Are you ready for the busy back-to-school season? I’ve got some great resources for you today!
This is a collection of posts that will help you get your school year started with minimum stress. Sound good? Let’s get started.
Set-up & Organization
Every teacher knows that classroom setup is one of the most important things to get done on those busy teacher workdays. Just having furniture in place is not enough. How we structure the learning environment supports the teaching and learning that will take place in our classrooms.
Jenni from Pencils & Planners has seven great ideas HERE for classroom set-up.
Setting up the classroom library is one of the big jobs in classroom set-up. April at Teach Travel Read gives some tips for organizing the library along with some reminders of routines and procedures to teach your students so that the library will stay organized!
Speaking of staying organized . . . Alexandra at Messy Buns & Markers shares five daily habits that will help you stay on top of your organization. Her habits are simple to implement but will make a huge difference in your organization, productivity, and mental health!
If you’re one of the lucky teachers to have a Cricut, check out these tips from Maureen at Teacher Baker Maker. If you’re trying to use Alexandra’s organization habits, making a teacher toolbox as Maureen describes will save you a lot of time. (Even if you don’t have a Cricut, you can make this genius toolbox!)
Are you a paper planner or a digital planner person? I’ve always been a paper planner, but Kimberly at Learning More with Mrs. Morrison is convincing me to try a digital planner this year. Check out her post and see what you think!
Setting boundaries is an important part of self-care for all of us. I recently wrote a post about setting boundaries in your personal life, but how do you set boundaries for yourself when you’re back in school?
A great quote I heard somewhere:
“Teachers are told to take care of themselves, but then told why they can’t.”
It’s up to you to set the boundaries for yourself because your school or district will probably not do it for you. (Side note: there are exceptional principals out there who do help set boundaries for their teachers. I am blessed to work with one myself. My point is that you can’t just count on “the powers that be” to do this for you.)
A key thing to remember is that boundaries are not just a limit and a way to say no. Think about a fence around a playground or around a backyard. Yes, it’s intended to keep critters or other things OUT, but it’s also intended to keep children or pets safe by keeping them INSIDE a safe place.
Think about setting your boundaries in terms of what you are trying to keep “safe” in your own life, whether that’s time for yourself, time for your family, or both.
Here are 8 tips for setting boundaries for yourself at school.
1 – Set a “stop-time”. This stop time should apply to most of your days at school. Days with late meetings or family-teacher conferences are different, of course, but choose a time that you can “stop” most days of the week.
The good thing about doing this is that you will tend to be more productive when you know you have to leave by a certain time. Have you ever noticed that if you have all day to get something done, it will take you all day but that if you only have 20 minutes, you will get it done in 20 minutes? This is the same idea. Get everything done that you can possibly get done in the time when you are at school and then leave at your “stop-time”.
Some tips for doing this:
~Give yourself a five-minute warning before your stop time so that you can wrap up whatever you are working on, clear off your work surface, and pack up to leave school. Set a reminder on your phone if you need to.
~Some teachers like to stick to an early-ish stop time most days but then stay later on one day of the week. This allows them to spend some extra time on tasks that they need to do in their classroom and they save those tasks specifically for that one day. Try it and see if it works for you.
An alternative to this for parents with young children: some teachers like to leave school as soon as possible so that they have more time at home with their own family. But they often spend time working on schoolwork after their children are in bed. Another option is that they may use some weekend time to catch up on schoolwork. Again – try it and see if that works for you.
~Set your specific “work hours” every day (knowing they can be different from day to day). But also set your days/times when you will NOT work.
Some teachers do whatever they need to do during the week, leaving their weekends absolutely free of any school work. Others prefer to work fewer hours during the week but take a little time during the weekend to finish up projects. You may have to experiment and find what works best for you. But here’s the thing: whatever schedule you set for yourself is fine. Ignore what other people are doing, thinking that they must be “better” than you. If you prefer to do school work during the weekend, try not to compare yourself to teachers who do like to use the weekend time. They are not better or harder-working than you. They just prefer a different schedule. Set up a schedule that works best for you. Do not feel guilty!
2 – Try not to check your school email once you leave school. Delete it from your phone if necessary. If your administrative team and your teaching team have your cell phone number, they will contact you if there is some emergency. Otherwise, it can wait until you are at school the next day.
An alternative to this: check school email while at home during the week, but refuse to check it over the weekend. Or set certain weekend hours when you will not check email (4 p.m. on Friday until 4 p.m. on Sunday, for example).
3 – Try to get all (or most) of your assessment work done at school. This can be difficult, but try it out. Here are some tips:
~See if you can do more formative assessments of student work while you are in the classroom with students.
