Spirit Week...Just go with it!

Be invested in the program of the school where you are teaching!  You accepted the contract.  You chose to work in that environment after they chose to offer the position.  Now jump in and do your best.  It does not matter if they did not ask for your input in calendar or event planning.  The admin does not need to hear your opinion...complaint...advice...suggestion about how things are done.  "Stay in your lane!"  Do the job you were hired to do and do it well.  Every February, our school had Spirit Week.  It was a week of special days and costumes.  It was a week of a different schedule, lots of treats, and crazy children.  EMBRACE the fun!  Join in whole-heartedly and participate!  Find things you can put in a costume bucket to use year after year...REUSE, REPURPOSE, RECYCLE!  

You might not get through all your lessons for the week!  DEEP BREATH...IT IS OK!  Do what you can with all the special things around you.  Comfy Day is one of Kindergarten's favorites!  Comfy clothes, blanket, pillow, and stuffed friend...makes me want to crawl up with a good book.  We focused on all things reading on this day...reading extra story books, reading groups were one big group snacking on popcorn, building words with markers and seeing if it matched teacher's.  "No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship."  Justin Tarte

In looking back over the whole week, we still accomplished the basics of what we needed to do!  We were all tired at the end of the week, and we were ready to return to our daily routine the next week.  Teacher, don't be a crabby stick in the mud by saying, "I just don't do stuff like that." or "It's just not my thing."  Let me turn this around...Do you accept that attitude from your student?  "Well, it's different."  No...no, it is not.  You expect your students to jump through the hoops you put out for them.  You scold them when they don't give it their all.  And you just disrespected the school, staff, students, and parents by not participating and complaining about Spirit Week.  Way to break the spirit that the school is trying to build!

Let me challenge you to re-think "your stance" and work on building relationships with your students.  Have fun...and just go with it!