Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 229. How to Keep the Halloween Chaos in Check and Still Have Fun

Transcript

229. How to Keep the Halloween Chaos in Check and Still Have Fun · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

• 0:00
  Heidi: This is episode 229 of Teacher Approved.
• 0:06
  You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
• 0:09
  educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
• 0:13
  Heidi.
• 0:13
  Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
• 0:16
  Window, where we give research based and teacher approved
• 0:19
  strategies that make teaching less stressful and more
• 0:22
  effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from
• 0:25
  each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
• 0:28
  Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
• 0:31
  the show.
• 0:36
  Emily: Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
• 0:39
  episode, we are talking about how to keep the Halloween fun
• 0:43
  without losing your sanity, and we're sharing a teacher approved
• 0:47
  tip for resetting your room after all the Halloween
• 0:50
  excitement.
• 0:51
  Heidi: Let's start with try it tomorrow, where we share a quick
• 0:54
  win that you can try in your classroom right away. Emily,
• 0:56
  what is our suggestion for this week?
• 0:58
  Emily: This week, try adding a calm down countdown to your
• 1:01
  transitions. So before moving from one activity to another,
• 1:05
  have students take three deep breaths and count down from five
• 1:09
  together. Sounds simple, but it's amazing how those few
• 1:12
  seconds help everyone reset their energy level.
• 1:16
  Heidi: I love this one. It absolutely works any time of
• 1:19
  year, but it is especially helpful when your kids are
• 1:22
  running high on excitement, like, you know, the week before
• 1:24
  Halloween, when they're basically caffeinated squirrels.
• 1:30
  Emily: If you like this idea or anything else we share here on
• 1:32
  the podcast, would you please take a minute and give us a five
• 1:35
  star rating and review on Apple podcasts, or you can leave a
• 1:38
  rating and a comment on Spotify.
• 1:42
  Heidi: Well, everyone, we have got some great news about
• 1:44
  Halloween. This year it falls on a Friday. Woo hoo.
• 1:49
  Emily: Oh my gosh, that is such a gift. It's too bad it can't
• 1:52
  work out that way every year.
• 1:54
  Heidi: It should just be every year Halloween is on a Friday or
• 1:57
  Saturday.
• 1:58
  Emily: Yes, and we're just so glad that you all get to escape
• 2:01
  the day after Halloween hangover this year. But of course,
• 2:05
  Halloween on Friday also means managing a whole week of soaring
• 2:09
  excitement levels.
• 2:11
  Heidi: It's gonna be a long week. So let's talk about how
• 2:15
  you can get through with your sanity intact. Today we're
• 2:18
  sharing our Halloween Survival Guide, and basically, it all
• 2:22
  comes down to the candy rule.
• 2:24
  Emily: Yes, everyone loves candy. It's such a big part of
• 2:28
  Halloween. However, it is so easy to overdo it. A small
• 2:31
  handful is sweet and magical, but a bucket full leads to a
• 2:34
  sugar crash and complete chaos.
• 2:36
  Heidi: And that sums up our whole management philosophy. A
• 2:41
  little Halloween spirit sprinkled into your day can
• 2:44
  boost engagement and create the kinds of memories that your kids
• 2:47
  will talk about for years. But if you halloweenify every single
• 2:52
  worksheet and throw out all of your routines, you are setting
• 2:55
  yourself up for a week of trying to teach those caffeinated
• 2:58
  squirrels.
• 2:59
  Emily: Yeah, nobody wants that. So we're going to walk you
• 3:02
  through how to add just enough Halloween magic without
• 3:05
  derailing your whole month. We've got three main areas to
• 3:08
  focus on, the lead up to the big day, Halloween day itself, and
• 3:12
  the reset afterward.
• 3:13
  Heidi: So let's start with the lead up, because this is the
• 3:16
  make it or break it point. You're either going to set
• 3:19
  yourself up for success, or, you know, the opposite.
• 3:23
  Emily: The absolute most essential thing you can do to
• 3:26
  have a successful Halloween week is to keep your core routines
• 3:29
  intact. You can't skip this part unless you want to send your
• 3:33
  kids straight into chaos.
