What if leaving at 4 PM actually made you a better teacher?

In this empowering episode of Rainbow Skies for Teachers, we sit down with educator and curriculum creator Shelly Rees to talk about meaningful teaching, strong student relationships, and, most importantly, creating boundaries that protect your personal life.

Shelly shares the moment she realised something had to change. Teaching had become all-consuming, and her family life was feeling the strain. So she made a bold decision: arrive at 7:45 AM, leave at 4 PM. No exceptions. And guess what? Her teaching didn’t suffer. It improved.

Shelly also shares her 4 go-to routines to make her teacher life more smooth, efficient and practical.

Key Takeaways from this episode:

• Boundaries make you a better teacher, not a worse one.
• Relationships matter more than rigid rules.
• Small daily routines prevent overwhelm.
• Positive parent communication changes everything.
• Teacher intuition is more powerful than trends.
• Self-care is a professional responsibility.

If you’re craving balance, clarity and practical strategies that actually work, this episode is your permission slip to do things differently.

Rainbows ahead,

Alisha and Ashleigh

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Shelly’s Website: https://appletasticlearning.com/
• Shelly’s TpT store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/shelly-rees
• Connect with Shelly on Instagram

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About Today’s Guest

Shelly Rees has over 23 years of experience teaching students in the upper elementary grades. She has a love for learning and believes in providing instruction that is hands-on, fun, and engaging. Shelly is passionate about helping other teachers by creating and providing educational resources that will help reduce their stress-load and deliver great academic results. She is also a mom of 4 grown boys and now 4 bonus daughters, grammy to the cutest granddaughter ever, and lives in rural Wyoming with her husband, Aric. In her free time, she enjoys cookie baking, home projects, and riding in her side by side in the mountains.

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Today, we are diving into how to keep students motivated in math and why engagement is the key to deeper learning and long term success.

Teaching math can sometimes feel like a constant push to keep students focused and on task. Today, we move away from heavy book work and share simple, effective ways to make maths lessons more engaging, meaningful, and enjoyable.

We are sharing practical strategies that help students build confidence, stay motivated, and feel successful in math. By focusing on choice, connection, and capability, these ideas support students to take ownership of their learning while actually enjoying the process.

And the best part? These strategies are easy to implement and can fit seamlessly into your existing maths block.

What We Cover in This Episode:

• How autonomy, competence, and relatedness create a powerful foundation for student motivation
• Simple ways to give students more choice without overwhelming your classroom
• How Code Crackers turn maths into an exciting, story-based challenge
• Using chatterboxes to build fluency through quick wins and immediate feedback
• How Dots and Boxes supports strategy, problem solving, and engagement
• Why Uno cards are a flexible and effective tool for practising maths concepts
• Ways to reduce book work while still strengthening understanding and retention
• How student progress tracking builds confidence, ownership, and motivation

If you are looking for ways to boost engagement and create a math classroom where students feel confident, connected, and excited to learn, this episode is packed with ideas you can try straight away.

Rainbows ahead,

Alisha and Ashleigh

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Grab a FREE Christmas code cracker for Grades 1-2 here and Grades 3-6 here.
• Explore our Code Cracker collection
• Explore our Chatterbox collection
• Explore our Dots and Boxes collection
• Explore our Speedy Numbers collection
• Explore our UNO card resources
• Learn more about UNO cards and grab some free games to try here.

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What does the Science of Reading actually look like in a real classroom?

In this powerful and practical episode, we’re joined by Jen Jones from Hello Literacy, who breaks down the research into clear, doable steps teachers can implement straight away.

If you’ve ever felt unsure about guided reading, running records, sight word lists, or online readers - this episode is your permission slip to rethink, refine, and reset.

What We Cover in This Episode:

• Why grouping by skill (not reading level) changes everything
• The simple assessment shift that gives you clearer data in minutes
• How to use decodable texts without making literacy feel robotic
• A smarter way to teach sight words that actually sticks
• The permission teachers need when shifting to Science of Reading practices

Key Takeaways:

• Teach the skill, not the level
• Align your literacy block with decoding research
• Progress over perfection when making changes
• Use a phonics scope and sequence as your instructional roadmap
• Create small group folders organised by phonics skill

This conversation is honest, empowering, and packed with actionable strategies. And perhaps most importantly? Jen reminds us that growth requires experimentation and imperfection is part of the process.

