Some call this week at school “March Madness,” with a nod to the endless basketball parade on television this time of year. The analogy does fit if you think about the college kids who are sometimes playing three and four basketball games in as many days, the ones with the greatest stamina often the ones surviving to win their conference championships.The more-fatigued-than-usual kids we see this week entering morning classes in elementary, middle, and high school with noticeably tired eyes and faces are dealing with the change to Daylight Savings Time. A loss of an hour’s sleep Saturday night is playing havoc with sleep patterns and circadian rhythms, and it takes some children weeks to readjust. Crankiness, disengagement, mental fatigue, and poor work production can be observable this week.
And it’s not just the kids. Teachers are affected by this change as well and probably found it harder getting up and off to school Monday morning. We push through and think we’re quickly adjusting, but our patience and attentiveness may not be par excellence. What to do?
It makes sense this week to:
- Talk to your students about getting extra sleep at home this week, and why
- Build a few more short stretch breaks into your lessons
- Take a “one-minute nap” with your class
- Make sure kids are drinking plenty of water
- Sneak in a ten-minute outdoor break once or twice this week for your class
In many states, this week it is getting close to state standardized test windows. The strategies I’ve suggested for helping kids adjust to Daylight Savings Time are also well-known to help with test-taking attention and energy at all grade levels!
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Are there teachers out there who have had discussions with their class this week about the time change and how the class is doing with it? Let’s hear from you. Chip
Thanks to Jennifer and Terri for recognizing that we can be all off as adults this week too. I wonder if any teachers out there have had a discussion with their kids about the time change and how their class is doing with it? Chip
This is so true for my class. They are a class of very strong personalities, with a number of behavior challenges. They have been more challenging than usual the last 2 days, and I’ve been having a hard time holding it together, as I am one of those people who do not deal well with changes in my sleep patterns! Thanks for the suggestions, especially the one minute naps and the getting outdoors. Thank goodness, California weather will allow this.
I just came across your blog tonight while browsing Responsive Classroom and other social curriculum materials. Your blog is so true! Today I had some absences and felt all off. A co-worker described her feelings perfectly: the time-change is almost as if being jet-lagged!
Thanks for the tips.