Now that the holidays are behind us and spring is a long way off, it’s easy to start feeling a little down. This year — as the pandemic rages on — it’s especially important for teachers to take time for some winter self-care. Whatever your teaching situation may be, we are all under tremendous stress to do and be #allthethings for our students. It’s more important than ever to make time to take care of you, physically and mentally. Winter self-care to the rescue!
Here are 14 ideas. Use whatever works for you!
1 – do a massive brain dump of what is working for you right now and what is not. This might sound like it’s only going to cause more stress, but doing a brain dump gets all those nagging worries and anxiety out of your head and onto paper. Once it’s on paper, you can decide what to do about it, if anything.
2 – drink more water. This is such an easy habit to implement but it’s also an easy habit to forget, especially in winter when we’re not sweating to death. One of my best tips is to get a large water bottle like a Swell or a Hydroflask, fill it up in the morning, and keep it with me all day.
3 – try a new workout routine. It doesn’t have to be a big commitment like joining a gym. But finding some enjoyable way to move your body every day will make a huge difference in your mental health. I love Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. Here’s a link to her February calendar with suggestions for a short video to do each day.
4 – declutter one area. It might be a kitchen cabinet, your car, or your school bag. Just getting control of one area (and getting rid of stuff you don’t need) makes you feel better.
5 – plan a trip. Even though we have no idea when it will be safe to travel again, it’s fun to think about where you could go when you get the chance. This could be a familiar place, a place nearby, or some kind of dream trip. Making plans for the future gives you hope!
6 – think of some fun activities or mini-units you could implement in your class. Just shaking up the routine a bit by adding picture book read-alouds for Black History Month or Women’s History Month, doing some STEM challenges or adding some art activities to a unit can increase motivation and engagement for both you and your students.
7 – think of a teacher friend who could use a boost and do something nice for them. A quick note or text or email telling them how much you appreciate them goes a long way. Of course, sending a Starbucks or Target gift card helps too!
8 – buy something for yourself. It doesn’t have to be expensive. A new journal (I am loving Emily Freeman’s Next Right Thing guided journal), a candle, a book to read for fun, a sweater, scarf, pair of earrings, new yoga pants – whatever makes you happy! Have you ever tried Stitch Fix? It’s a great way to see some new items that are selected just for you, in your size and your style. You don’t have to buy them if they don’t work for you, but it’s always fun to get that box and see what’s inside!
9 – take some time to be alone and meditate every day. A few minutes makes a huge difference.
10 – start reading a new book or watching something new on Netflix or some other streaming service.
11 – cook or bake something!
12 – spend some time outside every day. Even for just a few minutes. It always helps me to get some fresh air and a fresh perspective.
13 – set a “stop time” for work every day. If you’re a teacher, I don’t have to tell you that the work is never done anyway. Decide what you will finish today or how long you will work on some project (like grading – ugh) and stick to those stop times.
14 – list 5 things for which you are grateful every single day. Even when everything seems to be going wrong, there are always good things all around us. Actually writing down your gratitude list makes you happier. You can use a fancy gratitude journal, but a post-it note works too.
journal
What are some winter self-care ideas that are working for you?
Social-emotional learning, or SEL, is finally getting the recognition it deserves. With all the emphasis now on trauma-informed practices, restorative practices, and student wellness, teachers are getting the “permission” to focus on an area they have always known was important. There are lots of resources for social-emotional learning activities out there, but I’ve made a list of some of my favorites here. Check back (or subscribe to the blog) because I will update this post as I find and use new activities!
First of all, why teach SEL? According to this article from Edutopia, social-emotional learning improves academic achievement (by an average of 11 percentile points), but it also leads to positive social behaviors with peers and adults, improves attitudes toward school, reduces behavior issues, leads to improved test scores and grades, and it reduces stress and depression among students. With all of those benefits, we can’t afford to not teach SEL!
One of my favorite quotes is from Dr. James Comer:
“No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship.”
Social-emotional learning activities are one of the very best ways to build those all-important relationships with students and make our own teaching lives more rewarding and more productive. (SEL is good for teachers too!)
