For getting ready in the morning? The only thing about my new job that I am not looking forward to is getting up and ready in the morning. I am used to working on weekends, and only wearing my nursing uniform. Do all you hard working teachers and paras have some advice for a rusty 9 to 5 er(well, more like a 8:40 to 3:15er, lol)? Thanks.
We don't start school until 9:15, but our teacher day starts at 8:15. No advice....just go to bed and get up at the same time everyday. Your body will adjust
Pick out your clothes the night before. Pack your lunch and your bag the night before. Go to bed at a reasonable hour. I even set my bedroom clock 10 minutes ahead!
I'll be getting up at 5am starting Tuesday to get everything (translation: my 3 kids) ready before I have to leave. All I can reasonably suggest is a nice early bedtime and some standard outfits for those days when you can't think of what to wear. For me, that's a suit, but for many people it might be a pair of black pants and a particular sweater/blouse -- or whatever. Also, give some thought to what's easiest for breakfast. For some, it's hitting the deli for a buttered roll and a cup of coffee on the way. If that saves you 20 minutes in the morning, it's well worth the $2.
Get some clothes that DO NOT need ironing!!!! Have comfortable shoes to throw in the car to take so you can walk in wearing the PRETTY shoes and change into shoes you can live in all day. Have easy foods available for breakfast and for packing lunch. And like most are saying...get to bed early enough that you will have had a good night's sleep by the time you wake up.
For me, the most important thing for morning is to have everything in one place that I need to take - if I have to run around and find stuff I forget things or get stressed. We have stools at the island in our kitchen, and I set my purse, tote and anything else on the stool at night; I even put a note on my tote that says "lunch" so I remember to get it out of the fridge.
Thanks. Ladies, you will think I am nuts, but I don't like coffee!! Never have. LOL. I like all the tips though!
Neither do I.. unless you put some Kahlua and whipped cream into it. (Although it probably wouldn't do much for my teaching-- or the drive to work!) I'm a confirmed tea drinker!
I get up at 6:15, and I'm walking into the school at 7:15. This is the same schedule I've been on for YEARS, and I don't really even have to wake up to get through most of it. LOL I go to bed when I get sleepy, generally around 11:15, but sometimes earlier or later. I never touch the snooze alarm . . . nasty habit . . . and always get up at the same time. I shower at night, but I wash my hair in the mornings. I put on full makeup, and dry/style my hair every day. I put out my clothes the night before, and rarely will I change my mind the next day. I always eat my breakdfast at work in the mornings while I answer emails and get things ready for the day. I have fridge and microwave at work, so I don't have to get things ready at home. I keep a supply at work. I also have no kids and a four-mile commute, which I'm sure helps!
My biggest stress in the am is finding an outfit and shoes. So, Pick out everything the night before and hang it up so everything is ready to go...even shoes! I also keep some makeup and a mirror in my desk (not that I wear much makeup), but i put it on at school.
Follow a routine in the morning. I do the same things in the same order every day. That way I can do them while still half asleep. I shower the night before because I hate to get under the spray when sleepy. I try to have enough standby outfits clean so that if the one I try first doesn't work (read: doesn't fit me anymore), I can throw something else on quickly. (This morning I looked like I just threw on anything green, including sandals, but it was okay.)
I have started dry cleaning most of my school clothes. It is on my way to school, and I figure the 30-40 a month is saving my sanity.
Shower at night...develop a routine...have your purse and "stuff" you have to take to school in one particular spot so you can just grab it and go...which is what I need to do right now! I have been at the computer too long again! My routine is, cats get pet and fresh water, turn on tv, face full of cold water, make up, dressed, hair/teeth...all this while toting a coffee cup in one hand! Out the door...usually not as early as I should so I really have to zoooooom down the road, which is NOT good!!!
Ah, I guess I should add the best twist. Both my boys need to be ready to, as their school day is the same as mine. I am seeing the common thread of getting ready the night before, so I am thinking that is what I need to concentrate on! Thanks so much!!
Well, I don't have kids of my own, but I know that it gets harder when you have to get more than just yourself ready. However, I agree with everyone else- get as much ready as you can ahead of time. If lunches are packed, clothes are laid out, backpacks/purse is next to the front door, and you have an idea about what to do for breakfast, you'll be much better off. Good luck!
I, too, have two kids. We basically divide and conquer. I get Molly (the kindergartener) ready to go and DH gets the two year old together. I do breakfasts for both girls while I get myself something, and he packs lunch for himself and the baby. I make my lunch the night before, because it is usually leftovers (I do weight watchers, so I pack my own lunch).
The more you can do the previous night, the better. This means having your lunch ready to just grab out of the refrigerator in the morning, having clothes laid out, breakfast utensils & cereal on the counter ready to fix in the morning, etc. This way, you can wake up a little later or have more time to just relax in the morning rather than rush around. If you're a morning person, great! I don't suggest going to bed too late though. Get a certain routine going, so you know exactly what to do next. If you're low on gas, it's better to fill up the tank on your way home from school than in the morning!
Just as everyone else has said....do it allllll the night before!! I also find having what you need for school ready before you leave at the end of the day. That way if you walk into school late (b/c of traffic or something) or a parents catches you in the hall or you get an e-mail that you must respond to ASAP, you will have your charts, worksheets and other materials ready for the day. I am a big fan of doing things the night before.....can you tell that I am NOT a morning person!?!