• 3:35
  Heidi: But that doesn't mean that you can't add a light
• 3:38
  sprinkling of fun.
• 3:40
  No, of course we want the fun. We want those seasonal
• 3:43
  sprinkles, but remember the candy rule, a small handful is
• 3:46
  great, a big bucket is a disaster.
• 3:48
  Yeah, your kids need their routines. They thrive on
• 3:52
  predictability, especially when excitement levels are through
• 3:55
  the roof. So don't abandon your regular morning work or skip
• 3:59
  your math block. Lean hard on what's normal if you have a
• 4:03
  class of kids that tip into overwhelm easily.
• 4:06
  And most will at Halloween time, even if your class mostly can
• 4:10
  handle things, like something big like Halloween, is going to
• 4:12
  impact pretty much all classes. So just keep that in mind.
• 4:16
  Oh yes, definitely.
• 4:17
  Emily: If your class is able to handle a little spark, try
• 4:20
  adding seasonal flair to what you're already doing. So, for
• 4:23
  example, keep your morning meeting routine, but you can add
• 4:26
  a festive greeting, like Jack O' Lantern grins, where you sit in
• 4:31
  a circle and you ask one student to start. Let's say you pick
• 4:34
  Liam. So Liam greets the student on his left and says the
• 4:36
  student's name with O' Lantern. So that would be like, Good
• 4:40
  morning, Sophia O'Lantern.
• 4:43
  Heidi: It's a mouthful.
• 4:44
  Emily: She returns a greeting, good morning, Liam O'Lantern,
• 4:47
  and then they each make their best Jack O' Lantern face at
• 4:50
  each other.
• 4:50
  Heidi: I can hear the giggles now. I'd love having a festive
• 4:54
  morning meeting greeting. It's very low key, but it's just the
• 4:57
  right amount of fun to keep things exciting. And we also
• 5:01
  love a seasonal morning message. So for example, a question like,
• 5:05
  there are three more bats than spiders. How many bats and
• 5:09
  spiders could there be? Leans into the fun, but it doesn't
• 5:12
  take away from the thinking.
• 5:13
  Emily: And if you want cute, thoughtful done for you morning
• 5:16
  messages, we happen to have sets for first through fourth grade.
• 5:19
  They each include a couple 100 non-seasonal thinking questions
• 5:23
  to get everyone's brain turning, but we also have a set of 60
• 5:27
  seasonal questions for each grade level. So that gives you
• 5:29
  plenty of fun options to choose from. We will link to those in
• 5:32
  the show notes.
• 5:33
  Heidi: Keeping your overall routine normal while dropping in
• 5:36
  that little bit of novelty means that your students' engagement
• 5:40
  stays high and you're giving extra energy a safe outlet, but
• 5:44
  you're doing all of this without having to compromise
• 5:46
  instructional time. Festive but meaningful is probably our
• 5:51
  favorite type of activity. You can bet we go to a lot of
• 5:53
  parties. One way we keep things festive but meaningful is with
• 5:58
  our vocabulary lessons. If you use our jargon journal
• 6:01
  vocabulary program, which we love so much, it's so fun, we
• 6:04
  have got festive but meaningful units for The Fierce Yellow
• 6:08
  Pumpkin, Halloween Night, Scary Scary Halloween, and my personal
• 6:11
  favorite, The Vanishing Pumpkin.
• 6:14
  Emily: Such good books. And while we're pitching our
• 6:16
  products, why don't we just let you know that we also have our
• 6:20
  Halloween fluency in a flash lessons. If you don't do
• 6:23
  Halloween at your school, we also have a fun fall theme. But
• 6:26
  if you can do Halloween, they are so fun. You might see the
• 6:30
  Sanderson Sisters in there. You might see Wednesday and Pugsley
• 6:34
  in there. It's so much fun. This is like, I think I say this
• 6:38
  every time, but the Halloween set might be like, my favorite
• 6:42
  set.
• 6:42
  Heidi: It's my favorite I think.
