Woohoo we made it! It's finally Winter break and schools are out! If you're not quite done yet my heart goes out to you, but you got this. The end is in sight!

I am definitely ready for 2 weeks off, and we can all agree it is well deserved. Here are the top things I am looking forward to over Winter break:

1) Turning off my 5am alarm. In fact, I've already done it. It was the first thing I did when I woke up this morning. So satisfying...!

2) Watching day time TV. The epitomy of trash and I love it. Mindless entertainment where I can just zone out and mentally switch off, just what I need!

3) Being able to go to the bathroom whenever I please. 

4) Being able to stay in my fleece pyjamas and cosy socks all day long. I love dressing up, but sometimes it's nice to just kick the smart clothes, make up, jewellery and heels and just slob out and be cosy.

5) Not having to talk all day long. My throat has been killing me recently but in teaching you can't ever rest it! Being silent for a while will be nice.

6) Being able to sit down for longer than 2 minutes at a time.

7) Actually getting time to eat lunch and really taste, chew and digest it.

8) Being home in the daylight. During the Winter I leave for school in the dark and come home in the dark. It would be nice to be able to be home when the sun is still out. 

9) Being able to walk outside in public when there's daylight. That would be nice.

10) Spending time outside by choice, not being forced to do outside playground duty during freezing conditions or with pooping birds overhead...

11) Being quiet. As much as I do enjoy teaching and interacting with my students, I won't deny I enjoy quiet time. You don't get much of that during the school day so I'm looking forward to giving my ears a rest.

12) Reading for leisure. I haven't managed to do that in a while, I'm going to browse the Kindle store and see what book I fancy using as my escapism this holiday!

13) Sleeping. 

14) Be able to actually socialize without needing to be home before 10pm due to it being a "school night'. I can stay out and see people with no horrific consequences the next day having to work.

15) Losing track of which day of the week it is. That's the best.

16) Catching up on bills and paperwork. It's weird, I can be on top of my paperwork at school, but for some reason my home paperwork is a shambles. Does anyone else have this problem?! I am looking forward to getting my personal life organized again.

17) Not having to be exposed to a swarm of germs. All day long I am surrounded by sneezes, sniffles and coughs this time of year. It's a battle to dodge the germs every day to avoid catching the 'lurgies'. I might save some money on hand sanitizer too...

18) Being able to actually go to the bank. In the UK, banks are all closed up by 4-5pm. I usually leave school later than that so I can never get in a bank during the week! Again, it will be nice to organize my personal life.

19) Spending time with family and friends. You know, those people you love but hardly get to see as school life takes up so much time. Yeh, I want to see them and hang out.

20) Spend some more time on my TpT store. As I teach full time, I can't spend as much time making resources and clip art as I'd like to, so I'm hoping to devote some time to doing that too!  

That was a lot of fun to write, and now I'm even more excited to start Winter break after reflecting on all these things I love doing! What things are you looking forward to this holiday? Whatever you do, make sure you have fun, relax and make the most of every day! We deserve this!

If you are still soldiering on trying to get through the curriculum, more power to you! If you have surrendered to Christmas fever and have started to 'wind down' (though it probably feels like the kids are winding up!) I hope your students are enjoying their Christmas quizzes and craftivities!

More than ever this time of year, our focus is on our students and making sure they're kept busy and entertained so they don't start climbing the walls.. But you mustn't forget to look after yourself too, or these last few days will be less than enjoyable.

Here are my top tips to surviving the last few days before Winter break!

1) Go home early. 
You probably stay late after school most days catching up on emails, preparing resources etc. Well I think in this last week especially, you need to be kind to yourself and go home early to get some rest. Don't feel guilty about it either: the students are hyped up and we need all the energy we can get to get through the week!

2) Anything that can wait, can wait.
Prioritize. Look at your to do list and anything that can wait until the New Year, can just wait. There's no point stressing yourself out and working yourself into a frenzy. Do it when you are feeling more rested and geared up, which you will be in a few weeks time, honest! On the other hand, anything that has a deadline for this week should be done and out of the way so you don't have to worry about it over the holiday period.

3) Eat right.
It's easy to reach for something quick and perhaps not the most nutritionally rich when you're tired and starving, but this will just exhaust you more. Make the effort to make healthy choices and feed your body the nutrients it needs to keep your immune system strong and energy levels high. The amount of sneezes and sniffles we come in contact with every day, goodness knows we need it. Getting sick this close to the end would not be cool...

4) Sleep tight.
I know it's party season and all your non-teacher friends are probably out having some festive celebrations midweek, but you might want to consider using this week to ensure your body is well rested. You can always party next week if you can pry yourself out of your holiday coma!

5) Keep students busy but also calm.
The most popular activities teachers do at the end of the year, usually involve something which hypes them up: quizzes, games, parties, videos etc. Although they love all that, it can actually be very draining keeping that momentum going for days on end.
Personally, I prefer the calmer activities which involves students' creativity but also self-reflection meaning they are still engrossed in the lesson but with a much calmer mindset. I have this set of activities which work great with teenage students:

There's enough in there to keep them busy but calm during the last few days of school, as well as some to start them off in the New Year too to ease them back in. Feel free to click on the image above to check it out if you're interested!

So there you have it, my top 5 tips for surviving the last few days before Winter break. Look after yourself and enjoy your two weeks off - you definitely deserve it! 

It has been said that teaching is the best and hardest profession in the world. I won't argue with that, but some days it does feel that little bit harder when just starting the day is like trying to wake from a coma.. or is that just me? I find this is especially true this time of year with those dark, cold mornings... There is that long battle with the mind and body to convince myself to get moving when it's pitch black and too cold to get out of bed!

If you're like me in the mornings, then you might want to try a sunrise simulated alarm clock like this one, click on the image to find out more:

It's such a simple concept, but highly effective for me! The way it works, is the alarm gets increasingly brighter over a period of time mimicking a natural sunrise, tricking your body to biologically thinking it's time to get up. The brightness and time span is all controllable (I like full brightness over a half hour period myself: I need a gentle awakening...!) Don't worry about the idea of sleeping through the light though, as it can play sounds too. I have mine set to birds chirping :) So now even in the thick of these cold, winter mornings, every day is like a sunny spring morning in my bedroom!

I'll be honest though, sometimes I am so exhausted even the bright light isn't enough to wake me up immediately, but the sound always will (which is still gentle) and there is something so refreshing about waking up with the room brightly lit already (no more bleary, stingy eyes at least!). 

So there you have it, if you want to start your day of teaching on the right side of the bed (haha) then why not try a sunrise stimulated alarm clock and wake up to sunshine every day, no matter what the weather!