Real Sleep Q&A : Taylor Mora, 7th Grade Teacher

At Hatch, we support some of the most important community leaders and advocates for children in our communities: teachers! What better way to say thank you for the work they do than to ensure teachers get adequate sleep so they can be the best version of themselves for themselves and for their children.

We sat down with 7th grade English teacher, Mrs. Taylor Mora, to learn more about her journey to becoming a teacher and how sleep plays a role in her work. 

Teachers are an important part of our community. What inspired you to become a teacher? 

What inspired me to become a teacher are the amazing teachers I had throughout my life (specifically in middle school). I had teachers who really showed a love for learning and teaching. They never stopped working with me when I didn’t understand concepts and made me excited about school. After having teachers like these, I wanted to do the same and help children discover their talents and abilities as a learner and it has been my favorite decision ever! 

When you get quality sleep, you're better able to show up as your best self for your students. How do you cultivate positive relationships with your students and create a sense of class community? 

The way that I cultivate positive relationships in my classroom is modeling what a positive relationship looks like with my students. I do this by greeting my students every morning when they walk in, asking about their interests, speaking to them with respect and encouraging them when things get difficult. When doing this, students in the classroom will imitate this behavior with their peers which ultimately creates a positive class community. 

At Hatch, we encourage everyone to have a dedicated bedtime routine to help them sleep better. What is your bedtime routine and why is it important for you to have one? 

To begin my bedtime routine, I first do a breathing exercise using my Hatch Restore and follow that with meditation. This helps prepare my mind and body for bed time. After that, I turn on the sleep sounds (I love the fire crackling sound and the calming beach waves). I pair the sleep sounds with the lavender purple light, because it’s one of my favorite colors and it’s very calming. Some nights, I also like to listen to the bedtime stories because I absolutely LOVE being read to and the stories on the Hatch Restore are soothing. 

What does self-care mean to you and how does sleep play a part in your self-care? 

To me, self-care means taking care of yourself and truly putting yourself first. When I say “putting yourself first”, I do not mean that in a selfish way. In order for people to take care of others, we need to take care of ourselves first. I always say “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” Sleep plays a huge role in self-care because when I don’t receive a proper night’s sleep, my students know! I’m cranky, sluggish, and just not myself. When I get proper sleep, I’m able to better serve my students and be the teacher they really need me to be. 

What advice do you have for new teachers starting out? 

My advice to new teachers is to take it day by day. What I mean by this is that It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with all of the things we need to do daily and all of the deadlines we are required to meet. Take it day by day, by understanding that you can’t complete everything in a day and that each morning you come to school is a new start with new possibilities. Go home, relax, do things you enjoy with your family and friends and recharge because our students need us at our best and we can only give them that if we are at our best! 

How do you plan to use the Hatch Restore in your classroom? 

I plan to use the Hatch Restore in my classroom as a “cool down” device. For example, when students come in from lunch, they’re usually pretty rowdy. When they come in, I plan on doing a short breathing exercise using the Hatch Restore and maybe even a brief meditation. I love the meditative flute and the nature sounds which is something I could also play while they do independent reading. I’ll also use the Hatch Restore as a timer for my students when transitioning to different activities. 

As an English teacher, what are your top three favorite books? 

My top three favorite books are Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, and Holes by Louis Sachar. These are my favorite books because they taught me valuable lessons about life and changed my perspective on different topics.I have these books in my classroom library and it always puts a HUGE smile on my face when students grab these books and read them. I also love the writing style of these novels and having students read books with unique writing styles, they begin to emulate that in their writing which is a beautiful thing to see as a teacher.