7 Ways to Survive the Week Before Winter Break – From the Voices of Teachers Like You [episode 50]

December 9, 2022

Click below to hear 7 tips for surviving the week before winter break from real teachers like you:

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Watch on YouTube

Key points on how to survive the week before winter break:

How keeping a routine can help you manage your stress and classroom
The benefits of using the holiday to your advantage to make the most of the season
Why we should be intentional with our OVERALL planning during this time of year
How lowering exceptions for you and your students can lower your holiday stress level
Finding humor and how it can help us relax and connect
The magic of taking a day off and why you should
How to find self-care and why it’s worth it to do even if you feel too busy

7 Ways to Survive the Week Before Winter Break: Tips from Teachers Like You

As winter break approaches, you might find yourself asking, “How do I survive this whirlwind week before the holidays?” Between the excited students, last-minute lessons, and holiday chaos, it’s no wonder this time of year can feel overwhelming. But don’t worry—this episode of Wife Teacher Mommy: The Podcast is here to help!

In honor of our 50th episode, I gathered tips from over 50 teachers to bring you practical advice, humor, and inspiration for making it through the last week before break. Let’s dive into these teacher-approved strategies to keep your classroom (and your sanity) intact.

1. Keep a Routine

The excitement of the holidays can easily throw your classroom into chaos, but maintaining structure is key. A consistent routine helps students stay grounded and engaged.

What Teachers Say:

“Downtime equals chaos. I keep kids busy with our usual schedule and sprinkle in a couple of fun activities each day.” – Janine
“Don’t introduce anything new. Use this time to review concepts and solidify learning.” – Tara, Teaching on Lemon Lane

2. Use the Holidays to Your Advantage

The holidays don’t have to disrupt your flow—in fact, they can add a little magic to your lessons! Incorporate festive themes into your curriculum to keep students engaged.

Ideas from Teachers:

Holiday-themed math and language arts activities.
Christmas sing-alongs and holiday crafts.
Learning about different cultures with “Holidays Around the World.”

Quick Tip: Try playing the song Asleep, the Snow Came Flying by Tim Story for a calming break in your day.

3. Plan Ahead—In and Out of the Classroom

The last week before break is often packed with both school and personal responsibilities. Planning ahead can help you stay on top of it all.

Pro Tip:
Make a list of all your tasks—whether it’s lesson prep, grading, or holiday shopping—and plan your time intentionally to avoid overwhelm.

4. Lower Expectations (for Yourself and Your Students)

This time of year is chaotic for everyone, so don’t be afraid to let go of perfection. Adjust your expectations to give yourself and your students some grace.

What Teachers Say:

“Kids are excited, so I give them short, sweet activities that don’t require too much mental energy.” – Lindsay
“Go with the flow and be flexible. Some activities will run short or long, and that’s okay.” – Carol

5. Find the Humor in the Chaos

When in doubt, laugh it out. Teaching the week before break can feel like a comedy of errors, so embrace the humor in those moments.

Teacher Humor Highlights:

“Coffee and luck.” – Michelle
“One beer at a time.” – Kelly
“Prayers, chocolate, and Advil.” – Becky

6. Take a Day Off (Yes, Really!)

If the week feels overwhelming, remember that your mental health is just as important as your students’ learning. Taking a day off might be just what you need.

What Teachers Say:

“I took a mental health day today. It made all the difference.” – Jenna
“Use ready-to-go sub plans so you can take the time you need without the stress.”

Check out our free sub planning starter kit to make your day off a breeze.

7. Practice Self-Care

During the hustle of the holidays, prioritize self-care. Whether it’s a mindful moment during the day or leaving work at your contracted time, small acts of self-care can make a big difference.

Tips from Teachers:

“Stop once an hour to breathe deeply. It’s a great way to reset your brain and calm your nerves.” – Kirsten
“Go home when the kids go home. Relax and refresh for the next day.” – Jennifer

With these seven tips, you’re ready to tackle the week before winter break like a pro. Remember, you’ve got this—and you’re not alone. Together, we can survive (and even thrive!) during the most wonderful, chaotic time of the year.

Teachers Before Winter Break Quote

Resources mentioned:

Other Contributors:

Teachers before winter break related episodes and blog posts:

Teachers Before Winter Break Quote

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Read the transcript for episode 50, “7 Ways to Survive the Week Before Winter Break – From the Voices of Teachers Like You”:

You are listening to episode number 50 of wife, teacher, mommy, the podcast. 7 ways to survive the week before winter break from the voices of teachers like you. So whether you’re excited about holiday festivities, feeling a bit overwhelmed, or ready to break out the chocolate or wine with some of our teacher friends, we’ve got tips for you on the podcast with other teachers who are in the trenches with you. So let’s go. I’m so glad you’re here listening to wife, teacher, mommy, the podcast today. I’m your host, Kelsey Sorensen, a former elementary teacher turned homeschool mom. Whether you are a teacher or a homeschool parent, my goal at wife, teacher, mommy is to provide you with both teaching ideas and mindset tools to help you live your absolute best teacher life. Be sure to hit subscribe on your favorite podcast app so you don’t miss an episode.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:01:35 – 00:02:24

Now let’s go. Hey. Welcome to the podcast today. So if you have been asking yourself, how do I survive the week before winter break? You are going to love today’s episode, and I’m sure you’re going to find something that will help you make it through this pretty crazy week. But first, I wanna point out something else exciting that I mentioned in that intro is that today we hit 50 episodes on the podcast, and I am so excited to have made it this far. For 1, it’s a personal milestone for me that I’ve made it this long. But, honestly, I’m thankful for you for listening and making this possible. Because if nobody were listening, it wouldn’t make sense for me to continue recording these episodes.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:02:24 – 00:02:47

