Maximizing Summer: 3 Strategies for Special Education Teacher Self-Care

As we approach the end of May, you may be already enjoying your summer break or eagerly counting the days until you can. This episode is dedicated to the importance of summer breaks for special education teachers, offering a time for rejuvenation and reflection after a year filled with unique challenges and triumphs.

What's Included:

• The Importance of Summer Break: Summer provides a crucial period for special education teachers to relax, rejuvenate, and reflect on the year's challenges and successes.
• Permission to Relax: Give yourself permission to take a break, emphasizing the necessity of this time for mental and emotional recovery.
• Reflection and Goal Setting: Jennifer introduces a three-part strategy to effectively use the summer break:
  1. Reflect on the Past Year: Focusing on various aspects such as administration, co-teachers, parents, students, schedules, paraprofessionals, and lesson planning.
  2. Maximize Relaxation: Engaging in activities that truly refresh and invigorate, from spending time outdoors to revisiting hobbies.
  3. Planning for the Upcoming Year: Setting gentle goals and organizing thoughts to prepare for a productive start to the new school year.
• Maintaining Well-Being: Strategies to carry the rejuvenated state into the new school year, including mental preparation techniques and self-care routines.

Summary

In this episode of Sped Prep Academy, Jennifer Hofferber shares essential strategies for special education teachers to make the most out of their summer break. From reflecting on the past school year to planning for the next, Jennifer provides practical advice and insights to help teachers recharge and prepare for new challenges. She also introduces the Special Education Teacher Reflection and Goal Setting Toolkit, a resource designed to aid in this reflective journey. This toolkit can be accessed here. As summer progresses, Jennifer encourages listeners to continue nurturing their well-being and to stay connected by sharing their stories of relaxation and preparation.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Reflection, Relaxation, and Preparation for Teachers
• 9:34 Summer Self-Care Strategies for Educators

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:59

Hey there and welcome back to the podcast. As we wrap up the last week of May, many of us are either already on summer break or we are counting down the days until we can take a well-deserved pause. I've been done for almost two weeks now. Some of you are finishing up this week and then the rest will finish up within the next two weeks, and if it seems like I'm rushing things, trying to get your summer break to you, well, there's a reason.

Speaker 1: 1:23

Summer isn't just a break from the routine. It's a crucial time in every teacher's journey that allows for rejuvenation and reflection, especially for those of us who work in the wonderful field of special education. Now, I'm not trying to diminish the difficult job of general education teachers. I know they have their own reasons for needing a break and their work is incredibly challenging as well. But in our profession, every single day we encounter unique challenges that test our resolve and push our boundaries. From managing diverse learning needs to ensuring students' IEPs are tailored specifically to that student and making sure that they are followed, to learning multiple different sets of standards, to trying to implement a variety of curriculums the complexities we handle every day is so multifaceted, and this is why our breaks are not a luxury. They are an essential time for us to recharge and prepare ourselves to continue making a significant impact in the lives of our students. So this episode is all about giving yourself permission to relax, rejuvenate and regroup, and to recharge your spirit for the next school year with renewed energy and perspective.

Speaker 2: 2:34

You're listening to the Sped Prep Academy podcast. Your host, jennifer Hoferberg, is an award-winning veteran special educator who shares her experience, knowledge and passion to help other special educators survive and thrive in this profession. Join her and other guests as they share tips and tricks of the trade for the ever crazy, completely overwhelming laugh so you don't cry. Profession of being a special education teacher.

Speaker 1: 3:00

So today I want to give you three strategies to help you unwind, reflect and prepare effectively during the summer break. These strategies are designed not just to offer a temporary reprieve, but to build a foundation that will support your professional and personal growth throughout the summer and into the coming school year. So let's start with strategy one by reflecting. I want you to reflect on this past school year. I want you to reflect on both the things that went well and the things that didn't go so well, and I want you to be very specific and address these topics administration, co-teachers, parents, students, schedules, paraprofessionals and lesson planning and I want you to think through each one of these. If you are a journaler, by all means grab a pen and paper and get it out, but at the bare minimum, I want you to pause the podcast and talk these things out with yourself. I want you to reflect on what wasn't so great with admin, what wasn't so great with co-teachers, parents, students, paras, schedules and lesson planning, and what went really well with your admin, co-teachers, parents, students, paras, schedules and lesson plans. I can truthfully say that reflection has been one of the most beneficial strategies that I have used myself, and I feel it is one of the main reasons I've been successful in my job and happy in my role. Reflection is imperative to continuous growth and refinement in our daily practices, and reflecting on our experiences not only helps us recognize our successes, but also identifies areas where we can improve. We aren't perfect and I know that you know you aren't perfect, but I bet there's some really good things that you have done this past school year that you're going to want to continue to do next year, and there's also some areas where you can improve. You can do better, and I have a special education teacher reflection and goal setting toolkit for you that I think might help you work through this process, and I'll link it in the show notes. But this toolkit is specifically designed to support special educators like you in a guided reflective journey. It helps you assess your strengths, pinpoint areas for improvement and set meaningful, achievable goals, and by using this toolkit, you can ensure that your reflections lead to real growth and positive changes in your teaching practices. It's a practical resource for anyone who is committed to personal and professional development in the field of special education. So, as you consider ways to reflect over the summer, this toolkit could be a valuable asset in planning for next year. Strategy two is to maximize your relaxation.

