Mental Health and Self-Care

First of all, I truly apologize for my blogging absence. When I resigned, effective the end of the school year, my school-owned laptop had to be returned, as well. Therefore, I have only had my phone and Kindle to work from, until I got a personal laptop late last week. So, I'M BACK!

The abrupt exit of the super-talented Simone Biles from Olympic competition brought the topic of mental health quickly into the living rooms of the world.  While I LOVE watching her perform, I am  so proud of her for being on the world's stage and having the courage, yes, COURAGE, to face the world head-on and say, "This isn't right for me right now." She's already highly decorated, has four moves named after her, is unable to receive the full point value for the moves she does, and truthfully, has nothing left to prove. I commend her for thinking of herself, and her safety, both physically and mentally!

Even though we are not Olympic athletes, we still need to be cognizant of our own mental health. Personally, this has never clearer to me than it became in the fall of 2018. Like Simone, but nowhere near her level of expectations, I experienced the mental health perfect storm. South-Central Kansas was having a monsoon. Seriously!! Many roads were closed and flooded. The rain was torrential! I had a speaking engagement in Wichita, about forty-five minutes from home, in good weather. I had never driven in Wichita by myself and I was driving the school district's car! To top it off, there was no Guest Teacher for my classroom because they simply couldn't get to the school. My two paras were running the classroom. While I was at the conference, I learned that they were not even following my lesson plans and the kids were running amuck.  Just great!

I made it through my presentation and then was the lunch break. As I was going through the smorgasbord line, I felt the beginning of a migraine. Mine are brought on by stress and I have a medication I can take at the onset of a migraine to lessen the severity. However, this medication also messes with my vision and makes me dizzy. I couldn't take the medication and safely drive a vehicle that I wasn't familiar with, during a monsoon, back to Hutchinson, so I left the conference right away to hopefully make it home before a full-blown migraine hit me.  The perfect storm--literally.  I didn't work.

When I got home, I went straight to bed, fully clothed. I did everything I was supposed to do-ice pack across my eyes, heating pad on my lower back, no lights, no sound. It was too late! The nausea hit. I couldn't even lift my head from the pillow. I've never had a migraine like that one, thank heavens. I told my husband that I needed to go to the ER. He tried to get me to his car, but I couldn't make it, so he called 9-1-1. Let me tell you, the paramedics that I had were simply AMAZING! I couldn't see them because of the ice pack over my eyes, but they were so very kind and compassionate. Because I couldn't walk and they couldn't get the stretcher into our bedroom (tight corner),  they had to fashion a lift of sorts with a tarp to get me to the stretcher. Remember the monsoon?? Yep. I had to be wheeled to the ambulance during the monsoon.

When I got to the ER, they did all kinds of blood work, an EKG, and hooked me up to all kinds of machines. They gave me something in my IV that was *supposed* to take the edge off. I didn't make a dent. I remember them asking me to rate my pain on a scale of 1-10. I told them "18." They said their scale didn't go that high. I said they needed to revise their rating scale.  They kept adding more anti-nausea meds and pain meds to my IV until I could finally carry on a bit of a conversation. They still weren't sure what was going on with me. When I heard them order a CT scan, still with the ice pack over my eyes, I asked my nurse what that was for. He said that they were looking for a brain aneurysm. Let me tell you, that will scare the living daylights out of you real quick! After all of the test results came back, the ER team decided that it was "just a really bad migraine." and finally sent me home around 4 am. It took at least three or four more days until I was fully functioning again.

All this to say, take care of yourself first! This was my self-care wake-up call. I learned, that night, to listen to what my body is telling me. Here's what I discovered: if you don't make time for self-care, your body will do it for you.  I've learned to pace myself and to not put too much on my plate. I've also learned that it's okay to spend the whole day on the couch reading some trashy romance novel. In fact, when I feel like things are piling up and getting overwhelming, I read. Reading is my escape from whatever my reality is at that moment. 

It's also okay to say, "No." or "Not right now." We have to be okay with not doing it all. On the flip side, others need to be okay with hearing it, understanding, and giving grace.

It's okay to cry. Sometimes things just get overwhelming. Crying is cleansing. It's too bad that our society has been taught that crying is a weakness. IT'S NOT! I do my best problem-solving after a good cry! I bet I've cried three or four times in the past few days. Trying to get a Missouri teaching certificate, even though Missouri has a reciprocal agreement with Kansas, and my Kansas certificate is valid for four more years, is freaking impossible! Not to mention that school starts in just three short weeks. So while I'm going back and forth with the Missouri certification people, I'm also blogging for you guys. And you know what? It will all work out.

