Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 266. 7 Low-Effort Ways to Get Ahead, Whenever You Feel Like It

Transcript

266. 7 Low-Effort Ways to Get Ahead, Whenever You Feel Like It · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

• 0:01
  Heidi: This is episode 266 of Teacher Approved.
• 0:06
  You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
• 0:08
  educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
• 0:12
  Heidi.
• 0:13
  Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
• 0:16
  Window, where we give research-based and
• 0:18
  teacher-approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and
• 0:21
  more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources
• 0:25
  from 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.
• 0:35
  Emily: Hey there. Thank you for joining us today. In today's
• 0:39
  episode, we are sharing seven small get ahead tasks that you
• 0:43
  can knock out in 10 minutes each, plus we've got a
• 0:46
  teacher-approved tip for setting up your email signature.
• 0:50
  Heidi: But first, let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we
• 0:53
  share a quick win that you can try right away. Emily, what's
• 0:55
  our suggestion this week?
• 0:57
  Emily: Okay, this week set up one small area of your home as a
• 1:01
  summer command center, just a spot, it can even just be a
• 1:04
  basket or a shelf or part of your desk, for any school stuff
• 1:09
  that comes up over the summer, because stuff will come up even
• 1:12
  when you're trying not to think about it. You know, a binder you
• 1:15
  brought home or a sticky note with an idea you don't want to
• 1:18
  lose or something you couldn't resist at the school supply
• 1:23
  aisle.
• 1:24
  Heidi: That you'll want to know where it is when August hits.
• 1:27
  Emily: Yes.
• 1:27
  Heidi: Or you know, even stuff for your own kids' schooling,
• 1:29
  because school's gonna start sending paper soon.
• 1:32
  Emily: Yep, there's always so much kids' stuff, and right now
• 1:35
  those things are probably scattered. So designate a home
• 1:38
  base for your school stuff. That way when you're finally ready to
• 1:42
  think about school again, you won't have to spend the first 20
• 1:44
  minutes hunting all the things down.
• 1:47
  Heidi: And if you like this idea or anything else we share here
• 1:50
  on the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five-star
• 1:53
  rating and review? Ratings and reviews are one way that new
• 1:56
  listeners can find us, so every one really does help.
• 1:59
  If you have been here for very long, you know that we have a
• 2:02
  two-part recipe for summer success that we call recovery
• 2:06
  and readiness. We love it so much. We've talked about it
• 2:10
  every summer, going all the way back to 2022.
• 2:13
  Emily: Hey, it's a good idea, but we need that clip from
• 2:17
  Brooklyn Nine-Nine where Boyle says, 'You've told us this story
• 2:20
  many times,' and Captain Holt shouts, 'And you'll hear it
• 2:23
  again!'
• 2:25
  Heidi: Yes, i put my finger up to enunciate here, and we are
• 2:30
  going to do it again, because it's that important. We are on a
• 2:33
  mission to make teacher summers as incredible as possible, and
• 2:37
  that starts with recovery and readiness. You need recovery to
• 2:41
  refill your tank after a draining school year, and you
• 2:44
  need readiness, so you don't drain it again the second you're
• 2:46
  back in the classroom.
• 2:47
  Emily: So, in the recent episode, episode 262, we walked
• 2:50
  you through how to plan for summer recovery, and in episode
• 2:53
  263 we replayed our episode about setting boundaries around
• 2:57
  work time. So today, let's look at the readiness piece of
• 3:00
  recovery and readiness.
• 3:02
  Heidi: And this is not the dive into your curriculum map kind of
• 3:05
  readiness, that's too much. Instead, we've got simple tasks
• 3:09
  that get the productivity ball rolling without requiring a
• 3:12
  full-time commitment.
• 3:13
  Emily: And bonus, they can all be done in 10 minutes or less.