It's been my routine to get the class ready for the next day before leaving at the end of the day because SURE ENOUGH....someone will call for you in the office, there'll be an emergency meeting, you'll have something last minute that needs to get done, etc...It's the nature of teaching...There's always something that will need to be done the minute you finish up something else. And...most importantly, if you can, have a set of your Teacher's Editions at home so you are not lugging them back and forth and forgetting one either at home or school!! Same with lessons, student info, parent contact,,,have it at home too! Just xerox the pages and keep them in a binder for your house. This way you can make that call when you suddenly remember!
I would have to agree: have everything ready the night before, including your lunch. I have four kids to get ready so we usually set clothes and backpacks out the night before also. I pack the diaper bag the night before too. I think one of the posts said that your body will adjust and it will. You'll get used to getting up early and eating breakfast,etc. In fact, you'll probably get up at the same time on the weekends too and eat lunch when you would normally eat lunch at school.
I like to get my outfits ready in batches of 10 at a time. I barely have ten bottoms, but it more or less works wonderfully...because some days I'm just not in the "mood" to get outfits ready for work. This year my mornings haev been so smooth mainly because of a much shorter commute and the outfit thing I just mentioned. In addition because of the shorter commute, I am able to arrive at school 30 mintues before I need to be there so if I am running 5-10 minutes late it doesn't get me all stressed. I love that aspect of my new morning routine. In addition to outfit (and shoes included), I also get water bottles filled for the week, have a few lean cuisine lunches I can just grab and go, keep bagels and cream cheese on hand for if I am running late, take my shower at night, and use two alarm clocks (for instance my cell phone alarm really saved me this morning because I had turned the volume down when I was listening to the radio with my alarm clock this weekend when the phone rang...). With the two alarm clocks, my primary one is my cell ohone alarm and my secondary one (because it has a much more annoying sound) is my alarm clock. I set the alarm clock to go off 15 minutes later than my cell alarm so I usually turn it off before I wake up or needlessly bother dh. The part of the routine I am trying to work on now is going to bed on time--last night I went to bed at 1:30. I don't like to stop until everything is finished which is never!!
I like the idea of having 10 outfits ready...maybe 5 is what I can actually get together though. Laundry day is every Sunday so I can do 5 at a time. I think I have 5 bottoms...hm...I'm committed to wearing more skirts this year. It's a new school so they don't know I feel odd in a skirt and I won't mention it!!!
I make sure I lay out my outfit and shoes for the next day each night before I go to bed. Also, I pack my lunch and other bags and set what I can by the door so I can grab and run! Does anyone else think school should start at ten for us not morning people?
Mine starts at 9:30 for the kiddos. Teachers must be there at 9Am. Cool! But, I have to drop my own kiddo at school by 7:15 daily and since it's a block from my school, it gets me to work waaaaaayy too early...any suggestions on what else I can do besides get to work so early? Going back home is not an option...it's all 5 miles from home.
Ann - We start at 9:15 (middle school). From 9:15-9:30 we have "advisory", then I have prep, so I do not begin teaching until 10:30. Since, I play basketball in the mornings with some male teachers/coaches at the high school, I am into school around 7:30. Since I basically have 7:30-10:30 each morning, I get tons done when nobody is around (copy machiene is NEVER being used!). Even if you aren't the workout type, just go in. The mornings are SO nice
someone mentioned leaving all the stuff you want to take in a certian place. i put it all in my car the night before. i also dont leave the classroom until everything is set up for the next day. i have a couple of lunch foods in school for emergencies (like the new bumble bee tuna w/ crackers in those plastic packages) or when i didnt have time the night before or morning of. i am not a morning person so i do everything i can the night before. i buy two of all my day cosmetics and keep one in a travel case that i bring to school, and on vacation. good luck!
I used to do this as well, until one morning when my husband decided (in all his infinite wisdom) to take my van to work instead of his car I'm glad that none of my students were around to hear me when I went out to the driveway!!!
I like to go into school early too... I get to school around 7 (that is the earliest it is open) and work until the kids come in (around 8:20). It has made it to where I do not have to stay at school as late. I have been leaving after busses so far every day this week
Mrs. C you are too funny! Did you have a lot of things for school in the van?? I will find out today if I can get into the school at 7:30 each day....they are going to think I'm a lunatic!!! But, at least I'll have a reason to leave right at dismissal time!! And I can get a lot done so I don't have to take papers home. I wish I was the work out type!!! If you do go walking, etc...how do you get freshened up before the kids come?
The students' assignments that needed to be returned, my notes for a workshop I was giving after school that day, the master copy of a science test I wanted to give that day...nothing important!
im always nervous someone is going to try to steal my car or that i would have forgotten the night before! i leave my bag on the floor of the passanger seat (i have a two-seater car so there isnt really anywhere else!) and i look at the floor when i get in the car to make sure i brought it with me. i know this is such a stupid idea, but in the winter when it looks like its going to snow i keep my car in the garage (i have a convertable and its just easier to keep it in the garage then clean off the roof) anyway, when my car is in the garage i leave my bag in my car as well!
I have a dry-erase/magnetic board on my apt. door. When there's stuff I need to take but can't have available before the morning of (like the day I got freeze pops for my kids and needed to leave them in the freezer), I make a note on the board... right at eye level and BIG so I can't miss it! My clock in my bedroom w/ the alarm is set 10 minutes ahead. I can't tell you HOW many times it has thrown me for a loop and I'm so grateful to have those extra 10 minutes.
It's funny how that works, isn't it?? You'd think that you'd remember the fact that you set your alarm ahead, but it really does end up giving you some extra time getting ready in the morning!
If you have enough time, you wear a tee-shirt and shorts or sweat pants and just get changed before the kids come in. I never have walked for long enough before school to really be sweating, just enough to get my heart going and make me feel energized!
