January to June Survival Guide for Elementary Teachers

You don’t just want to survive the second half of the school year… you want to THRIVE! 

And I want to help you, because it’s easier said than done.

How can elementary teachers thrive in the second half of the school year?

Thriving in the classroom means different things to different teachers, but overall it looks like feeling organized, seamlessly managing expectations and behavior, and facilitating a productive, enjoyable learning environment. 

The truth? Coming back from winter break can feel overwhelming. 

What do we do in this classroom again? 

What are our routines? 

How does this classroom system work?

It can be a lot!

But if you want to beat the overwhelm and create a plan for thriving throughout the second semester, I’ve got a 3-part system that works like a charm.

Let’s dive in! 

Sit down and complete a “heart-check”

A heart-check is an intentional reflection on the first half of your school year.

Schedule some alone time to sit in a quiet place and look back on the year so far.

As you reflect, write down:

• One word that describes the first half of this school year
• One word you’d like to describe the second half of the school year
  
  

Sometimes this heart-check shows you things you want to keep doing. Maybe calm defined your first semester, and you’d like to continue that into this year.

Sometimes this heart-check shows you things you want to do less of. If the word that defines the first semester is chaotic, you may want to focus on a word like organized or peaceful for the second semester.

Or you may find in this reflection something you want more of. If last year felt lonely, you may want this year to feel like collaboration or connection.

There are no right answers to your heart-check. It’s simply a chance to reflect on what has already happened and assess what you want to be true about the second half of your year.

Once you’ve completed your heart-check and decided on the word that will guide your next few months in the classroom, it’s time to make a strategic plan and take action!

Time to clean up 

Your second semester will run so much better if you take time to do some post-break cleaning. 

This cleaning session has two components:

• Your physical classroom space
• Your routines – with and without students
  
  

Cleaning your physical space is pretty simple. Make sure old papers are thrown away or archived, have students clean out their desks, cubbies, or lockers, and start the year with an organized, tidy room.

Everyone feels better when they get to teach and learn in a neat, ordered space!

The second part of “cleaning” involves refining your routines and making sure we know exactly how we want things to flow in the new year.

Think about any bottlenecks or recurring issues you had last year.

Did negative behaviors escalate at the end of the day when everyone was trying to pack up? Maybe your students felt rushed, and you need to add 5 minutes to your end of the day routine.

Were you always running a few minutes late to specials? Maybe you need to tighten up your “getting ready to leave the classroom” routine.

Do you often feel overwhelmed by the stories students try to tell you at inopportune moments? Maybe you need to add a sharing time to your morning meeting.

You are in control of your classroom and you set the routines and expectations.

Start your year off strong by making sure you know exactly how you want these systems to run.

Then bring in your students! They can’t execute routines or meet expectations that they don’t clearly know and understand. 

You can get your students involved in a number of different ways:

• Have your students generate a list of daily classroom routines, write them down on an anchor chart, and display the list in your room
• Ask students about your classroom expectations and have them brainstorm ideas for how to follow through on each expectation
• Role play what happens when students make certain choices – with positive and negative consequences

Knowing how you want your classroom to run and making sure your students are active participants in defining, practicing, and understanding those routines is an excellent way to ensure you all thrive in the new year! ((PS: if you want more help cleaning up those classroom systems, click here to join our classroom systems mini-course today)).

Be clear and direct

Thriving, happy classrooms don’t happen by accident.

If you want to reach your goals, create the classroom community you have in mind, and bring that focus word to fruition in the second semester – you must be clear and direct with yourself and with your students. 

Telling a first-grader what to do and how to behave may be mildly effective.

But bringing that first-grader into the process, asking them questions, and having them practice what to do is the key to true follow through and success.

Think about the directions you give on a daily basis. How can you simplify them? What can you take out or replace to make those directions even easier to follow?

Be honest with yourself and ask – “Are my expectations clear? Am I giving my students direct feedback?”

Sometimes we can fall into the routine of the school day and forget to give our students adequate reminders, instructions, or feedback.

They can’t read our minds, so it’s our job to make sure every single expectation, routine, and desired behavior is clearly, directly communicated – over and over and over again.

You can do yourself and your students a huge favor by prioritizing:

• Collaborating with students to identify, define, and practice routines + behavior
• Creating simple, repeatable systems for cleaning up and organizing your classroom
• Incorporating lots of hands-on, movement-based activities 

A little reflection, planning, and intention will help you be the clearest, most direct teacher in your building… and lead to your best second semester yet!

Thriving in the second half of the school year

There you go – everything you need to not just survive, but thrive, throughout the second semester. 

Starting with an intentional heart-check ensures you know what you want and gives you direction for moving forward.

Cleaning up your physical classroom and your routines and expectations ensures you and your students are setting yourselves up for success.

And being as clear and direct as possible helps everyone in your room follow through on your expectations, stick to your routines, and show up ready to learn, grow, and enjoy one another each day.

Want to get your students involved? Download this coping skills freebie!

Support your students in regulating their emotions and feelings with this SEL coping skills freebie! Inside this coping skills packet, you get an engaging student coping skills BINGO card with 25 positive strategies! You'll also find 4 different coloring pages included for students to use as a coping skills tool. 

Click here to download this Coping Skills freebie!