Trying to avoid teacher burnout!!

This picture sums me up at the moment.

I've been back for 3 weeks and 1 day, but it feels as though I've been back for 3 months!! Today my colleague and I FORCED each other to leave at 4.15pm, the first time we have left so early since we started - the first day where we haven't been at school for 11 HOURS.

I can't remember if I just block out how difficult the start of the school year is, or whether it just gets more difficult each year. Unfortunately I think it's the latter.

This is my fifth year of teaching, and at times I feel as though it is my first.

Don't get me wrong, it's not the children. I LOVE love love my class - they are definitely up there competing for the loveliest, sweetest class I've ever had award. You would think the little cherubs have been in school for months - they are so settled and just adorable. If it wasn't for the kids, I think I would have burnt out already.

It's the paperwork. Mountains and mountains of paperwork. Not just from lesson plans, but from assessments and assessing assessments, and copying assessments and copying copies of assessment, and copying out endless forms for reasons which I sometimes have no clue why I'm even doing it.

I'm spending evenings and weekends working. I think I've forgotten what my boyfriend looks like. I'm not sure I even have a boyfriend anymore? I think he still lives in the same house, I hardly come out of my office for long enough to see him - and generally crash out before he manages to get in to bed.

Thank goodness I don't have children - social services would have been called months ago. They would be wearing month old clothes and probably would have been fed leftover processed food.

I've been meaning to blog forever. I have loads of saved photographs of ideas I'm super keen to share, but I never get time. Then I feel guilty for neglecting my blog.

I just want people to know that blogs can sometimes make it look as though we are super teachers. I often look at other blogs and see perfect classrooms, and perfectly cut out and laminated resources PLUS copies of plans and I think - how do they have the time to do it all and blog about it?

I'm sure I'm not the only person who is feeling like this. I'm sure there are hundreds of teachers out there thinking - that's me!! Just know that you're not alone.

...and just when I begin to wonder why on earth I'm in this profession I hear a little voice behind me say 'Miss Lynch, I'm really going to miss you when I go home' ... and suddenly I remember that it's all worthwhile and it will eventually get a little easier.