Surviving Winter in the Classroom

These winter months are always the most difficult for me, and I know I’m not alone in that. They come with all of the cold and challenging weather that makes it so hard to get outside, which means children have tons of energy and way less opportunity to use it. That energy often comes out in unanticipated ways. Winter also brings us shorter, cloudier days which has a major impact on moods. Finally these months at the beginning of the year follow the excitement of the holidays and can feel like a bit of a let down after the lead up and excitement that is the rush of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Basically, winter brings a ton of emotions that young children don’t understand or know how to deal with – who am I kidding, often adults don’t process or deal with these either!. All of this makes dreary winter months a STRUGGLE. I do have a few tried and true tips for surviving January through March until you can get outside and begin that anticipation of summer. Here are the tricks that work for me.

1. Lean into a slower pace. This can be a real blessing – the opportunity to slow down and really enjoy each other doesn’t always happen. When you aren’t able to get outside that eliminates all of those extra transitions, the time spent preparing to go out and coming back in, and you get a little extra time in your day to spend time with the children and really identify the things that are important to them. By this point in the year you’ve gotten to know the children and built a classroom community. Now is the time to really cement those relationships and grow together.
2. Bring out the materials and equipment that isn’t always available. We all have certain supplies and toys that often stay in the closet, for a variety of reasons. Maybe we don’t want to deal with cleaning up glitter, or the children have a favorite set of blocks that they struggle to share. Now is the time to get these items out. Set expectations before hand of course, and really stress that this is a special opportunity for the children. Hyping it up a bit will give that sense of something special that may be missing after the holidays.
3. Do something silly. When the days are gray and cold, it can be a little harder to find the fun in every day. Plan random days that the children are sure to remember. Some ideas include; sock day (everyone leaves their shoes off all day), Cozy reading day (everyone brings a blanket and stuffed animal), Random costume day (encourage children to wear their favorite costume from home, or have a collection for them to choose from when they arrive).
4. Give everyone a day off. No, this doesn’t mean closing school for the day. This is more like a day off from the usual schedule. Take it easy for a day, let the children just play and really have time to get into what they’re doing. Use what you know about your group to create a day that will feel easy and chill for them.

The best thing about winter is that it doesn’t last forever! Take it one week at a time and you’ll all get through!