How To Make Your Mornings Awesome Every Day! | Ep. 100

TD Flenaugh and guest Lauren Moseley discuss strategies for a strong start to the day, emphasizing the importance of a welcoming and productive morning routine. Moseley, a national board-certified teacher, shares the "Strong Start" program, which includes morning greetings, goal setting, purposeful partnering, community-building activities, breath work, and sending love affirmations. She highlights the impact of positive morning routines on student engagement and emotional well-being. Moseley also reflects on her journey from criminal justice to teaching, influenced by the need to inspire and support children. She advises parents to be mindful of their morning routines and to engage with their children's teachers regularly.

Transcript

TD Flenaugh: 0:00

A strong start. Have you had a morning that was not particularly welcoming or productive or even frustrating or even infuriating? Well, today we're going to talk about how to have a strong start that could lead the way to a very productive day and getting you closer to achieving your goals. And parents, there's tips for you on how to get your students together as well. Okay, tune in. Hi. Thank you so much for joining the falling for learning podcast. I am TD Flenaugh. We have this podcast to help parents and caregivers with having the resources, strategies and tools needed to make sure that their children are on track for learning and to stay on track for success. Okay, today we have a special guest. It is a national board certified teacher, Lauren Mosley, who has been teaching kids across the United States for at least two decades, and she's going to bring her expertise about how to have a welcoming, wonderful productive, strong start. So welcome Miss Moseley.

Lauren Moseley: 1:31

Oh, hello. I'm so happy to be here. Thank you so much for having me. This is the 100th episode. Am I? Am I right? 100 ping.

TD Flenaugh: 1:41

I don't have any sound effects, but it is episode 100

Lauren Moseley: 1:48

that's amazing. Well, I am so proud of you and so grateful for all the work that you're doing and the way that you have transformed the space into a place where parents can come and get some tips. And I just, I just love hearing all your podcasts and all the things that you're doing. So yeah, I'm looking forward to the

TD Flenaugh: 2:10

thank you so much. When I heard about your strong start, I really wanted to know more about you know what that means, what it looks like, how you developed it over time. But before we get into those details, I always ask my guests, what helped them fall in love with learning?

Lauren Moseley: 2:31

Wow, that's a great question. I'm going to say it was probably being, you know, as a little girl, having the freedom to explore. And my parents, you know, were I grew up in the 70s. I'm aging myself here. But you know, it was a time where you were kind of left to go outside and play and don't come back in the house until the street lights come on, and just having that freedom to be out and explore. I mean, I loved nature. I loved animals and insects, and I was always digging for worms and collecting flowers insects, and I was curious. I was such a curious child, so I think my love for learning really started with just an abundance of curiosity and a need to open up things like, you know, just try to find out how my jewelry box. Worked the little ballerina that spun on top. So you took it

TD Flenaugh: 3:46

apart, or what?

Lauren Moseley: 3:48

Yeah, so I would, I would take things apart, what's inside of this. And so, you know, I also love books, and I loved reading. I wasn't a great reader, but I loved like looking at the encyclopedia and looking at all the pictures we had, like the set of the Britannica inside encyclopedias back in the day, and just even flipping through and looking at the pictures was just I was awe inspired. So

TD Flenaugh: 4:14

tell me, what do you mean you weren't a great reader? Tell us more about that.

Lauren Moseley: 4:18

Yeah, I know I wasn't a great reader. Only I well. I didn't realize I wasn't a great reader until I started school, because prior to that, the first book that I could ever read was was green eggs and ham. I believe I remember my mom asking me to read that book. I want to say it may not have been Green Eggs and Ham. It may have been some Dr Seuss book from back in the day. I'm saying Green Eggs and Ham, but it may not have been that something, something may have been a Dick and Jane book, I don't know, but something that my mom would have me, she'd be on the phone with her girlfriends and like, oh my gosh, Lawrence, reading here, here, come here, come read. You know, come read to your aunt, or come read to your grand. Other And so before she got off the phone, I always had to, you know, flip through a few pages and read a little bit because she was so excited. But when I went to school, I was in the in the red bird group. Okay,

TD Flenaugh: 5:11

hold on. No, you got like you were saying that you weren't a great reader before you got into school, like before kindergarten, or before that? Are you talking about pre kindergarten.