And as I’ve mentioned before, this is one of my favorite things I do in my business. It’s just so much fun. I love it so much. And, you know, I’m just a normal person out there like you. I’m a former teacher and now homeschool mom, and I just have a microphone. There are so many great shows out there, and I’m so grateful that you’ve chosen mine as one of the ones that you listen to. I just appreciate you so much. This goes both ways.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:02:47 – 00:03:19

Like, I’m so glad I can help you, but you are helping me just by being here. And to celebrate 50 episodes, we are doing a giveaway. I wanted to do kind of a new prize that we have not done before. I’m like, we’ve done a lot of just, like, gift cards lately or credits to our shop or whatever. So I wanted to do something different. And I know I mentioned on the podcast for you that I am working on my life coach certification. And I’m doing this so that I can continue to help our members in wife, teacher, mommy club even more. Like, we’re still gonna Chrissy, our coach in the club, she’s not going anywhere.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:03:19 – 00:03:52

We will keep her as long as she will stay with us. And according to her, we’re stuck with her. What I want for the price is I want to give one of you for 1 on 1 full 45 minute sessions with me completely free. Generally, life coaches charge quite a bit for this, but I want to give somebody those for free. But also you won’t only get that, but you’re going to get a stainless steel tumbler. It’s one of our skinny tumblers. We send one to every member when they join. But with this, instead of just our typical tumbler where we have, like, our cute progress or perfection quote and our logo, We are gonna do a custom tumbler for this winner.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:03:52 – 00:04:23

So we’re gonna put your name on one side and then whatever quote you would like on the other side. So it’s completely custom. Like, if you were to order something like this on Etsy, you’d probably pay, like, $30 for it, but we’re going to do whatever you’d like. My husband has the laser engraver. I’ll just be like, hey, babe. You gotta make this one right now, and then we’ll ship it out to you. So you’re going to get a completely custom tumbler along with those 4 1 on 1 45 minute coaching sessions, plus you’ll get 3 months of wife teacher mommy club. That alone is worth $90, the club.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:04:23 – 00:04:59

So this giveaway is probably worth definitely over $1,000 when you consider 1 on 1 sessions, the Tumblr, the 3 months of wife teaching mommy club. And in the club, that means you’ll get to participate and watch replays for our coaching, for our events. We’re doing an amazing winter break one coming up. So it’s just this awesome prize that I’m really excited to offer to you. So to enter to win, all you need to do is leave a review of the podcast. So this is again celebrating our 50 episodes. And when you leave a review, it helps me to spread the word to more teachers. Because if they’re wondering if our show is going to help them, they’ll see your review.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:04:59 – 00:05:41

And they’ll be like, oh, yeah, this sounds like a show that might be helpful to me. All you need to do is leave a review on Apple Podcasts is the one that I know that you would leave a review. I think Audible does as well. So if you leave a review on the podcast, you can take a screenshot of it. I would recommend taking a screenshot before you hit submit because sometimes they don’t show up right away, especially if you’re on Apple. Sometimes they want to, like, review your review before they post it. So I would take a screenshot of it after you write it, but right before you hit post, and then email it to us at hello at wife teacher mommy dot com or dm us at wife teacher mommy, and we will get you entered to that giveaway. And if you listen on Spotify, I believe they don’t let you leave a review.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:05:41 – 00:06:23

You could always do one on one of the other platforms just to leave the review or just email us or DM us what you love about the podcast, and we’ll get you entered anyway. Because I want you to be able to get entered into this awesome prize. I would love for you to get those sessions and the custom Tumblr and the 3 months of wife teach mommy club. Okay. So enough about that, but if you have any questions, feel free to email or DM me, and we’ll help you out, help you get entered into that. So today, we are talking about surviving the week before winter break, and I’m really excited to share tips from teachers in our community. It includes podcast listeners, wife, teach your mommy team members. I love that you are going to get to hear not just from me, but the team behind the scenes who helps make all this happen.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:06:24 – 00:06:54

You’ll get to hear from some of my other friends in the t shirt Instagram world. It’s so fun. You’re going to love all the different surprise people you may be familiar with, who you’re going to hear on this podcast. So be sure to listen through. And for our 50th episode, as I mentioned, I wanted to get at least 50 quotes or recordings from teachers to share on this episode. So we did that. So you’re going to hear perspective from over 50 teachers. Now some of them are just like a little one line tip, some are voice recordings, but you’re going to learn a lot from this episode.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:06:54 – 00:07:35

And I included every voice recording that came through in this episode. So if you recorded 1 and you’re like, why isn’t it here? We did have some who, for some reason, they didn’t make it through. So I’m so sorry if that happened. It definitely was not intentional. I would love for you to quote you any other time on the show. And you can go anytime on to wtmpodcast inbox.com, and we’ll have the questions for upcoming episodes, or you can ask questions or anything you’d like. We’ll use as many of those as we possibly can. Now we also have quotes from just our Instagram, Facebook page, and wife teacher mommies unite where I will read out the comments that people posted because not everybody necessarily feels comfortable with a voice recording, and I totally get that, and it’s totally fine.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:07:35 – 00:08:19

