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Today is my last day of school before we have off Friday and Monday for Easter Break! With lots of family time on the horizon this weekend, I figured there was no better time to share a non-teaching tip that is close to my heart. So this week's tip is one that we all know, but that I find is always a good reminder for my heart:
We all know that teaching is not a 9-5 job! If we aren't working at school or on schoolwork at home, we are thinking about it. Our students and their success are always on our hearts. We are always reflecting on how the day's lessons went, finding engaging resources to motivate "Day Dreaming Daisy", thinking about new ways to help "Struggling Sam" understand that difficult math concept, sharpening our skills with professional development, assessing data, creating new centers with our latest dollar store finds...the list could go on and on! Somedays it feels like teaching is a 24/7 occupation. Now don't get me wrong, I love what I do and I feel so blessed to be able to be my students' teacher, but I am more than just a teacher! And finding balance is so important!
I am blessed to be married to my best friend! My hubby is a man of integrity who loves the Lord, is incredibly talented and gifted, works hard to provide for our family, and treats all people with respect. One of the things that my hubby and I do to keep family first and maintain balance in our busy lives is to have a weekly date night. It doesn't have to be expensive or elaborate, but the goal is to focus on each other and spend time together!
If you need some ideas to get you started one of the things we love to use is a Date Jar! There are many date jar ideas on Pinterest and when I came across a post from Life in the Greenhouse a couple of years ago I decided to make one for him! My hubby sees me being creative and investing in my classroom all the time. As a wife, it is so important to my heart that I put the same energy, time, and creativity into the man I love! What I liked about this jar was that it allows us to pick a color based on our time and budget. The blue sticks are ones that we don't have to leave the house for. The light green sticks are ones that cost a little bit of money and the dark green sticks cost more and will require more planning to do.
Making a date jar is easy! You'll just need:
-a quart size mason jar
-the larger/thicker popsicle sticks or tongue depressors (I did 30--ten for each color)
-3 paint colors to paint the sticks
-a permanent marker
Just paint the sticks and let them dry and write on your date night ideas. You could do it by yourself and give the jar as a gift OR you could make it a date night activity and do it together. I have put together/compiled a list of ideas to get you started:
You can click HERE or on the picture below to download the list and grab the tag! It has the tag I made and a tag without colors for you to write in your own.
I keep a whole Pinterest board filled with this idea and lots of other ways to keep dating my hubby. If you're interested in some fun and creative ways to love on your hubby, you can follow my Pinterest board: Ideas for the One I Love by clicking HERE!
How do you keep family first? I'd love to hear your tip or any other teaching tip or trick you may have!
This is so sweet!! I love this idea! Thank you for posting this Becca. :)
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