Teacher Talk with Ms Lauterwasser

09/12/2026

😮‍💨 THINGS I’M NOT PANICKING ABOUT AFTER WEEK ONE 😮‍💨
First Week of School Series — Day 4

We made it.

WEEK ONE: COMPLETE. 🎉

And somewhere, a teacher is thinking:

“We didn't finish everything.”

“The routine is still a mess.”

“I already need a new seating chart.”

“One lesson absolutely BOMBED.”

Friend.

Same. 😂

So here's what I'm NOT panicking about:

❌ The lesson we didn't finish.
We'll finish it Monday.

❌ The routine that isn't working.
We'll reteach it—or change it.

❌ The kid who still doesn't know where anything goes.
It's been DAYS. Give them a minute. 😂

❌ The lesson that flopped.
Sometimes the brilliant idea in your head meets actual children and immediately bursts into flames. 🔥

That's teaching.

Week One isn't supposed to prove you have the entire year figured out.

It's information.

What worked? What didn't? Who needs you? What needs more practice?

Take the information. Make adjustments.

And then?

GO HOME. 😂❤️

The laminator will still be there Monday.

09/11/2026

🇺🇸 WE REMEMBER. 9/11/2001 🇺🇸

For our students, September 11th is history.

For many of us, it is a memory.

We remember where we were. The confusion. The fear. The images on television we couldn't fully understand.

And for some families, September 11th isn't simply a chapter in a history book.

It's personal.

My family lost a family friend that day, so every year this date carries a little more weight for me.

Twenty-five years later, I now stand in front of children who weren't alive when it happened—many whose parents were children themselves.

As educators, we have an important responsibility.

We teach what happened. We remember the lives lost. We honor the first responders and ordinary people who ran toward danger to help strangers.

And we remind our students that behind every number was a person.

Someone's parent. Child. Spouse. Sibling. Friend.

Someone loved them.

Someone still misses them.

Today, I remember my family's friend, the thousands of other lives lost, and everyone whose life was forever changed.

May we continue teaching the next generation not only what happened on September 11, 2001—but why remembering matters.

We remember. We honor. We teach. 🇺🇸❤️

09/11/2026

🔄 YOU HAVE TO TEACH THE ROUTINE 🔄
First Week of School Series — Day 3

It's Friday.

You've explained the routine approximately 437 times.

And somehow someone is STILL asking:

“Wait… where do I put this?” 😂

Here's your reminder:

Knowing a routine and being able to DO a routine are two different things.

We wouldn't teach a new math concept by saying, “Here's how you do it!” once and then get frustrated when kids don't master it.

But sometimes we do exactly that with classroom procedures.

“Turn your work in here.”

“Get your Chromebook this way.”

“This is what you bring when we switch classes.”

Got it?

Cool.

Except… they probably don't. 😂

Especially during the first week when kids are learning new teachers, classmates, schedules, expectations, rooms, and approximately 97 other things.

So:

👀 Model it. Show them exactly what it looks like.

🔄 Practice it. Yes, even if it feels silly.

⏪ Reset it. If it falls apart, go back and try again.

👏 Notice when they get it right. “THAT is exactly what we're looking for.”

And if Tuesday's brilliant routine turns out to be an absolute disaster?

Change it.

You're allowed. 😂

Good classroom management isn't about kids magically knowing what you expect.

It's about making expectations predictable, teachable, and consistent.

So if you're ending Week One thinking,

“Why don't they know this yet?!”

Maybe they just need another practice round.

And honestly?

So do we. ❤️

09/10/2026

📚 READ ALOUDS AREN’T JUST FOR LITTLE KIDS 📚
First Week of School Series — Day 2

Somewhere along the way, we got the idea that read alouds belong in primary classrooms.

Kindergarten? Absolutely.
First grade? Of course.
Fifth grade?

YES. FIFTH GRADE. 😂📚

I will die on this hill.

A read aloud isn't just reading to kids. It's one of my favorite ways to build classroom community.

❤️ Books give us a safe way to talk about big things.
Friendship. Belonging. Kindness. Mistakes. Empathy. Sometimes it's easier to talk about what a character is experiencing before we're ready to talk about ourselves.

🗣️ They teach us how to talk about books.
“WAIT! Why did they do that?!”
“I disagree!”
“Go back—I noticed something!”

We're practicing listening, respectful disagreement, predictions, evidence, and deeper thinking… without a worksheet in sight. 😂

📖 They create shared experiences.
That book becomes our book. Weeks later, someone references a moment and the whole class knows exactly what they mean.

