LLN: Inspiration for Teachers: It's OK to Dread Returning To School Tomorrow

In this heartfelt mini-episode, Grace shares a "Lunchbox Love Note" to help teachers navigate the dreaded Sunday Scaries. As winter break ends and the hustle of teaching looms, many educators feel a mix of anxiety, dread, and resentment. Grace reminds you that these feelings are normal—and that you’re not alone.

💡 What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• 🌈 Why it’s okay to feel conflicted about going back to school.
• 🛑 How to stop guilt from stealing your joy today.
• ❤️ A reminder that at least one student—and likely more—is eagerly waiting for the safe, calm, and structured environment you provide.
• 💪 Why you don’t need a “new year, new you” resolution—just a return to the joyful, unexhausted version of yourself.

✨ Teacher Takeaways:

• You’re human, and your emotions are valid.
• You became a teacher to make an impact, and that impact is felt deeply—even if it doesn’t always show.
• Remember: students who test boundaries often need your calm, consistent care the most.

📌 Actionable Advice:

1. Give yourself permission to feel your feelings without guilt.
2. Focus on the joy and impact you bring to your students.
3. Ditch overwhelming resolutions—small, healthy habits are the key to feeling better.

And if you appreciate my content, I humbly invite you to "pay it forward" and share this episode with a colleague. Everyone wins 💛

Want to truly thrive in teaching without sacrificing your personal life?
Check out my signature on-demand course, Balance Your Teacher Life. You can go the self-study route or join a cohort with group coaching for Summer 2025.

Check out all the details here: www.gracestevens.com/balance

📘 My latest (and greatest!) book:
The Empowered Teacher Toolkit
Check out the best-selling Positive Mindset Habits for Teachers book here
Beat Teacher Burnout with Better Boundaries book here

Wanna get social?
https://www.tiktok.com/@gracestevensteacher
https://www.facebook.com/GraceStevensTeacher
https://www.Instagram.com/gracestevensteacher

Old school: Website : www.GraceStevens.com (courses, blog & freebies!)

Transcript

  Okay, friends, this is a mini episode, what I like to call a bonus episode,  Lunchbox Love Notes. Just like that little love note, hopefully, someone used to sneak into your lunchbox. Maybe they still do, if you're lucky, just to let you know they're thinking of you. They love you and that you are stronger than you think.

So this week, if you're listening in real time, this is Sunday and it is  January 5th and many teachers are heading back to school tomorrow and are being overtaken today by what we call the Sunday Blues, the Sunday Scaries, that pit in your stomach. Anxiety, stress, kind of anxious about going back to school tomorrow  and it kind of lives, it's buddy is not just anxiety but kind of resentment, being annoyed, kind of  oh my gosh, It was so great to spend time with family, to get caught up on chores, to, you know, finish a cup of coffee, to sleep in,  just to feel a little bit more joyful and have some more margin and space in our day during winter break.

Hopefully that was your experience and now you know when school gets back in, it's gonna be full fledged, pedal to the metal and for a lot of us, you know, there's gonna be no break again until maybe February, maybe one day off. Right, for President's Day. And then, you know, it's a long old haul until spring break.

That's what we're thinking. And it is robbing us of our joy today, which is Sunday. I had coffee with a friend last week. It was Thursday and she was already starting to ramp up. Getting nervous, anxious, bothered about coming back to school. And so I totally get it. So there's a couple of things I want to tell you.

Okay, first off, 100 percent normal.  Let yourself off the hook. It does not make you a bad teacher just because you have this low key dread about going back to school tomorrow. Feelings can coexist. You can love being a teacher, you can still have passion for the impact that you have and yet, Be bummed about absolutely how all consuming it is, how much of your time and energy it takes, and how much of your time and energy it steals from other things and people in your life that you love.

I mean, that's just a reality. If you have not set a great job of doing a great job of setting boundaries, of having a strategic plan on how to do less and save more, still feel that you are impacting students in a positive way, then you know, that's your reality. So you're not alone. It's totally normal and it doesn't make you a bad teacher.

Don't add guilt to the already kind of huge amounts of conflicting emotions that you have about it. Okay, so that's number one. Number two, try not to let it steal your joy for today. Okay, I'm going to do a whole episode about how you can combat the, the Sunday scaries. But for right now I know it's a bit pointless to say, hey don't worry about it, try and be present, don't let concerns about tomorrow steal your joy for today.

