December 8, 2025 • 22 mins
In last week’s episode, we talked about what to do when student energy is flat, motivation is MIA, and you're pulling teeth just to get through a lesson. This week, we're flipping the script and tackling the other end of the spectrum, those wild, chatty, off-task end-of-year vibes that have you asking:
🫠 “Why is everyone shouting?”
🫠 “Why can’t we sit down for longer than 2 minutes?”
🫠 “Is it me? Am I the drama?”
This high-energy chaos is totally normal (and very human), but it doesn’t mean you have to just white-knuckle your way through it. In this episode, I’m walking you through exactly what to do when your students are dysregulated, off-task, and bursting with excitement as the holidays approach.
We’re talking clear routines, calm teacher energy, classroom games that actually work as brain breaks, and how to keep your lesson bones strong while still leaning into festive fun. Let’s do this.
What you’ll learn:
- Why student energy spikes in December (and why it’s not a behaviour “problem”)
- The brain science behind high arousal and dysregulation
- How to stay consistent and calm, even when students are bouncing off the walls
- The exact classroom games and mindfulness activities I use to channel energy without chaos
- The real reason some students act out before the holidays
- How to reset your teaching presence when you’re just plain tired
Resources Mentioned:
- 🎁 Free Game Download: 13 no-prep classroom games you can use anytime
https://www.the-unteachables.com/freedownloadgames
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!
RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:
- Shop all resources
- Join The Behaviour Club
- My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management
- The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
- Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'
Connect with me:
- Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
- Check out my website
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
Hi there, teachers.
Welcome to the UnteachablesPodcast.
I'm your host, Claire English,and I am just a fellow teacher,
a toddler mama, and a big oldbehaviour nerd on a mission to
demystify and simplify thatlittle thing called classroom
management.
The way we've all been taught tomanage behaviour and classroom
manage has left us playing crapcontrol, which is not something
(00:23):
I subscribe to because we're notdancers with teachers.
So listen in as I walk youthrough the game-changing
strategies and I mean the thingsthat we can actually do in
action in our classroom that'llallow you to lean into your
beautiful values as acompassionate educator and feel
empowered to run your room witha little more calm and dare I
(00:43):
say it, a lot less chaos.
I will see you in the episode.
Well, hello there, lovelyteacher.
Welcome back to the UnteachablesPodcast.
If you're new here, my name'sClaire.
We just come here and hang outevery Tuesday and we talk about
classroom management in a waythat's super accessible.
(01:05):
You walk away with somethingtangible that you can use.
Bob's your uncle.
Bish bash bosch.
That is the podcast, right?
Just to demystify classroommanagement and just make it
easy.
Like let's just do stuff thatmakes sense.
Let's do stuff that actuallyhelps in the moment, in the
classroom, without us trying todo things that don't make sense,
(01:26):
right?
So that is the whole jam here.
And I've got 150 episodes thatyou can listen to now for
anything that you could possiblywant to learn about, or at least
get to start to learn about.
I can't believe I've done 50,150 episodes, and I still don't
know how to start the podcast ina way that's not super awkward.
(01:46):
So yeah, that's just me.
I think that's that.
I'm not gonna get any better atthat now.
Like, this is literally it.
Like this intro is what it'sgonna be for the rest of the
podcast's existence.
Alas, the meat of the podcast isgoing to be great because in
today's episode, I will betalking about like so.
Last episode we spoke about whatto do at the end of the year
(02:08):
when your class is exhibitingsome really apathetic behaviors,
so really lethargic.
What the hell are we doing herestill?
There's no point being here.
I'm just gonna put my head down,those kinds of behaviors.
And in today's episode, we'regoing to go and flip the coin to
the other side, which is thosesuper high energy, chatty,
(02:29):
really tough to manage behaviorsthat you will see at the end of
the year.
So that is the other side of thecoin we're going to be speaking
about today.
If you're listening to thisepisode and you're like,
actually, no, the apathetic onesare what I'm dealing with the
most, go and listen to thatfirst because it is really,
really helpful.
So it is the final stretch,right?
But chattiness and off-taskbehaviors and disruptions are at
(02:53):
an all-time high.
Students are getting chattierand chattier, they're turning up
to class with higher energy, orthey're turning up a little bit
late and loud, and you know,they're listening less to
instructions, they're goofingabout, they're running in and
out of the room, they're notable to focus and engage with
the work because the energy issuper high.
(03:14):
If that is the case, then we areoperating at the other end of
the scale.
I went through this last episodewhere it's the spectrum of
arousal.
So on the low end, which is whatwe spoke about last episode, the
low end, which is the lethargy,you know, resting their heads on
the desk, yawning, disengaged,lacking that motivation.
(03:36):
That's one side of the scale.
We're going to go to the otherside, which is the high arousal,
which is a lot of movement,excessively chatty, high energy,
difficulty saying still.
And just like with the lowarousal, we're trying to get
students to come into thatoptimal arousal state, which is
(03:57):
a state where they're alert,they're focused, they're
wakeful, they're able to take ontasks.
That is perfect.
Like that is what we want in alesson.
But my gosh, is it hard at theend of the year when high
arousal is very, very common,very normal, because they're
excited.
