Episode Summary
Here is to episode 50!!!! In this milestone 50th episode of the Kindergarten Cafe Podcast, I reflect on my journey into podcasting and how it has brought me closer to other educators. I revisit the concept of “kindergarten magic” from the very first episode which highlights those transformative moments that define the kindergarten experience. I share the inspiration behind launching this podcast, addressing the initial hesitations I faced and how the positive feedback from listeners motivated me to create a platform dedicated to early childhood education.
I want to express gratitude to my audience for their support, which reinforces my commitment to provide valuable content amidst the challenges that kindergarten teachers face. As we move forward, I encourage you to contribute ideas for future episodes to foster a collaborative community. Thank YOU!! I am on a mission to elevate the magic of kindergarten in classrooms everywhere.
In this episode I share:
- The journey to podcasting
- Teaching philosophy and prioritization
- Building a supportive community
- Listener feedback and engagement
- Looking ahead to more magic
Episodes Mentioned:
Connect with Zeba:
- Instagram – @kindergartencafe
- Facebook – @kindergartencafe
- Website – www.kindergartencafe.org
- Tik Tok – @kindergartencafe
Read the Transcript
[0:00] Hey there, teacher friends. Today is a really special episode because it is the 50th episode of Kindergarten Cafe Podcast. So it’s basically been a year, just shy of two weeks. It’s been a year. And I really just can’t believe we’re here. So I want to kind of go over how we got here, plans for the future, hear a little bit from you guys about what you’re thinking about it, just celebrating all the kindergarten magic that is the Kindergarten Cafe Podcast.
[0:30] Music. You’re listening to the kindergarten cafe podcast where kindergarten teachers come to learn classroom tested tips and tricks and teaching ideas they can use in their classroom right away i’m Zeba creator and founder of kindergarten cafe and i help kindergarten teachers with everything they need from arrival to dismissal in order to save time work smarter not harder and support students with engaging and purposeful lessons. I’m here to cheer you on through your successes and breakthroughs and offer support and resources so you never have to feel stuck or alone. Ready to start saving time and reducing your stress all while using effective and purposeful lessons that students love? Let’s get started.
[1:24] In honor of 50 episodes of Kindergarten Cafe, cafe. I’ve loved the term that I used the first episode, kindergarten magic, and I’ve found little bits of ways to sprinkle it throughout the 50 episodes because I really believe that you can see and feel the kindergarten magic when you teach kindergarten, and that is unique and special to kindergarten more so than any other grade. And so I’ve thought about this phrase a lot since that first episode.
[1:52] And so in honor of 50 episodes, I have created Kindergarten Magic t-shirts and…Stickers that you can get and that you can wear and you can put in your water bottle or your computer and show around how why we do this every day why we show up we show up and we do this every day for the kindergarten magic for those moments where the kids eyes light up because you teach them something new which happens all the time in kindergarten which is so special for the moments where you’ve been teaching them something over and over and over again it finally clicks and you can literally see the click happening. There’s so many moments of that kindergarten magic where they start in kindergarten not knowing how to even write their name and they end the year reading and writing like that.
[2:36] Growth does not happen in other grades. Not that significantly. That is kindergarten magic. You know, seeing their little friendships form and they’re holding hands down the hall like, oh, kindergarten magic. I just love it. So in honor of all of that and to to thank you for listening to 50 episodes, being there for me. I am selling t-shirts that you can get and stickers and all that stuff, all that amazing stuff. I hope you take a look at the designs. I’m really excited about them. I can’t wait to wear them. And you can check them out in the link in the show notes. And I’ll have all the information for you down there. So definitely check that out to learn more. And I can’t wait to see you wearing your t-shirts. And I hope that you tag me in all your pictures wearing them because I’m so excited about this.
[3:27] The special way to spread the kindergarten magic around the world. Yay.
[3:31] So it’s crazy to think that a year ago, I was really debating with myself about whether or not to do a podcast. And I’ll let you in on a little secret. I didn’t want to do a podcast.
