Maintaining Positive Classroom Management During the Holiday Chaos

Okay, teacher friends, here we go. We are heading into that season of craziness that is the holidays in the classroom. Now, I don't know when you're listening to this episode, but at the time of recording we are in the middle of October and I remember being in the classroom from it seemed to start at Halloween. We got Halloween, we got conferences, we got Thanksgiving, we've got all the winter festivities, and that period in the classroom seemed to simultaneously go in the blink of an eye and yet at the same time, just go on forever and if we're not careful, all that chaos that can ensue can really just suck the joy out of the holidays. So I have five tips for you on how to calm the classroom chaos and how to keep everything on track and move in and out of the holiday season with a little sparkle and a little grace and a little less grinch. Stay tuned, we'll get right to it. Welcome to the Balance your Teacher Life Podcast, where we talk all things avoiding educator burnout, setting healthy boundaries and achieving better work-life balance. If you're passionate about education but tired of it consuming your whole life, you have found your home in the podcast universe. I'm your host, grace Stevens, and let's get going with today's show. Okay, here we go. I am going with the five tips to calm the chaos in your classroom over the holidays, but while there's going to be a bonus tip, but here's the thing I think you're going to figure out pretty much that all five of these tips revolve around the same theme and that is, for the love of all, that's holy. We have got to do less. That's it. We've got to do less. Calm inside the classroom starts with calm outside the classroom, and if you're a teacher and a parent, you know that you are pulling double duty. Right now we are bending over backwards, running ourselves ragged and just in crazy town, because somehow we got this idea in our minds that we are responsible for every child that we come into contact with having the most magical holiday experience, and it's just not realistic. Right? We can't be all things to all people, and I don't want to say our family should come first, but certainly when it comes to the holidays and priorities and things they want to do, let's start there. Let's not assume that they want to do all the things that we want them to do, that all the things that we never got to do when we were a kid, and we want to live vicariously. Right, we're decorating our house like the cringles and just all the craziness. So here's my first tip, and it is going to work outside the classroom and then on campus. And let me tell you what it is. It is to strategically reduce the number of activities you engage in. You're going to do less so that you can enjoy them more. And at home, what that might look like is you taking a survey of the family, have a little family meeting and let's ask, if you all got to do one thing this holiday, that's your favorite thing. What would that be? And for me, I remember the year I tried to implement this and I got lucky. My two kids both told me the exact same thing. That was most important to them was our tradition of bundling up in our pajamas, getting in the mom minivan. Ooh, if we were feeling extra bougie. We drove through Starbucks to get a hot chocolate, but sometimes we just made it at home and put it in a to-go cup. But we would bundle up with our hot chocolate in the car in our pajamas and drive around the neighborhoods looking at the lights. There was one particular event in the town where I lived where it was amazing that this pastor started with his congregation decorating in September and they would have up to 250,000 lights. It was amazing. But you had to stand in line forever to get in and then you kind of pushed your way through quickly. I thought it was the most magical things ever. You know what? My kids did not care. Turns out that was my passion project, not theirs. So take a survey. Everybody gets one pick and if you're lucky, two people will have the same pick. Now how does this play out at school? We're not going to be asking all our students what's your favorite thing you want to do, but what you are going to do is, if you're in a great span team or a departmental team, we could all choose what's everybody's one favorite thing to do. So that one you're not duplicating where somebody else is doing, but you're not feeling this competition like. I remember gosh, you know what's the. You might not think about this, but if you are. You teach a lower grades and you have twins. Okay, you have twins in. A lot of parents want the twins separated into different classrooms for lots of different reasons. So here's where the problem comes in. One classroom does gingerbread houses and the other classroom doesn't, one twin is upset. Usually, you know, kids don't know what's going on in the other classroom. But when you have one kid in each classroom or cousins in the other classrooms, right, it kind of gets important to coordinate In. So that's a good place to ask what's one thing that we can do. Okay, so inside the classroom you just got to look at all the crazy activities that you have planned and really think which of the value ads, which are the ones the kids really