~Have check-in points for pieces of writing or for bigger projects so that you don’t have to grade the whole thing when the student is finished.
~Use online tools like Google forms and Edulastic to do some or most of the grading for you.
4 – Decide what you will do and what you will NOT do. Some things are worth doing and they are worth doing by you. And some things can be done by other people. (And some things don’t really need to be done at all.)
If it’s something you need to or want to create for your class or your team – that is worth doing and it’s worth doing by you.
Changing your wall displays or bulletin boards every two weeks? Maybe that is not worth doing or not worth doing by you. Can you create displays that don’t have to be changed as frequently? Or could you make them easy enough so that your students can help? Could you use assistants or volunteers to do something like that for you?
6 – When it comes to any task you are being asked to do, pay attention to your gut feeling. If something makes you feel angry or resentful or stressed, that is information for you. What can you change about this request or this task to make it work better for you?
Here are some examples:
~If you’re being asked to upload grades to an online platform or a database or spreadsheet and it makes you feel stressed and overwhelmed – can you break it down into smaller chunks to get it done? If you need more time, can you ask for an extension? Is there someone else that could help you do the uploading? (A teacher assistant, a mentor, an instructional coach) Are you feeling overwhelmed because you don’t yet feel comfortable with the technology you’re being asked to use? If so, see if someone (a mentor, a trusted teacher friend) can walk you through how to use the technology.
~If your team is being asked to communicate with parents weekly (or even more frequently) and it makes you feel resentful or stressed – can you take turns creating the communication and sharing it with the team to distribute? Can you break down the task somehow and have everyone do only a part of it?
~If you’re hearing about yet another new initiative your district wants to implement, you are looking at all the dates for all the professional development that will be involved, and it makes you feel angry or resentful – stop and take a deep breath. This is a very common issue in every district and every state, so it’s not just happening at your school or district.
Try to think about what’s good here.
~Is it something that the district is hoping will address an ongoing problem or issue? (Maybe the initiative involves equity or diversity training, which is an area where more learning is always a good thing. Maybe it’s a new literacy initiative, which is intended to help increase reading achievement.)
If that’s the case, focus on these questions:
~What will be good for you to learn from this?
~What are the good things that could result from this training?
These questions may not totally make you feel all Zen about yet another initiative and even more professional development, but they will hopefully help you to look for some positives in the situation.
What about the requests to supervise an after-school event or club, to do small-group tutoring after school, to teach summer school, or other such requests? Pay attention to how you feel. If you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, then you need to say NO. This is a hard one for many teachers. But guess what? They will move on and find someone else who can take on the job. It is absolutely fine for you to say no.
Here are some responses you could say:
“I’m sorry, but I can’t add one more thing right now.”
“I have another meeting/appointment at that time.” (It could be a meeting/appointment with yourself. They don’t have to know that.)
“I won’t have time to do my best work on that right now.”
“I would be interested at another time, but I can’t do that right now.”
“This will take away from my limited family time, so I can’t do that right now.”
7 – This works the other way too. If something makes you feel happy or excited, that is also information for you. Say yes to this request or task!
If your principal asking you to be part of a committee or leadership role and you cannot wait to get started, that is a YES!
If a teacher friend asks you to be part of a small group that meets for Bible study or some kind of socializing and you really want to, that is a YES!
The point is: think about whether this brings you joy or not.
There is an old quote (not sure who to attribute it to) that says: “If it’s not a ‘heck, yes!’, then it’s a NO.” You get to decide whether or not it’s a “heck, yes.”
8 – And finally: remember that self-care is a priority, not a luxury. You are no good for anyone else if you are exhausted, burned out, or if you get sick. Develop some self-care routines that work for you and make them a habit. These do not have to be huge or time-consuming or even cost anything. They just have to fit you and what makes you feel refreshed and energized. Five to ten minutes is all it takes (but feel free to take longer if you can do it!).
Here are a couple of self-care tips to incorporate first:
~Set up a morning routine & evening routine. Again — these do not have to have 15 steps and take hours. Here is my post about setting up a morning routine and my post about evening routines. LINKS & MAYBE REVISE THEM FIRST??
~Even the biggest extroverts need some quiet time every day. Don’t feel guilty for taking that time. For me, it’s when I first get home from school. I don’t want to talk, listen, or take in any kind of verbal input where I have to think or pay attention. Even when I had young children, I found that we all wanted some quiet downtime when we got home every day. This often involved some kind of play (Lego, play-dough, or playing outside) and I was right there to play with them or watch them, but it was still a welcome break.
