Back with NJ Teacher of the Year Stefanie Lachenauer: Teen Mental Health & Mindfulness

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Welcome to the Balancing Act podcast, the podcast where we tackle the daily

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juggle of life. Here are your hosts, Jamie Wonko and Joe Vitale.

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Hey, so guess what? We are officially recording again. And we got a little bit

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of a late start on this one because somebody came in a prom dress and didn't

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get the, didn't get the, so our guest, Stefanie, thank you very much,

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Stefanie Lockenauer, for joining us today.

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Thanks for having me. So glad to be here. Welcome to the Balancing Act podcast.

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I am Jamie Wonko here with Mr. Joseph Vitale and 2025 New Jersey Teacher of

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the Year, Miss Stefanie Lachenauer. Yes.

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Like a lock an hour. Lock an hour. Yes.

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I'm glad you remember that. Has been on our show before.

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Was texting me this morning. Hey, what should I wear to this thing?

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I'm the perfect person to text for that. It's awesome.

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I don't have Jamie's phone number in my defense. He wouldn't let me see the

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text in the car. He just said, Stefanie texted me And not you. What are we wearing?

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So here we are. You didn't tell me what it said either. Yeah.

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Gatekeeper. I didn't? Nope. Oh, okay.

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You were probably busy yelling at me for something. But no, we're really excited

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to have you here again. This is part of our season kickoff.

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And we're really happy to have you. For our listeners who don't know who you

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are, what you teach, what you do.

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Do you want to tell us a little bit about you, your teaching background, all that fun stuff?

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Yeah. So this is going to be my 20th year teaching. Woo-hoo! Big 2-0. Crazy. Yeah.

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I am a middle school teacher. I

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teach 7th and 8th grade. I teach global leadership and skills for success.

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And I do a lot of work around mental health with teens. So I guess that's the

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short version of what I do. That's awesome.

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I loved hearing about, on our previous episode, you did talk about the class

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that you did. What was the name of the class again? I'm sorry. Skills for Success?

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Yes. Yes. And that's based on the United Nations. Oh, that's global leadership. Global leadership.

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OK, which I want to take the global leadership course because it just sounds like so much fun.

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Um, but yeah, it's really, um, awesome. The stuff that you teach and what you

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do. So hopefully you'll visit our previous episode with Stefanie,

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um, to listen to that conversation for sure. So.

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And we are here if you are listening to us and not watching us on YouTube,

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um, we are here at the New Jersey hall of fame at the American dream mall.

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So thank you so much for trekking up Turnpike North, which is.

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It was an adventure. It's an adventure. It's always an adventure.

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But you know what? It is worth the adventure to come here.

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I've only been to the American Dream Wall one other time. And I've been meaning

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to come to the New Jersey Hall of Fame. So it was so exciting to come here and

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to walk around and to walk in. And they do some amazing things for kids with field trips as well.

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And so we did karaoke earlier. Yes, we were Whitney Houston-ing together.

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Oh, my gosh. Yes. I mean. It was amazing. As soon as we're done, we're getting a video.

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Use lock an hour you be ready um would you get in the karaoke booth of course

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i knew the answer before i asked the question there's new jersey centric songs

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that that you choose when you're here but let me ask you this if you had,

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any song on the table if you had to choose your go-to karaoke song what would it be,

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i feel like journey always is like yeah don't stop believing yeah i like it

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yeah okay i feel like it that's a it's a crowd pleaser it's an excellent choice

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yeah lift everybody up yeah,

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i i think that's a good one yeah would you like to tell her yours joe whitney

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houston i want to dance with somebody,

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that's what we did did it yeah but that's not his go-to song uh it'll probably be uh,

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the humpty dance by digital underground i mean because that's a classic man the 90s.

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I always do that to get a laugh out of people um no it would be uh,

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That's one that I definitely like. That's a party song. It's a fan favorite.

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It's a fan favorite. Probably like Hold My Hand by Hootie and the Blowfish because

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that's like my, those are my jams. I have a dog named Darius who's named Dr. Darius Rucker.

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Darius Ruffer, we call him. Oh my God, how cute. But yeah, his music and his

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bands have been a part of our life for a while. So I'd probably choose one of

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those songs for sure. What about you?

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So, oh, I'm going anything from the like a musical spectacular.

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And right now we are into there. Well, it's always Mean Girls,

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always going back to Mean Girls and musical.

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And I have twins and they allow me to play Regina when we sing.

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So I feel like my life is karaoke because we're always doing something and I

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believe I've perfected the harmony.

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We have a Gretchen you know everybody has a part and so it would have to be

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oh my god yeah I love this so much I hope this is something you share with us

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like this needs to be spotless she's constantly singing,

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yes I feel like my life is a musical what's the other one you did didn't you do,

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Chicago wasn't Chicago the one you used to do with your kids you'd be like i'm

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gonna do all the parts well during covid um my kids still say that they i locked

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them there was no locking but like i locked them in our bedroom

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to go because gypsy is like my all-time favorite and they were like mom you

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were really having a moment oh it was gypsy that's right yes it was gypsy that

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i and i said well maybe but maybe not but anyway yeah

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so tell us what's new with you yeah what's new with you what have you been up

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to what are you up to well um,

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I just got back from Africa on Sunday, so I did a lot of traveling this summer.

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My mom had a health scare, and so what you do whenever there's a health scare

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is you're like, we are going to live life. What are all the things you've always wanted to do?

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She's always wanted to go on a safari. So we went to Zimbabwe,

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Botswana in South Africa.

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It was amazing, and then the best news right before we left was it was just a scare.

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It was just a health scare. She's totally fine. Oh, that's great.

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And we got this amazing trip.

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And I studied abroad, actually, in South Africa with Rutgers University.

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And I got to go back and stay with my host family and then teach in the school

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that I was in and also do a workshop for the teachers.

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And then they surprised me and did, like, a little radio show in,

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like, a local radio station in South Africa. So it was, like,

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it was just kind of the coolest experience. Wow.

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So you did study abroad when you were in college? Yes. Okay.

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And it was part of a teaching program? Yes.

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And so what did that look like when you were there teaching?

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It was really cool. So Rutgers is like, it's like a study tour.

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So it's not exactly study abroad. So we do a lot of traveling throughout South

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Africa. They still do it now. It's called the South Africa Initiative.

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It's an incredible program.

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And so you learn all about education in South Africa and the impacts of apartheid on education.

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And then the last week is in Parle, South Africa. And that was where I did my

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study tour. And so I stayed with my family there.

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And Oriel was my host mom.

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And I kind of lived with them for the whole week and went to school with them

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and had a classroom and I got to do memoir writing with them and I was able

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to teach lessons, but also watch and learn all about the school and the school

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community and culture. So it was an incredible experience.

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Wow, that's unbelievable. That's a great trip that you were able to go on too.

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Did you do any other travel this summer? Didn't you do...

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Why don't you go with educational foundations or educational tours,

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EF tours? Education first. Education first, sorry.

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So I go every summer with EF to the Global Leadership Summit,

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which this year was in Costa Rica.

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Okay. It was all about environmental stewardship. So it was amazing because

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we also went to the Galapagos Islands, which was another, like, dream trip. Yeah. Wow.

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So this whole summer has been incredible travel. And it was really great to

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get to watch my students have those experiences and just be so inspired by them

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and their commitment to taking care of the planet. How many students did you take with you?

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Oh, this year was great. It was the magic number of seven.

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Seven whole students. Seven whole students. And they were all like angelic.

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Like you could see their halos the whole time.

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It was like I could enjoy the trip so much because I wasn't worried about what

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everyone was doing. It was amazing. How old are the kids that you took?

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So they have to have just finished eighth grade up until twelfth grade.

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Wow. Okay. That's great.

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That's a fun amount of travel. You know, this is coming out in September,

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of course. We're about to head back into the classroom. What are you excited for this year?

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Oh, I am excited that I think I know all the classes that I'm teaching.

