Begin class with reading time. Select a text to read aloud to your class. Choose a book that relates to a new topic that you will be introducing to your students, or simply choose an old favorite. Alternatively, let your students read a text of choice on their own. Reading is a calming and inviting activity that will ease students' high energy levels when they return back to school after a holiday break.
Like reading, writing is also a calming activity to engage highly energetic children when they return from a school break. When your students arrive back to class, provide them with a writing prompt to help get their juices flowing. For instance, ask them to write about what they did or something they learned over break, or why they are glad to be back at school. Another option is to allow kids to write freely in a journal or ask them to write a story or poem based on a topic of their own choice.
Your students will surely be excited to return back to school when you greet them with games. Plan to play games that introduce a new topic, or use games that review information that relates to a specific or several different subject areas. For example, create a game of Jeopardy to review information that students were taught before they left for break. In addition to serving as a fun refresher, games will also boost student moral.
It's likely you have new information that you want and have to present your students with after they return from break. Instead of simply presenting a humdrum lecture and lesson to your students, dress the part to get them motivated. For example, if you're going to teach about Abraham Lincoln, welcome your students while wearing a Lincoln costume. If the life cycle of a butterfly is the new focus of science, put on a pair of butterfly wings. You'll surely grab your students' attention and heighten their excitement about being back at school when you greet them in costume.