So we can look at a little likea few reasons why.
The first reason is thatstudents are just excited.
(04:19):
Their anticipation is high, theycan taste that freedom.
They might be thinking about allof the things they've got
planned, what they want to do.
That energy goes up, thatexcitement goes up.
That is so normal.
It's so human.
They're excited.
I actually read something theother day.
You know how you go on holidaysand just say you go away for a
week.
(04:39):
I read something where theactual, like the happy hormones
in our brain are actually attheir highest before the holiday
even starts, and in that firsttwo days.
And then after the two days, ifwe're on a week holiday, days
three to seven are apparentlyactually the same in our brains
(05:02):
as before the holiday, anyway.
Like just back to our baseline.
It's the anticipation and it'sthat excitement and then that
novelty at the start.
All of that excitement goes wayup.
So we're battling against theirbiology.
We are, it's very normal, it'svery human, and we're probably
feeling the exact same.
Anticipation is really, reallyhigh.
Another reason why it happenswhere this, you know, high
(05:24):
arousal state happens, becauseit's also this state of
dysregulation, right?
One of the reasons as well whythis can happen is that
expectations do start to slip.
I'm not saying it's your faultyour class is, you know, gone
mad and blah, blah, blah.
I'm not saying that at all.
I'm saying that naturally thecountdown and the vibe towards a
(05:46):
holiday break is naturally morerelaxed.
We tend to, you know, kind of dosome activities that are a
little bit more creative or alittle bit more relaxed.
We might bring in some thingsbecause we're tired, our
approach is less likely to be asconsistent.
So we tend to do things andchange up the structure.
So those expectations, thosenon-verbal expectations might be
(06:10):
slipping just a little bit.
That consistency, thatpredictability might be
slipping.
And not only is that nonverballysaying to students the
expectations of your behaviorare different, but it's also
increasing dysregulatedbehaviors for students who
really genuinely like rely onthose predictable, consistent
routines to be able to stay inthat level of like optimal
(06:32):
arousal or in a regulated state.
So that is the second reason whyyou might see more of these
challenging behaviors.
Another reason why you might beseeing that increase in the
chattier behaviors, those more,you know, like high arousal
behaviors, is the drive toconnect.
Like love and belonging is thishuge driver of behaviors,
(06:55):
especially in young people.
Like we are social beings, andit is actually a part of our
development to connect, to like,you know, form bonds with people
and to foster those connections.
That belonging, that sense ofbelonging is so pivotal in our
survival.
(07:15):
And as our time together comesto a close, they might be
looking to strengthen thoseconnections.
They might be looking tosolidify some of those
connections, maybe to make surethat in the holidays they might
be the ones that get invitedover to each other's houses or,
you know, like really trying tostrengthen those connections.
And that means that there willbe more chatty and more off-task
(07:37):
behaviors.
Now, I'm not talking aboutreally challenging, dysregulated
behaviors here.
I'm talking about more thelow-level chatty behaviors.
When it comes to those bigger,you know, more explosive, more
challenging behaviors that are,you know, harder to manage in
that sense.
That could also be due to thefact the holidays are coming and
(07:57):
they're losing their sense ofsafety.
They're losing the idea thatthey're going to have something
consistent, they're going tohave, you know, food, like maybe
the holiday period for studentswho don't have a lot of safety
at home or predictability athome.
Maybe they're in financialhardship at home.
Christmas isn't going to besomething that is this
(08:20):
beautiful, festive, bright,wonderful time.
It could look really differentfor those students.
And if that is the case, then nowonder that this period can be
marked with more dysregulationand those behaviors are going to
be firing because of that.
So I just want to do that as alittle bit of an aside that I'm
not talking about thoseparticular behaviors, but just
(08:41):
to hold space for students whoactually in the lead up to the
holidays, their behaviors willincrease because of that lack of
safety, that lack of felt safetyat home, or just um, you know,
general hardship at home.
So when it comes to this energy,right, our goal is to
downregulate so we bringstudents back into that optimal
arousal state.
(09:02):
And if you want to do that, hereare some quick action steps to
be able to do it.
I just love to lean into it, butlean into it in a way that has
clarity and consistency andpredictability, making sure we
keep those same routines, we'rekeeping that predictability
there.
So we can honor that end-of-yearenergy.
(09:24):
We can honor the fact that it iscoming into the holidays and we
are all excited.
And, you know, like we can stilldo that and be human about it,
but we can do so in a way thatcontinues to reinforce those
year-long entry routines andboundaries and expectations and
transition routines and exitroutines and the things like the
(09:45):
bones of our lesson can stillstay there no matter what you're
doing.
You can be doing, I don't knowwhat you teach out there, right?
But you could be doing aChristmas craft activity where
you're creating a lovelyChristmas tree.
You can do that while stillkeeping an entry routine where
you're doing a starter activity.
You can still provide studentswith a task card for that
(10:05):
activity so they can be tickingthings off.
So it's not just a free-for-all.
You can be embedding areflection at the end.
So that is their exit ticket.
So you know that when the exitof that lesson comes, you're
going to have everybody sittingin their seats, listening for
instructions and exiting theroom the way they always would.