• 6:44
  Emily: Oh, it's so fun. And of course, we do have lots of
• 6:46
  non-seasonal fluency in a flash lessons, but we're just really
• 6:49
  proud of the seasonal stuff. It feels so special. It's hard to
• 6:53
  describe these on a podcast, though. So you'll just have to
• 6:56
  go try them, I think, to see how interactive and engaging they
• 7:00
  are.
• 7:01
  Heidi: I really am still blown away every time I watch one of
• 7:03
  these. Each day has a meaningful activity that targets an
• 7:06
  essential fluency skill. But I promise that your kids will be
• 7:10
  having so much fun, they will never realize it's educational.
• 7:13
  And we will link to our seasonal fluency in a flash mini lessons
• 7:16
  in the show notes as well.
• 7:18
  Emily: The show notes are hopping this week. You got to
• 7:20
  check them out.
• 7:20
  Heidi: Yes they are.
• 7:21
  Emily: As you plan the rest of your Halloween lead up week,
• 7:23
  your math story problems can feature pumpkins and science can
• 7:27
  explore bats, but remember that there's no pressure to
• 7:29
  halloweenify every single part of your day. In fact, you should
• 7:34
  definitely avoid doing that. If every worksheet has a Jack O'
• 7:37
  Lantern on it, it stops being special, and then it stops being
• 7:41
  a tool that you can use to shape your classroom management.
• 7:44
  Heidi: Remember, we're going for the fun of a handful of candy,
• 7:47
  and not the heaviness of a whole bucket, so adding in these
• 7:50
  little bits of excitement helps draw off the excess energy that
• 7:54
  is building up before Halloween. Because these sparks of fun are
• 7:58
  increasing your students engagement, it makes all of your
• 8:00
  classroom management so much easier. And if you would like to
• 8:04
  sprinkle in some seasonal fun without having to adapt any of
• 8:07
  your content, may we introduce you to one of our favorite
• 8:11
  tools, festive breaks.
• 8:14
  Emily: Festive breaks are short, low prep activities that you can
• 8:17
  pull out whenever you want a little seasonal excitement.
• 8:20
  They're print and go activities like Halloween tic tac toe or
• 8:24
  roll a monster, and having these copied and ready to grab at a
• 8:28
  moment's notice will be a huge relief when you need them.
• 8:31
  Heidi: Now, the key to a festive break is the activity card. The
• 8:34
  front of the card is a cute seasonal picture, and the back
• 8:37
  of the card names a fun activity. Now, as the teacher,
• 8:41
  you get to decide how many breaks you want to do, and you
• 8:44
  get to decide when it's time to choose a card. For example, you
• 8:47
  might want to schedule it into your day, and you would do an
• 8:50
  activity after reading or one after lunch.
• 8:52
  Emily: Or you might want to have students earn an activity with
• 8:55
  on task behavior. This is one of our best holiday management
• 8:58
  tips. You could say something like, if everyone works on their
• 9:01
  math page for 15 minutes without talking, we can choose an
• 9:04
  activity, but if people start talking, I'll have to restart
• 9:07
  the timer. Let the structure of trying to earn a reward tamp
• 9:11
  down some of the excess energy in your room.
• 9:14
  Heidi: And we will put a link to our Halloween festive breaks in
• 9:17
  the show notes. Unfortunately, we don't have a non-Halloween
• 9:20
  fall set available. I was really hoping to get to it this year,
• 9:23
  but the calendar won out on this one.
• 9:25
  Yeah, we've been a little bit busy writing that book we're
• 9:28
  writing.
• 9:29
  Oh yeah, I don't know if we've mentioned that. Hi everyone.
• 9:31
  We're writing a book.
• 9:32
  That's a, that's an Easter egg in this episode, is that we are
• 9:35
  writing a book, but we'll talk about that on another episode.
• 9:37
  Turns out writing a book takes up a lot of time. Who knew?
• 9:42
  But no matter how strategic we are about handling seasonal
• 9:46
  spark, the closer we get to the 31st, the more the energy level
• 9:50
  is going to climb. That's totally normal, but because we
• 9:54
  can predict it, we can plan for how to address it.
