like let it all out.
Kind of relax your shoulders.
(08:17):
Because if they're all tensed uplike mine just were, then you
want to push them down and letsome air in.
All right, so let's talk aboutwhat we do care about.
Because this is one of thethings that I am like, oh, when
somebody comments something,especially when it's not even
grammatically correct, but Idigress, it's you I have to
(08:41):
remember that it's not personal.
They don't know me.
I and you know, I'm just doing aan episode that I think
resonates with other teachersbecause I've been teaching since
1997.
And I have seen cut things comeand go and whatever.
And I've been involved ineducation in many different
(09:01):
ways, you know, from theclassroom, from the library, as
a special area teacher, workingside by side with
administrators, doing like anadministrative type of job,
dealing with behavior issues asa parent, as a parent of a
struggling student, as a parentof a student that excels, as
like so many different aspects.
(09:24):
As a child who had a hard timein school myself, like so many
different perspectives.
So, you know, I I want to saywhen people write things that
are mean or imply that liketeachers don't care or that I
don't care.
I'm like, you're missing thepoint.
And also, some people just don'tget comedy, they just don't get
(09:45):
it.
They don't, they don'tunderstand it, it doesn't make
sense to them, they're deeplyoffended, and they want to shut
it down.
And that is just the way that itis.
So let me say this plainly (09:54):
we do care deeply.
That's why we advocate, that'swhy we're passionate, that's why
we're exhausted because we'vecared too much for too long
without enough support.
We care about kids feeling seenand safe.
We care about them beingphysically safe as well.
(10:16):
We care about real learning thatsparks curiosity.
We care about creating joy,structure, and calm, even in
chaotic seasons.
We care about preserving our ownmental health so that we can
keep going and so that we canalso show up in other aspects of
our lives as wives, as sisters,as daughters, as mothers, as
(10:37):
friends, as husbands if you'reif you're, you know, whatever.
It we still have other parts ofus that get to be, to get to
exist, and that the teacher partof us doesn't have to take over
100% and completely suffocate usin all other areas.
That is what caring looks like.
It's not smiling through theburnout, it's doing the hard
(11:00):
human thing of settingboundaries, saying no, and
modeling authentic emotionalhealth.
Okay, shoulders up again, putthem down, put them down, take a
deep breath.
So, gratitude that actuallymeans something.
So, how do we teach gratitudewithout it feeling like fluff or
fake positivity?
Here are a few ways that I havefound that have brought meaning
(11:23):
back into it.
So, one of the first things thatI made so long ago was actually
this gratitude journal for kids.
And I was like, this is gonna bethe resource that every teacher
wants.
It's so beautiful.
And I use this really prettyclip art and I found really
inspiring motivational quotesfor every page, and I gave them
(11:47):
space to talk about thingsthey're grateful for, and I
actually did this practice.
I also give ideas and like youknow, brainstorming things and
all kinds of whatever in thisgratitude journal.
It's so old too.
And I used it in my classroom,and what a difference I saw in
my students.
I'm like, when we just practicedjust a few minutes of gratitude,
(12:08):
it was like we had a an I can doattitude.
I mean, we still knew that therewas bad things, and we didn't
say you can't talk about badthings.
We can say something as simpleas, I'm grateful that I was able
to get out of bed today, or I'mgrateful that I have this pencil
that's sharpened to the exactlength that I like, or that I
(12:33):
have this desk, this hardsurface to write on, or that I'm
able to go to the bathroom whenI want to.
It doesn't have to be some bigprofound gratitude list.
It can be something small.
And it's kind of teaching kidsto see the small things that we
are grateful for, or that welike miss out on or don't
recognize in our mind becausewe're so busy with all the
(12:56):
chaos.
So I created that journal.
It's actually in my shop on TPT,Trina Deborah Teaching and
Learning.
But I also created a gratitudecraft that is similar to the
journal, but just more of like acraft with, you know, with like
a turkey and a gratitude writingthing.
And it, and that's a little bitmore the gratitude journal is is
(13:17):
is definitely like just printand go.
The gratitude craft is like, youknow, they're cutting and
they're gluing, but oh, do weneed that right now?
We know we need cutting andgluing.
I mean, kids, they don't knowhow to do it.
It also like allows your brainto slow down and and it allows
them to think.
(13:38):
And we're and again, we're notjust focused on like I'm
grateful for my, you know, myiPad, or I'm grateful for my
Xbox, or I'm grateful for my,you know, my mom, which is a
great thing too.
But we're writing like the whyas well.