2 – greet every student as they enter your classroom (even virtually) every day. This sounds simple, but in the course of a busy day, it’s easy to overlook something like this and get to the end of the day realizing you didn’t even connect with some students at all. The goal is to help every one of your students to feel “seen” by you each day.
3 – try to have one-on-one conferences with students as often as possible, even for only one or two minutes. A quick check-in to just ask how they’re doing, asking if they’re okay, asking if there is something you can help with goes a long way for showing students that you care about them. I try to have a quick check-in with every student once a week or once every two weeks. (When we’re learning in person, this is much easier to do.)
4 – establish daily routines/rituals for your class. Doing this at the beginning and the end of the day (or of each class) is especially important. The routine itself doesn’t matter. Just establish a positive and friendly tone at the beginning and a hopeful tone of looking forward to the next session together.
5 – take daily “temperature checks”. This can occur during those one-on-one conferences mentioned above or as you greet students when they enter your classroom. You can even do that as part of a class circle question (more about that in the next section).
6 – take weekly or bi-weekly “temperature checks.” Here is a link to a sample google form weekly temperature check. Make a copy and modify with your own questions!
7 – continue (or start) morning meetings or circles. Here is a link to my post about how to get that ritual started.
8 – use tools like email or google chat to check in with students and just ask if they’re doing okay. I did this even when I was teaching face-to-face. It allows students a more private way to answer your question and you can always follow up later with a face-to-face chat if needed. Never underestimate the power of that simple question: are you okay?
9 – one tip that I tried this year with success was to assign a greeting buddy to each student. When students logged into Google Meet, their buddy would greet them. If they were already in the Meet when their buddy joined, their buddy would still greet them in some way. They could do this verbally or in the chat. It helped to make us all feel a bit more connected.
10 – use breakout rooms and let students work together in smaller groups as much as possible. You can do this for social times as well as academic times.
11 – teach students about self-care. Some of the activities on this site will help you discuss self-care with your students.
12 – and finally – don’t forget about your own self-care. Teaching in any kind of setting is emotionally and physically draining. Adding other stressors (oh, like, say a global pandemic) makes it even more difficult. Give yourself time and space to take care of your own needs.
Circle Questions
Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite circle questions. Pick and choose what works best for you and your class!
*on Mondays, share brags & drags from the weekend (brags = good things and drags = things that were not so great)
*share one word to describe something specific – one word to describe your morning, one word about something you’ve learned in the past week, one word about how you’re feeling about something that happened in the news
*share an emoji to represent how you’re feeling right now
*at the end of the day, share roses & thorns about the day (rose = good thing and thorn = not so good thing)
*another end of the day ritual we enjoy: share one of the 3 A’s – an appreciation (for something that happened today or for someone in the class), an apology (without going into detail about it), an a-ha moment (something that finally clicked for you today or that you discovered or learned)
*one fun way to use the chat feature in Zoom or Google Meet: ask a question and allow everyone to type their response in the chat, then to respond to two people’s answers (also in the chat). We call this “waterfall” because that’s how it looks when all the responses come in at once!
*”tell me something good” – tell about one good thing that has happened today
*share one thing you are looking forward to (today, this week, this month, this year)
*cheers! – raise hands or thumbs up if any of the following are true: you spent time outside yesterday or today, you have eaten at least one fruit or vegetable today, you drank water yesterday or today, you read a book for fun, you played a game with someone, you did something nice for your parents or a sibling, etc. The idea is to choose questions about activities that are under the child’s control and are things that would actually make them feel better when they do them.
*have a scavenger hunt – choose one (or a few) items for students to go find and show on screen. This could be items like: something you love, a favorite book, a favorite object, something that reminds you of something good, etc.
*”if” questions — if you were an animal, what animal would you be? If you were a color. . . If you were a machine . . . If you were a kitchen tool . . . If you were a school supply . . . If you had any superpower, what would it be?Students also need to tell why they chose their particular item, which is always insightful!
