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:
~White Christmas Inn by Colleen Wright
~The Christmas Swap by Melody Carlson
~The Restaurant by Pamela Kelley
~Let it Snow by Nancy Thayer
~Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand
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:
~this poster of 100 Things to Do After Quarantine
~“Merry & Bright” candle from Amazon
~motivating daily planner sheets
~learn how to do lettering and calligraphy with this book
Have a safe, restful, restorative winter break. You’ve earned it!