• 9:57
  Emily: Recognizing when your regular management plan will
• 10:00
  need a boost is how you know you've achieved peak teacher
• 10:03
  status, because this is some ninja level stuff.
• 10:08
  So decide now how you can increase your structure to
• 10:10
  manage the excess novelty. A good place to start is with a
• 10:13
  discussion. A few days before Halloween, preview the plan with
• 10:16
  your students. Let them know when the fun stuff will happen
• 10:19
  and when it's business as usual.
• 10:21
  Heidi: try using a visual schedule if you can. Post it
• 10:25
  where everyone can see it, so that you don't get constant wins
• 10:28
  the party questions, because you will. Even though you are
• 10:31
  sticking to your normal routines and core subject blocks as much
• 10:35
  as possible, letting kids know when the out of the ordinary is
• 10:38
  happening will go a long way toward keeping everyone calm.
• 10:42
  Also, you definitely want to build in more brain breaks this
• 10:44
  week as well. When kids are buzzing with excitement, they
• 10:47
  need more opportunities to get the wiggles out.
• 10:50
  And guess what we have?
• 10:52
  Emily: What could it be?
• 10:53
  Heidi: Well, surprise, we have got 60 Halloween brain breaks
• 10:57
  that are perfect for this. We've divided them into three
• 11:01
  categories, activities to increase focus, activities to
• 11:04
  calm excitement, and activities to boost energy. That way you
• 11:08
  can find exactly what you need the moment you need it.
• 11:11
  Halloween week, you'll probably get a lot of use out of our
• 11:14
  refocus brain breaks. Those are the ones you'll turn to to
• 11:17
  settle everyone down.
• 11:19
  These are so calming. One of my favorite refocused brain breaks
• 11:22
  is a mindful movement activity called Fun with Jack. So you
• 11:26
  would have your students stand, everyone calm, centered,
• 11:30
  breathing slowly and calmly, and then you'd walk them through
• 11:33
  this activity. Pretend you're holding a Jack O' Lantern
• 11:36
  between your hands. Slowly move it side to side, from left to
• 11:40
  right, lower it down to your feet and lift it up again.
• 11:44
  Slowly raise it to your mouth and blow out the candle with
• 11:47
  three slow breaths.
• 11:48
  Emily: Oh, I feel calmer already. But, and this is
• 11:52
  important, for every brain break, make sure you set clear
• 11:55
  expectations beforehand. How long will it last? Where can
• 11:58
  students move? How loud can they be? What is the consequence if
• 12:02
  someone chooses not to follow the rules, and what should
• 12:05
  happen as soon as the brain break is over?
• 12:07
  Heidi: That last part is so crucial. If you don't have a
• 12:10
  clear ending signal, you're going to spend five minutes
• 12:13
  trying to get everyone back on track before you can move on
• 12:16
  with the day, and then everyone is just going to be as tired and
• 12:19
  unfocused as they were before you started.
• 12:22
  Emily: Okay, you've maintained your core classroom structure
• 12:25
  while strategically sprinkling in seasonal fun. By the time
• 12:29
  Halloween morning hits, your class will be excited but still
• 12:32
  anchored. They know what to expect, and you've given them
• 12:34
  plenty of appropriate outlets for all that energy.
• 12:38
  Heidi: Which means you are ready to tackle the actual day without
• 12:43
  everything falling apart. So let's talk about your Halloween
• 12:46
  day game plan.
• 12:48
  Emily: Feels like we could have a whole series about how to
• 12:50
  handle this day. And you know, if Halloween isn't a big deal at
• 12:54
  your school, like you don't do costumes or parties, then you
• 12:57
  probably could mostly plan a normal day with just a few
• 13:00
  seasonal activities sprinkled in. You can have lots of fun
• 13:03
  with scarecrows and pumpkins if witches and Jack O' Lanterns
• 13:06
  aren't the right vibe for your school.
• 13:08
  Heidi: But if there is a costume parade or a class party or both,
• 13:13
  you're going to need what we call a Plan B schedule. And
• 13:16
  honestly, that's probably the smarter move regardless, because
• 13:20
  even if your school doesn't officially celebrate, your kids
• 13:23
  are going to be thinking about trick or treating and costumes
• 13:25
  all day long.
