From elementary teacher to…
Chocolate for the Teach started as a way to document the sweet moments as an elementary teacher: a fresh picked wildflower pressed into my palm by a Kindergartener, a hand-drawn picture gifted from one of my students, or a piece of chocolate imparted from a coworker.
As my dreams outpaced the classroom, the steady paycheck, the familiar-yet-chaotic rhythms of so many Augusts to Mays, I leapt out of the profession and sunk my attentions into new motherhood, my home, starting businesses and searching for ways to create a work-from-home income for myself (I’m still working on that one).
This blog is part field notes– what I’m learning as I go from teaching full-time to substitute teaching and mothering and everything in between. The other part consists of bonafide stories from the trenches. I hope my writings can help you, or at least make you laugh a little.
Navigating the site
In my Substitute Teaching series, I offer tips, tricks and grievances regarding one of the toughest part-time gigs out there. If you’re a sub in the thick of it, let’s be pals.
My Leaving Teaching series details the entire process of making the classroom exit, from the first nugget of the idea of leaving to putting the campus in the rearview mirror. And tactics for somehow being okay with the decision existentially.
I also wrote a cache of posts about motherhood, because there’s not much else taking over my brain as a new parent. Settle in with a warm drink and read my relateable hijinks, side income attempts, and occasional DIY projects.
Latest Posts
- Classroom Survival Kit: Engaging Brain TeasersOne of my top classroom tips for a smooth substitute teaching day includes having a set of brain breaks and…
- A Balancing Act: From Teacher to Mom to YouTuberTransitioning from a fulfilling teaching career to full-time motherhood is a journey many educators face, often accompanied by complex emotions…
- Life as a Postpartum Substitute Teacher: What It’s Really LikeI carried some doubts and an awkwardly packed tote bag containing my pumping equipment as I crossed the courtyard into…
- So, You Want to Quit Teaching and Better Your Life?I may be getting ahead of myself with the article title, but yes– I assume that if you quit teaching…
- Amos Takes the Skyway: An Engaging and Informative Classroom ReadaloudLet me introduce an adventurous and ornery Amish boy named Amos to you. Amos is a fictional ten-year-old living in…
- How to Make a Simple Pencil ShirtWhen it comes to teacher fashion, what do you think of? Does a wonderfully rustic, handmade pencil shirt fit into…