Speaker 1: 5:45

When I was a little girl, both my parents worked outside the home, so during the summers I would be left at home with my older sister and my younger brother, and the youngest of us four would go to daycare because she was still pretty little. But my mom would do something every summer that my two non-teacher siblings probably don't remember or appreciate. But my mom would take one of my dad's boot boxes and fill it with learning activities, math workbooks, worksheets, art projects to do, handwriting sheets that she had made, and I assume the intent was to keep us busy while continuing to practice our skills and not fighting with each other. But for me it was more than that. It was my version of relaxation, even though it was still considered work. I found it non stressful and I enjoyed doing it.

Speaker 1: 6:35

Now that I'm an empty nester, my summers are pretty relaxing as well. No, they aren't spent laying beside a pool every day or on a beach. They aren't spent relaxing on a couch watching mindless TV or getting a weekly massage to relax. Spent relaxing on a couch watching mindless TV or getting a weekly massage to relax. I spend the majority of my time creating new products for teachers like you, yes, I do relax some by sitting outside on the swing with my dog and attending little league games for my nieces, and this year I'm looking forward to boating with my friends. But the majority of my time in the summer is spent working, and that is relaxing to me. So when someone tells you to take time for yourself and relax, what does it look like for you? Relaxation doesn't necessarily mean doing nothing. It means doing what you love and what feels freeing to you. It's re-engaging with hobbies or interests that you've neglected during the busy school year, whether it's painting, hiking, reading or gardening. Immerse yourself in these activities and don't underestimate the power of physical activity. Regular walks in nature, yoga sessions and any form of exercise can significantly boost your mental health. During a school year, it's go, go, go, rush, rush, rush, but summer is your chance to slow down and recharge in whatever way best suits you.

Speaker 1: 7:53

Strategy three is planning for a productive start to a new year. As you start feeling refreshed and recharged from your summer activities, it's a great time to begin setting gentle goals for the upcoming school year. Nothing major, yet. I don't want you to freak out thinking, oh, summer has just started. I don't want you to make huge plans. I just want you to ask yourself what do I want to achieve next year and what strategies or routines could I try? This isn't just about making a to-do list. It's about reflecting on what will make your teaching more effective and your days more manageable. Take a look back at that list that you created from strategy one and see where your holes were, and start to organize your thoughts. Take time to intentionally make some notes about the things that you want to change or do better at. Taking time for this can prevent that frantic scramble we often feel when the school year kicks off. This kind of preparation reduces stress and it sets you up for success from day one. And while planning, I also want you to consider mental preparation techniques like visualization or positive affirmations, to ensure you are entering the new school year with a positive, energized mindset. Visualize a day where everything goes as planned, where your lessons were engaging, where your students were responsive. Affirm your capabilities as an educator such as I am fully prepared to meet my students' needs. And finally, I want to talk about maintaining this recharged state throughout the school year.

Speaker 1: 9:34

It's crucial to establish self-care routines that persist even when classes resume. Consider taking five-minute breaks to meditate during your day, setting clear boundaries between work and personal life or ensuring that you have a supportive network of colleagues who understand the demands of our profession. Regular, small acts of self-care can make an enormous difference in maintaining our well-being throughout the year. I hope this discussion inspires you to take full advantage of the summer break to recharge and reflect. Go ahead and check out that special education teacher reflection and goal-setting toolkit. I think you will be amazed at how many things you did well, and it will give you a direction of what to work on in the future. Take care of yourself this summer. The better you care for yourself, the more effectively you can support your family and your students, and I'd love to hear how you plan to recharge this summer or any strategies you found particularly beneficial. Feel free to DM me on Instagram or email me your stories at jennifer at spedprepacademycom. Here's to a restful, rejuvenating summer break.