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7 Real Ways to Deal with Teacher Stress

Teacher Stress and Burnout

We all have those types of days where stress happens and teacher stress is the worst. Teacher stress and burnout are the number one cause of educators leaving the field and pursuing careers elsewhere. However, it is possible to combat teacher stress with some easy stress management tools.

Combat Teacher Stress by Doing Something For Yourself

This is one of my favorite ways to combat my daily stress, but very few people have the time to do something for themselves. Not true. I am a HUGE believer in you make time for what you WANT to make time for.

Start today by penciling it into your schedule/calendar, put it as a reminder or event on your phone, set a reminder on Alexa, whatever it may be that will remind you to do something nice for yourself. Let’s be truly honest, if you don’t do something nice for yourself, who is?

It doesn’t have to be something extremely extravagant either. I mean…if that is your style then you do you. However, it could be something super simple and easy.

Here are my favorite things I like to do for myself to reduce my teacher stress:

Paint my nails.
Get my lashes done.
Read a book.
Watch a Hallmark movie under a cozy blanket.
Some retail therapy.
Create products.

Take Time to Decompress

I don’t know how many times I used to come home during my first few years of teaching and just get so irritated with my husband over the smallest things. It wasn’t even his fault because I was holding onto something that happened during the day and I was unknowingly projecting it on him. That isn’t good for anyone.

Now, I use my drive home as my decompression time. I turn off the radio and talk it out. I even have a notepad in my car that I write down my ideas for what might work tomorrow or my thoughts on the situation. It truly helps me to be less stressed when I walk through my front door so that I can have a relaxing night with my family.

Set aside 5-10 minutes after school to decompress. You don’t have to do any yoga poses unless you want to, but just have some time when you talk your day out. You can do it alone, with colleagues, or your significant other whatever makes you feel the best. Trust me you will feel much better and be able to think through the situation with a clear head.

Exercise

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking of excuses: I don’t have time, I’m too busy, I have kids, I have to make dinner…… Listen, I am right there with you. I have a 2 year old, three dogs, and dinner that won’t make itself no matter how many times I’ve wished for that to happen.

I’m not saying you need to add an hour of exercise on top of your other responsibilities. Going back to what I said before about you making time for what you WANT to make time for, I will schedule in my exercise time daily. I am not working on setting any personal records, but I do try to work off at least 100-200 calories during my ride. Sometimes that happens in 20 minutes, other times it takes me 30 minutes. However, I never exercise longer than 30 minutes because I have other items scheduled on my calendar too.

The most important thing is to find a type of exercise that you love. It will feel less like work if you enjoy your exercise.

Take a Mental Health Day

I have learned this stress relief a little late in my career, so I’m sharing this with you in hopes that you can learn from my mistake. Mental health days are necessary for every teacher.

I used to believe that I HAD to be there for my students every single day. When I got sick I would somehow muster up the strength to make it to work. I couldn’t bear the thought of my kids having a substitute or totally destroying my classroom while I was at home. I know that some of you Amy be in this same situation.

Listen to me. Your classroom will still be there when you get back tomorrow or the next day. Your kids might have acted like the rules didn’t apply to them, but you will get them back on track. The substitute might not have gotten all the lessons/activities completed, but you will get to it. Your students will be happier if their teacher is happy.

If you are dragging it to make it to the weekend, give yourself some grace, take a day off, reset, and hit the ground running tomorrow. It will all work out.

Eat a Balanced Diet

Remember how you used to feel all jittery and ready to go the night after you got all that Halloween candy? What if you tried doing that now? Yeah, you might end up with a bellyache or worse. So, why are we still eating the wrong types of food?

Our bodies need a balanced diet in order to keep us in top performance. I know my teaching/classroom would be a totally different setup if I ate chips, fast food, and drank a pop for lunch every day. I now pack my lunch the night before and make sure to have a protein, fruit, veggies, and a carb in there to keep my body going.

