Managing Stress as a Classroom Teacher

Realize that you can make a difference.

You may not be able to change the stressful conditions that your children must deal with at home but you can offer them a safe, comfortable and accepting place to be while they are in your care.

Be emotionally and physically available for children in your classroom.

Put aside your own frustrations about the past and worries about the future. There is very little you can do to solve your life problems while you are working. Being there for your children means that you will be an active, in-control teacher rather than a reactive, out -of -control, babysitter.

Greet each child warmly every day. That transition from parent to teacher is an important one. Often mornings are extremely stressful for families. Children are often yelled at, hurried, and maybe given breakfast in the car or either walked or took public transportation to school with no breakfast at all. A warm smile or hug as a child walks in the door can go a long way to helping a child feel accepted and wanted.

Spend time with each child every day. Even if it is just for one or two minutes, get down on the child's level, make eye contact, listen and watch. Learn to value each child for their own special self.

Remember that children learn to value themselves through the eyes (and words) of others. What you say (or don't say) to a child has tremendous impact. Make sure that you don't contribute to the stress.

Take a good look at your classroom and your routine. Try to eliminate stressful situations. Ask yourself the following questions:

Is my room arrangement simple and easy to move through?
 
Are activity areas dearly defined (e.g. art area, block area, reading/quiet area)?
 
Do I have a balance of center areas that are noisy /activity areas (e.g. blocks, dramatic play) and quiet areas (books, manipulatives)?
 
Is there a quiet place in the classroom that is available to children when they need to escape for a while?
 
Have I planned my day so that it alternates between active and quiet activities, organized projects