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And I think that, so it's going to be the same things. Last year I got thrown

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a few new things. So I'm excited that it's Skills for Success and Global Leadership and.

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That should be it. Nice. I should know what I'm doing this year.

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I hope that, knock on wood, it stays that way. Because sometimes you walk in

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and it's like, hey, this person's not going to be here. We need you to teach this class now. Yes.

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For sure. And it is, you know, sometimes I think there's some people on the

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side of education that think, you know, and I agree that change is good.

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However, there really is with teaching something beautiful about like fine tuning

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and what works and what doesn't work and being able to repeat the subject matter.

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So that way you, you know, kind of get into it in a deeper on a deeper level.

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So I'm happy for you because. Thank you. Yes.

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And I'm doing my master's research right now in neuroscience and trauma.

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So my research is going to be on hope. So I'm hoping to bring some of that into

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the classroom this year, too. So that's what I'm super excited about. So do you...

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Like sleep ever did like i just

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wondering funny you should say that i'm listening to you and i'm tired.

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Because there is a lot of research on how important sleep is so that is actually

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something i'm obsessed with well i you prioritize sleep in sleep hygiene yes

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and it is something that i um have.

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I speak often about in my home and also you know do you live in a sleep supportive

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home or a sleep shame home.

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And I never felt badly if I like I was never made to feel badly in my house

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if I went to sleep at 7 p.m.

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I was never made to feel badly if I slept in until 11 a.m.

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And so it's something that I've taken into my own parenthood with my children

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of like sleep when you need to sleep, eat when you need to eat,

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you know, go by yourself if you need to be alone, like all of those things.

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But it's harder, I think, with my children are all now teenagers.

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So everybody wants to like rock the bells and then, you know, sleep.

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And that doesn't always work when your school starts at 730 in the morning and

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you have to get up to go there and be your best self. But yes.

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I try to be as sleep supportive as possible. I don't think that anyone should sleep shame anybody.

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I love that so much. Sleep shame. That happens actually in my house growing up.

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So my mom is a great napper and my dad is like a very antsy like go-getter.

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Like we are moving. We are always moving. And like sleep is only when the sun

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is down and there's not anything else we could possibly be doing.

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So I have like both sides of that. But all the research that I've been reading

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is all talking about how important sleep is for long-term memory,

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right? Short-term to move into long-term, but also like the sleep hygiene for

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us to stay well and healthy.

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So taking care of our bodies and being healthy, it's all about happening in

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our sleep. All that is happening there. And especially I think for teachers.

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There's such a peace to our day. Oh, my gosh.

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And it never stops. And so I think, you know, I'm married to another teacher,

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so I think he really understands what, like, when you say, like,

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I cannot possibly do one more thing today or I am just so tired.

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Or, you know, it's the first month of school and I have to put myself to bed

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at 8 o'clock or put myself to bed or fall asleep on the couch,

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like, mouth open, you know, and everyone else is swirling around.

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But so the idea of I have some friends that are married to non-teachers and

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they really are like, what are you so tired?

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You know, why are you so tired? Or is that normal? And it's like we are here

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to say yes. Yes, that is normal. Yes, it is. And if you are tired and it's seven

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o'clock, it's okay. Go to bed. It's okay. We have like you get conditioned to

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certain things, right? And I'm going back to my dogs again.

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We have another two golden retrievers. One of them's name is Jefferson.

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And when it gets to be like 9.45, 10 o'clock...

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He starts to have a tantrum. Last night, he was barking at the two of us,

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like a little bark. And then he'd like come over and he'd put his head on the,

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and his tail would be wagging.

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And we'd be like, do you want to go to bed? And he just runs.

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Like, all he wants to do is just go to bed.

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Like every night, if you don't go to bed at 10 o'clock, he's like, hey, come on, buddy.

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We're going to bed. Like, it's time to go because it's my time and I want to go.

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He's great. He's keeping you in your bedtime routine. Like, you're not going to bed on time.

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Yeah, no one sighs louder than a judgmental golden retriever with no job.

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So you said trauma and neuroscience. So is that in relation to like teens specifically

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and like traumatic events or is that for adults? Is that everyone?

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So it's really more on like childhood trauma because it's an educational master.

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So it's all about childhood trauma and then the neuroscience and how our brains

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work and learn and how. We kind of moved through that.

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So, yeah. Yeah. Mostly childhood. So, although this isn't new,

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kind of jump into things. What's new with you, right?

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You did release a book recently, right? Yes. It's called Let the Glitter Settle,

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which we were super excited.

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You know, you did talk about it a little bit before, but we're excited to hear

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more about it and some of the things you've been working on with this.

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And also, we are going to do something fun while we're talking about your book,

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which I am absolutely frightened to do, because we're going to be crafting and making glitter jars.

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So if you want to see a guy get uncomfortable, make sure you're watching this on the YouTubes.

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So this will be a lot of fun. So we're going to jump into that while Stefanie's

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grabbing the stuff. So I recently bought your book for my daughter.

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I have twins that are going into high school, and one was having a lot of feelings.

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You know, big feelings. Good. It's OK.

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And I bought your book. One of the things I like the most about it is...

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One of the things i like the most about it is the the workbook nature,

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and she can write in it and it's interactive for her um so

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if you we'll we'll post a um a picture and link um to purchase stefanie's book

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as well but um it's really important that people know that it's not just something

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to sit down and read but it is something to engage with yes they can almost self-guide lessons for

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um all sorts of things right i love that because truly we don't learn from experience

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alone, we learn from reflecting on that experience, right?

00:15:04.970 --> 00:15:07.910
So we can really internalize it. So that was why I did that.

00:15:07.910 --> 00:15:09.980
So I'm glad that you appreciated that. Yes, thank you.

00:15:10.280 --> 00:15:14.620
All right, let's do this. Here's a bottle for you. Here's my bottle.

00:15:14.620 --> 00:15:18.560
So you got to tell us where the idea behind let the glitter settle comes from,

00:15:18.560 --> 00:15:22.630
like what this actually all means. Let me move my computer out of the way here too.

00:15:22.910 --> 00:15:26.530
We are starting with glitter jars. So it came from the glitter jar concept,

00:15:26.530 --> 00:15:29.360
which is what I use when I talk about mindfulness.

00:15:30.430 --> 00:15:34.320
Glitter jars are often used in classrooms is like a calm down or like in a regulation

00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:37.880
station kind of space, but I like it because it's a great analogy or metaphor,

00:15:37.880 --> 00:15:39.650
right? So the jar is like our mind.

00:15:40.170 --> 00:15:42.960
And the glitter, it's like our thoughts, our feelings, our emotions.

00:15:43.300 --> 00:15:47.920
And stuff happens that shakes our jar, right? Like when I'm driving,

00:15:47.920 --> 00:15:51.290
I don't know, on the turnpike this morning and there's big trucks around,

00:15:51.290 --> 00:15:53.150
right? My jar starts to shake a little bit.

00:15:53.540 --> 00:15:56.190
Or when you're running late or you spill your coffee or you forget,

00:15:56.880 --> 00:16:00.030
your coffee, right? All of those things that shake our jar.

00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:03.340
And when our jar is shaking, right, that glitter is swirling everywhere.

00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:07.960
So it's kind of a glittery, beautiful mess, but we can't see clearly through the jar.

00:16:08.430 --> 00:16:11.200
But when we practice mindfulness or other regulation strategies,

00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:12.580
we can let that glitter settle.

00:16:13.010 --> 00:16:15.390
Now, the glitter is not gone. We might still have those thoughts,

00:16:15.390 --> 00:16:18.900
feelings, emotions, but we can see clearly. We can make better choices.

00:16:18.900 --> 00:16:21.010
We're now operating in our prefrontal cortex.

00:16:21.430 --> 00:16:25.870
So that is the whole kind of idea behind the glitter jars. And these are very

00:16:25.870 --> 00:16:30.380
nice plastic jars. Yes, we love it. So we like that. So if we drop these, we're okay.

