Happy Sunday! I’m writing to you today on my second cup of coffee, hoping and praying we can milk another snow day out of the 5-ish inches of snow we got on Friday. I love my job, friends. I love my students, I love teaching, I love forming relationships, but, by golly, sometimes I just need an extra day in comfy leggings and a hoodie, and that doesn’t make me any less of a great teacher! On to the topic of this month’s Teaching with Technology mystery post … hmmm … what will it be???
DRUMROLL, PLEASE …
The topic of the January mystery post is … SELF-CARE!
Yup, that’s right! Nothing edtech related today, folks. Teacher self-care is hugely important and unfortunately, VASTLY underappreciated. As a mom and a teacher, I sometimes feel like I have to “do all the things” for everyone and do them perfectly. My husband’s job keeps him late into the evening hours which leaves me to run our daughters all over God’s creation nearly every day, bouncing back and forth between ballet, tap, jazz, piano lessons, sports practices, and make sure everyone has eaten a nutritious dinner, finished homework, had fun, and most importantly, that my daughters had a “snugglefest” with Mommy before bedtime. I feel like I’m running around like a crazy person most evenings and feel like I’m juggling dozens of balls and if I drop one, the whole order of life will crumble around me.
Sound familiar?
I know I’m not alone, friends. Notice that I didn’t once mention all that goes into teaching in the responsibilities I shared above? While teaching is an amazing, challenging, rewarding profession – it is HARD! It’s hard striving to be innovative and creative in designing learning experiences that encourage our students to think critically and stimulate their creativity. Teaching is hard, and we need to remember to take care of ourselves so we can be the best we can possibly be for all of the people who are counting on us. Hence the topic of this mystery post!
With the new year always comes new resolutions or, if you’re like me and many people on Twitter, words to help us stay focused and motivated throughout the year. A resolution for every teacher should be self-care, which looks different for everyone.
For me, self-care is carving time out of my busy day for exercise because, goodness gracious, I’m a happier person once I’ve pushed myself to the point of exhaustion, whether that be from a run or a great workout program. It helps me focus my thoughts, clears my mind, and gives me a few minutes (30-50 minutes) of “me” time. Time when I can put on an episode of Outlander or Once Upon a Time, hop on my treadmill, and challenge myself to beat my previous 3-mile time. Time when I can lift weights and sweat myself into a puddle while working to transform myself into a healthier Bethany.
Self-care is also crashing on my couch on a Sunday afternoon to take a glorious nap in an effort to bank sleep that I’m sure to lose over the course of the week ahead.
Self-care is playing a game of Pictopia or Rummy with my daughters and husband.
Self-care is reading a book in my recliner, with a HUGE cup of coffee.
Self-care is spending a few minutes in my Bible, writing my favorite verses in my planner.
What does self-care look like to you? Will you join me in an effort to make time for self-care this year? I’ll be launching a Facebook group tomorrow for teachers looking for motivation, camaraderie, and accountability in finding time for self-care this year. Complete this form to be added to the group!
Thanks for reading 🙂
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