• 3:17
  Part of why back to school prep feels so heavy is that prep
• 3:20
  comes in two very different sizes, and we tend to lump them
• 3:23
  together. The big heavy stuff is things like rethinking your
• 3:27
  whole reading block or overhauling your classroom
• 3:30
  management plan. That work is real, and it's important, but
• 3:34
  you don't have to deal with that in June.
• 3:36
  Heidi: And then the other tasks, the small light stuff is
• 3:40
  different. There are the little decisions that don't take much
• 3:43
  mental energy on their own, but if you leave all of them for the
• 3:47
  last week before school, they just kind of pile up into one
• 3:50
  giant stressful heap.
• 3:52
  Emily: And that's what these seven tasks are. The small light
• 3:55
  stuff pulled out of the heap and spread across the summer. You do
• 3:59
  them whenever the mood strikes.
• 4:01
  Heidi: You know what, and if the mood never strikes, that's fine
• 4:03
  too. Think of this like a menu, not a checklist. Pick the ones
• 4:07
  that sound appealing, and you can just ignore the rest.
• 4:09
  Okay, let's get started. Number one is to decide what you're
• 4:13
  wearing on the first day.
• 4:15
  Emily: And it's a little crazy that we're starting with this
• 4:18
  one, but we like to live on the edge.
• 4:21
  Heidi: Yeah, we're adrenaline junkies around here, and doing
• 4:24
  this task now has two big benefits. The first is
• 4:27
  practical: it removes a decision before the stress hits, because
• 4:31
  if you don't do this now, picking a first day outfit is
• 4:34
  going to drop to the bottom of your to-do list.
• 4:37
  Emily: Yeah, and then that's how you end up standing in front of
• 4:39
  your closet the night before school, or heaven forbid, the
• 4:42
  morning of the first day of school, stressed, trying on
• 4:46
  clothes, trying to figure out what you're going to wear, and
• 4:48
  just praying that you can find something that isn't wrinkled.
• 4:51
  Heidi: The second benefit of doing this right now is more
• 4:53
  fun, because doing this now gives you this little rush of
• 4:57
  being ahead. Even if you don't get anything else done to prep
• 5:01
  for school this summer, you still get to say my first day
• 5:04
  outfit is picked out and hanging up in the back of my closet, all
• 5:08
  ready to go.
• 5:09
  Emily: And that sentence, it will feel amazing in August, but
• 5:13
  it is even more of a rush when you get to say it in June. I'm
• 5:15
  not gonna lie, I thrive on this kind of a rush, it's my favorite
• 5:19
  kind of getting ready is to be super ready, like so far in
• 5:23
  advance. I'm way less motivated to do it if it's like only a
• 5:26
  week away. So do it super early, because even though it's such a
• 5:30
  small thing, it makes you feel like you've got it together.
• 5:33
  Heidi: And you know what, this genuinely is a 10 minute task.
• 5:36
  Just pull out three outfits from your closet, try them on, pick
• 5:39
  the one that you can imagine, you know, walking around for six
• 5:42
  hours, 'cause you're not gonna get a break, and then hang it
• 5:45
  somewhere where you can get to it, and you'll remember where it
• 5:47
  is, so you're ready to go.
• 5:48
  Emily: And if you're someone who likes to buy a new outfit for
• 5:51
  the first day, more power to you. Go ahead and start shopping
• 5:54
  now, so that you can get that task off your list as soon as
• 5:56
  possible.
• 5:57
  Heidi: Okay, our second 10 minute task is to pick your
• 6:00
  first read aloud of the year, and you can decide, does this
• 6:03
  mean your first classroom chapter book read aloud or a
• 6:06
  picture book for the actual first day of school, or you
• 6:09
  know, pick both if you want to do that.
• 6:11
  Emily: Start by scanning your bookshelf and checking the
• 6:13
  library app to see what sounds good. If you need a copy, put a
• 6:17
  hold on it or order it now, so it shows up with plenty of time.
• 6:20
  Heidi: Read alouds are some of the best community building that
• 6:23
  you will do all year, and they couldn't be simpler or more
• 6:26
  enjoyable. I think they might be my favorite part of teaching.
