Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Everyone Needs a Moment to Relax Every Once in a While!

Ahhh....I'm on a week break from school right now!  I guess I didn't realize just how much I needed a little break at home until I was AT home!  I am catching up on so much that needed to be done around my house, but wasn't really sure what I would blog about while on this break!  Given the fact that I am relaxing and rejuvenating, I was thinking of ways we find to rejuvenate while IN the classroom!

I don't know about you, but if I'm having a tough day in the classroom, I try very hard just to really ENJOY the small moments of the day!  Sometimes I have to purposely remind myself that I can worry later, but NOW is the time to stay in the moment!

Working with preschool children tends to naturally lend itself to staying in the moment.  99.99% of any of the stress I feel at work comes from adults...not the children.  And, I'm sure that probably is the case for most of us! 

If I'm REALLY having a tough day, I may try to catch a few breaths by taking a lunch cart down, assisting a child with a sensory break or even changing a pull-up.  This gives me just enough of a breather to regroup and allows me to spend some one on one time with a child.  I often "find my smile" again while walking down the hall with a child pushing a weighted cart, kicking a weighted ball with a child or pushing the lunch cart to the lunch room!

Sometimes we do group things that others may think are for the benefit of the group, but in reality, I'm trying to regroup and relax!  Often we listen to relaxing music at lunch time in order to relax.  If I'm on edge you will probably see me pop in my "Zen Relaxation collection".  (just thinking about it helps me relax!) 

As a group, we may just decide to take an afternoon walk after lunch!  In order to make sure this is not too stressful, I simply push back to the next day anything we may have had planned for the afternoon.  This way, we can take our time to really enjoy the walk and explore the outdoors without feeling we need to hurry back to the room. 

In order to prevent feeling crazy first thing in the morning, I make sure I get to work early enough to make sure things are ready for the day and in time to check the answering machine to make sure one of my teacher associates won't be out for the day. 

Another trick I've started is checking my e-mail BEFORE I even arrive at school.  I check e-mail in the morning after I get up and ready.  That way, if there's anything that I will need to take care of immediately, I don't feel like a bus just ran over me when I get to work!   I can go in, take care of it and move on with my day!

How do you find time to take a breather if you're having a tough day?  I'm sure we all have creative ways to regroup when we need a breather!

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