The first few weeks of school can feel pretty good. Kids are polite, routines are fresh, and everyone is still figuring each other out.

Then…the honeymoon ends.

If behaviors are starting to pop up, don’t panic. It doesn’t mean your year is headed in the wrong direction. It means the newness is wearing off—and your real classroom culture is beginning to take shape.

In this episode, I’m talking about what happens when that early-school-year calm starts to disappear and how to figure out what your students need next. We’ll look at three important areas—connection, regulation, and engagement—and how each one can affect what you’re seeing in your classroom.

I’ll also walk you through my simple Classroom Tripod Check-In so you can identify which area needs attention and take one proactive step before behaviors start to tip.

If you’re thinking, “Things were going so well. What happened?” this episode will help you stop seeing those early behavior changes as a warning sign—and start seeing them as useful information.

You’ll leave with a simple way to identify where to focus your energy without trying to fix everything at once.

~Elizabeth

Mentioned in This Episode:

Grab the free RESET Roadmap that takes you through all 5 steps of the framework that leads to improved student behavior and more teacher joy!!

https://theinspiredclassroom.com/roadmap

Have a question you want me to answer on the podcast? Record it here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/podcast

✨ The Classroom Reset – The online course that helps you improve student behaviors, increase engagement and support students’ SEL, so that you can enjoy teaching again.

Learn more and enroll here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/reset

Become an Inspired Classroom Insider by joining our email list. You’ll get real solutions to calm classroom behaviors delivered to your inbox each week! https://theinspiredclassroom.com/insider

💬 Let’s keep this conversation going! (There’s so much to talk about!) Come join our free Inspired Classroom Community where creative, passionate teachers connect, share ideas, and cheer each other on.

It’s your safe space to be inspired, supported, and reminded you’re not in this alone.

👉 theinspiredclassroom.com/community

✨ Connect with me!

Find me on LinkedIn: elizapeterson

Follow & DM me on Facebook @theinspiredclassroom

Follow & DM me on Instagram @theinspiredclassroom

Watch & Subscribe on YouTube @theinspiredclassroom

The post 171 | The Back-to-School Honeymoon Is Over: What to Do When Behavior Starts Slipping appeared first on The Inspired Classroom.

You’re not trying to get into power struggles with your students. But sometimes, they happen before you even realize what’s going on.

In this episode, I’m sharing three common—and often invisible—power struggles that can quietly show up in your classroom. More importantly, we’ll talk about what you can do to step out of the struggle while protecting the relationship.

If you’ve ever found yourself arguing with a student and suddenly thought, “Wait…how did we get here?” this episode will help you recognize those moments earlier and respond differently.

You’ll walk away with a simple action plan to help you stay calm, step out of the power struggle, and follow up in a way that builds connection instead of wearing it down.

Because this isn’t about winning the argument. It’s about keeping your authority and winning the relationship.

~Elizabeth

Mentioned in This Episode:

Grab the free RESET Roadmap that takes you through all 5 steps of the framework that leads to improved student behavior and more teacher joy!!

https://theinspiredclassroom.com/roadmap

Have a question you want me to answer on the podcast? Record it here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/podcast

✨ The Classroom Reset – The online course that helps you improve student behaviors, increase engagement and support students’ SEL, so that you can enjoy teaching again.

Learn more and enroll here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/reset

Become an Inspired Classroom Insider by joining our email list. You’ll get real solutions to calm classroom behaviors delivered to your inbox each week! https://theinspiredclassroom.com/insider

💬 Let’s keep this conversation going! (There’s so much to talk about!) Come join our free Inspired Classroom Community where creative, passionate teachers connect, share ideas, and cheer each other on.

It’s your safe space to be inspired, supported, and reminded you’re not in this alone.

👉 theinspiredclassroom.com/community

✨ Connect with me!

Find me on LinkedIn: elizapeterson

Follow & DM me on Facebook @theinspiredclassroom

Follow & DM me on Instagram @theinspiredclassroom

Watch & Subscribe on YouTube @theinspiredclassroom

The post 170 | 3 Classroom Power Struggles You’re Losing Without Realizing It appeared first on The Inspired Classroom.

Most redirection sounds like a warning — and kids can tell. AND that can often backfire, especially when the redirection doesn’t even work. If you’ve ever tried to redirect a student only to have to do it again 5 minutes later, this one is for you!

In this episode, I’m giving you the exact four-part redirection script to use for student behavior issues. When I use it in my classroom, it works! (And when I forget to use it… well, you know… I’m just repeating myself a few minutes later.

Plus, I’ll share the most important part of making any redirection effective. (You probably already know this in your gut, but a reminder every now and again can’t hurt!)

~Elizabeth

Mentioned in This Episode:

Grab the free RESET Roadmap that takes you through all 5 steps of the framework that leads to improved student behavior and more teacher joy!!

https://theinspiredclassroom.com/roadmap

Have a question you want me to answer on the podcast? Record it here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/podcast

✨ The Classroom Reset – The online course that helps you improve student behaviors, increase engagement and support students’ SEL, so that you can enjoy teaching again.

Learn more and enroll here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/reset

Become an Inspired Classroom Insider by joining our email list. You’ll get real solutions to calm classroom behaviors delivered to your inbox each week! https://theinspiredclassroom.com/insider

💬 Let’s keep this conversation going! (There’s so much to talk about!) Come join our free Inspired Classroom Community where creative, passionate teachers connect, share ideas, and cheer each other on.

It’s your safe space to be inspired, supported, and reminded you’re not in this alone.