• 6:30
  Emily: Absolutely, and I just want to say, your kids are never
• 6:33
  too old to be read to. Like, I think there's value even in
• 6:36
  secondary teachers reading a novel out loud to their
• 6:39
  students, so prioritize this read aloud time. For us, it's
• 6:43
  the highlight of the day. We loved it so much, we dedicated
• 6:46
  our second ever podcast to it.
• 6:49
  Heidi: Way back then, back when we thought we would have an
• 6:52
  academic focused podcast.
• 6:54
  Emily: Yeah, it's it's grown since then.
• 6:57
  Heidi: Who knew we liked classroom management so much?
• 7:00
  Emily: We should have known, actually.
• 7:03
  Heidi: But picking that first title now means it's one less
• 7:06
  thing to worry about, and this is something that feels kind of
• 7:09
  fun, definitely not a chore.
• 7:10
  Emily: Yeah, choosing books is just never going to be
• 7:13
  unpleasant. Okay, our third 10 minute task is to pick your
• 7:17
  morning music playlist for the year.
• 7:19
  Heidi: Don't underestimate the power of a good playlist to set
• 7:22
  the mood. You can make a playlist out of songs that you
• 7:25
  already love, or use this as an opportunity to find something
• 7:29
  that somebody's already made, and you can just save it to your
• 7:32
  account.
• 7:32
  Emily: If you've never done morning music before, this is a
• 7:35
  chance to add a little spark to your daily routine in a way that
• 7:37
  doesn't amp the kids up. What you're going for is across the
• 7:41
  threshold moment, so when kids walk into your room, there
• 7:44
  should be a feeling that things are different in here than they
• 7:47
  were out in the hallway. Music is the easiest way to create
• 7:50
  that feeling, and it signals that you've arrived, you're
• 7:54
  somewhere calm and welcoming now. The day is starting, and
• 7:56
  you know what to expect.
• 7:58
  Heidi: Just a couple of practical notes: if this is new
• 8:00
  to you, you don't need a long playlist. You just need enough
• 8:03
  to cover arrival time, so maybe 15 or 20 minutes of music, and
• 8:07
  think about what you want that music to do. Morning music
• 8:11
  probably shouldn't be a dance party, not trying to get kids
• 8:13
  energized and loud right before you want them to settle.
• 8:16
  Emily: Yeah, the goal is usually the opposite, right? Something
• 8:19
  pleasant and fairly mellow, that takes the edge off the morning,
• 8:22
  so obviously instrumental works well, and quiet familiar pop at
• 8:27
  a low volume. You want kids humming but not bouncing off the
• 8:31
  walls.
• 8:32
  Heidi: And if making a playlist from scratch sounds like more
• 8:35
  than 10 minutes, we have some teacher-approved playlists on
• 8:38
  Spotify that you can use. There is a kid-friendly pop one, if
• 8:42
  you want a little more energy, although you might want to save
• 8:44
  that for, you know, your cleanup at the end of the day.
• 8:46
  Emily: Yes.
• 8:47
  Heidi: We also have a calming piano one, if you want more of a
• 8:50
  settled vibe, and we will link to those in the show notes.
• 8:54
  Emily: Okay, number four is to write your future you page. This
• 8:58
  one is a little different from the others, it's less of a task
• 9:00
  and more of a reflection.
• 9:03
  Heidi: But don't skip over it, because it's not urgent right
• 9:05
  now. In summer, you have perspective. You're rested
• 9:09
  enough to know what matters, but school year you, especially in
• 9:13
  those first few overwhelming weeks, loses that perspective
• 9:17
  fast.
• 9:18
  Emily: Yeah, it gets crazy. So, write it down now, while you can
• 9:21
  still see clearly, and think about what you hope you remember
• 9:25
  when school starts, the things that helped you this summer that
• 9:28
  you want to carry forward, like getting outside or moving your
• 9:31
  body, or actually resting when you're tired, instead of pushing
• 9:35
  through all the time.