So you've got them, right?
You've got that predictable,consistent entry, transition,
(10:27):
exit, all of those pizzas in themix.
Hey, you can even do someawesome brain breaks that are
just like festive games or justregular games where they're
doing something that is fun,that is something that is going
to honor their need forconnection, that is going to,
you know, help them wind downfor the holidays, but doing so
(10:47):
in a way that you're stillleading that.
Uh, I love my um classroom gamesto use it a pinch.
I always use these throughoutthe year when I want a brain
break that is going to be alittle bit more fun.
But at the end of the year,they're really great to then
channel that energy back.
So, yes, you might think a gameis going against the goal, which
(11:10):
is to bring their energy down.
But I use these to channel theenergy.
So, for example, uh, let's talkabout, I'm just looking at the
list, let's talk about silentball.
Let's talk about silent ball.
I love this one, and I'm sure alot of you out there know
exactly what I'm gonna say, butI'll go through it anyway for
those of you who haven't playedSilent Ball before.
Just get students standing in acircle in the room.
(11:32):
And if you can't make a circlebecause the room is too small,
you've got too many students,you can have them just standing
up at their desks.
Uh, and they have to just passthe ball around the room quietly
without talking.
If somebody drops the ball or ifthey make a bad pass or they
talk, they're out.
And whoever's standing remainingis the winner.
(11:52):
I love it because fun game,great brain break, brain break,
brain break.
It fosters connection, it'sleaning into the energy, but
it's actually requiring them tobe quiet.
Like, shut your mouth, let'slisten.
And if you talk, then you'reout.
And you're channeling the energyin a way that is like just
(12:14):
really easy.
You're not nagging at them,you're not wasting your energy
standing up the front of theroom going, come on, everyone
listening.
Like it's so demoralizing at theend of the year, especially when
you just have to wait and waitand wait, trying to quiet the
class instead of going, I'lljust wait for the 50th time, go,
let's play a game of silentball, everybody up around in a
(12:34):
circle, let's do this.
And it might take five minutes,but after the five minutes is
up, you can then transition toteacher talk because you've
gotten everybody settled, assettled as you possibly can in
that moment.
Uh, there's a lot of differentgames that require students to
do the same kind of thing.
Um, I love get to 21.
I think I spoke about that lastepisode, actually.
(12:55):
So I won't talk about that one.
The 20 is the one, like the 20,get to 20.
Um, is it called get to 20?
What have I called it here?
It is count to 20.
Oh gosh.
Uh, that was a bit obvious.
Um, so students take turnscounting out loud, but only one
person can say a number at atime.
(13:15):
If two students say a number atthe same time, everyone has to
start over.
You can't repeat numbers, youcan't interrupt, you can't jump
ahead, and the game is one as aclass team when you finally
reach 20.
So, for example, you've got 30kids in front of you, Jane goes
one.
If Jane and Jim say one at thesame time, you start back again.
(13:36):
You can't communicate other thanjust saying the number.
So then you get to three.
Jane jumps up, three, and thenyou've got Bob, four, and then
you've got James, five.
But if James stands up at thesame time as, you know, somebody
else and says five, you have tostart again.
It's actually so frustrating.
It's so hard, but there is somuch buy-in.
(13:56):
The kids love it, and you havesuch a nice vibe in the class
after that.
I absolutely love count to 20.
So all of these games, um, I'vegot a free resource that you can
download um that has all ofthese games on it.
How many are on there?
I have 13 games, just like thatone.
You don't need any resourcesfor, you don't need anything
(14:16):
else.
You can just play the games.
Um, and it just comes as a cheatsheet that all of them are on
there with like really simpleinstructions.
These games, because you need noresources and you don't need to
do anything else, you can justlike pull one out of a hat.
They will be a gift in the leadup to the end of the school year
or the end of the calendar year,sorry, for some of you.
Uh, so you can download those byheading to the
(14:39):
dashunteachables.com forwardslash free download games or one
word.
So the dashunteachables.comforward forward slash free
download games.
I'll also pop the link to thatin the show notes.
But if you haven't gotten thoseyet, please go download them.
They are so good at justchanneling that energy.
What I also find at the end ofthe year when people, people,
(15:01):
when our students are likechattier and higher energy and
we're tired, we're exhausted,and we're up against it, I find
it really hard to bring the joyback into some lessons when it's
really tough.
These games are really great atjust bringing a little bit of
fun back, bringing a little bitof joy back, used as brain
breaks.
They're so, they're just soperfect.
(15:22):
So go download those if youhaven't already.
The next thing that I stronglysuggest doing if you are
battling against really chattybehaviors, really, I don't even
want to say behaviors, just likea vibe, just an energetic thing
in your class where things arejust off and unsettled and
chatty and, you know, justreally hard to get engaged in a
(15:43):
lesson, or really hard just totry to get to listen to
teacher-related instructions,those kinds of chatty energies
in your classroom.
I strongly suggest embedding adaily starter activity,
mindfulness practice, whereyou're getting students to do
something at the start of thelesson that is pen to paper or
something really chilled, reallyrelaxed, something independent.
