Tells of a Tired Teacher

Have you hit the status of “tired teacher”? Looking for teacher motivation? Check out these teacher ideas to help get your groove back, as well as reduce stress throughout the school year.

Have you hit the status of “tired teacher”?  Looking for teacher motivation? Looking for the teacher 411 to help get your groove back or reduce stress throughout the school year? What would make your teacher's life more manageable? What are the actionable steps you could take that would heavily impact your teaching life?

Tired Teacher vs. Teacher Exhaustion

REAL TALK…teacher exhaustion. Yes, it's real, people! You can’t be a teacher that helps students if you are a tired teacher! Educators have to practice teacher self-care.

REAL TALK…teacher exhaustion. Yes, it's real, people! You can’t be a teacher that helps students if you are a tired teacher! Educators have to practice teacher self-care. If you do aren't practicing teacher self-care, start now before you lose your mind or become physically ill. FYI: Teacher self-care looks different for everyone. This is something I learned in my fifth year of teaching. I looked to other teachers and wanted to do what was working for other them. However, what they were doing, how they were managing their time, and their classroom management style just wasn’t working for me. I was a tired teacher. I took a hard look in the mirror and knew I had to reflect on myself and start developing teacher self-care strategies that worked for me! So, this is what I did...close your eyes for a moment. Think about yesterday and what type of day it was.  What happened? Was everything that went wrong something you could control?   

Challenge: Sit down and write a list of what you need to improve on!  What contributes to you being a teacher tired? Now, what on your list can you control? Could you practice better time management?

There will ALWAYS be a task at hand that needs to be done. Each day, prioritize the tasks that NEED to be handled. 

Feeling stressed and overwhelmed? Look for teacher motivation and teacher humor to help!  Find a teacher tribe that is uplifting and loyal!

Teacher 411

Summer break is an excellent time to reflect on things that went well and things that may need to be freshened up for the next year. Take time to learn the teacher 411!

Dear tired teacher...

First, establish how you want the day-to-day operations for your classroom to go. Are you the teacher of all things? Are you an organized person, or are you trying to become one? What’s your system for grading papers? Do you have planned teacher observations? How do you plan your lessons and activities? 

Summer break is an excellent time to reflect on things that went well and things that may need to be freshened up for the next year. Take time to learn the teacher 411!  Each item listed above requires you to be intentional. Think about tasks and actionable goals you can put in place, and be intentional when accomplishing them!

Helpful Lesson Plan Ideas

Writing well-prepared lesson plans will help reduce stress. There are thousands of lesson plan templates available and lesson plan suggestions right here online.

Writing well-prepared lesson plans will help reduce stress. There are thousands of lesson plan templates available and lesson plan suggestions right here online. Find the perfect one for you! One of the actionable steps I take to reduce stress and practice teacher self-care is planning and creating lesson plans the Wednesday prior to the week I am going to teach the lessons. I also create my lesson plans where I have one day per page. For example, I have all of Monday’s information on one page, Tuesday is all on one page, and so forth. Another great idea is to color code in different subject areas. When you glance at your lessons for the week and reading is coded as yellow, you will be able to quickly find your reading lessons. If learning centers are included in your activities, then preparing ahead of time by making copies, getting manipulatives ready, organizing game pieces, and preparing graphic organizers will help so much. I use these storage containers when preparing for future lessons. These containers are from Iris and measure 12x12! They are perfect and a personal favorite! Amazon offers these containers as a set of 6!  

Teacher Tip...

Keep a digital copy of your lesson plans for you to make quick change, if needed. Confession: Personally, this took me a couple of years of teaching to master. The first year of teaching, for me, was a whirlwind. The second year, I felt I had a better handle on my teacher life and could really start changing it to fit my teaching style. So, be patient with yourself and find what works for you. Then, go for it!

I love these containers! I have each drawer labeled with the days of the week and Sub Information. As I prep for the week and makes copies, I then put the copies in the labeled drawer for the day of the week the lesson is planned. I ordered mine from Amazon

The Teacher of ALL things

The teacher of all things? What things? If you wish to become the teacher of all things, go back to the basics. There are 3 types of classroom organization.

The teacher of all things?  What things? If you wish to become the teacher of all things, go back to the basics.

There are 3 types of classroom organization. The first one is super-duper organized. You know the what I'm talking about. There are some teachers who are SO organized, it’s annoying! 

Or are you the second one...you are somewhat organized and like organization, but ... it is what it is! 

Or are you number three ... "Organization…ain’t nobody got time for that!" 

Which one are you? Having an organized classroom can really help reduce stress throughout the school year. Classroom organization does NOT happen by mistake, be intentional! 

Think about how you want students to turn their work in. What's your grading system? If you are a reading teacher, organize your classroom library. You could even assign this as a classroom job for a student. 

If you are out on summer break, think about the questions above. Research and choose what you think will work best for your classroom. This is not a one size fits all deal. Remember, you must be intentional! Find what works for you and go for it!  

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