Well my friends I have spent the last 2 weeks with my butt on my couch and binge watching trashy TV....but now it is time for back to school. I have been reading lots of tips for heading back to school and while I like to be organised and colour co-ordinated with my resources the reality is these are not the things that will help you to master the back to school rush.
We all know that heading back to school is like training for a marathon, most of the time though the only training you have done is putting on shoes with laces :) Here are 5 easy to follow tips that will get you in fine form to meet and greet your students on the first day of school.
1. Bladder Training
Set an alarm for recess and lunch breaks and only have your toilet breaks on these alarms. I know, I know this will be hard for you to push through after being able to dance and frolic your way to the toilet any time it pleased you and your bladder....but you really don't want to be doing the toilet dance in front of your students while you desperately think of deserts and dry ice.
Practice your smile in the mirror. You know the one, it conveys interest in what another person is saying to you while you are thinking about 500 other things you have to get done. Sure you want to hear all about the intracacies of the implementation of the new school policy on not having a margarita slushy machine in the staff room but there are other things that are more important....such as how you can implement a school policy on having a margarita slushy machine installed permanently in the staff room.
If Fake it Till you Make it was an embassy I would be the ambassador.
3. Hot or Cold
This one is important and super easy to train for. Make a coffe, tea or any hot beverage of your choice, now put it in the refrigerator for 7-10 minutes depending on your taste. Now go ahead and drink that "hot" beverage and then spit it back into the cup because you didn't realise it was cold. The next part is optional, you can reheat that beverage in the microwave and then have just one sip, put it down and then come back to it at the end of the day.
4.The Stop/Start
What you need to do here is to start an activity such as folding the laundry, do this for 20 seconds, then walk off and leave it and start another activity such as reading a book, only do this for 20 seconds then put it down, walk away and start something else. I think you are getting the drift here. Make sure you leave all the unfinished activities till the end of the week and then you can have an afternoon of "Finishing Off" time.
5. Hug Time!
Finally you need to get ready for those hugs because even though we will be facing tying up 24 pairs of wet shoe laces, dry skin from all the hand sanitizer, diplomatically answering emails from "those" parents and avoiding heartburn from the lunch you had 1 minute and 37 seconds to eat, we wouldn't give any of it up. Why? That first day back we know we will be greeted with hugs or we may need to give hugs. This is the most important tip be ready for those smiles or tears and hand out the hugs accordingly :)
Hope you are able to use some of these tips and have a great first day back at school!
Disclaimer: This is meant to be a humorous post and in no way do I guarantee that any of these tips will work :)