Waycare Academy

09/22/2026

09/15/2026

Calm does not have to compete with curriculum.

When students become restless, distracted, or dysregulated, our instinct may be to push harder so we do not “lose instructional time.”

But sometimes slowing down for three minutes helps everyone return to learning more effectively—including us.

Try this curriculum-connected reset:

Invite students to stand and slowly stretch while mentally reviewing what they have learned.

Then ask them to:

• Reach upward and name one important idea.
• Roll their shoulders and identify one question they still have.
• Gently twist from side to side while explaining a concept to a partner.
• Take one slow breath before returning to their work.

Adapt the questions for vocabulary, math facts, scientific concepts, story elements, or any content you are teaching.

Have a transition cue for them to return to their seats.

Movement is not wasted time.

Calm is not separate from learning.

And a regulated classroom does not have to be a silent one.

Sometimes the most productive thing we can do is help bodies become ready to learn again. 💛

Rachel🪷

09/14/2026

When student behaviour begins to feel like a reflection of you…pause.

When students do not listen, begin their work, or meet expectations, it can quickly activate fear:

Am I losing control of the room?
What will others think?

Maybe I’m not very good at this.

When behaviour feels like a verdict on our competence, panic can move us toward more control.

We repeat the direction, raise our voice, perfect the teacher look—and sometimes tighten expectations that were not working in the first place.

Not because we are uncaring.

Because we are human, and our nervous systems are searching for certainty.

Before getting curious about the student, become curious about yourself:

• What am I afraid this behaviour says about me?
• What do I actually want the student to do or accomplish?
• Is my current response helping us get there?
• What could I observe, listen for, or try differently?

Perhaps the student needs space.

Perhaps they need help beginning.

Perhaps the work needs to be presented differently.

Perhaps they need to feel safe with you before they can take direction from you.

You will not always know on the first try.

Confidence is not having the perfect response to every behaviour. It is remaining present enough to observe, listen, experiment, and adjust.

If your first approach does not work, you have not failed.

You have gathered information.

Behaviour is information—not a verdict on the child or the educator. 💛

Rachel 🪷

09/13/2026

Before you return for week two…

Some of you are beginning to find your rhythm.

Some are excited about the connections already forming.

Some are staring at everything still left to do and wondering how you will possibly keep up.

And some have the Sunday scaries—questioning yourselves, feeling underprepared, or worrying that you are already falling behind.

There is room here for all of it.

If you have been given more to do than one person can reasonably carry, your exhaustion is not a personal failure.

If you have stepped into a role without enough training or support, your uncertainty does not mean you are incapable.

If the first week felt messy, that does not mean the year will be.

And if it felt wonderful, you are allowed to celebrate that too.

Week two is not a test of whether you are good enough. You are still learning your students, your role, your routines—and perhaps even a new version of yourself.

Tomorrow, you do not need to have the whole year figured out.

Take the next step.
Ask the next question.
Offer yourself the same patience you would give someone else who was learning.

Whatever you are feeling tonight, it is information—not a verdict. 💛

Rachel 🪷

09/11/2026

Before you leave this first week behind, pause for a moment.

What worked?

What are you proud of?

What helped your students feel safe, welcomed, connected, or ready to learn?

And how are YOU feeling?

The first week often asks a lot of educators. You want students to settle in, feel good about being there and begin building trusting relationships. You are establishing routines and setting the stage for the year.

Perhaps you intentionally went above and beyond this week—and it was worth it.

But the pace required to begin the year does not have to become the pace you maintain all year.

That is why this reflection matters.

Maybe you are exhausted and wondering how you can possibly keep this up.

Or perhaps you paced yourself well. You had support, gave yourself enough time, found your rhythm—and even had energy for a few fun extras.

Notice that too.

What helped things flow?

Did someone support you?
Did you reuse or simplify something?
Did you give yourself more time?
Were you working in your strengths?
Did something feel so aligned that it gave you energy instead of taking it?

Now consider everything you put into this week.

Which things genuinely made a difference?

Which were helpful but could have been simpler?

Which extras brought you or your students joy?

And which things took more energy than they needed?

This isn’t about caring less or lowering your standards. It is about learning where your care and energy make the greatest difference.

Before the details fade, write a note to your future self:

~Dear September Me,

These are the things that truly mattered…

These are the conditions that helped me thrive…

These are the things I can simplify…

And these are the things I do not need to exhaust myself doing again.

As you plan for next week, ask:

What must be done?
What would be helpful?
What would bring meaningful joy?
What is simply nice to have?

Your energy is a resource too.

You may have needed a first-week sprint—but you do not have to run the entire school year at that pace. 💗

Rachel 🪷

09/09/2026

❤️ THE LOVING NO

Educators are very good at saying yes.

Yes, I'll help.
Yes, I'll take that on.
Yes, I can squeeze it in.
Yes, I'll stay.
Yes, I'll figure it out.

Sometimes our yes comes from generosity.

And sometimes it comes from guilt, fear of disappointing someone, habit, or the belief that being a good educator means always being available.

So this year, I'd like to offer you another possibility:

"The loving no."

A loving no isn't about caring less.

A loving no honours and protects your yes.

Because your yes matters.

