January Without Whiplash

If January has ever felt like educational whiplash, this conversation is your warm landing pad. We walk through a practical plan to protect your peace after winter break, built on a few high-impact moves you can set up before you unplug: print-ready sub plans, a back-from-break packet that rebuilds community, and plug-and-play units that spark engagement without draining your energy.

We start by naming why the return feels so jarring—students arrive in holiday mode while new standards wait on the board—and then map out a calm reentry. You’ll hear how five-day sub plans focused on review can save you from sickness, delays, and surprise meetings. We share what to include in a sub binder, how to structure time-stamped blocks, and why “familiar, not new” content keeps classes on track. From there, we unpack a $3 back-from-break kit full of reflection prompts, “find someone who” social mixers, gratitude pages, and a quick snow globe craft that nudges kids back into routines while giving you space to breathe.

For content, we line up two easy wins: force and motion or severe weather for science, and fairy tales, folktales, and fables for ELA. These choices pair naturally with reading comprehension, anchor charts, and short texts that build stamina and invite rich talk about theme, structure, and evidence. Copy what you need now, label a few folders, and walk into January with a plan you can run on low battery—because calm, consistent structure beats last-minute hustle every time.

Want the resources we mention? Grab a free day of sub plans, a Sub Survival Kit, and January-aligned plan packs you can print today. If this helped you feel lighter about the return, follow the show, share it with a teacher friend, and leave a quick review so more tired teachers can find their soft start, too.

Links Mentioned in the Show: 

January Sub Plans

Monthly Sub Plans

Free Sub Pla

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Stage For January
• 2:56 Why The Return Feels So Jarring
• 3:50 Print January Sub Plans Now
• 6:00 Plug And Play Back‑From‑Break Packet
• 8:45 Easy Science Wins For Engagement
• 10:05 Fairy Tales For Strong ELA Reset
• 11:20 Prioritize Peace And Simple Prep
• 12:05 Resources, Links, And Final Encouragement

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Welcome to One Tired Teacher, episode 274. What I am prepping now to survive January. So today we're talking about, I know, getting through this last little part of December and then thinking ahead so that when we return from our glorious winter break, we are ready and we are not like completely steamrolled when we first walk in the door. I hope you stick around.

SPEAKER_00: 0:31

Welcome to One Tired Teacher. And even though she may need a nap, this teacher is ready to wake up and speak her truth about the trials and treasures of teaching. Here she is, wide awake. Wait, she's not asleep right now, is she? She is awake, right? Okay. From Trina Deborah Teaching and Learning, your host, Trina Debori.

