Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 256. Can’t Miss Classic: How to Save Hours at Back-to-School Time by Prepping in May

Transcript

256. Can’t Miss Classic: How to Save Hours at Back-to-School Time by Prepping in May · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

• 0:01
  Heidi: This is episode 256 of Teacher Approved.
• 0:03
  Emily: Hey there. Thanks for joining us. So far this spring,
• 0:07
  we have talked about five back to school tasks you can tackle
• 0:10
  in March, and five you can do in April.
• 0:14
  Heidi: And we can't leave you hanging. So we need to close out
• 0:17
  the series with this replay from last year where we talk about
• 0:20
  five tasks that you can do now in May to help you start next
• 0:23
  school year strong.
• 0:25
  Emily: But don't let that scare you. We are not talking about
• 0:28
  writing your first day plans. These are things you can tack
• 0:31
  onto the tasks you are already doing this time of year.
• 0:34
  Heidi: Yeah, you are already doing the work, so you may as
• 0:36
  well get as much bang for your buck as you can.
• 0:39
  Emily: And if you missed out on our previous get ahead tips, go
• 0:41
  back and check those out. Now we'll link them in the show
• 0:44
  notes. We promise. They're all easily doable, even in the midst
• 0:47
  of the craziness that May brings.
• 0:51
  Heidi: You're listening to Teacher Approved ,the podcast
• 0:54
  helping educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest.
• 0:58
  I'm Heidi.
• 0:59
  Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
• 1:02
  Window, where we give research-based and
• 1:04
  teacher-approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and
• 1:07
  more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources
• 1:11
  from each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
• 1:13
  Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
• 1:16
  the show.
• 1:21
  Emily: Hey friends, thanks for joining us today. In today's
• 1:24
  episode, we are sharing five smart ways you can prep for back
• 1:29
  to school this May, and we'll give you a teacher approved tip
• 1:33
  to do something special for your teaching teammates.
• 1:36
  Heidi: Let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we share a quick
• 1:39
  win that you can try in your classroom right away. Emily,
• 1:41
  what is our prompt this week?
• 1:43
  Emily: This week, why not try a morning meeting remix? Just take
• 1:48
  one element of your regular morning meeting routine and give
• 1:51
  it an unexpected twist.
• 1:53
  Heidi: I love this idea. It's especially helpful this time of
• 1:57
  year when things might be feeling a little bit stale. So
• 1:58
  if you usually do a standard greeting, you could try having
• 2:01
  your students greet each other with a compliment instead. Or
• 2:04
  try adding a quick new activity, nothing that's going to take a
• 2:07
  lot of work on your part, but something like a daily joke or a
• 2:10
  question of the day, or a would you rather of the day.
• 2:13
  Emily: Oh, I love it. Small changes like this can really
• 2:16
  refresh your routine. It is all about that balance of routine
• 2:19
  and novelty that we talk about a lot here that helps keep
• 2:22
  students engaged. Your students will love surprises like this in
• 2:26
  the middle of a daily routine, and it often just leads to more
• 2:30
  engagement during a time when energy is probably flagging.
• 2:33
  Heidi: Plus it's a no prep activity that still packs a big
• 2:37
  impact. Just one small change can make the whole morning feel
• 2:40
  fresh again.
• 2:41
  Emily: If you like this idea or anything else we share here on
• 2:44
  the podcast, would you make our day by taking a second to give
• 2:47
  us a five star rating and review on Apple podcasts?
• 2:52
  Heidi: So today, we are talking about five smart ways to get
• 2:55
  ahead on back to school prep while you are still in your
• 2:58
  classroom this May. I know some of you might be giving us the
• 3:01
  side eye right now, and that is totally justified, but hear us
• 3:06
  out. In last week's episode, we talked about why May is actually
• 3:09
  the perfect time to start thinking ahead to next year.
• 3:12
  Emily: It really is. When you're still in the classroom, all
• 3:16
  those pain points are crystal clear. You still have your
• 3:19
  classroom fully set up, and you can even test things out with
• 3:22
  your current students. Plus doing a little bit of planning
• 3:25
  now can seriously reduce your back to school panic later and
• 3:29
  lighten your summer mental load. And who does not want that?