(16:05):
So you're setting the vibe fromthe get-go.
That is what a great starteractivity does already, something
really regulating, pen to paper,achievable.
If you can embed something likea mindfulness activity within
that, that is absolutelyperfect.
It can literally be one of mySEL starters, but you can just
use anything for this.
(16:25):
So I would have things like uman alphabet challenge.
So they have to sit down andthey have to think of, you know,
foods, each one starting withthe letter of the alphabet.
Or they do like, you know, myperfect day.
They have to explain theirperfect day, or they think about
like the um their calm place andthey have to describe their calm
(16:46):
place, or just little thingslike that.
That's pen to paper.
Um, one of the ones that Ireally love that I created the
other day was um a handsactivity.
So they have to look at theirhand and they have to like
really just spend time lookingat it, and then they have to
write down a list of as manythings as they possibly can
think of that they're gratefulfor about their hands and what
they do for them.
(17:06):
So little things like that,because it's grounding, it
brings them into the moment,it's personal, so it engages
them, it gets a lot of buy-in.
But the main point of this isfrom the very start of the
lesson to create that invisiblebarrier as they walk in.
So they come in, they sit down,and they're doing something that
is regulating for their nervoussystems, it's calming, it's
quiet.
(17:26):
It gives you a chance to, youknow, do your attendance, which
I would always forget doinganyway, but it gives you a
chance just to kind of catch upon those little things.
So mark your role, do yourattendance, uh, and then give
them a chance just to resettheir nervous system as they're
coming in.
So you've got then, you know,more chance of getting in the
driver's seat for that lessonand then transitioning into the
(17:48):
lesson in a calm way.
Other things that I love doingas they're walking into the
room, I like doing calming musicon entry.
So I might put like a YouTubevideo on of, you know, something
really calming, maybe like anature background during
activities.
You can put on like ambientsounds, again, like maybe like a
rainforest or something.
(18:09):
You can do a guided meditationas a brain break midway through,
or just anything else you canthink of just to set that calm
tone.
Uh, you can do a little bit ofstretching, a bit of yoga, you
can do some mindfulnesscoloring.
There's lots and lots of stuffyou can do that just helps you
to channel whatever energy is inthe room, put it somewhere and
(18:29):
get them to settle into thelesson.
Just as I did in the lastsession, I just wanted to do a
bit of a main takeaway here andjust to reinforce something for
you because all of those chatty,high-energy, off-task behaviors
are very expected at this timeof year.
They're very human.
As I said in the beginning, likewe're excited.
(18:50):
There's that energy, there'sthat anticipation, like that's
very normal.
And that isn't students beingpurposefully naughty or winding
you up.
Like that genuinely is just usbeing human.
Just like I have been in staffmeetings at the end of the year
where I can't stop laughing.
I'm my energy's really high.
I'm really excited.
(19:12):
And that's me as an adult.
So our students really dostruggle with that at the end of
the year as well.
You can also control your patchin the classroom, but you can't
control the things outside ofthe room that also might be
fueling the challenges thatyou're seeing in your classroom.
There are other things thathappen at this time of year.
They have Christmas concerts,they go to, you know, sports
(19:33):
days, they go to all of thesedifferent things that are
happening within the school.
They might be going on fieldtrips or, you know, other things
like the panto.
If you're, I remember taking thekids to the panto at the end of
the year, um, the school, likethe calendar year towards
Christmas.
All of these things arehappening and they are fueling
(19:53):
not just the excitement becausethings are different, but
they're fueling dysregulationbecause things aren't.
As predictable.
So just remember to try to keepyour space, your patch of the
school, as safe as possible forthem in terms of their felt
safety.
And that just means have aconsistent starter, have a
consistent routine fortransitioning into different
(20:16):
things or brain breaks.
Have a consistent exit routine.
And if you keep the bones ofyour lesson, it is going to help
you immensely.
And then, as I said, you canstart to channel that energy
amongst there with, you know,little strategies like some
games that help you kind of getthat energy and put it somewhere
(20:38):
else and still, you know, meettheir need for connection, doing
things like little mindfulnessactivities, putting on some
music that brings down theenergy.
And also remembering that, justas I said last episode, when it
comes to apathetic energy, ifyou're feeling frantic, if
you're feeling stressed, if yourenergy's high, that's also going
(20:59):
to be what is influencing.
I'm not saying that it's alwaysgoing to be your, it's not your
fault.
It's just the way that it iswhen it comes to co-regulation
and co-disregulation.
If you are feeling like that,it's much harder to then channel
the energy down.
So do yourself a favor and youknow, take care of yourself.
(21:19):
Do something to make yourselffeel settled and calm going into
that lesson.
Take a deep breath.
Tell yourself the only person'sbehavior that I can control is
my own, and then move forwardinto the lesson doing that.
So just as a recap, three thingsto be doing as we end 2025.
Still can't believe we're sayingend of 2025.
(21:39):
The first thing, keep thingsconsistent, keep things
predictable, don't sleep on yourentry routine, keep that the
same no matter what, no matterwhat the lesson, have a starter.
