Catching enough
ZZZZZzz's?
-Many children aren’t-
Are
your students falling asleep on the circle rug? Snoring at their desk?
Extremely irritable or distracted? Maybe they didn’t get a decent night’s
sleep!
Teachers definitely deal with this factor
throughout the year—if not daily! Last year a few of my students were
actually falling asleep on the floor or at the table.
Here we go back to Maslow’s Heirarchy of
Needs, which I’m a big believer in.
If
children’s physiological needs aren’t being met how can they focus on learning?
I’ve heard of teachers keeping snacks for hungry kiddos but is there something
helpful for sleepy ones? Check out some of my ideas!
At open house and for conferences I love
sharing interesting articles and resources with parents. One thing I think I’ll
start including is something about healthy sleep habits. Parent’s magazine just
had a great article about just this topic! Plus, this great visual that depicts
how many hours of sleep a child should be getting at certain ages.
Another fun activity, that involves parents,
might be to send home a questionnaire students can fill out with their parents
about their bedtime routines. Students can bring it back and share their
favorite part of their routine. Teachers can take what info they collected and
create a section in their newsletter with helpful bedtime tips from parents in
their own class!
Lastly, sometimes a full day of school can
get repetitive and boring! Consider giving your class some brain breaks and
time to get up and move…even if it’s only for 30 seconds at a time. A
great resource for teachers to incorporate in their class is Brain Gym activities.
I’m also a fan of all the brain break video clips on YouTube. Some teachers, on
a particular on task day, will reward their students with a favorite
song/activity or game.
As a parent, I know how difficult it can be
to get your child to bed at a decent time! So if you have to contact a parent
try your best to be polite and get them on your team.
** Share your experiences with sleepy students in the
comments below! I’m interested to hear what works for both teachers and
parents! **
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