[3:44] I’ve been doing blogs, blog posts. I had that down. You know, I love sharing the ideas, but like all the logistics that go into the blog with the making sure it’s written well and written long enough and then adding the pictures and the links and it’s just like it takes so long and I just wanted to get the ideas out there. It was getting a little annoying, but like I had that down and I knew that that was working for me to share ideas with other teachers. And so I was just really debating doing a podcast. The reason I kept coming back to it is because all these business marketing podcasts that I listened to for advice on how to better get my message out there to you all, everyone just kept saying, oh, you got to try a podcast. You got to try a podcast. And I go, okay, yeah, no, I don’t want to do a podcast. I don’t want to do a podcast. I don’t want to do one more thing. I can’t do one more thing. I am still teaching full time. This is a lot of work. I can’t do one more thing. This was like May, June. Everyone kept being like, you got to do a podcast. And me keep saying like, oh, but I don’t want to do a podcast. And then I just kept thinking about it more and more and more because I listened to so many podcasts.
[4:54] I am in the car sometimes over an hour on the way home. Like depending on traffic, it totally depends. It could be 30 minutes. It could be an hour and a half. And so I have a regularly scheduled full list of podcasts to keep me occupied. And I love learning from podcasts. Like I said, I listen to marketing podcasts. I listen to history podcasts. I’ll listen to education podcast. Like I’m constantly learning through podcasts, news podcasts, of course, to stay up to date on the world’s news. I don’t want to read it in the newspaper. Like I never go read someone’s blog. I listen to podcasts. So when I started thinking about that, I was like, well, I don’t know, maybe I should do a podcast. And then I started looking into it and there really just weren’t kindergarten podcasts out there. There are some podcasts on teacher teacher entrepreneurs like I am, like making money from teaching resources or teaching whatever. There’s podcasts on teacher burnout, a lot of those, and like teacher self-care. There were some podcasts for upper grades or specifically literacy or specifically math, but like there was none that was kindergarten specific.
[6:03] And so then I thought, oh boy, now that I know there’s really not kindergarten podcasts out there and thinking that I love I love learning from podcasts and I listen to so many podcasts. Like if I were a teacher, what would I want? And when I am a teacher, but wouldn’t I love plugging in a podcast on my way to school and getting some ideas for my teaching? Teaching in fact I had been listening to a few teaching podcasts that had kind of fizzled out and I was disappointed because I really liked listening to their ideas on my way to school getting me in the mindset for teaching and just walking with a quick like win activity that I could do and so I started thinking about it oh boy here I go I think I need to do a podcast.
[6:47] I think I should do a podcast and because I wanted to be that for other teachers I wanted to be the teacher that you listen to on your way to school just for a quick win, a quick activity idea that you can go in and use right away in your classroom. And I really hope that I’ve lived up to that. But since we’ve been going almost a year, I’ve definitely pushed it more than just here’s one activity that you could do. I want you to learn from me. I want to share the tips that I’ve learned over my years, my 10 plus years of teaching. This is going on year 11. I’ve learned a lot of tips and tricks along the way. I’ve also seen a lot of teachers.
[7:28] Leave teaching and seeing how the effects of like trying to do it all and to do it all perfectly and seeing how that affects teachers. And like since, well, my first couple of years teaching, I definitely was trying to do that and I was feeling myself burning out. But then I went and got my master’s and I literally forced myself to leave school right when school ended because I had to go to class and I realized you’re never going to get your to-do list done. It’s just not possible.
[7:58] You’re never going to get it all done. You have to prioritize. And so I got really good at prioritizing. And then COVID happened and it got even better at prioritizing because it came down to like what was most important for the kids in front of me. And so I see all these things online and all these ideas and it just can be overwhelming for teachers. And so I hope that where I wanted to just like share some quick wins for teachers, some nice activities, I’m actually really helping teachers. My phrase that I love is work smarter, not harder, because I don’t want you to burn out. I want this job to be sustainable because we need good kindergarten teachers who care about the kids in front of them and who know how to balance being there for the kids in front of them with the crazy demands that are put on teachers these days by every other force out there, the district, your school, the state, you know, all parents, all these things, all these pressures. I want to help teachers balance all of that so that they can be there for their kids. And I hope that I’ve been doing that.
