Inside This Week’s Episode: — Some changes are happening around here - tune in to hear a big announcement about the podcast.

Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode

EPISODE 138: The Story of the LINKtivity (Celebrating 1 Year With LINKtivity Learning)

Resources for the Upper Elementary Classroom - The Classroom Nook Teacher Shop

LINKtivity Learning Membership

Follow us on Instagram

All Good Things Must Come to an… END?

I began this podcast in January of 2020 - ya know - before the world as we knew it changed.  When I began the podcast almost 3 years ago - I could not have predicted all the changes that have occurred between then and now.

There were the obvious changes like the changes brought on by the pandemic. There were so many changes in the way your classrooms were run, and the changes in the way you had to teach your students.  But - teachers pivoted.

Then, there were the changes that needed to be put in place as you welcomed students back into the classroom in person.  And, like always, teachers planned and prepared to help with the transition. The students that returned to the classrooms post-pandemic were different from those that left your classroom in March of 2020.

And - my role, at least I hope, was to help provide you with resources, ideas, and tips for navigating all the changes in the last 3 years.

But - the truth is… the way I supported you has had to change, too. 

The plans I had for you and this podcast when it launched that first episode back in 2020 were also abruptly interrupted when the pandemic hit.  I could not carry on business as usual.

I, too, had to pivot and rethink my place in this educational space.

As many of you already know, over the past 3 years the way that I have tried to show up for you and other teachers is through my work on LINKtivities.  The need and demand for LINKtivities over the last 3 years has grown exponentially and I have tried really hard to meet those demands.

I know that when you were trying to juggle virtual teaching, back to in-person teacher, to hybrid teaching and everything in between - it must have been a struggle to keep up the pace.  

So, in response, I truly poured my heart and soul into creating LINKtivities that would help give you the digital resources you desperately needed to keep your classrooms running.

And to be honest, I wasn’t sure if the demand for LINKtivities would continue to grow after teachers and students returned to the classroom.  But - they have.

That’s why we opened the doors to the LINKtivity Learning Membership back in the fall of 2021 - because teachers were still asking for more LINKtivities.

It’s been so exciting to see the membership grow and to see teachers inspiring their students to learn with LINKtivities.

But - my heart has started to feel a little heavy over the past 6 months or so - and I know if anyone would understand - it’s teachers.

Teachers are master jugglers of trying to do ALL the things, and be ALL the things to ALL people - but it’s exhausting keeping up that pace.

And what I’m realizing is that I have set a pace for myself that I can no longer keep up with.  I can’t do all the things that I’m trying to do to support teachers — and do them all well.  And it kills me to not do something to the best of my ability.

So that brings me to my big announcement.  After a lot of thinking and taking all things into consideration, I have decided to take a pause on this podcast and shift my focus to LINKtivities and the LINKtivity Learning Membership.

That’s where my passion is right now, that’s the area that needs most of my attention, and it’s the biggest way that I have been able to help support teachers.  By splitting my focus, attention, and energy - as I have been for a while now - I have become a bit burned out to be completely honest.

And the full truth is - I love creating LINKtivities.  I’ve never created anything in my professional career that has brought as much excitement and passion as working on and developing LINKtivities has brought me.

It’s like when, as a teacher, when you find that grade level or subject area that you just love to teach. Or you have that class of students that just are the most perfect group of kids. It’s like that for me and LINKtivities - it’s my sweet spot.

I just knew I wouldn’t be able to give my all if I was stretched too thin in other areas.

So - with all that said - I hope that you’ll understand my need to take a break from this podcast so that I can dive feet first into this passion project that has been growing over the last few years.

But - here’s what’s NOT changing - all past episodes are still going to remain in your favorite podcast app of choice.  You’ve got 3 years of content to listen to or re-listen to. 

All of my resources for the upper elementary classroom will still be available at The Classroom Nook Teacher Shop. There you’ll find tons of units, and lessons, and games, and activities in a variety of content areas that you can use in your classrooms.

If you’re part of my email family, I’m still going to keep you up to date on things going on in my world and in ways that I am supporting teachers. 

I’m not going anywhere - I’m just shifting my focus.

And - if you want to shift with me- please head over to linktivitylearning.com and learn about LINKtivities. Join us inside the LINKtivity Learning membership.

You can start your free trial and get unlimited access to our entire library of LINKtivities to use with your upper elementary students.

You can also follow us on Instagram and see what we are up to on a daily basis.

Not to mention - here on this website, there is still a treasure trove of free resources, tips and strategies for best teaching practices, and video tutorials and you scroll back to previous posts and epsiodes.

There are definitely ways to stay connected - so - stay connected!

I’m so thankful for each one of you who has listened to the podcast - and most importantly I am thankful for the amazing work that you do with students.

Bye for now.

REVIEW & SUBSCRIBE TO THE CLASSROOM COMMUTE PODCAST

Don’t miss a single episode. Subscribe to the podcast and you’ll get notified each week when a new episode gets dropped! And - if you love what you hear, I’d be so honored if you took a quick moment to rate and review the podcast so that other awesome teachers can find the podcast!