• 9:36
  Heidi: And then write down what's important to remember
• 9:38
  when things start to feel overwhelming. That might be
• 9:41
  permission like, I don't need to create every resource myself, or
• 9:45
  it might be a reminder like, my job is important, but it's not
• 9:48
  my entire identity.
• 9:50
  Emily: It's using the perspective summer gives you to
• 9:52
  make the start of the year a little gentler on yourself.
• 9:55
  Future you will be so grateful that summer you took 10 minutes
• 10:00
  to write it down.
• 10:01
  Heidi: But if you do this, just make sure to write it somewhere
• 10:03
  where you will actually see it again. Writing it on a napkin
• 10:07
  that you promptly lose is not super helpful, so put it in the
• 10:11
  front of your planner, or take a photo of it and make it the lock
• 10:13
  screen on your phone for the first few weeks, or tape it
• 10:17
  inside the cabinet that you open every day.
• 10:19
  Emily: The whole power of this is the rereading. In the frantic
• 10:22
  pace of back to school season, you need this note front and
• 10:25
  center in order for it to do its job. So decide now where it's
• 10:28
  going to live.
• 10:29
  Heidi: And for club members, there is a page for exactly this
• 10:33
  in the Tired Teacher Planner, which is your club resource for
• 10:36
  June. It's already set up with prompts, so if you would rather
• 10:39
  not start from a blank page, it's waiting for you there. You
• 10:42
  can print it and write on it by hand, or type write in it, and
• 10:46
  then print it if that's your preference.
• 10:47
  Emily: Yeah, I always prefer to type if I have the chance. Okay,
• 10:51
  our fifth task is to update your teacher emergency kit. This is
• 10:54
  the little stash of personal essentials that you keep in your
• 10:57
  desk or classroom cupboard, so you can manage any human moments
• 11:01
  that get in the way of being a teacher.
• 11:03
  Heidi: Every teacher needs one of these, and most of us have
• 11:06
  learned that the hard way. You forget the advil one time, then
• 11:10
  you make sure you are always stalked after that.
• 11:13
  Emily: Yeah, if you're allowed to have pain reliever in your
• 11:15
  room, definitely grab that. Also, think of things like lip
• 11:18
  balm or hand lotion, nail clippers, a few protein bars, or
• 11:24
  crackers, maybe some electrolyte packets.
• 11:28
  Heidi: Oh yeah, don't forget the throat lozenges for your poor
• 11:31
  overused voice. Extra hair ties, contact solutions if you wear
• 11:35
  contacts. That one got me several times. Mints or gum,
• 11:39
  soft tissues instead of the cheap scratchy ones, make a
• 11:42
  list, so you can make sure you get it all.
• 11:45
  Emily: Yeah, the 10 minute version of this task is the
• 11:47
  taking inventory part, so look at what you've got, see what ran
• 11:51
  out last year, and make a list of what to restock. You don't
• 11:54
  have to go shopping right now, you just need the list.
• 11:56
  Heidi: We talked about this emergency kit back in episode
• 11:59
  209 and there is a page for it in the back to school readiness
• 12:04
  checklists with more than 30 suggestions already on it. It's
• 12:08
  digital, so you can edit it to just the things you use.
• 12:12
  Emily: And the back to school readiness checklists, if you are
• 12:14
  a club member, you can get that with your download credits, or
• 12:16
  if you're an annual member, you can download it anytime. And
• 12:20
  these things that we're talking about seem really small, because
• 12:23
  they are small, but when you're in the thick of those first few
• 12:26
  weeks, having this little kit to take care of your needs, it
• 12:30
  makes you feel noticeably more prepared.
• 12:33
  Heidi: And if you've got a teacher friend or teammates that
• 12:36
  you like, consider adding some care items to their survival
• 12:40
  kits as a thoughtful back to school gift. It's a way to show
• 12:43
  that you're looking out for them, even when you can't be
• 12:45
  there to take care of them.
