Welcome to May, the month where teachers everywhere navigate through a minefield of assessments, end-of-year projects, and students who have collectively lost their minds. It’s like the Wild West of the academic calendar, where chaos reigns supreme and coffee becomes a vital life force. But fear not brave educators! Here’s your survival guide to making it through May with your sanity intact (or at least mostly intact).

Embrace the Madness: May is the month where anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Your printer will run out of ink, the copier will decide it’s had enough, and that one kid who never pays attention will suddenly want to be your best friend…during a final test. Embrace the chaos like a seasoned warrior, because fighting is futile.

Coffee: The Elixir of Survival: Forget water, forget oxygen—coffee is the true sustenance of May. Stock up on your favorite caffeinated beverages and invest in a travel mug that can keep up with your frantic pace. Who needs sleep anyway?

Find Your Zen…or a Close Resemblance Thereof: Take a page from the mindfulness playbook and find your inner peace amidst the storm. Whether it’s a quick meditation or a moment with your favorite teacher friend lending a chair massage, find whatever works for you to keep those stress levels at bay.

Laugh in the Face of Adversity: When all else fails, laugh. Whether it’s at the absurdity of yet another last-minute project or the sheer audacity of a student claiming they are late for school because they overslept for the fifth time this month, find humor in the chaos. Laughter may not solve your problems, but it sure does make them more bearable.

Remember Why You Do This: In the midst of madness, take a moment to remember why you became a teacher in the first place. Maybe it was the joy of seeing a student finally grasp a concept they’ve been struggling with, or the satisfaction of knowing you’re making a difference in someone’s life. Whatever it is, hold onto that glimmer of inspiration like a lifeline—it’ll help carry you through even the darkest of May days.

So, fellow educators, take a deep breath, chug some more coffee, and brace yourselves for the whirlwind that is the remainder of May!