Hello Friends! It has been a long time since I last made a blog post. Well, the time of year has come, and everyone is going back to school after being off on Christmas break. Teachers go back on Monday, and students return on Tuesday. I like doing this rather than returning at the same time the students do. We will have teacher meetings in the morning, then we will be able to work with our teams and in our rooms in the afternoon.
I haven't taken down my tree yet, but I will do that when I get back on Monday. I haven't been to school this whole break! I do that on purpose. I allow myself to completely turn off my teacher's brain so that I can fully relax on my break and recharge.
With January being upon us, this has me thinking about tackling the 2nd semester. There are 3 ways to prevent teacher burnout in January.
1. Leave it there!
When in doubt, leave it there! It will be there when you return. I stopped taking papers home to grade and working on enormous amounts of schoolwork at home years ago. I used to take things home every night and consume myself with grading papers, researching the next best practices, and lesson planning. Now, I rarely take anything home with me, and most likely, if it goes home, it never gets touched! When I leave school, I am a wife and a mother again. I don't worry about school once I leave. I know, I know, you are thinking easier said than done. Well, the next two steps will help you accomplish this goal.
2. Create 5 days of Sub Plans.
It's January, and if you have children of your own or not, you are likely to be gone from school due to sickness over the next couple of months. So, here is what I do... At the beginning of the semester, I make sure that I have at LEAST 5 days of sub plans ready, just in case. I have what I call a "subtub," which is just a file folder box. I label the days on the top. I have sub plans saved on my computer, and I make copies and put them in the box. I always leave a sub folder in the box, which has our daily schedule, behavior, etc.
3. Keep a Running To-Do List.
I know this sounds too simple, but hear me out. There are a ton of things that happen during a school day. Things that teachers would only understand. So, with that in mind, make a list(and check it twice :)). Things that you wish to accomplish before the end of the day, week, or even month! I go through a lot of sticky notes in a school year. Some of you may be a tech person and make notes on your phone or create a Google doc. It doesn't matter which way you choose, just do it. I make lists of things like things I need to do during my prep(like there ever is enough time!), people I need to call or email, or projects that I need to complete.
If you do all 3 things, you will be surprised at how much you can get accomplished, with the added bonus of knowing that you can leave work, and not be overwhelmed or stressed. Now, I am not saying that this will fix all of your worries, but it sure will take a load off. Knowing that you have everything ready for an unexpected day off and knowing exactly what you need to accomplish will help ease your mind so that you can enjoy your life and your students and do the job that you love doing~teaching your sweet babes!
