January Teacher Survival Guide.

I'm linking up with Melissa over at Mrs. Stouffer's Music Room for a linky party called Teacher Survival Guide.

I often find January a difficult month after the fun and frivolity of December.  As my summer holidays draw to a close and the reality of a busy teaching year looms, my survival techniques are predominantly designed to strengthen my spirit and re-energise my mind for a positive and refreshed return to work.

#1. Sleep – I know it sounds obvious but I am and always have been a bad sleeper, so January is a time for me to try and get back into some healthy sleeping patterns.  I need to get myself ready for the 5:30 am rise required to be at school for my early morning rehearsals which start in a few weeks. As a natural “Night Owl”, this is a challenge for me, but I am resolved to be in bed before 11 pm in the hopes of drifting off by midnight!

#2. Hydrate – I discovered to my shock and horror a little while back, that it was ridiculously easy for me to go a day without actually drinking any water. Tea, Coffee, juice and wine (!) were the main sources of refreshment in a 24 hour period. Not good I know, so my January Survival plan (particularly in this 37 degree Celsius heat), is to hydrate with water and a twist of lemon or lime. I feel genuinely, so much better for it.

#3. Open my Mind – January is often a time of reflection for me. Processing the year “that was” and dreaming of the year that “might be”. I t is a time to be open to new beginnings and possibilities, both professionally and personally. Remembering to be open in my heart and mind puts me in a fantastic position for the creative juices to flow and a happy and fulfilling year to uncurl before me.

"…to provoke our students to break through the limits of the conventional and the taken for granted, we ourselves have to experience breaks with what has been established in our own lives; we have to keep arousing ourselves to begin again." Maxine Greene

If you are a teacher blogger with some January Survival techniques you’d like to share, you can link up at Melissa's blog.