Preparing for maternity leave can be a very stressful task. You are about to hand over your classroom and students to someone you barely know for several months. When I learned that I was expecting and started preparing for maternity leave. I had so many questions.
In this blog post, I have listed what I thought would be the 5 most helpful tips to make preparing for maternity leave as stress-free as possible.
1. Research benefits and know your rights
Schedule a meeting with your HR representative and discuss your maternity leave plans. I literally googled “Maternity Leave Laws” the night before our meeting. I wrote down all my questions and concerns before the meeting so that I wouldn’t forget anything. I made sure I asked about the district’s short term disability policy and the Family Medical Leave Act which allows 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a new born child, adopted child or foster child. If your spouse also works for the district, inquiry whether your spouse’s leave will take away from your total leave time.
2. Inform your principal and discuss all possible leave options
Prepare a proposed plan and inform your principal the exact date you plan to be out and the exact date you plan to come back.
3. Leave Detailed Lesson Plans
Leave detailed weekly lesson plans for the entire maternity leave. I purchased a file box and dividers to keep all of the materials organized. I also printed a master copy of each handout and activity and left a copy for the substitute teacher and the paraprofessional.
4. Have Your Substitute Teacher Shadow You
My principal was responsible for assigning a substitute for my maternity leave. My substitute was able to shadow me for a couple of days which helped tremendously.
5. Plan for your return back
Secure a babysitter or day care as soon as possible. Inform the caregiver when you will returning to work, your drop off and pick up schedule and any other details needed for a smooth transition.
Send a quick email to the principal reminding him when you will be returning to school. My principal was very happy to hear from me and seemed excited to have me back. I also sent a short email to the paraprofessional.
Prepare yourself mentally as well. I spent the weekend before returning doing a lot of self care activities and pampering myself. I went to the hair salon, I painted my nails and indulged in a new face mask.
Do a wardrobe check. I tried on and put aside all of the clothes that I would be wearing for the week.
Pack the baby’s bag for daycare and prepared notes for the babysitter the night before your return.
As you can tell maternity leave takes a lot of planning. I hope sharing these tips will make your time off easier so that you can enjoy your new baby without being stressed out over school.
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