Teachers Achieve Summer Work-Life Balance: 5 Tips

Schools out! Hooray! Your classroom is clean. Books are put away. You’ve turned in your keys for the summer.

Now what? You have ten weeks of working a summer job and resting—or, if you’re fortunate, just resting. But how do you rest? You go a hundred miles an hour during the school year, correcting papers, planning lessons, maybe caring for a house, and raising a family.

Through all of that, you need to take care of yourself too! You’re constantly focused on caring for others but neglect yourself.

Here are five things you can do over the summer to care for yourself, relax, and begin to prepare for the coming school year.

1.    Balancing relaxation and self-care

You have a busy life. Use your summer break to slow down just a bit. You won’t feel refreshed at the end of summer if you don’t refresh your heart and soul.

Mindfulness and meditation practices

Teachers can incorporate mindfulness and meditation practices into their daily routines during the summer break. This helps reduce stress and improve focus. If you didn’t do this during the busy school year, now is the time to get the habit in place so you can continue to care for yourself during the school year.

In his book, The Six Habits of Growth, Brendon Burchard recommends ten to twenty minutes of meditation daily, which he calls ‘release meditation.’  Sit in a comfortable chair. Breathe deeply in and out. As you breathe, say the word “release” slowly. Repeat the word with each inhalation and exhalation.

There are many other ways to meditate or take a few quiet moments to yourself. Sitting in a quiet room for ten minutes, taking a short walk, or allowing yourself to read a book for twenty minutes in the middle of the day are all ways to enhance your self-care.

Exercise and physical activity

Regular exercise, whether it’s yoga, running, or joining a local gym, can enhance physical health and boost energy levels, preparing teachers to be more active and present for their students.

Whether your summer goal is to lose weight, stay active, or develop a routine, keeping your body moving is essential. Here are some simple ways to stay physically active in the summer.

• Set a timer and walk for ten minutes twice a day.
• Stretch for five minutes a day.
• Get out in the woods and enjoy nature.
• Take your kids on a short hike.
• It’s summer. Go swimming!
• Ditch the car and walk to the store.
• Take the stairs.
• Park further away from the store.
• Mow the lawn. Walk the dog. Work in the garden.

Anything you can do to keep your body moving will make up for the walking around your classroom that you’re not doing in summer and will prepare you for the next school year.

2.    Setting personal and professional goals

Teachers are not idle in summer. We may not get paid for our preparation for the coming school year, but we do prepare. Whether we go to rummage sales to find classroom games for our students or construct a classroom mailbox, teachers are constantly preparing for the coming school year. Many teachers take courses over the summer. Others read books to keep current on educational practices.

Professional Development Plans

Teachers use the summer to attend professional development workshops or complete specific courses to enhance their teaching skills and knowledge. There are summer courses through foundations and organizations that offer summer courses for teachers. Many of these allow teachers to travel.

Plan your summer learning early in the previous school year so you can take advantage of course offerings and travel opportunities.

I took a course through the Freedom Foundation based in Philadelphia, PA. Its campus adjoins Valley Forge. While talking to a docent in George Washington’s winter headquarters, the docent turned to a child and said, “This is what teachers do in summer. They go placed and learn about events firsthand so they can return to school and teach you about them.”

Personal Milestones

Setting personal goals, such as reading a certain number of books, learning a new skill, or dedicating time to a personal project, can provide a sense of accomplishment and balance.

If you’re a list person, list projects you want to complete during your summer break and check them off as you complete them. If you set a goal to read books, include fiction and non-fiction. Personal growth is a fantastic realm to dive into.

Many teachers have summer projects that benefit their students or enhance their classrooms. Take a break from school stuff. Your milestone could be not doing anything that involves school during your summer off.

3.    Building a support network with fellow educators

Part of your summer could be spent building a network of fellow educators or staying in touch with previous colleagues. Keeping in touch with teachers over the summer lets you stay connected.

Summer Meetups and Socials

Organizing or attending informal meetups and social events with fellow educators can foster community and provide opportunities to share ideas and experiences. Continuing fellowship with colleagues fosters camaraderie and maintains professional relationships during a time when many teachers are lonely without daily connections.