[8:59] I hope that I’m helping you work smarter, not harder. So it went from like wanting to share a couple activity ideas to really getting some philosophies out there, some strategies and deeper level thinking out there. I also said to myself when I thought about starting the podcast that…
[9:19] I didn’t want to be one of those podcasts that went strong for a couple of episodes, got people hooked and then fizzled out and no judgment to them. I get that like this is a trust me, I get how much work it is to have a podcast.
[9:34] But if I do something, I like fully commit to it. That’s just how I roll. And I so I did not want to jump into this and then fizzle out. So I’m proud of myself that I made it to a year and that we’re going strong and that we’re growing each month and reaching more teachers. And that I’m not just hooking you on something that’s then going to fizzle out, that you can rely on this being there for you every week. And so that’s important to me. So I want to thank you for listening to me for 50 episodes, for sharing the podcast with friends and other teachers, colleagues, like it really means the the world to me. Any time that someone reaches out to me with an email, a DM, or a review telling me how the podcast has helped them, it really reignites my passion for sharing ideas and tips and tricks with teachers. It just reaffirms that I’m doing the right thing because I want to help kindergarten teachers. It is a hard job. And I want to be the person that you can rely on to help you with the hard things, to help you when you have questions. Like I’ve had such amazing teammates, colleagues, mentor teachers.
[10:55] And this is my way of kind of paying it forward because not everyone has that experience. And so I want to be that digital co-worker cheering you on from the sideline.
[11:04] I want to be that mentor teacher that you can ask the questions to and you can look to for advice. I want to be that for you. So with that being said, I’d just like to take a moment to say thank you to all of you for listening and for reaching out. And.
[11:19] Hear from some of you on what you’ve thought about the podcast in these 50 episodes. And as always, planning out the next 50. As always, please reach out if you have ideas for future episodes, future guests, all that stuff. So I want to thank Heather for leaving a review saying, as a second year kindergarten teacher, I absolutely love this podcast. Zeba consistently produces great content that is exactly what I need when I need it. Her podcasts are fun to listen to and super informative. I look forward to new episodes every Thursday. So thank you, Heather.
[11:52] Another review from a seasoned teacher. I don’t listen to many podcasts, but the kindergarten cafe has been nodding my head in agreement. As a veteran K teacher, I agree wholeheartedly with Zeba and the knowledge she shares. Her podcasts are a must for any K teacher out there, new or seasoned. Thank you so much for leaving that review. It means the world to me. Another review from amw021. This podcast is packed full with so much helpful information for any kindergarten teacher. Love getting advice from someone who gets what kindergarten is all about. And a review from someone who’s not a kindergarten teacher, which also means the world to me because the fact that I can help people beyond the classroom is really exciting and so meaningful to me. So although I’m not a formal kindergarten teacher, I’m a a homeschool mom, including a kindergartner, I’ve been searching all over for resources, ideas, and just general information to help us be successful. Thank you.
[12:46] From Alyssa. As a new kindergarten teacher coming from second grade, this podcast is exactly what I needed to jumpstart my year. Such great advice and ideas. Thank you for sharing. This is my favorite thing to listen to on my way to work now. Zeba is fantastic. I cannot thank you all enough for taking your time to leave these reviews and
[13:05] sharing with me what this podcast has meant to me. And thank you for celebrating 50 episodes with me, 50 episodes of kindergarten magic. magic and I can’t wait for 50 more episodes for another 50. It’s going to be amazing. We’re going to learn so much together. We’re going to, I’m going to share so many ideas. I’ve got awesome ideas brewing and things ready to go for you. So I can’t wait to let the magic continue. Speaking of magic, our quote of the day is from a student. Do you know how you get magic? ologic from friendship. So I hope you consider me your friend. I consider you my friend. And I’m so thankful that you’re here listening and a part of the kindergarten team with me.
[13:50] Music.
[13:56] Thanks so much for listening to the Kindergarten Cafe podcast. Be sure to check out the show notes for more information and resources, or just head straight to kindergartencafe.org for all the goodies. If you liked this episode, the best ways to show your support are to subscribe, leave a review, or send it to a friend. I’ll be back next week with even more kindergarten tips. See you then!