I love seeing the community with all of you and how you help each other out. And one of my goals for 2023 is really to get everybody talking together and sharing even more because I believe that when we come together and share ideas, it just makes our teacher life so much better. I just love community. So be sure to follow wife teacher mommy on Instagram, engage in the comments, same with our wife teacher mommy Facebook page, and join our group, wife teacher mommies unite, where we can actually, like, ask questions and communicate even more with each other. Plus, if you engage in those communities, you might be quoted on the podcast too. And if your tip helps just one teacher, isn’t that just magical knowing that you can make a difference for other teachers? So without further ado, let’s dive into this. So I want to explain a little bit how it’s going to work. So I gathered all these tips, and then I found common themes of what they all fit into.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:08:19 – 00:08:51

So I broke it down into it ended up being the 7 categories, so the 7 ways to survive the week before break. And for each category, I’ll quickly share some of my own thoughts, to kind of tie it all together. But for the most part, you’re going to hear actual either voice recordings or quotes that I read from people on social media. And like I mentioned, over 50 teachers contributed to this episode. So you’re bound to find something that resonates with you that you’ll find helpful at this busy time of year. Let’s dive into number 1. So number 1 is to keep a routine. And I think this is important because we have so much going on during the holidays.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:08:51 – 00:09:19

We have Christmas shopping. There’s excitement going on. There’s all different kinds of events. And one thing we can do to help our kids through this time, because we’re still trying to teach them and everything, right, is to keep our routine in our classroom or our homeschool as consistent as we can. Our brain is a prediction engine, and it thrives on routines, and this is especially true for kids and with classroom management. So here is what our wife teacher mommy club member, Janine, had to say about keeping a routine.

Speaker B 00:09:20 – 00:09:51

The best way to survive the week before break is to maintain my schedule as much as possible. Downtime equals chaos. So I keep the kids busy with as much of the regular routine as possible. Yes. I throw in 1 or 2 fun things each day, but to make the whole day different just because it’s right before break tends to end with me frustrated and the kids loud and getting themselves into trouble. Structure is a good thing for me and my students.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:09:51 – 00:10:24

We do lots of fun Christmas themed review activities and art projects. Emily says keeping the same routine for most of it. Kids thrive on structure, routine, and the known. We add in fun, but keeping it part of the same day to day routine. The last day is a party and the only day of a different routine. Now Nicole says most of her week is business as usual, but the last day is a fun day, so just like Emily. Okay. Now my friend Tara, who’s the amazing creator behind Teaching on Lemon Lane, who you might know from TPT, she also agrees with this too, and here’s what she has to say.

Speaker C 00:10:24 – 00:11:02

Hey, guys. This is Tara with Keating on Lemon Lane, and I actually have 2 tips for surviving that week before winter break. 1 would be caffeine and lots of it, and 2 would be do not, under any circumstance, introduce any new material or curriculum. You will have a steady flow of students coming in or being checked out. So use this week to focus on reviewing, concepts and ideas that you’ve already introduced, so just solidifying those. And, of course, doing, like, fun projects with them.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:11:03 – 00:11:25

Okay. And I totally agree with Tara on the caffeine. I love my Coke 0, but, yes, we also wanna keep those routines in place. Now there are some ways that your routine will naturally get thrown off during the holidays. So I want to be clear that we’re not saying that things have to stay exactly the same because we know they’re not going to. Right? There’s so much going on at this time of year. It’s just doing that as much as you can. And even some of our teachers mentioned that they even have some testing.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:11:25 – 00:11:52

Like, so, like, Martha said, my district scheduled testing for the week. We will take all morning, 4 days. Not sure if we will get the results they’re hoping for, but, you know, it’s going to be what it’s going to be. Right, Martha? Okay. And then Jenny says, I’m benchmark testing this week and next week and a 2 day week following. Basically, the entire month of December until break. So you might have these unintended interruptions and things going on. The key is just to keep it as routine as we can knowing it’s not going to be perfect.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:11:52 – 00:11:56

And here’s what one of our longtime community members, Healy, has to say about this.

Speaker D 00:11:57 – 00:12:21

Keep things as structured as possible. The kids will already be excited, and the more you change their schedule, the more behavior problems you’ll have. If you add fun things to their normal schedule, like adding Christmas problems to their math assignments and doing Christmas themed science activities, but still keeping the structure of their routine, you’ll have much more well behaved kids.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:12:22 – 00:13:12

And what Haley says about having that structure and routine, but also bringing in the holidays, leans us right into tip number 2, which is use the holidays to your advantage. So while we know that keeping a routine is important, we don’t want to completely ignore the holidays either. They can add some more fun and magic into our teaching, and there are ways we can do both. And even some things we could even add temporarily to our routines to make this season a little bit easier and more magical. So here is a tip from my friend Heidi from 2nd story window. You might recognize her from the teacher approved podcast, which is incredible, and she and her sister Emily were also speakers at our summer educate and rejuvenate conference, and they’ve been on the podcast before. So they’ve been around, but they had this amazing tip about this song that I had never heard before. I just I love what she had to share here.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:13:12 – 00:13:15

So let let me play it from her own voice.

Speaker E 00:13:15 – 00:13:38

Hi. This is Heidi from the teacher approved podcast, and I am going to let you in on my magical never fails sure to calm everyone down secret weapon, and it is the song, Asleep, the Snow Came Flying by Tim Story. I did the research, and this song is 100% the most calming song ever written. Okay. I didn’t really do the research, but it’d

Kelsey Sorenson 00:13:38 – 00:13:40

be hard to beat this.