Lauren Moseley: 5:23

I'm saying when I started school, probably kindergarten. I could read. I could read a little bit, but once I got in school, I felt like I was in the group of kids who were not the great readers I see. Do you know what I mean? You have the red group. The red, I think it was birds. It's like red bird group and the yellow bird group and the green bird group. I was in the red bird group, so I knew all those engine right? And we, we were at the small table doing the intervention kind of stuff. Okay, it wasn't called intervention, but it was definitely the red bird group, and I remember it felt like perhaps I wasn't the best reader, but I love books, so I eventually graduated out of the red bird group, and maybe by second grade. And I remember third grade, I really was feeling a lot more confident, and felt like a reader by third grade. But first, you know, kinder, first, second, I think I was on the struggle I was on the struggle list, okay,

TD Flenaugh: 6:29

yeah, but the exploration kept you drawn to learning. Yeah,

Lauren Moseley: 6:36

yeah, absolutely. I think always wanting to know more kept me not shut down by the fact that I probably wasn't the best reader my mom would read to me. The first book she ever read to me was Justin Morgan had a horse, and after that, all I wanted was a horse. And every time there was an opportunity to get a gift for whether it was Christmas or my birthday or Easter. Hey, could I get a horse? Because Justin Morgan has one, and I would really like a horse. So, yeah. So there are things childhood memories that stand out around literacy, around, you know, going to museums and going to ballet, you know, different things with the arts. And I know my childhood was very rich with experiences that kept me curious. And I think that was the thing that even though I wasn't a great student, necessarily a grade wise, it may have had something to do with the amount of talking I did as well. I was very, very communicative as a little one. I still have my report cards, because my mom does not throw away anything, right? I have report cards that have. It's the proof of Lauren talks too much. I see conduct wasn't awesome. But again, I I, I did love learning, and I still do Okay, yeah.

TD Flenaugh: 8:04

And so what about your like, tell us about your education. Like, you know, your college level education, high school level education, like those activities that lead to what you do now.

Lauren Moseley: 8:19

Okay, yeah. So I went to Southwest Texas State University, and I was a criminal justice was psychology major, criminal justice minor, and I wanted to be Clarice from Silence of the Lambs. I wanted to go into the field of criminal psychology, and after one of my classes, we had some inmates come in and talk to us about their journey through the justice system. And it was so depressing. It was so sad. The resonating theme of all of these inmates that came in to speak to us was that they did not have people who believed in them when they were kids. They didn't have teachers that believed in them, and they didn't have a very stable home life. And I remember thinking, wow, you know what a difference teachers make, right? You know a good what a difference a good teacher can make? Yes. So I was also a member of, or still am a member of, Alpha Kappa, Alpha Sorority Incorporated, and we had a tutorial program after school, and we partnered with the local church, and it was only supposed to be for, like, maybe a couple of months or a semester, or something like that. But I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed tutoring the kids and being with the little the little ones and yeah, so that was something that was really it's it was one of those moments where I felt like, I think this is what I want to do in life. I think I wanted. Be with the little kids. I want to teach them. I want to inspire them to be curious like, you know, like I was when I was a little kid. So even though I graduated with criminal justice and psychology degree, I started thinking about getting a teaching credential after college. And I felt like, if I can't help, you know, helping people once they've already gone into the justice system, or the criminal justice system. Yeah, it's after the fact. What if I, yeah, was an amazing teacher and and what if I was that person that could inspire and be the safe place and be the the one helped a kid read so that they could have some opportunities, and some, you know, a foundation when they got older. So after that, I was like, Yeah, I and I, you know, it's funny, I told my mom and my dad, because they're both educators too, right? When I was in college, they talked to me about being a teacher. I'm like, I don't want to be a teacher. They don't make any money. And I remember calling my mom and saying, You know what? I think you're right. I think I need to do because mama will do what you love. That can't always be about the money. You got to do what? What makes you happy? And I remember saying, Mom, I think this makes me happy. I really think I want to do this. This is the thing. When I think about kids and think about being in their lives, I actually get excited. Whereas, you know, working in the criminal justice system felt it was depressing. To be honest, was like, Oh my gosh, how do we what do we do? Yeah, that is, yeah, that's, that's part of the journey I went on to get a master's in curriculum and instruction. And, you know, felt like I was still hitting some walls in terms of my own growth and development. And just felt like I still, because I want to learn something, I want to learn, how can I be a better teacher? And that's when I heard about national board so I thought, Oh, this sounds like a challenge. Was, as you know, way harder than my masters, way, way harder.

