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Stress Busting Hacks for Early Childhood Educators
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I try to walk daily to keep stress away. Another way I keep stress away is by celebrating wins.
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Great strategies, Kendra! Daily walks and celebrating wins are effective ways to maintain a positive mindset. Keep it up!
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For me to keep stress down, I teach fitness class and train myself. I try to read and meditate but making or squeezing in time can be difficult but I know how important it is so I prioritize me first
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Great strategies, Stacie! Prioritizing self-care through fitness and mindfulness is essential for managing stress effectively.
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I have found that taking full advantage of my mini bathroom breaks and my lunch break to breathe and recharge has helped me deal with stress at the moment. My downfall is bringing the stress home with me after work causing me to not be able to recharge for the next day. Ways that have helped me from bringing the stress home with me is just reminding myself that the issues at work are not my responsibility when I am at home, I have to take care of myself before I can take care of my students.
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Great insights, Abby! Prioritizing self-care and setting boundaries is essential for maintaining balance and effectiveness in your role.
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Listening to calm music and practicing deep breaths
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Great strategies, Deana! Calm music and deep breathing are effective ways to create a peaceful environment and manage stress.
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have a dance party and just celebrate life
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Great idea, Scott! Dance parties are a fun way to relieve stress and foster joy in the classroom!
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A way to destress is that I like to be outside and go hiking or camping. Sometimes just dancing and letting loose. I don’t get to do that as much as I would like. But it does help.
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Keeping stress away as a home daycare provider is ongoing, but I’ve developed some go-to methods. My absolute favorite is a quick ‘one-minute vacation.’ This usually involves stepping just outside the door for 60 seconds, taking a few deep breaths, and focusing on a small, pleasant detail like the feeling of the sun or the sound of birds. It’s incredible how much a quick mental reset can do. I also find immense calm in putting on some gentle instrumental music during rest time or quiet play; it creates a more serene atmosphere for the children and me. And finally, celebrating the small wins is crucial – whether it’s a child mastering a new skill, a smooth transition between activities, or a successful parent communication. Acknowledging these moments, even silently, helps shift my perspective and reminds me of the joy and purpose in my work, building resilience for the more challenging days.
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Sometimes, I just take a nap or stop and breathe. My home gets messy sometimes and I like to put on my headphones and clean the kitchen while watching a movie on my laptop or listen to music. I also like to plan specific measurable goals, long and short term to help me when I feel disorganized and stressed.
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I like a small session of freeze dance or other classroom favorite song as stress buster, then we get back to our schedule.
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I manage stress by going on a run or hiking.
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Some ways that I keep my stress away is by sitting down with my family at the end of each day and just off-loading all the stress. We use the time to talk about what we did today, plans for tomorrow, etc. Getting to talk over difficult situations helps me to release any built-up emotions. In addition, every few weeks I have a spa day with my daughters and pamper myself a little.
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I start with trying to control stress at home before I come in so that I do not bring extra to work with me. I love to take my kids to the park or the lake, spend time with family and go to the movies. In the moment in my classroom, I tend to reset the whole class by having something exciting that I can pull out when we need a reset and have everyone come try to guess and see what I have which gives me a chance to reset expectations for whatever is happening next in a fun way. For myself I like to take a minute and get a drink and maybe have a snack before returning to my class.
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My go to for stress reduction is taking a walk especially if I’m able to take a walk in nature and thought could mean a city park or rail trail just anywhere where at least briefly I see only natural objects.
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My go-to stress busters are walking and going to the gym—both help me clear my head and reset when things feel overwhelming. I also find a lot of relief in cooking, especially when I get to be creative and come up with new recipes. Lately though, with the pressure of finishing my CDA before the licensor visit in the 2025–2026 school year, I haven’t felt much like cooking. Hoping once the deadline passes, I’ll get back to finding peace in the kitchen again!
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When I’m stressed, I take some time for myself. I think specifically about how to resolve it. I think about what I’m grateful for and try to be grateful. And I try to love the people I meet.
