Maryland Teacher Meet Up and 5 BTS Tips for Teacher Moms

What a fun and busy week it has been so far! I've been to a Maryland Teacher Meet Up, started my own YouTube channel, and organized an Instagram hop and giveaway! Phew!

The Maryland Teacher Meet Up in Baltimore this past Saturday was a blast! It was organized and hosted by the fabulous Positively Learning, and she did a fantastic job! There was good food, great conversation, and lots of positive energy.

It was so good to see old friends and to make some new ones, too.

The highlight for me was spending time with Ashley from The Sassy Schoolteacher. She is probably regretting allowing me to drive her {rain + city driving = lots of honking horns and a touch of road rage}, but we had a great time, catching up! I can't wait to see pics of her sweet little guy when he arrives shortly!

Michelle from Pocketful of Primary gave us some amazing tips for starting our own YouTube channels. This is something that I've been mulling over for a long time, but I didn't think I had the tools or the know-how to do it successfully. After picking Michelle's brain {and with some encouragement from my husband}, I figured that it was time to give it a go!

I started small. I decided to create a video about something that I have some experience with, and that's how to get prepared for the Back to School season when you have are both a mom and a teacher. 

Most of these tips are no-brainers, and as I mentioned in my video, I sure as heck don't have all of the answers. But after weathering the Back to School season for the past 6 years, I've learned a few tricks!

Being a mom and a teacher, especially during the Back to school rush, ain't easy. By the end of a long day at school, it's hard to muster up the motivation to come up with something to cook for dinner that is quick, healthy, and enjoyed by everyone in the family.

So, I try to make a meal plan a week in advance. I use Google Keep to keep track of the meals that I want to prepare for the following week, and I use that list to make my grocery list. I'm lucky enough to live near a Harris Teeter that provides grocery pickup {game changer!!!}, and I place my grocery order online each Friday morning, so I can pick up my groceries on the way home from work. No more grocery shopping with the entire family for an hour and a half every Saturday morning!

My favorite recipe sites are Iowa Girl Eats, Skinnytaste, and Delish. The recipes on all three sites are healthy, fast, and family-approved!

My kiddos usually go to bed between 7:30 and 8:00 during the school year {early, I know}. They also are up and at it by 5:30 each morning, so an early bedtime is a necessity! During the summer, however, we let them stay up until between 8:30 and 9:00 {no, they don't sleep in the next morning, no matter how late we keep them up the night before!}. Once the school year starts to approach, we try to get them back into their normal bedtime routine, so that they're not grouchy or rushed once they have to be out the door by 7:30. Believe me, it helps!

Now that my husband and I have a BRAND NEW OFFICE {sorry, I'm still excited about it}, I found myself with a leftover three-drawer container from Target:

So, I decided to turn it into my family emergency kit, and I labeled each drawer {of course!} accordingly. The first drawer is for toiletries for the kiddos and for me. I included deodorant, toothbrushes for all three of us, toothpaste, pain relievers, cough drops, a lint roller, and the all-important Tide stick.

The second drawer is for a change of clothes for each of us. I can clearly recall a time when Princess A accidentally wore black tights instead of black leggings to school, and her dad had to bring pants to her. It will be nice to have a change of clothes readily available!

The third drawer relates to my fourth tip!

The third drawer is for snacks. How many times have you planned to leave immediately at the end of the school day, but you end up in an unexpected meeting or on a phone call with a parent? It's happened to my kids more time than I can count, and by 4:00, they are hangry! I plan to include granola bars, pretzels, almonds, and maybe some Crystal Light packets. I am going to make sure to keep a case of water bottles handy, too. {I may or may not keep a secret stash of K-cups and chocolate in that drawer.}

By the time my kiddos were in Kindergarten, they were being assigned nightly homework {I could get up on my soapbox on that topic, but I'll save it for another time}. I found that it was easier for them to complete their homework at the back table in my classroom before we left for the day while they were still "in the zone." By the time they get home, they want to throw their backpacks on the floor, kick off their shoes, and go outside to play.

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