TD Flenaugh: 12:15

So those of you who don't know a national board certification is an advanced certification for teachers. It is, you know, it has some weight. All across the nation. If you're relocating, your national board certification, pretty much follows you you're able to be certified. There's maybe a little bit you have to do, but pretty much it's you're certified. It's an advanced certification, and there are many things that we have to do to show that we have the expertise, right of an accomplished teacher. So, yeah, Miss Lauren. Miss Lauren Moseley is a national board certified teacher, and that's how I met her in the process, though, in the renewal process. So she was one of my instructors, facilitators, as I was, as I was renewing my certification. So yes, so yeah, tell us about your journey for national board certification. Oh,

Lauren Moseley: 13:17

boy, wow. That might have to take that might take a couple of podcasts. It took me. It took me five years to certify. And not and not because, well, let me just start from the beginning. I thought the certification process was me proving that I was an accomplished teacher, and what I realized through the process is it was actually about me becoming more accomplished and learning. And so there was a great deal of learning and reflection that was going on, because when I got my teaching credential, I was part of the emergency credential program. Yeah, remember that we are in state of emergency, they would grab anyone who had a heartbeat and stick them in front of some children and

TD Flenaugh: 14:05

say, degree in a heartbeat. Yes, that's all you needed. So

Lauren Moseley: 14:09

I literally was learning on the job, and had no language for what it was that I was doing. I just did the thing, and the kids did some learning, and we had ice cream and cake at the end of the school year to celebrate, and it was over. And then I did it again the next year. Like I didn't have language for, you know, instructional strategies or scaffolding. I didn't, I just didn't know what to call it, but I was doing it. Yeah, so when I went through the process, I guess my writing, how I wrote about my experiences wasn't clear, and that's a big part of national board is making sure you're clear, that your writing is concise and that it's very convincing, and there's lots of questions to answer, and you have to interpret the questions and interpret the language. And yeah. So it took me a long time, and then, of course, we had the pandemic. Yeah. Yeah. And in that, that kind of slowed things down, because we went to online learning, and there was some extensions, because lots of people were trying to pivot and figure out, like, how to adjust to this new reality, yeah. So I had a year added on to the already four years, and it doesn't take it. You don't have to do it in four years, as you know, that was just my my pacing. So after the extension and and being able to go through the process during the pandemic, it actually was really great, because I did a lot of reflecting during the pandemic, and I think it was the the shutdown of the world. There's really nothing else to do but work on my it was the deep reflection and, like, soul searching reflection in terms of, like, how do I help my kids in this new environment where we are all on a screen, right? So that kind of was the catalyst, I think, for me, finally getting to the place where I could talk about all the different things and have all the language. And I think the most amazing part of the whole national award experience was the year that I submitted was also the year that I got, I was given the Teacher of the Year Award, and, yeah, and it was kind of like a full circle moment for me, because it was, like the hardest year. It was the hard you know, teaching during the pandemic was hard for every educator, and it was the times when I felt like I'm not doing enough to they're not going to be ready like they were our classrooms. But it was something about my ability to support my kids emotionally. And you know, as you know, we are teaching and parents are sometimes in the same room, especially the teachers who work from home, and so they're hearing everything. And it was actually my parents that that nominated me for Teacher of the Year. And one of my parents was actually a principal. So he would, he would record me teaching, and then take it to his staff and say, Hey, need you guys. This

TD Flenaugh: 17:18

is my choice, doing that, you know, until after breaking the law. And that's

Lauren Moseley: 17:26

right, so yeah, I'm like, Are you supposed to be doing that? But I think the point he was trying to make was, you know, he would just catch me doing things with his son that he felt like were, you know, was helping his son to to get excited about coming to online class. Yeah. And he said, you know, he would wake up in the morning and his son would already be logged on, ready to go, and he wouldn't have to even do anything. He was there waiting for me. He's like, sitting in the front of the screen waiting for me to log on. So, I mean, just little amazing. Yeah. So it was, it was a hard it was the hardest thing. I think I cried every day for several, several months. I think I cried every day, going, Oh my gosh. How are we going to do this? You know, how is the world going to produce kids who can, you know, survive if we can't be there with them? But we found a way to make it work. We did. And that kind of goes into, you know, talking about strong start and just the social, emotional part of learning that is so important, okay? And I think

TD Flenaugh: 18:28

there, we're gonna have a short break, and we'll find break about this strong start.