We're connecting to moments andto people and to feelings, and
that's that's all reallypowerful.
(13:58):
And also there's like time to doa little discussion if we want
to, and share with a partner, orshare with the team, or share
with the class, and it's just, Idon't know, something special.
That's one option.
Another option are I have alsothis these created these STEM
projects that teach kindnessplus empathy, which empathy is
(14:19):
such a missing piece.
Yes, you can keep sneakcharacter development into STEM,
but I have this specific likeThanksgiving, I have these
Thanksgiving STEM story stationsthat focus on 10 different like
Thanksgiving books, and that's areally fun one.
But I also have one uh built onkindness and empathy, and it is
(14:41):
all about books that have thattheme inside of them, and that
is a really powerful resource aswell, and it's designed to um to
get kids really thinking aboutwhat that looks like when
they're interacting with others,and it's fun and it's
reflective, and they are problemsolving and they're
(15:02):
collaborating and they'rethinking about what it looks
like to care for others.
And I think in this day and age,this is like a necessity.
Like this is a 911 emergencythat we actually want to teach
kids kindness and empathy andgratitude.
Another idea is a classdiscussions that allow space for
(15:24):
both.
Like, here's a here's anexample.
Here's here's a prompt you mightuse.
And you don't need any resourcefor this.
You could literally just do thiswith sticky notes, or they don't
they could write it on awhiteboard, they could just turn
and talk to a partner.
But something like, what'ssomething that felt really hard
lately?
Kind of let them think about it.
Like, what is something that hasfelt hard?
(15:45):
And they and like give them achance to think because
sometimes they can't jump on tothe next part of the prompt
until they've actually got thething in their head, and then
and something you're stillgrateful for.
So there you're taking part ofthat like thing that felt hard,
and you're thinking about whatabout that actually I'm still
(16:08):
thankful for.
You know, most of the time yourseven-year-old is not gonna be
not gonna say things like, youknow, my parents got divorced,
but I'm really thankful that Ihad to go through struggle
because now I know how to beresilient.
They're not gonna say that.
Um older kids might say that,but but but they might say
something like, My parents gotdivorced, but now my mom is
(16:30):
really happy.
And um and maybe they're noteven there yet, but it's
allowing them to start to getthere.
It's a hard one.
It's definitely and itdefinitely takes time and it
kind of and you know, and ittakes away from our all of the
nonsense that we feel like wehave to do, our scripted
programs and our eye-readytesting and our computer crap
(16:56):
and whatever.
But it's so much more meaningfuland impactful, and you don't
have to spend, you know, 30minutes doing it, you can do it
in a few minutes.
You know, it can just be apractice that you do a couple
times a week, or even if youwanted to do it every day for
like the five minutes before yougo to lunch or something like
that.
The most powerful thing you doin November is to model
(17:18):
emotional complexity becausewhen we allow space for both the
mess and the meaning, we teachour students how to be fully
human.
Okay, so if you if you wantsomething easy, you want it
meaningful, you want it done foryou, then you can grab my
gratitude craft, you can grab mySTEM Thanksgiving STEM set, you
(17:40):
can grab my kindness, you know,STEM stories, anything like
that.
They're engaging, they'reflexible, they let your students
reflect without the worksheets,and they feel like that, you
know, it feels like like they'redoing, you know, it is a you
know, it is a worksheet per se,but it's like a little bit more
than a worksheet.
(18:00):
I'll drop the link in the shownotes and you can grab them.
All right.
So, no, this isn't an episodeabout being more grateful.
It's about giving yourselfpermission to feel everything
and still invite meaning intothe season.
You're allowed to be tired,you're allowed to be annoyed at
Pinterest perfect bulletinboards.
(18:20):
You're allowed to want rest andboundaries and systems that
work.
And guess what?
You're still a good teacher,you're still doing important,
beautiful, hard things.
Thanks for being here with me.
Until next time, stay strong,stay rested, and stay human.
And sweet dreams and sleeptight.
Welcome to One Tired Teacher episode 267.
(00:03):
Gratitude without the guilt.
Projects that actually matter.
Hey, so today we are talkingabout gratitude without the
guilt.
And yes, that title is doing themost.
Because guess what?
So are you.
And I think we need to talkabout how we can teach gratitude
(00:26):
without it becoming one morething that we're expected to
feel, to say, to model, to postabout, to reflect on, and
somehow turn it into astandards-aligned bulletin
board.
Yes.
Does that sound familiar?
