3 Ways I Successfully Came Back From Maternity Leave Mid-Year

A friend is returning to work from maternity leave soon. She was asking questions about how I transitioned back to the classroom mid-year with a new group of students.

Sub prep is never easy, whether it’s for maternity, sickness, a surgery, or family illness. It requires a lot of behind the scenes prep-work and trying to plan for all possible scenerios. No one really mentions the return. How do you transition from being gone and still feel like you are staying above water?

Even with the best made sub plans, no matter your curriculum, I found a few things to help make my transition back into the classroom more successful.

3 ways I successfully transitioned back into the classroom

1. Create a fresh start

No matter where you are in the school year, when you return, it is time for a reset. Reteach expectations and procedures. Reteach what it will look like and sound like for entering the room, bathroom breaks, asking questions, lectures, ev-er-y-thing. Even with the most well-intentioned sub, it still isn’t you in the classroom.

This creates clear expectations for your studnets. It also helps alleviate your frustrations because students don’t “know” or “follow” your expectations, because it’s possible, those expectations weren’t held to the same standards.

2. Plan for fun, relationship builders

Depending on your course, you might have an entirely new set of students when you return. Take the time to get to know them. We all know students cannot learn until you have built a relationship with them. Take the time to enjoy a few relationship building activities and learn about your students- especially if it is a new group of kids. Create a slideshow to tell students a little bit about you.

Here is an example of FACS related relationship builders you could utilize when you return. This blog post about the first day activities would also work when transitioning back into the classroom, no matter what part of the year.

Curriculum means nothing when you become focused on the end result with the same as you would have on a typical school year. If you take the time to build strong relationships, you will be able to make up for time lost.

3. Offer grace

Your students are likely nervous to have a new teacher-even if you are the main teacher. You are likely nervous to be back in the classroom. It is perfectly acceptable, and a great way, to share that we are all human. This might be a hard transition for you and that’s ok! Not every day is going to be great and easy. Not every day with your new students will be great and easy.

That’s where we offer grade and refer back to #1. Reteach expectations. The more clear and concise you are with your classroom, the better.

A few other pieces of advice…

• If possible, start back mid-week for an easier transition than a full week.
• Make sure you have had a vacation responder on your email while you are gone.
• Create a new vacation responder for the week you return that you are putting students first and will be replying to emails as soon as possible.
• Set an after-school alarm to head home! You were not completing your entire to-do list before your extended leave and you certainly are not now.
• Prioritize your priority list- what needs to be completed each day to be successful tomorrow? Those are priority tasks. Accept the rest will eventually get finished and move on. There is no need to add extra stress right now.
• Create a system of operations- during your daily plan time, what should you make copies for the week? What day should you spend time grading? What day will you meet with your team or department? Time blocking your plan time will help when you are overwhelmed and unsure how to best spend your time.

The transition back into the classroom requires almost as much prep as before you went on leave. When planning for your leave, take a moment to think about what you can do before the leave to make the return easier. Maybe it’s make a few copies for relationship building activities.