Number two, have plenty up yoursleeve, as many games or
starters or mindfulness clips upyour sleeve as possible, and
just be ready to lean in, usethem at a pinch whenever you
feel like you need to bringthings back into balance.
(22:01):
And the third thing is keepusing your credible, calm
teaching presence because youare the energetic captain of
your ship.
Even if the waters at the end ofthe year are rocky as heck and
far harder to navigate, it isvery important that you remember
that you are that energeticcaptain of your classroom.
(22:23):
And that is all.
Sending you all of the best, allmy love for the rest of the
year.
I think I've got one moreepisode that I'll be recording
before I take a break forChristmas and New Year as well,
and then return in January.
So I shall see you back herenext week at the same time.
And until then, lovely teacher,please remember to keep
sprinkling that classroommanagement magic into everything
(22:46):
you do.
Bye for now.
Hi there, teachers.
Welcome to the UnteachablesPodcast.
I'm your host, Claire English,and I am just a fellow teacher,
a toddler mama, and a big oldbehaviour nerd on a mission to
demystify and simplify thatlittle thing called classroom
management.
The way we've all been taught tomanage behaviour and classroom
manage has left us playing crapcontrol, which is not something
(00:23):
I subscribe to because we're notdancers with teachers.
So listen in as I walk youthrough the game-changing
strategies and I mean the thingsthat we can actually do in
action in our classroom that'llallow you to lean into your
beautiful values as acompassionate educator and feel
empowered to run your room witha little more calm and dare I
(00:43):
say it, a lot less chaos.
I will see you in the episode.
Well, hello there, lovelyteacher.
Welcome back to the UnteachablesPodcast.
If you're new here, my name'sClaire.
We just come here and hang outevery Tuesday and we talk about
classroom management in a waythat's super accessible.
(01:05):
You walk away with somethingtangible that you can use.
Bob's your uncle.
Bish bash bosch.
That is the podcast, right?
Just to demystify classroommanagement and just make it
easy.
Like let's just do stuff thatmakes sense.
Let's do stuff that actuallyhelps in the moment, in the
classroom, without us trying todo things that don't make sense,
(01:26):
right?
So that is the whole jam here.
And I've got 150 episodes thatyou can listen to now for
anything that you could possiblywant to learn about, or at least
get to start to learn about.
I can't believe I've done 50,150 episodes, and I still don't
know how to start the podcast ina way that's not super awkward.
(01:46):
So yeah, that's just me.
I think that's that.
I'm not gonna get any better atthat now.
Like, this is literally it.
Like this intro is what it'sgonna be for the rest of the
podcast's existence.
Alas, the meat of the podcast isgoing to be great because in
today's episode, I will betalking about like so.
Last episode we spoke about whatto do at the end of the year
(02:08):
when your class is exhibitingsome really apathetic behaviors,
so really lethargic.
What the hell are we doing herestill?
There's no point being here.
I'm just gonna put my head down,those kinds of behaviors.
And in today's episode, we'regoing to go and flip the coin to
the other side, which is thosesuper high energy, chatty,
(02:29):
really tough to manage behaviorsthat you will see at the end of
the year.
So that is the other side of thecoin we're going to be speaking
about today.
If you're listening to thisepisode and you're like,
actually, no, the apathetic onesare what I'm dealing with the
most, go and listen to thatfirst because it is really,
really helpful.
So it is the final stretch,right?
But chattiness and off-taskbehaviors and disruptions are at
(02:53):
an all-time high.
Students are getting chattierand chattier, they're turning up
to class with higher energy, orthey're turning up a little bit
late and loud, and you know,they're listening less to
instructions, they're goofingabout, they're running in and
out of the room, they're notable to focus and engage with
the work because the energy issuper high.
(03:14):
If that is the case, then we areoperating at the other end of
the scale.
I went through this last episodewhere it's the spectrum of
arousal.
So on the low end, which is whatwe spoke about last episode, the
low end, which is the lethargy,you know, resting their heads on
the desk, yawning, disengaged,lacking that motivation.
(03:36):
That's one side of the scale.
We're going to go to the otherside, which is the high arousal,
which is a lot of movement,excessively chatty, high energy,
difficulty saying still.
And just like with the lowarousal, we're trying to get
students to come into thatoptimal arousal state, which is
(03:57):
a state where they're alert,they're focused, they're
wakeful, they're able to take ontasks.
That is perfect.
Like that is what we want in alesson.
But my gosh, is it hard at theend of the year when high
arousal is very, very common,very normal, because they're
excited.
So we can look at a little likea few reasons why.
The first reason is thatstudents are just excited.
(04:19):
Their anticipation is high, theycan taste that freedom.
They might be thinking about allof the things they've got
planned, what they want to do.
That energy goes up, thatexcitement goes up.
That is so normal.
It's so human.
They're excited.
I actually read something theother day.
You know how you go on holidaysand just say you go away for a
week.
(04:39):
I read something where theactual, like the happy hormones
in our brain are actually attheir highest before the holiday
even starts, and in that firsttwo days.
And then after the two days, ifwe're on a week holiday, days
three to seven are apparentlyactually the same in our brains
(05:02):
as before the holiday, anyway.
Like just back to our baseline.
