January 2022 through a wrench at us teachers. Just when we were getting back in the swing of things Omnicron threw us back off of our game. For me, January was an “opportunity” to practice my paperwork management skills, attendance-taking skills, and figuring out how to teach in person and also provide meaningful experiences for students that were out sick (at times half my classes were absent). In addition to a logistics shift in my classroom, I also felt the constant doom that any day I, or my family, would be knocked down from the latest strain of COVID (thankfully, only a few in my family caught it, and it was short-lived).
To sum it up, my January was a month of teaching chaos.
Thankfully, February has seemed to calm down, at least in regards to students out sick with COVID. I feel like the rhythm is starting to come back for my students. But, we are all exhausted and summer vacation is over four months away. February does include a few breaks for President’s holidays, so there is that, but I still need a little more support to push through. I plan on doing the following three things to reconnect and liven up the rest of the month:
Reconnect with my Students
With so many students in and out of class in January and the stress of family and friends getting sick, we didn’t have our usual routines. I’m going to infuse a few “getting to re-know you” activities. I plan on keeping it short and sweet, maybe playing a few rounds of “Would You Rather”.
2. Hop on the Wordle Train
I’m usually not one for the latest social media hype, but my own pre-teen and teenaged children have me hooked on Wordle. I introduced it to my class (surprisingly most hadn’t heard of it, so I told them to ask their parents about it, and their parents would probably know). Trying to figure out the word of the day has become a new ritual in one of my classes and is creating a class bonding experience.
3. Find Support From Fellow Teachers
The staff at my school meets up socially Friday afternoons and I am going to attend at least two of those meetings. I enjoy seeing my coworkers in a different setting (we usually pick a restaurant near school), and knowing them on a more personal level. I’m also going to continue to host the New Teacher Support Group on Thursdays (even though I am not a new teacher, I love working with newer teachers and enjoying their energy).
These three things will help me reconnect with my students, my colleagues, myself as a teacher, and I may start to weave a few different vocabulary words into my lessons based on the Wordle!