May = Survival

For parents and teachers alike, May means survival mode.

Gone are the days of thoroughly checked homework and fancy packed lunches for your kids.  Forget the adorable outfits, the homemade breakfasts, and the handwritten notes in the lunch boxes.  If your kids are clothed and fed three daily meals in May, it's a successful parenting day!  

 

Teachers, forget the elaborate lesson plans and hand-crafted treats for rewards.  In May, if all your students are still standing and smiling at the end of the day, you've earned a gold star!    

These final weeks be proud of your personal accomplishments, from sending your child to school wearing matching socks to remembering there's an assembly at 2:00 (even if you don't remember until 1:59).

Good luck surviving your final weeks!  Hang in there, and feel comfort in the fact that you're not alone!  

Slow Down

The beginning of the year and the end of the year are two of the toughest times for me as a teacher-mom.  The demands of teaching are at their peaks which sometimes results in the excitement of my own kids completing a school year getting lost among the craziness.  No last day celebration for my kids.  No kick off to summer hoopla as my kids get off the bus.  This time of year, it's survival mode as a teacher.  It's mom guilt I struggle with every single year.    

No matter what craziness the next few weeks may hold, I'm trying to slow down. I'm trying to reflect on what the end of the school year means for each of my own children.  For me, it means seeing my oldest son prepare for his final year before junior high, my middle son preparing to enter the intermediate school, and my youngest son leaving the year a fluent reader for the first time!  These milestones are huge!  They make me proud.  They make me sad.  They make me want to freeze time.  Sadly, I can't pause time.  But I can vow to Slow Down.  

Take time to enjoy every moment, no matter how trivial they may seem.  After all, no moment with your loved ones is trivial at all. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clcNB_EUao8

Report Card... for the Teacher?

We've done it!  We've survived roughly 33 weeks of school and are counting down the final days.  As eager as I am to enjoy summer break with my own biological kids (versus my 48 schools kids), I also find myself reflecting on my successes and failures creative endeavors that didn't turn out quite the way I had hoped.  I also find myself constantly thinking, "Next year I'll...."

During this time of reflection, it's also a great time to get some feedback from those who are most familiar with your classroom: your students AND their parents.

Teacher report cards are fun ways to collect valuable feedback.  Check out this totally free teacher report card for parents to complete:
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teacher-Report-Card-for-Parents-to-Complete-2552210

Enjoy the feedback!  It'll sure put a smile on your exhausted face!

Moms. Teachers. Teacher-Moms. This Blog's for You!

What's my story?  I have three amazing sons (ages 11, 8, and 7) and I teach third grade in the same school district my sons attend.  I wouldn't trade my boys or my job for anything, but there are many times I question my sanity.

Anyone who has ever been a parent will likely agree that parenting is probably the most rewarding, but toughest job in the world.    

As difficult as parenting is, teaching follows close behind.  You know how you love, protect, nurture, and guide your own little ones?  Teachers do that all day for roughly 25 children.  You know how some days, you hear, "Mom!" roughly 8,000 times???  Yep!  That's about 200,000 calls for help/attention/emergencies/no reason at all from the little ones teachers care for.  

Some people are crazy brave enough to attempt both parenting young children and teaching AT THE SAME TIME.  

Thus, my blog was born.

Here I hope to laugh through the challenges, celebrate the successes, and offer some sanity-saving tips to other teachers, moms, or the truly insane amazing teacher-moms out there!  Welcome to Confessions of a Teacher-Mom!  I look forward to the journey!