Transitions

As the new school year approaches (and for some, it has already arrived), it is time to transition back into school routines. It is important that we realize it may take a couple of weeks before we emotionally and physically do this.

Students and teachers may not get enough rest because they didn’t have a sleep routine during the summer. Having a set bedtime routine and time to go to bed is a good habit to get into. Getting up at the same time each morning is also a good habit to develop. Not having enough rest can make people cranky, anxious, and even hard to get along with.

Setting up a morning routine so that if you are sleepy, you can go through the routine without too much effort. Get clothing set up the night before so you know where everything is and you don’t have to frantically look for what you need. Have work material ready to go so you aren’t looking for it in the morning and place it where you can find it. Set alarms to get up at a certain time and an alarm when you need to leave. This will keep you track of time.

Students and teachers might find themselves hungrier than usual because there were no eating routines during the summer. People ate whenever they want which is not possible during school. This would be a good time to drink plenty of water to help with this hunger.

Having a set time and place for homework is another routine to set up. In this area, have the necessary materials available so you don’t have to keep stopping to look for things. Having a set time helps to develop a routine and makes it easier to get work done in order to meet deadlines.

Set up some kind of organization system. Set up a calendar that shows deadlines and a plan of action. Or keep a journal with a plan that you regularly visit to keep on target. Have a place for papers that need to be completed and another place to keep finished work so it is easy to find.

What other routines help to make the start of the school year easier? Please share.

Photo by Michael Krahn on Unsplash

Structure

(During the summer months, I like to take the A-Z Challenge and come up with words alphabetically and see how they apply to education. I think it’s a great exercise for teachers and students to give this a try.)

I am one of those people who like structure in my life. I like routines and I like knowing what to expect. Of course, this desire for structure needs to be balanced with flexibility. It is too easy to get into a rut and that makes any change in my schedule harder to handle. The deeper the rut, the harder it is to adjust to changes that happen. Of course, every day involves change.

My husband is not a planner so we have really had to compromise on planning trips so that we both feel comfortable with the plan. So, I come up with a tentative schedule and places I want to go. Each night on our trip, we reevaluate the schedule by looking at the weather, and what we want to do. Sometimes we stay in that city an extra day or we may go in a different direction because of the weather. I still feel like I have a plan (structure) and my husband feels like he has the flexibility so we both enjoy the trip.

I know many of my students with special needs do really well with structure. So, how do I balance structure and flexibility for my students?

One way that I do this is by giving a general schedule. I help my students know what to expect that we are doing today but explain that the specific things may change. We may do math at a certain time but the activities and assignments will change.

Knowing that changes are going to happen ahead of time helps everyone be prepared for the change. That is also a structure to embed in the schedule. For example, before I change to a different subject, I warn students that in 10 minutes we will finish Writing and will move on to Math. I then give a 5-minute warning to finish up and clean up what they are working on. So, when I make the transition to Math, it goes more smoothly. For younger children, this also works well for going to lunch, related arts classes, or recess and also returning back to the class.

How do you deal with structure in your class? Please share.

Photo by Vishal Vasnani on Unsplash

Normal

(During the summer months, I like to take the A-Z Challenge and come up with words alphabetically and see how they apply to education. I think it’s a great exercise for teachers and students to give this a try.)

Normal is a word that is overused and overrated. Who is to say what normal is? What is normal for me may not be normal for you. What is normal in one situation may not be normal in another situation.

Many times my students would come to me and tell me that they wish they could be normal. What do they mean by normal? They want to be like everyone else. That is not normal. That is being like everyone else. I think they want to be accepted and mistake that for being normal. I try to explain to my students that being unique is much more fun than being normal. Being unique means we have different strengths than other people have. Being unique is a good thing and not a bad thing.

Since Covid hit, all I hear everyone talk about is how they want things to get back to normal. Normal to them is getting back to the way things used to be. I don't think that everything was great the way it used to be. Our whole world was turned upside down and many people learn new things. This is a good thing. It pushed teachers to grow in their teaching techniques and learn these strategies to reach students differently. I don't think going back to the way things were is a good thing in this instance. If that was normal, I don't want to go back to normal.

Normal in a classroom may be a set of routines that everyone follows. Many of my students like having this structure of a routine in my class. When they go away on vacation, they like to come to class where things are normal. Normal for them means they know what to expect. So I think when people say they want things to go back to normal, they really want to go back to a time where they knew what to expect. But, in reality, I think we learned that we can't take anything for granted and we need to expect that anything can happen. We need to stay alert and be prepared for the unexpected.