It's the anticipation and it'sthat excitement and then that
novelty at the start.
All of that excitement goes wayup.
So we're battling against theirbiology.
We are, it's very normal, it'svery human, and we're probably
feeling the exact same.
Anticipation is really, reallyhigh.
Another reason why it happenswhere this, you know, high
(05:24):
arousal state happens, becauseit's also this state of
dysregulation, right?
One of the reasons as well whythis can happen is that
expectations do start to slip.
I'm not saying it's your faultyour class is, you know, gone
mad and blah, blah, blah.
I'm not saying that at all.
I'm saying that naturally thecountdown and the vibe towards a
(05:46):
holiday break is naturally morerelaxed.
We tend to, you know, kind of dosome activities that are a
little bit more creative or alittle bit more relaxed.
We might bring in some thingsbecause we're tired, our
approach is less likely to be asconsistent.
So we tend to do things andchange up the structure.
So those expectations, thosenon-verbal expectations might be
(06:10):
slipping just a little bit.
That consistency, thatpredictability might be
slipping.
And not only is that nonverballysaying to students the
expectations of your behaviorare different, but it's also
increasing dysregulatedbehaviors for students who
really genuinely like rely onthose predictable, consistent
routines to be able to stay inthat level of like optimal
(06:32):
arousal or in a regulated state.
So that is the second reason whyyou might see more of these
challenging behaviors.
Another reason why you might beseeing that increase in the
chattier behaviors, those more,you know, like high arousal
behaviors, is the drive toconnect.
Like love and belonging is thishuge driver of behaviors,
(06:55):
especially in young people.
Like we are social beings, andit is actually a part of our
development to connect, to like,you know, form bonds with people
and to foster those connections.
That belonging, that sense ofbelonging is so pivotal in our
survival.
(07:15):
And as our time together comesto a close, they might be
looking to strengthen thoseconnections.
They might be looking tosolidify some of those
connections, maybe to make surethat in the holidays they might
be the ones that get invitedover to each other's houses or,
you know, like really trying tostrengthen those connections.
And that means that there willbe more chatty and more off-task
(07:37):
behaviors.
Now, I'm not talking aboutreally challenging, dysregulated
behaviors here.
I'm talking about more thelow-level chatty behaviors.
When it comes to those bigger,you know, more explosive, more
challenging behaviors that are,you know, harder to manage in
that sense.
That could also be due to thefact the holidays are coming and
(07:57):
they're losing their sense ofsafety.
They're losing the idea thatthey're going to have something
consistent, they're going tohave, you know, food, like maybe
the holiday period for studentswho don't have a lot of safety
at home or predictability athome.
Maybe they're in financialhardship at home.
Christmas isn't going to besomething that is this
(08:20):
beautiful, festive, bright,wonderful time.
It could look really differentfor those students.
And if that is the case, then nowonder that this period can be
marked with more dysregulationand those behaviors are going to
be firing because of that.
So I just want to do that as alittle bit of an aside that I'm
not talking about thoseparticular behaviors, but just
(08:41):
to hold space for students whoactually in the lead up to the
holidays, their behaviors willincrease because of that lack of
safety, that lack of felt safetyat home, or just um, you know,
general hardship at home.
So when it comes to this energy,right, our goal is to
downregulate so we bringstudents back into that optimal
arousal state.
(09:02):
And if you want to do that, hereare some quick action steps to
be able to do it.
I just love to lean into it, butlean into it in a way that has
clarity and consistency andpredictability, making sure we
keep those same routines, we'rekeeping that predictability
there.
So we can honor that end-of-yearenergy.
(09:24):
We can honor the fact that it iscoming into the holidays and we
are all excited.
And, you know, like we can stilldo that and be human about it,
but we can do so in a way thatcontinues to reinforce those
year-long entry routines andboundaries and expectations and
transition routines and exitroutines and the things like the
(09:45):
bones of our lesson can stillstay there no matter what you're
doing.
You can be doing, I don't knowwhat you teach out there, right?
But you could be doing aChristmas craft activity where
you're creating a lovelyChristmas tree.
You can do that while stillkeeping an entry routine where
you're doing a starter activity.
You can still provide studentswith a task card for that
(10:05):
activity so they can be tickingthings off.
So it's not just a free-for-all.
You can be embedding areflection at the end.
So that is their exit ticket.
So you know that when the exitof that lesson comes, you're
going to have everybody sittingin their seats, listening for
instructions and exiting theroom the way they always would.
So you've got them, right?
You've got that predictable,consistent entry, transition,
(10:27):
exit, all of those pizzas in themix.
Hey, you can even do someawesome brain breaks that are
just like festive games or justregular games where they're
doing something that is fun,that is something that is going
to honor their need forconnection, that is going to,
you know, help them wind downfor the holidays, but doing so
(10:47):
in a way that you're stillleading that.
Uh, I love my um classroom gamesto use it a pinch.
I always use these throughoutthe year when I want a brain
break that is going to be alittle bit more fun.
But at the end of the year,they're really great to then
channel that energy back.
So, yes, you might think a gameis going against the goal, which
(11:10):
is to bring their energy down.
But I use these to channel theenergy.
