Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 293. 3 Things Smart Teachers Do Before December Hits

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293. 3 Things Smart Teachers Do Before December Hits · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

• 0:01
  Heidi: This is episode 293 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.
• 0:14
  Emily: And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
• 0:17
  Window, where we give research-based and
• 0:19
  teacher-approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and
• 0:22
  more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources
• 0:25
  from each episode at SecondStoryWindow.net.
• 0:29
  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
• 0:40
  episode, we are talking about how to use November to get ready
• 0:43
  for December, and we've got a simple read aloud idea that
• 0:46
  brings festive fun into your classroom.
• 0:49
  Heidi: But first, let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we
• 0:52
  share a quick win that you can try in your classroom right
• 0:54
  away. Emily, what is our suggestion for this week?
• 0:57
  Emily: Okay, this week add a fun prompt to your movement
• 1:00
  directions during transitions, so you can tell the kids to
• 1:04
  crawl like a cat to the carpet or tiptoe like a ballerina to
• 1:08
  turn in their paper. It's just a simple way to add a bit of spark
• 1:11
  to a stale routine.
• 1:13
  Heidi: And that little bit of spark is important because when
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  the kids are excited to do something, they are more likely
• 1:19
  to do it without causing trouble. So really, that's a win
• 1:21
  for everyone.
• 1:23
  Emily: Yeah, and once you're done this a few times, you can
• 1:25
  let students suggest ways to move, or you could even make
• 1:29
  choosing the movement style a class job or a privilege that
• 1:32
  students can earn. I kind of like the privilege one better
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  because I think it won't get old as fast as if it only happens
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  occasionally.
• 1:40
  Heidi: Yeah, that's true. Novelty has to stay novel in
• 1:42
  order for it to be engaging. But of course, anytime we are adding
• 1:46
  spark, we have to add an equal amount of structure. So in this
• 1:49
  case, it probably means setting your expectations before anyone
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  starts slithering across the floor. You might want to say
• 1:54
  something like, "If you show me that you can't crab walk quickly
• 1:58
  and quietly, everyone goes back to plain old walking."
• 2:01
  Emily: And plain old walking is so much less fun than crab
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  walking. So most kids will want to keep the privilege.
• 2:09
  Heidi: If you like this idea or anything else we share here on
• 2:11
  the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five star
• 2:14
  rating? Ratings and reviews are one way that new listeners find
• 2:17
  us. So each one really does help us out a lot.
• 2:21
  Emily: Unless this is your first time listening to us, you have
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  heard us talk about the seasons of the school year, and you also
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  know that those don't line up with the seasons of the
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  calendar. And some transitions between the seasons of the
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  school year happen so gradually that you might not notice things
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  have changed until you're on the other side.
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  Heidi: Yeah, this is especially true with back to school season.
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  It just kind of eases into the season of settling in, and you
• 2:47
  just roll along with it. You know how it goes. You're finally
• 2:50
  getting your feet under you. You're on top of planning and
• 2:53
  grading. You feel like a whole new person.
• 2:55
  Emily: Well, at least it feels that way some of the time. But
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  it's okay because in those seasons when things get off
• 3:01
  track, all it takes is a little nudge to course correct.
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  Heidi: And that's why we call settling in the golden days of
• 3:07
  the school year. You're getting to know this new group of kids.
• 3:11
  You are figuring out what makes them tick and what it takes to
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  keep your classroom running, and you might even start thinking,
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  "Okay, I've got this. We're in a good place."
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  Emily: Oh, but don't think that because then you will have
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  jinxed it. So don't don't think that because sometime between
• 3:27
  October and December something's going to change, and it won't be
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  like gracefully shifting into a higher gear on your bike. It
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  will be like someone jamming a stick into your spokes, and then
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  you're going to be flying over the handlebars.
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  Heidi: And plus everything you thought you had figured out
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  about running your class this year is gonna fly over the
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  handlebars right along with you.
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  Emily: It's so unfair that this could happen to a teacher as
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  lovely as you are.
• 3:53
  Heidi: And you definitely don't deserve it. So it might make you
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  wonder if you did something wrong, or maybe if your students
• 4:00
  are plotting a coup, but it is probably nothing you did, and
• 4:03
  it's probably not a coup. It's just that the energy this time
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  of year tips so hard towards spark that you are clinging to
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  structure for dear life.