Normal can be defined differently by many different people. We all have different values and standards so who determines what is normal?

Nothing is normal.

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Taking A Break

In Hello. In  Teach. Run. Write, Christina Torres shares,

“So, I am trying to take a break and invest in myself. I bought a new running watch. I invested in a coaching plan. I’m trying to worry less about my times at Honolulu and Bird Marathon and focus on a marathon in March. I’m hoping to change things up to try and rediscover joy.”

As some of you might know, I’m been busy writing.

I like to have schedules and following them, so I’ve assigned two hours every morning for writing. Yet, every morning I have a moment of fear that I don't know what to write. I start some instrumental soft music from Pandora radio and then I start writing. The hardest thing is to get started so I start writing whatever comes to mind. Once I get started, my mind starts going faster than my fingers can type!

So, for the past few weeks, I’ve been busy writing.

Then I realized that I forgot to add in a few break days. Any habit that you do without a break can become a boring rut!

One reason I know this has happened is that I’ve taken a few days to revise some of my writing.

As I’m revising my writing, I am amazed at how many new ideas are popping in my head!

I love knitting and spinning yarn, but sometimes I take a break from my fiber arts and do some envelope art that involves colored pencils and marker.

Sometimes I like to get out and go hiking or do some gardening.

I usually encourage teachers to follow routines and how it helps students. But I realize that sometimes a break is necessary. As long as the students know that I am adding a break into the routine, I think they won’t mind having a change.

This change may actually be more helpful than harmful.

By changing things up, it is easier to rediscover the joy that Christina mentions.

Do you take breaks from your routine? What do you do? Please share.

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Morning Routines

In The Importance of Daily Renewal for Educators from @DavidGeurin Blog, David Geurin  asks,

“What are some of your morning routines? Are you intentional about daily renewal?”

1.     Morning routines help me start the day. As mentioned in the article I don’t do all of these things every day but I try to get all of these in.

2.     Deep breathing – I take a couple of minutes to do deep breathing. This helps me get oxygen to my brain and prepare for the day.  (3 minutes)

3.     I review my bullet journal and make a list of things I want to accomplish for the day. I also write about what I’m grateful for. (5 minutes)

4.     I pray. I pray that I can be productive and helpful to others during this day. I want to do positive things and avoid the negative things. I believe God helps me during the day and I want to be a better person. (2 minutes)

5.     I check my email to see if there is anything pressing to do for the day or upcoming events. (10 minutes)

6.     I write a post for my blog Mondays through Fridays. If I get behind, I catch up on the weekends. (30 minutes)

7.     Morning drinks with my husband. We go to McDonalds and have coffee/soda for about an hour each morning. Once my husband has had his coffee, he is alert enough to talk about our day and our plans. We see other regulars who meet there in the mornings and it is a good time to appreciate our community. (1 hour)

8.     Exercise – We try to walk an hour for exercise. (1 hour)

Even when we are traveling, we try to do these things. It is a great way for me to start the day and I miss it when I’m unable to do these things.

I think it is good to establish classroom routines to help students get settled in before new material is taught. Students know what to expect with a routine and helps them deal with the stress they are facing.

What routines do you follow? Please share.

 Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

Summer Routines

As summer vacation approaches, many of my special education students because anxious.

They are anxious for many different reasons which may include:

·      Lack of routine

·      Fear of the unknown

·      Isolation from classmates

·      Stressful family situation

·      Lack of food in the home

·      Vacation travel

·      Increased stress

It is a good time to talk with students about how they are feeling about the upcoming vacation. It is okay to feel excited about the end of the school year and have some anxiety about the summer. I try to stay away from the word “fear” because many students will deny feeling this way. Yet, they don’t mind the word anxiety as much. I think it has to do with growing up and being teased about being scared of things they fear.

It would be good to brainstorm why a person (keeps it from being personal) would feel anxiety about the upcoming summer vacation. They may think of things that you didn’t think about it or didn’t know about it.

It would also be good to brainstorm ways to cope with the things that are causing anxiety.

·      Maybe they could write out a tentative schedule to follow and share this with their parents.

·      If there is an upcoming trip, do some research about where you are going and talk to their parents about what they plan to do.

·      Plan a way to stay in touch with classmates and friends.

·      See if there is a school that serves breakfast and/or lunch in their community.

·      Learn stress relieving techniques to use during stressful situations at home.

What other advice would you give? Please share.