Set boundaries for yourself. Remember that you are trying to keep the good stuff IN. Let go of the guilt. You are no good for anyone else if you’re not being good to yourself.
At this time of year when going back to school is on the horizon, many teachers are thinking about all the things they need to do to prepare.
But maybe it’s a good idea to spend some of the precious summer time thinking about how we need to be as a teacher. How we want to BE will guide much of what we DO.
1 – Be yourself. Be authentic. Kids can tell if you are not being “real” with them. This doesn’t mean you need to tell them everything about yourself (be selective about that!), but it is okay to admit your mistakes, to acknowledge your emotions, and to ask for their forgiveness or for their help. This helps your students see you as someone they can trust and it allows them the freedom to be themselves as well.
2 – Take a genuine interest in your students and show you care. As you get to know them, look past the demographic info, the academic data, and the test scores. Look at who the child really is. What is going on in their life? What do they care about? What are their interests outside of school? Make an effort to get to know these things about each of your students and to ask about those things on a frequent basis.
“How did your soccer game go?”
“How is your baby brother doing?”
“Is your mom feeling better?”
One great way to do this is to make home visits to your students (your school may have guidelines for doing this) or to attend some of their events outside of school. These might include sporting events, music or dance recitals, concerts, whatever they’re involved in. You don’t even have to stay the whole time! But making that effort to show up goes a long way toward showing your students and their families that you truly care about them.
3 – Give your students a voice. Give them choices when possible. Ask for their opinions and feedback. Listen to what they say. This communicates respect for your students and will build their respect for you.
4 – You can ease a lot of stress (both your own and your students’ stress) with humor. Look for ways to bring laughter and joy into your classroom on a daily basis. Read something funny. Show a funny video. So many funny things happen in a classroom on any given day. Look for those moments and allow yourself and your students to enjoy them. Laughter relaxes the entire body, releases endorphins (the body’s feel-good chemicals), and diffuses tension and conflict. Make your classroom a joyful place to be.
5 – Tell stories. Be selective but allow yourself to be vulnerable. Tell stories about what you struggled with when you were their age. Tell stories about what you struggle with doing now. Tell funny stories about yourself or about your own kids. This helps you to form connections with your students, to use humor, and to let them see you as someone who makes mistakes and learns from them.
6 – Do things to make your students feel special. Some teachers share special greetings with each student at the door each morning. Some teachers ask students to do favors for them (bring a book or your phone or your coffee to you). Spend time with them, ask them questions about themselves, and let them know that you care about them.
It helps to remember this quote from Dr. Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
With going back to school on the horizon, it’s time to get organized and think about creating to-do lists that work for you!
Having spent 30 years in education, I have tried about a billion different types of to-do lists. All of them have some good things about them and some limits, so it’s good to try out different systems and then put something together that works best for you.
The top seven time-savers for me are:
1 – use ONE planner that works for me
2 – keep a running “brain dump” list
3 – organize your brain dump list
4 – make a systemized weekly routine list
5 – make a systemized daily routine list
6 – when making your weekly list, check your brain dump list for top priority items to be completed this week
7 – when making your daily list, identify your top three priority tasks to be done each day.
Here’s my system.
1 – you need a place to keep your lists. This can be a paper planner or a digital planner – whatever works best for you.
Some of my favorite paper planners are listed here:
Another option is to create your own planner with a simple binder and paper. If you do this, you might want to use some printable planning pages. Here’s a link to my printables on Teachers Pay Teachers.
2 – use blank paper in your paper planner (or a new doc in your digital planner) to keep a running “brain dump” list.
A brain dump is simply a list of whatever comes to mind that you need or want to do. This is where you can add things whenever you think of them. It can be messy!
This isn’t your regular to-do list. This is a place where you can get all of the stuff that might be overwhelming you out of your head and onto the page where you can get it organized and then get it done.
3 – next you can organize that brain dump list. Here are two ways to do that:
*use colored pens (like Flair pens) and label your tasks by priority, using ABC or 123 labels.
An A or 1 label = anything that is urgent (in terms of time frame) and important for you to do.
A B or 2 label = anything that is important, but not quite as urgent.
A C or 3 label = anything that isn’t urgent and might matter to you, but isn’t immediately important to do.
(A brain dump list is especially great for these items since they are written down and will probably eventually get done so they don’t keep coming to mind when you’re thinking about more urgent/important tasks. You can relax because they’re “on the list”.)
*use highlighters. You could prioritize your tasks the same way, but just use highlighters to indicate the different priorities.
4 – develop a systemized weekly routine list. This one tip has saved me lots of time.
To do this, think about your typical week.
Write down your weekdays as column headings.