Rainbows ahead,
Alisha and Ashleigh

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Check our Jen’s website: Hello Literacy
• Hello Decodables website
• Jen’s Free Phonics Assessment and Quick Placement Assessment
• Connect with Jen Jones on Instagram
• Purple Project Video mentioned
• Book mentioned: The ABCs and All Their Trick By Margaret Bishop

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About Today’s Guest

Jen Jones is a veteran educator, literacy consultant, and the founder of Hello Literacy and Hello Decodables. With over 30 years of experience as a classroom teacher and literacy coach, Jen specializes in translating the Science of Reading research into practical, classroom-ready instruction. She is the author of a comprehensive phonics scope and sequence and has created a full library of decodable books and small-group lessons used in schools across the country. Jen is passionate about helping teachers move from confusion to clarity so students can become confident, skilled readers.

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Today, we’re diving into multiplication and how to help students build the fluency they need while still keeping math lessons engaging and enjoyable.

Teaching multiplication can sometimes feel like endless worksheets and rote memorisation! Today, we are moving away from teaching multip[lication like that and sharing simple ways to help students practise multiplication in ways that feel interactive, meaningful, and fun.

We’re sharing practical strategies that help students build confidence and develop a deeper understanding of multiplication, while also creating lessons they genuinely enjoy being part of. From games and hands-on activities to rich tasks and student voice, these ideas help move students from practising facts to becoming multiplication masters.

And the best part? Many of these ideas are easy to implement and can fit seamlessly into your existing maths block.

What We Cover in This Episode:

• Simple multiplication games you can start using in your classroom tomorrow
• Why hands-on learning helps students build stronger number understanding
• How math groups can support differentiation when teaching multiplication
• Using rich tasks to deepen multiplication thinking and strategy sharing
• Ways to incorporate student voice to build confidence and engagement in maths
• How Uno cards can become a quick and effective tool for multiplication practice

If you’re looking for ways to help your students build strong multiplication fluency while still enjoying the learning process, this episode is packed with ideas you can try straight away.

Rainbows ahead,
Alisha and Ashleigh

Resources Mentioned in this episode:

Speedy Number booklets

Flip it Multiplication free game and full set

UNO ideas for Multiplication (blog post)

Multiplication Dots and Boxes

Multiplication Battleship

Multiplication Dice and Card Games

Multiplication Spinner Games

Multiplication ‘Guess Who’

Brain breaks

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Does grammar feel heavy in your classroom? Overwhelming? Like something you should be better at teaching?

You are not alone.

In this powerful and refreshing conversation, we’re joined by grammar expert Patty McGee, who helps us unpack why grammar often feels so hard, and why it’s not a teacher problem. It’s a system problem.

Patty shares practical, realistic strategies that make grammar feel lighter, more engaging, and far more effective. We explore how to move from rigid rule-teaching to creative, hands-on exploration that actually improves student writing.

Key Takeaways

• You are not “bad at grammar.”
• Grammar should be embedded in authentic reading and writing.
• Sentence-level instruction creates powerful results.
• Hands-on, collaborative exploration deepens understanding.
• Confidence grows when we release perfection.

Patty shares practical, hands-on strategies that work in real classrooms, even with limited time and diverse learners. If grammar has ever felt like a box to tick or a weight on your shoulders, this episode will feel like a deep exhale.

Rainbows ahead,

Alisha and Ashleigh

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Patty’s Website: www.pattymcgee.org
• Check out Patty’s book, Not Your Granny’s Grammar: An Innovative Approach to Meaningful and Engaging Grammar Instruction, here
• Connect with Patty on LinkedIn or Instagram.

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About Today’s Guest

Patty McGee is a nationally recognized literacy consultant, speaker, and educator with a passion for transforming classrooms into spaces where language and learning come alive. With decades of experience as a teacher, coach, and advocate for delightful literacy practices, Patty has worked alongside educators across the country, partnering to unlock the full potential of their students through innovative and practical teaching strategies. Not Your Granny’s Grammar is her third book. Connect with Patty at www.pattymcgee.org

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Have you ever wondered how you’re meant to fit meaningful movement into an already packed school day?In this energising conversation, we sit down with Kelly Bell to unpack PDHPE and how it looks on a daily basis at school.

Kelly helps us rethink what quality physical education actually looks like, and why it matters so much for every child, not just the “sporty ones”.

We also explore how classroom teachers can confidently integrate movement through simple brain breaks and intentional activity, even without specialist training.

In This Episode, We Chat About:

• Why sport and physical education are often confused
• What high-quality PE actually aims to develop
• The mindset shift classroom teachers need around movement
• How brain breaks can transform focus, regulation and learning
• Simple ways to integrate movement into your classroom without adding to your workload
• Why sport or PE isn’t a reward

If you’ve ever thought, “I’m not sporty enough to teach this well,” this episode will shift your perspective in the best way.

