Tired teachers, I’m talking to you. Too many of us spend way too much time going above and beyond.
I get it. I used to do it all the time. I gave way too much of myself to school while neglecting other areas of my life. But, think about it. How many other professions fill their evenings, weekends, and breaks working for free? Our teacher culture, education leaders, and our personal beliefs keep pushing us to work, work, work. We don’t have to. If we: •Focusing on teaching and learning •Use the tools we have •Manage our time well •Learn to strengthen our weaknesses •Pay more attention to school funding •Get over the blocks (like guilt for having summers off) that prevent us from having rocking balanced lives we will begin to view teaching differently. We will become even better teachers ...and have time to actually volunteer for a charity or nonprofit. Currently, I’m volunteering by helping to plan a reunion for the Girl Scout summer camps where I worked in my 20’s. I can’t wait to be a volunteer Girl Scout troop leader again when my daughter is old enough. What’s your favorite way to volunteer? No school stuff allowed, unless you are not a teacher.
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It’s one thing to take a online course for a grad credit.
It’s also pretty easy to show up, learn, and hang out at a conference. Agreeing to push yourself to learn for four weeks and actually do homework assignments just because you want to grow is for real badasses. Gosh, convincing busy teachers to set aside time to work on putting themselves first has been hard! But take peek at a few of my students in my most recent live Q&A session. 😃 It’s working! The women in You Before School are making changes and learning to view teaching as more of a career than a lifestyle. They’re learning to stop trying to do it all. They’re learning to accept help. There is only one more week of this first cohort. I’m already excited for the next one! When I figured it out, I felt guilty...for about two seconds.
Then I realized I loved the the tiny baby snuggled in my arms was as much as my student’s parents love them. Now I shake my head at how much saviorism had fogged my perspective. Teacher mamas, I know you understand. Just in case you need a reminder between all the loud voices telling you otherwise: •Your babies are your priority •Your students are already loved •Your job is to teach Don’t feel guilty for being a mom first. When we take care of our needs and our families we become even better teachers. Drop some emojis of your kids 👶🏽👧🏽 in the comments if you agree with me. Have you ever taken a course that's not for a grade? What about teaching one?
You should try it. Here's what I love so far: -Students who do not have to be there -Mastermind groups -Working toward an outcome instead of a grade I also love that the courses I'm taking and teaching don't involve: -Assigned reading -Discussion board posts -Deadlines -Grades E-courses are more like nonfiction books than traditional classes. You get to pick them and then start, learn, and finish whenever you want. You can even decide whether or not to do the homework. Here's link to my current course, You Before School: 4 Weeks to a Self-Care Lifestyle. And, an affiliate link to @leonie_dawson 's e-course about creating e-courses if you're interested. Oh! Also, here's one to Nishantha's upcoming iPhone Home Movies course. Remember how excited I was to finish my units for my district's payscale? It's like e-courses are the sweet dessert after YEARS of mostly painful online grad courses. What e-courses have you taken? Any you reccomend? Know what’s better than spending money on eating out?
Spending money on experiences. We weren't planning on going to the zoo this weekend. But you know those mornings when you wake up and you can just feel the itch for a little adventure? A little break from the to-do lists? A bit of fresh air? We just decided to go. The Living Desert is 75 miles around the mountain from our house. We stopped at Trader Joe's for more snacks than we needed. Upgraded our tickets to annual passes and added hands-on wristbands. Total we spent about the same as eating out at a sit-down restaurant two or three times. So worth it. Experiences last longer than waiting for a server at a restaurant feels. Time flies. Anyone else use a daily journal?
I'm on my second five-year journal. I haven't been perfect about keeping them up. I've actually been going back to fill in most of 2019. (Thank goodness for Google Photos and IG story archives.) Coming back to journaling after a break has helped me to realize that stopping to record the little things makes me feel more relaxed and confident. I think it's because I take the pressure off myself to try to remember everything. Jotting a few notes down just takes a minute or two. I seriously treasure my journal so much I actually store it in a fireproof bag. Journal notes from this zoo trip: Nouarie kept kissing me and telling me she loved me when I picked her up. Happy. Happy. Happy.
Our brains are wired to focus on the negative—another one of ways our brains help us to avoid getting eaten by lions. Tried all the obvious things and still not feeling happy? Here are some things to consider: •What are you learning? Geek out on something. •What is your brain consuming? Turn off the news and delete social media accounts that makes you feel bad. •How are you processing your thoughts? Find some quiet unplugged time to just think. •What are you creating? Make something. All of these things are working for me. Try one. Friends, I hope you have a happy, happy week! Thank you for making my IG feed happy! I just realized I have developed a strong attachment to my attachment parenting tool.
I love my ErgoBaby so much. I bought it at a baby resale shop before Nouarie was born. It’s traveled everywhere with us and been used in our home more days than I can count. Today was Noutin’s first day in it without the baby insert. I seriously just cried real tears thinking about how much I love it. Swipe to even see Nouarie in it a few nights ago while I was cooking dinner. Friends, to be honest, I didn’t know how much of an attachment parent I am! How have I never read Dr. Sears?!? I tend to stick to brain-based baby books. Look at this list of his “7 Baby B’s”: •Birth bonding •Breastfeeding •Baby wearing •Bedding close to baby •Belief in the language value of your baby’s cry •Beware of baby trainers •Balance This is so me! Right? I just ordered his The Attachment Parenting Book. Please tell me you’ve read it. And then, explain to me why you haven’t told me to read it! I am so exited! I have so many things to be excited about, right now. Hope you do, too! Go buy some plants.
Seriously. You can buy like 10 plants or 10 seed packets for the price of one bouquet. Don't stress out. Don't read all the gardening blogs---unless you need something to really geek out on. Watch a YouTube video or two OR chat up someone who works in the garden section of your gardening center. Buy the plants, a bag of soil, and maybe a pot and some gloves. Just stick the plants in the dirt, water, and make sure they get the right amount of sun. They will grow or just get eaten by killer rolly-pollies. It doesn't matter. Do it anyway. Trust us. PS If you live in the snow instead of sunny Southern California, maybe wait a few weeks to defrost first. I want to work from home.
We’ve got this schedule down. Noutin nurses and naps. Nouarie plays (normally downstairs with our babysitter). I get stuff done. Here’s what’s working: •Planning ahead •Setting daily time limits (about 10 hours a week) •Following to-do lists •Closing tabs •Dumping all the other off-task ideas that pop into my head into Google Keep •Blasting instrumentals in my headphones •Setting my phone behind my laptop •Thinking of inspirational work-from-home mamas And just in case you’re curious, here’s what I’m working on: •Preparing material for my current cohort in my You Before School course •Getting social media teacher leaders to the Spring CUE conference •Planning a TBA collab course What work do you do from home? How do you focus? Share your tips with me! |
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February 2020
CategoriesNatalie PriesterI'm a teacher, mama, and mentor. I created the You Before School e-course and more. I'm here to encourage and share self-efficacy skills for women. |