• 12:47
  Emily: Okay, our next task is to save five favorite community
• 12:51
  building activities to a week one folder. So search Pinterest,
• 12:55
  search your notes app, listen to some of our back to school
• 12:58
  podcast episodes. You can look through social media and your
• 13:02
  camera roll for whatever you've saved over the years, and just
• 13:05
  pick five of these ideas that you love and put them all in one
• 13:08
  folder or a note, so that they're ready to grab.
• 13:11
  Heidi: And this might be the most useful task on this list,
• 13:15
  because the success of your school year hinges on community
• 13:18
  building. Student cooperation depends on whether kids are
• 13:21
  willing to cooperate with your vision, and they're much more
• 13:25
  willing when they feel like their teacher likes them and
• 13:27
  that they matter in the classroom. So, having five good
• 13:31
  activities ready to go during the first week is really worth a
• 13:34
  lot.
• 13:35
  Emily: And remember, community building is not just filling
• 13:38
  time, it really is the foundation of your year, so when
• 13:41
  you're looking for your five ideas, try to pick a range, not
• 13:44
  five versions of the same thing. So maybe one quick icebreaker,
• 13:48
  something that gets kids moving, one that's calmer or
• 13:52
  partner-based, one full class activity, and one you can come
• 13:56
  back to and repeat throughout the year.
• 13:59
  Heidi: I found that something that works well as a morning
• 14:02
  meeting game is perfect for community building in the first
• 14:05
  week, and then you can just use it in morning meeting all year
• 14:07
  long. And doing this now means you can just browse calmly and
• 14:11
  pick good ideas instead of having to make do with whatever
• 14:14
  comes up first. You got time, pick the good stuff.
• 14:16
  Emily: Yeah, and even get some of the light prep out of the way
• 14:19
  early. If you want to do a team building STEM activity, maybe
• 14:23
  you can package supplies in bags while you watch TV. We love a TV
• 14:26
  task. It's no stress and the feeling of productivity without
• 14:30
  having to get off your couch.
• 14:32
  Heidi: Really, it's my favorite kind of productivity. That
• 14:36
  brings us to our final 10 minute task. Pick your one word theme
• 14:40
  for the year. Sit down with your coffee and jot down words that
• 14:43
  resonate with how you want next year to feel or how you want to
• 14:47
  show up.
• 14:48
  Emily: We've covered the one word theme idea before, back in
• 14:51
  episodes 27 and 86 so this isn't new for longtime listeners, but
• 14:55
  it's worth revisiting because it's such a simple tool. It's a
• 14:58
  nice exercise but the benefit comes when you use your word as
• 15:02
  a filter. So if your theme for the year is joyful, it reminds
• 15:05
  you to prioritize the kinds of lessons that you enjoy teaching.
• 15:10
  If your word is relaxed, it tells you to prioritize the
• 15:14
  systems that help your day move smoothly.
• 15:17
  Heidi: In my, like, third or fourth year of teaching, I chose
• 15:20
  the word present, because when I thought back to my memories of
• 15:24
  the previous year, most of my memories were of me looking down
• 15:27
  at my desk or at my computer screen instead of what was
• 15:30
  happening with my students. I was just so busy planning and
• 15:34
  prepping and worrying about the next thing, I was missing what
• 15:37
  it actually meant to be present and with my students.
• 15:41
  Emily: Well, I mean, it's easy to do because there's so much
• 15:44
  going on in a school day, and so you can just easily lose sight
• 15:47
  of what matters, so your word, your theme becomes your filter
• 15:52
  that helps you stay focused on your priorities.
• 15:55
  Heidi: Full transparency, I have to admit, I had very mixed
• 15:58
  success with staying present. But at least the sticky note on
• 16:02
  my computer reminded me to just walk away sometimes, just let it
• 16:07
  go for now.
