Five Strategies for Surviving the Holidays
By Tracee Orman
Most of us have just wrapped up parent-teacher conferences, fall break, and have our first quarter in the books. But we're entering the time where everything around us starts (or continues 😜) to get bonkers. Not only do we have constant interruptions in our normal teaching week, but our students are starting to get stir-crazy with the holidays quickly approaching.
So how can we manage it all and still keep our sanity? NOW is the time to start planning and getting ahead of all the wildness that is to come. Here are a few strategies to help you survive this holiday season:
1. Be flexible!
Flexibility is key this time of year! Just plan for constant interruptions, days off, assemblies, fire drills, etc. In the weeks ahead, we will have Red Ribbon Week, Election Day, Veterans Day, pep assemblies for sports playoffs, music concerts, Thanksgiving break, and so much more and that's just November! You have to be flexible in this job. Know that you will probably be interrupted several times, so try to keep your units shorter. When you are planning out your lessons build in extra days with nothing. Believe me, you will not accomplish what you plan so you will be pushing back everything into those empty days. I learned this the hard way (then I stopped planning in advance 😆).
2. Streamline Grading
• Make life easier by using simple-to-grade assignments and utilizing rubrics. Bell-ringers, exit slips, and anything that can be done for a completion grade are great when you have little time and many interruptions. If you are teaching a writing unit, definitely take advantage of pre-made rubrics. One trick is to focus on just one or two elements of the rubric and grade just for that criteria. It speeds up your grading process to allow you to get through more essays faster. This piece of advice given to me by a colleague years ago was a life-saver.
• If you have to show student growth for your evaluations, use a growth tracker that automates the process. Just input the data and the form will do the sorting for you! It is a definite time-saver.
3. Lean into the Holidays
• It's only natural for students to get excited for the holidays this time of year. Instead of fighting it, lean into it with some holiday activities! It can be as simple as these FREE holiday-themed bell ringers. They can be used independently or with the current text you are reading. I also included some for your favorite history teacher.
• You can be more elaborate and plan a unit with a holiday theme. One of my favorites is using the idea of regifting as a theme for argument writing. No matter what your religion, gift-giving is universal and is a pretty safe theme if you are restricted from celebrating holidays in your school. This activity ALWAYS gets students engaged and their opinions are always split! It's so much fun and you can expand the assignment to have them create polls and infographics, as well.
• Have your students do a research project based on different holidays around the world. Have each student in each class draw a different holiday (or have them complete this in pairs). Require them to research and present their findings to the class. This activity can check many boxes: they learn research skills, practice writing and speech, and it's easier for you to grade than a million essays!
4. Prioritize Self-Care
• Schedule downtime or "me" time. For some, this may be taking a walk or exercising; for others, it may be reading a book or favorite magazine. Whatever it is that relaxes you and makes you happy, make sure to schedule time for it at least once a week.
• Set boundaries. Make a point not to check your school emails or messages after school hours. When you are with your family, turn your phone and computer off and just enjoy time away from the screen. Staying off social media can actually save you a lot of time when you could be getting other work done (like during your prep period). However, if being on social media is your version of self-care, then, by all means, use it. Just don't let it dominate your life or prevent you from being productive.
5. Organize and Prepare for the New Year
One of the best things you can do before you leave on ANY holiday break, whether it is Thanksgiving or Christmas, is have plans prepared for when you return. Have all your copies printed or Google Classroom assignments created, etc. Have it all ready to go so you can go on break without having to think about what you are going to teach when you return. If you need ideas for activities for the new year, I've got you covered here.
Check out these great activities by my colleagues you can use in the coming weeks!
Escape Room Activities Bundle by The Classroom Sparrow
Holiday Literacy Activities by Addie Williams
Holidays Around the World Non-Fiction Activities by Presto Plans
Thanks so much for reading, Friends!