*share something you love right now (something you love to do, love to read, love to eat, a person, etc.)
*share something you are missing right now
*share something you are looking forward to doing again
*an alternative could be to ask students to draw a quick sketch of one of the questions above and to share that with the group
*allow students to change their background on Zoom or Google Meet and tell why they chose that background
*share gratitude – something or someone they are grateful for
*name something you don’t need, but that you’re really happy to have
*speaking of “would you rather” questions, Rachel of Minds in Bloom has a great archive of questions (many with seasonal topics) HERE
*share a new hobby you’ve tried or something new you’ve been doing
*name something that made you smile today
*share a place in nature that you are grateful for
*who is an adult that you’re grateful for?
*share a favorite stuffed animal & tell why it’s special
*share a compliment or a shout-out for a classmate
*think of one thing you like about our class community and one thing you would change
*what is one skill or talent you wish you had?
*what is a sound/smell/taste/sight/touch that makes you happy and why?
*what’s your “weather” like today? (sunny, partly cloudy, mostly cloudy, stormy, etc.)
Self-care Tips
*Teach and practice mindful breathing. A helpful strategy is to think of deep breathing as 4-count process. Breathe in for four counts, hold your breath for four counts, breathe out for four counts, then hold your breath for four counts. Practice this as often as needed, but trying to intentionally practice this once a day is a good idea.
*Teach and practice various yoga poses as movement breaks.
*Encourage students to drink water throughout the day.
*Encourage students to create a screensaver of a landscape that makes them feel calm or to keep a picture of a calming landscape near their work area. Another option would be to keep a photo of their family or a pet nearby. Looking at something that makes you happy just makes you feel better!
*Keep an eye out for feel-good videos to share with your students. These might be stories about things that people are doing to help other people, fun stories about animals — whatever inspires you or makes you laugh will probably do the same for your students.
*Reading is one of my very favorite self-care tools, both for myself and to use as a teacher. When in doubt, take a few minutes for some read aloud. This can be an ongoing novel, a picture book, a short article, whatever fits your style and works for you. While there are many good resources online, this site created by Rachel Lemansky, an elementary library coordinator is my new favorite go-to site. Check it out HERE!
Hopefully, understanding the importance of social-emotional learning is here to stay. I hope you found some ideas that will work for you and your class!
Here we are – the long-awaited end of 2020. A year of unprecedented changes.
Instead of beating up on the year just past, I am taking a different approach.
One of the many social-emotional activities I did with my fifth graders last spring (and then with a new class of fifth graders this fall) was to focus on what is good about where we are right now.
So, with that in mind, think about what was good about 2020. (This is not to diminish any sense of loss or grief that you may have experienced this year, by the way. That is perfectly valid and needs to be expressed.)
Here are three questions I am using to reflect on what was good.
1 – how did I adjust my job and/or my daily routine?
If you are a teacher, here’s one amazing fact: without any warning whatsoever, you completely changed the way you do your job.
So take a moment and jot down all the good things you did.
Here are some ideas to get you thinking:
*transforming teaching resources and assessments into a digital format
*creating instructional videos
*incorporating more social-emotional activities into your instruction
*collaborating with teams of teachers to plan and create resources
*getting more efficient at doing all of this!
*figuring out new ways to conduct small group instruction
*becoming more proficient at Google Classroom or SeeSaw or Zoom or whatever other learning platforms your school uses
*learning and using new digital tools
*incorporating more fun activities (like class games or virtual field trips) into Google Meet or Zoom class time
*learning how to read aloud in new ways
*creating Bitmoji classrooms
*figuring out ways to create a classroom “space” in your home
I could go on and on, but I hope that this got you thinking about all the things you accomplished this year. And that’s just the job part of your life.
2 – Next, what were the good things that I did or good things that happened in other areas of my life?
Here are some questions to get you thinking:
*Did you figure out how to do your own job while also overseeing your children’s learning?
*Did you spend more time together as a family?
*Did you spend more time outside?
*Did you spend more time with a pet? (Or did you get a new pet?)
*Did you learn how to do something new?
