Hang In There!

 We have just one week left until February vacation...

    You've got this! You just need to put one foot in front of the other until just about 3:15 on Friday afternoon. Then you can sit down and close your eyes knowing that you have accomplished, what seems to be, an absolutely amazing feat!  You survived the week before vacation by the skin of your teeth. 

    This vacation is always a tough one to come up on for many reasons. Here are a few. 

• You just recently finished administering the mid-year assessments. (It only took up some of your precious teaching time.)
• You wrote and sent home report cards. (One of the most stressful parts of the job if you ask me. Putting grades and comments in writing for parents...You can't tell me that you don't hold your breath until all of the signed report cards are back and there were no calls from parents.)
• Then you and your colleagues reviewed all of the results of the assessments; yes, the data. (Well, now is your time to feel bad about yourself and your teaching abilities, because all of the curriculum that was supposed to be completed at this point in the year, has not been taught. That leads to the sheer panic about all of the things you still need to do between now and the end of the year. You start looking at the calendar, noting all of the days we are not in school between now and then, and either laughing or crying ensues. 
• It gets better from there, because we are getting closer to this vacation. The vacation we love to hate, then love, then hate..... (Here's the good news- we aren't the only ones hanging on by the skin of our teeth, because the kids seem to be in the same state of waiting until next Friday.)

    I am not sure you really need my advice at this point, but since this is my blog, I can do what I want, and that I shall do. Giving up on regular plans in the face of being overwhelmed, or not wanting to start something new before break, or even knowing that the kids are starting to fall apart emotionally these days is not a good idea. It seems like throwing up your hands might be the easiest thing to do until you can regroup during your long break, but it is not. 

    The kids need you to keep the routines and work in place. The consistency helps them to stay focused. The routine is more important than ever and giving them challenging work keeps them engaged. It sounds counter intuitive sometimes, but I can assure you that it does the trick. Not only does it help the kids, but it will help you. Deviating from routines can throw us off kilter, whether we want it to or not. 

    That is not to sat that you can't weave if a few extra fun or physical activities. I highly encourage that. Get outside when the sun shines. Add in a few out of the ordinary math tasks. Just balance them out with quiet time and regular lessons. And don't you forget to take advantage of the slightly longer days, fresh snow, or warm sun. After all, you want to be able to enjoy your vacation, not be sick and tired the whole time. Right? 

    Remember, one step at a time. You are more than halfway through the year. You are smart enough and you are strong enough. Hang in there friend!