Many teachers want to be disconnected from school over the summer and concentrate on raising their families and spending time with loved ones. You can still stay connected informally. Send them an occasional text or note. Check in with them to see how they’re doing. You could even offer to babysit.

Online Communities and Forums

Joining online communities and forums for teachers allows for ongoing support and collaboration, even when face-to-face meetings aren’t possible. These platforms can be valuable resources for advice and inspiration.

Don’t spend your summer scrolling through social media. Joining one online community or one form to stay in touch with fellow educators will keep you active as an educator.

Avoid negativity. Leave a forum where teachers are complaining about their jobs and lives. Only stay with online communities who you can help or who can help you.

 

 

 If you’re raising a family, having summers off can be just as exhausting as the school year. Slowing down with your kids is essential, too.

 

4.    Engaging in Hobbies and Interests

Take time over the summer to do things that have nothing to do with being an educator. Enjoy the outdoors. Garden. Take the dusty kayak out and spend some time on a lake.

Creative pursuits

Teachers can take time to engage in creative activities such as painting, writing, or playing a musical instrument. These hobbies can be relaxing and rejuvenating, providing a mental break from their professional responsibilities.

There are tons of free courses online. Learn something new. Try painting or drawing. Start writing that book you’ve always dreamed about writing. At least get an outline and start it.

Outdoor Activities and Travel

Exploring new places through local hikes or travel to different destinations can provide fresh perspectives and a sense of adventure that teachers can bring back to their classrooms.

Traveling doesn’t have to be an elaborate vacation where you fly somewhere and are away for days. It can be as simple as taking a drive. Meka it into a day trip. Explore somewhere close to home but far enough away to be different. Visit a relative you haven’t seen for a while. Take the kids to a lake and picnic for the day.

5.    Preparing Mentally and Emotionally for the New School Year

As summer winds down and you’ve spent time taking care of yourself and your family and relaxing, begin to mentally and physically prepare for the new school year.

Reflective Journaling

Daily journaling is a great habit. Reflecting on the past school year’s successes and challenges can help teachers process their experiences and set intentions for the upcoming year.

As you go through the summer, jot down ideas that come up. Most teachers have difficulty turning off their brains, even in summer. Keep a notebook handy and write down your ideas. This gives you ideas to view as the school year nears. It also allows you to keep from dwelling on everything you feel you’re forgetting.

Setting Boundaries and Expectations

Planning and setting clear boundaries for work-life balance can help teachers manage their time and energy better, ensuring they start the new school year with a healthy mindset and realistic expectations.

Enjoy Your Summer Break

Let yourself enjoy your summer! Practice mindfulness and get exercise. Do stuff with your family. Visit old friends. Plan professional development, but don’t let it consume your summer break.

Reconnect with old colleagues and stay connected with new ones. Journal through the summer. Set goals and keep expectations manageable. Set boundaries! and balance schoolwork and home life. Let yourself slowly prepare for the coming school year.

Above all, enjoy your summer!

 

 

Homework is a veritable endangered species – less spotted in the classroom than a snow leopard in the Sahara. It’s a sensation you know too well as another assignment spirals into the black hole of “I forgot.”

Well, buckle up, teacher friend. You’re not alone in this no man’s land of crumpled papers and vanishing deadlines.

You’ve got permission to groan, maybe even drop a tear or two – because this gig can be a roller coaster. But hold on tight because we’re about to make a U-turn.

Completing regular homework builds good habits. Employers look for regular habits in their employees. Doing homework regularly and keeping track of it creates work and life skills.

We’re venturing into five transformative strategies to reel back your students.

Let’s dive in.

Set procedures, expectations, and systems early

It’s the first week of school. You’re getting to know your students. You’ve talked with them about classroom rules. Maybe you had them set regulations with you. There are tons of new procedures your students will learn.

You will assign work to your students no matter what grade you teach. Students must still do it, whether you call it class work, homework, or practice.

Your students practice sports and instruments but also need to practice schoolwork. When we know why something is necessary, we work harder. Discuss with your students why homework is essential.

Establish procedures for turning in work. (See the blog post, “How to Collect and Organize Student Work Without Losing Your Mind.”) Make the procedures clear and easy to follow.