• 16:07
  Emily: Yeah, because unfortunately having a one-word
• 16:10
  theme isn't just magic that means you will nail it every
• 16:13
  day, but even just having the word on a sticky note doing its
• 16:18
  job to kind of nudge you back on track more often than you would
• 16:22
  have been, that's that's a win.
• 16:24
  Heidi: So those are our seven minute tasks. Pick your first
• 16:28
  day outfit, pick your first read aloud, make your morning
• 16:31
  playlist, write your future you page, update your emergency kit,
• 16:35
  save five community building activities, and pick your one
• 16:38
  word theme.
• 16:40
  Emily: And if this kind of low pressure high payoff approach to
• 16:43
  getting ahead is appealing, we want to tell you about
• 16:46
  something. It's basically this episode, but bigger, and that is
• 16:49
  our upcoming summit.
• 16:51
  Heidi: Teacher Summer Talks is four days of short focus
• 16:55
  sessions designed to help you get ready for the new year
• 16:58
  without the overwhelm. It's the same energy as these 10 minute
• 17:01
  tasks, just more of it, and more guided.
• 17:04
  Emily: And if you've been to one of our teacher talks events
• 17:08
  before, you know that we like to have a lot of fun. We always
• 17:11
  have a fun theme, and I'll give you a little hint that this year
• 17:16
  is giving summer camp, parent trap vibes. It's going to be a
• 17:23
  real good time. You will not want to miss it. And the tickets
• 17:26
  are free, and they are available on July 1.
• 17:30
  Heidi: We will have all the details in the show notes. And
• 17:33
  if the seven tasks today felt good, teacher summer talks is
• 17:37
  the next natural step.
• 17:39
  Emily: Now, for our teacher-approved tip of the
• 17:41
  week, where we share an actionable tip to help you
• 17:44
  elevate what matters and simplify the rest. This week's
• 17:46
  teacher-approved tip is update your email signature. What do
• 17:50
  you got in mind, Heidi?
• 17:51
  Heidi: Well, okay, if you don't know, your email signature is
• 17:54
  that little block of text that automatically shows up at the
• 17:58
  bottom of your emails, and it can be a helpful tool in your
• 18:01
  parent communication. Your signature should include your
• 18:04
  name and contact info, obviously, and your office hours
• 18:07
  if you have them. But you can also add your response policy,
• 18:11
  something like I usually respond within two days during the
• 18:14
  school week.
• 18:15
  Emily: And then that line manages parent expectations
• 18:18
  before they even become a problem. It will let the parents
• 18:21
  know you're not going to be answering emails at 10pm.
• 18:25
  Heidi: They still might hope you'll answer at 10pm but yes,
• 18:28
  at least you've told them in writing what is reasonable. But
• 18:32
  email signatures can be even more. You can include a photo, a
• 18:35
  little icon, or a short quote if you want some personality in
• 18:38
  there.
• 18:39
  Emily: And if you don't have a signature yet, or if you want to
• 18:41
  update yours. The nice part is you can design the whole thing
• 18:44
  in Canva for free, even with a free account. It's really easy
• 18:48
  to make yours cute, but still professional, or you know,
• 18:51
  whatever your vibe is.
• 18:52
  Heidi: And in the show notes, we will include a link to a YouTube
• 18:55
  video that walks you through how to set all of this up in Canva,
• 18:59
  and we will include a second link about Canva's new email
• 19:03
  templates.
• 19:04
  Emily: Yeah, I mean, bonus tip: if you want to get really ahead,
• 19:07
  those email templates mean you can draft some of the emails you
• 19:10
  already know you'll need, like your welcome email, your first
• 19:13
  day of school email, and you know, the standard reminder
• 19:16
  email that you send before every school holiday. But that's only
• 19:20
  if you're ready to start thinking about school tasks, no
• 19:22
  pressure.
• 19:23
  Heidi: That's very optional.
• 19:26
  To you wrap up the show we're sharing what we're giving extra
• 19:28
  credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra credit?
