Calming the Chaos: Teacher Blog Hop
In my class right now, the energy is this weird mixture of exhaustion and excitement. My students are tired. They've worked hard all semester and are channeling the last bit of strength they have to complete projects and papers. At the same time, they are excited about end of year activities and of course, summer break.
I get it. I'm pretty much right there with them. I feel like I'm both trying to wrap up this year and do a little prep for next year, and it's a little chaotic.
To calm the chaos here's some of my favorite strategies:
1. Transitions for students (and me): next year I'll have new students and my students who I've bonded with all year will be moving to a whole new set of teachers. It's been a great pleasure working together this year. The transition can be tough on both ends. So, I take time to sit down with my students and have them reflect on the learner they are. They create a list of need to know information that they can share with their teachers next year. Then, students work in groups to develop a top ten need to know for my next years students. There is nothing more fun than hearing their wise words for next year's class. They remember the advice they got from last year's students and take this activity seriously, knowing their words will be read by other students. And as a bonus, I already have some opening class materials ready which are more powerful than anything I could create.
2. Prepping for next year: as often is the case, I still have not received my classes for next year, so I can't prep too much content. Balancing my energy level and what I know about next year, I'm putting together my back to school activities - I have a couple of quick reflections to help students get to know each other and for me to get to know them. We will spend the first month mixing in get to know each other activities and games with content. I'm broadly outlining where those will go on the calendar with blank content squares.
3. A little release: And to relieve the tension for both me and my students, we grab moments for a little fun. During testing time we might head outside for a group shout (starts low and grows...quite the release). We also take our review outside...all that is needed is a little sidewalk chalk and our brains. There is something incredibly powerful about a change in scenery to raise energy levels. And when all else fails, we turn up the tunes and have a quick dance party.
What do you do to keep it all together at the end of the year? Join the discussion in the comments section below. And for more ideas, click on the links (thank to Kristy from Two Peas and A dog for hosting this blog hop) below to see what other teachers do to calm the chaos in their classrooms.
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