00:16:30.740 --> 00:16:34.160
So yes, so they're plastic. And these are also juice jars.

00:16:34.570 --> 00:16:37.970
So funny story, embarrassing story. I'm going to share this.

00:16:37.970 --> 00:16:41.220
Did you drink all the juice for these? I did. I chugged it right before.

00:16:43.430 --> 00:16:47.260
So when I did one of these workshops at the DOE, right? And when you're at the

00:16:47.260 --> 00:16:51.110
DOE, you really, it's like operation don't look stupid, right?

00:16:51.110 --> 00:16:54.790
Like, be my smartest self. Don't say dumb things. Don't do dumb things.

00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:57.320
So they were like, Stefanie, what kind of jars do you need?

00:16:57.320 --> 00:16:59.850
And it's like, look, any jar works. Like, it's totally fine.

00:17:00.090 --> 00:17:03.820
So they're like, okay, like spice jars? I'm like, yeah, spice jars are great.

00:17:03.820 --> 00:17:05.200
That's like a perfect size.

00:17:05.660 --> 00:17:11.750
Like, I'm thinking size. You know, spice jars and the lids and how they like flip open? Yeah.

00:17:12.180 --> 00:17:16.030
That is like the dumbest thing to put water in. So now all these spice jars

00:17:16.030 --> 00:17:18.990
come and I'm doing a workshop and all the kids are like, oh,

00:17:18.990 --> 00:17:20.020
flip, flip, flip, flip, flip, flip.

00:17:20.040 --> 00:17:23.590
Flip and I'm like oh my god oh my god what am I what am I gonna do so I like

00:17:23.590 --> 00:17:26.840
put a sticker on it I'm like this is fine we do the whole workshop and at one

00:17:26.840 --> 00:17:29.460
point I have the kids put the lid on and they're gonna shake it.

00:17:31.140 --> 00:17:34.860
So one cute darling shakes it like over her head because that's the best place

00:17:34.860 --> 00:17:41.490
to shake a jar and it just breaks and there is glitter glue water all over this kid and I was like,

00:17:42.350 --> 00:17:45.670
Yay. She's been blessed by fairies, everyone. Everybody clap.

00:17:45.670 --> 00:17:48.920
Yay, fairies. I was like, oh, my God. That's great. Yeah. Okay.

00:17:48.920 --> 00:17:52.750
So don't use spice jars. Lesson learned. All right. So we have our jar.

00:17:53.670 --> 00:17:57.860
We have clear glue. You can also use glitter glue, but glitter glue sometimes

00:17:57.860 --> 00:18:00.710
tends to make it like leaving a color background.

00:18:00.710 --> 00:18:06.140
So if you don't want it to be like, I don't know, blue or pink in the background, don't do that.

00:18:06.140 --> 00:18:08.620
So I'm going to pass you this. You're just going to give a nice little squeeze

00:18:08.620 --> 00:18:10.710
like I did. All right. So we're putting like a little bit of,

00:18:11.230 --> 00:18:13.900
you know, like a half inch of glue in the bottom of the bottle for those of

00:18:13.900 --> 00:18:19.650
us listening at home in case you're following along with our instructional process today. All right.

00:18:19.990 --> 00:18:23.490
And then you bring this like really pretty water. It can be any kind of water.

00:18:23.490 --> 00:18:25.810
I just brought this really gorgeous jar here.

00:18:26.130 --> 00:18:29.310
Did you get that on Safari? Is that where that's from? I did. Yes.

00:18:29.790 --> 00:18:32.830
All the way from Africa. All the way from Africa. Very nice. It's a callback.

00:18:32.950 --> 00:18:39.870
I like to fill the water about half-ish way, a little bit more, maybe three quarters.

00:18:40.170 --> 00:18:43.890
And I like to do that first because then we can start to mix that glue in that water.

00:18:44.820 --> 00:18:48.310
Oh, gotcha. Famously, I'm a dropper, so I'm going to fully concentrate on it.

00:18:48.450 --> 00:18:51.050
Yes, that is okay. Two hands, full concentration.

00:18:52.100 --> 00:18:55.760
All right. She's doing an excellent job, folks. Oh, that is beautiful pouring.

00:18:56.070 --> 00:18:58.130
All right, so I'm just giving mine like a little swirl and a shake.

00:18:58.130 --> 00:18:59.950
If you shake it a lot, it'll get bubbly, but...

00:19:00.170 --> 00:19:02.180
And should I shake it over my head like that girl did at the DOA?

00:19:02.330 --> 00:19:04.560
Absolutely, but don't put the lid on when you do that. Got it.

00:19:04.560 --> 00:19:07.350
Don't put the lid on. Okay, perfect. I'll get right on that.

00:19:08.650 --> 00:19:12.260
All right. And now is the really fun part. So now it's this makes it so that

00:19:12.260 --> 00:19:15.440
it's a little bit denser. So it should make the glitter move slowly.

00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:19.730
And you can use any kind of glitter. But I like to do a mix of things because

00:19:19.730 --> 00:19:22.080
I think it makes it more fun. Right. Because you have some fine glitter.

00:19:22.080 --> 00:19:23.440
You can have some chunky glitter.

00:19:23.820 --> 00:19:27.970
You can also bring beads. So I brought tons of colors so that you can make sure

00:19:27.970 --> 00:19:29.330
that it's your favorite colors.

00:19:29.810 --> 00:19:31.400
And I'm going to do a little bit of blue.

00:19:32.020 --> 00:19:39.230
Love it. And so this one is these are the fine ones. And then you just tap, tap, tap it in. Okay.

00:19:39.690 --> 00:19:42.830
And since you're grownups, I don't have to worry about how much glitter you

00:19:42.830 --> 00:19:47.350
put in. You can put in whatever feels right. And then I also bought some sequins.

00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:53.040
And this is also really fun because there's all different colors. I'm going to put in blue.

00:19:53.750 --> 00:19:57.460
Good choice. And can I put in two of these colors? Absolutely.

00:19:57.460 --> 00:19:58.630
You can mix as many colors as you want.

00:19:58.690 --> 00:20:02.000
Will it change the color? Like if I put blue and yellow, will it make it green

00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:03.340
or will they stay individual?

00:20:03.340 --> 00:20:05.830
I'm doing the same thing. I'm also doing blue and yellow. So it's funny.

00:20:05.830 --> 00:20:08.270
It kind of depends. So sometimes when it's really fine glitter,

00:20:08.270 --> 00:20:11.390
it can make it look green. And then other times it'll keep it very separated.

00:20:11.390 --> 00:20:15.260
So I think I'll do blue and then I'll put gold chunks so that it doesn't.

00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:18.920
I'd like to give this to my daughters, and their high school colors are blue

00:20:18.920 --> 00:20:23.390
and yellow, so I'm going to do that. Yeah, here. There's some fun little sequins

00:20:23.390 --> 00:20:25.630
over here. Oh, nice. Whoa.

00:20:26.370 --> 00:20:31.250
So what are some other things that people have put in these before?

00:20:31.990 --> 00:20:33.750
Like little gemmy kind of things. Okay.

00:20:34.890 --> 00:20:39.180
Beads are kind of fun. Different types of confetti kind of stuff.

00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:43.670
Anything pretty much that's not going to melt in water. Got it. You can put in.

00:20:44.540 --> 00:20:47.740
And then depending on how much glue you put in is going to be kind of like how

00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:50.520
dense it is and how much it'll move. And it's fun when there's things that are

00:20:50.520 --> 00:20:53.350
heavier and lighter because then you can see it moving at different.

00:20:53.350 --> 00:20:56.130
Oh, at different paces. Yeah, at different paces. Wow.

00:20:57.090 --> 00:20:59.750
And then you can, I like doing it halfway because you can kind of get an idea

00:20:59.750 --> 00:21:03.690
first before you add the rest of the water. Okay. And it kind of is mixed a little bit.

