How To Survive (And Enjoy) December In Your Elementary Classroom

In this episode of The Firstieland Podcast for elementary teachers, your host Molly Schwab shares practical and encouraging tips to help you survive (and even enjoy!) the busiest month of the school year. December can feel chaotic - with excited students, endless to-do lists, and classrooms bursting with energy - but it doesn’t have to leave you drained.

You’ll learn:

✔️ Why slowing down and simplifying your plans will save your sanity

✔️ How to make meaningful classroom memories your students will never forget

✔️ Easy low-prep activities and games to keep kids engaged and learning

✔️ Simple ideas for calm days 

 ✔️ Ways to let students take the lead and give yourself a well-deserved break

✔️ How to build independent choice time into your day for quiet moments of peace

✔️ What to include in your very own Teacher Survival Kit to recharge during your planning period

By the end of this episode, you’ll have a fresh list of teacher-tested ideas to help you simplify December, calm the chaos, and head into winter break feeling relaxed and accomplished (not frazzled and fried).

Resources Mentioned

JOIN THE FREE WINTER READ ALOUD CHALLENGE - https://firstieland.com/challenge

Winter Writing Prompts - firstieland.com/winterwriting

No-Prep December Games – firstieland.com/games

Teacher For The Day - https://firstieland.com/teacher

Blog Post - Best Tips For Teacher Survival During December - https://firstieland.com/teacher-survival

Winter Playlist For Kids - https://firstieland.com/winter-music

Let’s Stay Connected

Visit our website: www.firstieland.com

Need resources? Visit our TPT store: https://firstieland.com/TPT-store

Need more ideas? Message me on Instagram @firstieland

To check out all the resources mentioned in this episode, head over to the show notes: https://firstieland.com/podcast

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Have a wonderful day, and remember to make learning feel like play… see you next week! 💜

Molly

Full disclosure: Amazon links in my descriptions are affiliate links, which means if you purchase through that link, I receive a very small percentage of the sale.