It’s always interesting beginning a new calendar year in the middle of the school year. Something about it feels strange, because even though we are starting a new calendar year, the school year continues all the same. Sometimes I feel that having to restart in the middle of the year can feel like I am going backwards with my class. On the other hand I prefer it this way, it allows time for new year reflections and a refresh in the middle of the year.
In Mexico, we typically get three weeks off for winter break. That’s a lot of time, almost a whole month! This year I found myself traveling through colonial paradise in Oaxaca City and the barren landscape of Michoacan. In my travels, I took a lot of time to meditate, journal, read, relax, and just wander. Shutting off like that does wonders for the mind and body!
I’m back after my three week break and this year I came back to work feeling so refreshed! I feel like my brain had so much time to process and reflect on last semester and think forward to the new semester. I love the feeling of stepping back into my classroom recharged with new year reflections and ready to make necessary changes.
In light of my new year reflections I want to talk about some upcoming goals I have for this year in the classroom. Starting with this list:
- Keep it simple
- Change doesn’t have to wait
- Switch it up
- Find the small moments
Keep it simple
The first, and possibly most important one: keep it simple. I love to have this motto front and center at the beginning of the new year. Coming back from break feeling refreshed and recharged is such a great feeling! Unfortunately I have learned the hard way that it can also lead to overdrive. As teachers, we are constantly looking to better our work, and sometimes we come into the new year over energized and ready to change everything.
When you come back to the classroom with fresh ideas, ready to implement changes, remember to keep it simple. If something is working, don’t change it! Remember that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel! Keep the changes simple. Only change what is truly urgent and is affecting your day to day classroom. Don’t create complex routines and systems for yourself or your students. Keep your changes simple.
I know that personally I am making very few changes in terms of structures and routines. I feel happy with my routines and feel that they are working well for my students. In my class I use helper of the day for class jobs, which is much more manageable. I will be keeping that! For behavior systems I use secret student. I’m keeping these for sure as they are class favorites!
change doesn’t have to wait
As we are thinking about changes in the new year, something important to remember is that change doesn’t have to wait. Sure, the new year is a great time to reflect and evaluate what needs a change, but don’t let it be the only time throughout the school year that you consider changes in your class. When you see that something isn’t working, change it! As long as you have given yourself and your students a reasonable amount of time to adjust to the new routine, if you see it isn’t working, don’t wait to try something different.
For me, my biggest change this next half of the year revolves around centers. My school works with a curricular system called Knotion that uses more whole group instruction and project based learning, it doesn’t implements centers. My goal is to get more creative with the curriculum and find a way to implement centers within the curriculum I use with my students. I’m going to see how it goes over the next month or so, and then reevaluate to see if I need to make any changes.
So take the next month or so to implement some needed changes in your classroom. Give your students and yourself some time. Then take some time to observe and reflect and decide if it’s been a positive change in your classroom. If it hasn’t been, try a different change; don’t wait!
switch it up
For those of us who are elementary teachers, we know how important routine is for our young students. They thrive on structures and routines. That being said, have you ever found yourself dragging through a day because you feel like you and your students are stuck in a routine? It happens to me. Sometimes I feel stuck in a rut with my students, going through the same routine day after day. One goal I have for these upcoming months is to take more time with my students to switch up our routine.
For me this means giving my students more brain breaks. Brain breaks are my fatal flaw as a teacher. Sometimes it feels that the day goes so quickly and I am just trying to cruise through the day with my students. I seem to forget sometimes that they are 6. They need breaks. At the beginning of this week we took a 10 minute brain break to play my a few rounds of Spot It and my favorite puzzle version of Spot It. It was such a great break for my students and time to continue to build relationships with them.
Not only do I want to implement more brain breaks, but I also want to work on switching it up more in our learning routines. For example, taking the time to play a phonics game instead of our regular phonics routine. Review vocabulary with hangman or charades. Switch up the learning routine with the students to ensure that they don’t get bored of more of the same. So in your planning this semester, plan in your brain breaks, game time, and switch up your routine a bit to keep it interesting!
find the small moments
Finally, the one we hear so much as educators, but often forget. Find the small moments of joy throughout the day. For me this almost always comes from a funny comment from a student. Having a conversation with a 6 year old almost always results in a good laugh. Sometimes it comes in a peaceful moment in the morning when I see my kids at their collaborative play stations working together and having a great time together. Or other times my moment of joy is doing 1-1 reading with my students and seeing their progress.
For me I’m working on writing these moments down each day so that I don’t forget them. A small way to keep track of all the wins that we experience as educators. All the moments of joy we experience with the students. Sometimes just stopping to remember that most people at their jobs don’t have 20 little faces giving them hugs and telling them that they love them every day. So take time to find the small moment of the day that brings you joy!
Let’s Do this!
So here we are starting 2024, a new year, but the same school year. Make changes, keep what works, reflect, grow, and always find the joy in your work every day. We are so lucky to be formative parts of a child’s life and I continue to keep that at the forefront of my mind with each passing week. Here’s to wishing you your best teaching year yet!