Lauren Moseley: 18:35

Yes,

TD Flenaugh: 18:41

let's rewrite method and the rewrite method workbook are your go to resource for helping kids to learn to fall in love with writing. It has the tips, tools, resources, strategies and skill building activities to help kids fall out of writing Hoot and into loving to Write, get your book set today. Okay, we are back with Lauren Mosley, and we're going to find about bound find out about the Strong Start Program. Go ahead, tell us more.

Lauren Moseley: 19:33

Okay, so strong start is a part of our whole child model for social emotional learning. And I can't say that I developed it. I think I'm really good at implementing it and connecting the pieces of all of this. You know, the totality of the program is a lot of different things, but the part. That I think really helps my kids is the what we do first thing in the morning. So strong start. I like to I like to quote our counselor, she says, we don't just have a great day, we make it a great day, and part of it is the intentionality of giving kids the the tools to define how they're going to go about the rest of their day. So that's why we call it strong start, because we want to start the days we have the beginning thing, the first thing we do is a morning greeting. So soon as the kids cross the threshold, they get to choose their greeting, either a high five or a hug, and I know a lot of educators do that, but that's a part of the strong start making sure that everyone gets a hug, that I look at each child in the face and greet them as they come in and let them know how grateful I am that they're there. The next thing we do once they get settled in is we come to the carpet and we have like, a little morning meeting, and part of it is we set our goals for the day. So in the very beginning, we had very simple goals, like, Hey, I'm going to try my best, I'm going to have listening ears, I'm going to follow directions, I'm going to share my thoughts. Like four simple goals, and the kids would talk about the goals and what that's going to look like for them. And at the end of the day, we revisit and we say, okay, how'd it go? You know, did you share a thought today? Do you feel like you did a great job following directions? And it's pretty amazing when you give kids language and you give them a goal that over time. I mean, I have first graders so you know it, this is several months of repeating these same goals, but over time, you really do see them start to use the language of, hey, you know what? This is really hard, but I'm trying my best, because that was my goal today, and having them be very intentional about about what they're doing. So goal setting, we have purposeful partnering, where they do a small, quick, little short, like two, three minute activity, where they'll have a discussion with their partner. Like today's prompt was pick four things that are different and four things that are the same between you and your partner go and then they just chat, chat, chat, chat, chat, chat. And there's laughing and giggling and silliness, and it's a lot of fun. And then you ring the bell, and then the next part of strong start is some kind of community building activity. And again, they're always fun. They're usually involve some kind of movement. Today we we sang the the song from the movie, sing, I'm still standing. So everyone got up, and the lyrics are at the bottom, and by now they all know the lyrics, so they're jumping around singing, I'm still standing again. Lots of fun, lots of energy. And then the last thing we do is call sending love. Oh no, I'm sorry. We do breathe and focus. So we do a little breath work where we we'll use a video to like, you know, smell the flower and blow out the candle. So we'll just that kind of brings us down, because we've been jumping around, and then that brings us back down. So they they're really good at picking their breathe and focus activities, and they always have ones to choose from, because, you know, by this time of the year, they have like, 12 breathe and focus exercises they can do. And then the last thing we do is called sending love, and it's our affirmation for self, self affirmation, and then an affirmation for someone that they are sending love to. So like a kid might say, you know, I want to send love to my mom. You know, she's, she's got a cold, and she wasn't feeling good this morning, and she was really grumpy and not feeling good, and she kind of yelled at us. But I'm going to send my kid. I'm going to send I'm going to send my mom love. So that's what my kids are saying about this. It's a good thing too, because you also learn, you also get kind of like a peek behind the veil of their their lives, like you kind of see what's going on in the background of their lives, and then we do our affirmation. It's just a poem that that they say, and they all know by heart right now, so it's really cool to hear them say it. Um, yeah. And then that's it. And then we start our day. Takes about maybe 1520 minutes at the most. And I tell you, there are days when I've been tempted to skip it, and they always go, what we're not doing Strong Start today. And I'm like, Oh yeah, you're right. You're right.

