Stress Relief for Teachers During the Holidays

Trying to teach during the holidays can be a little overwhelming – there’s so much to cover, squeeze in, and manage! I’m here with some ideas that’ll provide a little stress relief for teachers during the holiday season. These are some of the strategies that I’ve leaned into in order to make this time of year more joyful, because truly, that’s what it’s all about!

1. Plan ahead! You know that I’m a planner, but taking the time to get all of your plans in place does make life run more smoothly. When I say plan ahead, I do mean think everything through – what do you want to make sure to get done, where will this fit into your schedule, what supplies will you need, where and when will you get these??? Seriously, do the deep dive and plan it all out.

2. Be flexible. The planning is important, but that can also cause some additional stress. Flexibility makes the difference – having something in your plans doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll happen exactly as planned. Knowing that you have everything prepped and ready to go will make it so much easier to fit that in somewhere else or shift your plans slightly. It’s OK if everything doesn’t get done, in most cases you’re the only one who will know!

3. Make time for joy. Be intentional about choosing at least one activity each day where you want to be fully present with your students. That might be a specific lesson, it might be one-on-one time with a certain student, it might be a special activity you want to share with them, or even something that you know will support your own stress relief. Then do what you need to do in order to assure that you can focus on this – do you need to clean up a certain area before this so that you aren’t distracted by the mess? Maybe you need to complete some paperwork so that you can clear your mind, or set up a behavior intervention for one child so that they’re prepared for this activity. This is all part of the intentionality behind this – and will help make sure that these are the moments that will be powerful and memorable for you and your students.

4. Choose activities that are a good fit for you and your students. There are SO MANY opportunities to try new, fun things this time of year, you don’t have to do all of them! Is there something that always stresses you out? Get rid of it – or find a way to make it easier. If you aren’t crafty, then take advantage of premade kits. If the idea of making sure that every child completes a gift for a parent and you get it wrapped and sent home on time is overwhelming then let it go – parents will understand! If you’re stressed about balancing holiday topics when you have families that follow a number of different belief systems, then stick with activities related to snow, pine trees, bells, etc. It’s always ok to make the choices that are right for you and your group.

5. Don’t overbook yourself. These are the days that are so tiring, scheduling tons of additional holiday activities for yourself after school will only add to that. Look at the events that are a priority and plan for those first, as additional opportunities come along make sure that they won’t take away from your sanity before saying yes. Sometimes a night at home with a Christmas movie really is so much better than one more party or gift exchange!

There’s so much pressure, but a lot of it is pressure that we put on ourselves! It’s ok to let that go – you’ve got this!