I'm sure you've given some thought to the first day back after this extended break, and I'm sure that you are not looking forward to hearing the alarm. Neither am I. It is a fact that our bodies get adjusted to a routine and we've all messed with that routine over the past 14 days. So how do we survive hearing that alarm and not throw the clock against the farthest wall?
1. Prepare. You know you have to get up so prepare your mind for the inevitable. I hate getting up at 5 am (or earlier), but I don't mind 6 am so..... I set my clock one hour ahead. My first thought when the alarm goes off is..... "Oh, is it already 6?" I'm awake before my brain fully kicks in. I also set a second alarm in the bathroom so I have to get up to shut it off. Mission accomplished.
2. Rest. I want to be rested so I'll actually try to be in bed earlier than I've made it the past 2 weeks. And, before retiring I tell myself that I will not hate getting up, but I will be thankful for my job and the opportunity to return to work. In other words, I give myself a positive pep talk. I focus on the ones that I am looking forward to seeing so that we can catch up. I relax knowing that I have things prepared for the first day (or week) back and I am anxious to get "back in the swing of things".
3. After School. Have a easy evening lined up. Take time now to prepare a pot of chili or a casserole. Pop it in the freezer. Before you leave for school take it out of the freezer, put in fridge (or do this the night before) so when you come home all you will need to do is heat up or bake supper. Sounds like work now, but trust me, you're going to be tired and not feel like fixing a meal. If your children are involved in after-school activities that is even more reason to have supper just waiting to be warmed. It is also okay to eat off of paper plates/bowls. The point: make things as easy as possible, allowing for your "back to school fatigue".
4. Classroom activities. You know that your students will be excited to share about their break. And you know they will have forgotten everything you have spent the past 5 months teaching them. They need time to refocus and share and you need to keep moving because there is never enough time to teach everything on the standard list. Compromise. Lose a few minutes to gain quality time later. Or get sneaky! For younger children have them draw a picture of all of the things they did over the Christmas break. Then have them trade the papers and share with a partner. For those that have learned nouns and verbs: have students make a graphic organizer (t-chart works well) with nouns on one side and verbs on the other. Nouns are gifts they gave or received, or people they saw, etc. Verbs are things they did. Then have them share with a partner. Older students like to talk so have them work in pairs to create a collage of things that represent their Christmas break. Display the collages around the room. If you don't have magazines, check with the local library and school library for discards. Younger students might like to do a collage, but using glue and scissors the first day back may not be a good idea for little ones. You are the best judge of whether your students can handle this.
For everyone: put scrambled winter words on the board. Select ones that are age appropriate for your group and have them unscramble the word and use it in a sentence. For math, you can have them use the words in a word problem, then trade and let students solve each other's word problems. Find an age appropriate article and project on your board or make copies for each student. You can give groups of students different copies and form expert groups to share with the class what they have discovered. Have them read the article ( or a paragraph if the article is long) and answer who, what, where, when, why, and how questions ( or those questions that apply to the article). Find famous people that have January birthdays and do some research. Have students find examples of figurative language in poetry or paraphrase poetry. Something fun with poetry is have the student illustrate what they think the poem is about.
Here are some articles to use:
Winter Word List
How Snow is Made
How is Snow Formed?
How Snow Forms
Benjamin Franklin
George Washington Carver
Betsy Ross
Carl Sandburg
50 Winter Poems ( some are not age appropriate)
Poems for Kids ( this one even has teacher help sheets!)
In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your break!
No comments