A topic of great concern among my family, friends, and coworkers is the following: what do we do with all of this time and the little ones? How do we suddenly become equipped to nourish their minds in an academic way, while also keeping ourselves sane during this social isolation. First and foremost, as a classroom teacher, I think that it is impossible to recreate the classroom at home. What you want is a continuity of learning. That means, you want to keep the flow of education in the house, but it does not have to be at the same rigor or caliber as it would be in the classroom. I’m operating under the “something is better than nothing” principle. Otherwise, we will drive ourselves crazing striving to become things that we are not: a third grade reading specialist; a kindergarten teacher; a seventh grade science teacher; or in my case, a pre-school teacher (which is one of the hardest jobs in the world!).
So I came up with a plan for maintaining and boosting productivity, while giving Ava the daily educational component that she needs. See below.
In the video that I will post for my schedule, I reference “affirmations”. Here is a definition of an affirmation and examples:
Affirmations are simply statements that are designed to create self-change in the individual using them. They can serve as inspiration, as well as simple reminders. They also can serve to focus attention on goals throughout the day, which, in and of itself, has the potential to promote positive and sustained self-change.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/smart-relationships/201403/affirmations-the-why-what-how-and-what-if
PS–For the work at home crowd: If you work from home, I would make the following alterations: 1) wake up earlier; 2) work out for a shorter time for only 2-3 days; 3) chunk your work time to a morning window and afternoon window. I may consider this on days that I have more work to do.
Here is my schedule written out.
A brief aside…
I made the original to the above schedule during a really dark time in my life. I was on sick leave. I felt completely lost and as if all my markers for reality had disappeared. I struggled immensely with my impotency: I wasn’t the mother I wanted to be, I was no longer a wife in the loving sense of the term, and I was home, climbing the walls from boredom instead of doing what I do best–teaching. A grey cloud loitered in the air for months during this epoque.
But this time period wasn’t completely fruitless. It was actually during this time that I worked on a lot of self care & therapy and learned how to craft the perfect schedule with my therapist. You have no idea how much joy it brings to share it with my followers!
And now on to the final and most happy course…AVA! The little one! What to do with the little one!
Editable menus can be found at: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Choice-Menus-EDITABLE-4529599
Bins are all ready for tomorrow! We will focus on a letter of the day each day and have a general weekly plan. The choiceboard alleviates the stress of having to create a detailed lesson plan.
Wish me luck!