Friends! Take care of yourselves. Last school year was crazy with all of the protocols and it looks like it's going to be the same for this year, I'm sorry to say! Lean on each other! We're all in this together! Share your stories. That's how we build strength. That's why I'm sharing mine!

Podcast Guest

 

I was so honored to be a guest on the Character Strong podcast! I hope that other feel empowered to share their stories!

Here is the link!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-characterstrong-podcast/id1454582540

"I'm Not a Teacher"

      This is something I heard from a parent in a different district/building the other day, with regard to Remote/Hybrid Learning At first, it made me a bit crazy. I thought, "Surely, you can help your child with his/her school work." Then I remembered that other grade levels are much more difficult than what I do each and every day.

     I know that last year, when the pandemic hit and our school buildings closed, I tried to make things as easy as I could for the parents. I read my students stories three times a week, asked the families to share pictures from a weekly scavenger hunt, and ask the kids to get on Zoom at three different dates for a class sing-along.  My main goal was to make it fun and educational for the families and not something that felt like a chore. They were dealing with enough. We all were.

     But what about those older kids? What about those families that don't understand the principles of "new math," or work full-time, or lost jobs because of the pandemic? There is so much on their plates and helping their children with school work isn't that high on the priority list. What about them?

     This is why grace and communication are so very important right now. None of us knows the personal battles others are fighting. Show grace in all that you do!

One Year Ago

     One year ago we had a meeting after school to talk about how the week before going on Spring Break would look due to rising concerns about Covid-19. How would we distance our students? What would meal delivery look like? Just get us through the coming week and then students would be on Spring Break and our building would be deep cleaned.

     One year ago, I told my students that I loved them and I would see them on Monday for some St. Patrick's Day fun and learning.  Little did I know that would be the last time I would see them in person (something I still struggle with).

     One year ago I had set up leprechaun traps that students had made at home, as a family engagement activity, to catch that pesky little leprechaun.  This activity was never competed.

     One year ago, the whole district met in learning teams to determine how we would move forward with Remote Learning. What would it look like? How would we make sure ALL students had access to instruction? How would we know our kids were safe? The PreK team met together and came up with an amazing plan for connecting with our kids through Facebook, a platform the families of our students were already familiar with.

     One year ago The Dream Team (my classroom paras and I) signed up to help sack breakfasts and lunches for families to pick up, curbside, at the school, to feed the students during the shut-down and make sure they had access to healthy meals.  Selfishly, it was a way for the Dream Team to stay connected, since we wear all reeling from the abrupt shut-down of the district buildings.

     If I'd only known, I would have hugged those sweet children harder and longer.  I would have tried to give them more memories to carry forward. I would have tried to help them feel less scared and uncertain of all of the changes that were coming.  It was too abrupt.  To this day, it's still hard to wrap my head around.  That it all happened on Friday the 13th is not lost on me.

It's "Just" Preschool

 It's just preschool. If you want to see my blood boil, say this to me. I've made teaching our youngest people my life's work, It's not "just" preschool. Preschool is foundational for future educational success.

Research suggests that a strong preschool program leads to improved school readiness, higher graduation rates, and lower incarceration rates.  It is also a financial benefit to lower- and middle-class families because quality private preschool programs can cost as much as college tuition!

Preschool is foundational because it provides their first exposure to the school setting. This sets the tone for all future school successes. It is the perfect opportunity to get children started off on the right foot.  With adults that truly care about the children and nurture them, children develop positive feeling about school in general.

Good preschool programs, additionally, help build a child's self-regulation skills and social-emotional development skills such as taking turns, sharing, cooperation, working together, and problem-solving.

Effective preschool programs foster a child's creativity and curiosity. Open-ended questions like, "Tell me more about....", "Why do you think so?" "What do you think will happen next?" Questions such as these foster a child's imagination and lead to a greater sense of wonder in a child's developing brain.

Lots of people think that preschool is play. You bet it is!! Play is the way a child learns. It is the way that  a child experiences the world and play helps them engage on a deeper level. At a conference I attended awhile ago, our State Commissioner of Education said, "I believe that every child under the age of eight should have a play-based education." He received a standing ovation!

So, do not belittle the value and importance of my chosen career path. I don't put down your chosen career. All jobs are important. When I ask you to support your child, trust me that, after thirty-eight years and two degrees, I know what I'm talking about. All I want is for your child to be safe, happy, and to love learning. That's it!

Early Childhood Education Myths

 Myth 1: "It's Only Babysitting" 

Ugh...  Did you know that ninety percent of a child's brain development occurs between birth and five years of age?  That's right! NINETY PERCENT!  Holy cow!  That means that in every moment a child is awake, it's a learning opportunity,Early childhood learning is divided into five primary domains. Those are: social, emotional, physical, communication, and cognitive, or thinking on their own.  All of these things, along with a child's health and safety, are things that every early childhood educator must keep in mind on a daily basis.  Most all early childhood educators that I know, get into this profession because they absolutely love children!