Spend Time with People You Love

This is so important. One of the best ways to combat teacher stress for me is to be surrounded by my husband and little girl. I love coming home after a long day and cuddling with them on the couch.

My little one is currently loving all things Paw Patrol and all types of books. As soon as we get home so runs into her room, picks several books from her library, and sits on the couch or floor and has me read to her. Personally I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We all have those special people in our lives, the people we call/text/or visit when something good is going on or we are going through a tough time and need some guidance. Find your people and spend some time with them. It will make you feel so much better.

Combat Teacher Stress by Making Sunday a Rest Day

Just like the Rascal Flatts song, Mayberry “Sunday was a day of rest”. How did we ever get away from that. In my life, I have always rested on Sunday. I will try to get all my work, errands, and chores done on Saturday and just take it easy on Sunday to prepare for the week.

I know what you are thinking: I can’t get everything done on Saturday. It may not be possible for everyone, I get that. However, at least give yourself an hour before bed to just relax and reset for the upcoming week. It is so important to do that for your overall health and wellness.

I hope you take this list and implement some if not all of my strategies to help you combat teacher stress. You don’t have to do them all at once, just take one and try it out. I can’t wait to hear about your stress relievers too so be sure to comment below.

Getting to Know You Activities Are Boring!

by tinytikesteacher 1 Comment

Getting to know you is an important part of back to school routines everywhere. However, you need activities that are more exciting than getting to know you questions and worksheets. While the question and worksheet route may be quick and easy, your students are begging for getting to know you activities that are fun, new, and different. This post will give you some ideas for getting to know activities in case you may be stuck in a rut.

Year after year, you pull out the same getting to know you activities that you did before. Sound familiar? If it does, you are not alone. Trust me, I know as I was guilty of this too. That was until I realized that there was something better I could be using instead. My students were practically begging for getting to know you activities that were something different than the all about me poster that you find at every teacher store. These getting to know you activities that I am going to share with you are way more fun and your students will thank you. I promise!

Getting to Know You Bingo

Woo hoo! Bingo! You better get ready to call the local community center because your classroom is going to be the newest hotspot in town. In all honesty though, who doesn’t love bingo! People of all ages love bingo because it is just pure fun! Also, there is nothing more exciting to be able to shout BINGO as you mark off your last square! Bingo alone is fantastic, but when you combine it with a way for peers to get to interact and learn about each other, they love it even more. Plus, they get to get up and move around the room which is just an added bonus.

With Getting to Know You Bingo, the students move around the room trying to find another student that matches a square on his/her bingo card. Once they find a match, they cross off the square, and then try to find another student who will match a different square. When a student gets 5 in a row they win! Of course, not all the cards are the same, so the squares may be totally different from other students which just adds to the excitement. You can even mix up the way they mark off their bingo squares. There would be nothing more exciting than using bingo daubers.

For the younger kids, this will generally not be an independent activity at first. You will have to walk you students through how to play the game and you might have to help your students with reading. However, once they get the hang of it, it will become more automatic and you will have to help them less. To help them along, there are pictures that correlate to the question which will help with beginning reading skills.

Getting to Know You Activities

All About Me Bags

I know what your thinking, “All about me bags are getting to know you activities that have been done before and my students and frankly I am tired of them”. What if I told you that there is a twist to the classic about me bag. In this version, the students write three clues on the bag. Then, the other students have to read the clues and guess who’s picture might be inside the bag. Your students will love guessing and seeing if they were right.

If you teach the younger students, you may have to read the clues out loud first. Then, have the students take guesses as to who might be inside the bag. Then, show the student’s picture that is inside. The kids will love making their own bags and getting to know their peers at the same time.

