Balancing School and Home: Making the Most of Your Time At School So You Can Enjoy Your Time At Home (With Kristen Donegan)

10/03/22 • 32 min

WE ARE ALL GUILTY OF BEING THE LAST CAR IN THE SCHOOL PARKING LOT FROM TIME TO TIME.

There’s always one more thing to do. One more set of copies to make. One more...one more.

And then it becomes a pattern. Staying late at school night after night... Bringing home work to complete on the weekends becomes the norm.

Before you know it - you’re THAT teacher who has no boundaries and feels like their work day as no end and no beginning.

Today on the podcast, we’re going to talk about something that I was NOT the best at when I was in the classroom. When I first started teaching I didn’t have any kids yet, I wasn’t married, and I didn’t have a lot at home that I had to devote my time to. So - I poured all of my time and energy into teaching and being in the classroom.

And, quite honestly, I could do that because of my circumstances, but that didn’t really set me up for success later when I did have a family and I did need to prioritize a work/home balance. When we don’t develop a healthy balance, we start to establish some bad habits.

This week, I’m interviewing Kristen Donegan of Easy Teaching Tools. Kristen Donegan has been an elementary school teacher and Reading Specialist since 2005 in both California and O'ahu, Hawaii. She has enjoyed teaching kindergarten, first grade, a 1/2 combo, and second grade before resigning to continue Easy Teaching Tools Inc. and raise her daughter & son. Kristen has also presented at professional development conferences such as SDE Nationals and Teach Your Heart Out. Founded in 2010, Easy Teaching Tools has helped over a thousand busy teachers implement classroom hacks to save time, implement research-based practices to meet the needs of their students, and focus on work-life balance.

Kristen is sharing how teachers can take their time back and be that teacher that leaves at their contracted time, AND doesn’t have to feel bad or guilty for doing so!
FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT: classroomnook.com/podcast/139

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE

Connect with Kristen at Easy Teaching Tools:

Grab Kristen’s FREE Sub Plans Template HERE!

WE ARE ALL GUILTY OF BEING THE LAST CAR IN THE SCHOOL PARKING LOT FROM TIME TO TIME.

There’s always one more thing to do. One more set of copies to make. One more...one more.

And then it becomes a pattern. Staying late at school night after night... Bringing home work to complete on the weekends becomes the norm.

Before you know it - you’re THAT teacher who has no boundaries and feels like their work day as no end and no beginning.

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE

Connect with Kristen at Easy Teaching Tools:

Grab Kristen’s FREE Sub Plans Template HERE!

Previous Episode

The Story of the LINKtivity (Celebrating 1 Year With LINKtivity Learning)

AS TEACHERS, WE ALL HAVE STORIES TO TELL.

When you start out as a first year teacher, you're just beginning a the first chapter. And boy, oh boy the story of teaching sure has its turns, its ups and downs, and its surprising events!

Sometimes our stories feel like that dark and stormy night ... (2020 anyone?)

While other times you get to play the hero and win the battle!

My story as a teacher sure has been all that and more. When I first began teaching 2006, I had NO IDEA where my story would lead me (none of us do!).

And while I'm still in the middle of my teaching story, we've come to an exciting chapter!

It's the "LINKtivity Learning Turn 1 Year Old" chapter!

And we're celebrating!

FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT: classroomnook.com/podcast/138

Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode

Learn more about the LINKtivity® Learning membership.

Next Episode

10 Truths About Building a Classroom Community

We’ve heard it said: Relationships are everything.

It’s a bold statement, but - man, is it ever true...ESPECIALLY when it comes to teaching!

If the pandemic and the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that teaching and the success of students is more than just the academics that are taught. At least - academics are only a piece of the puzzle.

And if academics are like a puzzle... then the teacher-student relationship is the table that you build the puzzle on.

And, the conversation that I had on this week’s podcast is simply amazing.

Johnny Tiersma, 6th grade teacher and children’s book author, knows a thing or two about building relationships with students. His 16+ years in education has taught him that teaching the curriculum starts with building a positive classroom community. And he doesn’t only KNOW this - he’s passionate about it.

So, when he reached out to me to share his 10 truths about building a classroom community - it was a no brainer.

This isn’t your average conversation about building a classroom community. Johnny uses not only his teaching experience, but his humor and his heart, along with a few stories to help us all learn how to build a classroom community that feels like family.
FOR COMPLETE SHOW NOTES VISIT: classroomnook.com/podcast/140