And yes—read alouds build vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and give students access to texts they may not yet be able to read independently.

But most importantly?

Books can bring JOY.

Not every reading experience needs a quiz, response sheet, or grade.

So read to the big kids.

Do the voices. Get dramatic. Let them gasp, laugh, make predictions, and beg for one more chapter.

And when they yell:

“YOU CAN'T STOP THERE!”

Close the book. Smile.

“See you tomorrow.” 😈📚😂

09/09/2026

❤️ RELATIONSHIPS BEFORE RIGOR ❤️
First Week of School Series — Day 1

You've probably heard it a million times:

“Build relationships with your students.”

Cool. 👍

But HOW?

Because I have kids to teach, routines to establish, assessments coming, approximately 47 things happening at once, and somebody already lost the pencil I gave them six minutes ago. 😂

Relationship building doesn't have to mean a week of elaborate icebreakers.

It's the little things.

👋 Greet them.
Use their name. Tell them you're happy they're there. Notice when they're absent—and let them know you noticed when they come back.

👂 Listen to the random stories.
Yes, even the one about their cousin's neighbor's dog that somehow takes seven minutes to explain. 😂 Those little stories are often kids testing the waters: Will you listen to me? Do I matter here?

🧠 Learn who they are as learners.
Who needs a minute before answering? Who loves to read? Who freezes when called on unexpectedly? Who needs movement? Who will quietly struggle rather than ask for help?

😂 Let them see YOU.
Laugh. Be silly. Tell them you messed something up. Let them know teachers are actual human beings.

🔍 Get curious before getting frustrated.
Instead of immediately thinking, “Why won't this kid do what I asked?” try:

“What is this kid telling me right now?”

❤️ And find something you genuinely like about every kid.

Sometimes you have to look harder.

Look anyway.

Because here's the thing:

Relationships before rigor doesn't mean lowering expectations.

It means building the trust kids need to MEET those expectations.

Taking academic risks requires vulnerability.

Asking for help requires trust.

Admitting you don't understand something requires safety.

Trying again after failing requires knowing the person standing beside you isn't going to give up on you.

And that starts long before the test.

So during these first few days, don't panic if you haven't gotten through everything in your plans.

Learn the names.

Listen to the stories.

Laugh with them.

Notice them.

The curriculum will come.

First, make sure they know you're glad they're here. ❤️

Tomorrow on Teacher Talk: 📚 Read Alouds Aren't Just for Little Kids—and why I still use them with 5th graders.

09/08/2026

🍎 IT’S THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL! 🍎

Well… for some of us. 😂 Some teachers have been back for weeks, and some of us here in New York just stumbled across the starting line this morning clutching our coffee and hoping we remembered our own schedule.

Either way, Teacher Talk is officially BACK IN SESSION. ✏️❤️

And this week, I want to talk about the things that actually matter at the beginning of a school year.

Not the perfectly decorated classroom.

Not the color-coded bins.

Not getting through every single slide in your first lesson.

Not whether your bulletin board looks like it belongs on Pinterest.

The stuff that matters.

❤️ Building relationships before expecting kids to take academic risks.

📚 Using read alouds to build community, start conversations, and create a classroom culture—even with BIG kids.

🔄 Actually teaching routines instead of saying them once and wondering why nobody remembers them.

😂 Giving ourselves permission to realize, “Well… THAT didn't work,” and trying something different tomorrow.

👀 And paying attention during these first few days. Because our students are already telling us what they need—if we're willing to notice.

The first week of school isn't about showing kids how much content we're going to teach them.

It's about showing them what it feels like to be a student in our classroom.

Do they feel safe?

Do they feel wanted?

Do they know mistakes are okay?

Do they believe their teacher genuinely likes having them there?

Because we have an entire year for standards, assessments, essays, fractions, interventions, data meetings, and all the other things.

Right now?

Build the classroom they'll want to come back to tomorrow. ❤️🍎

This week on Teacher Talk with Ms. Lauterwasser, we're talking about how.

First up tomorrow: Relationships Before Rigor. ❤️

09/07/2026

08/23/2026

🧠 SUNDAY RESET | ADHD DOESN'T NEED LOWER EXPECTATIONS. IT NEEDS DIFFERENT SUPPORT.

After a week of talking about ADHD, I want to leave you with this:

A child with ADHD doesn't need us to assume they can't do hard things.

They need us to understand that getting there may look different.

Think about some of the things we expect students to do every single day:

Remember five directions.