00:21:04.130 --> 00:21:08.390
And then you can keep adding until you feel like it's enough. Looking pretty snazzy.

00:21:08.710 --> 00:21:11.470
I think I might need more glitter. I think so too. I think, yeah.

00:21:12.070 --> 00:21:13.270
I think I might be okay there.

00:21:14.330 --> 00:21:19.250
I'm really impressed. I'm a professional glitter jar maker. You didn't know

00:21:19.250 --> 00:21:24.160
that about me. I didn't. You did not tell me. One of your many hidden talents. Yes.

00:21:24.570 --> 00:21:27.090
Now, do you fill up the jar the rest of the way with the water?

00:21:27.090 --> 00:21:30.200
Yes. Okay. I'm going to wait for my bubbles to settle a little bit.

00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:34.410
Let your bubbles settle so the glitter can settle. I'm going to add a little bit more glitter here.

00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:40.070
Yes. That's what it needs. Maybe a lot more. Oh, cool. Okay. There we go. Okay.

00:21:41.630 --> 00:21:46.860
Awesome. I think this is a really cool visual as well, because sometimes,

00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:49.740
you know, this is the way people feel and it takes time.

00:21:50.140 --> 00:21:53.430
Yes. Like there's time for things to kind of settle themselves.

00:21:53.430 --> 00:21:55.950
It doesn't happen immediately. Yeah. Yeah.

00:21:56.880 --> 00:22:01.110
You know, because I have a tendency to get to get stuck in my thoughts and my brain is stuck in gear.

00:22:01.110 --> 00:22:04.840
It's part of my OCD tendencies, right? Where you get stuck on a particular thought

00:22:04.840 --> 00:22:09.610
or, you know, something that might be bothering you that you have trouble getting

00:22:09.610 --> 00:22:14.570
over and processing. And this would be a good visual to kind of work through that.

00:22:14.820 --> 00:22:18.960
And I love it for talking about regulation, right? So when we think about being

00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:21.430
regulated, when we're regulated, that's where we're in a state where we can

00:22:21.430 --> 00:22:25.600
handle what's coming up for us. And as educators, we want a classroom full of

00:22:25.600 --> 00:22:28.570
regulated students. It's also much more pleasant, isn't it?

00:22:29.450 --> 00:22:32.950
But when we're in hypo arousal, right, we're like frozen.

00:22:33.270 --> 00:22:36.660
That's kind of like when the glitter is like stuck, right? So if this wasn't

00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:38.260
moving at all, I had too much glue in it.

00:22:38.610 --> 00:22:41.680
That's hypo arousal, right? That's when the kid comes in, their hood might be

00:22:41.680 --> 00:22:44.640
up, they're disassociating, their head's down, they're not like,

00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:45.800
are they with us? We're not sure.

00:22:46.260 --> 00:22:49.890
That's hypoarousal. Hyper is when we're swirling.

00:22:50.690 --> 00:22:54.380
We're active, like moving around, we're fidgeting. Maybe we're looking all over

00:22:54.380 --> 00:22:55.780
the place. We can't kind of be still.

00:22:56.160 --> 00:22:59.920
So neither of those are helpful for a good learning environment.

00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:03.080
So practicing mindfulness or doing other regulation strategies,

00:23:03.080 --> 00:23:08.210
even watching the glitter settle, right, can help us to let our own glitter settle. Very peaceful.

00:23:08.470 --> 00:23:12.180
And tell us again the definition of mindfulness.

00:23:12.590 --> 00:23:17.550
So mindfulness is present moment awareness with kindness and curiosity. Oh, wow.

00:23:18.600 --> 00:23:24.120
I can just hear you say that every day. If you are the child of a teenager who

00:23:24.120 --> 00:23:28.160
maybe struggles with, excuse me, the parent of a teenager.

00:23:29.840 --> 00:23:36.110
Really any teenager, one that struggles with, you know, staying present or even

00:23:36.110 --> 00:23:40.060
those that aren't, it's going to happen at some point where they're trying to

00:23:40.060 --> 00:23:43.580
regulate themselves because it happens for some kids.

00:23:43.580 --> 00:23:46.370
It takes a little longer than others for them to have the mechanisms in their

00:23:46.370 --> 00:23:49.020
brain as their brains are still developing when they're in sixth,

00:23:49.020 --> 00:23:51.560
seventh, eighth grade. This is a great activity, I think.

00:23:51.860 --> 00:23:55.910
And the book itself is an awesome tool for kids to be able to process on their

00:23:55.910 --> 00:23:59.240
own, written from their perspective in a way that they can understand it.

00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:02.760
That's what's really awesome about it. Absolutely. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.

00:24:03.430 --> 00:24:05.230
That's the goal. And my glitter settles. Yeah, there you go.

00:24:05.230 --> 00:24:08.150
My glitter has settled, too. I got to add a little more water to my bottle once

00:24:08.150 --> 00:24:11.800
it settles there. Let me hand you your glue before I knock that over and make

00:24:11.800 --> 00:24:13.800
everything sticky. and then Isaac wants to kill me.

00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:17.780
No, we did good. Yeah, I'm surprised. I was expecting a little more glitter

00:24:17.780 --> 00:24:21.300
everywhere. Yeah, I know. Nope. I think I might have some on my hands.

00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:26.360
I did used to tell students that if they used glitter on their school projects

00:24:26.360 --> 00:24:30.720
that I would take off a grade because one time I brought them home to grade

00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:32.780
them when I was first teaching and it was everywhere.

00:24:33.580 --> 00:24:37.300
My wife says that glitter is the herpes of crafting. Oh, no.

00:24:39.320 --> 00:24:44.310
Oh, Tracy. I hope that people laughed at that. Yeah, their little craft circle

00:24:44.310 --> 00:24:46.640
has all these little jokes that they talk about. Goodness.

00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:50.960
So can we ask you a few, finish this sentence.

00:24:51.340 --> 00:24:53.580
Yes. Okay. Yeah. Good.

00:24:54.960 --> 00:24:58.750
So, finish the sentence. Teaching would be easier if.

00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:04.660
Oh. Oh. Teaching would be easier if. Oh.

00:25:07.040 --> 00:25:09.090
Teaching would be easier if.

00:25:14.140 --> 00:25:18.570
There were no computers or cell phones. Oh, wow. Okay, so you went there.

00:25:18.570 --> 00:25:21.060
All right. I did. I just went there. That's okay.

00:25:21.930 --> 00:25:24.530
So tell us your thoughts. Give us a little... Say more?

00:25:26.250 --> 00:25:32.640
Well, being a teacher of almost 20 years now, I just remember what life was like before.

00:25:33.050 --> 00:25:37.370
And I remember what our attention spans were like. Like I know what I was like

00:25:37.370 --> 00:25:40.280
and my attention span before that.

00:25:40.280 --> 00:25:45.240
And I think teaching would be easier if we were back at that stage where,

00:25:45.650 --> 00:25:49.650
you know, we weren't having our attention pulled by that while we weren't always

00:25:49.650 --> 00:25:53.790
on screens. And I just think we're, all of us in general as a society,

00:25:53.790 --> 00:25:55.090
we're on screens just too much.

00:25:55.410 --> 00:25:57.840
I don't think that we're meant for that. I don't think it's good for us.

00:25:57.840 --> 00:26:01.370
I don't think it's good for our eyes or our bodies, our brains.

00:26:01.710 --> 00:26:04.380
So, yeah. Okay. And as far as like,

00:26:05.450 --> 00:26:11.210
screen use in your classroom? Does the school that you work in have like a specific

00:26:11.430 --> 00:26:14.410
policy or initiative that they're going with to roll back screens?

00:26:14.410 --> 00:26:16.880
Or are you just personally making the choice like, yep, I'm just going to roll

00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:17.990
it back and do things differently?

00:26:18.170 --> 00:26:21.520
Yeah, I think there's a good mix in our school. I think the teachers who are

00:26:21.520 --> 00:26:23.950
using or not using and going back to pen and paper.

