We showed kids all of the days of Winter Break on our classroom calendar, and also the green dots of our return in January. Still, it’s a pretty long time for them. While we may expect that all the excitement and presents and time together will be fun, holidays are often difficult times for children. These can be challenging times for adults, too. Routines are upended, travel has us stressed, family visitors take up residence in our homes. There may be new rules, new expectations, more personalities to accommodate. You might find your child is in tears more than usual.
As best you can, help them know what to expect. Spend some time talking over what their day will look like, even if it’s mundane. Make a calendar to show when guests will be arriving, and when they will be leaving. Children often find reassurance the same ways we do, by knowing what’s going to happen, and when. By choosing what feels good to them, even if it isn’t on the schedule. They (and you!) will need to refuel and have some down time. Try to allow time for those quiet, unscheduled moments when your child can set the pace - when you can just be together, reading or singing or watching the snow fall.
You might want to use a calendar for them at home to mark off the days until our return. Some kids might be a bit reluctant to return to school after all that loving family time. Don’t worry if this happens for your child when we return in January. Even if they have some reluctance then, you can be assured that they will be okay once they get inside and back to our routines. Remember that they now know all about school, trust teachers to help them and have many good experiences of playing here together. You can remind them we will be eagerly awaiting their return, and look forward to playing together again!
We hope you all have a warm, relaxed and happy time at home together.
Happy New Year!