You’ve worked hard this year and are probably exhausted! It’s break time and you have earned a well-deserved rest. No one will complain in you stay in your PJ’s, drink hot chocolate and watch Netflix all day.
Once you get some extra sleep, you may be inclined to tackle something more. Here are our suggestions for 5 things every teacher should do during a school break:
Read a book for pleasure.
Grab that thriller that your friends have been talking about and indulge in some fun reading. It is both a pleasurable way to spend an afternoon and a professional obligation. Would you enroll your child in a tennis class taught by someone who doesn’t play tennis? Would you want your child to be taught reading by a teacher who never reads? Can you encourage a student to be a life-long learner if you yourself never open a book?
Spend time with your friends.
The time challenges of being a teacher often mean that you don’t have a lot of evenings and weekends for friends. Take this opportunity to meet friends for lunch, or plan an evening together. It will feel good to reconnect.
Spend time with your family.
The holidays offer many opportunities for family time. Relish it. Engage in conversations with your loved ones. Attend the holiday gathering at your aunt’s house. Have some laughs with your cousins. Be present and enjoy the moments. Some day you will look back on these times with great pleasure.
Rediscover a hobby.
In your busy teaching weeks, you often don’t have a lot of time for your favorite pleasurable activities. Pick up that guitar or chess set. Make some jewelry or do a craft project. Get outside and go for a walk or go skiing. Bake a cake or a new recipe you’ve wanted to try. Our hobbies are one way to be good to ourselves. By this time in the school year, our emotional buckets are often drained. Hobbies are one way to fill them back up again.
Plan the year ahead.
We aren’t talking about resolutions here, we are talking about thinking about what you want your life to be like in the next year and making plans. This includes your professional life and goals, but also plans for other areas of your life such as family, friends, home, finances and other personal goals. We love the quote from Michael Gerber:
With no clear picture of how you wish your life to be, how on earth are you going to live it?
How do you wish to live in the next year? We hope that this break will offer you time to relax, renew and plan good things for the new year.
Our best,
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