Teaching elementary-aged children is a rewarding experience, but as educators and parents, finding the time and resources to create engaging lessons can be a challenge. That's where this podcast comes in. Welcome to Naturally Teaching Elementary.

I'm Victoria Zablocki, a certified elementary teacher turned outdoor educator. With over a decade of experience coaching teachers on effective teaching methods, I'm passionate about teaching the whole child with authentic and place-based experiences in school and home settings. Join me as we explore our strategies for teaching with practical teaching tips, insightful interviews, picture book reviews, and more.

So let's grow together. Hey everybody, welcome back to the Naturally Teaching Elementary podcast. My name is Victoria Zablocki and I'm your host.

So I'm just going to come out and say it. It feels really weird to be behind the mic again. It's been about eight or nine months since I had the opportunity to talk about science activities and integrating science and language arts together and taking your learning outside.

It's been a minute. Still been on my mind the whole time, but I'm about to share my update so that you know why I disappeared all of a sudden and the plan moving forward.

[1:10]

So as all of us know, life has a way of throwing you curveballs that you have to adjust for. A major reason this episode is called Adapting. Last spring when I stopped recording podcast episodes, life did just that to me. I'd been fortunate to be able to stay home with my middle child for three and a half years, a gift that I'm so grateful for each day.

And during that time, we also decided to have another child and he joined me and our middle guy for a solid two years. I was also able to pursue my passion of helping you teachers include more science in their schedule as well as learn ways to take their learning outside. I did this through my teaching resources and Teachers Pay Teachers, my blog Naturally Teaching and this podcast Naturally Teaching Elementary.

One of those curveballs though was another blessing, but it was one that required me to return to work. So if you listened to episodes last spring and wondered why I hung up the mic a little abruptly, it was that curveball. Once I had come to terms with the fact that I should probably go back to work, I knew I wouldn't have the time to dedicate to this podcast and I didn't want to put out sloppy work that didn't have substance just to keep things rolling.

So, that meant I put this podcast on the back burner to return to the nature center I had worked at previously, but this time I did so as a nature preschool teacher. So since August, I have had the pleasure of team teaching three and four-year-olds, and it's been a lot of fun and I'm learning a lot every single day. That being said, I can't share my experiences in that classroom for privacy reasons as well as protecting their intellectual property.

[2:40]

However, I can brainstorm and develop new and fresh activities and ideas for you now that I know how things look with my working schedule. Part of what I wanted to do with this episode was to give you my personal update as well as my thoughts for this podcast moving forward. So previously, my episodes were anywhere from 15 to 35 minutes long.

I know that this length of time is good for some listeners while being on the verge of too long for others. I also know that working 45 hours a week and being a mom of three, these episodes are too long for me to record and edit and commit to. So moving forward, I plan to record shorter episodes more in the realm of 10 minutes or so.

This will provide a better listening experience for you and an easier to commit to plan for me. I'm not in the habit of shortchanging anyone, so I also plan to break the content up differently than before.

[3:31]

Since I like to be thorough with my activity descriptions, I've decided to plan a topic that will be explored for four weeks including an episode with examples of picture books for the theme and an episode for each of the sister grades in the Next Generation Science Standards.

So kindergarten and third, first and fourth, and second and fifth. As an example, February I plan to focus on animal signs in winter. So on February 2nd, I'll release an episode about books on animal signs in winter.

Then on February 9th, I'll release an episode about two activities, one for kindergarten and one for third grade that are all about animals in winter and also aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards. On February 16th, I'll release an episode about animals in winter with an activity for first and fourth grade. And then on February 23rd, I'll release an episode about activities for animals in winter for second and fifth grade.

I'm planning to do this because each of those grades have similar concepts and standards that you're working towards. And although you may only teach one of the grades that I talk about, it would be helpful to listen to the other episodes. This will give you the opportunity to gather ideas and get inspirations for things you could do with your own kiddos, even if I'm not explicitly talking about your grade level and your standards.

Each year, the kiddos grow and learn more, adding on to their previously gained knowledge, so it would be helpful to listen to those other ideas too. And in the past, I've also included a teaching tip, nature note, science snippet, and I'll plan to put those where they're appropriate, but probably not every episode, which will save me time, but also streamline the content for you.

[5:07]

So in a nutshell, I'm happy to say that the Naturally Teaching Elementary podcast is back in action, and I hope I bring you new and exciting ways to bring science into your elementary classroom, ideas to integrate science and language arts, and confidence to take your learning outside.

If you haven't done it yet, make sure to subscribe to this podcast so that you get updates when there's a new episode. I want to thank you for taking time to listen today. I know you're busy and I truly appreciate the time you take to tune in.

Do you have any questions, wonderings, or topics you'd like to hear more about? Get ahold of me on Instagram at naturally.teaching, or you can email me at victoria@naturallyteaching.com. And don't forget to check out the show notes for this podcast at naturallyteaching.com.

Thanks again for joining me. I'm so glad to be back. And until next time, keep exploring, keep learning, and keep naturally teaching.

Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode of the Naturally Teaching Elementary Podcast. I hope you found it informative, inspiring, and full of actionable insights to enhance your teaching journey. Connect with me on social media for more updates, science tidbits, and additional resources.

You can find me on Instagram and Facebook at naturally.teaching. Let's continue the conversation and share our passion for teaching elementary age children together. Don't forget to visit my website at naturallyteaching.com for all the show notes from today's episode.

If you enjoyed today's episode, please consider leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Your feedback helps me improve and reach more educators like you. Thank you again for listening, and until next time, keep exploring, keep learning, and keep naturally teaching.