Monday, February 1, 2010

Teacher In-Service Days

I was talking to someone the other day about my senior year of high school.  While there were many things I enjoyed about that year, the fact of the matter was, I was over it.  I was so tired of having to be at school 8 hours a day, especially when I had already completely most of the required work and was just putting in my time until I could get my diploma.  There were a few days that I convinced my mom that I just needed a day off.  I'd always feel so refreshed after those breaks.


Sometimes, we all just need a day off, for our own sanity. I've been feeling so overwhelmed lately -- like I'm perpetually behind and trying to keep too many plates spinning.  Last Thursday, I had an online training course to complete right in the middle of the day, so I told the kids that they could just do what was in their boxes -- basically, the things they can do independently.

After giving it some thought, I decided that we'd do the same thing on Friday and Monday -- Friday because I really, really needed some time to sit down and do some planning for the upcoming weeks of school and Monday because we all have dental appointments.  All five of us.  That will take up the majority of the afternoon.

There was a time when I would have felt guilty about that, but not anymore.  I mean, seriously, why should homeschooling moms feel guilty about a handful of days of light school work.  The kids workboxes contain their core subjects, so it's not like they're not doing anything those days.  And, public school teachers get in-service days.  Public school kids get half-days off.  Why shouldn't homeschoolers be able to plan days like that when we need them?

It turned out to be a wonderful decision.  For one thing, we wound up having a snow day on Friday.  A snow day, you ask?  Absolutely!  We live in the south.  We never get snow.  The snow we got Friday was the most we've had since 1993, according to the local news stations.  Nineteen ninety-three!  My kids weren't even born then.  You bet I'm letting them take off to go play in the snow.  And, honestly, even if we got snow all the time, I completely agree with Angie's thoughts on snow days.

 

 

I'll be honest and say that I didn't get nearly as much planning done as I'd hoped.  However, the chance to sit down and look over all our books and figure out where we're headed over the next few weeks was as effective in making me feel like my head's back on straight and getting pages and pages of plans written.  And, who knows?  I'm taking the second shift at the dentist tomorrow, which means I'll be home alone for a few hours.  I may get those pages and pages of lesson plans done yet.


What about you?  Do you allow you and your family to enjoy guilt-free, much-needed time off every now and then?

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Posted by Kris at 8:00 AM
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17 comments:

  1. We totally have "in service" days. My hubby is a firefighter and has has four days off in a row all the time, so we tend to take to take some of those days off for family time. Even if it's just to hit the mall or visit family. We need to be a family and enjoy each other sometime. :) We school all year with taking July and December off, so we NEED breaks. :)
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  2. I agree 110%!!! I am extremely grateful to live in a state that doesn't require any attendance reporting (which cuts down on the guilt factor), but what's so special about 180 days (or whatever) anyway? I have truly found that my kids are ALWAYS learning, whether I've scheduled it or not.

    (I'm new to your blog, and I look forward to poking around a bit!)
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  3. Guilt-free? You mean it has to be guilt-free?

    Seriously, this post is very timely for me right now, so thank you for the reminder.

    One thing we have instituted is kids' days. I have 4 boys, so each boy gets one day a month. Thursdays are generally the clear days in our schedule, so the 1st Thurs. of month belongs to Boy #1, the second to Boy #2, etc.

    On "their" day, they don't have to do any formal school work. They also get to pick an activity or outing (within reason). And you know what? I've been surprised by how simple and reasonable their requests are! One child wanted to shoot hoops at the local gym. The next one wanted to ice skate. And the most interesting thing, for me, is realizing that they learn as much (or more!) on their "days off."
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  4. Good for you for making the time, Kris! You do so much that you surely deserved it.

    We live near grandparents so sometimes we have the plans derailed by a loving grandparent calling up and saying, "Hey, can we pick up the kids and go (insert something fun for the day)?" I pretty much always say yes.

    We also take December off every year because of Advent and because, well, it's December! Yippee!

    I *was* writing down the days in my lesson planner but now I just write the four days (Day 1, Day 2, etc.) instead of the actual Monday, Tuesday, etc., so I can have more flexibility with taking time for field trips, etc.

