Remember to Take Care of Yourself
It's a brand new year which means that for many people it is time for a fresh start and new beginnings. Unless you are a teacher. January brings about a lot of feelings for teachers. We are feeling refreshed after winter break and excited that we are about to hit the halfway point in the school year. But January also brings about a time of anxiety and stress.
Because we are about halfway through the year, the time comes when it seems like all we do is test, test, and more tests. I can speak for my current school I work in, we got back from break and our students took a mid-year reading assessment. Students who are considered ESOL begin taking their WIDA assessment which consists of multiple parts and multiple days of testing. We will be giving a Math Benchmark assessment and a mid year science assessment. Our students will also begin taking the SLO post-assessments, which are given in each subject area and used to assess the teacher. All of this testing occurs on top of still being required to teach the curriculum and assess the regular everyday instruction.
On top of the anxiety and stress that comes along with teaching, there are not many more breaks to look forward to until spring break, which this year happens to fall at the beginning of April. This means that January through March can be VERY long months.
So dear teachers, because we know this is a stressful time of year, please make sure that you stop and take care of yourselves. This is something that I have been focusing on this school year. I have written in previous blog posts about the stress and anxiety I have been feeling throughout this year, so I have made sure that I am taking care of myself.
I will admit, taking care of myself is not something I am very good at. I'm a mom and a wife, so it is very common for me to put my children and husband first. I make sure that my kids have clothes and shoes when they need new ones. I make sure that our house has the things we need to live. What I don't tend to do is take care of myself. I would go months without getting my haircut. I have clothes in my closet from when I worked in retail in college (12 years ago!!). I have shoes that I have worn for years.
Here's the thing... it wasn't like my clothes and shoes weren't in good condition. My hair still looked good. I just didn't make myself a priority. I also want to make it clear that material things don't necessarily make you happy, but it does feel good to get a new outfit or a new pair of shoes every once in a while! So guess what, I allowed myself to get some new shoes and clothes this fall and it definitely helped.
Earlier in the year when I was feeling in a funk, I decided that I wanted to change up my hair. I put my mom-guilt aside and made an appointment. Bring on the blonde and red highlights! Again, it sounds silly, but something as easy as changing up my hair has helped perk me up. I now make sure that I schedule myself an appointment before I leave the salon so that it is harder for me to come up with an excuse as to why I shouldn't get it done.
Lastly, another easy/silly little thing I have done to help with selfcare, I started a subscription to Fab Fit Fun. If you haven't heard of it, this is a quarterly subscription service that sends you a box of goodies 4 times a year. I like to think of it as a little self care package that arrives every few months. I have received 2 so far and thought I would share what came in them in case you haven't heard of it before.
Because we are about halfway through the year, the time comes when it seems like all we do is test, test, and more tests. I can speak for my current school I work in, we got back from break and our students took a mid-year reading assessment. Students who are considered ESOL begin taking their WIDA assessment which consists of multiple parts and multiple days of testing. We will be giving a Math Benchmark assessment and a mid year science assessment. Our students will also begin taking the SLO post-assessments, which are given in each subject area and used to assess the teacher. All of this testing occurs on top of still being required to teach the curriculum and assess the regular everyday instruction.
On top of the anxiety and stress that comes along with teaching, there are not many more breaks to look forward to until spring break, which this year happens to fall at the beginning of April. This means that January through March can be VERY long months.
So dear teachers, because we know this is a stressful time of year, please make sure that you stop and take care of yourselves. This is something that I have been focusing on this school year. I have written in previous blog posts about the stress and anxiety I have been feeling throughout this year, so I have made sure that I am taking care of myself.
I will admit, taking care of myself is not something I am very good at. I'm a mom and a wife, so it is very common for me to put my children and husband first. I make sure that my kids have clothes and shoes when they need new ones. I make sure that our house has the things we need to live. What I don't tend to do is take care of myself. I would go months without getting my haircut. I have clothes in my closet from when I worked in retail in college (12 years ago!!). I have shoes that I have worn for years.
Here's the thing... it wasn't like my clothes and shoes weren't in good condition. My hair still looked good. I just didn't make myself a priority. I also want to make it clear that material things don't necessarily make you happy, but it does feel good to get a new outfit or a new pair of shoes every once in a while! So guess what, I allowed myself to get some new shoes and clothes this fall and it definitely helped.
Earlier in the year when I was feeling in a funk, I decided that I wanted to change up my hair. I put my mom-guilt aside and made an appointment. Bring on the blonde and red highlights! Again, it sounds silly, but something as easy as changing up my hair has helped perk me up. I now make sure that I schedule myself an appointment before I leave the salon so that it is harder for me to come up with an excuse as to why I shouldn't get it done.
Lastly, another easy/silly little thing I have done to help with selfcare, I started a subscription to Fab Fit Fun. If you haven't heard of it, this is a quarterly subscription service that sends you a box of goodies 4 times a year. I like to think of it as a little self care package that arrives every few months. I have received 2 so far and thought I would share what came in them in case you haven't heard of it before.
Fall 2019 box
Winter 2019 box
If any of my friends or family want to try out a Fab Fit Fun box, let me know! I have some boxes and discount codes I can share.
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