I find the month of May to be THE CRAZIEST teaching month of the year. Ministry/ State exams are being prepared for and written while curriculum is still be taught in the hopes that everything will be completed by the end of the school year. The weather outside is a combination of tropical heat and hurricane weather – so it is quite likely that there could be a few days when students have to stay inside because of the torrential rains. It’s May and I am tired, lacking motivation, and almost in tears when I see the amount of correcting and evaluating I have to complete in a very short period of time. And based on what I have been reading over different social media platforms, I know I am not the only teacher out there feeling this way. So, in order to help myself and help others, I have done some reading and made a short list of the 5 strategies I am now implementing in my own life to help get myself to the end of the school year without losing my mind!
1. Chunk Your Work…
One of the best things I have done is learned how to “chunk” my work up. This school year, I am responsible for three math groups. When I start to see corrections or assessments from all three classes start to pile up, I begin to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the work to be done. In order to change my attitude towards the pile up, I take each assignment from each class and place them into small, neat piles. Then, I implement Tip #2 below to help me get my work done!
2. Set a Time Limit…
When it comes time to tidy up my house or doing household chores, I always set a 1 hour timer to challenge myself to get my to-do list done before the timer goes off. It has been so effective that I have taken that trick and implemented it into my daily work routine at school. Whenever I have prepping, correcting, or evaluating to do, I give myself a realistic time limit (20 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes, etc.) to complete a pile of work that needs to be done. If I complete my work within the time frame I have given myself, I use the extra time to attack another pile. This little trick has saved me from procrastinating and leaving tons of work to be done at the last minute – and gives me a chance to breathe during the hectic end of year/ testing season.
3. Just Let It Go…
If you are feeling overwhelmed by all the pressures and work that go into the end of the school year, take a day or two and leave all unfinished business at school. DO NOT TAKE IT HOME WITH YOU. There is nothing more depressing than leaving school with a bag full of correcting, hauling it into your home, and then not touching it the entire evening. You will just spend your “me” trying to motivate yourself to crack it open and get some done. And when you don’t, your teacher guilt will creep in. Just leave it at work and start “chunking” it the next day. Your home is your sanctuary – and your mind and heart needs to be replenished with family, friends, a good book, wine, Netflix, etc…
4. Take a Brain Break…
We all know the benefits that Brain Breaks have for our students – so why are we not doing them for ourselves as well? I am not saying that you need to turn on a GoNoodle video (although they are fabulous!!!) but there are many ways that you can tune out for a few moments to give your brain a break. Get up and stretch, grab a coffee, take a deep breath, listen to your favourite song… do whatever you need to do to clear your brain and reset your motivation level. Then get back to your work “chunk”.
5. Look for the Positives in all the May Chaos…
For me, the month of May signifies the beginning of the end. The ending of yet another academic year. The end of my journey with a specific group of children. In all the testing, evaluating, and report card writing chaos, I tend to look for the “wins” each and every time I feel myself starting to get overwhelmed. When I am marking the same math test for the 31st time, I focus on the growth my students have made over the course of our year together. When I am repeating instructions and procedures that should have been mastered in October, I take a deep breath and remember that these students will be asking those same questions to another teacher soon enough. When I am trying to calm my students down during the field trip to the science museum, I catch myself revelling in their sheer excitement at being some place new for the first time. Focusing on the positives of these situations permits me to see the pure joy that the end of the school year really does hold for us!
For more tips, please check out this related blog post!
I hope these ideas help you as much as they have helped me! Do you have a strategy that you would like to share with the world? Let me know in the comments below.
Have a great day!
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