We are cruising along this month, hope your Monday has started off well! Time to dive right in this week.
💡 This Week’s Thought
The pace you set shapes the pace everyone feels
December tends to push all of us into GO MODE. More questions are coming your way, it feels like there are more decisions to make, and there is always the year end wrap up that needs to happen. And when you start moving faster, your whole building usually speeds up with you. However, that means the opposite is also true! When you slow yourself down (even a little) walking instead of rushing, speaking a little more calmly, not reacting the second something pops up, everyone else settles a bit too.
This week, try noticing the pace you’re bringing into the day. The work will still get done, but the tone of the whole building can shift in a really good way when you move just a little more steadily.
✨ Something to Use
If you were here around Thanksgiving, you may remember the Holiday Attendance Trackers. Now is the perfect time to pull them back out and hang them on classroom doors! These simple sheets are an easy way for families to let you know when they are planning to attend on the days you’re open over the holidays. Directors who use them swear by how much smoother their staffing plans become. When you know exactly who will be out you can build a realistic schedule, and approve more PTO, which makes everyone happy.
If you need the templates again (or missed them the first time), I’ve linked them below along with a quick overview of how to use them.
📅 What’s Coming Up
Each week I break down your to-do list into bite-sized tasks so you can stay on top of running your program without feeling overwhelmed.
I. Plan and order staff holiday gifts
Whether you have a large budget, or none at all, the holidays are the perfect time to show your team how much you appreciate them. A simple, handwritten card is a wonderful way to do this if your budget is tight this year. Another easy and inexpensive option (also one of my favorites) is making these stovetop potpourri mason jars for my team!
If you have ideas that your staff have loved, please share in the comments below as inspiration for your fellow Directors!
II. Begin building your holiday staffing schedule
Once you have started collecting family attendance plans for the holiday weeks, you can use that data to approve more PTO, adjust schedules, and begin piecing together your winter staffing plan. The earlier you start this dreaded task, the easier it is to communicate expectations and avoid last-minute surprises.
If you have days where coverage is tight or staff are less excited to work, consider adding small morale boosters. This can be a coffee bar, a pizza lunch, a scavenger hunt with prizes, or a simple thank-you gift. Your dependable team members often carry the extra load during holiday weeks, and a little appreciation goes a long way.
III. Set up your lost & found table
If you are following along with our December events, tomorrow is Lost & Found Day! It is the perfect excuse to send a reminder to families about lost and found items, create a central location to put everything that has been collected this fall, and get a few things cleared out before the new year. Remember to use the Lost & Found printable I included in December’s Resource Toolkit to make this even easier!
🌟 Director Spotlight
Don’t forget to hit reply and tell me what you (or a fellow Director) are doing that you’re proud of, big or small. I want you to brag! Let me hear it!
And that’s it for this week! Easy as A, B, C, 1, 2, 3.
As always, I am so grateful to all of my readers who share my work with other Directors in the field. Together we will do wonderful things!
