Show notes:
If your kindergarten classroom feels louder, messier, and harder to manage than it did even a few weeks ago, you are not alone.
End-of-year behavior in kindergarten is real.
Schedules change, routines start slipping, students are excited for summer, and honestly? Teachers are exhausted too. Between field days, assemblies, testing schedules, class splits, and constant interruptions, May can start to feel like survival mode.
In this episode, we’re talking about the “May-cember” effect and why classroom behavior often gets harder at the end of the school year. But instead of overhauling your entire classroom management system, we’re focusing on realistic ways to make these last few weeks feel more manageable for both you and your students.
We’re chatting about why it’s so easy to get stuck focusing on negative behavior, how to shift back toward connection and positive reinforcement, and simple ways to help your classroom finish the year strong without chasing perfection.
Because your classroom is not falling apart.
You’re teaching real five and six year olds during one of the busiest and most dysregulating times of the school year.
And sometimes the goal right now is not perfection. It’s making it to summer while still enjoying your students along the way.
Maybe your students suddenly forgot every routine you taught back in August.
Transitions are louder.
Calling out is increasing.
Students are more emotional, more distracted, and struggling to stay focused.
Some students are already in full summer mode while others are anxious because school is their safe place and they know change is coming.
Meanwhile, you’re exhausted too.
You’ve been carrying the emotional weight of your classroom all year long, and it’s normal for your patience to feel thinner than it did in September.
This episode is your reminder that May behavior challenges do not mean you failed as a teacher. They mean your students are human, you are human, and this season of the school year is simply hard.
Try our Build-a-Reward System to calm the spring chaos. Click here to grab the free donut system.
If you’re ready to put simple, consistent classroom management systems in place, you can learn more about the Kindergarten Behavior Blueprint here.
Teaching Exceptional Kinders Links and Resources:
The Kindergarten Writing Toolbox
The Kindergarten Management Toolbox
Follow me on Instagram @teachingexceptionalkinders
More about The Kindergarten Toolbox Podcast
Welcome to The Kindergarten Toolbox Podcast, your go-to guide for creating calmer classrooms and more confident writers in the wonderfully unique world of kindergarten.
I’m Amy Murray — former kindergarten teacher, Type C “organized-in-piles” human, and vanilla-latte enthusiast. After years of helping teachers streamline their classroom routines with tips and tools that actually make sense for 5- and 6-year-olds, I created this podcast to support you with the practical strategies you’ve been craving.
Each episode is short, actionable, and designed to help you:
✔ simplify classroom management
✔ reduce behavior chaos with systems that stick
✔ teach writing in a way that meets beginning writers where they are
✔ build routines that make your day flow
✔ use visuals, tools, and expectations that really work in K
Whether you’re a brand-new kindergarten teacher or a seasoned pro looking for clarity and calm, you’ll find step-by-step support to help you feel more confident and in control.
Because kindergarten isn’t just the new first grade, it’s a world all its own, and you deserve tools that actually work.
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Here’s to calmer days and more confident writers!