enjoy? Which are the ones that we really enjoy? Which are the ones are we just doing and beating a dead horse because we think it will be fun, but turned out to be the exact opposite. I'll give you an example. One of my teammates love, love, loved the polar express. Okay, I will tell you that the year that that movie came out it was a long time ago because it was early in my career must have been 1819 years and I taught a title. One school, rural school at the middle of nowhere, very large number of low, social, economically impacted children, and so, consequently, some of them have never been to the movie theater before. So we rented the whole movie theater and, off time, got the school buses, let the kids come in their pajamas Watch the movie magical very fun, okay. In the movie theater they were kind of contained, it was something new for them, so they attended real well. With the following year we decided let's serve hot chocolate in the classroom, marshmallows and whipped cream, and we're projecting on the on the on the wall and we let the kids lay down and watch it. And, oh my gosh, what a disaster. First off, feel kids up with sugar and ask them to lay down to watch a movie. That's, you know, probably an hour too long for six year olds. You know it was just a recipe, the disaster. But it's something I really wanted to do. Excited was magical and if you ask the kids, they would rather have had a little. You know what's the 20 minute Charlie Brown, and then had some free time to do something else. So that's how we're gonna think about that. Less right, you don't need to do the Grinch hand prints and bake the gingerbread houses and have the party with all the sugar and you know all the things Right. So try and scale it down, do less and enjoy it more. So that's tip number one outside the classroom and inside the classroom. Okay, tip number two is all my gosh. You gotta leave yourself some wiggle room. Things take longer than we want at this time of year. We need to leave ourselves, you know, some margin, some room that it's gonna take longer. We're gonna have to kids and not gonna be as focused. We're gonna have to take some time to reteach some concepts. Right, not a one and done island the hard way. That the day after Halloween is not the day to teach second graders subtraction with regrouping. It would have been better to review some other things and then practice as the beat introduced to that skill another day. Right, you gotta have extra time in your day for some discussions around. You know, social, emotional issues. Kids get upset. Just regulated. Some kids home lives are very chaotic. Holidays can be very stressful on families, right, family struggling with all kinds of things that stress emanates in their household and comes to school with the kids. So as long, as well as giving yourself extra time, it's really important that this time of year we double down on routines and processes. There's a tendency, you know, the beginning of the year August, september. You know we've practiced our routines, we got them down. We assume the kids have them. But you know, teaching the routines is not a one and done. We know that Now, especially when things start to get super crazy, now is not the time to be inconsistent. Now's not the time to say, oh well, they're in Halloween costumes, we'll just let them run to lunch, they're out of control anyway. No, we got to really double down on our procedures, our routines, on structure. This helps students feel secure to know what's expected of them, to know that the teacher is firmly in control. Okay, so extra patience, but extra attention to detail and consistency, okay, all right. Tip number three so far we've had do less, enjoy it more Right. Then we've had leave yourself wiggle room. There was really two tips in one, because the other, really important part of that was double down on routines and structure. Three think calm. How can you infuse calm into the day in an intentional way? Right, I've a lot of episodes, a lot of resources out there on mindfulness, brain breaks for students inside the classroom. So certainly start incorporating more of that into your day. But just think slower, right? Students feed off your energy when you're frenetic and you just have that energy where you just cannot get everything done. There's so much to do, you're so overwhelmed. Oh my gosh, will you just be quiet already Now. Kids feed off that. So make the conscious effort to talk slower, to lower your voice, right Anything you can do to create an ambiance of calm. You know most classroom these days have a big smart board or screen in their room. This time of year my classroom I would always make an effort before students came in I would make sure I was streaming something. Oh my gosh, you can find so many wonderful ones on YouTube Either a nice winter scene, because we were in California we never saw the snow A nice winter scene. Or the Yule log right, the trientral Yule log, so that we could feel cozy. That would stream the image. And classical music O'Forgot, yeah, when you nya Just have a kind of calmer ambience playing classical music when students are working. Having resources available for students to do independently Some students when they're overwhelmed and overstimulated, it's really