Self Care for Teachers

[TeachandLearn]

Hi everyone,
Let's all hang in there as we march towards the holidays,which means projects, bake sales, classroom parties, and overall busyness.
I have a question that I've been thinking about for some time now. This is my 17th year of teaching. I love what I do and I put a lot of energy and attention into my kids and what we do in the classroom. But the other side of the coin is the tendency to burn out or run yourself ragged when you care too much.
What do all of you do to replenish the fuel all of us need to be effective teachers of children? What do you do to carve out a life away from the classroom?
I thought these might be important questions to meditate upon as we enter a season of heightened activity.

 

[ConnieWI]

"Connie Time"

I call it "Connie Time." It involves and can include one or more of the following:
--eighteen holes of golf on a Sunday afternoon for as long as there is no snow on the ground.
--watching the Packer game.
--crawling in bed by 9 p.m. every night and reading a good book, not school related, until my eyes begin the close.
--cooking my favorite foods.
--walking or working out.
--writing a letter or sending a card (sent snail mail) to a friend...I just love getting snail mail and so do many others.
--paging through the catalogs that I receive every day (snail mail also).
--listening to music.
--a soak in the tub!
--going to the movies, renting a movie, or going to dinner.

Happy Holidays everyone!