Ironically,
one of my first few entries to this teaching blog is how to “escape” the
teaching life. Without a doubt, teaching
is wonderful, but who doesn’t love sleeping past 5:30am, sitting down and
enjoying their lunch, and did I mention t-shirts any day you please? Yes, it is
the great summer days. I’ve heard many people say that teachers sometimes have
two personalities: summer mode and school mode. I think I would agree with that
argument and with the summer in full swing, I want to share a few of my “go-tos”
to indulge in this summer lifestyle. In my classroom, I usually get my kids’
attention by saying, "give me five." Well, now I have your attention
and I have a feeling this “give me five” theme will carry throughout my blog. So whether you’re in your pjs, or lounging
outside, here are my top five-summer teacher recharge tips.
1.
Clean
your home
a.
Despite
the fact I am a little type-A and I prefer my classroom to be organized, labeled,
and everything in its place, I found that my home begin to not reflect the same
caliber of “Container Store” organization. Shirts and pants were mixed and hung
in the same section, a “take care of” pile began to grow on my kitchen table,
and my dryer became a more aggressive sock eater causing me to sing, “All the
single socks, all the single socks…” : ) Maybe it’s just me, but who doesn’t
love a freshly clean and organized living space? So take a day or even few to
clean out closets, pantries, garages, bathrooms, dressers, etc. Don’t worry
about the teacher stuff/files….yet. This day of cleaning is just for you! So
put on your comfy clothes, grab a big trash bag and your label maker, and crank
up the tunes. Enjoy the organizing!
2.
Go
out to lunch
a.
Key
word, GO OUT! Because you can! Hey, guess what, during these summer days, you
do not have to eat at the speed of firefighters responding to a 911 call. No,
you can in fact, enjoy your lunch. Chew every bit 20 times. I challenge you!
Most importantly, go out to lunch with friends and family. Write down all your favorite
places to eat and pick one out of a jar each time you go out. Enjoy the time of
not having to pack a lunch everyday. Bon Appetite!
3.
Cooking/meal
prep
a.
What
teacher did not find themselves on occasion (or multiple occasions) running
short for time to make a lunch the night before? Or even more often, coming
home late exhausted and the thought of picking up a pot or pan just seemed too
draining. This year, I am attempting to
be proactive on this situation. My goal is to prep many fresh and homemade
single sized meals and freeze them. Whether you have vacuum seal bags or make
crockpot freezer bags, you are all set. This way, during the year, all I have
to do is set it in the crockpot before I leave for school or I can come home
and just pop that little guy in the microwave. After all, I think I can use the
microwave pretty well during the year, it’s works just like a copy machine, right?
:)
4.
Be
active!
a.
Soak
up the sun during these vacation days! Go for walks, ride a bike, play some
sports, and just get outside. I bet if we were to take a survey on teacher’s
vitamin d levels, on average, it would be pretty low. Too many times we… (ok, I
know at least I did J ) get caught at school with that “just
one more thing” mentality and I found myself arriving and leaving school when
it was dark out. So I am definitely liking
these summer days and soaking up that fresh air and sunshine. So forget the notion that “watch tans” are out
of style. Bring on the watch tan; I’ll let the sun brand me with some outdoor
goodness.
5.
Explore
a.
Take
advantage of these unscheduled days and go explore! Whether that means exploring
in your own town or even going on vacation.
Check out museums or take a class (crafts, workout, cooking, dance,
etc.) You could even go out to explore nearby state parks and lookie there, the
teacher in you integrated both exploring an being active… gold star for you!
Most importantly, do things that you enjoy, but aren’t able to do during the
school year due time, distance, or just other commitments that take priority in
your life. So consider the days you taught this year as marbles you earned…it’s
time for you to cash in for your marble jar party. Have some fun this summer!
What are your favorite “recharge” tips for the summer? Comment below! Thanks for reading.
Until next time,
- The Elementary
Zookeeper