• 19:30
  Emily: My extra credit goes to Hulken bags.
• 19:34
  Heidi: They have the worst name.
• 19:35
  Emily: I know, I know, but I mean they work hard like the
• 19:39
  Hulk, I don't know. So they are these collapsible, foldable bags
• 19:43
  that have like a sturdy base that has wheels, and then you
• 19:48
  can get the sides open, and they're thick, easy to wipe off
• 19:52
  material, but it, it looks kind of nice, it's a nice looking
• 19:57
  bag, and then it has various kinds of handles on it, so you
• 20:01
  can carry it in lots of different ways. You can do it
• 20:05
  right next to you, you can pull it behind you with the longer
• 20:10
  one, and the thing I love about these is you can fit so much
• 20:15
  stuff in them. They're so handy, like I needed to haul in like
• 20:19
  four big boxes of nothing but cake, little bunt cake things
• 20:24
  for a PTA meeting, and I could get them all in that bag, just
• 20:28
  barely, but I could. So they're just so handy to have.
• 20:31
  So I have the large one, and let me tell you, it is large, like I
• 20:37
  thought, oh, it's okay if I don't totally fill it up. No,
• 20:40
  this should be called Extra Large. It is so big. So then I
• 20:43
  got a medium for Christmas, because that's probably more
• 20:46
  what you're expecting with a large. So I would say the medium
• 20:50
  is more versatile, but it is really nice to have the Extra
• 20:53
  Large one.
• 20:54
  So I will say, though, Costco did come up with a knockoff, I
• 20:58
  think it's the Clever Me brand, which I have their collapsible
• 21:01
  laundry baskets that I have given extra credit to before, so
• 21:04
  I know they're a good company, and I did see somebody that I
• 21:07
  trust compare the two, and it stacked up pretty well. It was
• 21:12
  not as sturdy, like the wheels weren't as heavy duty as the
• 21:17
  Hulken bags, but they're like $40, they're way cheaper.
• 21:21
  Heidi: Oh, wow.
• 21:21
  Emily: So, but they only have one size, and it's like between
• 21:25
  the medium and the large sizes of the Holken.
• 21:29
  Heidi: I bet they come out with more sizes soon, though.
• 21:31
  Emily: Yeah, they might. They totally might. So, I did notice
• 21:34
  on Costco's website that there were quite a few reviews about
• 21:40
  the wheels not holding up, like after a few months. But there
• 21:43
  were plenty of people who said it was great, so it could be
• 21:47
  something worth looking into, but also, if you see a deal on a
• 21:50
  Hulken bag, might be worth just upgrading if you're gonna use
• 21:53
  them forever. So I'll like to both.
• 21:56
  Heidi: It'd be so nice to have that hauling stuff back and
• 21:58
  forth from school all summer.
• 21:59
  Emily: I know, especially that really big one. Well, honestly,
• 22:02
  even both, I have frequently had that thought of like, I would
• 22:05
  have loved these when I was hauling things in and out of the
• 22:08
  classroom, or schlepping, as the Hulken company would say, that
• 22:11
  these bags are made for schlepping.
• 22:15
  Heidi: I love it.
• 22:16
  Emily: What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
• 22:18
  Heidi: Okay, well, my extra credit goes to Jury Duty
• 22:21
  Corporate Retreat, but the bonus episodes.
• 22:24
  Emily: Because you already gave extra credit to the series,
• 22:26
  right? I didn't know there were bonus episodes.
• 22:29
  Heidi: I didn't either! This is such a fun little surprise. So,
• 22:32
  okay, to back up. Years, like, 2022 Jury Duty comes out, and
• 22:37
  it's a hidden camera show, kind of like, but everyone's an
• 22:40
  actor, except for one guy who thinks he's part of this
• 22:44
  documentary about being on a jury. And all this crazy, insane
• 22:48
  stuff happens, and everyone's like, Oh my gosh, that was
• 22:52
  hilarious, too bad they can never do it again, because now
• 22:54
  everyone knows. Well, they did it again, except now it's not a
• 22:58
  jury duty, they did it at a corporate retreat, and I think I
• 23:01
  like this one even better. I love jury duty, but corporate
• 23:04
  retreat...
