What would it be like if teaching CLIL would be as easy as tidying up your kitchen?
Estimated time to read this article: 4 minutes
Last week I was alone during an evening, with the kids already in bed.
I had promised my wife I would tidy up the kitchen.
And the kitchen could use a little decluttering, believe me..
As I was going through all of the things that needed to be tidied up I noticed I had an urge to start tidying up everything as it felt good to tidy up the mess and make everything look organised again.
You can understand my wife would not mind if I would do this more often…
Feel both organised and energised
Anyway, during this 2 hour (!!) session of decluttering the house I noticed two things:
1. I felt organised
Decluttering the house helped me feel relaxed and organised
And I did not think of that myself, apparently this is something that has actually been researched
Be careful not to do this so you have 'something to do', that is actually procrastinating.
2. I felt energised
It gave me a lot of energy because everything was tidied up without me having to put in a lot of effort (read: having to do a lot of heavy thinking).
After all, I knew exactly what I needed to do and when to do it.
(Seriously though, we have too many toys…)
I noticed I really like being able to just do things without having to think about them.
A colleague of mine once said:
Full mind? Do something physical.
Tired body? Challenge yourself mentally.
That is an interesting thought, and I think it applies to this situation.
Decluttering the house was not something physical (as in: workout), but it was something that I could almost do on auto-pilot, without a lot of thinking.
The next step was clear, I knew what to do or where to put it.
And this created not just a lot of clarity in my mind, it even gave me a lot of energy!
Key Take Away
Decluttering your desk (or kitchen) can help you to declutter your mind
Decluttering your CLIL preparation
If only CLIL teaching was like that, right?
Unlike tidying up your own house, you might not
Often I would come home after teaching, completely drained because I have had to improvise to a lot of unexpected situations happening in the classroom.
And to a degree, that is unavoidable.
Part of what makes teaching great is the fact that children are unpredictable and make sure workdays are always different from what you expect them to be.
But it is possible to have a certain degree of ‘mindfulness’ in your teaching!
Key Take Away
Preparing a CLIL lesson can be like having to tidy up a house without having a clue where to put everything.
CLIL in Corona Times workshop
Curious to find out how you can teach your next (online) CLIL lesson in a way that gives you energy instead of draining you?
Sign up for the CLIL in Corona Times workshop and allow me to share:
The early-bird price of 17,- ends Friday April 23 2021, so be sure to have a look if this sounds interesting!