Today's today's One TiredTeacher episode is for teachers
(00:46):
who are tired of being told tobe grateful when you're already
giving everything you have.
Hope you stick around.
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher.
And even though she may need anap, this teacher is ready to
wake up and speak her truthabout the trials and treasures
of teaching.
Here she is, wide awake.
Wait, she's not asleep rightnow, is she?
She is awake, right?
Okay.
From Trina Deborah Teaching andLearning, your host, Trina
(01:21):
Debori.
SPEAKER_01 (01:23):
Hey, so let's talk about the gratitude guilt trip.
Let me first explain something.
When when we're told to have apositive attitude, to be
grateful, to make our ownweather, to um, you know, put
the uh a smile on our face, todo it for the kids, all those
(01:46):
things, when we're told thatthey're acting like we have a
scarcity mindset, which meansthat we only see the negative
and we only see the bad.
And even with my TikTok seriesof the We Do Not Care Club
teacher chapter, I I've had justa few people say things like,
you know, what about the kids?
(02:08):
And you, you know, do teachunbiased.
And I'm like, What?
And I'm like, you're not gettingit.
You're not getting the point.
The point isn't to create aspace for people to complain and
whine and be disgruntled.
It's a place so that people feelheard and seen and recognized,
(02:30):
acknowledged, respected, andmaybe even kind of inspired.
So that there's a bigdifference.
When and again, like a scarcitymindset is never being able to
see anything hopeful and seeingeverything as the worst case
scenario.
But sometimes when there's anactual scarcity like there is in
(02:53):
the school system, then having ascarcity mindset makes sense.
And pretending like we don't,and telling people to just get
over it and smile and nod alongis actually doing more harm than
good.
So if you have a child who isconstantly tripping and scraping
(03:14):
their knee and whining andcomplaining and always telling
you they need a band-aid andcrying and causing a big
commotion over just a teeny tinylittle scrape, you might think,
okay, they've got a scarcitymindset, and I need to help them
pick themselves back up, dustthemselves off, and carry on.
(03:34):
However, if there are actualtripping hazards everywhere they
walk and they are not only justtiny scraping, they are gashing
their knee or even having theirknee completely cut out, then
that's not a time to just pickyourself up and carry on.
That's a time to be like, oh mygosh, what's happening?
(03:56):
How can we get this to stop?
So I just wanted to explain thedifference because I often feel
like some people are missing thepoint.
The point is our teachers aretrying to tell you that they
need help, they need for thingsto change, they need to be
(04:17):
recognized, they need to betreated respectfully, and not
just teachers.
Like a lot of people ineducation, our
paraprofessionals, you know, ourcustodians, our cafeteria
workers, even our administratorssometimes are in this situation
where they're not treatedfairly.
And and when you try to boildown where these problems are
(04:38):
coming from, it's they it's ait's coming from a lot of
different areas.
So it's just something to keepin mind.
All right.
So let's let's the first thingthat we can do is like let go of
the gratitude guilt trip.
And you know what I mean.
You know when it's like youshould be grateful to how
summer's off, and you should begrateful that at least you get
(04:59):
holiday breaks, and you shouldbe grateful that just focus on
the positivity, and at least youstill have a job.
That is like the most annoyingthing.
At least you still have a job.
Like sometimes we can go get ajob at Costco and make the same
(05:21):
amount of money with a lot lesspressure, and there's not a
scarcity mentality in Costco,it's actually an abundance
mentality.
So people need to stop sayingthings like that as a way to
help someone because it's reallydemeaning and really
insensitive.
And I I what I think we have thebiggest problem right now in
(05:43):
everything that is going on is alack of empathy.
We just have such a lack ofempathy, and that is really sad.
So when we turn gratitude into aweapon in the burnout Olympics,
this is what we're saying loudand clear.
(06:04):
We're saying you can befrustrated and grateful.
Both of those feelings, both ofthat atmosphere can survive in
one place.
It's okay for you to be upset,it's okay for you to be mad
(06:24):
about a system that isn'tworking very well for you or for
students, but you can also begrateful for something because
there's that student or thatco-worker or that comfy chair or
your classroom with windows, orthe fact that you have two
closets instead of one, oranything like that can be
(06:46):
something that we look to and begrateful for.
That doesn't mean we have topush all of the other stuff
beside aside.
It means that two things can betrue at once.
You can be overwhelmed and stilllove your two students, you can
want things to change and stillshow up with your heart.
(07:09):
That's not a contradiction.
I can say we do not care aboutcraziness, but we do care about
kids.