Myth 2:  "All you do is play all day." 

The great Fred Rogers said, "Play give children a way to practice what they are learning."  Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imaginations, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. Through play, children learn how to interact with the world around them. Children cannot do this through screen time.  Screen time is not true interaction or playing. Play needs to include some form of physicality, whether that is fine motor or gross motor.

Myth 3: "Anyone Can Be a Preschool Teacher"

To teach public school preschool in Kansas, the teacher must have Early Childhood Certification. In my own educational experience, I graduated with a double major in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Development, with a minor in Music Education. I then went back to school and got a masters degree in Education.  Teachers are constantly taking workshops and classes in order to keep current with educational trends and how best to serve the ever-changing needs of their students and their families.

Myth 4: "Parents Don't Need to Be Involved in Preschool"

Say what?!?  Families are entrusting their child's teacher with the best of them, their children!  Families know those children better than any teacher could ever hope to. It is vitally important to the child's education that their families ARE involved. Teachers and parents need to work in tandem to help each child be successful in school. Right now, with the pandemic, it's hard for parents to be involved. Many schools are keeping parents out in an effort to curb the spread of the virus to the school population. You can still keep parents in the loop though texting, a variety of apps, newsletters, social media, and a good, old-fashioned phone call.

Myth 5: "Surely Preschool Teachers Are Paid Well"

The average annual cost, per child, for child care in the United States is $8,300 a year. In the program where I work, most of that funding is through a grant from the state.  The yearly enrollment fee, per child, for our program is $65...for a year! This goes to offset the cost supplies for learning activities.

The reality is that preschool teachers are amongst the most undervalued professional out there, ranked even lower than janitors. Yet these teachers are tasked with providing learning opportunities for our most valuable natural resource--our children. I'm lucky. I do not work in a private preschool setting, although I have. Because I work in a school district, I am paid like all other teachers, based on education and experience.  Still, teachers fresh out of college, with student loans to pay, can barely make it on a starting teacher's salary. This leads to many truly amazing teachers leaving the profession, even though they love children. It's a sad commentary.

Several years ago, when a parent said to me, "It's only preschool," I'm not sure they expected the "education" they got, but that kiddo never missed another day of school that year!

Thinking Forward

 .....I have a dream.

"The color of their skin."  Why does skin color matter?  Dig deep and ask yourselves that question. If your answer is that people of color are bad, are "thugs," are criminals, I can guarantee you that there are just as many white people that fall into the same category. Our daughter is a social worker in the prison system. She can back up my claim. Everyone makes poor choices at some point in time. It's part of the learning process.  The fact remains that, based on skin color, there is no difference.

"The content of their character."  Do a Google search for people of color that have changed history. Here are just a few: Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander-the first black women to ear an Ph.D in economics and a law degree. Maya Angelou-a poet. Her works have been considered a defense and celebration of black culture.  Arthur Ashe-Tennis player and founder of the Arthur Ashe Foundation. Received the Medal of Freedom, posthumously.  Ruby Bridges-a just six years old, she was the first person of color to attend and all white school, playing alone at recess, but not missing a single day of school. (How would you feel if your child had to play alone just because of the color of their skin?) Kobe Bryant-besides being a great basketball player, he and his wife started a foundation to address homelessness in Los Angeles. Octavius V. Catto-in part responsible for the 15th Amendment which barred voter discrimination based on race. Bessie Coleman-the first back woman aviator, earning her wings in a record seven months! Rudolph Fisher-physician, radiologist, novelist, and musician. Sojourner Truth-an abolitionist who lectured about racial and gender inferiority. The women of "Hidden Figures," the story of the African-American women behind the scenes at NASA. They are Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan.

     On this, the weekend before we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his words have a profound meaning to me, particularly. You see, eight years ago, on January 18th, we were blessed with our first grandchild. I have said all along that this child radiates pure joy!  Friend! This child is going to move mountains and change the world.   In this photo she is just five years old. She is now thirteen. She is in Junior Honor Society, Honors Band, and plays libero on a traveling volleyball team! She is spunky and sassy and an absolute joy to be around. Just to know her is to love her!

     Had it not been for forward-thinking people, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would she be a part of our family? I can't be sure, however I know that our lives are blessed and so much better because of her. I thank God everyday for her mom and dad who went through insurmountable odd to bring her into our family. I wish I could share their heroic story, though it is not my story to tell. We are blessed!