Your yes to the student who really needs you.
Your yes to meaningful work.
Your yes to your family.
Your yes to rest.
Your yes to joy.
Your yes to yourself.

When we say yes to everything, eventually our yes can become exhausted or resentful.

Sometimes a loving no simply sounds like:

*"I'd really like to help, but I don't have the capacity to take that on right now."*

Or:

*"I can't do that, but here's what I can do."*

Of course, there are responsibilities in education we cannot say no to. There are demands that individual wellbeing strategies will never solve.

But there are also moments when we **do have a choice** — and say yes automatically anyway.

This week, before answering, pause and ask:

-Do I have the capacity for this?
-Do I genuinely want to say yes?
-What am I saying no to if I say yes to this?

Sometimes the loving answer will be yes.

Sometimes it will be no.

Your no doesn't diminish your caring. Sometimes your no protects your ability to keep caring.❤️

Rachel🪷

09/08/2026

Yesterday I shared the idea of making a care package for your future November self.

But then I had another thought…

----What if a staff did it for each other?---❤️

Invite anyone who wants to participate to draw the name of another participating staff member.

Then sometime over the next few weeks, put together a little care package for that person.

Nothing elaborate. And certainly nothing that needs to cost much.

A handwritten note.
A favourite snack.
A tea bag.
Something funny.
A little encouragement.

Just something that says:

“I thought about you.”

Then tuck the packages away.

And on November 1, when the freshness of September has worn off, the days are getting darker and everyone may be carrying a little more…

Bring them out.

Imagine walking into school that morning and discovering that someone thought about the November version of you **back in September.**

Not because you achieved something.

Not because everything is going well.

Simply because **someone cared.**

And one important thing:

--Please don't turn this into another thing people have to do.--❤️

The whole point is care.

Keep it optional.
Keep it simple.
Keep it inexpensive.
Keep it joyful.

If your staff isn't in a place where this would feel good, that's okay too. Make one for yourself. Leave an encouraging note on someone's desk. Bring someone a coffee. Notice a colleague who could use a little kindness.

Because the care package isn't really the point.

~The culture of care is.~

No, small acts like these won't fix the difficult realities in education.

But while bigger things are changing, we can still influence how it feels to work beside one another.

Healthy cultures aren't built only through big initiatives.

~~They're also built through small moments that repeatedly tell people:

🩷You matter here.

Oh, and congrats! You made it through day 1.

Rachel🪷

09/07/2026

💌 **Before the students arrive tomorrow, I have a little assignment for you.**

Not for your classroom.

For **you**.

Sometime this week, make a care package for your November self.

Right now there may be excitement, nerves, fresh bulletin boards, new plans and perhaps a laptop password you haven't used since June. 😂

But we know the rhythm of a school year.

There will likely come a point when the days feel heavier. When you're tired. When your patience is thinner. When you realize you've been taking care of everyone except yourself.

So prepare something now for the person you'll be then.

A favourite tea.
A treat.
Cozy socks.
A candle.
A gift card.
Something ridiculous that makes you laugh.

And most importantly, a note to yourself:

**“I knew you might need this. Pause. Rest. Breathe. You matter too.”**

Seal it up.

Write **OPEN NOVEMBER 1** on the top.

And tuck it away.

Will this fix the education system? Of course not.

**That's not the point.**

Caring for yourself isn't an admission that the conditions are okay. It isn't accepting things that need to change.

It's remembering that **your wellbeing matters while we work toward that change.**

Tomorrow, you'll welcome your students.

Today, perhaps you can do one small thing to remind your future self:

**I'm going to take care of you, too.** ❤️

Have fun this week!
Rachel🪷

08/29/2026

To everyone heading back into schools…

I hope you forgot your laptop password. 😂

Seriously.

I hope there was a point this summer when you couldn’t remember what day it was.

I hope your school email stopped crossing your mind.

I hope some of the problems that felt enormous in June became a little blurry.

I hope you detached enough to remember that you are a person who happens to work in education — not an educator who happens to have a life.

And now, as you head back, you might feel the excitement of a fresh start.

You might also feel a little anxiety creeping in.

That’s okay.

You don’t need to know how this year is going to unfold.

You don’t have to do it perfectly.

You don’t have to have every answer.

You don’t have to stay calm every second or make everyone happy.

You are allowed to pause.

To ask for help.

To say, “I need a minute.”

To change your mind, repair a mistake, try again, and admit when you don’t know.

When things get hard, come back to what matters.

Be human.
Stay curious.
Listen before reacting.
Protect your energy without closing your heart.

And remember that someone else’s stress doesn’t always have to become yours.

Look for the small good things, too — the laugh in the hallway, the student who finally trusts you, the colleague who checks in, the lesson that unexpectedly works.

And when very little goes according to plan?

Pivot.

Teachers know better than anyone that sometimes the best lesson is the one you completely abandoned halfway through. 😂

You are not walking into this year to control every outcome.

You are walking in to create the best conditions you can with what you know, what you have, and who you are becoming.

So if you’ve forgotten your password…

I’d say you’re already off to a pretty good start. 💗

Wishing you all a manageable start and a year with a few positive surprises.

❤️Rachel