You probably have planning meetings, team meetings, faculty meetings, etc. and they are all scheduled for the same day and time every week. Write these meetings down under the day they are scheduled.
Next, think about all the things you need to do every week. Maybe you want to have all ELA prep done on a certain day, all math prep done on another day, for instance. Maybe you have to turn in lesson plans to an administrator by a certain day. Whatever the things you need to do, list them under the appropriate day.
For example: if you have two meetings on one day, that probably would not be a good day for getting anything “extra” done. Be realistic. (I try to complete administrative and paperwork tasks on faculty meeting day. Those kinds of tasks can often be done in small bits of time and don’t take quite as much thinking work as lesson planning and grading takes.)
5 – Next, create a systemized daily to-do list, just like you did for the weekly list. What are your tasks that have to be done daily? Maybe you need to update the next day’s slides or materials, make notes about the next day’s reading groups or math groups, make copies, check off student work, do some straightening or cleaning. Whatever it is — make a daily list for each day of the week.
Each day’s tasks might have some of the same items on them, but some will be different. For instance, if you or your team send a weekly email to families, that might happen on a Friday or a Monday. Maybe it needs to be written on a Thursday or a Friday. Add those tasks to the particular days on which they need to be done.
A caution: be realistic. Try to keep these daily lists to no more than five to seven items. Or you could put an asterisk beside any items that are “would be great to do but the world will go on if you don’t do them”.
Remember that unexpected tasks or events will often get in the way. So starting with a pared-down and realistic systemized daily list is very important.
6 – As you create your weekly to-do list, you will check both your brain dump list (for the high priority items to be done this week) and your systemized weekly list. Look for where you can add the brain dump items to this week’s list. Some weeks you will be able to add items and some weeks you won’t. That is fine! Remember that the brain dump list is there so help keep all those tasks listed so they don’t keep cluttering up your mind.
7 – now for the daily list.
First, we need to identify the top three priority tasks. Take a look at your weekly to-do list and your systemized daily routine list for the day. Then identify the top three tasks you absolutely have to get done that day. Highlight or star those items, write them on a sticky note and pop them on your computer, whatever you need to do to keep those top priority items in mind.
Once you have completed those priority tasks, then get going on any of the other daily tasks.
To review this system:
1 – choose a planner that works for you and stick with it.
2 – start a “brain dump” list.
3 – prioritize your brain dump list.
4 – make a systemized weekly routine list (this list will be used every week. Although you can tweak it, this only has to be done one time.)
5 – make a systemized daily routine list (these lists will be used each day. Although you can tweak it, these only have to be created one time.)
6 – make your weekly to-do list, checking your brain dump priority items, and adding them to your systemized weekly lists.
7 – make your daily to-do list, identifying your top three priority tasks for the day (these may be things from your systemized daily list for the day), then add your other systemized daily routine tasks.
Remember that you can get my printable lists HERE!
I’ve been obsessing a lot about boundaries recently.
(Do you ever have something on your mind – like boundaries – and then suddenly you start noticing things about that topic everywhere? Or is it just me?!)
One of my favorite presenters – Gerry Brooks – gave a keynote address and he talked about some of the very same things that have been my obsession.
One of his points was about the saying “Not my circus, not my monkeys”. While he had a lot more to say about this, I got to thinking about it in reference to boundaries.
When COVID hit and we were all suddenly working from home, we quickly realized we needed to set some boundaries. Taking care of our own mental health by setting boundaries for work hours and for our availability suddenly became really important. We also realized that there were so many things that were totally out of our control – “not my circus, not my monkeys.” (That doesn’t mean that we weren’t worried about those things — just that we could do absolutely nothing about them.)
But setting boundaries is important all the time, not just during a pandemic and virtual learning. So how do we set them and how do we stick to them?
Summer break is important for lots of reasons, but most especially because it gives educators a chance to take a break. Even if we’re teaching summer school, creating curriculum, or attending professional development sessions, at least it’s a break from what we do during the school year.
We can’t be productive and go 100 mph all the time. Think about nature. There is a time for trees and flowers to bloom and a time for them to be more dormant. Ocean tides ebb and flow. Bears hibernate. Even our school year has an ebb and flow to it. We accept that in nature but we don’t always give ourselves the same grace to just “be.”
Part of this comes from reading books and viewing social media posts that make it seem as if everyone else is hustling and creating and doing and making things for their classroom next year and just generally being so much more productive than you think you are being. So you feel guilty or feel like there is something wrong with you.
There is nothing wrong with you! If reading those books is stressing you out, put them away and read them at another time (or never if that’s better for you).
If the social media accounts are making you feel like a slug, unfollow them for a while (or forever if that’s better for you).