TD Flenaugh: 24:47

Okay, so I remember you told me that you had one goal. I mean, there's lots of goals, but a good overarching goal for strong start. Do you remember what you told me is that they were supposed to. All laugh, right?

Lauren Moseley: 25:02

Yes, all laugh. It has to bring joy. They all have to, at some point, laugh and just have like that. Everything's gonna it's gonna be a good day. Because if you start the day laughing, if you start the day happy, yeah, that's that's a win, because some of the kids, you know, we don't know what happened before they got to my door, but some of them are sad. Some of them, you know, you can tell, they just woke up and hair is, you know, drool and like, you know you didn't wash your face, huh? Oh, you slept in that shirt like there was a rush, you can tell. And you know, I It's my job to set the tone for how the day is going to be. So I have to get them happy, you know, I can't control what happened in their life and what happened before they got to me, but I can, for that window of time, you know, help them to get over it a little bit so that we can move on with the day.

TD Flenaugh: 26:04

So So tell us, like, how many students would you say you feel like when you see them in the morning, they're affected by whatever happened before they got there? Like, negatively,

Lauren Moseley: 26:17

I would I would say every kid at some point has had a bad morning, okay? And I say it's, everyone at some point has had a bad morning. Yes, period. It they are, they are. They are six years old. And at some point mom had mom or dad or someone had to get on them the night before or in the morning, or they were even, even if it's just they were late, yeah, you know, being late for some kids can be really, uh, upsetting. You know, they may maybe nothing personal, but they mom was just rushing, and they woke up late, you know, just that quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, go, go, go, go. And they got to school late, and they're walking in late. That can be, you know, the whole day is going to be shot if you don't do something to help turn that around. But, yeah, I would say, to prepare well,

TD Flenaugh: 27:20

yeah, like in the morning, like before, like, there are those days, but is there something that they can do to help with their kids coming into the school? Because we know that they're affected negatively, if it's a big argument or or something like that,

Lauren Moseley: 27:38

yeah, I, I would say, you know, and people are human, and parents are I'm sure, are doing the best that they can. And I really love my parents, and I, I bet it's a scary place sometimes to come for a parent to come to school and have to sit in front of the teacher and the teacher say, hey, let's talk about Johnny. So I try to, I'm really gentle with my parents in that way, because I know that there's a lot of responsibility that they have for their child, and I know that every parent thinks their child is a reflection of them, which, you know, yes, yes and and we have to remember that kids are are their own individuals, and so they do come with a unique set of characteristics. Having said all that, I think if parents could do a better job being mindful that how you prepare in the morning starts at night starts the night before. So being organized, making sure you have all the things ready the night before, kind of helps for a better transition in the morning, making sure that you say, as a parent, that you believe in your kids, yeah, that you believe that they're going speak words of just affirmation into their lives every morning. Again, going back to those classes I took in college, I think that was the thing that those guys that were in prison serving very long terms said that, Hey, I didn't have anyone who believed in me. So I think just telling your kids that you believe in them, Hey, I know you're going to do great today. I believe in you. You're smart, you know, just positive, positive, affirming words I think are so, so important. Yeah, yeah. I think you and my kids, my kids do tell me everything. Little kids tell us everything. But I think one of the things I hear a lot from my kids is that, you know, they really know when parents are stressed, so when we get to that sending love. Yeah, they'll say, I like to send love to my dad, because he was, you know, he he's not doing well, you know, maybe he's his, he didn't get his new job yet, and he's still waiting to start his work, and he hasn't started yet, and he's really sad, you know, my mom works really, really hard, and she's tired a lot. You know they those are the things. So they know they feed off that energy, and they know, so just realize that how you the gift, the gift that you can give your kid is to allow them to be kids and and if we can not burden them with the worries of adult hood. You know, if we can protect them from the worries of adulthood, that that would be nice, yeah, and just, and just know that they, they are, they are trying their best. I think kids come to school every day, and I don't think they intentionally say, let's see how I can, you know, not do my best, right? I can irritate my mom and dad or irritate my teacher. That's not, that's not their hearts. I really, I really believe in kids in that way. So, yeah, did I answer the question?

