Category: Middle School…With All The Tea
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Middle School…Then vs. Now
A Walk Down the Hallway of Time Middle School Then vs. Now: A Walk Down the Hallway of Time If you survived middle school in the late 90s, you probably remember a lot of awkwardness, chunky highlights, and the pain of getting kicked off AIM because your mom needed the phone. And if you’re teaching…
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Teaching Middle Schoolers to Write Essays (a Journey in Caffeine and Patience)
Yes, the letter “I” is capitalized when it stands alone… If you’ve ever tried to teach a middle schooler how to write an essay, you know it’s not just about thesis statements and topic sentences—it’s about survival. It’s guiding students who think “because I said so” is valid evidence and believe their five-paragraph paper should…
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July: The Sunday of Summer for Teachers
Ah, July. That magical midpoint in the rollercoaster we call “summer break.” For teachers, it’s a weird, wonderful month. One part recovery, one part denial, one part wondering what kind of “summer mom” are you going to be, one part creeping sense of responsibility that keeps whispering, “You should probably open that email.” But for…
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Reading “The Anxious Generation”
A Wake-Up Call for the Smartphone Era I recently read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. As a parent, educator, and part-time chaos coordinator of three kids under ten, this book felt less like a light read and more like a neon sign blinking, “PAY ATTENTION.” It’s…
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Surviving (and Thriving) in the Middle
Let’s discuss the elephant in the room…the classroom that is: Let’s get one thing straight: teaching middle school is not for the faint of heart. You are entering a world where deodorant is optional, emotions are unpredictable, and sarcasm is practically a second language. But if you can laugh through the chaos and learn to…
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Middle Schoolers and Their Favorite Questions
…And How To Survive Them. Ah, middle schoolers. That delightful age where they’re too cool to care… but also desperately need to know everything. As a part-time teacher and full-time chaos coordinator (aka mom), I’ve become fluent in Teenagerese — a complex language spoken mostly in groans, eye rolls, and oddly specific questions that leave…
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Coffee ☕️ Crayons 🖍️ and Curriculum 📝 