The 'Back from Holiday Break' Struggles
The 'Back from Holiday Break' struggles are REAL - am I right?
To be honest I kinda dread it each year. Am I super excited to see those faces I've missed over break? Yes. Do I want to go back and have to re-teach procedures and expectations? No, not particularly.
But....truth is, after several weeks off from school, sometimes our little learners forget expectations and rules. They have been out of practice and therefore need some reminders.
It happens every January. I need to re-teach, remind and sing my way through the month. Sure, the severity of these needs differs each year, from class to class - but I've never not had to revisit expectations.
But, the good news is (and I remind myself of this often in January) is that this process of re-teaching procedures and expectations doesn't take nearly as long as it did at the beginning of the year. <Thank goodness! They already have practiced these things (as long as you don't change or add too many procedures) - so it will be more like 'getting back into the groove'.
I've got three go-to resources I use to make the re-teaching a little easier - and faster. And I wanted to share them with you!
First up, I'll be using my procedure cards like mad. Visuals are the BEST way to remind littles of procedures that we have in our classroom. After winter break, I like to review these cards often - it really helps everyone get back on track.
Another must-do to manage the back-from-break struggles is SINGING. Yes, singing... Well to be honest I sing all year long, but definitely more at the beginning of the year and after break. Singing transitions is so much better than asking the class to do something five hundred times and losing my cool :)
The last go-to resource that I make sure to have up and ready is our visual schedule. I love to use our visual schedule to avoid the 'What are we doing next?' questions. This is especially helpful after break when students may have forgotten schedule.
Now, with these three things I feel ready to tackle the after break struggles. I even plan in time in my lesson plans to review the visual schedule and procedure cards - just to set us up for success!
So, tell me- what are you planning to help your class 'get back into the groove'?
Good luck teacher friends- we got this!
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