Hi! I’m Jennifer Craft.
I’m a high school teacher who teaches math. I live in the world of 9th graders. I create math resources for teachers who don’t have a set curriculum or even those who do.
I spend a lot of time with standards and then create resources that work for students and change things up in the classroom.
I really enjoy helping other teachers whether it’s sharing my resources, supporting teachers on their own journey or teaching them how to create their own resources.
But I wasn’t always this way…
In my 8th year of teaching I thought I could coast. I was past the “teacher burnout” statistic that everyone tells you about through your first few years of teaching.
However, as the year went on I was ready to quit and find something else. I lost my creative juices, my excitement to even go to work and I was pulling old, out dated resources because I didn’t care anymore. I was 30 years old and burnt out.
One morning when I laid in bed really debating whether to call in sick simply because I didn’t want to go I realized something needed to change.
Spring break was comping up and I knew I was going to be spending some of the time working to get ahead. I decided to do some spring cleaning in my classroom while my students were working on their end of trimester projects.
As I was cleaning out my single wardrobe cabinet I pulled out a composition notebook and quickly realized what it was.
I sat down at my desk and slowly paged through my very first Interactive Notebook from my first year of teaching.
This notebook, even though shoved into a cabinet, has traveled from Minnesota to North Carolina and back again.
I knew that this is what I was missing. I set out on spring break determined to come back with an Interactive Notebook for my students and a better mindset.
Students don’t learn from an unhappy teacher who doesn’t want to be there.
I had to tap into my creativity and begin looking for new ways to engage my students.
This change has made me feel empowered to continue my career and keep creating resources that my students enjoy but other teachers can use too.