[meandmine]

So, if you are working for the schools, why did you decide to do that? Did it have anything to do with being on your kids' schedule? Has it worked out that way?

Is it a good lifestyle for your family?

I decided to work in the schools (I am a librarian) because I wanted the same vacations as the kids and close to the same hours. Made sense.

Hasn't worked out that way. I am at a modified calendar school (different breaks, much shorter summer) Because of my commute, I drop them at SACC at 7:15 am so I can be to work by 8 am and don't get to pick them up until 5 or 6 pm because there is so much to do after 3:30 pm.

What has worked for you? What compromises have you made either at work or at home to keep the balance?

Thanks for sharing.

M

 

[shelbean91]

I am a teacher- 3rd year. 2 of my 3 kids are at the same school, so that's nice as far as scheduling. I'm hoping when my youngest is old enough, he'll be with me as well. there are other teacher kids at the school and they play together until it's time for us to leave.

 

[pranamama]

Do you at least get weekends off with them? I have to work some weekends and also much later than 5 or 6 on a routine basis. It does seem that you are not yet getting all the benefits of the schedule thing, but perhaps with time it will improve.

 

[momofPL]

I personally take advantage of my summers, christmas break, spring break, and weekends. School staff are very busy during the school year and we know how busy you can get, it is a difficult adjustment to make. Just remember that the work will always be there. You may never feel "finished" or "caught up" until the end of the school year. The best thing I learned was when to leave things at school or on my desk and go home to take a break and be with my family. There will be times when I need to stay at school late (like now when we are adding minutes to make up snow days) however, you have to learn when to put the work down and leave for the night sometimes unfinished. It will be there when you return the next day.

It takes a bit to find the balance that works best for you. I wish you well in finding what works for your family.

 

[meandmine]

Thanks for your replies.

Yes, I know the work will always be there.

I only work later than 5:30 on nights their Dad has them, but I don't like even that because I don't like being away from my kids so much.

When I was a long-term sub last semester I left at 3 pm on the dot because I did not have after school care. Sometimes I went back to work with the kids, sometimes I worked at home, but for the most part I got the job done in the hours I had and I had a short commute.

If, by some miracle, I can find a smaller school, closer to home on a standard schedule, I think that will help both with the workload (because my school is on a reduced teacher/student ratio, I carry the classload of a 1000 student school which normally has *two* librarians); I will have more time to get work done at school instead of working another 2 hours at home and a shorter commute.

Honestly, I chose the whole school thing to maximize my time with my kids. It is fortunate that I love what I do and am fairly good at it, but I find the current situation so frustrating because it isn't maximizing that time.

Thanks for your feedback.

M

 

[mom de terre]

Is this your first year of full-time teaching?

I have been teaching for nine years and have a 2 yr old and one on the way.

When I think back to my first 3 years of teaching, I cannot imagine surviving them with small children at home! I worked SO MUCH during those years!

However, now that I've been doing it for so long, I bring much less work home. I have developed routines and strategies, I'm sure you will too

.

Although it's not perfect - for example, dh and I both teach high school, which has a 7-2 day, while the elementary school dd will attend runs 8:30 - 3:30 - we do have a lot more time to spend as a family than many working parents, and lots of vacation time!

It will get better with time!

 

[meandmine]

mom de terre,

What are your strategies and routines?

Also, if you and your dh have to be at school before 7 am -- who takes care of the kids in the morning? I don't know of any daycares that open that early. Do you have a live-in nanny?

Thanks for sharing.

Meg

 

[momofPL]

I agree with mom de terre that the first three years are the most difficult. I too did that without any small children at home. It will get easier. It sounds like you have a very large work load right now. Hang in there. One good thing about our jobs is that each school year brings changes and is a chance to "start over".

