I adore November! There is so much excitement in the air between Veterans Day, the election, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and of course, the kickoff to the Christmas season!
I don’t know about you, but I feel like this year is flying past like a jumbo jet!
November can be insane and the pressure can really start to build up.
Between parent conferences (enough said about that), student behaviors really starting to ramp up as they are fully settled in to their school year routine, and you just trying to get your head above water, it can seem like the work is piling up faster than you can get to it.
How can you enjoy the upcoming holiday season when you can barely enjoy your lunch while sitting at your desk grading (again)?
Try a couple of things:
1 – Write a list of everything you need to do for this month. This will feel overwhelming and a waste of time you don’t currently have, but trust me on this one.
2 – Take a pencil and cross out anything that won’t matter 3 months from now if it doesn’t get done. {examples could include updating a bulletin board more often than needed, organizing your classroom library for the hundredth time, and making goody bags for the new teachers in your building}
3 – Next, use a highlighter to highlight anything your students or parents of students can do. Use those resources to their fullest extent. Even parents who can’t come into the classroom can cut, glue, design newsletters, or more at home.
4 – Now you should have a workable list. Place each item on a day in the calendar, making sure to leave some open space as other things will come up from time to time.
5 – Work your calendar one day at a time. Take time to enjoy teaching daily. Take time to enjoy your students daily. Take time to enjoy your colleagues daily.
Need some more things to enjoy?
How about a fun owl theme calendar printable set?
You could use them for a center activity for math, for grouping students together (those with even numbers group together), or even for displaying on a calendar.
The options are endless!
Enjoy everyone and Happy November!
What are YOU most excited about in November? I would love to see a comment below!
{I personally can’t wait for the yummy food and friends on Thanksgiving Day. I made a turkey last year for the first time and it was pretty good. Looking forward to making it even better this year!}
~Charity
This post originally appeared at Organized Classroom.
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