• 13:27
  Emily: The goal with a plan B schedule is to keep the routine
• 13:29
  predictable, even if the activities aren't your usual
• 13:32
  ones. So if your students are used to doing science from 2 to
• 13:35
  2:,30 show a science video during that time instead of
• 13:38
  trying to teach a regular lesson.
• 13:40
  Heidi: And you can do the same thing with math. Instead of your
• 13:43
  regular lesson, pull out math games from earlier in the year
• 13:46
  and have your kids rotate through stations, or you set
• 13:49
  time for a review work packet.
• 13:52
  Emily: I think this could be maybe our unpopular teaching
• 13:55
  opinion, which is that work packets are a lifesaver,
• 13:59
  especially on disruptive days like this, and it doesn't mean
• 14:02
  that it's just fluff and a waste of time. A collection of
• 14:05
  Halloween themed worksheets that mix review practice with a few
• 14:09
  just for fun pages can keep kids productively busy when you need
• 14:12
  them to be.
• 14:14
  Heidi: And we have got a Halloween work packet that
• 14:16
  includes pages at three different difficulty levels so
• 14:19
  that you can differentiate for your whole class. It's got that
• 14:23
  seasonal theme that makes everything feel special, but it
• 14:26
  is still solid review practice.
• 14:29
  Emily: You can always count on us for review. To help you
• 14:33
  figure out your plan B schedule, here are a couple of examples.
• 14:36
  If you've got a morning Halloween party, which is what
• 14:38
  my kids school does, and it's blows my mind every time, but
• 14:42
  that's what they do. So it might look like 8:30 to 9, costume
• 14:46
  parade with parents, 9 to 10:45, class party, 10:45 to 11:30,
• 14:51
  clean up and watch a 30 minute movie, like maybe the 80s
• 14:54
  classic Garfield's Halloween or something educational about
• 14:59
  Heidi: But definitely do Garfield, if you've got the
• 14:59
  bats.
• 15:01
  choice.
• 15:01
  Emily: I know, it's so nostalgic.
• 15:04
  Heidi: Then you might have lunch from 11:30 to 12. In the
• 15:07
  afternoon, do a morning meeting after lunch as a way to check in
• 15:12
  and reset. Hand out those work packets, give kids some time to
• 15:16
  work. And then you can break up the work time with brain breaks,
• 15:18
  festive breaks, specialty classes and reading time.
• 15:21
  Emily: Yeah, bust out those Halloween books and do some fun
• 15:24
  read alouds. You can do one of those between every activity. If
• 15:27
  your party is in the afternoon, you might do a normal morning
• 15:30
  routine then, and then maybe you want to do a themed writing
• 15:33
  activity during your normal writing time. Hand out a work
• 15:37
  packet and give kids time to work. Have recess, read a
• 15:40
  Halloween story, maybe play a Halloween math game, finish work
• 15:44
  packets, then party time and clean up.
• 15:46
  Heidi: The key is having a plan, instead of just winging it. When
• 15:50
  you know what's coming next, you can stay calm, and that keeps
• 15:53
  your kids calm too.
• 15:55
  Emily: Now let's talk about managing the actual party. If
• 15:58
  you're doing stations, a craft station, a game station, a snack
• 16:02
  station, time those rotations and have a clear signal for
• 16:05
  switching.
• 16:06
  Heidi: Recruit parent helpers to run the stations if you can, so
• 16:09
  that you can supervise the whole room instead of getting stuck
• 16:12
  trying to manage one activity while the rest of the room falls
• 16:15
  apart. If you want all of our best tips for planning a party
• 16:19
  that leaves you smiling instead of sweating, check out episodes
• 16:22
  33, 34 and 96.