important that they can have something to do self-directed, at their own pace. So whether that's some kind of digital room that you make on Google Classroom where they can go in and do different mindfulness exercises or something that engages their brain, is somewhat academically related, but they can do independently. They can put in their headphones and just get involved in their own little world. That's really important to some students. Other students want to do something creative. Maybe some coloring pages. I know I've made them available before. You can go find them at my TPD store. They're free. That are mandalas, really nice images that kids can color and have positive growth mindset affirmations on them. So a little calm, quiet coloring corner. Just have activities available for students who, if you know that they have a tendency to get overstimulated, you can just go up to them and quietly say hey, there's a lot going on right now. Would you enjoy doing something calm and quiet? So have stuff ready so that you're not scrambling right or just repeatedly telling kids like calm down, be quiet, like telling kids to calm down or shh. You know that's not a classroom management strategy. If that's what you've been relying on, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. That's telling kids to calm down. It's not a strategy. Have something good for them to do, something calm, be prepared, model appropriate behavior. Those things will help. Okay, so that was number three. Number four don't feel the pressure to keep reinventing the wheel. Right, you have tried and true activities writing, assignments, crafts, things that you'd like to do this time of year. They're already prepared. Don't feel the pressure like, oh, I've done that four or five years already, I need to do something new. Why? Why do you do need to do something new? If you enjoy it, if the students enjoy it, I'm going to tell you. If the parents enjoy it, they're going to be upset. You did something new. Every year I would have my students make a holiday ornament and I made it really easy on myself. We used to make these really elaborate ornaments and then at the end of the day, I just went on what's the website that Oriental Express, whatever one of them that does all the bulk purchases, and I would just buy nice little ornaments, but we take their Christmas, their school photo and put it inside and they would write on the back, create, and then they would decorate the back. Simple, easy, but something they could give their parents if they celebrated the holidays. And I did the same thing year in, year out, about four or five years and I was like maybe we should do something different. So I did something different and of course, the parents like this is the third sibling that we've had in your room and we were looking forward to the ornament. Right? So don't if something's working and it's something you like to do and the kids enjoy. Again, don't feel pressured to just keep finding new stuff. Another example we have a winter program that we put on every year and I was always very mindful. Not everybody celebrates the way I celebrate and so I would not sing a Christmas song annoyed some board members. At some point I was asked to do something more traditional, to which my answer was this song is about love and caring for others. I think that's the beautiful holiday sentiment. Anyway, you would sing this song and you might know it's by a group called Alternate Roots. I can't play it, probably infringers copyright, but the kids would sing it. We are love. We are one. We are how we treat each other. When the day is done Like, who could object to that? And it has hand gestures Beautiful. We did it, I want to say, maybe five years in a row. Kids loved it. I got a new teaching partner for the great span and she wanted to do something different. Oh, you've done that. You know the same song for years. Who cares? It's different kids, it's different parents, right? And then there was a whole bunch of stress about teaching the kids something new and it was very elaborate. And at the last minute she said this isn't working. Can we just do what you've always done before? Yeah, why not? Right? So, just, I mean, if you have new ideas and this is your creative juices come to life this time of year yeah, you do it, you do you. But if, like me, you get overwhelmed and your only goal is not to show up like the Grinch and to suck the joy out of the room because you're frazzled and overwhelmed, then you know, do what makes you comfortable. Don't feel obligated to come up with new and exciting. If what you've done before you know has worked, okay, all right. Tip number five, number five I shouldn't have to articulate this, but let's say it just because, please don't fall into the trap of not being culturally sensitive. It will come and bite you, okay? So tip number five is all about the parents, and I would say that part one of this is make sure you over communicate this time of year. Okay, most of us have classroom communication apps on our phone. However, you communicate with parents, make it simple, make it quick. Don't just assume that students are so invested in the class party and the winner program and the Halloween parade that they're going to give their parents the