00:26:25.050 --> 00:26:28.780
In my classroom, I only use screens when it's something I really need to use them for.

00:26:29.100 --> 00:26:33.700
If I don't have to use screens, I try to have kids handwrite as much as possible

00:26:34.040 --> 00:26:37.290
or give it as an option because some of them still like it and some of them

00:26:37.290 --> 00:26:39.370
like are asking for that break,

00:26:40.070 --> 00:26:44.200
um but like many of the programs that we have are they have to be on them you

00:26:44.200 --> 00:26:47.610
know it's like an assessment that they need to be on a computer for true yeah

00:26:47.780 --> 00:26:50.320
um and as far as cell phones um,

00:26:50.820 --> 00:26:54.560
you know new jersey has just passed their bell to bell look at us go yeah,

00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:58.580
you know and a lot of schools like well we already have a policy but you're

00:26:58.580 --> 00:27:01.890
not enforcing the policy that you have, then you don't have a policy, right?

00:27:02.170 --> 00:27:07.440
So before, I mean, I know you haven't been in the classroom yet,

00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:09.800
right? Because we're recording this before the school year starts.

00:27:09.800 --> 00:27:15.650
Like, why are you looking forward to stepping foot in a classroom where cell phones aren't?

00:27:17.360 --> 00:27:20.800
Available to the kids? Is that a battle that you're facing on the regular?

00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:25.290
So I'm really fortunate in a school that I'm in because we've always had like

00:27:25.290 --> 00:27:26.600
the policy of off and away.

00:27:26.600 --> 00:27:31.020
And for the most part, you know, kids followed that. But in the last few years,

00:27:31.020 --> 00:27:35.580
we really as a whole school kind of buckled down because that's a tricky thing

00:27:35.580 --> 00:27:39.360
when like, you know, there's one or two cool teachers who don't say anything.

00:27:39.360 --> 00:27:41.840
I have. And then you're not. I've.

00:27:47.650 --> 00:27:50.880
We all are, you know, kind of on top of it. And the phone is off and away and

00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:53.060
the kids, for the most part, respect it.

00:27:53.060 --> 00:27:56.890
I think this past year, I don't think I had to say anything once,

00:27:56.890 --> 00:28:01.190
like not even once it wasn't even an issue because the school kind of really

00:28:01.190 --> 00:28:02.630
came down and that was it.

00:28:02.630 --> 00:28:07.080
And it was going to like, there were stronger repercussions for having it.

00:28:07.080 --> 00:28:11.660
And what is your school district do in regards to repercussions for students

00:28:11.660 --> 00:28:13.260
using it, having it, stuff like that?

00:28:13.260 --> 00:28:16.790
So they, their parents have to come and get it after like the second time.

00:28:16.790 --> 00:28:20.220
And I think that that alone, because it's an inconvenience to the parent,

00:28:20.220 --> 00:28:22.550
but then because it's inconvenience to the parent, the parent says something

00:28:22.550 --> 00:28:25.370
to the kid. So everyone's like, we just don't want this to be a thing.

00:28:25.370 --> 00:28:28.270
And then they're sometimes going home then without it. So then they have it

00:28:28.270 --> 00:28:30.320
for a less amount of time. So.

00:28:30.930 --> 00:28:33.900
When you say off in a way, they had to have it in their lockers or like in their

00:28:33.900 --> 00:28:36.390
bag or. It's supposed to be in their lockers. Got it.

00:28:36.900 --> 00:28:41.300
Yeah. And, you know, the comment that you made, I'm not going to get on my soapbox, I promise, Jane.

00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:46.590
But if you're listening and you are that teacher where the school has a,

00:28:46.590 --> 00:28:48.450
maybe it's not going to be as much of an issue now.

00:28:49.610 --> 00:28:52.680
But that's a huge point of contention where like if you're allowing it,

00:28:53.020 --> 00:28:55.640
but the school is saying, no, you shouldn't be.

00:28:55.920 --> 00:29:01.510
Then you're making your colleagues be the bad guy when you are not enforcing

00:29:01.510 --> 00:29:03.670
a policy that everyone else wants enforced.

00:29:04.540 --> 00:29:06.880
And you can't just say, well, I just want to do the, like, no.

00:29:07.300 --> 00:29:12.020
Like, I want to speed on the highway, but I can't because there are other people

00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:17.320
that I have to be mindful of and respectful of while I'm out there. Right, yeah.

00:29:17.870 --> 00:29:19.940
So. I agree. Short soapbox.

00:29:20.870 --> 00:29:24.530
That was a good, it was. Yeah, thank you. Short and sweet. If you're an educator

00:29:24.530 --> 00:29:28.200
in New Jersey, Navigating hiring season or searching for your next district

00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:30.790
move can feel overwhelming. That's why we love.

00:29:57.520 --> 00:29:59.910
To njschooljobs.com.

00:30:02.190 --> 00:30:05.860
All right, finish this sentence. One thing I refuse to compromise.

00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:10.130
One thing I refuse to compromise is on my sleep.

00:30:11.760 --> 00:30:14.920
Really, I have a very serious bedtime routine.

00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:18.730
I know we were going to talk about routines, but I will quickly tell you that

00:30:19.120 --> 00:30:23.100
at nighttime, it is very serious. It's usually eight o'clock at night.

00:30:23.100 --> 00:30:26.440
I know that's early, But at 8 o'clock at night, screens are off, away.

00:30:27.140 --> 00:30:30.580
I have my little hot beverage of calm. It's like a little magnesium drink.

00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:34.910
I have something to read. I have my little journal where I write my gratitude stuff in.

00:30:35.190 --> 00:30:39.630
And then by 9 o'clock, I am lights out and hopefully sleeping.

00:30:39.630 --> 00:30:42.210
Good for you. What time do you get up in the morning for school?

00:30:42.980 --> 00:30:47.020
Usually like 5 to 5.30 because I like to work out in the morning if I can.

00:30:47.220 --> 00:30:49.040
Nice. We're part of a biker gang.

00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:53.730
It's a Peloton biker gang. Good for you. Yeah. So we like to work out in the

00:30:53.730 --> 00:30:54.780
morning. It's really fun.

00:30:55.420 --> 00:30:59.500
Who's part of said Peloton biker gang? There's like three other teachers at school.

00:31:00.840 --> 00:31:04.480
Now everyone knows about it. So if you reach out to me and, you know...

00:31:05.140 --> 00:31:09.690
I can interview you to join if you'd like to join the Peloton Biker Game, but it is very fun.

00:31:10.010 --> 00:31:12.810
We meet in the morning and we just text and it's just nice to know someone else

00:31:12.810 --> 00:31:16.780
is, you know, expecting me to be on my bike. And that alone will get me going.

00:31:16.910 --> 00:31:21.410
Are there shirts? I hope there's shirts. You know, not yet, but it is something we've been discussing.

00:31:21.750 --> 00:31:23.850
I feel like you need to join, Jamie, so you can help us. Well.

00:31:24.530 --> 00:31:26.910
I also was, you have a rival game.

00:31:27.390 --> 00:31:31.720
But I told Joe, I just actually started Pilates. I'm starting a Pilates journey

00:31:31.960 --> 00:31:34.590
because I paid my daughter's braces were done.

00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:40.600
And it was like, we are going to shift the $200 a month from her braces to me.

00:31:40.970 --> 00:31:43.780
And so that's, you know, that's where that's going in the budget.

00:31:43.780 --> 00:31:44.770
And how much do you love that?

00:31:44.770 --> 00:31:46.910
Because I've heard great things about Pilates. Well, you know,

00:31:46.910 --> 00:31:50.780
I have an older sister and she told me recently, one day you're going to be

00:31:50.780 --> 00:31:57.020
a grandmother and you need to get up off of the floor when you're playing with the grandchildren.

00:31:57.020 --> 00:32:00.990
And that was like her whole, she's a big Pilates and yoga enthusiast, my sister.

