How to ensure I don't spend every waking moment of my life doing schoolprep!

Today's post is about something very close to my heart, and something that I struggle with almost every day: HOW to be a great teacher without sacrificing family time. I'll be honest, it's a fine line between getting it right and getting it horribly wrong. I am no expert... But since cutting down my working week to just two days and job sharing, I've picked up a few tricks and I thought I'd share them with you!

1. Keep marking to a minimum 

It's really important to mark work and some schools can be particularly strict on how often work is marked. But there are ways to get it done without taking tubs of books home every afternoon. First of all, marking work together as a class is a great way for students to be accountable to their own learning as well as cutting down your workload. However, marking as a class isn't alway feasible, and so that's why I created these amazing stamps with Vistaprint. I created a stack of different stamps so that I'm not always writing the same thing over and over. If you wait for a sale, you can get the stamps for a bargain.

2. Use your release time efficiently

I have always wasted my release time by prioritising my work badly. I've spent the time "catching up" rather than getting ahead. I only have one hour of release now, so I have to use my time wisely. Instead of going down to the staff room and potentially getting caught in a conversation with a colleague, I spend my first half hour marking and my second half hour photocopying and borrowing resources ready for the next week. So that when I come in on a Monday morning, I can ease my way back into work.

3. Have split up booklets organised for sick days so that students are still on task

Split Up days happen. It's unfortunately the way life is for teachers nowadays. Because I job share, there's a higher chance that my colleague or I have to take a day off. So we created 'Split Up Booklets' that are stored in an easily found tote tray for those days when one of us can't make it in and the school can't get a casual teacher in time. The booklet contains work that can be completed independently, however, is still keeping the class on task. STEM activities are great ideas for Split Up Booklets. Blank templates for planning and writing as well as spelling activities that cater towards different spelling lists are also great activities. I've put a couple of images below of our current Split Up Booklet below.

4. Use your diary well

This one is pretty self explanatory and links in with my second point. Write important details down and then remember to check your diary. I like to plan out what I need to do before and after school so that I make the most of my time. I also try to do jobs as soon as possible so that I don't forget to do them. Rip it off like a bandaid. 

I created a couple of different planning templates for you to download and use. I like to print them off in advance and bound it ready for the term. Click on the images to download the templates.

5. Keep parents up to date with what's happening regularly so that you don't have to spend your whole lunch break chasing them up

I've mentioned this point in a previous blog post… I highly recommend using ClassDojo! It has an amazing messenger tool where you can directly message parents. It's a great way to keep constant dialogue open between school and home. A quick message here and there is far easier than a long phone call.

6. Look after your own wellbeing… 

Make sure you make an appearance in the staff room. Don't always diet. Have a laugh. Say thank you to others. Ask people about their weekends. A happy workplace is a productive workplace.

7. Give yourself a pat on the back sometimes…

And ask yourself what went well rather than what went wrong.

8. Keep things digital and back up your USB regularly. 

I think every teacher has had a moment where they've had to search for a resource that they've put in a "safe place" and then they couldn't find it when they've needed it. Times have changed... There's no need for hard copies of every worksheet... It's time to get digital! Then you can access documents from home or school. 

My colleague and I have gone digital with our program too. We're using 'One Drive' but there's so many sharing platforms out nowadays. Google Docs is a great tool for working documents and there's lots of programming apps out there too. Check out iDoceo! 

Make sure your USB is organised. Label files and documents appropriately so that you can easily find them when you need them. I can't tell you how many times I've had to recreate a worksheet or PowerPoint presentation because I couldn't find the original one I made. We do not have time to reinvent the wheel let alone recreate things because they're lost! 

And remember to BACK EVERYTHING UP!

9. Have students assess their own work and teach them to be accountable for their own learning.

I've been using these little checklists for a while now. They're great for seeing which students understand and which students could have worked harder.

I also like to get my students to mark their own work where possible. By doing this, you're not only saving your own personal time but you're teaching them to be accountable to their own learning. I think it's important for them to be apart of the process. So mark homework as a class. Mark pre and post tests together. Get them to calculate their score and figure out whether they've improved. 

10. Stop being a Perfectionist!

There's just no time and perfectionism isn't always attainable. Just do your best!!

Eight tips to survive the transition back to work from maternity leave!