Speaker E 00:13:40 – 00:14:17

One way to use the song is just to play it. It’s easy to stream anywhere. You just turn out the lights, have everyone rest their heads on their desks, and you get 4 minutes and 34 seconds of just chill. But there is also a YouTube video that plays the song while snowflakes just gently drift in front of different winter backgrounds. If the feeling of an exhale were made into a video, it would be this video. So use it well, my friends. It has saved my bacon more than once in December, and I hope to pass that along to all of you.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:14:17 – 00:14:46

Okay. Isn’t that such a fun idea? I’m going to link to that song in the show notes so you can check it out. And Heidi and her sister, Emily, their podcast is incredible. So be sure to add teacher approved to your list of podcasts and, you know, still keep wife teaching mommy on there too, but you never have too many great podcasts, in my opinion. Okay. Now another club member, Lisa, she also has a great tip for you to add us some holiday magic into the last week of school. Now here’s what she had to say.

Speaker F 00:14:46 – 00:15:06

And to get my kids calm down this week before Christmas, I’ve pulled together some of the printouts, the freebies I’ve received from wife teacher mommy that were the coloring pages about Christmas and the different holidays as well as playing Christmas music in the background. It just seems to sort of slow them down.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:15:07 – 00:15:38

And I just loved hearing this. It always just warms my heart to hear how our resources are actually helping teachers in the classroom. I don’t always get to hear about it in your voices because we do our business online. You know? Like, you purchase online, you do it. Don’t always get to hear about it. So when I do, it really means so much to me. But I love hearing that they’re helpful to our members and buyers. We have, like, our holidays around the world unit, our December reading passages, writing prompts, directed drawings, math and language art sub plans, punny cards, homeschool lessons, I Spy Math, all themed for the holidays.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:15:38 – 00:16:23

There are so many options, and they are all ready to go for you. So we’ll link to all of these in the show notes so you can download them if you’re a member, or they’re also available to purchase on our shop or teachers pay teachers. And the great thing is these activities fall right into Lisa’s routine because she’s using all our activities year round included in her club membership. And that’s the best part of having a membership with our website is because there’s so much available, and it’s not just unrelated stuff where they’re going to have to learn a different kind of pattern that different sellers or different creators use. It’s just you can use whatever you can of ours, and the kids get really familiar with the format. But then they still get to have that holiday cheer while being in those routines of the types of resources they’re already using. Okay. So now let’s read some more comments about using the holidays to your advantage.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:16:23 – 00:17:02

So Sue on Instagram says kid friendly crafts and centers around the holidays. Christy says a Christmas sing along. Now she didn’t give details about this, but I agreed that this is so much fun. And I remember we didn’t do this at my school, but when I was actually a child in school, that was one of my favorite things that I looked forward to as a child. It was just so much fun, and I really do think that brings some more magic into that last week or the last day of school before the break. Now Jamie says, I have a huge holidays around the world day and commit to one country each day. We have so much fun learning new holidays and making crafts. I also sneak in reading comprehension each day.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:17:02 – 00:17:38

I also have an entire Grinch day. The week before Christmas break is my most favorite. And then Carrie, she also says that she does Christmas around the world too. Kathy says lots of activities and labs keeps them busy and engaged with the winter holiday theme. Cindy says we hang up a balloon for every remaining school day. Inside is a slip of paper on which I’ve written an activity we can do in about 15 minutes, Kahoot or a Blook It game, extra recess, art hub drawing time, etcetera. If they are well behaved all day, we pop a balloon and finish off our day with whatever activity is inside. I just love this idea, and I love how she mentioned that this fun thing they do is at the end of the day.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:17:38 – 00:18:03

So they can keep their routine going through the day, but then they can have this fun thing to look forward to. Okay. And now I would like to introduce another great friend of mine and incredible creator, Jackie from the Little Ladybug Shop. She is an expert teacher. She has been also doing TPT for quite a few years. She and I started around the same time, and we’ve been really good friends. I mean, we call ourselves TPT besties throughout this journey. She is amazing.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:18:03 – 00:18:11

You should follow her on Instagram, follow her on all the things. She has some amazing advice about teaching holidays around the world. So I’m going to share that clip with you.

Speaker G 00:18:11 – 00:18:54

Hey there. This is Jacqueline from the little lady bug shop. The week before Christmas or winter break, I like to do holidays around the world research. This is such a fun activity to do with students so they learn about different cultures, different celebrations around the world, and then they get to research and share with their classmates. I actually have a great set that I use, and it is my holidays around the world teach go pennants. And they are just so much fun to have students do, present, and then they get to display them on the bulletin board for everyone around the school to see. It is such a fun activity to do anytime of the year, but I particularly love doing it for the winter holidays.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:18:55 – 00:19:26

And I just love what she had to share. And, definitely, she has these teach go pennants that are so cute, so be sure to check those out. Now another great friend of mine is Teresa Quandt. She is the queen of escape games on teachers pay teachers. So she’s just really good, engagement and having really fun stuff. And here’s what she has to say about making the week before break more fun. My number one tip for surviving the week before holiday break is to just have fun. Remember that you’re excited for the holidays and so are your students, so lean into that.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:19:26 – 00:20:04

Do the art project, do the craft project, pull out an escape room game. Whatever that is, have fun with your students. They deserve to have fun and so do you. It’s only a week before the holidays. It’s okay to let loose. You can make projects that are both engaging and educational as well as fun. So my number one tip is to just have fun and embrace the crazy and enjoy that time with your students. Okay, so tip number 3 for surviving the week before holiday break is planning ahead for both inside and outside of teaching.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:20:04 – 00:20:49

