5 Reset Practices to Bring Back After Spring Break
Simple, realistic ways to re-ground your classroom in presence and connection
Whether your spring break was restorative or just a change of scenery, coming back into the classroom after time away can feel like starting mid-sentence. Emotions are high. Routines are rusty. Everyone’s bandwidth is low.
Instead of trying to jump back in at full speed, consider choosing one or two small practices to help reset the tone of your classroom — not through control, but through anchoring. These are not full curriculum shifts or time-consuming strategies. They are realistic, brief, and grounded in real-life classrooms — and they work across age groups, even with middle schoolers (yes, even the ones who pretend not to care).
Here are five micro-practices that can help:
1. Begin with 60 Seconds of Stillness
Start the day with something that centers everyone, including you.
Before launching into the day’s lesson or expectations, take one quiet minute. Invite students to close their eyes or soften their gaze. You can say:
“We’re going to take one minute to let our minds catch up to our bodies. You don’t have to do anything except breathe.”
Use a soft timer, a chime, or your own breath to cue the start and end. Over time, this one minute can become a cue for grounding — not perfection, just pause.
2. Co-Regulate with a Touchpoint Ritual
Give the body something simple to do when words are too much.
Choose a simple movement or sensory action that students can do with you — like:
Deep Belly Breathing - Tutorial Video Here!
Tapping a heartbeat rhythm on the palm - Tutorial Video Here!
Tensing fists while breathing in, releasing them as you breathe out - Tutorial Video Here!
Teach it once, practice it together, and return to it at the start of transitions or when the energy spikes. This is especially helpful for students who can’t verbalize what they need — they just know they feel off.
3. Use a Low-Pressure Check-In Phrase
A few honest words can repair more than a lecture ever could.
After a tough moment with a student (even if it’s ongoing), try one short line:
“That was a hard class for both of us. I’m still here. Let’s figure it out.”
or
“Let’s try again tomorrow.”
You don’t need a full conversation. You need a signal. This small repair tells students: I see you. I’m not giving up.
4. Pick One Reset Cue for the Whole Class
Make regulation a shared language, not a spotlight on any one student.
Choose a shared reset tool for the week. Examples:
Name five things in the room that are the same color
Stand and stretch together after a hard period
Have everyone write one word that describes how they feel (no sharing required)
Use it consistently for one week. Then either keep it or rotate. The consistency matters more than the complexity.
5. Regulate Yourself First — Even Briefly
Before you lead, land in yourself.
Before class begins, take 30 seconds to check in with your own nervous system.
Hand on your chest or palm. Deep breath in. Full breath out.
Say to yourself:
I am rooted. I am modeling calm. I am creating space for what matters.
This isn’t self-care fluff. It’s regulation in real time. Your steadiness helps your students find theirs.
None of these require buy-in from your whole school.
They don’t need approval, materials, or a PD workshop. They need presence. And they need a teacher who’s willing to try again, even in April.
Let your reset be gentle. Let it be real. Let it begin with one breath.
I am returning, not rushing.
This moment matters.