TD Flenaugh: 31:21

You did, you did answer like, what parents can be mindful of, because they don't always, obviously, they've dropped their child off. They don't know what it looks like when they're inside of the room, and they may be an environment where they don't have a strong start, right? Obviously, we're, you're bringing that to share with people. So it's something that they need to be mindful of and think about, like, how does that affect their kid? Like, as a mom, I've definitely done it. I know I've, like, you know, argued at my daughter and then, like, go in that class, you know. Like, you know, I would get calls like, she had a rough day. Like, you have to always be reflective of that. Like, obviously you helped set that in motion, right? But you know, and you know you could even save it for, like, after you get home today, at least I could talk to you about it this evening, rather than, like, let's talk about it now on the way to school or whatever it is,

Lauren Moseley: 32:24

yeah, yeah. And, you know, I'll tell you, teachers are the same way, like, we have to also make sure that we are in the best mental space when we're dealing with kids, because I don't want to bring my baggage into the classroom and let that impact how I teach and how I address my kids. So, you know, I think that's one of the reasons I started really thinking about SEL even way before the pandemic. It was because I was trying to deal with my own stress and my own needing to breathe deeper. You know, my chiropractor was, like, you breathe really shallow. I'm like, I like, you don't know how to breathe. I'm like, of course, I know how to breathe, how to smell the flower and blow out the candle. Like, you know those strategies that aren't just for kids, they're for everyone, and even, I think even my I remember when we were online learning, we had this thing, this meditation called be the pond. And it was from one of the Zen Den YouTube videos. And I remember this kid says, you know, I have all these fish swimming around me, the angry fish, the happy fish, the sad fish, but I'm not any of those fish. I am the pond. And I was like, Yeah, that's right. And one of the moms, one day said to me, yeah, my kid, I was stressing out about something and and, you know, this little girl tells her mom, Mom, you just need to be the pond. So even the things that we're learning, yes, it's they're using it to help their parents out, which I think, I honestly, I think that's a really powerful thing. So educators, we're not only transforming our students, we could be potentially impacting whole families. Absolutely, you know,

TD Flenaugh: 34:19

yes. So before you leave us are, is there any like, anything else you want to leave us with, or advice for parents and educators out there we have, you know, parents and educators, homeschooling parents, parents who also, you know, obviously, send their children to school, anything you final takeaways. First,

Lauren Moseley: 34:45

I think I would say to parents, especially just reflecting on the way that education is is changing and evolving. A lot of the ways that. I learned is not how kids are learning today, and just to be mindful that, you know, kids are learning and they're on devices a lot throughout the day. And I think more than anything, kids need to be physically engaged and and moving and active and outdoors, if possible, as much as as possible, just because I think they're inside so long, in front of a device for for a good part of the day, even even the little ones. So I always, I even gotten to the point where I very rarely give homework, and I tell my kids at the end of they go home and go outside and go play. So parents, help your kids find that time to be outdoors and to run and play and get on their bikes. And there's, you know, get that energy, get that blood flowing, get some fresh air. And parents, you know, don't be too hard on yourself, because we're, we're all the whole community that's around your kids are. We're all growing and changing. We're all learning. Yeah, so, and I always like parents to believe in educators too, that it's a partnership, you know, so don't be afraid to engage with your child's teacher and, and it should be a regular, ongoing activity that you are intentionally contacting your child's teacher and in the end and vice versa, that parents should also hear from their child's teacher. I have Class Dojo. This is not a plug. I am not being paid by them. Class Dojo is amazing. I love Class Dojo and my parents. I post on Class Dojo like I don't know more than I do Instagram or Facebook or any other kind of social my social media app is Class Dojo. So yes, so that is, that is what I would say.

TD Flenaugh: 37:11

Well, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you audience. Make sure you do something today that is going to give your kids the competitive advantage. Thank you. Thanks again for supporting the falling for learning podcast. New Episodes go live every Saturday at 5pm you can watch us on youtube.com/@fallingforlearning or listen on all major podcast platforms such as Apple, Google, Audible, Spotify and much more for more resources, visit fallinginlovewithlearning.com we really appreciate you. Have a wonderful week.