Christmas, Routines, & Anxiety AKA: How Do We Successfully Navigate The Holidays and Return to School Ready to "Do School" Again?

Christmas, Routines,  & Anxiety 
AKA:  How Do We Successfully Navigate The Holidays and Return to School Ready to "Do School" Again?

While some of us hate to admit it - routines are good for us. Routines give us a self-confidence that some may not fully grasp. A routine, from my research, reading and own experience, allows us to have self-confidence in knowing what is going to come next. Knowing what is coming next allows us to move with a higher amount of self-confidence and self-assurance.

Having said that, we LOVE holidays. We LOVE sleeping in. We LOVE staying up all night watching movies. And basically we LOVE giving up our routine. Well... at least I do! The giving up of our routine feels great... but it makes it hard to get back into the routine when the holidays are over. For those who deal with anxiety the switch over can be even more difficult. While routine is good for us, breaking routine and then having to work back into it is difficult even for those who do not struggle with anxiety. We dread it. We complain about it. We drag our feet getting out of bed. I think that's called being human.

There is good news however. There are things that each of us can do to help us get back into routine with out sending our anxiety sky-rocketing through the roof (like Santa's reindeer). These are also great ideas even if we don't struggle with anxiety.

Here is a short list of things that can help make the transition back into the routine of doing school easier:
*Eating properly.
*Getting exercise (even though we may hate exercising).
*Starting to go to bed at a regular time a day or two (or more) before the break ends.
*Getting up at the time we need to for school for at least a couple of days before going back. (Personally, I balance out the getting up early with a nap later in the day - one of the added benefits of holidays.)
*Starting to think about school and the upcoming semester end assessments.

Here are a few links that may be helpful if you are looking for more information:
Going Back to School by ReachOut (This is an American source but deals with returning to school after breaks)

The following two are Canadian sources. They deal with returning to school after summer holidays but are good articles and can relate to the Christmas break as well.

CBC's Back to School Advice
Coping with Back to School Anxiety - Anxiety BC

Anxiety BC has a number of great resources for parents and youth online. Please check it out if you are looking for more relevant information. Here is a link to their Anxiety 101 page. Anxiety 101: What You and Your Child Need to Know About Anxiety

If your child's anxiety is a concern (seems more serious than normal every day anxiety) please seek medical attention through your family doctor or a therapist. These articles are meant to help but can not replace medical help if it is required.


** Please note... All pictures are my pictures. Please do not copy and use for anything without permission. Thank you.

Stepping out into the World of Blogging... Step One...

Today is my first attempt at blogging. As we jump with both feet into the technological age (or did we already do that a long time ago), I am encouraged, challenged and inspired to try blogging. While this is actually a daunting challenge at this moment, I am hoping that this endeavor will allow me to connect with parents and students on a more regular basis on things that are important to all of us.

This adventure into publishing my thoughts is almost as scary as my first attempt at making my own Christmas floral arrangements for my yard. I had the individual parts, I understood the concept, and I had a generally idea of what I wanted the end product to look like but I wasn't sure if I had the skills, the artistic ability or the confidence to make my own floral arrangements. Once they were done, I wasn't sure if they matched the idea in my head and whether or not they were worthy of being displayed. That is kind of how I feel about this blog.

However, as a life-longer learner, and as a person who encourages others to challenge themselves to learn continually, I have decided that I am up to the challenge. I am going to see how this works. See what the response is and decide whether or not I want to continue in this new concept. As I step into this I have concerns like:who is going to read this? are my thoughts important? am I going to make a spelling mistake? will I know how to fix my mistakes? how can I ensure that my posts are valuable? accurate? helpful? encouraging? am I taking on more than I can manage?

These are just a few of my random thoughts at this point. But as I worry about some of these things, I am reminded that this is good for me. It is good for me to feel uncomfortable. It is good for me to be challenged. It is good for me to take risks. Students feel uncomfortable on a daily basis. Our students are challenged on a daily basis - and sometimes students are challenged minute by minute in classes.

Additionally, we ask students to take risks to deepen their learning. So, I remind myself that this adventure is good for me. I will learn. I will grow. I will make mistakes. I will survive. This will be a great adventure and hopefully have a positive impact on students and parents. Hopefully, the finished product will be worthy of your time.