Ignore distractions.

Sit still.

Organize materials.

Estimate time.

Start boring or difficult tasks.

Stop something enjoyable immediately.

Control impulses.

Manage frustration.

Transition without missing a beat.

For many of us, those things happen almost automatically.

For a child with ADHD?

Some of them require tremendous effort.

So support might look like:

💙 A visual checklist instead of another verbal reminder.

💙 A movement break instead of repeatedly saying, "Sit still."

💙 Breaking one giant assignment into manageable pieces.

💙 A quiet workspace when concentration matters.

💙 A timer that makes time visible.

💙 Helping them identify the FIRST step when they're stuck.

💙 Private redirection instead of public embarrassment.

💙 Recognizing effort and progress—not only perfect completion.

These aren't "special treatment."

They're tools.

And tools don't make the work easier.

They make the work more accessible.

We can provide structure AND expect growth.

We can offer compassion AND maintain boundaries.

We can understand the reason behind behavior AND hold students accountable.

Those things can exist together.

If there's one thing I hope you take from this week, it's this:

ADHD isn't a character flaw.

It's not laziness.

It's not bad parenting.

It's not a child who simply needs to "try harder."

When we understand what's happening beneath the behavior, we stop asking:

"What's wrong with this child?"

And start asking:

"What will help this child succeed?"

And that question can change everything. 💙

08/22/2026

🧠 WEEKEND OPEN MIC SATURDAY | "THEY KNOW BETTER!"

They called out.

Again.

Interrupted someone.

Again.

Touched something they weren't supposed to touch.

Again.

And when you ask:

"Do you know the rule?"

They absolutely do.

So naturally we think...

"Then why do you keep doing it?!"

Because knowing a rule and being able to consistently stop an impulse are two different things.

For many children with ADHD, impulsivity is a real challenge.

The thought happens...

and sometimes the action happens before the brain has enough time to say:

WAIT. DON'T DO THAT.

That might look like:

🧠 Blurting out an answer
🧠 Interrupting conversations
🧠 Acting before hearing all the directions
🧠 Grabbing materials
🧠 Struggling to wait
🧠 Making a choice they regret almost immediately

And yes—students still need boundaries.

They still need accountability.

But if the only response is:

"You know better."

We're identifying what went wrong without teaching the skill needed to do better.

So let's teach the PAUSE.

💙 Use a private visual or hand signal.
💙 Practice waiting during low-stress moments.
💙 Build appropriate movement into the day.
💙 Give directions in short, clear steps.
💙 Reinforce when students DO stop and think.
💙 After a mistake, practice repair—not shame.

The goal isn't:

"Never make an impulsive mistake again."

It's helping students gradually build more space between:

THINK → PAUSE → CHOOSE

Because sometimes a child knows exactly what they should have done...

Their brain just needs help building the brakes to do it consistently.

💙 What strategies have helped your students stop, pause, and think before acting?

08/21/2026

🧠 TEACHER SURVIVAL FRIDAY | "YOU DID IT YESTERDAY!"

Yesterday:

Finished the assignment. ✅
Participated in the lesson. ✅
Remembered everything. ✅

Today:

Blank paper.

Missing homework.

Can't get started.

And we're thinking...

"I KNOW you can do this. You literally did it yesterday!"

This inconsistency can be incredibly frustrating for adults.

But ADHD isn't about whether a child knows how to do something.

Sometimes the challenge is consistently accessing the attention, working memory, organization, motivation, and self-regulation needed to actually DO it.

A student might perform differently depending on:

🧠 Interest
🧠 Distractions
🧠 Task length or complexity
🧠 How much structure is provided
🧠 Fatigue or stress
🧠 How immediate the feedback or reward feels

So when performance changes from day to day, our first conclusion shouldn't automatically be:

"They're choosing not to try."

Instead, get curious.

What was different yesterday?

Did they have more structure?

Was the task broken into smaller pieces?

Were they sitting somewhere with fewer distractions?

Was there immediate feedback?

Did someone help them get started?

Then use that information.

💙 Break larger tasks into smaller chunks.
💙 Make the first step obvious.
💙 Use visual checklists.
💙 Build in brief movement breaks.
💙 Give frequent feedback.
💙 Notice progress—not just completion.

Support isn't lowering expectations.

It's figuring out what helps a student access the skills they already have.

So the next time you're tempted to say:

"But you did this yesterday!"

Try:

"You were successful yesterday. Let's figure out what helped."

That one shift moves us from frustration...

to problem-solving. 💙