Recently I returned to teaching part-time after having a year off teaching. I had my bub a couple of weeks after starting maternity leave and I remember having so many mixed feelings about having time off. I was excited about what was to come, but I was also sad to be leaving students and colleagues. For me, I went on maternity leave at the end of Term 1, so I had a Year 6 class which I had to leave behind. I was so devastated as I really liked the class as a whole and I had built a strong rapport with them in that short term.

However, I didn't have the same mix of feelings when I returned to work after maternity leave. I just felt guilty. I felt guilty that I was going to be spending my day looking after 28 children, while my child was at home with his grandparents. It didn't seem right. Why was I looking after everyone else's children and not my own? 

Fortunately for me, I only had to go back two days a week and I knew he was being looked after by family. Although it was still hard.

But that wasn't the only thing I had to deal with. Teaching is always changing, always improving and evolving. In the short amount of time that I had off, so much had changed. Colleagues had moved on to new schools. There were new members of staff in their place. A new syllabus had also been introduced. And I just felt out of the loop, having not been trained in the program's we were now offering. I was no longer up to date with current research and felt as if my brain had turned to mush. I couldn't remember terms and acronyms I once used.

Needless to say, I cried all of the way home after my first day back.

But there is good news! I'm now getting close to the end of my first term back, and I'm happy to report the knowledge has slowly crept back. I feel like I'm in a better routine with juggling being a mum and working (although I still have really tough days). I also feel a little better about my son having quality time with his grandparents. I still miss him, but I don't cry the whole way to work anymore!

I thought today I'd compile a list of tips and tricks to help the transition back to work become a little easier. Now I have to say before I start, that I am no expert. I fail at these regularly... But they're just things I wish I was told before returning to work!

1. In the weeks before returning, schedule a meeting with your direct supervisor to catch up on what's been happening around the school. Take lots of notes- your memory isn't as good as it once was! 

2. Get a copy of the School Plan, to read up on what they're currently prioritising. Take note of any new programs or acronyms you're not familiar with.

3. Get a copy of the school calendar- my school actually emails it out to staff! Find out what is coming up, particularly things that involve your class/students.

4. Make a plan for home. Think about when you will do housework and maybe divide up the tasks. Plan out meals and organise getting your shopping delivered (it usually only costs around $5 for delivery). You may not always stick to this schedule, but it will bring a little more sanity to your home. Oh and remember... Keep your plans doable!

5. Try to get to work earlier so that you can do your planning and photocopying then. That way you can leave at a more decent time in the afternoon. I try to keep my afternoons sacred as my little one has dinner at 5:30pm. This doesn't give me a lot of time to muck around in the afternoon.

This is a picture of our desk at the end of my working week. Just trying to be organised and having everything photocopied and prepped in advance!

6. Work smart. That means that you need to mark as you go. That means revamping pre-existing programs and not reinventing the wheel (leave that for later on when your kids are a little older). That means grabbing your coffee and going. Yes it's nice to talk to colleagues and catch up... But don't spend all of your time chatting.

7. Remember that it's ok to say you don't understand and that you need help.  I was completely caught out on my first day back... And I just had no idea what was going on. I had to just pull the "I've just had a baby and returned to work" card. I was so nervous about admitting I had no clue about what everyone was talking about... But the moment I said it everyone became a little more understanding and tried to explain rather than assume. I was actually surprised at how many other women knew exactly how I felt, and mentioned how hard it was returning to work from Mat Leave.

8. Remember to have quality family time and time with your partner. The downside of teaching is that it can become all-consuming. I think jobs that require you to give up a bit of your heart, can easily consume a lot of your own personal time! Figure out where to draw the line. Where to cut off from work. For each person this can be different... But for me I decided that I only wanted to do half an hour of work each night once my son went to sleep. That doesn't sound like much, but I wanted to also spend time with my husband. So what I also do (because half an hour isn't nearly enough) is that I also work while my son sleeps on one of my days off. I try to have one "at-home day" and on that day is when I work while he's napping. Outside of that I have to draw the line and remind myself that I only work two days a week... I don't work full-time!

While teaching is an awesome job, it can become really taxing. Take each day as it comes and remember that you are only human. A sleep-deprived human who is a full-time mum first and a part-time teacher second!

Do you have any other tips and tricks for surviving the transition back to work?  Comment below.