    I ditched all the time in high school and managed to get lovely grades, so I'm all for sometimes taking time off. LOL
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  5. ABSOLUTELY! That is the beauty of homeschooling. We can make our own schedules, and some days are heavy and some days are light (and some we just take off cause we need it) And since we feel there is so much more learning that goes on in regular life anyway, it is totally guilt free. Enjoy it and have fun in the snow!
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  6. Yes, I agree. Thing is... where I live we almost never get snow. We've lived here for 6 years and public schools have been canceled once. So, we have administrative (mental health) days instead. Today is one of those. I'm not reading blogs for leisure; I'm collecting ideas for my lesson plans. ;)
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  7. absolutely!! and we don't even wait for snow. *wink*
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  8. I took an entire week of recently to regroup myself and my house. I feel it makes me a better teacher and mother and wife and.... well everything!

    We definitely need days off too!

    Never feel guilty. Teachers get their much needed breaks in the day, recess, gym class, lunch in elementary, along with those days off. They get planning periods and lunch in older grades. Everyone needs a break.
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  9. I think what really helps me to not feel so overwhelmed is to have a 4 day work week. My husbands weekend is actually Sunday/Monday so we are off those days too. We try to plan our outings/field trips that we can do with him on Mondays. Then we do lessons Tuesday-Friday. That gives us Saturdays as a clean house, catch up, regroup day. We school September-June and we still get to take all of July and August off- which is really about all we can handle of being completely off without going crazy! But with having 3 day weekends, it makes the need for things like spring break less necessary.

    No one says we have to do school 5 days/week and it works so much better for us to do 4 on, 3 off. No one gets burned out, including me this way! :) ~Maria
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  10. Oh, we totally did not wait for the snow. As I said, the snow we got on Friday was more snow than any of my kids have EVER seen...and my oldest is almost 15. It just happened that the snow occurred on the day I'd planned as a half-day...an added bonus for the kiddos.

    Now, it's just a big, slushy, drippy mess, though, and I'm ready for it to go away. ;-)
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  11. Most definitely!

    www.homeschoolblogger.com/kristenph
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  12. We also took a snow day last Friday. I forget about teacher's inservice days. I have done that some years, but I really need a couple this year!
    I do feel guilty for weeks when we get so little done that I don't even post on Weekly Wrap-up, but I just take a few deep breaths and remember why we are on this journey!
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  13. We too had a "snow day" last Friday. However, we were missing the snow outside so we made some inside. (We live where it rarely snows also.) I just felt like my kids needed a break from the book work for some fun. It was a great day for us all!
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  14. We school year-round in our home, so "in-service days" and other various forms of time off are routinely incorporated.

    I just wrote a blog post with some suggestions on what to do if you've reached homeschool burnout. (http://blog.lessonpathways.com/index.php/2010/02/03/homeschool-burnout-now-what/). Here, I've suggested that homeschool parents take time off and time for themselves.

    I think incorporating "in service days" is a good way to help avoid burnout in the first place. :-)
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  15. We are starting to have those days...and not to feel guilty about it. I'm learning that several light days are better than regular ones during a time of stress, sickness, pregnancy blahs that turn ugly just because we don't feel so great for one reason or another. When I let go of the pressure and all the expectations things still get done and we're happy and things are peaceful. That's a good thing, right?! And isn't it the point to learn and grow together instead of fight through the day?? =) Thanks for this post and for validating my feelings...because sometimes I'm still insecure enough to need it!
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  16. Mom's do need time to regroup, maybe more than a school teacher. The teacher leaves the school house and goes home for the night and weekend. At our house we school 4 days a week and have a lite day on Friday. Friday is the day we do art, geography, music, etc... All things the children can do on their own. this gives me a day to plan and clean :) And yes, sometimes we just take a day here and there and no one should feel guilty for that.
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  17. Thanks, Kris, for giving me "permission" to take off a day. I had already been contemplating the unfairness of PS teachers and their mid-quarter planning days.
    Yet I had developed a sense of self-righteousness about not allowing the weather keep us from school. (The "we're better than they are" mentality.)
    With the mid-Atlantic gyrating with more pre-blizzard hysterics, it's only right that my kid be allowed to join it too!!
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