👉 theinspiredclassroom.com/community

✨ Connect with me!

Find me on LinkedIn: elizapeterson

Follow & DM me on Facebook @theinspiredclassroom

Follow & DM me on Instagram @theinspiredclassroom

Watch & Subscribe on YouTube @theinspiredclassroom

The post 169 | The Redirection Script That Actually Works for Student Behavior Issues appeared first on The Inspired Classroom.

What if the students who challenge us the most aren’t asking us to fix their behavior — they’re asking us to see past it? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Claudia Bertolone-Smith and Marlene Moyer, authors of Tools Not Rules: Developing Self-Regulation for Improved Student Behavior in Grades K–8.

Claudia brings 24 years of elementary teaching experience and now trains pre-service teachers as an associate professor of mathematics education. Marlene has 22 years teaching grades 5–7 and now works as a mentor teacher.

We talk about the idea at the heart of their book — that behavior is a symptom, not the underlying issue — and what it actually looks like to separate a student from their behavior without letting anything slide.

Claudia and Marlene share the real classroom strategies that came out of their own team-teaching experience, including their “magic fuzzy numbers” approach to shifting a whole class’s dynamic, and a star chart method built around noticing the positive things about a struggling student. We also get into a moment that hit close to home for Claudia, and how this approach helps students choose different behaviors without ever being made to feel small.

If you’ve got a student this year who feels defined by their hardest moments, this conversation is for you.

~Elizabeth

Mentioned in This Episode:

Learn more about Claudia and Marlene’s book at toolsnotrules.com.

Grab the free RESET Roadmap that takes you through all 5 steps of the framework that leads to improved student behavior and more teacher joy!!

https://theinspiredclassroom.com/roadmap

Have a question you want me to answer on the podcast? Record it here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/podcast

✨ The Classroom Reset – The online course that helps you improve student behaviors, increase engagement and support students’ SEL, so that you can enjoy teaching again.

Learn more and enroll here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/reset

Become an Inspired Classroom Insider by joining our email list. You’ll get real solutions to calm classroom behaviors delivered to your inbox each week! https://theinspiredclassroom.com/insider

💬 Let’s keep this conversation going! (There’s so much to talk about!) Come join our free Inspired Classroom Community where creative, passionate teachers connect, share ideas, and cheer each other on.

It’s your safe space to be inspired, supported, and reminded you’re not in this alone.

👉 theinspiredclassroom.com/community

✨ Connect with me!

Find me on LinkedIn: elizapeterson

Follow & DM me on Facebook @theinspiredclassroom

Follow & DM me on Instagram @theinspiredclassroom

Watch & Subscribe on YouTube @theinspiredclassroom

The post 168 | Addressing Student Behaviors with Tools, Not Rules (Interview with Claudia Bertolone-Smith and Marlene Moyer) appeared first on The Inspired Classroom.

Have you ever had a student who keeps doing the exact thing that gets them in trouble — even after they’ve told you they don’t want to? This episode is about that kind of student behavior.

We’ll look at why some students need that negative attention and how to bridge those students from seeking negative attention to being a well-regulated student.

I’ll walk you through exactly how to bridge that gap and what to look out for in the process.

Let’s go!

~Elizabeth

Mentioned in This Episode:

Have a question you want me to answer on the podcast? Record it here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/podcast

Want to take the ideas from this episode a little deeper? Grab the free RESET Roadmap! https://theinspiredclassroom.com/roadmap

OR, jump right in and join The Classroom RESET! Learn more and enroll: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/reset

Become an Inspired Classroom Insider: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/insider

Free community: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/community

Connect with Elizabeth:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizapeterson/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theinspiredclassroom

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theinspiredclassroom/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theinspiredclassroom

The post 167 | Students Getting into Trouble? Why Kids Choose Negative Attention Over None appeared first on The Inspired Classroom.

I used to think that if I just found the right consequence, my classroom would finally calm down. But in many cases that’s actually backwards.

In this episode, I’m breaking down the three real reasons consequences keep failing — even when we’re consistent and even when we’re fair. And I’ll share a tool that will help you look at student behaviors in a different way so that consequences don’t need to be your constant go-to.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re giving the same consequence to the same student over and over with nothing changing, this episode is for you.

~Elizabeth

Mentioned in This Episode:

Grab the RESET Roadmap that takes you through all 5 steps of the framework that leads to improved student behavior and more teacher joy!!

https://theinspiredclassroom.com/roadmap

Have a question you want me to answer on the podcast? Record it here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/podcast

✨ The Classroom Reset – The online course that helps you improve student behaviors, increase engagement and support students’ SEL, so that you can enjoy teaching again.

Learn more and enroll here: https://theinspiredclassroom.com/reset

Become an Inspired Classroom Insider by joining our email list. You’ll get real solutions to calm classroom behaviors delivered to your inbox each week! https://theinspiredclassroom.com/insider

💬 Let’s keep this conversation going! (There’s so much to talk about!) Come join our free Inspired Classroom Community where creative, passionate teachers connect, share ideas, and cheer each other on.

It’s your safe space to be inspired, supported, and reminded you’re not in this alone.

👉 theinspiredclassroom.com/community

✨ Connect with me!

Find me on LinkedIn: elizapeterson

Follow & DM me on Facebook @theinspiredclassroom

Follow & DM me on Instagram @theinspiredclassroom

Watch & Subscribe on YouTube @theinspiredclassroom

The post 166 | Why Consequences Aren’t Changing Student Behavior (And What Actually Does) appeared first on The Inspired Classroom.