I know that's like a really annoying thing to hear without specific strategies but I wanted to keep this episode short. So that's the number two. But here's the big thing. Okay, if you're kind of multitasking, if you've kind of halfway tuned me out, if this has just been, you know, on autoplay, you were listening to another episode and now it's rolled over to this, please listen to this.

This is important. I'm here to tell you  that there is a kid, at least one kid, probably more than one, but just focus on one. There is one student who who is so needing  you and so looking forward to being back in school tomorrow.  They need what you offer. And I know that what you offer is a calm, safe environment  where children feel respected  and valued. 

And that may be something that they absolutely don't have at home. And in addition to that, of course, there are students who have very you know, kind of low needs on, on, you know, on Maslow's Hierarchy. They want food, you know, maybe they have food insecurity at home and they know at school they're going to get to eat.

They have warmth, they know the classroom's going to be warm. Okay, they miss their friends, they're going to see their friends. But what they're really craving, even if they don't know how to articulate it.  Is they are craving the structure, the predictability,  the certainty that comes with being in your classroom.

If you have good routines, good procedures. If you are calm, consistent, there are consequences, students know where the boundaries are, where the rules are, where the standards are. That is a very, very, comforting and really important for kids who do not have structure at home  and they really need that from you and they will really be happy to see you tomorrow.

Now, I'm gonna throw in the irony that we all know those kids will probably,  you already know what I'm gonna say, They're going to show that appreciation in maybe disrespectful ways. They're going to try and test those boundaries to make sure they're still there, right? They are the kids who will be a little bit more having a hard time to settle into a routine and procedure.

Maybe for two, three weeks at home, the only way they got attention was being loud, disrespectful in traditional, you know, what we call attention seeking behavior, you know, what they're It's not attention  seeking behavior, it's connection seeking behavior, it's safety seeking behavior. Right? Not all of them.

I was a very anxious child but I was very, very compliant, but I still found school to be my safe place. I knew where the boundaries were, I knew what to expect, I knew how to please people.  Right? I knew how what it took to get recognition I need, sit there, be quiet, do your job, get good grades, make sure your homework's done.

You know, so I was on the other end of the spectrum, the ultra compliant student, but that came from a place of anxiety  and I felt very safe in a classroom.  But there are other students who are going to test the boundaries. And remember, the more they're testing you, it's because they have been dysregulated at home and they need what you're selling.

Even if they don't know it, even if they don't like it, what they need is calm, consistent, consequences, boundaries,  in knowing that they are valued and respected.  Okay, there is a child who cannot wait to see you tomorrow. That is the child that you became a teacher to help. The kid who gets straight A's and behaves all the time whether you were in the room or not,  that you didn't become a teacher for them.

Sure, it makes for an easy day in the classroom. It can even make for a fun day in a classroom.  But I know you. You came into education to be impactful, and that's the student that needs you. Okay? So that's my love note to you. First off, if you've got the Sunday Scaries, just whatever feelings you're feeling, they're okay!

They're valid, okay? Don't listen to somebody in your family who's saying, well, you've had two weeks off. What are you complaining about? Right? Just shut it out. They don't understand. It's not your job to make them understand.  If they don't understand by now, they never will. Okay, so I'm here. So I'm here for you. 

They're okay. It makes you normal. It doesn't make you a bad teacher in somewhere in your week this week. If you have a self contained classroom, it will be tomorrow. But if you have different periods and different students, you know, sifling through, you might not see them tomorrow. But there is at least one and probably way more than one students  who is going to really Be pleased, relieved, and happy that school is back in and you are a huge part of that.

Never forget that. Okay, and probably there's a teaching bestie hopefully on your campus that can't wait to give you a hug and a laugh and just, you know,  just wants to be in your presence, right? Enjoy your sparkle. All right, that's what I got for you today. This Sunday I believe in you. You can do this.

I hope you had a wonderful restful break. I know you can cope with whatever The world will throw at you this week because you are teacher strong. It is the beginning of the year, come on! I hope you haven't set up those, oh my gosh, new you, new me, kind of resolutions. Nobody needs a new you. You need to return to the old you.

That wasn't exhausted and resentful and feeling put upon. Okay, and this podcast and other things that I have can help with that. Okay, you don't need to be new you. You, you're perfect just the way you are. Even with those extra few pounds, you know, you know, just make a resolution to have some healthier habits.

Drink a little more water. You know, take a few more deep breaths. It doesn't need to be big stuff. All right, you know what I'm gonna say. I hope this finds you well and until next time, create your own path and bring your own sunshine.