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I’m going to share some self-care tips for elementary music teacher stress because I feel that the end of the school year can be especially stressful for teachers and there are some things I’ve learned that may be of help to you.
I’m not a licensed psychologist or counselor-so please check in with professionals if you are struggling and need help.
I’m just sharing my experiences as a teacher.
Behaviors, expectations and the culmination of feelings about how the year went can pile up and seem overwhelming.
During my teaching journey I experienced many of life’s ups and downs just like you- and did have times when I couldn’t see how I was going to be able to keep up with everything.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could really focus on self care and not worry about anyone else?
As a teacher, you’ve committed to giving yourself to the children day in and day out.
I know that like anything else, cars, houses, bicycles, gadgets all need to be taken care of and so do you.
During my most challenging time I made some significant changes that gave me the tools I needed to ensure my own self-care.
FIRST I had to learn to “check in” with myself about how I was really feeling.
It’s the H.A.L.T method- and it really works for me.
The HALT method is a way to check in -pause-and take back some control and help stay positive.
I found this site to be the most helpful and easiest to understand.
HALT: Pay Attention to the these Four Stressors
I’m a big advocate of self care and encourage anyone who’s feeling hungry, anxious or angry, lonely or tired to take steps to help yourself in your way.
And then listen and respond to my needs.
NEXT I chose some strategies to deal with the answers.
For me the most important step was to ask:
Even just stopping and closing my eyes and taking a deep breath in between classes to ask the question helped.
Am I hungry, angry/anxious, lonely or tired?
And when I answer the question, I can then start to see a way to move forward.
If the answer was hungry- I could just remind myself that I’ll get food in x amount of time- so that’s it- I can be okay until lunch- or sip some water to get through another class.
I believe that our food not only feeds us nutritionally but feeds us emotionally. I think it’s important to have healthy meals at work.
I meal prep for the entire week on Sundays. That way I’m not tempted to spend more than I have on food and to eat healthy.
Food prep is a way to take care of yourself. You choose the foods that will help you be your best self.
1 RESPECT YOUR SENSITIVITIES
It’s important to protect your senses.
I realized that I was in my classroom more hours than I was at home- at least it felt like it!
That’s why I decided to make my classroom “Sandra” friendly.
HEARING SENSITIVE
I purchased some really good musicians ear plugs that filter out noise so you can hear speaking tones.
These came in handy during assemblies or other loud activities at school.
LIGHT SENSITIVE
Get a pair of sunglasses and leave them at school. That way you’ll always have them for recess, fire drills and outdoor activities.
Cover up the fluorescent lights. I purchased blue light covers for the fluorescent lighting in my classroom and some lamps.
This not only helped me, but many of my sensitive students.
SMELL SENSITIVE
For Smell sensitivities you can try scent diffusers and air filters, small fans and sprays.
It’s important to be smell sensitive to others and not use strong scents. Try things that will neutralize smells.
PEOPLE SENSITIVE
Believe it or not, you can be a teacher and still feel overwhelmed with being around people all the time.
Music teachers get to know everyone at the school and you can see over 200 people a day.
You can protect yourself by creating time when you are alone.
That may be during lunch, or stopping on the way home from work and sitting in the park or library.
If we’re angry there’s some things we can do to help use figure that out too-
We will all be angry at some point- it’s they way we deal with it that matters.
It’s one reason I began practicing yoga every morning before I went to work and meditated in the evenings.
Another idea is to dedicate a few minutes before you walk into the school…I also would spend just a minute in the car in the parking lot and remind myself how I was going to “be” while at school and to put my personal problems aside for the next few hours.
There’s many ways to deal with anger-and if you are feeling angry often- then it’s a good idea to ask yourself why?
That’s the only way you’ll really be able to move on and help yourself.
It’s great to make friends at work.
And It’s important to have clear boundaries.
A good question to ask is;
Is it important to be “friends” with your co-workers or do you want to be caring co-workers?
It’s a good idea to consider how you want to be in your workplace and set your boundaries accordingly.
It’s good to have some teacher friends- especially music teacher friends or be parts of music teacher groups that can see things from your perspectives.
I loved to get with the district music teachers so I could hear how they were doing and learn about their strategies- and just feel validated.
Being the music teacher can make you feel lonely!
I can honestly say that for me this is the most challenging one to do. And I can’t say I did it very well.
But, I did find that getting enough sleep and rest is really helpful when dealing with children.
When I’m not at the top of my game, it’s harder to deal with the problems that will inevitably come along.
So even a quick rest at lunch time instead of socializing can really help with afternoon classes.
I have tried all different ways to get in my exercise from going to the gym before or after school, to counting steps to creating a home gym.
No matter what, I found that exercise is a huge stress reliever and it just makes me feel better about myself.
There are so many different ways to exercise and lot’s of resources. I hope you will find a way to put this one into your life right away.
Consider your favorite type of activity and try putting it into your schedule.
Did you know that the way you talk to yourself is part of self care?
And that talking to yourself is good for you?
Self talk is very healthy! We teachers are constantly encouraging children to speak positively, act nicely, and treat others kindly, and so as teachers, we can practice this on ourselves.
Something to strive for is time for yourself. This is especially challenging to do if you have children. I found that I had to schedule my time for myself.
Take a moment to reflect on what you really need and go for it!
I like to use mindfulness affirmations in the morning when I do yoga. I take just 10 or fifteen minutes a day and tell myself all the good things I am.
This practice can be done in a journal format too.
There are also apps that you can use on your phone that can give you a quick reminder during the day of how wonderful you are.
I encourage your to discover self-talk practices and positive affirmations.
Check in with your personal feelings
I’ve learned that managing our emotions is all about acknowledging and honoring them.
I had to learn that it was okay to have feelings but that I didn’t always need to act on my feelings.
I also learned that self-talk is a good thing.
So, when my mood changes or something doesn’t go the way I think it should I ask myself questions.
As we roll into a new year, take some time to assess your own self-care habits and see if there’s one or two things you can improve for yourself.
I hope you got some self-care ideas from this post
If you, or someone you know needs help with self-care please help them reach out to a professional.
12 TEACHER TIPS TO BE STRESS FREE
WHY NOT TEACH STUDENTS TO BE CALM?
Thanks for reading this post!
Please share with your friends:)
Hi there! I’m Sandra, one of the authors behind Sing Play Create. My goal is to provide teachers with interactive resources and activities to improve the effectiveness of their teaching and enhance student learning.
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