Welcome to the Balancing Act

Wow! I am just starting to realize how long it has been since I posted anything to my blog. Thank you to those who have still been stopping by to check it out even with no new posts showing up. In true teaching fashion life has become completely crazy these past weeks. My husband and I are the athletic coordinators at our school and have been coaching all our 5/6 sports teams for the past few years. This year we had a number of our junior high students ask if we could have a 7/8 team as well. We tried to find some parents to help out with coaching but had no luck. So without really considering what we were getting ourselves into we agreed to coach 4 teams between the two of us. Needless to say it has been a crazy start to 2014!

All this has served to remind me how important it is to maintain a work/life balance. I love the opportunity to coach because it means I get to interact with more students from the school. Extracurricular activities mean so much to students which makes it worthwhile for me to volunteer a little extra time each year. However as I am learning this year there comes a point when you have to say no and pull back a little for the sake of your own energy and passion.

For any of you who are new to teaching I would like to give you the following advice - Find something you are passionate about, whether it is sports, art, music, board games, or something else, and introduce it to your students. Don't be afraid to volunteer some time for extracurricular because I can promise you the benefits will outweigh the time costs. My husband and I love coaching sports and have been able to set up a wonderful athletics program at our school. The joy we see in the students' faces makes the volunteer time completely worth every minute.

In the same breath, don't be afraid to say no if you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work and time being asked of you. If you are being stretched too thin you may find your passion dwindling and the time you spend with the students begins to feel like more work.

As teachers we have so many opportunities to work with students and help them find activities they are passionate about. For me that opportunity is coaching and I love every minute of it! How about you?