Surviving the Holiday Hustle: Five Teacher Tips for a Smooth End to the Year!

You made it, Teacher Bestie! Once the Halloween shenanigans are behind you, you are officially in the countdown to Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks!

While that sounds exciting, we have actually entered one of the most difficult parts of the school year. Your personal and/or family life is probably extra busy, on top of the hectic workday.

If your school is anything like the ones I worked at, you probably have some assortment of:

👻Field trips

👻Rehearsals for holiday performances

👻Holiday performances

👻Holiday parties

👻Drives and fundraisers

…all taking away from your precious instructional time. 

So how do you survive this holiday season of Mariah Carey and rowdy classes? (Because, let’s be honest, this is DEFINITELY survival time.)

Here are five tips for a smooth end to the calendar year:

Plan ahead with low-prep activities.

Your plans are likely to get foiled over and over, BUT it’s always a good idea to have some easy lessons up your sleeve. 

PLAN TO MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF. 

This is NOT the time of year to be doing complex novel studies or deeply-involved writing assessments. Save that stuff for January.

Need some quick and easy ideas? Check out this blog: 

Six Low-Prep Thanksgiving-Themed Writing Activities for Middle School ELA 

Get your students involved.

Find some activities where your students get to take ownership and be involved. One of my go-to activities for the busy season is to assign a project with student presentations. 

When done well, presentations = STUDENTS teaching your classes. 

Teach your project directions, then provide LOTS of in class work time. 

Yes, you will need to also teach them your expectations of that work time so they aren’t just playing games on their Chromebook, but it’ll use up class periods while still challenging them, and it won’t matter so much if classes get canceled or students get pulled from class. 

Check out some of my favorite projects for print-and-go ease! These are all editable so you can adapt them to any unit of study or topic.

FREE: Literature Unit Project: Research, Literature Connection, & Rubric

TPT: Choice Board Project on Theme | Middle School ELA Novel Study

                                                     

TPT: Poetry Book Project

TPT: Vocabulary Dictionary Project & Checklist

TPT: Research Project: Choice Board with Vocabulary Application

                                                      

Seek support.

Give yourself a special gift for the holidays by getting over your pride/fear/etc., and ask for help. 

Is there a veteran teacher at your school you can talk to about your classroom issues? 

Could you reach out to a FB teacher group, or even email me?! (ms.t@talbertscurriculumcorner.com)

You are not alone, Teacher Bestie, and when the going gets tough, you need your Teacher Besties to be by your side.💚

Plan time to relax.

Sit with your calendar and plan out at least one hour a week to relax. 

I'm serious. DO IT NOW.

Whether that means reading a book (FOR FUN), going for a walk, calling a friend, or vegging and watching your favorite show. 

If you give yourself a well-deserved break every now and then, it’ll prevent burnout in the long run and you’ll have more patience with your students.

Be flexible.

I hate this one. I internally roll my eyes every time someone tells me, “Thanks for being flexible.” 

HOWEVER, being mentally prepared for your plans to go off the rails will save you heartbreak later. 

PLEASE be ready for your day to go to hell in a handbasket at a moment’s notice. This is why #1 is important. 

It’s also important to know that it’s okay to put on Mickey’s Christmas Carol or let your students play Heads-Up, Seven Up or Four Corners every once in a while. 

Give yourself permission to have some flexibility and simple backup plans for WHEN (not if) shit goes nutty.

Which of these will you implement for yourself this year? What other tips would you add to this list?

💚Holly