The 5 Necessary R's of EVERY Teacher's Summer!

All school year long, teachers run about like crazed mad-men and women. They follow schedules, experience near-death almost bladder explosions, and endure frost bite from recess duty all in the name of educating these sweet lives we've been entrusted to.

Now it's your time. 

Take it, but use it wisely. Have you applied these 5 R's to your summer yet?

Sleep. Take naps. Close your eyes and sit in the quiet. {You know, nothingness. With no children. No questions. No pencil sharpener. No buzzing of the intercom system. Just - blank. Remember that?} 

The school year is jam packed with insanity. You run from here to there and everywhere in between. Some days for lunch, you eat the crackers you found in your desk drawer from your Wendy's salad that you brought to work with you...a month ago...on a Saturday...to finish report cards.

Yes. rest. You are allowed. You are warranted a day {or 25} in bed, in your jammies, until it's dark, binge watching Netflix. Oh, and get crazy. Don't. brush. your. teeth. 

Take your favorite book {or iPad to continue your binge watching of The Office} and your favorite cup of coffee or tea in your back yard and put your feet up. 

"YOU TIME" is so important. Your brain needs to rest.

Remember "brain breaks"? Take a few. 

Rest. 

Your feet {and your husband} will thank you.

I know you're thinking, "Um...you just talked about this. Resting, right?"

Well, maybe. But if you're like me, just *because* you're sitting in your bed in your jammies all day doesn't mean you're necessarily relaxing. 

This is what Mr. Webster says about this "R":

re·lax

rəˈlaks/

verb

1. 1.

   make or become less tense or anxious.

So, do things that will stop your brain from spinning on the hamster wheel that it runs on 87.6 MPH from August until May-ish {because we all know that some of the hamsters start dying around mid-April...the wheels get squeaky and we basically only wash our hair twice a week at this point. Just - makin' it through.}

FOR EXAMPLE: Once upon a time, I got in my car, commuted to school my normal 35 minute drive, while thinking about everything that needed to happen from the moment I stepped out of my car until the moment the last little fanny walked out of my classroom at 3:15 pm....Somewhere between "I need to pee before I have to hold it for 6.5 hours" and "I need to open my black cabinet, where are my keys?", I realized I had left my keys in my car. Like, in the ignition. Running. Doors locked. Oops. {The hamsters were slowly dying at this point...}

So, what can you do to relax?

Make a craft.

Cook.

Bake.

Eat. {notice all the food references}

Work out.

Call a friend that you forgot you had because August came.

Go shopping.

Walk your dog.

Watch a movie.

Paint your toenails.

Go to a painting party.

Run.

Sit on your front porch and rock or swing.

Listen to your favorite song.

Bake your body in the sun. 

Go swimming.

Unnnnwiinnnndddd....

relax. breathe. 

stop thinking for 5 seconds about data team and organizing your writing center. 

You CAN do this! 

{I can see your brain still thinking. Stop it.}

Remember how once upon a time you did things besides grade papers, pass out band-aids, read books with pictures and obsess over anchor charts?

Go back to those days. 

It's good to step out of "teacher mode" from time to time - OH! Except when you see that one kid at Wal-mart sassing his mom and you give "the teacher look". Even when you're 100 years old, you can always go back to "teacher mode" in this particular instance. 

Do something you LOVE to do that has NOTHING to do with education.

****

I feel like some of you just lost your brains for a minute.

Let me say it again. 

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Do something you LOVE to do that has NOTHING to do with education.

If you love to sew, go sew something.

If you love to craft, go craft something.

If you love to cook a 4-course meal and put us all to shame, go for it. 

If you enjoy book clubs with your girlfriends, form one and read a book that doesn't talk about comprehension strategies or classroom management.

It's fun to be all teacher-y 

{Trust me. I know. The "Dollar Spot" at Target has my heart. No judgement here.}

But, it's also fun just to be you. 

Remember, we don't sleep at school like our kids think we do. 

Everywhere you turn, you read stories about teachers leaving the classroom. 

Educating tiny people isn't for the faint of heart. 

It's selfless. It's time consuming. It's exhausting. It's stressful. It's a lot of pressure. 

However, it's also...

Rewarding, full of joy, exciting, new, powerful and full of surprises.

If you made it through another school year, then you deserve a giant round of applause. 

Remember, not everyone can do what we do. I know we think they can, but they can't.

{For example, I overheard parents *1 1/2 weeks* into this summer's vacation saying, "I can't WAIT for school to start! They are driving me nuts!"}

You are awesome. 

You tied shoes, took attendance, applied a band-aid to a 3 week old scab, and said The Pledge of Allegiance all at the same time. 

Do you know any other professional that can do this, and still manage to keep the other 25 children under control, in their seats, quiet, and alive with just a hand signal? I don't think so.

So stop right now. 

Think about *all* the AWESOME YOU did this past school year.

We collect data and analyze it for state testing, DIEBLES, behavior charts, writer's workshop, and so on and so forth.

But have you analyzed all of the AH-mazingness that ooooozed from YOU this year?

I know so many teachers compare themselves to others.

It's like we have a GIANT Venn Diagram in our heads all day long.

It's easier to want what other teachers have (scores, charts, ideas, bulletin board ideas), but daaannnng girl (or guy) - YOU are just as awesome.

Print out this sheet right here and NOW. 

Fill it out. Then reflect on all of the amazing you did this year. 

Don't you dare bring up anything other than positive about yourself.

Remember what Thumper said? Apply that to this reflection.  

Speak positive truth into your teacher soul. It will do you some great good. 

As in carpe diem not the condiment.

Enjoy your summer. 

I'm not saying throw out everything "next school year".

There are still polka dotted borders to buy, $1 prize box items to hoard and plenty of teacher talk to be had at the pool. 

But enjoy the time you have been given with your family and friends to rest, relax, renew and reflect.

In 50 years, you most definitely will not say, "My word, I sure wish I'd laminated more posters, analyzed that data chart one more time and spent another week worrying about what should have been on that state test."

Make time to be whatever you are when you don't stand in front of 20-something faces for 180 days. 

And enjoy it. 

You deserve it.