00:32:00.990 --> 00:32:06.540
So, um, I have to say it's as amazing as everyone says that it is.

00:32:06.540 --> 00:32:10.190
Yeah. So I'm excited for, you know, that, yeah, I'm, I'm happy for you for that.

00:32:10.190 --> 00:32:15.300
I, I was a runner for, I was, oh, I am so not flexible. Um, yeah.

00:32:15.820 --> 00:32:19.680
I, yeah, yeah. Um, I was a runner for a very long time.

00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.730
Um, I cycled for a bit. Um, I ran marathons and half marathons and finally I

00:32:24.730 --> 00:32:27.440
was like, I don't enjoy this.

00:32:27.440 --> 00:32:31.630
Like I enjoy it, but I was like out in the winter time training for a race and

00:32:31.630 --> 00:32:35.160
I was bundled up and I, you know, I enjoy the challenge of it,

00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:38.850
but I was like, I think I need to take a break. So I did.

00:32:39.230 --> 00:32:42.220
Um, you know, I walk when I play golf for my exercise, but I also,

00:32:42.220 --> 00:32:47.090
um, you know, was grew up in high school when I was younger playing tennis and

00:32:47.090 --> 00:32:51.400
I've kind of transitioned to pickleball, which is a lot more competitive than you would think.

00:32:52.810 --> 00:32:56.570
And since I have some general skills, it's been fun to go and play with other

00:32:56.570 --> 00:32:58.970
people and meet a friendly environment.

00:32:58.970 --> 00:33:01.830
So it's good to, like, that's something I don't want to compromise on,

00:33:01.830 --> 00:33:06.190
right? I want to make sure that I get to play once or twice a week at night

00:33:06.190 --> 00:33:10.980
and banging around with some people that are sometimes much older than me and much better than me.

00:33:11.980 --> 00:33:14.720
But it's a fun sport. It's a good time. I enjoy the competition.

00:33:15.800 --> 00:33:21.940
Can you tell us one particular system as we are starting our new school year that works for you? Yes.

00:33:22.560 --> 00:33:24.850
Whether in the classroom or out of the classroom, either one.

00:33:24.850 --> 00:33:29.440
OK, so out of the classroom system that I like to use to help me get things

00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:32.530
done is I schedule everything, but I don't.

00:33:33.120 --> 00:33:35.960
Like when I block things in, it's not like just my to-do list.

00:33:35.960 --> 00:33:41.850
It's like at this time, for this hour and a half, I'm working on and it's something specific.

00:33:42.070 --> 00:33:45.160
So it's not just like going through a to-do list. It's this is what I'm working on.

00:33:45.470 --> 00:33:50.100
Because otherwise, I will do the easiest thing or sometimes I'll get stuck in

00:33:50.100 --> 00:33:53.410
doing something. So I have to time block things. So I think about how much time

00:33:53.410 --> 00:33:56.070
it should take and then I block it in.

00:33:56.390 --> 00:34:00.700
And I also do sometimes the Pomodoro method of like 20 minutes of working,

00:34:00.700 --> 00:34:04.140
five minutes off. That's something I work with a lot with students using.

00:34:04.140 --> 00:34:06.280
So I start to implement that now for myself.

00:34:06.780 --> 00:34:08.950
That's great. I did that a lot over the summer.

00:34:09.740 --> 00:34:12.400
I focused on like resetting my nervous system a little bit. And like,

00:34:13.060 --> 00:34:17.350
I also would find myself multitasking where, you know, you start a load of laundry

00:34:17.350 --> 00:34:19.600
and then you do one other thing and then you forget the load of laundry.

00:34:19.600 --> 00:34:23.860
Like I said to myself, OK, I'm going to take a half an hour to be active every

00:34:23.860 --> 00:34:27.550
day. I'm going to take, you know, 30 minutes to read. I'm going to take 30 minutes

00:34:27.550 --> 00:34:30.370
to focus on a house project. And that may seem like small amounts,

00:34:30.370 --> 00:34:33.080
but you'd be surprised. Right. Pomodoro method wise, right.

00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:36.900
Of what you could get done in that amount of time. And when it's focused. Yeah.

00:34:37.210 --> 00:34:40.030
In the executive function coaching that I do with students, like when I tell

00:34:40.030 --> 00:34:43.100
them, they're like, and you've talked about this too, about like when there's

00:34:43.100 --> 00:34:45.730
a task that you need to start or you have all these tasks that you just have

00:34:45.730 --> 00:34:47.240
to do and there's a mountain in front of you.

00:34:47.510 --> 00:34:49.760
What do you say? Just start climbing. Just start climbing. Right.

00:34:50.140 --> 00:34:53.770
So in 20 minutes, you'd be surprised what you can do. Like in 20 minutes,

00:34:53.770 --> 00:34:56.530
I'm going to clean my kitchen. I'm going to see how far I can get in it.

00:34:56.530 --> 00:35:01.980
And it's done before 20 minutes when you're focused and intentional on completing that task.

00:35:03.510 --> 00:35:06.840
So I focused on that and I made sure that like that was the thing that I was

00:35:06.840 --> 00:35:08.200
doing during that time. Yes.

00:35:08.920 --> 00:35:12.390
So when I read, I literally would set a timer and I would sit and read for 30

00:35:12.390 --> 00:35:15.900
minutes and I would make sure that I was focusing myself to do that because

00:35:15.900 --> 00:35:17.090
I have a very active brain.

00:35:18.180 --> 00:35:20.910
And I'm constantly thinking about what should I do next? Yes.

00:35:20.910 --> 00:35:22.890
And I wanted to not do that.

00:35:23.030 --> 00:35:25.620
And I want that to carry over into the school year. And that's why I'm trying

00:35:25.620 --> 00:35:29.510
to focus on like scaling things back a little bit more,

00:35:30.010 --> 00:35:33.310
you know, 30 minutes a day of working on stuff for the show to make sure that

00:35:33.310 --> 00:35:38.480
we're set up for our our season four, because I have the ability now to do that in my schedule.

00:35:38.620 --> 00:35:41.220
Right. I want to make sure that that gets done for us to make this.

00:35:42.610 --> 00:35:46.750
Yeah. An amazing thing. So that's a system I think that might work for other

00:35:46.750 --> 00:35:48.200
people about scheduling things out.

00:35:48.500 --> 00:35:51.180
It might not work for everyone, but it definitely would work for.

00:35:51.390 --> 00:35:54.670
It's so helpful. And then you don't end up doing that same little wash five

00:35:54.670 --> 00:35:55.740
times because it smells moldy.

00:35:56.880 --> 00:35:59.700
I mean, just saying that could happen to someone. Just saying that could,

00:36:00.120 --> 00:36:04.600
allegedly. Yeah. Are there any other systems that you use, whether in your classroom

00:36:04.600 --> 00:36:07.580
or personal life or are you a meal prepper?

00:36:08.010 --> 00:36:14.760
You know, I am really a big cheat on this. I actually order my food sometimes.

00:36:15.120 --> 00:36:19.010
I am like not good in the kitchen, like so much so that I'm actually like scared

00:36:19.010 --> 00:36:21.450
to like make my own food most of the time.

00:36:22.380 --> 00:36:27.310
So I started doing like ordering meals to come in or I would do the like the

00:36:27.310 --> 00:36:30.530
cheat where I would go to the food store and like buy the salads or like the pre-made stuff.

00:36:31.200 --> 00:36:34.040
But that actually was a huge time saver for me this past year.

00:36:34.370 --> 00:36:37.880
And and I was also knowing that I was eating healthy. It was like the right

00:36:37.880 --> 00:36:42.040
stuff because I'm a vegetarian. So and sometimes I border on vegan and that

00:36:42.040 --> 00:36:45.260
can be really tricky to make sure I'm eating healthy enough,

00:36:45.260 --> 00:36:45.980
getting enough protein.

