No, Sammy, you can’t let your new robot show off his dance moves!
Becky, what have I said about using your hoverboard in the corridor?
Yes, welcome to the wonderful world of primary school in the weeks after the festive holidays.
It isn’t only the obsession with new toys, games and gadgets that teachers must contend with – it can take youngsters weeks to get back into the swing of things after all of the excitement of Christmas.
In fact, the latest research suggests after just a couple of weeks of no homework, late nights and a daily diet of chocolate, cakes and pure adrenaline, recalibrating into any kind of routine is a struggle.
That’s why we’ve come up with these top tips to help you motivate young minds and bring them back into learning mode.
Create team projects
Gathering your youngsters together into small teams quickly focuses their minds on the new single mission in hand. This could be anything from creating a colourful mural for the classroom wall to collecting fallen leaves for a nature project. Not even a dancing robot can beat working closely with your mates.
Encourage more sports
All of the hyperactivity that was in full force over Christmas and New Year now needs to be channeled in a productive way. Increasing the level of sports activities is the perfect way to curb over-enthusiasm, while the health benefits come as an added bonus. Studies even show that exercise can improve youngsters’ cognitive flexibility and increase their levels of creativity.
Sharing is caring
If after all this, some kids are simply finding it impossible to get the hyped-up holiday vibe out of their system, don’t fight it – actively encourage it. Ask your little ones to share their positive holiday experiences with the class. You may even want to create a shared Christmas Book, where the kids can write in their favourite moments, complete with pictures and artwork. Think of it as an artistic release mechanism.
Let’s get this party restarted
Finally, if all else fails and wee Betty is still involuntarily bursting into the chorus from Let It Go, while Eddie is smuggling After Eight mints inside his sandwiches, have a party. That’s right. Every Friday afternoon bake cookies, serve hot chocolate and make school the fun place everyone wants to rush back to come Monday morning.
If you’d like to help the new generation party on, check out the latest vacancies in education from s1jobs