As an educator, you are shouldering a heavy load in helping children and families recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. You are tasked with helping students cope with grief, loss, anxiety, fear, and economic distress, recover learning losses, and re-teach social skills. Additionally, you are doing this while also coping with these same challenges in your personal lives. How can you manage these expectations? You can do it by practicing self-care. Self-care is about taking deliberate actions to restore and advance your professional and personal wellbeing.
Therefore, this is an active workbook. By the end of Page five, you will be engaged in the active process of working toward developing your individualized self-care strategies. Each chapter includes an interactive Self-Care Graphic Organizer. Because self-care is a process of gradual improvement, an additional copy of each graphic organizer is included for you to photocopy and repeat the exercise as needed.
Sustainable self-care is the key to a thriving professional career that does not come at the expense of your wellbeing. As you complete this Guide to Educator Self-Care, you will:
* Complete self-reflection to identify and acknowledge your needs
* Utilize tools for active stress management
* Engage in moments of mindfulness
* Identify opportunities to claim time for yourself
* Develop strategies to impose balance over ever-increasing demands
* Practice self-compassion
Whether you are new to the profession or a veteran educator, this guide will help you create sustainable self-care routines that can protect your wellbeing.