Beware the Full Moon

A full moon and Santa? That’s bad news.

It’s the perfect storm, my teacher friends. What am I talking about? There’s a full moon and the holidays are almost here. These two events coinciding may cause the following symptoms in your students:

• Amnesia in regards to all previous rules learned in the classroom
• Uncontrollable urges to blurt out completely irrelevant information
• The inability to sit still for longer than five seconds
• Tattling, whining, and other undesirable behaviors that make you want to shake your fist at the calendar for bringing about this cataclysmic intersection of events

So what can you do? I recommend deep breathing, extra caffeine, and not beating yourself up over things that are out of your control. Why don’t you try some of the following ideas to keep your stress level manageable?

1. Give yourself a reward at the end of each day. I’m thinking about a terrific piece of chocolate, a glass of wine, a relaxing bubble bath, or simply a night in front of the television in your favorite fuzzy lounge pants. Something to look forward to helps a lot!
2. Don’t forget the magic of the season. Focus on the beauty of the festive outdoor lights or your lovely Christmas tree.
3. Shop online. I can’t recommend this enough. You have crazy students during the day. There’s no need to deal with crazy adults the rest of the time.
4. Recognize that your coworkers are going through the same thing. Give a teacher friend a little bottle of bubble bath and a bar of chocolate all done up with a ribbon and tag. You’ll feel great giving a little gift, and your teacher friend will get a nice warm fuzzy as well. 🙂

Take care!