You’ve probably heard Parkinson’s law: work expands to fill the time available. I would also add that people will happily take all the time and energy you want to give them.
You know as well as I do that when you are tired or stressed or overwhelmed or anxious, you are not your best self and end up making mistakes that don’t do anyone any favors. So it’s up to you to set the boundaries you need to preserve your own time and energy.
To be the very best teacher, parent, partner, friend, etc. you can be — you need to prioritize yourself and your own needs first. The only way to do that is to make a plan because the best defense is a good offense.
Here are 5 tips for setting boundaries:
1 – avoid anything that is making you feel guilty or lazy or unproductive. Just because someone else appears to be working or creating constantly, that doesn’t mean you need to be.
Other teachers might appear to be creating “all the things”. If you’re not ready for that yet, don’t do it! And don’t feel guilty. “Not your circus, not your monkeys.” At least not right now.
I know you know this, but here’s your reminder about social media: you’re only seeing their “highlight reel” of what they’re doing or creating. You’re not seeing them in their pajamas eating ice cream on the couch while watching Netflix. Remember that they are no doubt taking downtime too – they just might not be documenting that part of their lives, nor do they need to!
Stop reading the posts or just unfollow for a while if that is what’s best for you.
One of my favorite of her “Lazy Genius Principles” is to schedule rest. We’re so good about scheduling everything we need to get done – appointments, meetings, social events. But it’s also a good idea to schedule “white space” in your calendar or planner for just resting or allowing yourself to do whatever makes you happy when you get to that time.
When your scheduled rest time is planned, let go of all the other things you might be thinking you should be doing. That stuff is scheduled for another time. Right now it’s “not my circus, not my monkeys.”
3 – If you haven’t already done so, plan your summer! (It’s never too late, even if you only have another week left.) Read my posts about planning your summer fun, relaxation, and obligations HERE and HERE.
4 – say no to anything that drains your energy. Cut back on your kids’ activities, let go of some home tasks (or get help from someone else to get them done), avoid spending time with people who stress you out or drain your energy. “Not my circus, not my monkeys.”
5 – try some of my summer rejuvenation tips from THIS post. “Not my circus, not my monkeys” – not every tip works for everyone. Only choose the ones that YOU want to do and let the rest go!
Keep an eye out for my next post about setting boundaries when you’re back at school!
Recently a post called “Depression Tips” has been making the rounds on Facebook. It has a lot of good tips in it, but I prefer to call it “how to get out of a funk.” There is a big difference between true clinical depression and just being in a bit of funk (or bad mood or rut or whatever you want to call it).
Here are some of the tips from the post along with some suggestions I’ve added!
*Facebook post: take a shower. Shower. Not a bath, a shower.
I prefer a shower myself, but there is also nothing wrong with soaking in a bathtub, especially if it’s filled with good-smelling bubbles.
*Facebook post: Clean something. Doesn’t have to be anything big. Organize one drawer of a desk. Wash five dirty dishes. Do a load of laundry. Scrub the bathroom sink.
I agree that even just a little bit of cleaning or a little bit of organizing can change your whole perspective.
*Facebook post: Blast music.
Find or make some playlists with music that you love. Another option is to use Alexa to play some kind of music you love. Echo Dot
*Facebook post: Make food. Don’t just grab a granola bar to munch. Take the time and make food . . . Prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something.
*Facebook post: Make something. Write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, anything artistic. Even if you don’t think you’re good at it. Create.
I’ve suggested this myself before. It doesn’t have to be award-winning and you don’t even have to share it with anybody else. Just find something you would enjoy creating.
Some options to try: Hand lettering or calligraphy Crochet Origami
*Facebook post: Go outside. Take a walk. Sit in the grass. Look at the clouds. Smell flowers. Put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.
This is another suggestion that almost always works for me. Something about being outside and away from whatever (or whoever) is causing stress can do a lot to change your outlook.
*Facebook post: Call someone. Call a loved one, a friend, a family member. . . If you can’t bring yourself to call, text or email or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person.
Great suggestion. Try to make sure it’s a person who will cheer you up or affirm you in some way.
*Facebook post: Cuddle your pets if you have them/can cuddle them. Take pictures of them. Talk to them.
Pets are such a source of joy for many people. If you don’t have a pet, you can always observe animals while you’re outside – birds, rabbits, squirrels. Not snakes (unless that’s your thing!).
There you have it. 12 simple ways to get yourself out of a funk. Please take care of yourself and notice when your “funk” is going on for longer than it should. It may be time to get professional help and not feel guilty about that. This year has been like no other. We need to take care of ourselves and look out for each other.
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
:
