Back to School 2014: When Thursday

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' for Back to School 2014 Linky Party! Today is all about WHEN! When do I get my planning in? When do I teach math? When do I have prep? When does it ever end?

It's still not to late to link up with us!

Anytime I'm asked what I need to be a better teacher, my answer is always TIME.

I feel that I have pretty good organizational skills and I love a good list! I have lists of lists! However, there is just never enough time to do all the things I want to do. Being a busy mom, wife, TpT seller, and teacher is hard! Some things just have to be put on the back burner. I try really hard to prioritize but I need the occasional (gentle) reminders from family and friends to get off the computer and spend time with them.

I try to bring as little school work home as possible. That does not mean NO school work, it just means some small things I can do while waiting at soccer practice or while watching reality TV on the couch with the hubs. That means I often go in very early and stay late. I am often to school by 7:30 and don't leave until 6:00. It is really sad when I'm the first one there and the last to leave, but I'm always happy to have my weekends for other things.

My daughters are in HS now so they are pretty busy too. I take advantage of the times they are off doing teenager stuff to work on my TpT stuff. I'm also a morning person so while they're snoozing, I'm surfing, planning, blogging, prepping, etc. I absolutely love the Blog Post, Giveaway, and Linky Party Organizer and Planner by Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd. My seller binder is FULL of her awesome forms and lists. She keeps adding to it too! You can check it out here.

At school, the students leave early on  Wednesdays so we can collaborate and plan. I try to get as much done as I can. I do have to admit to having some chatting sessions with my teaching buddies that can get in the way of getting that list done. I am often the person that my colleagues seek out when they are having technology challenges. This also keeps me busy, but I can't say no to helping with technology! I feel like I'm being pulled in a million directions at school. Sometimes I just have to lock my door for an hour and get 'er done!

Shifting gears to my school schedule:

Because I'm team teaching, I have a lot less to plan! It is SO nice to just plan for math and social studies/science and then teach those lessons twice. It may take a little longer at the copy machine for double the kids, but it makes up for the extra planning and prepping I don't have to do for writing and reading.