00:36:46.680 --> 00:36:51.330
And that works for you. Yeah. You know, that's the trick also is that you have

00:36:51.330 --> 00:36:53.880
to find what works for you as an individual.

00:36:53.880 --> 00:36:58.050
Don't hold yourself up to someone else as a measure of what's right or wrong.

00:36:58.050 --> 00:37:02.110
Right. And so that's so that's great. But I also think that that's knowing.

00:37:04.240 --> 00:37:08.060
Your strengths and weaknesses, right? Like, look, you're a busy person. You do a lot of things.

00:37:08.440 --> 00:37:14.460
You're, you know, doing master's research and a book tour and talking and speaking

00:37:14.460 --> 00:37:16.230
and teaching and doing all the things.

00:37:16.230 --> 00:37:19.610
But like saying like, you know what, I have a case that the can't don't want

00:37:19.610 --> 00:37:21.900
to is when it comes to learning how to cook things in the kitchen,

00:37:22.170 --> 00:37:25.290
I'll just order it. That makes a lot of sense.

00:37:25.800 --> 00:37:28.940
Which is a system that may work for you, might not work for other people.

00:37:28.940 --> 00:37:30.510
That's right. But I think that that's great.

00:37:30.810 --> 00:37:35.020
What about in your classroom? Is there anything specific that you Um,

00:37:35.020 --> 00:37:39.680
so one of my favorite things is I start every day with mindfulness.

00:37:39.850 --> 00:37:43.580
So that like, I just really believe in routine and whatever that routine is

00:37:43.580 --> 00:37:46.770
for you. Um, but students come in and I always greet them at the door.

00:37:47.040 --> 00:37:50.670
They get their stuff, they get settled. And then we turn our whole chairs and

00:37:50.670 --> 00:37:52.020
our whole bodies to face forward.

00:37:52.350 --> 00:37:55.890
Um, mostly because when we're practicing mindfulness, if we're facing our friends,

00:37:55.890 --> 00:37:59.650
it's just a lot harder to focus on ourselves because then we're making faces and stuff. Yeah.

00:37:59.990 --> 00:38:03.210
But so that's kind of our routine and they face forward. And then I do a quick

00:38:03.210 --> 00:38:06.460
mini lesson. We talk about it. We do a mindfulness practice and they journal.

00:38:06.870 --> 00:38:11.440
So that's like that's kind of my favorite routine. It's a nice way to get started.

00:38:11.440 --> 00:38:13.810
And then right after that, they're allowed to have if they brought a snack,

00:38:13.810 --> 00:38:15.370
they're allowed to have their snack afterwards.

00:38:15.780 --> 00:38:20.130
So, yeah. And I love getting having that time to kind of get really present

00:38:20.130 --> 00:38:22.130
and centered. And we do it all together.

00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:26.970
And that's just the first thing we do before we do any real learning or diving deep into anything.

00:38:27.950 --> 00:38:32.580
Yeah. I love that. That's great. Yeah. Can we ask you another finish the sentence?

00:38:32.580 --> 00:38:34.700
I know we're jumping back and forth. Can we keep doing that?

00:38:36.540 --> 00:38:38.590
I wish administrators knew.

00:38:42.500 --> 00:38:47.980
I wish administrators knew. I think sometimes how much is on our plate.

00:38:49.220 --> 00:38:53.430
Like what's really on our plate? How much time things actually take?

00:38:54.690 --> 00:38:59.360
I'm fortunate that many of my administrators were former teachers and kind of

00:38:59.360 --> 00:39:01.520
recently former teachers and in the classroom.

00:39:01.520 --> 00:39:06.040
So most of the time they know. But I think sometimes there's just so much that

00:39:06.040 --> 00:39:11.470
we have to do and so many of the things take so much time and administrators don't always know that.

00:39:11.470 --> 00:39:14.910
And so when they're making plans or hoping for things for the school year,

00:39:15.210 --> 00:39:19.650
they might not, you know, recognize that our plates are really overflowing.

00:39:19.650 --> 00:39:22.650
And it's not that we don't want to do things or putting our feet in the sand

00:39:22.650 --> 00:39:23.730
like we're stopping on this.

00:39:24.520 --> 00:39:28.080
But it's just that things take a lot of time for us. Have you bought a lot of

00:39:28.080 --> 00:39:29.860
school supplies for your classroom?

00:39:31.080 --> 00:39:31.590
Yes.

00:39:33.310 --> 00:39:37.150
Yes, I have. I'm so excited. They just repainted my classroom.

00:39:37.460 --> 00:39:41.900
Like, I have been wanting this for so long. and when she asked you that question

00:39:41.900 --> 00:39:45.510
the glow that came i hope you're watching the glow that came over her she's like,

00:39:46.010 --> 00:39:50.710
yes like forget shopping for myself and fun things oh no like shopping for my classroom

00:39:51.020 --> 00:39:55.620
so last year a state teacher um we went to the national championship football

00:39:55.620 --> 00:39:58.260
game and they did this thing where if you do the football yeah if you do the

00:39:58.260 --> 00:40:01.250
football through the hole guys it was like a miracle grace of god you have to

00:40:01.250 --> 00:40:03.190
watch it i got the football through the hole

00:40:03.570 --> 00:40:06.310
i won a thousand dollars for my classroom and so

00:40:06.690 --> 00:40:08.920
i just put it in and i'll be getting all of those things in,

00:40:09.550 --> 00:40:14.430
september so i'm so excited for all the new things i don't even remember what

00:40:14.430 --> 00:40:16.460
i ordered like it was one of those like,

00:40:16.920 --> 00:40:20.280
you just get so excited your mind goes blank because like you just like i was

00:40:20.280 --> 00:40:24.050
just oh yeah like supermarket sweep just running through and be like yeah all

00:40:24.050 --> 00:40:26.070
the things throwing this in my cart and this is my cart and i'm take that out

00:40:26.070 --> 00:40:28.980
and i'll put this in yeah it was like that that's exciting i bet you made,

00:40:29.460 --> 00:40:33.740
the most out of that one thousand dollars oh yes to the to the you know just

00:40:33.740 --> 00:40:37.670
like when you school budget order like to the penny like oh wait There's 19 cents left.

00:40:37.960 --> 00:40:41.880
I'm sure I can buy another pencil or eraser. One more tube of glitter for my

00:40:41.880 --> 00:40:43.790
glitter jars. That's awesome.

00:40:44.550 --> 00:40:48.240
Well, we have a little gift for you. We do. Oh, my gosh. Yes,

00:40:48.240 --> 00:40:49.780
we do. You're going to love this.

00:40:52.380 --> 00:40:57.000
So, of course, being here at the New Jersey Hall of Fame and our beloved sponsor,

00:40:58.250 --> 00:41:02.770
Teacher's Insurance Plan of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, we have,

00:41:02.770 --> 00:41:05.560
oh, my God, a bedazzled. It's bedazzled.

00:41:05.770 --> 00:41:08.890
That's right. I did it myself. I told you. No, I did not. Oh, my God. No.

00:41:09.110 --> 00:41:12.430
I was going to say, I told you I had ordered your book.

00:41:12.790 --> 00:41:15.890
My daughters have been using it. And so they bedazzled this for you.

00:41:16.270 --> 00:41:21.110
Oh, my God. Thank them so much. Now, listen, you are still on the list for a

00:41:21.110 --> 00:41:24.070
mug, but they were out of the Jersey teacher mugs.

00:41:24.850 --> 00:41:27.310
So I was like, we got to get her something. So let's give her the water bottle.

00:41:27.350 --> 00:41:30.800
What can I do to earn a mug next? I mean, look at how sparkly this is.

00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:33.710
You can drink out of it or make it a giant glitter jar.

00:41:35.950 --> 00:41:39.590
So many options. I mean, so many options. I mean, hydration is really important.

00:41:40.410 --> 00:41:44.820
Prioritizing sleep and hydration. Yes. So now when you're Pelotoning,

00:41:44.950 --> 00:41:48.270
you can use your water bottle and think of us.