We do care about making adifference, we do care about
teaching kids something thatlights them up and helps them
learn and makes them, you know,it leaves an impression on them
(07:32):
for the rest of their lives.
We can still have both feelings.
We don't have to say we do notcare about anything, and that's
not what we're saying.
We're saying we do not careabout XYZ, we do care about ABC.
So let's just remember that.
It's not a contradiction, it'sbeing human.
(07:55):
That's being a teacher.
So if you've ever felt guiltyfor not feeling grateful enough
when you're barely hanging on,this episode is your permission
slip to let go of that guilt.
Let it go.
Take a deep breath.
Like let it all out.
Kind of relax your shoulders.
(08:17):
Because if they're all tensed uplike mine just were, then you
want to push them down and letsome air in.
All right, so let's talk aboutwhat we do care about.
Because this is one of thethings that I am like, oh, when
somebody comments something,especially when it's not even
grammatically correct, but Idigress, it's you I have to
(08:41):
remember that it's not personal.
They don't know me.
I and you know, I'm just doing aan episode that I think
resonates with other teachersbecause I've been teaching since
1997.
And I have seen cut things comeand go and whatever.
And I've been involved ineducation in many different
(09:01):
ways, you know, from theclassroom, from the library, as
a special area teacher, workingside by side with
administrators, doing like anadministrative type of job,
dealing with behavior issues asa parent, as a parent of a
struggling student, as a parentof a student that excels, as
like so many different aspects.
(09:24):
As a child who had a hard timein school myself, like so many
different perspectives.
So, you know, I I want to saywhen people write things that
are mean or imply that liketeachers don't care or that I
don't care.
I'm like, you're missing thepoint.
And also, some people just don'tget comedy, they just don't get
(09:45):
it.
They don't, they don'tunderstand it, it doesn't make
sense to them, they're deeplyoffended, and they want to shut
it down.
And that is just the way that itis.
So let me say this plainly (09:54):
we do care deeply.
That's why we advocate, that'swhy we're passionate, that's why
we're exhausted because we'vecared too much for too long
without enough support.
We care about kids feeling seenand safe.
We care about them beingphysically safe as well.
(10:16):
We care about real learning thatsparks curiosity.
We care about creating joy,structure, and calm, even in
chaotic seasons.
We care about preserving our ownmental health so that we can
keep going and so that we canalso show up in other aspects of
our lives as wives, as sisters,as daughters, as mothers, as
(10:37):
friends, as husbands if you'reif you're, you know, whatever.
It we still have other parts ofus that get to be, to get to
exist, and that the teacher partof us doesn't have to take over
100% and completely suffocate usin all other areas.
That is what caring looks like.
It's not smiling through theburnout, it's doing the hard
(11:00):
human thing of settingboundaries, saying no, and
modeling authentic emotionalhealth.
Okay, shoulders up again, putthem down, put them down, take a
deep breath.
So, gratitude that actuallymeans something.
So, how do we teach gratitudewithout it feeling like fluff or
fake positivity?
Here are a few ways that I havefound that have brought meaning
(11:23):
back into it.
So, one of the first things thatI made so long ago was actually
this gratitude journal for kids.
And I was like, this is gonna bethe resource that every teacher
wants.
It's so beautiful.
And I use this really prettyclip art and I found really
inspiring motivational quotesfor every page, and I gave them
(11:47):
space to talk about thingsthey're grateful for, and I
actually did this practice.
I also give ideas and like youknow, brainstorming things and
all kinds of whatever in thisgratitude journal.
It's so old too.
And I used it in my classroom,and what a difference I saw in
my students.
I'm like, when we just practicedjust a few minutes of gratitude,
(12:08):
it was like we had a an I can doattitude.
I mean, we still knew that therewas bad things, and we didn't
say you can't talk about badthings.
We can say something as simpleas, I'm grateful that I was able
to get out of bed today, or I'mgrateful that I have this pencil
that's sharpened to the exactlength that I like, or that I
(12:33):
have this desk, this hardsurface to write on, or that I'm
able to go to the bathroom whenI want to.
It doesn't have to be some bigprofound gratitude list.
It can be something small.
And it's kind of teaching kidsto see the small things that we
are grateful for, or that welike miss out on or don't
recognize in our mind becausewe're so busy with all the
(12:56):
chaos.
So I created that journal.
It's actually in my shop on TPT,Trina Deborah Teaching and
Learning.
But I also created a gratitudecraft that is similar to the
journal, but just more of like acraft with, you know, with like
a turkey and a gratitude writingthing.
