Last minute shopping, holiday decorating, and traveling can quickly turn the holiday season into another frazzled time of completing to-do lists. When you let the season get the best of you, you find relief when it’s time to go back to the routine of school – but you go back exhausted.
This holiday season it’s time you take care of yourself, not for selfish reasons, but for your students. Your students need your A Game. So rest up. Think of this as half-time. We don’t expect NFL players to run a marathon during half-time. They stretch their bodies, review their strategy, and get their head on straight before they head back into the game. They rejuvenate.
Here are four simple ways to help you rejuvenate during your holiday break.
Find Peace during this holiday break. During the year you take care of everyone else. During this hiatus it’s time you give yourself a break. Let your mind empty of everything and just be. Take a soak in the tub, get a message, or rest your head on your pillow. Stop thinking, doing, or taking care of others. This will allow your brain and body to rest. Make time for peace!
Have Fun this holiday season. Work and routine often take precedence. Now is the time to unwind from those routines and enjoy yourself. Read a trashy novel, binge watch the latest TV series you have heard about, stay up late and sleep in.  Playing is good for the soul and it allows your creativity to resurface. Spend time this holiday break doing what makes you laugh.
Start Exercising on the first day of break. Yes, I said it. Start exercising now. The body is meant to move. The physical activity stimulates your muscles and gets oxygen to your extremities. But why now…why not after the New Year? It’s about building a routine. While we all have the best of intentions, if we haven’t built the habit by the time we get back to school, the exercise habit will quickly be abandoned for the other things in life that demand your attention. Take a walk or join the gym…and do it now.
Create Family Time during this holiday vacation. Too often our time with our family is in the car, racing from one event to another. During this vacation create opportunities to build meaningful memories with your family. Bake the holiday cookies together or institute family game night. Talk and laugh, sing and dance. Spend time with those that warm your heart.
Taking care of yourself is one of the most important gifts you can give to your students.
When you head back to the classroom in January your students are going to need the best of you. They will have thinking, creating and dreaming to do, and you will be the master facilitator of it all. The responsibility of molding the minds and building the student body is tremendous. You will need to be at your best. So rest up, rejuvenate over this break and come out of hibernation in January ready to support your students as they tackle the world.
