Is your Spring Break coming to an end? I hope you’ve enjoyed soaking in the brisk and refreshing spring air, but I bet you’ve begun counting down the days to summer vacation! Am I right??? Yeah, I get it! I know the feeling all too well! You’ve been given a small taste of what’s to come in the next couple of months. However, for now you’ll need to pack away those suitcases and flip flops for a later time. Right now, you still need to focus on welcoming these little learners that are about to reenter in your classroom full of fresh energy! No worries my friend, I’m here to share three BIG tips to help you restart your classroom management strategies back in motion after the well-deserved break! Let’s dive in!

Start Fresh!

Along with that fresh spring air, come back to school with a fresh start for your students! Here are some classroom management ideas try as soon as you get back:

Seating Arrangement: Have a new seating chart ready BEFORE students come in. Before the break, I bet your students were beginning to test boundaries, distracting others, and just getting on one another’s nerves. Right? So, just get them going in a new spot and ready to go in a positive light! Perhaps even try a completely new format as well. Keep it interesting for them!
Whole Class Reward System: Change up your incentive for positive behavior in the classroom. If you don’t have one in place already, starting one now will help keep things exciting and fun for the remainder of the school year. If you need some inspiration, I have these spring/summer themed classroom management games available for you to check out in my shop!
Class Call Back: Introduce a new class call back when you need to get their attention. Here’s one to get you started: “The sun is shining bright…we’re feeling alright!” Try some other new or seasonal call backs. Get creative and have fun with it!

Reconnect

After a break it is so important to reconnect with your students and for them to reconnect with one another. You have spent the whole school year building classroom community, so be sure to re-nurture those relationships! Here are some ways to do this:

Share Out: First, have students share what they did over Spring Break! Besides just calling on students randomly, which you can absolutely do, there are lots of other ways to have students share and discuss their experiences. Check out this student discussion strategies resource available in my shop. These strategies can also be applied across several content areas all year long!
Community Building Activities: There are several great resources out there for collaborative challenges, STEM activities, etc. You can get as involved and creative as you would like! However, if you prefer to keep things simple, even just some card games, board games, would you rather questions, and so on, can help get your kiddos working together in a positive way.

Reestablish Rules and Expectations

I bet you knew this was coming! You were right, we MUST reestablish those rules and expectations after Spring Break! I promise you, the spring air will magically evaporate their knowledge of classroom expectations before returning to your classroom! Here are some ways to sprinkle those reminders back into their minds:

Posters: Either have anchor charts or posters pre-made to review the rules and expectations OR have students create their own posters. This could be a great collaborative activity as well!
Role Play: Have students role play a variety of classroom procedures. It’s also a fun way to reconnect with their peers as well!
Interview: Pretend that YOU have forgotten the class expectations and procedures. Ask your class questions on what should be done if…you need to sharpen a pencil, go to the restroom, what to do when you’re finished with your work, etc.

Well friend, there you have it—three key strategies to keep it fresh, reconnect, and reestablish your expectations! I hope your Spring Break provides you with the much-needed rest and rejuvenation to finish out the school year strong!

Michelle