As teachers or you know, homeschool parents, if you’re one of our homeschool mamas listening, we love planning. We love having our lessons outlined, having holiday activities more ready to go so we know what we’re doing and so we don’t have to, like, stress in the day to day. But the also, we want to keep in mind is what’s going on outside of teaching too. So holiday gifts, neighborhood, family, community functions in the evenings, musical performances for your kids if they’re in choir or doing the school musical or whatever. There’s a lot going on this time of year, so we want to be intentional with our overall planning. Because if you’re like, oh, I’m gonna take these home and grade them in the evening, but then it snuck up on you that you have this performance, so you have this family party. It gets a little overwhelming, so we want to be intentional with that. Now if you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you might recognize this next guest.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:20:49 – 00:21:02

Her name is Crissy Nichols, and she is the owner of the Crissy Concept. And she is a certified life coach, and she coaches our members inside bike teacher mommy club. She is incredible, and here is her tip for surviving the weeks before winter break.

Speaker H 00:21:03 – 00:21:48

As a teacher and as a life coach for teachers, the best thing I do to get ready for the holidays and to survive just before the holidays is I sleep. I get really intentional about my boundaries around work at night. There’s always gonna be more to grade, especially there’s gonna be final exam review worksheets to copy and things to get out. So I just say no more, and I try to get to bed progressively every night about 8 minutes earlier. So if my normal wind down is 10 o’clock, try to get into bed in the nines, 9:52, 9:50. Then the next night, I try to do a little bit more as well, maybe 9:45.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:21:49 – 00:22:18

Let’s hear what one of our amazing wife teacher mommy team members has to say. This is Rachel. She is my sister-in-law, and she helps us with proofreading our resources, and she mails out swag to our members. She also helps us back up for customer service too. She was our customer service specialist for a long time, but now she focuses on those other things. She’s incredible. Now I wanted to share with you what she has to say about planning because she is so good about this in every aspect of her life as I have seen as her sister-in-law. So check out what she has to say.

Speaker I 00:22:18 – 00:22:30

I would say my number one tip for surviving the week before the holidays is being prepared, like planning ahead. I like to start planning, you know, what to give out

Speaker J 00:22:30 – 00:22:33

to neighbors or friends or different assignments that

Speaker I 00:22:33 – 00:22:48

I want done or activities for them to do for their parents and do it ahead of time. Planning early and making lists, like, having a list of who I’m giving gifts to and what I wanna accomplish before always helps.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:22:48 – 00:23:04

And amen to all of that, Rachel. And I have so many incredible team members. Another one of our team members, Megan, she does our blog and she has worked as both a teacher and at a charter school for homeschool parents. She has some great advice about planning ahead in your teaching. Here’s what she has to say.

Speaker C 00:23:05 – 00:23:33

Plan activities that can move the kids around. They are so excited and so hyperactive the week before winter break that instead of trying to make them sit down, I would find activities that they can move around and get some of their energy out. And, also, anything that you can make themed for winter or holidays, if you can find winter readings or winter themed math activities, it always helps to help them feel like they’re participating in the the holidays.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:23:33 – 00:23:52

And I totally agree with Meghan. And as I mentioned before, we have a lot of these holiday activities ready for you that our team has created. And plus, one of those people, our amazing curriculum designer and manager, Carol, she has some amazing tips for you about being intentional, panning ahead, surviving the holidays from her own personal classroom experience. Here’s what she has to say.

Speaker K 00:23:53 – 00:24:29

My number one tip for surviving right before the holidays would be to go with the flow and be flexible because things are gonna happen. Activities are gonna run long or run short. It’s gonna have backups for things. And I taught resource, so I was always trying to, like, make sure I was meeting everybody’s minutes. But during this time period, it’s hard to, like, meet those minutes, but also be flexible and allow those students to enjoy this time as well. So it you just have to find that balance and be flexible about schedule.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:24:29 – 00:24:59

Okay. And Carol’s thoughts here are also a perfect segue into our next tip, which is number 4, lower your expectations for yourself and your students. Notice I didn’t just say your students. I said both of you. It’s a busy and different time of year for everyone, so we need to give our students some grace and lower what we expect from them. But know it’ll be okay and get back into our routines if any are lost in January. But also we need to give ourselves some grace too, and I feel like that is often much harder to do, much harder one for us to do. We’re like, I’m an adult.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:24:59 – 00:25:31

I should be able to handle this. All those shoulds. Right? One of my least favorite words, should. I would personally recommend to take some time to be intentional and ask yourself, how am I going to lower my expectations for myself this holiday season in a way that feels right and authentic to me? Because that’s gonna look different for you than it will for me. So take that question. Think about it. Now with that said, our amazing marketing and community specialist on our team, her name is also Kelsey, actually. It’s Kelsey with a c as we call it.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:25:31 – 00:25:43

Carol said Kelsey because, like, she has a c in her name. Thought that was great when we were hiring her. She has a tip for you on embracing this time of year and not getting hung up by high expectations. Here’s what she has to say.