I am also in a situation where Dh and I leave the house early. DH goes to work between 4-6 am and I leave with the children by 6:30 am. Most daycare centers I have looked at opened by 5:30-6:00 am and I have also used an in-home care that was fine with me bringing the children early. My two children use a privately owned daycare center and I drop them off between 6:30-6:45 am. There are many times when they are the first children dropped off and I know DD is the first infant which means they get more undivided attention than if I would drop them off when everyone else does. While I am dropping them off I can talk with the teachers one on one because they are not preoccupied with other children yet! A bonus to being early, I guess. I never thought I would like a center for childcare, however, this staff is wonderful.

 

[mom de terre]

Quote:

Originally Posted by meandmine mom de terre, What are your strategies and routines? Oh geez, put me on the spot here! I'm an English teacher, so a lot of things I do are probably fairly specific to my discipline, in terms of correcting and organizing my day - but they are really just habits I've developed over time. One thing I will say - before I leave, every day, I spend 10 minutes clearing off my desk. I do any paperwork and file extra copies. If I miss even one day, my desk becomes a ridiculous tsunami and I waste a ton of time looking for stuff. At home, my husband and I have a pretty strict routine. We used to have a daily chore chart so I knew basic cleaning got done - now we have a cleaning lady and if you can afford it, it makes a huge differrence. I make big meals on the weekends that we eat for leftovers twice during the week. Once a week we get takeout, the other two nights we eat speed meals - tacos, burgers, stirfry, etc. I plan out our meals for two weeks and only go to the grocery store every other week (we have a freezer). I get A. ready for bed while he washes the dishes, then he comes upstairs and puts her to bed while I make our lunches. Uhh...is this helpful or just wordy? Also, if you and your dh have to be at school before 7 am -- who takes care of the kids in the morning? I don't know of any daycares that open that early. Do you have a live-in nanny? We are very lucky because A.'s grandmas watch her three days a week. She goes to a daycare center the other two days - it opens at 6:30 and is only 5 minutes from my husband's school. It is full of teachers' kids! When she was littler and in home daycare, the dcp used to come to the door in her pjs half the time, Thanks for sharing. Meg

Hmm, I have to put something down here.

 

[meandmine]

Thanks a lot, M de T!

My challenge is that 10 minutes at the end of the day winds up being 1 1/2-2 hours, so then I am racing to get the kids from SACC and have less time with them.

Hopefully, if I get a smaller school with a more sane workload I can do more of my library administration, teacher support and collaboration during the school day, so maybe I can leave within a 1/2 hour of the last bus.

Yeah, menu planning has helped, I agree. I confess I do still have a cleaning lady once a month, though I can't afford it and she's one of the reasons my stbx is gone.

And that's my other real challenge -- doing it solo -- no one to get the kids to bed while I make lunches or pay the bills or ... if I am not doing it I am yelling up the stairs for them to do it on their own -- works some nights ;-(.

I am taking a deep breath because I dive back in tomorrow. Got to finish up two classes I am taking, as well. Still need to get the news show ready for the morning and ... oh, yeah ... those bills ...

I better get going!

Thanks!

M

 

[EFmom]

Dh is a teacher. I don't think it's really a great idea to get into it if you don't love the actual work. It's too draining. And being in a school on a different calendar than your kids would pretty much defeat the purpose.

It works well for us. He's in a different district (much less academic) than the district our kids are in. He gets nearly all the same vacations and holidays off that they do. If he doesn't, I take a vacation day. He has a long commute, but he's home and picks up the kids by 4 pretty much every day unless there is something special going on. He never has to work weekends.

I have a job with a fair amount of vacation and a little flexibility. I'm an academic librarian at a university.

 

[missjessicajames]

I actually left my teaching job to get pregnant and start a family. I taught an inner city school and I loved my job but it took every ounce of energy I had to give. I was always so worried about my "kids" (aka my students) that I would always be thinking about them. I would get to work at 6 am not leave my school till 8 or 9 pm (my classroom was the safe place for many of my students).

I realized that if I want to be their for my own children I was going to have to take a break from teaching.

I know lots of teachers that manage to set boundries and do far better at keeping work at work and home and home than I did. But for me I just couldn't see how I could be the kind of teacher I wanted to be and the kind of mother I wanted to be at the same time.