good information Over communicate, remind people again and again, and again, because nothing will in rage. Students excuse me, parents, more than if they missed the winner program, showed up late to the parade. You know all the things, even though you had it posted. Google Classroom sent the email, sent the class. Joe, you know, wrote it on the kids hand. Whatever you need to do, over communicate when these things are happening. Parents are overwhelmed. There is so much happening right at this time of year. So, over when in doubt, send another text, okay, send another message and at the same time, be sensitive. Not everybody celebrates the same way. Some students don't celebrate at all. Make sure there are activities that are appropriate for everybody and that you're being sensitive, especially with your writing assignments. You know, and that's not even just because students who don't maybe celebrate Christmas and have gifts to unwrap. But what about students who you know the best thing they got for Christmas was you know something very small, right? Avoid any kind of writing assignment that's about my favorite gift. Or you know what I did on Christmas Day. You know everybody celebrates Christmas, right? Make the assignment the happiest memory of my winter break or the best connection I made with a family member on my winter break, something that is that is inclusive to everybody. But here's where I wanted to go with this, as well as over. Communicate to parents. You know boundary up, you know me. My two big things your energy teaches more than your lesson plans and boundary up right. Just exert your boundaries in a way that is loving and inclusive, but don't allow yourself to be bullied, and there are parents out there who will do it. You are not obligated to spend a whole day teaching about their religious preferences or cultural preferences. Okay, involve the students. I loved, I loved students to share. I put the onus on them. I'm not an expert on every world religion and every holiday and every way that people celebrate. I put the onus on the students that there was some kind of assignment that they could share with the class how they celebrated, and then the parents could get involved that way. But I'm not going to take a day out of my instruction to teach all about that. I'll be open to it. We can take a little time. We will cover everything for every student in the class, but I'm not taking days out of the curriculum. As I've mentioned before, we need to make instructional choices. We need to understand that around the holiday season it's hard to teach new concepts, and certainly not in a one and done fashion. And we all know that our scope and sequence for curriculum doesn't take into effect. It's the kids extra, just unregulated, distracted, right for a whole two month period. If we let it go by, we don't have two months of curriculum. We don't have that much wiggle room that we can just ditch the curriculum right and do the fun activities. We got to keep on track and that is part of the consistency to students. No, we come to school to learn and to do assignments, so don't allow yourself to be bullied by parents. Okay, so there you go. There are your five tips. They all kind of revolve around the common theme would be come on, do less be intentional, do less enjoy it more. Anticipate that there's going to be craziness and don't let it control you. Control what you can control, and there's a lot that you can control in the classroom being consistent, being calm, having expectations, holding students to it yes, having the fun, yes, infusing some magic, but it doesn't need to be a whole bunch of craziness. I'm gonna recap for you the five strategies. So, number one recognize that calm in the classroom starts outside the classroom, and one of the suggestions I had was to survey people in your life and your school. What's the most important thing for us to do right now and don't feel obligated to do it all. Number two double down on structure and routines and anticipate that things are gonna take longer than you think. Leave yourself wiggle room. Don't be so running from one activity to the next, to the next to the next, like everything in the world would have to go right for this to happen. We know that in the classroom there are so many variables we can't run with military precision. Okay, we're gonna set ourselves up for fail if we think that way. Tip number three was anything you can do to create calm, right lower voices and be on Choices for students to be self directed and decompress if they need to. Tip number four take the pressure off yourself to always be new and innovative and creative. This time of year, it is okay to do the things that you have done for years if everybody enjoys them. Number five to do with parents over communicate, be culturally sensitive, of course, but at the same time, don't let them bully you. Alright, so those are my tips. I know that this can be just the greatest, like some of the most beautiful moments in the classroom the fun, the joy and if you keep these tips in mind, you'll be less likely to be the Grinch who is just Crawling, trying to get to the finish line and get the holidays all over and done with me. So not the point, right? Okay, you got this and I will see you next time.