All About Me Quilt

The Getting to Know You Quilt activity is a wonderful way for students to show their creative side. Students get to fill in the squares on the quilt with either a drawing or a sentence. Then, they get to draw themselves in the middle star shape. After all the hard work is done, the fun part happens when they get to color and design their own beautiful quilt square. The students can even add whatever elements they want to decorate their square. As an added bonus, the finished quilt squares can be put together to form a class quilt. This class quilt can then be used as a hallway display or in your classroom decoration.

For the younger students, especially Kindergarteners, there is an option for just a picture. The students will love getting the opportunity to express themselves without the added pressure of having to write too (because some or more than some are just learning). The Getting to Know You Quilt activity will be one that you reach for again and again and each time it will be a different result.

Thank you for joining me on this getting to know you activity discussion. Feel free to comment below if you have any fun getting to know you ideas or stories to share!

Hey there!

Have you ever thought about selling your teaching resources online? Check out my post to see how I decided it was time for me to turn my life around.No jokes, I promise!

How Selling my Resources Changed my Life

by tinytikesteacher 4 Comments

“I can’t sell my resources online.” I may have uttered that phrase myself a few times over the course of my career. Selling my resources was always an avenue I wanted to pursue, but just couldn’t understand how to get started. I always saw what other teachers were creating online and always had a reason to never pursue that path. “I just moved to a new grade level.”, “I don’t have time for that.”, “I’ve got a million other things to do.” the list goes on and on.

However, that all changed once I saw Kayse Morris’ video on Facebook. Her personality and passion radiated through that video and completely changed my thinking. I started thinking, “Why not me? I cando that!” It just so happened that at the same time I saw that video she was opening up her class Transform Your Resources again and I quickly hurried to get my spot. I was so EXCITED to learn and devour everything that she was going to teach me.

I went through the first lesson in one night, furiously taking down notes, and applying all the tips and tricks she shared. Guys, in the first lesson Kayse completely changed my life. So, let me share with you what else happened to me while going through this course….

#1 I learned all kinds of ways to sell my resources

The most important thing when learning something new is to have a great teacher. Kayse is that and so much more. Honestly when I say I feel like she is my long-lost sister, I mean that. She is the most down to earth person I have ever known through an online video.

I know I keep saying this but seriously the first lesson changed the game for me and it didn’t stop there. Every lesson afterward was just as good or better than the first. She takes her time and explains everything fully. She evens shows you exactly what she is talking about through her videos. Trust me on this, if you are on the fence about selling your resources, Kayse can help you!

#2 I became a teacherpreneur

Since completing her course, my mindset has been shifted. I started thinking of tons of ideas that I have and started to work on branding my business. Selling my resources online is starting to come easier now than I would have ever thought possible. I absolutely love what I do day in and day out, but over the years I have wondered if I could add something more. This course has made the passion I have for teaching stronger than I ever thought possible. I have numerous ideas and plans that I am working towards and that is just the beginning, because the best is yet to come.

#3 If I can do it, so can you!

Trust me when I say I am a huge skeptic when it comes to online courses being too good to be true. Initially that is what I first thought when I came across Kayse’s video. However, I am so glad that I took the leap.

I had originally started my blog in 2013, back when the blog craze was starting to take off. But I did not get the number of followers that I wanted. Since I wasn’t seeing any “growth”, I went through a phase where I would blog about this, that, and everything in between then stop. It would be a WHOLE year and then I would start to blog again. During that time, I had also found Teachers Pay Teachers and decided that it would be a perfect place for me to try to make some serious dough on the side. That didn’t happen!! And my products were not great quality. So, I decided to take a step back. Since 2013 my life has changed dramatically, I got married, built a home, had an adorable daughter, and got my Master’s degree.

However, I would always see all these teachers with their cute blogs and their products selling like hotcakesall. I found myself saying, “Why can’t that be me?” Well friends, now it is. I have been fortunate to find Kayse’s course and I can’t believe that I ever blogged/created anything without her wisdom.

If I can do it, so can you! The day is today, so what are you waiting for? Like Kayse says, “There’s room for everyone on this playground!” and I hope to see you there!