*Did you spend more time doing something you already knew how to do but you don’t usually have enough time to do?
*Did you connect with family and friends in different ways? (Driveway visits, virtual meals or visits, old-fashioned letters)
3 – Last – think about what I did during remote teaching or during quarantine that I want to keep in my life or in my teaching, even when everything is back to “normal.” I want to create a “new normal.”
Some of my examples to get you thinking:
*spending more time on social-emotional learning helped me get to know my students in different ways. Academics are still important, of course, but I want to keep this focus on checking in with my students and making sure they’re okay before I push the academic focus.
*using Google Classroom kept me from drowning in all the paper
*I was forced to streamline some teaching, planning, and assessment tasks (shout out to Google form quizzes for doing a good bit of the grading for me!)
*more streamlined meetings! (Screen fatigue helped many of us to be more efficient in meetings.)
*wearing comfortable clothes and shoes all the time
*having my dog nearby while I was working made me happy. (I know I can’t take him to school with me when we return to the building, but I do plan to keep a picture of him nearby to remind me of who is waiting for me at home!)
*more family time, including more walks in nature and time outside
*having more of a sense of gratitude and appreciation for all the things that I just take for granted.
Before thinking about all the changes or ways to improve in a new year, spend a few minutes reflecting on the past year. What are the good things that happened for you? I’d love to hear about them!
Merry Christmas 2020! Even though this Christmas is very different from our usual celebrations, we can still find joy to make our quarantine Christmas a special one.
Here are 10 ideas.
1 – open one Christmas Eve gift.
2 – wear Christmas pajamas, grab a favorite Christmas beverage, pile in the car and drive around, listening to Christmas music and looking at neighborhood decorations.
4 – speaking of sugar cookies, just bake a batch of them and set out decorating supplies. Let everyone in your family decorate cookies to their own satisfaction!
9 – sing Christmas carols or other favorite Christmas songs.
10 – if attending church is not an option for you this year but you still want to add a spiritual dimension to your Christmas Eve celebration, spend some time as a family reading the Christmas story. You might have different family members read a different section. Start with Luke 1:1 through Luke 1:56. Then read Matthew 1:18 to 1:25. Next read Luke 1:57 through 2:38. Finish with Matthew 2.
Wishing you and yours a safe and happy Christmas season.
Teacher self-care is important all throughout the year, but 2020 has tested us beyond anything we could ever imagine. Besides the enormous changes in how we do our jobs, we are also dealing with our students’ mental health needs (especially if we’re in a remote setting), our students’ physical health needs (if in a face-to-face setting), and their family’s frustrations (regardless of the setting). That doesn’t even account for the worries about our own family members and friends.
We are stressed and we need to take time for self-care for winter break. Here are 10 suggestions for helping you to take the time to refresh and renew yourself.
1 – take some time every day to be alone, just sit, be still, close your eyes, and focus on deep breathing. This is the #1 way to calm yourself (and your children) down. Try a meditation app or some kind of guided meditation (YouTube is your friend) or just enjoy sitting in silence or playing soothing music.
2 – speaking of music, make a playlist on Spotify of holiday music that makes you happy. You might want to make two separate playlists — one with more upbeat music when you need to energize yourself and one with more calming music.
3 – spend some time every day exercising in whatever way makes you feel good. Take a walk, go for a run, do some yoga poses or simple calisthenics, stream a workout online.
4 – put your teacher bag in a closet and don’t check your work email. If it stresses you out to think about completely ignoring work over the entire break, then choose one day (AFTER the holidays) to get back into the school zone.
5 – re-configure your favorite holiday traditions. Instead of a big family event, think of what you would enjoy doing within your smaller group. Instead of a Christmas Eve church service, think about creating your own “service” at home. Instead of a big holiday dinner, make plans to do something simpler that your family enjoys. Instead of gathering with friends, think of a way to connect over Zoom or FaceTime. This is the year to simplify.
Think about what matters most to you about the holidays and get creative with thinking about different things you can do and make a new holiday traditions list. Even just driving around, looking at the Christmas lights and decorations while listening to Christmas music is enjoyable and might be something you don’t usually take time to do in a “normal” year.