• 16:25
  Emily: As soon as we started talking about the Halloween
• 16:28
  party, I just got like itchy, because I have helped at so many
• 16:33
  Halloween parties for my kids at the elementary schools, and most
• 16:37
  of them have been very disorganized. As the helper it
• 16:40
  has made me crazy. So please go check out those episodes,
• 16:43
  because we really go deep into the nitty gritty, because we
• 16:48
  know how exhausting it is trying to orchestrate fun without
• 16:51
  losing control of those 25 sugared up kids. So check out
• 16:54
  those episodes, and then let's address the biggest hassles,
• 16:57
  treats and costumes.
• 17:01
  Heidi: For treats, decide in advance how and when candy gets
• 17:04
  eaten. Perhaps it's just one treat during the party and the
• 17:07
  rest goes home, or perhaps it's a free for all, because you are
• 17:10
  sending them home in an hour anyway. Decide what works best
• 17:14
  for your class, and then let any parent volunteers know your
• 17:17
  expectation.
• 17:18
  Emily: Also communicate this clearly to students ahead of
• 17:22
  time to avoid disappointment. It might be a good idea to have non
• 17:25
  food options available to like stickers, pencils, small toys
• 17:29
  that can keep everyone included and help you avoid the sugar
• 17:32
  overload situation, and that like dyed black frosting all
• 17:38
  over their face. I hate it so much.
• 17:41
  Heidi: Yeah, watch out for that if you're doing sugar cookies as
• 17:43
  part of your party.
• 17:44
  Emily: You can't trust those kits you can get at the store
• 17:47
  because the frosting in them is insane.
• 17:50
  Heidi: For costumes, if they are allowed at your school, create
• 17:53
  what we call a costume contract. Share rules about
• 17:56
  appropriateness, safety and when costumes can be worn or removed.
• 18:00
  If costumes aren't worn all day, figure out when the students
• 18:03
  will change. Let parents know that you aren't going to be
• 18:06
  helping anyone get dressed, so they should practice putting
• 18:09
  things on and taking them off at home. Also make it very clear
• 18:12
  that students have to be able to manage the bathroom
• 18:15
  independently in their costume.
• 18:17
  Emily: Oh, yeah, no one wants an accident, especially on
• 18:19
  Halloween. If costumes are being worn at school, you might
• 18:22
  consider bringing a backup costume or two, just in case not
• 18:25
  all of your students have one for whatever reason.
• 18:29
  Heidi: Yeah, that definitely caught me off guard when I was a
• 18:31
  new teacher. I remember frantically texting a roommate
• 18:34
  with an office job because she could get away from work in the
• 18:37
  middle of the day and asking her, begging her to run to the
• 18:41
  store and grab a couple of costumes, like whatever was left
• 18:43
  at that point. After that year, I made sure to come prepared on
• 18:47
  Halloween. I'm not letting something as silly as a costume
• 18:51
  parade contribute to anyone's childhood trauma. Not on my
• 18:54
  watch.
• 18:54
  Emily: No, no way. It's also a good idea to have a repair kit
• 18:58
  handy, tape, safety pins, maybe some plastic grocery bags for
• 19:02
  costume pieces that won't fit in backpacks. Trust me, these
• 19:05
  situations come up more than you would expect.
• 19:09
  Heidi: As crazy as the Halloween festivities are, make sure that
• 19:12
  you don't shortcut your end of day routine. If the party is
• 19:16
  scheduled later in your day, let everyone know that the party
• 19:19
  time ends 30 minutes before the bell. That way, if it runs long,
• 19:23
  because it'll run long, you still have a good buffer of time
• 19:26
  to clean up the mess and make sure everything is ready for
• 19:30
  tomorrow. Trust us, you don't want to start your day after
• 19:33
  Halloween already running behind.
• 19:36
  Emily: And that brings us to our final piece for surviving
• 19:38
  Halloween, the reset. This year, Halloween falls on a Friday, so
• 19:42
  you've got the weekend to recover, but when it swings back
• 19:44
  around to a Sunday, you're going to need strategies for that
• 19:47
  Monday morning.
• 19:48
  Heidi: Yeah, that's a rough one. Plan a gentle next morning
• 19:52
  routine. Play soft music as the kids arrive, make sure to greet
• 19:56
  them at the door and hear about their fun adventures, and signal
• 19:59
  that it's time to focus on learning now. Kids need to
• 20:03
  transition back to school mode, and you can help them do that
• 20:06
  gradually.