• 23:04
  Emily: I know, corporate retreat, something about this,
• 23:07
  the hero, I mean, that's what they call them, that's the
• 23:10
  person who doesn't know that it's all fake. I loved the guy
• 23:14
  in the first year, but he was a little more reserved. This guy
• 23:16
  was in it. The guy at corporate retreat is like he's our, he's
• 23:20
  becoming, he's a temp, he just barely met these people, but
• 23:22
  he's becoming best friends with them by the end of the week,
• 23:25
  like he.. Oh my gosh, I just love him so, so much.
• 23:29
  Heidi: He was a gem of a human, and the nice thing is, they
• 23:33
  don't ever set him out to be the butt of the joke. All of the
• 23:36
  character actors are the butts of the joke.
• 23:38
  Emily: Yes.
• 23:38
  Heidi: So they call him the hero because he gets to be the hero
• 23:41
  and save the day, and it was just so fun. Anyway, so I
• 23:44
  finished up the last episode, and I was so sad. And then it
• 23:47
  just immediately starts into the next episode, so they show you,
• 23:51
  there's an episode about where they show how they did it, how
• 23:54
  they set it up, like how they built this whole camp, like all
• 23:58
  of the places the cameras were hidden, and how they
• 24:02
  communicated when things went off the rails. I could watch
• 24:06
  multiple episodes of that.
• 24:08
  Emily: Yes, give me all the behind the scenes. I want to see
• 24:10
  it all.
• 24:11
  Heidi: James Marsden was in jury duty, and he came back to host,
• 24:15
  like, a reunion special with the cast, so that was so fun.
• 24:18
  Emily: Oh I want to watch that!
• 24:20
  Heidi: They had the two hero guys sit down and have a talk
• 24:24
  about their experiences, and then they go through and they
• 24:28
  redo the corporate retreat episodes, but with the
• 24:32
  commentary from the people that were doing it, so that you'd be
• 24:35
  like, oh, well, in this moment you don't know what just
• 24:37
  happened, because over here we had to do this because you did
• 24:40
  this. And so it was so lovely.
• 24:43
  Emily: Are they watching it with the hero, so he's getting filled
• 24:47
  in too?
• 24:47
  Heidi: Yes, and they're asking, "Well, what were you thinking
• 24:49
  when she did this? And he's like, "I just thought that was
• 24:52
  weird, but this was, you know." So yes, highly recommend. 10 out
• 24:57
  of 10.
• 24:58
  Emily: I cannot get enough. I will absolutely be starting that
• 25:01
  tonight.
• 25:03
  Heidi: And the good news is I was on IMDB looking something
• 25:06
  up, and I saw that it looks like there's a season three coming
• 25:09
  out, so.
• 25:10
  Emily: Hopefully they've already been working on it sneakily, so
• 25:13
  that they could get another surprise in there.
• 25:15
  Heidi: Yeah, so this came out in 2026 and they filmed it in 2024.
• 25:20
  Emily: I know. I was kind of surprised how long it took just
• 25:22
  to edit it. I was like, seems like the setting up would be way
• 25:27
  more worse than the editing. But what do I know?
• 25:30
  Heidi: Well, that is it for today's episode. Pick one task
• 25:34
  off the list and enjoy how far ahead it makes you feel.
• 25:37
  Emily: And keep an eye out for the tickets for the Teacher
• 25:40
  Summer Talk Summit. They become available on July 1.
• 25:45
  Heidi: We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm
• 25:49
  Heidi.
• 25:50
  Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
• 25:53
  or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
• 25:56
  episode.
• 25:56
  Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
• 25:59
  Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
• 26:02
  Bye for now.
• 26:03
  Emily: Bye.