Speaker L 00:25:43 – 00:26:28

I would say my number one tip for surviving the week before winter break is just kinda embrace the crazy that’s gonna happen. Schedules are off and parties are thrown in there, different celebrations. The students are getting so excited. So just kind of embracing it, but also maintaining those high expectations so that students don’t let the excitement take over the learning and learning can still happen and kind of have that mindset that learning still can take place even when schedules are disrupted and it’s gonna feel a little crazy. But when those expectations and schedules and routines are still there, then learning can still take place and it can you can have a lot of fun with your students while making things still productive.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:26:29 – 00:26:54

And I totally agree with everything she has to say here. We need to just embrace the chaos. It’s like, you know what? This is part of it. This is teaching, and it’s what I signed up for. Because, you know, they’re kids. They’re children, and we love children, and just embrace that that’s how it is sometimes. So another friend so Lindsay, who I worked with in college and is now a teacher herself, and she’s a member of our community. She also agrees with what my other team member Kelsey has to say.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:26:54 – 00:26:55

She says

Speaker D 00:26:55 – 00:27:13

I try to keep my kids as engaged as possible with short, sweet activities that just help them engage without having to think too long term, holding on to their attention as best I can. Basically, I don’t ask a whole lot of them, but short bursts of mental energy.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:27:14 – 00:27:32

And another member of our community agrees too. And now, unfortunately, for some reason in video ask, it did not save her name. It just says human. I’m assuming your name is not human. But she has some great tips on how to relax a bit this time of year. And if you’re listening and you’re like, hey. That was me. DM me.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:27:32 – 00:27:34

I would love to say thank you.

Speaker M 00:27:34 – 00:28:11

What I do to survive the week before winter break is I like to let my kids have just a little bit more breaks, especially because this is a heavy testing time. This is one of our quarters for testing. So I let kids kind of relax a little bit while we’re also kind of, hitting the gas on taking tests. And that just, in general, helps me survive. Also, sometimes I like to give them, like, random bits of candy. Anytime there’s candy involved, kids love it.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:28:11 – 00:28:36

And more of our friends on social media agree with this too. I’ll read you some of the comments. So Caitlin says, release the expectations, go with the flow, and thrive in the chaos. Rachel says patience, love, and compassion. I keep in mind that the children are excited and as ready for a break as I am. I keep them busy, which helps cut down on misbehaviors. Shalise says dragging and ignoring behaviors. Carrie says a wing and a prayer.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:28:36 – 00:29:13

I love this time of year, so the more crafts and games, the better. And I’m in kindergarten where they are engulfed in the magic of the season, especially since I’m in a district that has kindergarteners on a very rigid age inappropriate curriculum and schedule. But, yes, they are talking a lot more and listening a lot less. I’m sure so many of us can relate to that. Right? Okay. And now let’s talk about tip number 5, which is finding the humor. So when I asked on social media, how do you survive the week before winter break? We had a lot of great tips in the comments as you’ve heard, but then we also had some funny comments too. We’re, like, sarcastic, or we had some people who had the, like, laughing emoji on that question to begin with.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:29:13 – 00:29:48

And I’m all for it. Why not find the humor in what is definitely one of the craziest weeks of school? There’s something just about coming together and getting a laugh about it that helps us recenter, realize we aren’t alone, and, honestly, just not taking ourselves so dang seriously. So let’s talk about the humor and what a few of our teacher friends had to say. So Ashley said, I make it through the winter break on a prayer. Julie says, I pray. Becky says, prayers, chocolate, and Advil. Michelle says, coffee and luck. Christine Marie had a meme that said hard drinking.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:29:49 – 00:30:12

Kelly says one beer at a time. Jean says you’ll join in on the insanity and have a big bottle of wine nearby. Jenny says, I’ll let you know next week when it starts. Jennifer says very carefully. Shannon says, enough said. Laugh out loud with a glass of wine picture. Grace says prayer. Michael had a meme of a crazy guy driving in a car, and I think we can all relate to that feeling.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:30:12 – 00:30:46

So there’s nothing wrong with finding the humor in it. Just not taking it too seriously and laughing about it. And I think that is a very valid thing to do in a way to survive is humor and teacher memes. Right? Nothing better than that. K. Number 6 is taking a day off. Do you think I’m crazy now? And you probably sound like a broken record with this topic telling you to take days off because we talk about it a lot. And part of that is because our best sellers and how we even got started with wife teacher mommy is our ready to go sub plans and editable sub binders that have been used by tens of thousands of teachers.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:30:46 – 00:31:07

It’s kind of the, like, original thing we’ve been known for. Although, I love now that we’ve branched out and do so much more, like life coaching, events, all kinds of curriculum. But remember that you do have those days off. You’ve earned them, and they are a promised benefit of your job. So if you need to take off early to travel or you need a mental health day, that is an option. And if you’re thinking, no. I can’t. No.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:31:07 – 00:31:28

It’s not. Well, there are other teachers who are doing it, so it’s possible. So question that thought. And I’m talking a little bit more about that on other podcasts. But here are what some of those teachers have had to say. So Jody says, I I took that week off because I’m going on a Caribbean cruise. Bring me with you. Jamaica says, go on a vacation like me.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:31:28 – 00:31:41

Brownie says, call in. Melissa agrees with Brownie and says, yeah. That’s what I say. Calling in. Sherry says, going to a conference. Not my best decision. Laugh out loud. And, actually, I would also question that thought.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:31:41 – 00:31:45

Maybe it’s a great decision. Maybe it’s exactly where you’re supposed to be even though it’s

Speaker C 00:31:45 – 00:31:46

the week before winter break.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:31:46 – 00:32:04

