Mid-year is a time when teachers need a chance to recharge and avoid burnout. The first months of the school year, teachers and their students spent time getting to know each other and the classroom structure. Now, Montessori classrooms are starting to normalize and children are learning to work together. But this doesn’t mean the day is any less stressful for teachers. Progress reports will be due soon and staying on top of routine tasks like recordkeeping and rotating materials continue to take up valuable time. Even if your school does not offer a winter break, a long weekend with a day or two extra can work wonders for rest and a little bit of catching up. Before the winter holidays and New Year, set aside time to get ahead of chores and schedule self-care to ease the stress of fall. Read on for tips and suggestions to have a relaxing start to the next half of the school year.
1. One Task Per Day
Before any long weekend or break, check your calendar and work in extra classroom time after the children have been dismissed. Even fifteen extra minutes every day will give you time to complete a deep cleaning of the shelves, especially in Early Childhood classrooms where children’s cleaning contributions are more limited than in Elementary classrooms. An extra hour will give time not only for cleaning, but catching up on recordkeeping, as well. By scheduling time into your calendar in advance, your vacation time becomes free of nagging worries about the classroom. Teachers need to give themselves a complete break.
2. Wait, I Have Too Many Tasks!
Well, sometimes that happens. It’s important to find ways to balance extra work and vacation time. Each individual will find a unique solution. Try different strategies. If you are comfortable addressing some work tasks from home, dedicate a couple of hours to school tasks. Remember to be realistic and prioritize. Ask yourself whether the task truly must be completed by the end of break. Also, check in with administration to prioritize and discuss your workload. Work as a team to create a manageable plan so that school tasks do not necessarily have to be completed at home.
3. I’m Out of the Office—for Real
Deciding how to handle work communications is essential to set healthy boundaries between vacation and work. For vacation time, set up an automated email message that lets administrators and school families know that you are unavailable. The second sentence can simply state when you’ll be back at school so they know when to expect an answer to their messages. Of course, for emergencies administrators might contact a teacher over break, but thankfully those situations don’t arise often.
4. Ask For Help
Taking care of children, elderly family members, pets, a household, and more takes its toll on how well a teacher can enjoy time off. Go through your list of friends and family to see if playdates and other exchanges for care can be arranged.
5. Schedule Self-Care
A break is time to calm your nervous system down from the hectic daily schedule. Meditation and exercise are both moments to clear the mind and connect to the body. Sleep is also essential to health. If you fell off a regular sleep routine during autumn, try to restore it. Always talk to your doctor or mental health professional for serious concerns and for healthy life>
The opinions expressed in Montessori Life are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the position of AMS.