Why October Is the Worst Month for a Teacher Mom

Let’s all agree on one universal truth: October is the worst month to be a teacher mom.

It’s like the school year finally drops its “honeymoon phase” and shows its true colors…chaotic orange and bone-tired black. Everything happens at once.

It’s conference season, which means twelve-hour days, endless data dives, and cold coffee that’s been reheated more times than your leftovers. It’s field trip season, too. Permission slips, checklists, and although they are fun, they also quickly add to the mental load. It’s IEPs, MTSS meetings, and READ plan season. The kind of paperwork that leaves you feeling like you are running a full-time admin job on top of your actual full-time job of teaching.

And because the universe has a sense of humor, October is also the official kickoff of sick season. You start every day with a vitamin lineup that rivals a pharmacy shelf, and yet somehow, you still end up coughing through read-alouds. Cue the dreaded sub plan panic. Writing them, organizing them, realizing there’s no sub available anyway, and deciding it’s actually easier to teach with a fever.

But here’s the kicker: the teacher load meets the mom load, and that’s when October really shines in all her chaotic glory.

You’re juggling twenty sets of conference notes while trying to remember to order your kid’s Halloween costume three weeks early so it actually arrives on time. You’re stocking up on both candy and multivitamins for Halloween. You’re checking if last year’s snow gear still fits (spoiler: it doesn’t) while reminding other parents to send theirs in for recess. You’re swapping out your kids’ closets for a new season, dressing everyone up for picture day, and setting reminders for pumpkin contests, fall festivals, and whatever else October decides to throw your way.

It’s the first true dose of the school year’s chaos. The one that makes you question how we ever call this “fall break” season when there’s absolutely nothing break-like about it.

So, to every teacher-mom out there fighting the October storm: I see you. I hear your congested cough. I salute your coffee-fueled survival.

We’ll make it through.
But seriously—no thank you, October.

Let’s not lose our minds together,

Tori