I would think about that. Now Jenna says, took a mental health day today. Go, Jenna. That is perfect. I believe that you should be able to take those mental health days, those sick days whenever you need them. And if you need some help with the sub planning portion of it, you’re like, oh, well, that’s great. Yeah. I wanna take my days off, but it’s easier to just go in.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:32:04 – 00:32:29

We’ve got you. I’ll link to our sub plans in the show notes. As I mentioned, they’ve been used and trusted by so many teachers. But we also have a free sub planning starter kit, which I will also link to. Those will give you a great start. Go to subplanningstarterkit.com, and you’ll find it. And, also, we have some previous episodes on the podcast that will walk you through subplanning and get you in the right mindset to take a day off. So make sure to check out the podcast for all that free support.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:32:29 – 00:32:54

Keep doing what you’re doing. You’re already here listening, but check out some more of the episodes. We’ve got a lot for you. Okay. And the final one, number 7, is practice self care. Self care is so important during this time of year. It’s always important, but I think it’s especially important during the holidays when everything just kinda feels like it’s piling up at times. Self care isn’t always just about bubble baths or reading a book, though those are great, but it’s taking time for yourself when you need it.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:32:54 – 00:33:32

Noticing when your emotions are out of whack and taking some time to actually process it by just identifying it and how you feel. Taking that time away from feeling like you’re doing anything or, like, I have to be doing something on my to do list and being okay with it even when there is still things to do. So to kick this one off, I’m going to share another recording from my friend, Kirsten. You may recognize her from TPT. She has amazing social emotional learning and growth mindset resources. She was also at our summer educate and rejuvenate event where she talked a lot about kind of what she talked about in this clip. It was so good. You’re going to get a little taste of that right here.

Speaker N 00:33:32 – 00:34:18

Kirsten Talsian from Kirsten’s Caboodle here to give you a quick tip on surviving the week before holiday break. My tip is just about stopping once every hour during the school day to breathe. You can either set a timer or you can ask your students to watch the clock. Stop what you’re doing for about 1 minute and breathe in and out 7 times, breathing in to the count of 4 and expanding the belly and then exhaling to the count of 8. Doing that 7 times is a pattern interrupt that will help your brain reset. It will also calm any nerves, and it will make for a super successful last week of school before break.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:34:18 – 00:34:40

Isn’t that awesome? I love these just practical tips of things we can do in the moment that don’t take, like, a lot of time or, like, effort. It’s just like, hey. Stop. Breathe. Right? We can do it. Okay. So Jennifer from Smith Curriculum and Consulting on DPT also agrees with self care, and I love how she does this for herself in a way that many teachers don’t. Here’s what she does.

Speaker O 00:34:40 – 00:34:56

My number one tip to survive, wait before break, is to go home when the kids go home. Find that time for yourself at night that you can relax and refresh for the next day. Because if you don’t, they’ll get you.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:34:56 – 00:35:29

And I love that. I love that she just goes home at her contract time. A lot of us feel like that’s not possible, but think about if it were possible, how would you do it? That’s a way to just get your brain going on that. Now I want to end this with a longer comment from one of our Facebook page followers, Erica w, and this ties in that self care with a lot of what we talked about in this episode altogether. So Erica says, I remind myself that I can’t give what I don’t have. I can’t give from an empty cup. The best me is arrested me. I get to school early so I can listen to whatever music is needed to start my day off.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:35:29 – 00:35:55

I also stay no more than an hour late unless I’m tutoring just to unwind and leave work at work. I pray for my kids in my day in the morning, and I pray for them before I leave. As for the week before Christmas, I enjoy it, and I let my kids enjoy it. I am an overgrown child. I never really grew up. I teach 6th grade, and I try to give kids a chance to be kids. We talk about our favorite parts of Christmas and what we’re looking forward to and even what makes us sad about the holiday. I have learned some amazing things about my students.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:35:55 – 00:36:32

I create a safe space for my kids to speak and to feel. They feel like they can be a child and still get excited about the holiday because they know miss Walker gets stupid excited about it. They have asked if I plan on doing any work over the break, and they love when I respond by asking them if they plan on doing school work over the break. People, we are human. Teaching is difficult if we allow it to be. Do not try to do what you cannot. Remember that our little eyes are watching everything that we do, and if we stay stressed, complain, overextend ourselves, or people please, then our children will learn that they are supposed to do that. Some will train themselves to put themselves aside for the sake of their career or family or anything they decide to do in life.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:36:32 – 00:36:48

This is my opinion only. We are all heroes. We are all doing an amazing job with our kids. Do not doubt yourself for one second. You are where you are meant to be for this season. Isn’t that incredible? I just want to basically ditto everything she said right there. Like, we are human. We don’t need to overextend ourselves.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:36:49 – 00:37:33

We can take a break over our winter break. We are all doing an amazing job. You are doing an amazing job. You listening right now. And I want to thank Erica and everybody who blended their voices and their comments in this episode, our listeners, our community members, the incredible wife teacher mommy team, and all the amazing podcasters and TPT creators who shared their tips, and I will link to every one of them in the show notes. This episode wouldn’t have been possible without each and every one of you who shared a tip. Now if you would like to lend your voice for a future episode, be sure to go to wtmpodcastinbox.com and follow along on our Facebook page, wife teacher mommies unite Facebook group and Instagram so you can answer questions in the comments so I can share them on the show like this in a future episode. Okay.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:37:33 – 00:38:07