00:41:48.710 --> 00:41:52.670
I love this. I've just recently started to learn how to do this also because,

00:41:52.830 --> 00:41:56.820
so my book's out for a year in October. So we are going to be bedazzling the

00:41:56.820 --> 00:41:59.790
cover of the book. I'm going to be having some events.

00:42:00.470 --> 00:42:02.940
Wait, you guys are going to be at convention, right? Yes. Okay.

00:42:03.070 --> 00:42:06.280
We'll be making glitter jars at convention. I'll have a table there for it.

00:42:06.650 --> 00:42:08.290
And I'll be giving away...

00:42:08.890 --> 00:42:13.170
The book with the glitter bedazzled versions. I love that. There'll be other

00:42:13.170 --> 00:42:16.100
fun surprises too. So we'll definitely have to connect.

00:42:16.420 --> 00:42:20.020
Yes, for sure. We will be there. Oh my gosh. This makes me so happy. Thank you guys. Yes.

00:42:22.120 --> 00:42:25.460
Also be on the lookout for Stefanie's next book, Let the Bedazzling Settle.

00:42:25.820 --> 00:42:29.630
I think that's the next. That's going to be my self-help journey through flowing

00:42:29.630 --> 00:42:32.480
down in glitter. Bedazzle your brain. That'll be the next one.

00:42:32.820 --> 00:42:37.650
I have a talent. It's a weird talent that I have, but I can make these things

00:42:37.650 --> 00:42:39.460
up on the fly. I've been using a lot of stuff.

00:42:40.180 --> 00:42:43.200
We're laughing now because we're looking at each other. We have a coworker who's

00:42:43.200 --> 00:42:47.410
on a bit of a dating journey. And shout out, Swarty.

00:42:48.220 --> 00:42:54.150
And it seems like most of the men that she's been linking with are in blue-collar trades.

00:42:54.460 --> 00:42:57.210
So I've created a reality show.

00:42:57.850 --> 00:43:01.300
Somebody sign me up. I'll be executive producer. It's called Constructing My

00:43:01.300 --> 00:43:07.070
Love, where everybody is a blue-collar worker, and they all compete in challenges

00:43:07.070 --> 00:43:09.750
to go on dates with her that are blue-collar related.

00:43:10.290 --> 00:43:16.290
Yes. And ChatGPT is amazing, and I can make little videos, and I'm either going

00:43:16.290 --> 00:43:18.410
to get in trouble at HR or become a millionaire.

00:43:19.050 --> 00:43:20.930
But no, she's a great sport about it.

00:43:21.970 --> 00:43:24.540
But no, I'm looking forward to seeing you down at the convention.

00:43:24.540 --> 00:43:26.250
That sounds like you're going to have your own table down there?

00:43:26.250 --> 00:43:29.690
Yes. Yes, I'm going to be in author's alley. Oh, my gosh. I'm so excited.

00:43:30.330 --> 00:43:33.820
That's awesome. Oh, we can't wait. I can't wait to see the bedazzled books.

00:43:33.820 --> 00:43:37.070
Yeah. You all have my daughter bedazzle hers, and I'll bring it by so you can

00:43:37.070 --> 00:43:40.890
see it. I'd love to see it. Yeah. Yeah, my cousin, I have cousins who are 19,

00:43:40.890 --> 00:43:44.430
and one of them started helping me do that. That was her summer project before

00:43:44.430 --> 00:43:46.870
we went to back to college. Yeah. It's become quite popular.

00:43:47.370 --> 00:43:50.220
Yeah. And yes, because my sister and I will, like, all of a sudden,

00:43:50.220 --> 00:43:52.950
it's like you take out your mascara, and, like, the wand is bedazzled.

00:43:53.370 --> 00:43:56.890
There's also, I saw, I saw. He just bedazzled randomly.

00:43:57.230 --> 00:44:00.460
There's actually a video on Instagram. I got a couple of videos of it where

00:44:00.460 --> 00:44:04.760
like husbands are leaving stuff around the house and the wives take it and bedazzle it.

00:44:04.760 --> 00:44:08.360
Say, you can't, like this guy's like a construction worker. He's got a utility

00:44:08.360 --> 00:44:12.060
knife and the wife took it and then put bedazzling things all over it and it

00:44:12.060 --> 00:44:14.930
gave him his utility knife back. That's amazing. Everything's better with a

00:44:14.930 --> 00:44:19.130
little sparkle. So let's ask you, this week, this month, what are you balancing?

00:44:19.420 --> 00:44:24.430
What are you trying to keep the scales even for right now in your life as we

00:44:24.430 --> 00:44:28.980
close out our episode? So right now I am absorbing every last minute of.

00:44:29.620 --> 00:44:32.960
Of the summer. So I, it is not balanced at all.

00:44:32.960 --> 00:44:36.170
It is like straight up me time right now. We are tilted this way.

00:44:36.170 --> 00:44:39.130
And I'm just really leaning into that before the school year starts.

00:44:39.130 --> 00:44:43.310
Um, I just, like, you know, yesterday I sat on the couch and I spent about half

00:44:43.310 --> 00:44:47.680
the day just kind of sitting there and I was like, this is like the most glory.

00:44:47.680 --> 00:44:49.920
Like, why have I not done this before?

00:44:50.480 --> 00:44:54.130
I love that. Highly recommend. And you have to figure out what outfit you were

00:44:54.130 --> 00:44:57.400
wearing today. So that, yes, that was a big deal. Yeah. A lot of stress.

00:44:57.400 --> 00:45:00.460
Yeah. So much to think about the denim jacket, you know.

00:45:02.380 --> 00:45:08.500
I was like, I have to be casual. Well, again, I love talking to you. I really do.

00:45:09.500 --> 00:45:12.890
I think that, you know, what you're doing in the classroom as well as your book,

00:45:13.170 --> 00:45:16.050
I think is a great tool. Please check out Let the Glitter Settle.

00:45:16.400 --> 00:45:18.730
Read it with your students. Give it to your children.

00:45:19.900 --> 00:45:22.000
It makes a great stocking stuffer. I don't know. I'm out of lines.

00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:24.960
Yeah. And always feel free to reach out to me, too.

00:45:24.960 --> 00:45:29.600
And if you're practicing mindfulness, you have questions, like I do answer my

00:45:29.600 --> 00:45:34.290
own emails. Yes. I'm still very much a very normal person. And I love to talk

00:45:34.290 --> 00:45:37.970
to people who are bringing this with their students. I love to help as much as I can. Yeah.

00:45:38.650 --> 00:45:41.110
I'm glad you remembered about the water bottle. I almost forgot about the water

00:45:41.110 --> 00:45:45.400
bottle. This is great. It's good stuff. Yeah, I heard from something. Stop it.

00:45:46.770 --> 00:45:50.120
Well, we appreciate having you here. Thank you so much. Yes, we do.

00:45:50.280 --> 00:45:52.530
You guys are the best. This is always so much fun. Appreciate you,

00:45:52.530 --> 00:45:55.360
Stefanie and Jamie. And we appreciate the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Yeah.

00:45:55.560 --> 00:45:59.980
It's an amazing space. And we are going to go and listen to you karaoke.

00:45:59.980 --> 00:46:01.350
Yeah. I can't wait. Let's do it.

00:46:01.730 --> 00:46:05.080
Yeah. And once again, shout out to Allie and Isaac and Perry,

00:46:05.660 --> 00:46:08.400
who are recording behind the scenes and helping us out to organize this.

00:46:08.400 --> 00:46:10.840
We really couldn't do this without them. Absolutely.

00:46:11.240 --> 00:46:13.340
Thank you, guys. And we didn't leave glitter everywhere. Yeah.

00:46:13.340 --> 00:46:18.620
Only in some places. All right. So we'll see everybody next time on the Balancing Act podcast. Bye. Bye.

00:46:21.080 --> 00:46:22.790
Don't miss a single episode of season three.