I have been a Para in a great school for nearly one school year and really enjoy the work. However, I am considering searching for a full-time teaching position as I am a former teacher. My question is for teachers out there or for any mom who works full-time. How do you balance it all?
I have one daughter, age three. She requires much of my attention when I pick her up from daycare. I'm sure it's more that she misses me during the day but she is an only child. I remember what teaching was like before becoming a mom and there is often countless hours of work that I brought home or I would stay at work until at least 4:30 or 5:00.
Just wondering how to balance family life with work, time to exercise, clean the house & make dinner. I like to go to bed by 10:00 and often hear many people who work full-time and have a family are up until mid-night or later. That is not me!
I am considering this option because I make no money right now as a Para, it all goes to daycare. I'd like to buy things for my house that my husband & I moved into a year and a half ago or to have extra money to put my daughter in a dance or swim class. Any thoughts on how one organizes their time? Thank you!
P.S. Just a side-note: My husband does help out a lot, doing all the yard work and sometimes cooking. He is on a night shift now so the daytime he needs to sleep often.
Thank you to everyone who responded. I really do appreciate the honest input from teachers. I would send a flower to everyone but this website doesn't allow you to do that anymore. I think if you are a full-time employee and you have children, it is a challenge to balance it all. I have all these ideas that if I make a good salary, I can afford daycare & a housecleaner (the latter at least once a month!) and maybe the only exercise I will be doing in the beginning is walking the dog! It would be nice to have another descent paycheck and the health benefits in the city are better than ours currently. Whatever I decide, thank you all!
I'd do some research and maybe be an E-teacher.
When my sister had cancer (40 years ago) she had school over the phone with headphones on (interntet wasnt invented yet).
You could work from home with the right equipment.
Lots of disabled kids need this resource. Pursue it.
I have three children and teach full-time. There honestly is no balance and at times you barely feel like you are staying afloat. I just tell myself that there is no way that I can ever be done with anything. As far as school goes, you have to force yourself to limit yourself to the really important things. Your family comes first and always should. I love being a teacher and making a difference for kids, and I love being a mom, however it really is a juggling act. Good luck:)
I used to teach FT. There is very little free time your first yr of teaching. It's the most time consuming yr. I spent an avg of 35 hrs in school w/ the kids and extra hr or two each day when the kids were not in the classrm and at least 5 hrs preparing/correcting papers/lesson plan. When it came to report cards, it was another FT job. Talk to a teacher in the grade you would like to teach in. Now...there are emails to answer, computer work, and more special needs children. It is not easy, but, it is always a job that requires a special person !
Before I had kids , it was a pc of cake to fit everything in.
I was a stay at home mom for 11 years and went back to work last summer part time - 24 hrs a week. My kids are on school, ages 10 &13. I really like part time. In fact, any more hours would leave my kids at school from 7am - 5pm. That's a long day. Fortunately I don't need to work FT so it works out. During the summer is really difficult because I basically work to paid for summer school programs. However, my boss has suggested that I work fewer hours during the summer and make them up during the school year. (I work at a school in fundraising and the school year is busier than the summer) It's a fantastic situation! However, until your child enters 1st grade the childcare is expensive. At our school the head likes hiring "mature" workers like me part time. They get a skilled worker and I get a schedule that's flexible. Perhaps consider becoming a part time teacher or substitute? Good-luck.
As a high school teacher, I know how you can feel like there aren't enough hours in the day to be a teacher, a mom, a wife, a housecleaner, a cook, etc. What I have done the last few years (and it works for me and my family) is that I have made arrangements to stay late at work 2-3 days a week. I do all of my work at school. I almost NEVER bring work home at night (just occassionally on the weekend if I have AP labs to grade). I am highly organized and I prioritize my work activities (lesson plans and assignments first, grading second, etc.) Late for me is 4:30 because we get out at 2:45. I also like to go into work early to get things done (I can get more done faster in the mornings than in the afternoons). On the days I don't stay late at work, I leave as soon as I can to go home and do HW with the kids, laundry, or cook a bigger meal. I think that having a set "plan" for when you stay at work and when you come home is really helpful. And by the way, I go to bed before 10 every night! You just have to make a schedule that everyone can deal with and then stick to it!
M.
I am going to be completely honest. I teach and have three small children. It is HARD to balance it all. There's all the paperwork and outside work that happens beside just teaching. But, the hardest part of it all is expending all my patience on my students at work and coming home with out any for my own children. I feel like during the week my children get the worst of me and whatever's left over. With teaching you're a mom all day long to 25+ kids. It makes it hard to come home and be one to the people that matter most in your life.
