When I get books in the mail, I read them to my kiddos to see what they get from the book and if they love it. This book, Seraphina Does Everything, written by Melissa Gratias, was a book that my youngest truly enjoyed. This book is about a little girl who doesn’t want to miss out on anything so she stacks her plate full of every activity she can and begins to burn out. She realizes that is she unhappy. She then talks to her father who helps her figure out what should be on her plate and what she needs to let go of. My youngest said that she’s glad she does ballet and that’s all she wants to do right now. This is a great book to help kiddos figure out that life isn’t just about doing, sometimes it about cherishing the quiet moments we have. Check out www.seraphinadoeseverything.com for more information on this book!

Your Happy Heart is a story written by Annie Dean and illustrated by Susan Keeter. This book is about 5th grader, Javon, who is excited to be chosen as a Book Buddy to 1st grader, Richard. Javon, being a good mentor, helps Richard through the problems he is having in school and doesn’t give up on him. He connects with Richard and eventually they build a friendship. This book would be an awesome book to have classroom discussions with. It is also a great book for school counselors to use with lessons as well. It’s well organized. It also includes a tips sheet for teachers when calming down a student. I enjoyed reading it and give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Link to purchase the book: https://ncyi.org/product/your-happy-heart/

Why a new logo you say? I’ve been wanting to change my logo to one that showed more of myself, but in a way that was more about who I am. When I began the teaching social media world and my teaching blog, I didn’t really know where I wanted to go with it. I was just posting a bunch of randomness (in my opinion) or things that I saw other teachers posting, making sure I followed the “rules of posting”. I wanted to make sure I was doing it right. Soon after, I began to feel like my IG account was a job rather than a hobby and a way to show my passion. I had to rethink and ask myself why I was doing it.

I came up with the name ‘Love. Teach. Bless.’ because those three words embodies the three areas that I believe are my core values in my world of teaching and coaching. Love is where I begin, the heart of what I do and have always done. I try to always hold that first and foremost in my work and my advocacy. Does that mean that you will see me talking about flaws in society that effect children? Yes, you will. I offer in that mindset and that means that I am an advocate for all children and their families. I will use my platform, if you will, to do so. That’s who I am. I got into this job to make a difference. I plan to leave this job, making a positive change (big or small) in education.

I then thought of Teach. Well that’s what I do. What I’ve always done. Teaching is what I began doing at twelve years old and never stopped. Honestly, although my job has changed from a classroom teaching to an instructional coaching, the teaching continues. It may look a little different, but teaching is teaching. I just work with adult learners rather than children. I hope and pray that the work I do now will directly effect children by the masses.

Bless. I pray that the work I do everyday, the things I write and post about is a blessing to others. Teaching is a ministry. It is a career that thrives off of relationship building and the sustainment of those relationships. Those relationships are the nucleus of the education world. It is what keeps it afloat. I know that my fellow educators have been more than a blessing to me. I hope that I have been a blessing to them as well. Love. Teach. Bless.

-Nita