Making the Most of Your Winter Break
The final school days in December can feel a bit like the end of a marathon — you’ve come a long way and now you need that final push to get past the finish line. Teachers are stretched to the limit with finishing content and skills while preparing for the holidays. Not to mention keeping up with your other day-to-day responsibilities. By this point, it’s likely any good intentions you had to start planning for January were left in the dust back at mile marker 20.
But on the other side of that race is a well-deserved break. Here are some things you can do to make the most of your winter break, so you feel relaxed and ready when school is back in session.
Rest and Recharge
First, take some time to rest for a day or two after the holidays. Go on a winter hike in the woods or curl up with a great book and a mug of hot cocoa. Limit the time you spend checking work emails or thinking about lesson plans. You need some time to fully recharge from holiday preparations and work.
Reflect and Plan
Once you’ve had a chance to clear your head, you can start to think about the second half of the year. Maybe you already have a unit plan drafted that you need to finalize. Or maybe you have some materials you’d like to review. Maybe you’re teaching a new class and need support from a colleague. Some reflection and planning can help you get started.
- Reflect: Celebrate your successes over the first half of the year and consider areas for growth. What worked? What would you do differently? What are your goals for the rest of the year? If you need some inspiration, check out our free resources. I recommend a Teacher Reflection Framework such as Engagement through Active Learning and Engagement through Effective Feedback.
- Plan: What ideas did you come up with while reflecting? Want to incorporate more student collaboration? Our Collaboration Checklist resource can help with that. If you want some new ideas for adding opportunities for student choice, try our Using AI to Support Student Choice resource. Or if you’d like to focus more on giving effective feedback, check out our Feedback Basics resource.
- Embrace new ideas and resources: Check out our “How To” and “Professional Learning” resources in our resource library for some additional ideas.
After taking some well-earned “me time,” carving out some time to prepare is worth the time and effort. The preparation you do before school is back in session will make you feel more relaxed and ready to jump back in when those January school bells ring.
Photos from before break holiday celebrations at our Quest Forward High Schools in Omaha and Santa Rosa.