Tomorrow is the first day after Thanksgiving break and the beginning of the madness that is the holiday season.  The Christmas trees have been put up in the majority of their homes, the stores are decorated and playing holiday songs and the kids are dreaming of the latest and greatest video games, devices and toys.

Their evenings after school will be spent going to holiday events, participating in holiday concerts and performances, visiting family and shopping, all in the name of holiday fun.  There will be a lack of sleep, an increase in poor eating habits and as a result, their performance at school will suffer.  Despite this, teachers will attempt to keep business as usual, with the added pressure of required assessments before the end of the quarter.

The biggest challenge will be their behavior, the excitement, lack of sleep, and stress over school contributing to their impulsivity and higher emotional states.  What this usually means for teachers is survival mode, pushing procedures as much as they can without pushing themselves or their students over the edge.  These same teachers are also trying to have a life of their own, attending the same events and having family time like everyone else, if they have any energy left after teaching.

In my class, where I will see my students a total of four times between now and break, I need to prepare all of them to participate in our all-school sing,  prepare 5th grade to attend an opera, prepare 4th grade to go to Heritage School and finish quarterly assessments, not to mention two choir performances.  The stress to get everything done in such a short amount of time while trying to maintain some semblance of order can be overwhelming.  Oh, and did I mention an observation next week?

Now, before you think everything is doom and gloom for the next three and a half weeks, sometimes the madness can be a lot of fun.  The Kindergartners will be excited about the most simple things.  We’ll play music games and sing songs like Jingle Bells (which I’ve been told is their FAVORITE song) and there will be much laughter and fun.  Those 4th and 5th graders will have fun acting out the opera and singing their Heritage School songs.  We’ll have fun playing boomwhackers and instruments to learn new concepts and add some movement and dances to get their wiggly bodies moving.  The key to all of this is for me to let loose a little bit and embrace the madness, using it as a time to enjoy my students and maybe become a little bit of a kid myself. I’ll still leave school exhausted but maybe not as frustrated.

So maybe a few things to consider during this crazy season.   Remember those teachers who are giving their all out of their love for teaching children.  While the media tends to focus on any negativity attached to the profession, the truth is, the profession is full of loving, caring people who believe in the power of a great education.  And make time to slow down and enjoy each other and your family. Childhood is fleeting.  Embrace the madness and have a wonderful holiday season.