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Amanda Gooch

Amanda Gooch

December 1, 2023

Are you as excited as we are for our next professional development day? We get to welcome Sally Haughey from Fairy Dust Teaching, now called Wunderled. Prepare to “Reset, Reboot, & Refuel” as she presents Saturday December 9th 2023. Just a friendly reminder, the workshop will be hosted at Indian River Charter High School. Together we will join Sally as she unpacks her play-activated pathway model. Throughout the day you will find your true teaching heart and honor your gifts as an early childhood educator. An emphasis will be placed on understanding brain science research around learning environments, children’s play, and why choice matters. The power of repetition and the beauty of everyday moments will be explored as we learn to appreciate the small meaningful interactions in our work and reflect on the science behind care. We can’t wait to see you all there! 


At Fairy Dust Teaching they strive to curate new ideas, strategies and resources to help early childhood educators save time and money. To learn more about Sally and Fairy Dust Teaching, click on the link below:

Fairy Dust Teaching


Throughout this last month we have enjoyed visiting your school sites and following up on our technical assistance from our last workshop. We have been able to see the continued evidence that you are pouring into your student’s “buckets” as you encourage positive behavior. It is incredibly rewarding to witness your classrooms express daily kindness, appreciation and love.


In last month’s newsletter we explored how much we matter as educators. We discussed how when we help another person, we often become a portable source of energy for them. How sometimes we may need to provide the power or battery for them until they can handle things on their own and at other times, all we need to do is help them change their own batteries. But how can we check on our own portable source of energy, our own “battery” if you will?


Sometime taking a break from technology gives us a chance to recharge our own batteries and helps us feel more mindful and aware of our surroundings. This mindfulness leads to a sense of control and empowerment. Suddenly, you feel like you can “Do The Things!” when before you might have just felt like you were running on empty.


Believe it or not, our mental “getaway” doesn’t need to be an elaborate vacation or expensive escape. Here are fourteen simple ways to recharge your internal batteries without breaking the bank: 14 Ways to Recharge Your Internal Batteries


We hope this holiday season allows many of you to return to the new year “recharged” as we elevate and promote the highest quality early childhood development and education in Indian River County.


Wishing you the best,

Amanda & Todd

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