My Decision to Teach Part Time this Year

Do you ever feel like everything in the blogosphere is a huge announcement? I don’t have a huge announcement to make on the blog today (because not everything should be a mega announcement), but I do have a little update to share with you today. This year, I am only teaching part time.

The past year has been the most exciting year of my life. I planned the wedding of my dreams, launched a lifestyle blog with my fiancé, got married, payed off a massive amount of debt with my husband, worked full-time at school, presented at the TpT conference in Las Vegas, went on a honeymoon, partnered with Astrobrights Papers, completely redesigned my kindergarten classroom and kept the engines turning here at Kinder Craze. To describe those experiences as amazing is an understatement. To describe myself as stressed out and exhausted is the ultimate understatement. I was so passionately excited about all of those experiences, but I knew something had to give. There simply wasn’t enough of me to spread around to all of my projects.

Fortunately, some of the items on my plate naturally went away. The wedding came and went, my presentation was a huge success, I traveled and laughed and had the most amazing time on all of my journeys. The debt was paid off and my Vintage Circus classroom collaboration with Schoolgirl Style launched on the blog.

The remaining items on my list were teaching half-day kindergarten, my afternoon school responsibilities, Kinder Craze and Crazy Together (my personal blog). My restful days as a childless adult are numbered. After such a crazy year, I made a promise to myself that I would slow down, take on fewer projects, but do each of those projects to the best of my ability. This year I made a conscious decision not to spread myself too thin, to get more rest and to take time to enjoy life!

The arrangements for my part-time teaching employment are a happy set of circumstances. For several years, I have taught the AM kindergarten class at my school (parents have the choice of a half day kindergarten class with me or a full day class in the room next door), then maintained my full-time status by helping with various other school projects. I managed the school’s website, helped with social media, assisted teachers with technology, worked on marketing projects … it really ran the gamut.

This year I let go of most of my previous afternoon responsibilities. I still have a hand in many of those tasks; but, for the most part, I teach in the mornings then have the afternoons available for my own projects. Fortunately, health care benefits aren’t an issue because I get health care coverage from my husband. It’s the perfect arrangement for me at this time because I still get to spend my time pursuing my passions, but in a way that’s healthy and allows me to have more balance in my life.

As you might expect, just because I teach part time, it doesn’t mean I run out of the classroom every day. Many afternoons you can still find me hustling around the classroom. The only difference is that I usually leave while it’s still light out.

Sometimes, I do have a chance to just sit and work at my teacher desk.