If you are anything like me, you have FAR to many jobs on your "To Do" list in the holidays. Six years into this teaching gig, and I still struggle with my holiday workload.
For the first couple of years, the reality is that your classroom will dominate your life. You will have SO MANY things that you need to get done, and the only time to do them will be the non-contact holiday time.
So here are six lessons that I have learned in my first six years of teaching:
1. Choose ONE project for the holidays that will make a difference to your life next term. Clean out a cupboard, sort some resources, source some resources.... ONE project. Too many projects will rapidly become a mess. They may end up half done, or just wear you out even more.
2. Clean your house. Seriously, it has probably been neglected during term time, and super neglected during report writing time. A spring clean will make you feel way better.
3. Freezer meals will save you come term time. I try and put a couple of pre-cooked meals into the freezer over the holidays. This works really well for me as my husband is away alot, so I cook a huge batch and freeze them in one or two portion sizes. I try and make sure that they are nutritious too, like batches of vege soup or casseroles. I also try and have a family sized curry (or similar) in the freezer for when you have un-expected guests during term time.
4. Treat yourself. If you can, stretch the budget a little. Go out for lunch, catch up with friends. Go shopping. Your soul will thank you for it.
5. Exercise. A walk along the beach, or around the neighbourhood will put you in a much better frame of mind. Trust me. Pulling out those weeds will probably give you a mini-workout and be highly satisfying too.
6. And most importantly... blob out! You are going to need to re-charge. I spend my mornings doing 'jobs' (the cooking, cleaning, grading, planning etc part of my holidays) and then flick a movie on or read a book in the afternoons. It works for me as I am routine based and holidays tend to throw me.
So there you have it... six lessons, all learned the hard way.
I find Math to be an absolute headache in terms of resource management. There is never enough resources, occasionally too many, and they are often in bad repair. This is why my next few posts are about Math resources. Enjoy! As I teach in NZ and follow the Numeracy Projects, place value houses are a common material to work with. I printed mine off A4 size from http://www.nzmaths.co.nz/sites/default/files/Numeracy/2007matmas/Bk4/MM%204_11.pdf . Each 'house' was copied onto a different coloured paper, and then cut out and laminated. I didn't cut them out again after laminating, as it made it easier to punch a hole in the corner and thread a ring through (are they 'magazine' rings?). My awesome set can now hang from the wall if there is space. No more scrunching up in the bottom of a drawer! They are also really quick and easy to unclip and use, then pack up again. I started off using a whiteboard pen to write the digits directly onto the laminated charts
Comments
Post a Comment