Rainbows ahead,

Alisha and Ashleigh

Resources Mentioned in this episode:

You can ask Kelly any questions at: contact@thelearnnet.com

Find Kelly’s membership for Primary Teachers here

Connect with Kelly on Instagram

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About Today’s Guest

Kelly Bell understands the challenges of teaching PDHPE and CAFS because she has lived them. With over two decades in education, Kelly transformed from classroom teacher to becoming NSW's trusted voice in PDHPE, Community & Family Studies and Health and Movement Science.

Since 2007, Kelly has empowered over 4,000 Primary, PDHPE and CAFS teachers and supported more than 8,000 students across NSW. Today,

The Learning Network stands as NSW's premier resource hub for K-6 Primary PDHPE, 7-10 PDHPE, Health & Movement Science, Community & Family Studies and Dance education.

The Learning Network is dedicated to helping NSW teachers reclaim their work-life balance while maintaining teaching excellence. Our comprehensive suite of resources, memberships and professional learning workshops are designed to reclaim your afternoons, holidays and weekends.

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In this episode, we’re sharing simple ways to make your math lessons more engaging and enjoyable, for both you and your students.

If math sometimes feels like a subject that’s hard to bring to life, you’re not alone. But the good news is that it doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming to create lessons your students genuinely love.

We’re talking about practical strategies that help build engagement, encourage mathematical thinking, and make learning feel more interactive in your classroom. From games and hands-on learning to student voice and rich tasks, these ideas are designed to help you work smarter, not harder.

And the best part? Many of these strategies require very little prep and can easily fit into your existing maths block.

What We Cover in This Episode:

• Why making math lessons fun benefits both students and teachers
• How to easily incorporate simple math games into your lessons
• The power of hands-on materials for building understanding
• How math groups can support differentiation in your classroom
• Using rich tasks to promote deeper thinking and discussion
• Ways to include student voice and encourage mathematical risk-taking
• How Uno cards can become an instant engagement tool in your maths lessons

If you’ve been looking for ways to bring more energy, curiosity, and confidence into your math lessons, this episode is full of practical ideas you can start using straight away.

Rainbows ahead,
Alisha and Ashleigh

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Freebie: 6 Ways to Create Maths Lessons Your Students Love

Free Uno Maths Game: Place Value and Volume Conversions

Free Multiplication Flip it games

Free Friends to 10 spinner game

Free Friends to 20 spinner game

Math Chatterboxes for Grade 1-2 and Grades 3-4

UNO Math games for all ages (K-6)

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In this episode, Alisha sits down with Robby Cobbs, an international educator and the founder of Tech My School, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to supporting underfunded schools in Puerto Rico through thoughtful technology integration and teacher training.

Robby shares his personal journey from growing up with limited resources, to teaching around the world, and eventually settling in Puerto Rico, where he witnessed firsthand the deep educational inequities facing local schools. What began as donating computers to a single school grew into a scalable nonprofit model supporting educators, students, and school leaders.

What We Cover in This Episode:

• Robby’s path from international teaching to founding Tech My School
• Why access to technology alone isn’t enough
• The difference between EdTech (technology supporting instruction) and TechEd (student skill-building)
• How AI can support teachers without replacing human connection
• The importance of balancing digital tools with hands-on learning
• Building trust with educators, parents, and school communities

Key Takeaways

• Technology works best when paired with strong relationships and clear educational goals
• Teachers need ongoing support and training - not just new devices
• AI can be a powerful planning and reflection tool when used responsibly
• Student learning improves when technology is intentional, balanced, and culturally responsive

Change with technology doesn’t have to be scary and overwhelming. This conversation explores how technology can meaningfully enhance learning when it’s implemented with intention, balance, and trust.

Rainbows ahead,
Alisha and Ashleigh

Resources Mentioned in this episode:

Tech My School – A nonprofit providing technology, training, and strategic planning to schools

TechPlan Genie – An AI-powered tool that helps schools create, track, and refine strategic technology plans

Connect with Robby on Instagram

Check out Robby’s book, Tech Centered, Learning Driven.

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About Today’s Guest

Robby is a life-long international educator who started Tech My School, an educational non-profit dedicated to serving underprivileged schools that has grown from a single school in 2021 to serving over 50 schools by the end of 2025. In 2024, he authored his first book, "Tech Centered, Learning Driven" and in 2025 he developed his first piece of commercially available software called "Tech Plan Genie".

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