As the year draws to a close, things start to get increasingly challenging.You have your head teacher telling you that you need to keep learning until the last minute, even though you KNOW your students are checked out (and let’s be honest, we’re teetering on that edge too). Your students are becoming more and more unsettled. The energy shifts. The disruptions, and the general volume, within the class, increase. Yep, that countdown starts to drag, and drag, the closer we get. We feel like we should be on the wind down to the silly season but the expectations on us get higher whilst it feels like it gets lower for the students. This episode is all about WHY these challenges emerge at this time of year (because there are multiple culprits at play), and what we can actually DO to keep some semblance of control over our classroom spaces. It’s all about being able to inject some much needed fun into the end of year whilst still   maintaining a sense of calm amongst the excitement.In this episode I discuss how to set the stage for more laid-back learning, and explore a structured start to keep your students engaged.  It’s all about thriving in the lead up to the holidays, not simply surviving!