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  Emily: And if hyper kids were not enough, this is also the
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  same moment the interruptions to your routine start to double.
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  Suddenly, there's all the holiday programs, class parties,
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  and extra assemblies to plan around.
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  Heidi: And not to mention all the extra work that is piling up
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  in your personal life. It is a lot.
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  Emily: It really is, and it's inescapable. Even if you don't
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  do a single thing differently, the outside world is moving into
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  festive overdrive, and so that energy will pour into your
• 4:40
  classroom whether you invite it or not.
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  Heidi: But there's some good news. You don't have to wait
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  until you're flying over the handlebars to get ready. One of
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  the ideas that we talk about in our book, Structure and Spark,
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  is that a lot of classroom disruptions arrive on a
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  predictable schedule.
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  Emily: And that's good news, you say?
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  Heidi: Well, it is. Kind of. Yes, we can't avoid it, but we
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  can prepare for it, and that is why the month of November is on
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  the calendar.
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  Emily: It was really nice of those calendar makers to set
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  aside this month for us.
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  Heidi: You know, it really was. So let's repay them by using
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  November to make thoughtful decisions before December's
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  demands take over, and we have got some tips to help you out.
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  Emily, why don't you tell us about the first one?
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  Emily: Well, the first thing you need to do is to sort the glass
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  from the plastic. And no, this is not about recycling.
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  Heidi: Although that is important.
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  Emily: Yes, but in this case, we're talking about everyone's
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  favorite pastime. I mean, I know I am a pro at this: juggling.
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  Heidi: I've often said that about you that nobody does it
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  better. And whether you know it or not, you are probably also an
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  expert at juggling. So for years, I have heard reference to
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  juggling with glass balls versus plastic. So I finally took the
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  time to look at the quote. This was reported on Twitter as
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  something author Nora Roberts said about work-life balance. So
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  she said, the key to juggling is to know that some of the balls
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  you have in the air are made of plastic and some are made of
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  glass. And if you drop a plastic ball, it bounces, no harm done.
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  If you drop a glass ball, it shatters.
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  So you have to know which balls are glass and which are plastic,
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  and prioritize catching the glass ones. The balls don't
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  represent family or work. There are separate balls for
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  everything that goes into each of those categories, like a
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  project deadline or a crazy sock day at school. If you're
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  juggling 55 balls, some are going to drop. So you have to
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  focus not on broad categories, but on the glass balls.
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  Emily: Ah, I love that quote. It gives such a clear visual.
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  Between now and winter break, something is going to drop.
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  Probably a lot of somethings. You are not going to get
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  everything done, and it is a lot easier to make peace with that
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  now than in the middle of December, when you can barely
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  remember what day it is, let alone what your priorities are.
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  But everything feels important.
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  Heidi: Yes. So let's put this juggling idea into practice.
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  Since this is a teacher podcast, we are going to focus just on
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  the teaching tasks. But next week we are tackling the other
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  half of December, everything waiting for you at home.
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  Emily: So thinking of your classroom, your first step is to
• 7:16
  start by figuring out what has to happen between now and winter
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  break. Then we're going to push a bit past December and think
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  about January. Ask yourself what needs to be ready for those
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  first few days back after winter break. Unless you want to spend
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  your time off juggling 15 new glass balls, this step is very
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  important.
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  Heidi: Now, by this point, your list is probably getting pretty
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  long, but don't let that overwhelm you, because the next
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  step is to figure out what you can drop. Start by finding the
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  tasks without any real consequences. Maybe you always
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  decorate your classroom in December with a fun penguin
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  theme. If you don't feel like you can give your energy to it
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  this year, drop it and just watch it bounce away.
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  Emily: When you've weeded out the obvious stuff, take a closer
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  look at what's left. Are there things that you can push until
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  later? Things you could simplify? Things you're only
• 8:09
  doing because someone else expects you to do them?
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  Heidi: These types of tasks are tricky because they might feel
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  urgent, but are they actually essential? If not, you can add
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  them to the plastic pile.
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  Emily: And don't let this sound like you have to cut out all the
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  fun. Just because a task might be plastic doesn't mean you have
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  to toss it. It just means that when it's December 18 and your
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  energy tank has dropped below empty, you don't have to make
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  another decision. You already know exactly what you can
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  release.
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  Heidi: Once you have sorted the glass from the plastic. Our
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  second tip is to turn that list into a plan. There's a
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  difference between having a to-do list and having a workable
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  plan. A list tells you what needs to happen. A plan accounts
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  for when and how you will make it happen.
