I am assuming that this week will be the last week of the Autumn term and that the majority of schools will be finishing on Friday 18th Dec.
So as we hit the final week here are some things that you need to do and some things you need to keep in mind.
It will be a crazy week!
It will be a crazy week so be ready for multiple interruptions and changes to the day. If you haven’t yet had your nativity then at some point this will have its final rehearsal and then either 1 or 2 performances. All classes in the school will be invited to (most likely) the final rehearsal so be ready for that to happen.
Also during this week there may be times when the DH or SLT member takes the whole school for carol singing - this usually happens in a morning and although staff are generally allowed to leave to “do other things” 1 or 2 staff may be asked to stay.
There will be (if it hasn’t happened yet) an Xmas dinner. This will take huge organisation as tables need special decoration and carols will be playing and the children will take far longer to eat their meals…meaning that the afternoon session starts a lot later. This may also be the day when staff also have an Xmas lunch which also overruns!
Amidst all this (welcome) disruption
There are 3 things that need to be on your mind…
* You need to keep your mornings going…(in between interruptions) but in this week it can simply be Xmas themed fun stuff. So you can base it on a maths or english theme but make them fun and of course with no marking. If it’s informal then any interruptions don’t spoil what you were going to do.
* Keep your eye on what you have been making for the children to take home - these MUST be finished - so allocate as a matter of course time for these to be done. (if you are desperately short of afternoon time then you could throw in a couple fo morning sessions on this as well)
* For a Friday finish these should be sent home Thursday evening just to take the pressure off on the last day. So all things should be finished by Wednesday afternoon and the children should be asked to bring in bags on the Thursday to take things home…try not to leave it until the last day as things get really hectic.
Ideas for time fillers
Here’s a few things you can fall back on if you need to…
* Practice carols…you will need words and music so Youtube is always a good place to start. Use your big screen
* Silent reading is always an instant filler if you need 20 mins and a good thing to keep going
* Christmas quiz…there are lots about on the internet or you could simply make up one yourself
* Xmas word searches
* Here’s a link to some extra ideas https://www.ef.com/wwen/blog/teacherzone/ideas-for-classroom-christmas-activities/
You need to have a few of these in reserve so that you can simply fill those gaps that will naturally occur this week.
One of the things I have recommended in the past can also be used at this time of year. Before the class go out to play / lunch / home.. you can ask lets say 5 questions and in this context they can be xmas fun themed. Anyone in the class can answer and a correct answer gets the whole class doing the action
* We stand up behind out chairs
* We turn to face the door
* We walk to the door / cloakroom
* We open the door
* We go out.
I used this a lot but put a curriculum theme to it during the rest of the year but at Xmas why not theme it….just an idea.
Have a great week
