Heading back to school is just as treacherous for a teacher's health as it is for your students. You're used to being active and outside, eating a regular diet of fresh fruits and vegetables. Now you will be bound to your classroom with all those sniffling little angels. Keeping up your energy and maintaining your health is important. If you would like to stay healthy during the coming school year, use these simple tips:
1. Walk further. Park your car all the way at the back of the parking lot. Walking the extra distance will help keep you fit and trim and will give you at least a little more exercise. If you're a high school teach and your students like you, I would even suggest parking in the student parking lot. That has to be at least a mile from the front door!
2. Make like kindergarten. Have a snack time. Pack some organic baby carrots or grapes in a snack bag to keep in your desk drawer. You can either grab a quick snack between classes or have a designated fresh fruit or veggie snack time with your students. Doctors recommend several smaller meals rather than three large meals. By requiring the snack consist of fresh fruits and veggies, not only will you help your students stave off hunger, but you will encourage healthier eating habits.
3. Race to knowledge. Book the gym when no one is in it and get your students up and moving while learning. Separate your students into two teams. Have them select one person from each team to ask the questions. Put the questioner of each team at separate ends of the basket ball court in a corner. The team lines up in front of the questioner and must answer a question correctly. If they do, they get to race to the other end of the court and shoot a basketball. The first teams to go through all the questions, with correct answers, shoot their ball and make it back to their team base wins. Let the winning team choose between skipping homework for the night or get extra credit. Get some exercise yourself by running back and forth between the two teams to keep them honest.
4. Nutrition still counts. Packing your lunch every day makes it hard to maintain proper nutrition. Make sure you are taking a multivitamin, calcium, and magnesium. Be sure to include fresh fruits and veggies in your lunch. If you would like to cut down on fat and sodium in your sandwiches, skip the mayo and use leftover ham, roast beef or chicken for sandwiches rather than prepackaged lunch meat.
5. Handwashing. Wash your hands throughout the day. Split your students into several groups or pairs and send them to wash their hands twice a day. Remember regular hand washing helps prevent the spread of germs.
6. Sanitize yourself. Carry a bottle of hand sanitizer for when you have to pick up nasty things students left on the floor or when you sneeze. While hand sanitizer can't replace regular hand washing, it can help kill germs.
7. Lysol is your best friend. When the day is done and all your little angels have gone home, spray some Lysol in high use areas, like desks and toys.
8. Tissue Station. Set a trashcan in an out of the way place with hand sanitizer and tissues next to it. Once your students use a tissue to blow their nose, they can drop it right in the tissue can and sanitize.
9. Sleep on it. It's just as important for teachers to get enough sleep as it is for students. Make sure you are well rested too. This will help you combat illness and stress.
10. Stretch it out. Every morning before you begin class, lead your students in some quick stretching exercises. This will help you and your students get ready for the day and will improve flexibility and help ward off stress.
1. Walk further. Park your car all the way at the back of the parking lot. Walking the extra distance will help keep you fit and trim and will give you at least a little more exercise. If you're a high school teach and your students like you, I would even suggest parking in the student parking lot. That has to be at least a mile from the front door!
2. Make like kindergarten. Have a snack time. Pack some organic baby carrots or grapes in a snack bag to keep in your desk drawer. You can either grab a quick snack between classes or have a designated fresh fruit or veggie snack time with your students. Doctors recommend several smaller meals rather than three large meals. By requiring the snack consist of fresh fruits and veggies, not only will you help your students stave off hunger, but you will encourage healthier eating habits.
3. Race to knowledge. Book the gym when no one is in it and get your students up and moving while learning. Separate your students into two teams. Have them select one person from each team to ask the questions. Put the questioner of each team at separate ends of the basket ball court in a corner. The team lines up in front of the questioner and must answer a question correctly. If they do, they get to race to the other end of the court and shoot a basketball. The first teams to go through all the questions, with correct answers, shoot their ball and make it back to their team base wins. Let the winning team choose between skipping homework for the night or get extra credit. Get some exercise yourself by running back and forth between the two teams to keep them honest.
4. Nutrition still counts. Packing your lunch every day makes it hard to maintain proper nutrition. Make sure you are taking a multivitamin, calcium, and magnesium. Be sure to include fresh fruits and veggies in your lunch. If you would like to cut down on fat and sodium in your sandwiches, skip the mayo and use leftover ham, roast beef or chicken for sandwiches rather than prepackaged lunch meat.
5. Handwashing. Wash your hands throughout the day. Split your students into several groups or pairs and send them to wash their hands twice a day. Remember regular hand washing helps prevent the spread of germs.
6. Sanitize yourself. Carry a bottle of hand sanitizer for when you have to pick up nasty things students left on the floor or when you sneeze. While hand sanitizer can't replace regular hand washing, it can help kill germs.
7. Lysol is your best friend. When the day is done and all your little angels have gone home, spray some Lysol in high use areas, like desks and toys.
8. Tissue Station. Set a trashcan in an out of the way place with hand sanitizer and tissues next to it. Once your students use a tissue to blow their nose, they can drop it right in the tissue can and sanitize.
9. Sleep on it. It's just as important for teachers to get enough sleep as it is for students. Make sure you are well rested too. This will help you combat illness and stress.
10. Stretch it out. Every morning before you begin class, lead your students in some quick stretching exercises. This will help you and your students get ready for the day and will improve flexibility and help ward off stress.
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