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  Emily: And doing this in November is so important because
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  right now you still have options. So pull out your
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  calendar and decide when you'll do each important task instead
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  of assuming you'll find time later.
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  Heidi: Yeah, it's a lot easier to find time now than to have to
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  stitch together minutes from all of the scraps that are left in
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  your schedule. So if you want to catch up on all of your grading
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  so that you can come back from break and be ready to fill out
• 9:19
  term two report cards, pick the day to tackle it. Maybe you can
• 9:23
  get away with showing Muppets Christmas Carol to your class
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  one afternoon while you work on grades. We won't tell.
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  Emily: Hey, I was at my kid's school the other day, and as I
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  walked past the class, they were watching Pocahontas. So I don't
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  know what was happening in there. But I didn't tell on them
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  because teachers got to do what she's got to do. But maybe
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  you'll just take the stack home and then you can enter grades
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  while you're watching Muppets Christmas Carol from the comfort
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  of your couch. But either way, Muppets Christmas Carol is
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  essential. We've decided.
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  Heidi: Oh, absolutely. We need some cheeses for us meeces. But
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  whatever option you choose, write it down so you don't
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  forget, and so you don't let anything else steal that spot.
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  Emily: Another way to make a plan is to not make a plan, and
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  that is our third tip. By that we mean avoid filling every
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  available spot on your calendar. Leaving empty space gives you
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  room to move things around if necessary.
• 10:20
  Heidi: Right, because if you are unfortunately out with stomach
• 10:23
  flu for three days, the work won't magically disappear. And
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  in fact, as teachers well know, taking time off creates even
• 10:30
  more work.
• 10:32
  Emily: And this time of year, even good things can catch you
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  off guard. If you set aside Thursday night to lesson plan
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  and then realize that's the same night as your niece's dance
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  recital, how great would it feel to look at your calendar and see
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  you've got a good block of time available for lesson planning in
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  a couple days?
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  Heidi: So even though we are trying to be as strategic and
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  efficient as possible, our goal really is not strategic
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  efficiency. We're just trying to make enough decisions ahead of
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  time so that you can adjust when things go sideways.
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  Emily: Or if you want a catchier phrase, prepare for the
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  predictable so you have room for the unpredictable. The goal is
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  to make our time richer, not cram it full of more work.
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  Heidi: When you sort the glass from the plastic, turn your list
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  into a plan, and leave room for real life, think about where
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  this leaves you. What would it feel like to walk out the school
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  doors on the last day of school in December, knowing that you
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  have handled all of the essentials?
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  Emily: Not only did you stay on track with your lessons, but
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  your room is in order, and best of all, January's first few days
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  are ready to go. That way, you aren't spending your time off
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  work figuring out how to come back to work.
• 11:41
  Heidi: Of course, knowing you should prepare is one thing;
• 11:43
  sitting down and doing it is another. So that's why we are
• 11:46
  hosting Reclaim Your Winter Break, a free four-day challenge
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  happening November 15th to the 18th.
• 11:53
  Emily: In this challenge, we're going to work through all of
• 11:55
  this together, and by the end, you won't be holding a list of
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  good intentions. You will have a finished plan built around all
• 12:01
  the tasks you can't let drop.
• 12:04
  Heidi: Because it's happening in November, you still have plenty
• 12:07
  of time to make thoughtful choices instead of reacting to
• 12:10
  whatever feels urgent. You can sign up for free at
• 12:13
  secondstorywindow.net/winterbreak. Your most relaxing winter break
• 12:18
  starts right now.
• 12:21
  Emily: Now for our teacher-approved tip of the
• 12:23
  week, where we share an actionable tip to help you
• 12:25
  elevate what matters and simplify the rest. Heidi, what
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  do you got for us?
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  Heidi: Well, since we have been looking ahead today, let's look
• 12:32
  ahead from another angle. Instead of your school work,
• 12:35
  let's talk about some school fun. If you love reading aloud,
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  start rounding up seasonal picture books now. You can put
• 12:42
  holds at the library, borrow from other teachers, or check
• 12:45
  thrift stores. There are so many fun options that you could
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  easily read five different titles a day and still not get
• 12:52
  through them all.
