December, here we come!
This is an amazing month full of all kinds of holidays and activities and cuteness... but too many times I've seen children truly overwhelmed by the festivities and excitement. They get tired and cranky, and before we know it, they're just struggling to keep it together! I'm determined to do everything I can to prevent my babes from getting too stressed out. Here's my plan:
1. I already sent home a note about sleep! The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a minimum of 10-11 hours per night for children ages five to seven. A recent study on children and sleep found that “a modest addition of sleep each night (27 minutes in the study) resulted in significant improvement in their ability to regulate their emotions.” Many parents don't realize how much sleep their kiddos need, so I decided tell them!
2. Routine, routine, routine! We have worked so hard to establish routines since the first day of school. Now is not the time to throw all that out the window. In our classroom, we'll be sticking with the routine as much as possible. Yes, it's that time of year with the schedule is constantly changing, and it does require flexibility. But the fewer the disruptions the better!
3. I try to keep the number of holiday activities in check. We will stick to our usual Writing Workshop activities, and our Reader's Workshop won't change. I'll include fun holiday activities in each day, but I'm careful not to overwhelm my students with CHRISTMAS EVERYTHING.
4. We're going to spend some time focusing on others. What can we do to show our appreciation for our office staff, our buddy class, the lady in the cafeteria, and our custodian? Is there anything we can do outside of our school to help those in need?
5. I'll be including extra community-building activities this month, in addition to some "reminder" lessons for showing respect, being responsible, and showing compassion.
That said, I will make certain that we have a completely fun month! Santa, reindeer, toys, candy canes, gingerbread, music... we're going to have a great time!
My Holiday Joy Unit is almost ready! I can't wait to share with you!
Enjoy this last day of November!
Hello, I would love it if you could share some of the community building activities you do with your class. Also, when you were working in a high impoverished school did you still talk about Santa? I am thinking about doing lots of gingerbread thematic learning. What do you think? I also didn't receive your Beanie Baby prize. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Love Giana
ReplyDeleteI love your ideas for keeping the stress down! So great! Thanks for sharing! I am following you over my my blog. You left a message about my Odd and Even unit. I would love to send you a free copy through email if you will e me so I can get it back to you! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHeidi
Hi Giana,
ReplyDeleteI re-sent the Beanie Baby Unit that you won, so you should have it now! :)
And to answer your question, I definitely downplay the whole Santa thing with all of my classes, no matter the school or the demographics. I try to be respectful of the large variety of cultures that are represented in my class, and I tend to mention Christmas very little.
Instead, I fill December with activities that focus on gingerbread stories (unit in progress!), animals getting ready for the winter, and family. I make the month festive and fun, but not necessarily Christmas-focused.
Thanks for the suggestion about sharing community-building ideas. I'll post about that soon!
Heidi,
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting!
Melissa