October Classroom Survival

Surviving October in the classroom should come with some kind of badge at the end of it. Routines are in place, real learning is starting to happen, and then BAM! October hits and you question everything you've done from day one. No worries, it happens to the best of us!

Here are some tips I have gathered to help you through this month. Whether you are struggling or just starting to feel too comfortable in your routines these tips will help you survive!

1. Trash it! Get Rid of the EXCESS

You probably had big ideas of how organized and perfect your classroom would be this year. You may even have some procedure or organizational things laying around that you haven't used at all. Last year it was a job chart. I've never been a job chart teacher and I never follow through. It just isn't for me (and that is ok). But for some reason last year I thought it would be different and guess what? It was not! We had other things in place to make sure everyone was a helper without a job chart on the wall so the job chart went by the wayside. Phew! One less stress!

2. Strengthen Classroom Relationships

Building those relationships from day one is the MOST important thing you can do in August and September. By now you all know each other pretty well and some of those kiddos might be taking advantage of that. Strengthen you relationship with your students by keeping your expectations high. A healthy teacher/student relationship is filled with caring and respect but also a high level of expectation on both ends. Greatness doesn't come with mediocrity. Keep your standards high and expect that from your students every day. The strongest relationships come from that mutual respect for learning.

3. Play CATCH UP

I know it stinks big time to do work on a Sunday afternoon or anytime on the weekend for that matter but life in the classroom is less stressful when you are all caught up. Plan an hour or so into your week to just CATCH UP on all of the STUFF that is filling your plate. For me that is just all of the little paperwork type stuff that I have been putting off but it makes my brain crazy. When that stuff is done then I can focus again. Don't do weekends? Plan a day to stay an hour or so after everyone else is gone (no distractions!) and get it done then.


4. Go Outside! 

The weather is AMAZING in Arizona right now and perfect for some outdoor lessons. In kindergarten we like to learn about pumpkins in October so it is a great time to get outside to clean out our pumpkins while avoiding the mess in the classroom. Take a nature walk or observe clouds on a cloudy day. Soak up all of the outside air you can before the chill sets in!

5. Use thematic lessons that EXCITE!

I am not a huge holiday theme planner in the classroom. When I started teaching 15 years ago I decorated for each season and planned big parties with cupcakes and soda and pizza and whatever else we could eat to make ourselves feel miserable at the end of the day. I've learned a lot in 15 years and I have one tip for you.....SKIP IT! The parties were just a way to trick myself into thinking I was a fun teacher and then we could get back to the grind the next day. There is a better way!

Rather than exclude students from anything during a holiday I started doing thematic lessons that were.....get this.....actual lessons rather than just celebrating a random holiday. So during October we study the human body (skeleton), pumpkins (life cycle), bats (so creepy but totally interesting), and other "October" related themes like Jack-O-Lanterns to keep it educational but so fun at the same time. Of course in Kindergarten that also means all of my crafts and fun stuff can look like a celebration of Halloween but really we are learning actual content.

I blogged about my Surviving Halloween Lesson Plans HERE if you would like to take a peek.


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