SPEAKER_01: 0:54

Hey, tired teacher. So it's the last Friday before break, or almost, it's the last Monday before the last Friday of winter break. And if you're like most of us, you're crawling around, you know, you're like crawling to the finish line. It feels like you're dragging in like the kind of crawl where you're like using your arms, but your legs are like dragging behind you. You've got one eye on the holiday pajamas, and the other is rapidly dwindling, you know, looking at what dwindling glue sticks that are left behind. But before you run full speed into peppermint bliss, I want to offer a little December gift from future you. So today I'm sharing exactly what I would prep before winter break to make the return to the classroom in January feel a whole lot, lot less like whiplash. Because let's be real. You know, we take the break, we have good intentions, we think we're gonna do some planning over the break, but we don't have time for that because we've got Christmas and New Year's and all the things, and we start to settle in and like really enjoy being home with our family. And then boom, we're back to school. So let's do ourselves a favor and not completely cause mayhem January in the beginning of January. It's a new year, it's a new you. So this isn't a pressure-packed episode. This is an episode to help you think ahead so that you can be prepared so that future you is so thankful for past you. This is a let's protect your peace and set yourself up to survive kind of conversation. So why January feels so jarring? Let's let's name it, let's think about it. We're come we're coming back in January. It feels weird. Like I said, you've had this time off. You've sort of, because you've also been working like as the other part of yourself, like the wife part of you, or the daughter part of you, or the mom part of you, or you know, all the parts of you. You you you've been doing that. Your students have been in a total like Netflix mode or YouTube mode, and they are like brain dead from all the sugar and all the chaos that goes on at home during the holidays. And suddenly you're expected to come back refreshed and ready to launch into new content, new standards, and new expectations. Spoiler alert: most of us are just not ready. We're just not ready yet. Two weeks really is not enough time when you've got so many things in those two weeks, like Christmas and Christmas Eve, and New Year's and New Year's Eve and all that. That's why we're prepping just a few key things now before break can save you from that deep deer in the headlights feeling in the new year. So let's talk about the power of printed subplans. First thing I recommend is to print your January subplans now. Like print them now. Just print them now. Print them now just in case you do extend your Chris your winter vacation. Like maybe you actually do get a chance to like take a couple of extra days. Or unfortunately, maybe you have to because you get sick at the last part of your Christmas vacation, which is the story of my life. So prep those plans, have them ready to go. Even if you don't think you're gonna need them, it is crucial. I've been there, I've been sick as a dog on that first week back, and I was buried in meetings and dealing with surprise district changes, and that it just eats up your planning time. Having that five-day subplan ready to go was perfect. And I actually have five days that is like a game changer, and it's been used by thousands of teachers, and they love it and it helps them. And I also have a 10-day mega pack, I have monthly subplans. I have January, I have specific January subplans. So if you're a second grade teacher, they're actually aligned to standards you would be teaching in January. They're printed or actually more like a review of what you've done, I should say. Um, it's not brand new information, it's like a review of what they've done because I don't like to give subs brand new information because I'm I want to teach it. I want to give them things that kids are familiar with and that are gonna keep them engaged and busy with the sub so that I come back to a glowing report. Anyway, um they're printed, they're ready and meant for you to breathe. So use them, help help yourself. I also have a free day of subplans that you can check out, and that will at least give you one day that's totally ready. And even if you haven't grabbed them yet, I like I said, I have um I have a subplan survivor kit. You can download and copy that before break, and I will drop that in the show notes. I'll also tell you exactly what link it is. It's Trina Deborah teachingandlearning.com forward slash sub guide. That is like a little guide that has like sub tickets and a sub binder cover, and it has some freebies in it, but it also will lead you to exactly the right place so you can decide which plans are best for you. So that is available as well. All right. The second thing is to have plug and play, like a plug and play activity so that it feels less overwhelming. Um, and in and in that case, I have a back from winter break packet that is full. I'm talking full of helpful things that you can grab and it will totally get you back on track. I'm gonna tell you, tell you some of the things that are in it because it's been a little bit of time now that I forgot. Um because I made it last year and I thought it was like so helpful. So we've got we've got winter break snapshot activities where they're like drawing or pasting pictures that represent their winter highlights. So kids love to do that. Then they'll write a few sentences about that that accompany their snapshots. There's a find someone who during winter break editions. So that's a really fun activity to do as like a class building activity to kind of get them back together so that they feel like a class again. Sometimes you have to review those procedures and expectations, but don't get yourself worked up. I just want to tell you some of the things that you could do when you return. This this packet has so many things in it, and it's like$3, so which is a steal. There's narrative writing prompts, there's reflection worksheets, like what was the best part of Wayne or Break and Why? What would you, what did you do over the what did you try that was new over a winter break? There's a gratitude section. Um, there's winter themed craftivity, which is really fun, making a winter break memory snow globe. That's so fun to do. Um, there's collaborative a collaborative class story that you're doing where um they're talking about your winter break story, such a fun thing, creative writing prompts. There's there's extras to extend. There's like morning work, it's there's snow globe craft, there's just so many things that you can do for like, like I said,$3. It's just a great thing to have on hand when you first come back from winter break. Another idea is to have a plug-and-place science, which equals less overwhelm. So this is another easy prep win. Line up for your first January science unit now, like get it all lined up. I love starting the year with force in motion or even winter for there's a I have a winter force in motion or unit that's really fun that has to do with winter games. Uh, I have another severe weather reader, which is really popular at that time of year. Both all of these are high interest and super easy to integrate with reading comprehension. You can copy these packets, you can prep these anchor charts, you can just bookmark things that you're going to work on when you come back. You now you have like, now you know, now it's all set. And kids love these units and they get to, they get to explore, they get to be engaged, they are learning, it's standards-based, which is honestly what they need in January more than anything. All right, bring back, you can bring back the joy of fairy tales. That's another great way to start January. It's it's a familiar genre, it's foundational, and that's why I offer, you know, I turn to my fairy tale, folktale, and fable unit at the start of the year because it's really good, deep comprehension work. And these are short, you know, some of these fables and folktales are short and they're standards-based and they're full of natural compare and contrast and theme discussions. Plus, they give you structure without draining your energy. If you're returning to a new ELA unit or trying to reset routines, this is a soft, supportive way of doing that. All right. So okay, so let's wrap that up. Here's the thing: this isn't about planning everything right now in December when you're exhausted. It's not about perfection. It's about giving yourself permission to make a few strategic choices that protect your January self so that you can like start one small thing that's gonna change your approach for this the next year, like the next 2026 or whatever new year it is. Maybe you're listening to this episode in like three years from now. Um so whether you print your sub plans, you stack a science unit, or you've got the welcome back from winter break unit, which has lots of activities, you have some of those things just ready to go. Revisit, you can do revisit an old read-al out or just bookmark a few things you know that you want on TPT, put it in a wish list. You're doing something kind for yourself. You deserve to start 2026 with calm and not chaos. And hey, your future self is gonna be so grateful. So grab that free day of subplans if you're needing it, or that subsurvival kit. The sub survival kit is really helpful. Trina Deborah teachingandlearning.com forward slash subsurvival. Check out again, check out my January subplans, check out my five-day subplans. My January subplans are five days. I also have a 10 pack, mega pack monthly subplans. I've got force in motion for you. I've got severe weather, I've got force in motion winter, a fairy tale unit, you know, whatever you need. All right. Most importantly, take care of yourself this break. But please take care of yourself, my friend. You don't have to do it all. Just do what matters the most. That's the important part. It'll be back. I'll be back next week with one more episode before the new year. And maybe you're getting to listen to it from a warm, comfy spot on your couch. Just a cozy little chit chat about winter break and what we actually need during this time. Hang in there, tired teacher. You're uh you have earned this rest. Until next time, sweet dreams and sleep tight.