• 3:33
  Heidi: So today, we are getting super specific with five
• 3:36
  actionable things that you can do right now in the month of
• 3:39
  May, to set yourself up for success when you return in the
• 3:42
  fall. And none of these things will take hours after school.
• 3:46
  These are quick wins that will pay big dividends when August
• 3:49
  rolls around.
• 3:50
  Emily: All right, let's dive into our first task for smart
• 3:54
  back to school prep in May. What's up first, Heidi?
• 3:57
  Heidi: Well, the first thing you can do in May for back to school
• 3:59
  is to save your old crayons, your markers, and other supplies
• 4:03
  to use during the first week of school. This solves a problem
• 4:07
  that drives me crazy every year. Students are using their brand
• 4:11
  new materials before they know how to care for them properly,
• 4:14
  especially if you have funded these materials yourself. There
• 4:17
  is nothing sadder than watching a fresh box of crayons get
• 4:20
  demolished within like three days because you haven't had
• 4:24
  time to teach crayon procedures yet.
• 4:24
  Emily: So before you send students home with their supply
• 4:28
  boxes at the end of the year, or before you toss out those half
• 4:32
  used items, set aside a collection of first week
• 4:35
  supplies. So grab the stubby crayons, the markers that still
• 4:39
  work but aren't quite as vibrant, or those colored
• 4:42
  pencils that are a bit shorter but still have life in them.
• 4:45
  Emily: plan to work on over the break. That might be new
• 4:46
  Store these in a bin labeled first week supplies, and tuck
• 4:49
  them away for August.
• 6:22
  curriculum to review, books you want to read, or laminating you
• 6:26
  need to cut out. If you have goals for working in the summer,
• 6:29
  it's helpful to have your resources in one place.
• 6:32
  Heidi: This is handy, because if you have to pack up your room
• 6:35
  before summer, like so many of us do, you're probably cramming
• 6:38
  stuff into any available space. That means in the middle of
• 6:42
  July, when you need your teacher's manual, you're going
• 6:43
  to have to dig it out.
• 6:46
  Emily: But if that manual is already in your bin, you're good
• 6:49
  to go. Just be honest with yourself about how much you're
• 6:52
  really going to get done. If you know deep down that you are not
• 6:57
  going to touch that vocabulary planning all summer, don't put
• 7:00
  it in the summer working bin. It's okay, just accept it.
• 7:03
  Heidi: Bin number two is classroom setup. These are the
• 7:07
  things you'll need right away to set up your room, your favorite
• 7:10
  posters, your desk accessories, label maker, bulletin board
• 7:12
  supplies, all of that fun stuff.
• 7:15
  Emily: And sometimes we call this our need first box, because
• 7:17
  it has everything in it that you're going to need right away
• 7:20
  when you get back to your classroom.
• 7:22
  Heidi: And then bin number three, which might be my
• 7:25
  favorite, is first week of school. This is everything
• 7:28
  you'll need, specifically for those opening days, your first
• 7:31
  week lesson plans, name tags, get to know your activities,
• 7:34
  your favorite back to school read alouds, those save supplies
• 7:37
  that we just talked about, and materials for any special first
• 7:40
  day traditions that you have.
• 7:42
  Emily: I love this three bin system because it helps you
• 7:44
  prioritize. When you return in August, you know exactly what to
• 7:47
  unpack first. You're not digging through 15 random boxes trying
• 7:51
  to find your lunch schedule or your welcome letter. It also
• 7:54
  helps you be realistic about what you're actually going to
• 7:57
  accomplish over the summer.
• 7:58
  Heidi: To make this super easy, just grab three storage bins or
• 8:01
  even those large reusable shopping bags, label them
• 8:05
  clearly and start sorting as you're cleaning up your
• 8:07
  classroom these last few weeks. This might take you, what, an
• 8:10
  extra 20 minutes now, but it's going to save you hours of
• 8:13
  frustration in August. Okay Emily, what is next?