So, for example, uh, let's talkabout, I'm just looking at the
list, let's talk about silentball.
Let's talk about silent ball.
I love this one, and I'm sure alot of you out there know
exactly what I'm gonna say, butI'll go through it anyway for
those of you who haven't playedSilent Ball before.
Just get students standing in acircle in the room.
(11:32):
And if you can't make a circlebecause the room is too small,
you've got too many students,you can have them just standing
up at their desks.
Uh, and they have to just passthe ball around the room quietly
without talking.
If somebody drops the ball or ifthey make a bad pass or they
talk, they're out.
And whoever's standing remainingis the winner.
(11:52):
I love it because fun game,great brain break, brain break,
brain break.
It fosters connection, it'sleaning into the energy, but
it's actually requiring them tobe quiet.
Like, shut your mouth, let'slisten.
And if you talk, then you'reout.
And you're channeling the energyin a way that is like just
(12:14):
really easy.
You're not nagging at them,you're not wasting your energy
standing up the front of theroom going, come on, everyone
listening.
Like it's so demoralizing at theend of the year, especially when
you just have to wait and waitand wait, trying to quiet the
class instead of going, I'lljust wait for the 50th time, go,
let's play a game of silentball, everybody up around in a
(12:34):
circle, let's do this.
And it might take five minutes,but after the five minutes is
up, you can then transition toteacher talk because you've
gotten everybody settled, assettled as you possibly can in
that moment.
Uh, there's a lot of differentgames that require students to
do the same kind of thing.
Um, I love get to 21.
I think I spoke about that lastepisode, actually.
(12:55):
So I won't talk about that one.
The 20 is the one, like the 20,get to 20.
Um, is it called get to 20?
What have I called it here?
It is count to 20.
Oh gosh.
Uh, that was a bit obvious.
Um, so students take turnscounting out loud, but only one
person can say a number at atime.
(13:15):
If two students say a number atthe same time, everyone has to
start over.
You can't repeat numbers, youcan't interrupt, you can't jump
ahead, and the game is one as aclass team when you finally
reach 20.
So, for example, you've got 30kids in front of you, Jane goes
one.
If Jane and Jim say one at thesame time, you start back again.
(13:36):
You can't communicate other thanjust saying the number.
So then you get to three.
Jane jumps up, three, and thenyou've got Bob, four, and then
you've got James, five.
But if James stands up at thesame time as, you know, somebody
else and says five, you have tostart again.
It's actually so frustrating.
It's so hard, but there is somuch buy-in.
(13:56):
The kids love it, and you havesuch a nice vibe in the class
after that.
I absolutely love count to 20.
So all of these games, um, I'vegot a free resource that you can
download um that has all ofthese games on it.
How many are on there?
I have 13 games, just like thatone.
You don't need any resourcesfor, you don't need anything
(14:16):
else.
You can just play the games.
Um, and it just comes as a cheatsheet that all of them are on
there with like really simpleinstructions.
These games, because you need noresources and you don't need to
do anything else, you can justlike pull one out of a hat.
They will be a gift in the leadup to the end of the school year
or the end of the calendar year,sorry, for some of you.
Uh, so you can download those byheading to the
(14:39):
dashunteachables.com forwardslash free download games or one
word.
So the dashunteachables.comforward forward slash free
download games.
I'll also pop the link to thatin the show notes.
But if you haven't gotten thoseyet, please go download them.
They are so good at justchanneling that energy.
What I also find at the end ofthe year when people, people,
(15:01):
when our students are likechattier and higher energy and
we're tired, we're exhausted,and we're up against it, I find
it really hard to bring the joyback into some lessons when it's
really tough.
These games are really great atjust bringing a little bit of
fun back, bringing a little bitof joy back, used as brain
breaks.
They're so, they're just soperfect.
(15:22):
So go download those if youhaven't already.
The next thing that I stronglysuggest doing if you are
battling against really chattybehaviors, really, I don't even
want to say behaviors, just likea vibe, just an energetic thing
in your class where things arejust off and unsettled and
chatty and, you know, justreally hard to get engaged in a
(15:43):
lesson, or really hard just totry to get to listen to
teacher-related instructions,those kinds of chatty energies
in your classroom.
I strongly suggest embedding adaily starter activity,
mindfulness practice, whereyou're getting students to do
something at the start of thelesson that is pen to paper or
something really chilled, reallyrelaxed, something independent.
(16:05):
So you're setting the vibe fromthe get-go.
That is what a great starteractivity does already, something
really regulating, pen to paper,achievable.
If you can embed something likea mindfulness activity within
that, that is absolutelyperfect.
It can literally be one of mySEL starters, but you can just
use anything for this.
(16:25):
So I would have things like uman alphabet challenge.
So they have to sit down andthey have to think of, you know,
foods, each one starting withthe letter of the alphabet.
Or they do like, you know, myperfect day.
They have to explain theirperfect day, or they think about
like the um their calm place andthey have to describe their calm
(16:46):
place, or just little thingslike that.
That's pen to paper.
Um, one of the ones that Ireally love that I created the
other day was um a handsactivity.