• 20:07
  Review your expectations and procedures again, not in a harsh
• 20:10
  way, but as a gentle reminder. Remember when we line up, we
• 20:13
  turn our voices off and keep our hands to ourselves.
• 20:16
  And give yourself some grace too. Halloween is genuinely
• 20:19
  exhausting for teachers, but as tiring as it is, hopefully you
• 20:23
  find a little fun in it too. When you give yourself
• 20:26
  permission to lean into the season, even just a little, you
• 20:29
  remind yourself of the things you love about teaching.
• 20:32
  Emily: And even if it feels like a big waste of time, those tiny
• 20:35
  touches are what knit your class together. Shared moments like a
• 20:38
  festive fluency practice or a class wide vote on a Halloween
• 20:42
  read aloud, build a sense of us. That us is what keeps behavior
• 20:46
  manageable all year long, because students feel part of
• 20:49
  something bigger than themselves.
• 20:51
  Heidi: That sprinkle of seasonal fun is good for everyone.
• 20:55
  Remember these tips so you make it to November in one piece. Use
• 20:59
  the candy rule as a guideline, a handful of fun creates magic, a
• 21:02
  bucket full creates chaos. During the lead up, keep core
• 21:06
  routines intact while adding light seasonal sprinkles. On
• 21:09
  Halloween day, have a plan B schedule and structured
• 21:12
  celebrations with clear boundaries. And afterward, plan
• 21:15
  a gentle reset.
• 21:17
  Emily: Halloween doesn't have to be something you just survive.
• 21:19
  With the right balance, it can be something you and your
• 21:22
  students actually enjoy together. We'd love to hear your
• 21:24
  best Halloween tips. Come join the conversation in our Teacher
• 21:27
  Approved Facebook group.
• 21:29
  Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where we share an
• 21:32
  actionable tip to help you elevate what matters and
• 21:35
  simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is to
• 21:38
  create a reset ritual for after big, exciting events. Tell us
• 21:42
  about this one, Heidi.
• 21:43
  Heidi: A reset ritual is just a simple, consistent routine that
• 21:47
  you use to help everyone get back to baseline. It might be
• 21:51
  starting the day with some deep breathing exercises, doing a
• 21:54
  familiar morning meeting activity, or spending a few
• 21:56
  extra minutes reviewing your classroom agreements. The key is
• 22:00
  that it is predictable and calming. After all of the
• 22:03
  excitement and novelty, everyone's brains need some
• 22:06
  structure to grab onto, and probably so do you.
• 22:10
  Emily: For Halloween specifically, since this year it
• 22:12
  falls on Friday, you could use Monday morning to have kids
• 22:14
  share one favorite memory from their Halloween, then do a quick
• 22:17
  shake out the sillies activity to physically release any
• 22:20
  leftover excitement.
• 22:22
  Heidi: You might also want to spend a few minutes
• 22:24
  acknowledging the transition. Halloween was so fun, and now
• 22:27
  we're back to our regular learning routine. Our brains
• 22:30
  might need a few minutes to switch gears, and that's okay.
• 22:33
  Emily: The ritual doesn't have to be long or complicated. Even
• 22:36
  just dimming the lights and playing soft music for five
• 22:38
  minutes can help signal to everyone's nervous systems that
• 22:41
  it's time to settle in.
• 22:43
  Heidi: And bonus, if you establish this pattern now, you
• 22:46
  can use it all year long, after the winter party, after
• 22:49
  Valentine's Day, after that field trip to the zoo where
• 22:52
  everyone got way too excited about the monkeys.
• 22:54
  Emily: Who can blame them? The monkeys are so fun. So pick one
• 22:57
  simple activity, breathing, soft music, a favorite morning
• 23:00
  meeting game, a favorite story, whatever feels right to you, and
• 23:05
  use it consistently after exciting events. Your future
• 23:07
  self will thank you, and so will your students.
