Nothing like an adorable White Rabbit quote from the school musical "Alice in Wonderland Junior" to begin this chilly Friday!
This post is all about time. Who here agrees that there is never enough of it? (Raises hand).
I constantly feel like the White Rabbit, even though I'm rarely actually "running late." I'm usually found multi-tasking at any given moment of my day. At lunch I'm eating while responding to parent emails while kids ask me questions from staying in for a closed lunch. Before school I'm updating my website from my phone while running copies and slurping down coffee. Oh, and after school? Forget about it. Sometimes I definitely feel as if time is working against me.
There were a few "time tricks" I've seen as of late that I thought were worth sharing. The first is a trick that a fellow teacher in my building does every day. She attaches a "silent buzzing timer" to her belt. Every time the timer goes off, no matter what she's doing, she stops to say something positive to a kid. How cool is that? I love this idea!
The second idea is an idea I've heard of before, but recently saw it on a Facebook post from a dear college professor. She sets a timer for 90 minutes after school to grade work. Just 90 minutes. After the timer goes off, no matter what, she puts the work away. Don't you feel as if we all need to do that sometimes? It's so easy to get wrapped up in grading and planning, and it's important to set our precious time aside for our families and friends. I love this idea, and definitely need to implement it into my lifestyle.
Well, "time" to go! I'm off to a Professional Development day at the Challenger Learning Center today to participate in some fun space activities! Any more "time" ideas out there?
Hi Melissa,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Sarah Hawkins. This is going to be my first year teaching 8th grade earth science...I just got hired and we start school in 10 days. I was just wondering if you had any advice for a newbie, what would it be? I am seriously freaking out!