6 – if you have lost family members or friends in the past year, light a candle and share favorite memories of your loved ones. Instead of pretending as if nothing has changed, go ahead and acknowledge your sadness or sense of loss.
7 – spend some time enjoying Netflix, Hallmark Christmas movies, HGTV – whatever makes you happy. But if you find yourself feeling frustrated or dissatisfied with how you’re spending your time, turn it off!
8 – read anything that is not related to education. Here are some fun Christmas fiction titles:
9 – do something creative. Play an instrument, learn a new craft, write some poetry, sing, cook or bake something new, find something on YouTube that you want to learn how to do!
10 – buy a present for yourself to reward yourself for making it through this year! It doesn’t have to be expensive. Here are some fun ideas:
I don’t know about you, but 2020 has not been my favorite year. This is the year when we need our beloved holiday traditions more than ever. One tradition is the opportunity to bring joy to our loved ones (and maybe even ourselves) with gifts!
Here is how I’ve organized my gift guide. There are no “gifts for her” or “gifts for him” lists since so many of these gifts overlap anyway. Instead, I have organized my lists by price so you can go right to the section that you need.
I often get my best ideas from seeing other ideas! In that spirit, I hope this list will help you find great gifts for everyone on your list, but I also hope it give you even better ideas of your own.
Another thing to consider: although I include links to every gift (since many of us are doing all of our shopping online this year), please consider supporting your local small businesses. If you see a gift idea here that might be available at a local business, please call them instead of using my link!
~gooseneck stand for phone or tablet – useful if you need another display while you are working! It’s also useful for holding your phone or tablet while you’re cooking.
~screen cleaning towelettes . One thing that COVID has been good for is encouraging better cleaning habits! My screens have never been so clean as they have been this year.
~scrunchie set. For anyone who could use new or more scrunchies!
~La Marca prosecco. Nothing says celebrate like champagne and prosecco. This is a favorite brand.
~foot spa. A perfect way to relax at the end of a day!
~”I just want to drink wine & love on my dog” wine glass. My personal motto.
~cashmere lined leather gloves. I lose a glove every year. I’m hoping these pretty colors will encourage me to be more careful!
~essential oil diffuser. I am no essential oil expert, but I have noticed a difference in my energy level or relaxation with different essential oils. A good diffuser is a must.
~festive plaid scarf (that also comes in several other colors). Everyone needs some colorful plaid in their life!
~travel packing cubesp. These are so helpful for organizing and packing outfits for a trip. Even though I’m not traveling much these days, they give me hope!
~Ninja foodie grill & air fryer. This is new favorite kitchen tool. It’s great to have an indoor grill and air fryer in one gadget. The air fryer french fries alone make this worth it!
~Ring video doorbell. I have friends who love this, so it’s on my list this year.
~massager gun. For the athlete (or the wannabe athlete) in your life.
~Shapa scale. Another new favorite obsession of mine. If you hate the daily weight changes on your scale but want to keep tabs on your weight, try this scale. Instead of showing you a number, it shows you a color that corresponds to your weight trend only. I love this thing!
~Always pan. I have heard such great things about this pan and now it’s back ordered! I have ordered it anyway and look forward to trying it out.
~bocce ball game set Like cornhole and spikeball, this is a classic backyard or beach game.
~desk cell phone stand. Useful for keeping your phone from getting lost on your desk.
I hope the holidays bring you joy.
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.”
. One thing that COVID has been good for is encouraging better cleaning habits! My screens have never been so clean as they have been this year.
. A great gift for city-dwelling friends!
. Great for music lovers in your life.
. This candle just smells like Christmas and instantly puts me in a festive mood.
. This would make a great gift for anyone who needs some self-care!
. My new favorite scent!
. My family loves pistachios and this will be a great way to keep the nuts and shells contained!
. Another favorite home scent for any time of year.
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. Another favorite pajama brand!
. Like the phone soap, this is useful for sanitizing just about everything!
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