Whenever we take a pause from our usual classroom schedule and work life, there's this phase where we all need to readjust and regroup. Returning to school after winter break is no exception! After a few weeks of staying up later than usual and enjoying lazy mornings, getting back into a routine can be very challenging. That's why a little pre-planning can go a long way in making it a smooth and less shocking first day back for everyone! Check out these teacher tips that are guaranteed to help you and your students have a smooth transition back.
1. The Morning Mixed Feelings Greeting
We know how important that morning greeting at the door can be for welcoming our littles. It's especially important to meet and greet on the first day back to acknowledge the many emotions that a return to school brings.
Some students may be overly excited and full of energy, while others may be sad, anxious or even lethargic. It's a great opportunity for you to assess the overall mood of the class to be prepared to head off any meltdowns, separation anxiety tears or behavior problems before they occur.
2. Allow Extra Time for Sharing
If morning meetings are a regular part of your routine, after students are unpacked and settled in, gather together for some classroom community sharing time. Allowing students to tell about their winter break is a great way to get it all out so they can better focus on learning activities.
It often takes a long time to share out with a group of 24 or more students, so consider a think, pair, share activity rather than circle time. You can work in several partner rotations in a short amount of time. It has been my experience that shy and reluctant students feel more comfortable in a partnership.
I use partner pairing cards to quickly assign random classroom buddies for partner activities. My class loves to do stand up, hand up, pair up with them as they seek out their partner who has the matching card.
Before any talking begins, you can share YOUR winter break activities or holiday celebration stories with your students by modeling what a good discussion might look like as well as what good listening behaviors look like. It's a sure way to hook them in and get their attention because kiddos LOVE hearing details about the great mystery of their teacher's life outside of school!
3. Review Rules, Procedures and Expectations
Get your class back in the groove and make sure that there are clear expectations for behavior, classroom routines and for following established classroom rules to get the year started off on the right foot.
Going over absolutely everything at once is a little overwhelming and negative, so a reminder before the start of any transition like your unpacking procedure, line up routine, or lunchroom visit is a great way to break up these reminders. Little bits at a time will guarantee things run more smoothly.
4. Ease Back into Learning
There is almost always a bit of what I call vacation brain or learning slide following any break from school, so this is the perfect time to review lessons that were started in December before moving forward.
It's time to pull out a few no prep review worksheets, plan for a read aloud story that has supplemental lesson activities, or to have ready to go learning activities like PowerPoint lessons, task cards or writing centers. Focus on high interest, fun and engaging lessons for the students and that don't require a ton of prep work.
I like to start the day with a New Year word search (freebie) that students can work and here and there throughout the day.
Here are some really fun winter themed math and ELA task cards for a get up and move scoot activity that my class really enjoys!
I try to have these types of activities copied and ready to go before break and in a very visible place like smack dab in the middle of my desk, so I do not forget what I have planned for day one!
5. Set Classroom and Personal Goals
Even if you head back a week after the New Year, it's never too late to have your students adopt that growth mindset and set new goals for school or home. This New Year Goal flap book is an easy way to accomplish this and, the best part is, at the end of the activity, you have a ready to go January bulletin board display of student work!
6. Declutter and Organize in Small Bites
At some point in the day, give students a chance to clean out their desks or cubbies. Have a few trash bins throughout the room if possible to minimize the traffic flow and chaos.
But instead of a full blown, take EVERYTHING out and stack it up (and hope it doesn't slide and crash onto the floor in a rainbow explosion of lost crayons and pencils), challenge students to do it in small bites that are manageable throughout the first week. Directions like find five bits of paper to throw away or put three supplies back in your pencil box... break this daunting task down and reduce the mayhem that desk cleaning may bring about.
Organizing student desks in two halves helps them find things easily. Supplies go on one side, and workbooks, notebooks, and spiral notebooks on the other. A ready pencil is kept out of the pencil case and that prevents the banging and clanging of boxes during transitions to pencil paper tasks!
My students know the desk fairy visits them regularly and leaves a note and a special treat so they are really motivated to keep up on things in their own personal space. You can grab some free desk fairy notes at my TPT store!
With January weather keeping many classrooms inside, consider asking if any students would like to help with an extra organizing job or two during recess or when they finish a task quickly. What we teachers see as a chore, some students LOVE!
Students have a great time helping out with classroom and teacher things that are a privilege to handle like classroom manipulatives or the teacher's read aloud library! My students used to beg for extra jobs instead of playing and when working on a task with with a group of friends, they had so much fun!
While I supervise the students doing their organizing and clean up work, I get going on purging any leftover December and holiday stuff in the room and clear out my Monday through Friday drawers to be sure I have room for new copies, read aloud books for the week, learning activities and projects that need to be prepped.
Decluttering your computer and desk by deleting old emails, voicemail messages, notifications and desktop files is a great thing to work on during prep the first week back. Maybe it's time to tackle the secret hoard in the desk drawer too! :)
Even ten minutes a day spent on organizing will keep your home away from home clutter free, stress free and much more manageable.
Maybe that would make for a great New Year goal if you haven't already started on your path to organization!
7. End the Day on a Positive Note
You made it through so be sure to recognize and compliment your class on a job well done so that they leave your room feeling ready to give you their best this week.
An end of the day game, Go Noodle dance off or even a special treat like a bag full of hot chocolate snowman soup is a wonderful way to keep it positive when you send students on their way and to get all of your kiddos excited for another day of classroom fun and learning!
Conclusion
Facing the return to school after a break can be challenging for everyone. However, by recognizing that students have many different feelings about coming back and giving them the opportunity to share their experiences, reviewing academics and classroom expectations, you can establish a foundation for a successful, organized and goal-oriented start to classroom learning in January!
Happy teaching!
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