So let’s recap everything we learned today. So number 1 is keep a routine. Number 2 is use the holidays to your advantage. Number 3 is planning ahead inside and outside of teaching. Number 4 is lower your expectations for the kids and yourself. Number 5 is find the humor in the crazy. Number 6 is take a day off, and number 7 is practice self care. If you’re not already a member of wife teacher mommy club, go to educate and rejuvenate.com to learn more about our amazing event, which features Bre Richardson as our keynote speaker.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:38:07 – 00:38:34

She’s going to be doing a comedy keynote with us called stories from the classroom. We can’t make this up. And I will be doing 2 sessions. I’ll be talking about goal setting. I’ll be talking about small group instruction. We’ll have a panel of teachers talking about their true experiences. Remember, we’re all about that community. My team member Carol will be talking about data tracking and how to make that less scary in 2023, and our amazing life coach, Chrissy, will also be teaching a session as well.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:38:35 – 00:39:25

And she’ll be doing some live live coaching, so you’ll be able to get personalized coaching when you attend this event. Plus, our members will also get a chance for free 20 minute coaching calls included with their membership experience for a very limited time. That’s only gonna be while I’m still working on my certification, and you’ll get a chance to snag some of those spots in January. So it’s just $9 for your whole 1st month to try it out. You’ll get up to 50 downloads every month on our current monthly plans, plus all of the resources, coaching, and perks. And with those downloads, you could download a bunch of really fun, low prep holiday activities to put tip number 2 of using the holidays to your advantage from this episode into action. And tip number 6, if you wanna take a day off, you’d be able to grab some of those sub plans too. So joining that event and all the additional perks that go along with being a member is going to help you be well on your way to doing these things to survive the week before the break.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:39:25 – 00:40:10

Now if you’re already in the club, I know a lot of you who are listening are already club members, be sure to take advantage of the resources and the event you’re already in. You do not need to do anything to register. We are going to email you more info. You’re already in. More details coming soon, and the event is happening December 29th. And if the club sounds amazing and you’re not a member yet or even if you are, don’t forget to leave a review on the podcast. Take a screenshot and email it to us at hello at wife teacher mommy, or DM us on Instagram at wife teacher mommy, and you’ll get entered into win that giveaway for 4 45 minute 1 on 1 life coaching sessions with me, 3 full months wife teacher mommy club. Now if you’re already a member or if you already become a member to join us in the event, this giveaway is going to go through the end of the year.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:40:10 – 00:40:58

It’s actually gonna go through January 1st is your deadline to enter. So if you’re already a member before then, the 3 months will just be applied to your current membership, so everybody’s eligible. And the winner will also get a skinny Tumblr with your name and quote of choice engraved onto it. And leaving reviews is so helpful to me because, 1, just, you know, helps me know that what I’m doing matters, and 2, it helps others when they come to the podcast know if it’s something that’s going to help them. So make sure to leave that review now. Take a screenshot before you hit submit because sometimes they don’t load right away, And then email that screenshot to hello at whyteachermommy or DM it to Instagram at whyteachermommy. Now I will see you next Friday for the incredible interview with none other than Bri Richardson of honest teacher vibes. If you’re enjoying this podcast, be sure to hit subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:40:58 – 00:42:01

And if you’re ready to take the next step with me, then you are going to love Wife Teacher Mommy Club. Our top selling resources for pre K through 6th grades have been used and loved by tens of thousands of teachers. The club gives you one click access to all of them to meet the needs of every child you teach while saving tons of time. Plus, you’ll have our certified life coach in your back pocket with several monthly workshops and an Ask Ask a Coach portal you can use 247. The combo of resources and coaching is our secret sauce to your best teacher life. Think of my team and I as your personal team doing the lesson planning for you and on the sidelines, coaching you and cheering you on as you focus on what you do best, impacting the children you teach. Plus, if you’re loving this podcast, you’ll also have access to our private podcast, Just for Members, where I continue the conversation with all of our guests with members only bonus episodes. And don’t forget the club with VIP access to educate and rejuvenate, our summer conference, and our private Facebook community full of like minded educators supporting each other.

Kelsey Sorenson 00:42:01 – 00:42:17

0:00 – 42:18

You do so much for everyone else, so it’s time to invest in yourself. Your teacher friend’s jaws will drop when they see just how quickly you finished your planning, not to mention the glow of the happier, more fulfilled you. Head on over to wife teacher mommyclub.com to learn more.

More about Wife Teacher Mommy: The Podcast

Being an educator is beyond a full-time job. Whether you’re a teacher or a homeschool parent, the everyday to-do list is endless. Between lesson planning, grading, meetings, and actually teaching, it probably feels impossible to show up for your students without dropping the ball in other areas of your life.

Wife Teacher Mommy: The Podcast is the show that will bring you the teacher tips, practical strategies, and inspiration that you need to relieve the stress and overwhelm of your day-to-day. Your host, Kelsey Sorenson, is a former teacher and substitute turned homeschool mom. Tune in weekly to hear Kelsey and her guests cheer you on and help you thrive as a wife, teacher, and mommy. Because with a little support and community, you can do it all. For access to every single Wife Teacher Mommy resource, join the club at educateandrejuvenate.com/club.

4 Responses

Cyndi says:

December 13, 2022 at 7:04 pm

The seven tips of surviving the week before Winter break.
Absolutely, I needed to hear this tonight. Today was stupid!
I’m so freaking sleepy. I’m to grade for an hour and then work out, check packages, shower
and the chill before 11:30 and that is early!!/Users/cynthia.terryedd/Desktop/Screen Shot 2022-12-13 at 9.02.43 PM.png

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