I am sure I have said this before, but I’m going to say it again. I hate breaks. There is just something about losing your sense of routine whenever breaks come around that make me struggle with my own mental health and sit at work for hours on end until I absolutely need to leave. Today has been no different. I can really relate to kids who struggle with these times also. We have seen a large influx of negative behaviors and disruptive students all because internally they were dreading this change. For me, I think it mostly has to do with the transition between two mindsets. On the one side, I can be a homebody. I can sit at home all day and never care. I can also be alone for lengthy periods of time and be perfectly content. On the other side, being at school is the exact opposite of this. I am constantly around people and negotiating social situations. Moving from one extreme to the other is where I find it hardest to transition. 

My students begged for an off day today. Of course I caved. However, I did use it as leverage yesterday by having them work hard for it. This way we can finish the unit on time when we get back from break. Oddly enough, the students choose the movie Nacho Libre. All of the students were laughing and making jokes the entire movie. Maybe this will be my go-to movie for the day before winter break for a while if it continues to receive this type of response.