Okay Here’s How I Actually Participated Step-By-Step
So Tuesday morning, coffee halfway gone, I finally remembered. Oh shoot, National School Psychology Week 2024 starts like… now? Saw the dates online just last week and meant to plan something. Classic me.
Rushed to find my dang login for the main event page everyone keeps talking about. Typed. Wrong password. Ugh! Tried twice. Locked out. Hit that “Forgot Password” button we all love so much. Waited for the email, which took forever. Finally got the reset done.
Logged back in, feeling a bit annoyed but whatever. Looked at the calendar of webinars and talks. Lots of stuff overlapping with my classes. Didn’t have time to scroll through everything fancy. Just looked for anything happening today that wasn’t smack in the middle of my teaching hours.
Found one! Short webinar slot called “Quick Calm Down Tricks for Your Classroom”. Only 30 minutes? Sold. Signed up fast, like clicking before it disappeared. Got a confirmation email right after. Felt good, like I actually did something.
Webinar time rolled around during my free period. Kiddos at recess, finally quiet. Clicked the link in the email. Easy enough. Hoped my internet wouldn’t die. Joined the Zoom meeting. Saw like 50 other little boxes with teachers looking equally tired. Felt less alone.
Honestly, the speaker was good. Didn’t use tons of psych words I didn’t know. Talked about simple stuff: using visuals more for younger grades, having a quiet corner that wasn’t like punishment, and giving kids a chance to actually explain why they got upset without jumping on them. Not rocket science, but hearing it put simply was helpful.
Took messy notes on scratch paper while it was live:
- Visual schedule pics? Found mine from last year. Still useful.
- Create “Take a Break” sign for corner. Just print it.
- Ask “What’s up?” before “Why’d you DO that?” More often.
My writing looked terrible but I understood it later.
After it ended, still had like ten minutes before the bell. Glanced at the other stuff on the site. Didn’t have energy for another session. But saw they had posters to download. Figured, why not? Downloaded a few with simple messages like “Kindness Matters Here”. Printed them out on the office printer, nice big fonts.
Taped those posters right by the classroom door just as my kids came back inside.
Got a few “Ooh, what’s that?” from them. Explained it was like a special week for helping everyone feel good and learn better. Got a shrug from Jenny but hey, she saw it.
Was it a huge transformation? Nah. But felt good actually doing something, not just thinking about it. Made it easy on myself. Found the one thing I could do quickly during free time, learned a bit, and put up some posters. Didn’t try to overhaul everything overnight. Felt manageable. That’s the win.