So they have to look at theirhand and they have to like
really just spend time lookingat it, and then they have to
write down a list of as manythings as they possibly can
think of that they're gratefulfor about their hands and what
they do for them.
(17:06):
So little things like that,because it's grounding, it
brings them into the moment,it's personal, so it engages
them, it gets a lot of buy-in.
But the main point of this isfrom the very start of the
lesson to create that invisiblebarrier as they walk in.
So they come in, they sit down,and they're doing something that
is regulating for their nervoussystems, it's calming, it's
quiet.
(17:26):
It gives you a chance to, youknow, do your attendance, which
I would always forget doinganyway, but it gives you a
chance just to kind of catch upon those little things.
So mark your role, do yourattendance, uh, and then give
them a chance just to resettheir nervous system as they're
coming in.
So you've got then, you know,more chance of getting in the
driver's seat for that lessonand then transitioning into the
(17:48):
lesson in a calm way.
Other things that I love doingas they're walking into the
room, I like doing calming musicon entry.
So I might put like a YouTubevideo on of, you know, something
really calming, maybe like anature background during
activities.
You can put on like ambientsounds, again, like maybe like a
rainforest or something.
(18:09):
You can do a guided meditationas a brain break midway through,
or just anything else you canthink of just to set that calm
tone.
Uh, you can do a little bit ofstretching, a bit of yoga, you
can do some mindfulnesscoloring.
There's lots and lots of stuffyou can do that just helps you
to channel whatever energy is inthe room, put it somewhere and
(18:29):
get them to settle into thelesson.
Just as I did in the lastsession, I just wanted to do a
bit of a main takeaway here andjust to reinforce something for
you because all of those chatty,high-energy, off-task behaviors
are very expected at this timeof year.
They're very human.
As I said in the beginning, likewe're excited.
(18:50):
There's that energy, there'sthat anticipation, like that's
very normal.
And that isn't students beingpurposefully naughty or winding
you up.
Like that genuinely is just usbeing human.
Just like I have been in staffmeetings at the end of the year
where I can't stop laughing.
I'm my energy's really high.
I'm really excited.
(19:12):
And that's me as an adult.
So our students really dostruggle with that at the end of
the year as well.
You can also control your patchin the classroom, but you can't
control the things outside ofthe room that also might be
fueling the challenges thatyou're seeing in your classroom.
There are other things thathappen at this time of year.
They have Christmas concerts,they go to, you know, sports
(19:33):
days, they go to all of thesedifferent things that are
happening within the school.
They might be going on fieldtrips or, you know, other things
like the panto.
If you're, I remember taking thekids to the panto at the end of
the year, um, the school, likethe calendar year towards
Christmas.
All of these things arehappening and they are fueling
(19:53):
not just the excitement becausethings are different, but
they're fueling dysregulationbecause things aren't.
As predictable.
So just remember to try to keepyour space, your patch of the
school, as safe as possible forthem in terms of their felt
safety.
And that just means have aconsistent starter, have a
consistent routine fortransitioning into different
(20:16):
things or brain breaks.
Have a consistent exit routine.
And if you keep the bones ofyour lesson, it is going to help
you immensely.
And then, as I said, you canstart to channel that energy
amongst there with, you know,little strategies like some
games that help you kind of getthat energy and put it somewhere
(20:38):
else and still, you know, meettheir need for connection, doing
things like little mindfulnessactivities, putting on some
music that brings down theenergy.
And also remembering that, justas I said last episode, when it
comes to apathetic energy, ifyou're feeling frantic, if
you're feeling stressed, if yourenergy's high, that's also going
(20:59):
to be what is influencing.
I'm not saying that it's alwaysgoing to be your, it's not your
fault.
It's just the way that it iswhen it comes to co-regulation
and co-disregulation.
If you are feeling like that,it's much harder to then channel
the energy down.
So do yourself a favor and youknow, take care of yourself.
(21:19):
Do something to make yourselffeel settled and calm going into
that lesson.
Take a deep breath.
Tell yourself the only person'sbehavior that I can control is
my own, and then move forwardinto the lesson doing that.
So just as a recap, three thingsto be doing as we end 2025.
Still can't believe we're sayingend of 2025.
(21:39):
The first thing, keep thingsconsistent, keep things
predictable, don't sleep on yourentry routine, keep that the
same no matter what, no matterwhat the lesson, have a starter.
Number two, have plenty up yoursleeve, as many games or
starters or mindfulness clips upyour sleeve as possible, and
just be ready to lean in, usethem at a pinch whenever you
feel like you need to bringthings back into balance.
(22:01):
And the third thing is keepusing your credible, calm
teaching presence because youare the energetic captain of
your ship.
Even if the waters at the end ofthe year are rocky as heck and
far harder to navigate, it isvery important that you remember
that you are that energeticcaptain of your classroom.
(22:23):
And that is all.
Sending you all of the best, allmy love for the rest of the
year.
I think I've got one moreepisode that I'll be recording
before I take a break forChristmas and New Year as well,
and then return in January.
So I shall see you back herenext week at the same time.
And until then, lovely teacher,please remember to keep
sprinkling that classroommanagement magic into everything
(22:46):
you do.
Bye for now.
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