By now, most educators have decompressed following those stressful days that mark the end of the school year. Saying goodbye to your students for the summer, saying farewell – perhaps forever – to retiring and departing colleagues, and shifting away from a teaching mindset can be stressful and emotional. But summer break for educators is a break for a reason.

Relax and Recharge

There is little time during the school year to relax and recharge. When you’re not teaching, you’re planning. When you’re not planning, you’re meeting with parents. You begin to feel like you’re going non-stop – and that can make it hard for you to pause, breathe, and enjoy a respite over the summer. But it is so important that you take advantage of your summer break. Read (for pleasure), watch a movie, binge your favorite Netflix series – but let your brain rest.

Prioritize Self-Care

When the school year gets crazy-busy, it’s easy to put off both the little things and the big ones. Whether scheduling that dentist appointment you’ve been putting off for months or simply going to a yoga class a couple of times a week, you’ll benefit from taking a little better care of yourself during the summer break. It’s also a great time to reconnect with friends. Grab coffee, go for a walk together, or plan a weekend away.

Enjoy New Adventures

We know that teachers spend the majority of their time completely focused on their students and giving them their all. During the break, however, it is essential that you do things to remind yourself of why you work so hard. Take that vacation. Go hiking. Fly home to see family. Do something that you generally don’t get the time to do during the school year but would mean so much to you. You’ll go into the new school year feeling refreshed and recharged.

July is the one month of the year when most schools tend to enjoy a small break. In June, teachers and administrators are still winding up tasks from the previous year; in August they’re already welcoming students back or preparing to do so. In July, then, a tiny respite is warranted.

At Lumen Touch, we spend most of July implementing the latest recommendations from school districts to help improve our edtech solutions, and we’re thinking about what’s next for education, learning, and the classroom.

But for teachers, a rest, a recharge, and a reset are essential.

We hope you are enjoying your summer break!