• 8:17
  Emily: Well, our third task for back to school is to prepare as
• 8:20
  many permanent displays as possible before you leave in
• 8:23
  May. This is one of those work smarter, not harder, tips that
• 8:27
  can save you so much time. Look around your classroom right now
• 8:30
  and identify which displays stay relatively consistent year to
• 8:34
  year, things like your calendar area, alphabet displays, number
• 8:38
  lines, classroom rules or values, and your subject area
• 8:42
  reference charts. If these don't change much, why recreate them
• 8:46
  every single year?
• 8:48
  Heidi: If you can leave things up on your walls and bulletin
• 8:50
  boards, then absolutely do. Just take down what's related to this
• 8:54
  year and leave up the rest. It's so nice if you can keep things
• 8:57
  up and already have your display ready for you to add your new
• 9:00
  kids' names and birthdays and calendar items to next year.
• 9:03
  Emily: This will vary a lot by school. So if you're not sure
• 9:06
  how it is in your building, find out before you do any prep work
• 9:09
  for next year. But if you do, unfortunately, have to take
• 9:13
  everything down, you can still work smarter.
• 9:15
  Heidi: Yes, before you take everything down, take photos of
• 9:19
  how these areas are set up. You think you'll remember, you will
• 9:22
  not remember. Then carefully take down your core displays and
• 9:26
  store them flat in labeled folders or large envelopes. You
• 9:30
  could even go a step further and prepare new versions of any
• 9:33
  displays that are maybe looking a little bit beat up. A fresh
• 9:35
  alphabet line or a newly laminated set of calendar pieces
• 9:39
  takes just a few minutes now, but can save you precious setup
• 9:42
  time in August.
• 9:43
  Emily: May is the perfect time to evaluate which displays
• 9:47
  actually served you well this year and which ones just
• 9:49
  collected dust. Be strategic about what you want to keep for
• 9:52
  next year. One display that we're particularly fond of is
• 9:56
  our looking ahead, looking back, bulletin board.
• 9:59
  Heidi: I love this one so much. It's a special end of year
• 10:03
  activity that transitions beautifully into a beginning of
• 10:07
  the year display in the fall. So it is a two for one win.
• 10:11
  Emily: Yeah, this starts with your students reflecting on
• 10:13
  their favorite parts of the year. You put their memories up
• 10:16
  on your bulletin board or wall to enjoy for the rest of the
• 10:19
  year, but then after the year ends, or when you come back in
• 10:22
  August, you just switch out the title on the bulletin board. So
• 10:25
  now, instead of saying looking back on second grade, it says,
• 10:29
  looking ahead to second grade. Now your bulletin board shows
• 10:33
  your new students some of the fun moments that await them in
• 10:36
  your class. If you're interested in trying this, it's available
• 10:39
  in our shop, and of course, we will link to that in the show
• 10:41
  notes.
• 10:42
  Heidi: Other displays to consider prepping now are your
• 10:45
  job chart, birthday display, class schedule and any behavior
• 10:49
  or incentive systems. Just a little time invested now means
• 10:53
  these won't be on your August to do list. All right, Emily, what
• 10:57
  is next?
• 10:58
  Emily: The fourth task you can do in May for back to school is
• 11:01
  to create a new student SOP, which stands for Standard
• 11:05
  Operating Procedure, and do it now while your routines are
• 11:08
  fresh in your mind.
• 11:10
  Heidi: Every teacher knows the mild panic of getting a new
• 11:13
  student, especially after those first crucial weeks when you
• 11:17
  have already taught all of your new procedures.
• 11:19
  Emily: And somehow those new students always seem to arrive
• 11:22
  at the most inconvenient times, like right before lunch, during
• 11:26
  a big class project, or, you know, 30 minutes after you
• 11:29
  started the school day.