Have systems to turn in, grade, and hand back work. Students will turn in work more often when it’s returned quickly. When work is submitted, you can have a trusted student check names off a list to know who has not turned their work in immediately.

Pink Slips

If you’ve ever been fired, you know what pink slips are. I use them with my students, but instead of being fired from a job, I use pink slips to communicate late work with parents. If a student misses homework, they get a pink slip.

Use a simple form that you create that has basic information filled out by you and the student:

• Name
• Date
• Assignment
• Reason for not doing the work
• Student signature
• Parent signature

I have my middle students write in the information. They take the pink slip home and have it signed by their parents. I also explained that not only do they get the pink slip and have to take it home for a signature, but I still expect the homework to be completed and turned in with the pink slip.

Several possibilities exist if they don’t turn in the pink slip the next day. I may have the student call home and explain to their parents that they must complete the work with or without a grade. I may take 10% off their grade. They might stay in for recess and complete the job.

Student planners: teaching good habits

How often have you distributed student planners and shown kids how to use them? Schools usually spend thousands of dollars on student planners. Sometimes, schools include the cost of student fees and other times, families buy them on “orientation days.”

Don’t give up on planners. There are many benefits for students when they use planners, according to the Professional Learning Board:

• Improved Organization
• Track Achievement
• Enhance Student Responsibility
• Promotes Communication

 

Model how to use a planner at the beginning of the school year. Teaching students how and why to use a planner is very important, and reminding older students is just as important.

Offering incentives for consistent planner use may work for you and your students. A few ideas include:

• Allowing students to choose their seats for the day or week.
• Giving the whole class an extra recess or no homework day for 90% compliance.
• Making positive phone calls home, emails, or notes in their planner to their parents.

Consistent planner use builds excellent habits.

Grade sheets: accountability check

Just like using planners regularly, keeping track of grades builds good habits and keeps students accountable. A grade sheet allows students to track their grades, know how well they are doing, and whether or not they are failing.

The teacher can pre-make and copy a grade sheet, then hand it out at the beginning of each marking period. A simple grid created on Google Docs or Microsoft Word works well. You can add a fourth column for “date turned in.” Consistently using a grade sheet helps students know if the work was late.

 

Assignment	Date given	Grade
1.
2…

 

Students write down the assignment, the date, and their grades. Work must be graded and quickly returned so students can stay on top of their grades.

Students can glue or staple grade sheets into their student planners to prevent them from getting lost. Students can also affix them to the notebook for each class.

Using grade sheets eliminates worry for students who often ask whether they are passing. It allows students to be accountable for themselves since they track their grades.

It is important to model how to use a grade sheet. I keep a grade sheet on Google Docs and project it each time work is handed back. Students see the assignment name and date assigned and write in their grade.

Check off sheets on display.

At one school where I worked, the assistant principal told me that doing this next tip was shaming, and I had to stop using this technique. I asked my students how they felt about it, and they were fine.

The technique is a homework check-off sheet. I posted a class list on the board for each class I taught. I listed each assignment at the top with dates. When students handed in work, I checked the box by their name corresponding to the assignment.

Students could see at a glance if they had turned in work. They liked the visuals. It helped them stay accountable and saved me from pulling out my grade books whenever they wanted to know if they had turned in assignments.

I set up the expectations very early. I was the only one who could check off work and used different-colored pens. If a student was caught checking off work they did not turn in, the grade changed to zero, and a note was sent home. I considered that cheating and let the kids and parents know.

Now What?

Have these techniques worked? They did.

I used these five techniques in a large urban inner-city school, where homework was rarely given because teachers “knew” it would not be done and was often not even attempted. These techniques boosted homework submission rates on average from 25% to over 85%.

Students don’t just need accountability; they like it, even if they complain. A lot of the burden was on them. No one was telling them what to do. (I was, but they didn’t see it that way). Keeping track of their grades, turning in work on time, and seeing missing assignments was empowering for them.

With some explaining, time, modeling, and patience, you can train your students to turn work in on time and enjoy doing it.

Homework is a good word when procedures and expectations are in place.