• 23:10
  Heidi: To wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving
• 23:14
  extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra
• 23:16
  credit?
• 23:16
  Emily: This is one of my weirder extra credits, I think.
• 23:18
  Heidi: Okay.
• 23:19
  Emily: So I've always seen that at Chick fil A, you can get
• 23:21
  waffle chips instead of waffle fries. And I was like, who on
• 23:24
  earth is getting chips over fries?
• 23:26
  Heidi: Yes, that's a ridiculous choice.
• 23:28
  Emily: But then I saw that they have a Chick fil A sauce
• 23:32
  flavored chip. And I was curious. I was just too curious.
• 23:35
  I was like, you know what, I mean, I'm just gonna try them.
• 23:37
  And it turns out there are delicious. So I guess I'm giving
• 23:40
  extra credit to chips. I kind of wish you could get them at the
• 23:43
  store so that you didn't have to, well, you know what, I was
• 23:45
  just gonna say, so that you didn't have to give up fries for
• 23:51
  chips. Well, who says you have to give them up? Get both, dang
• 23:54
  it. Get the fries and get the chips. They're delicious.
• 23:57
  Heidi: You deserve it. You're a teacher in October.
• 24:00
  Emily: That's right. What are you giving extra credit to,
• 24:02
  Heidi?
• 24:03
  Heidi: Okay, well, I think I'm late to the game on this, but
• 24:05
  I'm giving extra credit to ambience videos on YouTube.
• 24:09
  Emily: Ooh.
• 24:10
  Heidi: Now if you have also missed out on these, it's just a
• 24:13
  charming image, probably AI generated, if we're being
• 24:16
  honest, with like, some gentle animation like a crackling fire
• 24:20
  or blowing leaves and calming sound effects, and it just like
• 24:24
  runs on the loop for hours.
• 24:26
  Emily: Oh my gosh.
• 24:27
  Heidi: So, you know, a cozy cabin with a fireplace and soft
• 24:30
  rainfall. I have been putting one on in the evenings when I
• 24:34
  read, and it turns it into a whole event.
• 24:37
  Emily: Oh my gosh. I love it.
• 24:39
  Heidi: I've been using it over my actual fireplace. So if you
• 24:43
  want some surprise and delight in your own class, this could be
• 24:46
  really fun to add. Try projecting one of these
• 24:49
  occasionally during work time or reading time. Just I would say a
• 24:53
  couple of things I run into, check if it has music, because
• 24:55
  that could distract some students. And then double check
• 24:58
  if it has mid roll commercials. I have been peacefully reading
• 25:02
  next to a babbling brook, and then suddenly a Tide commercial
• 25:05
  is shouting at me.
• 25:06
  Emily: You can block the ads too when you're on YouTube by
• 25:09
  putting in a dash between the T and the U, and then it refreshes
• 25:14
  the video without any ads. The only problem is if the creator
• 25:19
  baked an ad into the video. But I found that to be very
• 25:22
  uncommon. It almost never happens, but there are some, and
• 25:26
  who knows, I haven't tried these videos, so there could be some
• 25:28
  baked in ads in there.
• 25:29
  Heidi: Well, that's good to know. That's a real handy tip.
• 25:32
  Yeah, for the most part, especially if you're playing
• 25:34
  something at school, you want to put that dash between the T and
• 25:37
  the U in YouTube, refresh the page, and then ad free. You
• 25:41
  don't have to worry what might pop up.
• 25:42
  Emily: That's it for today's episode. Use our Halloween
• 25:46
  Survival Guide to keep the fun without losing your sanity.
• 25:50
  Remember the candy rule, plan your lead up strategies, have
• 25:53
  that plan B schedule ready, and don't forget to build in time
• 25:56
  for a reset.
• 25:58
  Heidi: And make sure to try our teacher approved tip for
• 26:00
  creating a reset ritual that you can use all year long after
• 26:03
  exciting events.
• 26:06
  We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
• 26:10
  Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
• 26:14
  or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
• 26:16
  episode.
• 26:17
  Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
• 26:19
  Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
• 26:23
  Bye for now.
• 26:24
  Emily: Bye.