• 11:31
  Heidi: Oh, always. So the idea here is to create a simple
• 11:35
  checklist of everything a new student needs to know and to
• 11:38
  have. This becomes your ready to go protocol that you can hand to
• 11:41
  a buddy student or a teaching assistant to help them get a new
• 11:45
  arrival up to speed.
• 11:47
  Emily: Your SOP might include things like where to hang
• 11:49
  backpacks, how to order lunch, bathroom procedures, how to use
• 11:53
  classroom materials, what the signal for attention means, how
• 11:57
  center rotations work. You know, all those little things that
• 12:00
  make your classroom run smoothly.
• 12:02
  Heidi: And also don't forget the physical items that a new
• 12:05
  student needs, a name tag, cubby label, supply box, folder, login
• 12:08
  information and so on. Plus, there's all the behind the
• 12:12
  scenes stuff of adding the parents to your communication
• 12:14
  system and informing any specialty teachers that you've
• 12:17
  got a new student coming. So with all of that to manage,
• 12:20
  really the best time to create this list is now in May, when
• 12:24
  all of your systems are solidified and running smoothly.
• 12:28
  Emily: Rght. Because in May, you can clearly see exactly what
• 12:30
  makes your classroom tick. It is hard to remember some of these
• 12:33
  details once you have been blissfully free of your
• 12:36
  classroom for a couple months.
• 12:37
  Heidi: One idea is to make two versions, a simplified one for
• 12:41
  students who might be helping a new classmate, and a more
• 12:44
  detailed one for the teacher. Once you have your SOP, you can
• 12:47
  store it in a visible place, maybe with your sub folder or
• 12:51
  taped inside a cupboard door. You could even create a little
• 12:55
  welcome folder with all of the essentials that you or your
• 12:58
  helper can just grab and go.
• 13:00
  Emily: Or you could put it into any new student supply packs you
• 13:03
  make. This takes maybe 30 minutes to put together now, it
• 13:06
  will save you so much stress later.
• 13:08
  Heidi: Plus it ensures new students feel welcomed and get
• 13:11
  consistent information, rather than just having to piece things
• 13:14
  together as they go along.
• 13:15
  Emily: And it's one less thing that you have to worry about in
• 13:18
  those first few months of school. Your future self will be
• 13:20
  so grateful when that new student shows up in mid October.
• 13:24
  Okay, Heidi, last task, let's hear it.
• 13:27
  Heidi: Well, our fifth and final back to school task for May is
• 13:30
  to create a first day quick win before you leave for summer. I
• 13:36
  think this is my favorite tip, because it addresses that back
• 13:39
  to school anxiety that sneaks up on even the most experienced
• 13:43
  teachers. You know, when the nightmares start and it's the
• 13:46
  first day of school and you have nothing prepared, or you're
• 13:49
  trapped somewhere, you can't get where you need to be. This
• 13:51
  strategy is the antidote to that anxiety.
• 13:54
  Emily: The idea is simple but powerful. Just prepare one key
• 13:58
  element of your first day back now, while you're still in
• 14:01
  teacher mode. A great option is to prepare your first morning
• 14:05
  arrival task, just something students can start working on
• 14:08
  immediately when they walk in.
• 14:09
  Heidi: We love pattern blocks or Legos for your first day arrival
• 14:13
  activity. And we have got a couple of resources that you can
• 14:16
  use just for this. So we will link to that in the show notes.
• 14:19
  Emily: You could also prep a favorite read aloud and the
• 14:22
  activity that goes with it, or another activity you know you'll
• 14:25
  want to do that first day.
• 14:27
  Heidi: Just having one piece fully ready gives you an
• 14:29
  incredible peace of mind. When that mid July panic starts to
• 14:34
  creep in, you can remind yourself, Hey, I've already
• 14:36
  started. I am not starting from zero.
• 14:38
  Emily: Whatever you choose, make it something that will truly
• 14:41
  help that first day run more smoothly. This is also a great
• 14:44
  time to jot down any special first day traditions you want to
• 14:47
  continue, or new ones you want to try. Sometimes those details
• 14:50
  fade over the summer and we only remember them the night before
• 14:53
  school starts.
