We Just Had a Long Break, Help

Everyone looks forward to long weekends, but then comes the day you must return to school. Hopefully you made the most of the extra break time and feel rested and refreshed. Now you must return to school and all the work left there waiting for you. You will return to a class full of students who also had a break from school. How do you cope with the struggles that you will face? Let’s explore the day after the break blues.

First, let me say it is okay to not be ready to return to school. Often, long weekends are just long enough to show us that we have been way more stressed than we realize. They give us just a taste of some much needed downtime and point out the need for more self care. It is totally understandable if you just do not feel like your break was long enough. Just recognize that this probably means you need to find a way to incorporate self care and relaxation into your daily routine to better destress in the future.

Next, your students may or may not be ready to return. Some of your students may have had an absolute blast while on a long weekend. They may have done fun activities with family and friends and the idea of returning to school seems repugnant. Other of your students may be secretly ecstatic to return to school because home was not a good place to be. These students may return to you still having high levels of stress and in fight or flight mode. They may never really let you know that they are glad to be back at school, and often will make you want to sit in the corner and cry.

All that being said, have a plan for the first day back from a long weekend or break, just make sure it is not too ambitious. You and your students will need time to get back in the groove, and that is okay. Make sure your plan includes ways that each of you can feel as if the first day back has fun included. Include options for connections between students, and for you to let your students know you are glad to see them again. Waiting an extra day to teach that new math equation is totally fine. Give yourself and your students permission to slowly merge back into the learning lane. After all, you are still moving forward even while you are merging.

These long weekends and breaks can be wonderful, but they can also cause so much stress upon return if teachers and students have unrealistic expectations of what that return will entail. Just remember that if you shift gears too quickly, you can burn out the learning mechanism. Enjoy your break, and then return at the pace that matches the needs of all involved. You will be so glad you did.