The importance of self care for teachers is a given. We all understand we need to take care of ourselves. But...

Does self care in your regular teacher life seem like an impossible dream? It can. It is hard enough to do all the things every day as a teacher, and possibly as a mom to boot. Making time to take care of yourself might seem overwhelming in the midst of all the overwhelm, but it's essential. 

This episode is all about helping get started in making self care a HABIT and not just another thing on your list to remember.

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In order to get started, I have some questions for you.

I'll give you a few of them here and you can get the full list when you listen to the episode.

• What makes your day, any day, better?
• What are the bright spots in your day?
• Do you have any lulls in your day. You know, those moments when you fell totally done in?

***The ultimate goal is to help you stay on an even keel...

Do you ever feel like there just isn't enough time in the day for teacher self-care activities? There's just too much to do and you're too tired at the end of the day to do one more thing...Right?!

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Well, if there's one thing that you should take away from this last year it's that self-care matters! As teachers, we HAVE to take care of ourselves first in order to do our best for anyone else. Turns out...the old saying "you can't pour from an empty pot" is true! Besides, if you don't take care of yourself, who will?

If you haven't guessed already, today's episode is all about teacher self-care activities. I'll bet you haven't thought about all the different ways you can be caring for yourself, how to identify the type of self-care you're needing at any given time and what each one looks like.

I say it all the time, but it bears repeating…self-care is NOT selfish! And putting yourself...

Being able to relax this summer and let school go for a bit can be as simple as getting a few simple things in the works and walking away.

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You'd think relaxing over summer break would be easy. But sometimes, it's hard to let go and wind down. Turning our teacher brains "off" in the summer isn't necessarily automatic. When that happens, I've found that getting a few simple things under control or "in the works" can help me let the rest go and truly rest and recharge over the summer. 

So if this all sounds familiar to you, this episode is for you! I've got 5 simple tricks that will Make back-to-school so much easier and help you let go and relax because you've got a plan in place and a bit of progress toward that plan to boot. #teacherwin

Listen in. 

In this episode, find out: 

• What 2 things you need to schedule that you probably haven't even thought of.
• A one-minute task you can do...

I have a love-hate relationship with to-do lists. Seriously. While I love a good list, I'm picky about them. I don't do just any old list. I only do manageable, REALISTIC lists. Yup, those actually exist and we can control them even when it's that back-to-school "monster" list.

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That back-to-school to-do list is probably already out of control. Here's how you can get that monster reined in and gain peace so you can rest and recharge this summer. And we all know...your summer teacher self-care is ESSENTIAL. 

In today's episode, I am going to give you just one more task before you check out for the summer. I know, I know.  You could not possibly be more "done". I get it. However, this task is not difficult, won't take much time, and it really is essential in order for you to not be the overwhelmed teacher at back-to-school time. You WILL thank me when the...

I say it all the time...self-care is essential and having an exercise routine is one form of self-care.

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Taking care of YOU is the foundation for becoming a joyful teacher and effective teacher.  And while there are lots of forms of self-care, fitness is an important one for both our physical and mental health! It reduces stress, gets our bodies working more efficiently, and helps us focus better all day long.

Today's guest is Ann Wiegmann Stafford, aka Fit Teacher Momma, who has a unique [and free] solution she created to help herself and other teachers stay fit, support each other and connect. She's a science teacher, mom of 2, and wife who is passionate about fitness.

Listen in. 

In this episode, find out: 

• How Ann got started.
• What her system is and how it works.
• How simple it is to get started on your fitness journey.
• Why now is the right time to get started taking care of YOU.

Ann...

Are your busy? Overwhelmed? Burnt out? I get it! In fact, I was just there last week. 

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Teacher lives are busier than ever before and as we head into the end of the year, things just seem to speed up, don't they?!  Overwhelm, exhaustion and just general burnout are rampant. Maybe you’re even there right now, friends. If you are, I'm so sorry to hear that. But here's help...

Today's episode is all about helping you take back a bit of control in six simple ways, from email to systems. In fact, I think of these as not only organizational tasks, but self-care. Yup. Self-care. We have to create sustainable day-to-day lives in order to be sane and enjoy our lives. We're not meant to walk around stressed out and overwhelmed ALL THE TIME. You deserve better than that.

Listen in.

In this episode, find out:

• Why NO is your new best friend! 
• How to make dealing with your emails faster than...

Self care is essential in a profession known for burnout. 

1. Use Your Sick/Personal Days

A mental health day is a justifiable sick day. Better to have a mental health day than to be sick for days because you wore yourself out. Look at the calendar and see when your longest stretches are without a break (no Monday off or other holiday). Make a note of possible days you would want to take off to give yourself a break and tentatively put them on your calendar.  Maybe plan a long weekend or take a random Wednesday off (my favorite).

2. No. Say it. Often.

NO is a powerful word. Don't be afraid to use it. You can always change your mind and say yes later (on rare occasions), but it's really hard to go back on a yes.

3. Do Not Disturb

Put a sign on your classroom door when you are working on planning or grading. You'll have less interruptions and have more focused work time.

Do not disturb your heart as well. Don't listen to negativity. Have a standard answer when...

True story.

My very first year teaching, was a year of surprises, lots of learning and improvising. I had 34 kids in a 3/4 split that quickly turned into a straight 4th grade. The school was in a very poor, rough area of Los Angeles. I was in a mobile all alone at the furthest end of the school with no classroom phone (this was before cell phones). The teachers at the school were reserved and not exactly welcoming to a young teacher at first. I realized later, the teachers had stacked the class I was given as were regretting that just a bit. Oops.

About 2 weeks into school, I had assigned some reading to the class and they were to get busy while I started working with a small group of struggling readers. Within the first minute of that assignment I had a student pick up his desk, throw it and shout, "I'm NOT going to do this!" To say I wasn't prepared for this would be an understatement.  I stood in shock for what seemed like an eternity but was probably only seconds. Truly, I...

There are certainly plenty of things to have regrets about or beat ourselves up about as teachers and as parents. But... here's a few you should never apologize for.

1. A lesson that didn't go as planned.

So what?! As my mom would say..."quit boo hooing about it, learn something from it and try again". Show your students how to accept failure and start over. Now, there's a lesson worth teaching! Your failure is a powerful teachable moment for you to use with your students.

2. Sticking to and following through on your classroom management plan even when students or parents aren't happy about it. 

This is a big one! If you don't hold to your standards and expectations, then parents and students are going to fight you all year. Being firm is not mean or personal, it's just the law in your kingdom. Get yourself prepared with a list of all the objections you've gotten from kids or parents in the past. Next, write down your reasoning the way you want to sound when you answer them....

I can a be a bit of a workaholic if I let myself. I just LOVE what I do so I always have projects and teachers to help. That means, I have to plan for keeping kids busy and getting the family out and about, especially in the summer. 

My kids don't like to do a lot of organized stuff over the summer, so I have to plan a bit of structure into our days or the summer slips by way too fast.

I know how hard it is to live on a teacher budget. But with summer here, we all still want to have fun every week. So, here's an easy way to make sure you get to do fun things and still stay within your budget.

Prep

First, take 5 minutes to make a list of all the activities you and your family want to do. Everyone helps. This is the "no promises what's your dream" list. You can rein it in once you're done. 

Now, arrange the activities into groups of your choosing. Perhaps you have a group for free things, one for inexpensive things and one for more expensive items. Or maybe you have them...