• 14:55
  Heidi: That's the worst, you're like, I was gonna do that now,
• 14:57
  yep, no time. So stop that now and get your list going. Setting
• 15:03
  up this quick first day win takes minimal effort now, but
• 15:06
  provides maximum relief later. It's like sending a little gift
• 15:10
  to your future, maybe slightly panicked, August self. We love
• 15:15
  helping future you.
• 15:17
  Emily: So let's recap our five smart tasks for May back to
• 15:21
  school prep. Number one, save some of your old supplies so
• 15:24
  that you can use them when you're teaching proper
• 15:26
  procedures. Number two, create a three bin system to organize
• 15:31
  your summer working materials, your classroom setup or need
• 15:35
  first essentials and the first week of school must haves.
• 15:40
  Number three, prep per minute displays now so they're ready to
• 15:43
  hang in August. Number four, create a new student SOP while
• 15:47
  your routines are fresh in your mind. And number five, set up a
• 15:51
  first day quick win that gives your future self a head start.
• 15:55
  Heidi: None of these strategies should take more than an hour at
• 15:57
  the most, but together, they'll save you so many hours of stress
• 16:01
  and preparation in August, and if you want more help planning
• 16:04
  for next year, don't forget to check out our free end of year
• 16:07
  roadmap. It's a digital planning tool that helps you reflect on
• 16:11
  what worked this year, what didn't, and what you want to
• 16:13
  change for next year.
• 16:14
  Emily: It's completely free, and you can access it through the
• 16:17
  link in our show notes. You can fill it all out at once, or
• 16:20
  little by little as you have time.
• 16:21
  Heidi: But in the meantime, we would love to hear which of
• 16:24
  these five tasks you are going to try. Come join the
• 16:27
  conversation in our Teacher Approved Facebook group.
• 16:30
  Emily: Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where
• 16:33
  we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters
• 16:36
  and simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is
• 16:40
  create welcome back goodie bags for your teacher teammates. Tell
• 16:44
  us about this, Heidi.
• 16:45
  Heidi: We all know that first day back for teachers can be
• 16:48
  overwhelming. There's so much to do and so little time, and
• 16:51
  you're so tired. A small gesture that can make a big difference
• 16:54
  is preparing little welcome back treats for your grade level team
• 16:57
  or teaching partners.
• 16:59
  Emily: These don't have to be elaborate or expensive, a simple
• 17:01
  paper bag with a few thoughtful items can be such a morale
• 17:04
  booster when you're all rushing around trying to get classrooms
• 17:07
  ready.
• 17:08
  Heidi: Some things you might want to include are chapstick,
• 17:11
  colorful sticky notes, a pack of markers, or some chocolate.
• 17:15
  Because, you know, chocolate does make everything better.
• 17:19
  Emily: I love adding a small moisturizing hand sanitizer or
• 17:22
  lotion, especially since teachers hands take such a
• 17:25
  beating during those first weeks back. And if you can find them
• 17:28
  on sale now, it's so much cheaper than buying them in
• 17:30
  August, when school supplies are at premium prices.
• 17:34
  Heidi: The key is to make these now while you have a little
• 17:36
  time, and then just tuck them away with your first week bin
• 17:39
  that we talked about earlier. You can even add a simple
• 17:42
  handwritten note saying how excited you are to work together
• 17:45
  this year. But just a warning, if you add chocolate, make sure
• 17:48
  to keep this bin someplace cool and not in the trunk of your
• 17:51
  car.
• 17:52
  Emily: For sure. What makes this tip special is that it's
• 17:55
  focusing on teacher to teacher connections. We spend so much
• 17:59
  time preparing for our students, but our colleagues are such an
• 18:01
  important part of our daily support system.
• 18:03
  Heidi: Start planning these little welcome bags now when
• 18:06
  you're not in a rush and you'll be everyone's favorite teammate
• 18:09
  when you hand them out during the first hectic work day. And
• 18:12
  you know, don't we all want that a little bit?
• 18:15
  Emily: I always want to be the favorite.