And it, and that's a little bitmore the gratitude journal is is
(13:17):
is definitely like just printand go.
The gratitude craft is like, youknow, they're cutting and
they're gluing, but oh, do weneed that right now?
We know we need cutting andgluing.
I mean, kids, they don't knowhow to do it.
It also like allows your brainto slow down and and it allows
them to think.
(13:38):
And we're and again, we're notjust focused on like I'm
grateful for my, you know, myiPad, or I'm grateful for my
Xbox, or I'm grateful for my,you know, my mom, which is a
great thing too.
But we're writing like the whyas well.
We're connecting to moments andto people and to feelings, and
that's that's all reallypowerful.
(13:58):
And also there's like time to doa little discussion if we want
to, and share with a partner, orshare with the team, or share
with the class, and it's just, Idon't know, something special.
That's one option.
Another option are I have alsothis these created these STEM
projects that teach kindnessplus empathy, which empathy is
(14:19):
such a missing piece.
Yes, you can keep sneakcharacter development into STEM,
but I have this specific likeThanksgiving, I have these
Thanksgiving STEM story stationsthat focus on 10 different like
Thanksgiving books, and that's areally fun one.
But I also have one uh built onkindness and empathy, and it is
(14:41):
all about books that have thattheme inside of them, and that
is a really powerful resource aswell, and it's designed to um to
get kids really thinking aboutwhat that looks like when
they're interacting with others,and it's fun and it's
reflective, and they are problemsolving and they're
(15:02):
collaborating and they'rethinking about what it looks
like to care for others.
And I think in this day and age,this is like a necessity.
Like this is a 911 emergencythat we actually want to teach
kids kindness and empathy andgratitude.
Another idea is a classdiscussions that allow space for
(15:24):
both.
Like, here's a here's anexample.
Here's here's a prompt you mightuse.
And you don't need any resourcefor this.
You could literally just do thiswith sticky notes, or they don't
they could write it on awhiteboard, they could just turn
and talk to a partner.
But something like, what'ssomething that felt really hard
lately?
Kind of let them think about it.
Like, what is something that hasfelt hard?
(15:45):
And they and like give them achance to think because
sometimes they can't jump on tothe next part of the prompt
until they've actually got thething in their head, and then
and something you're stillgrateful for.
So there you're taking part ofthat like thing that felt hard,
and you're thinking about whatabout that actually I'm still
(16:08):
thankful for.
You know, most of the time yourseven-year-old is not gonna be
not gonna say things like, youknow, my parents got divorced,
but I'm really thankful that Ihad to go through struggle
because now I know how to beresilient.
They're not gonna say that.
Um older kids might say that,but but but they might say
something like, My parents gotdivorced, but now my mom is
(16:30):
really happy.
And um and maybe they're noteven there yet, but it's
allowing them to start to getthere.
It's a hard one.
It's definitely and itdefinitely takes time and it
kind of and you know, and ittakes away from our all of the
nonsense that we feel like wehave to do, our scripted
programs and our eye-readytesting and our computer crap
(16:56):
and whatever.
But it's so much more meaningfuland impactful, and you don't
have to spend, you know, 30minutes doing it, you can do it
in a few minutes.
You know, it can just be apractice that you do a couple
times a week, or even if youwanted to do it every day for
like the five minutes before yougo to lunch or something like
that.
The most powerful thing you doin November is to model
(17:18):
emotional complexity becausewhen we allow space for both the
mess and the meaning, we teachour students how to be fully
human.
Okay, so if you if you wantsomething easy, you want it
meaningful, you want it done foryou, then you can grab my
gratitude craft, you can grab mySTEM Thanksgiving STEM set, you
(17:40):
can grab my kindness, you know,STEM stories, anything like
that.
They're engaging, they'reflexible, they let your students
reflect without the worksheets,and they feel like that, you
know, it feels like like they'redoing, you know, it is a you
know, it is a worksheet per se,but it's like a little bit more
than a worksheet.
(18:00):
I'll drop the link in the shownotes and you can grab them.
All right.
So, no, this isn't an episodeabout being more grateful.
It's about giving yourselfpermission to feel everything
and still invite meaning intothe season.
You're allowed to be tired,you're allowed to be annoyed at
Pinterest perfect bulletinboards.
(18:20):
You're allowed to want rest andboundaries and systems that
work.
And guess what?
You're still a good teacher,you're still doing important,
beautiful, hard things.
Thanks for being here with me.
Until next time, stay strong,stay rested, and stay human.
And sweet dreams and sleeptight.
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