Being a first year teacher in the mist of a whole new curriculum is very stressful. One of my biggest challenges lately is having patience with myself and my students. There never seems to be enough time to do all I feel I need to and my reaction is usually to become short-tempered. Now that I'm realizing how silly I have been for letting every little thing get to me I'm working hard to improve my level of patience. I read a really great bible verse about patience that spoke to me. It's from Colossians 3:12, "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." I need to remember that in order to have patience I have to deliberately clothe myself with that type of Christ-like attitude.
Specifically I think it will be helpful if I start getting to school earlier each morning. The days that I feel 100% prepared are usually the days when I am very patient and much happier. How do you handle the stresses of teaching?
I teach 5th graders and when I feel myself becoming frustrated (or notice that they are), we take a 3 minute yoga break. We do one or two yoga moves, focus on taking deep breaths, and then we get back to work. It makes a huge difference for them and for me!
ReplyDeleteChristie
Good idea. I will have to find some easy yoga moves!
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