• 18:18
  Heidi: We are not above bribery here. But really it's a simple
• 18:23
  gesture that just shows that we are all in this together.
• 18:24
  All right, to wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving
• 18:24
  extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra
• 18:28
  credit?
• 18:28
  Emily: I'm giving extra credit to the new peanut butter flavor
• 18:35
  of my favorite Barebells protein bars. So I think I've given
• 18:39
  extra credit to Barebells before. Barebells are far and
• 18:42
  away the yummiest protein bars I've ever tasted, and the peanut
• 18:45
  butter flavor is next level. It quickly shot to my favorite
• 18:49
  flavor, and it's not too peanut buttery, which I think is a good
• 18:54
  thing. It's not like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.
• 18:57
  Heidi: Yeah, that would be a lot.
• 18:58
  Emily: But in a good way.
• 18:59
  Heidi: Maybe I'll have to come steal one and see how I like it.
• 19:01
  Emily: Yes, you should. What are you giving extra credit to,
• 19:04
  Heidi?
• 19:05
  Heidi: Well, I'm giving extra credit to the celebrity British
• 19:08
  Bake Off on the Roku channel. So they've done this for years. I
• 19:13
  think ever since Great British Bake Off started, they would do
• 19:16
  some celebrity episodes as a fundraiser for red no state. But
• 19:22
  we just never got it here in the US. PBS didn't show up. It
• 19:26
  didn't show up on Netflix. So I've seen some episodes on
• 19:28
  YouTube, but otherwise it's just really hit or miss what you
• 19:30
  could see. But Roku started showing it, and Roku is free,
• 19:35
  but does have ads. But I didn't think the ads were too bad. It
• 19:38
  was just maybe one mid episode ad, and it was just really fun
• 19:42
  to see, you know, people who can't bake try to do like the
• 19:46
  similar activities that they do in a regular Bake Off episode.
• 19:50
  People have no idea what they're doing, so which is almost more
• 19:53
  fun. Do I know all of the celebrities? I do not.
• 19:57
  Emily: No, a lot of them are very Britain specific
• 20:01
  celebrities.
• 20:02
  Heidi: But they're still very entertaining. So if you want
• 20:05
  something fun and light to get you through these last few
• 20:07
  months of school, definitely check out the celebrity British
• 20:11
  Bake Off episodes.
• 20:12
  Emily: And when you told me about this, I immediately turned
• 20:14
  it on and found the James McAvoy episode that I have wanted to
• 20:18
  watch for like, what, wasn't that like 2020, or 2021? So I
• 20:22
  finally got to watch it, no spoilers, but he did an
• 20:26
  excellent job.
• 20:27
  Heidi: He really did. I was surprised at how well he did at
• 20:29
  baking.
• 20:30
  Emily: I know, he took it seriously, which I think is fun,
• 20:32
  because a lot of times on here, some of them take it super
• 20:35
  seriously, and some are just there to be silly. And I like it
• 20:39
  when they try really hard, and then if they fail, it's still
• 20:41
  great, but I just wanted them to have tried hard before they
• 20:44
  fail.
• 20:46
  Heidi: It's kind of like, if you've ever seen people around
• 20:48
  the Olympics being like, they should always just have one
• 20:50
  regular person in an Olympic event, you can really appreciate
• 20:54
  how talented the Olympians are. This is kind of that, if you've
• 20:58
  watched the regular Bake Off episodes.
• 21:00
  Emily: Yes, exactly. Well, that's it for today's episode.
• 21:04
  Try out some of these five smart ways to prep for back to school
• 21:07
  this May.
• 21:07
  Heidi: And don't forget our Teacher Approved tip to create
• 21:11
  those welcome back goody bags for your teaching teammates.
• 21:13
  It's such a simple way to start the year with positivity and
• 21:16
  connection.
• 21:19
  We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
• 21:23
  Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
• 21:27
  or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
• 21:29
  episode.
• 21:29
  Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
• 21:32
  Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
• 21:36
  Bye for now.
• 21:36
  Emily: Bye.