It's that time of year again.
For all who are getting ready to go back to school, (or are already back) I created a "very special" Back to School Meditation for Teachers.
Teacher Self-Care: Saying Yes to Saying No
Self-care is what keeps us feeling good, both mentally and physically. When you feel both physically healthy and mentally strong, you are able function at a level that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. I’ve written before about why self-care and self-advocacy are not selfish. It allows you to effectively and resiliently support all the people in your life who are counting on you.
How, then, do we introduce more self-advocacy and self-care into our busy everyday lives when we’re so often focused on everyone else?
Self-Care is NOT Selfish
How Are You?
You might feel that you are too busy to stop and consider this question. I understand. You might not actually want to know the truth of your experience right now. I get that, and I realize it can be uncomfortable and perhaps even scary to find out what the answer to the question might be.
In spite of all this, I'm inviting you to check in with yourself and see what comes up when you ask, "how are you?" in earnest.
How to Cultivate Self-Awareness for the Big Game of Everyday Life
Just yesterday I was sitting on a metal stool, eating my lunch at a counter. Everything was fine, and then I got a sharp pain in my left leg that felt like a bug bite. That was manageable, but the pain caused my leg to jerk to the side, thereby whacking it on the stool leg and creating way more pain than the original sensation.
I swore like a sailor (because profanity is one of my guilty pleasures), rubbing my leg until the pain lessened adequately, and continued eating my lunch. Then, as I was finishing up, I took a swig of my seltzer and some of it went down the wrong tube, resulting in that kind of coughing that is more reminiscent of eye-watering and gagging noises than anything else.
Then the burst of rage came.
How Can Teachers Reduce Stress From the Back to School Transition
Since it’s late August, it’s time for us to get back into the swing of things at school. As I mentioned in my post earlier this month, transitions are hard, and we as educators need to be intentional about doing (or not doing) whatever is necessary to ease this transition. Here are two important areas of focus to consider.
Transitions Are Hard - Be Gentle With Yourself
This week is teacher work week.
As I write this, I am now at home after an all-day, off site professional development training with all the certified staff at my school. The details of the training itself aren’t particularly important. What is important is how I felt by the end of the day: really, really tired.
Why Your Back-to-School "Dream" is a Good Sign
Have you had the dream yet?
You know the one. It happens in the final weeks of summer, before teachers have to report back to school. For some reason, they come sooner and sooner for me every year. I haven’t had it yet, but I can sense it in the distance, like the faint, high minor chord of a horror movie soundtrack.
An Unexpected Affair With Passion
Making the Most of Mornings in Bed
Ah, summer mornings. As an educator, odds are you don’t need to wake up to an alarm or jump out of bed to get to work this time of year. If you do, it is by choice. Whatever your summer mornings look like, I would like to offer some ideas about how you might further indulge in the pleasure of lingering in bed.