• 12:54
  Emily: That's a good problem to have, of course. Once you have
• 12:57
  your title, steal a few minutes every day, or at least a couple
• 13:00
  times a week to read aloud one of your books. Even big kids
• 13:03
  benefit from hearing picture books, even if they don't want
• 13:06
  to admit it.
• 13:07
  Heidi: And in the spirit of dropping those plastic ball
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  tasks, keep this simple: just get a stack of books and set a
• 13:13
  class challenge to read them all before winter break. But if you
• 13:18
  can manage to juggle another plastic ball, you could make it
• 13:20
  a little more special. Emily, I think you did something like
• 13:23
  this with your class.
• 13:24
  Emily: Yeah, I used an advent calendar to get through all the
• 13:28
  read alouds I wanted to do in December. And so, one way you
• 13:31
  could do this that would probably be easy would be
• 13:34
  wrapping the books, and you can unwrap a book every day. But the
• 13:36
  way I did it was I printed out little book covers of each of
• 13:40
  the books that I loved and wanted to do, and I slid those
• 13:43
  inside of an advent calendar with pockets for the days. So
• 13:47
  each day we would just pull out, see which book was in the advent
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  calendar, and then read that book. It just was so much fun
• 13:54
  and a great way to add some magic just by reading some
• 13:58
  seasonal books.
• 14:00
  Heidi: And reading aloud this time of year has another bonus.
• 14:03
  It's a great energy reset. You can think of this as a low spark
• 14:08
  way to have some festive fun. So pull out a seasonal read aloud
• 14:12
  next time the room needs to feel a little more grounded and in
• 14:14
  control.
• 14:16
  Okay, to wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving
• 14:18
  extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets you extra
• 14:20
  credit?
• 14:21
  Emily: I'm giving extra credit to the new flavor of Barebell's
• 14:25
  protein bars, which are my favorite. That flavor is called
• 14:30
  Corn Crunch, and I know what you're thinking. I don't want to
• 14:34
  eat corn in my protein bar, but I am telling you, it is so good.
• 14:40
  The flavors remind me of like a buttery, salty caramel corn with
• 14:45
  chocolate. So it was a very good surprise, and I have switched
• 14:50
  it, I think, to my number one Barebell spot, which for a good
• 14:53
  year was held by peanut butter.
• 14:55
  Heidi: I know, that's a big switch for you.
• 14:57
  Emily: I know. Maybe it's because I'm sick of peanut
• 14:59
  butter.
• 15:02
  Heidi: And that sounds way better than what I was picturing
• 15:04
  with you know the corn kid. It has the juice.
• 15:09
  Emily: I've had the like mix of his little thing that's put into
• 15:12
  a song. You know, I've had that stuck in my head ever since I've
• 15:16
  been enjoying these protein bars. So that is a side effect,
• 15:19
  unfortunately.
• 15:20
  Heidi: They should probably put that on the wrapper.
• 15:22
  Emily: What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
• 15:24
  Heidi: I am giving extra credit to the National Park Puzzle
• 15:27
  Badge Banner.
• 15:29
  Emily: Okay.
• 15:30
  Heidi: So I got this for Emily's son for Christmas. So everyone,
• 15:33
  keep it quiet. So what this is is little badges, you know, like
• 15:37
  pin buttons that are puzzles, and there's one for each
• 15:42
  national park, and then there's a banner that you can hang up so
• 15:46
  you can put each of the badges on the banner. I guess maybe the
• 15:50
  idea is that like after you visit the park, you could do
• 15:52
  that. But you know, we're just gonna put them all on the
• 15:55
  banner. And I thought this would be such a fun gift for our
• 16:00
  little guy, because he is first and foremost a completionist. He
• 16:04
  loves loves to do things that have an end, and he also really
• 16:10
  is into history and learning about things. So I just thought
• 16:12
  this was a good crossover. I put a link to this in the show notes
• 16:17
  in case anyone else wants to grab this for the holidays.
• 16:20
  Emily: He's gonna love it.
• 16:21
  Heidi: Well, that is it for today's episode. Take a few
• 16:25
  minutes to sort the glass from the plastic, turn your list into
• 16:29
  a plan, and leave room for real life. And if you would like help
• 16:33
  doing all of that, come join our free four-day challenge: Reclaim
• 16:37
  Your Winter Break, November 15th through the 18th, and you can
• 16:41
  sign up for free at secondstorywindow.net/winterbreak.
• 16:44
  We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
• 16:48
  Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
• 16:51
  or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an episode.
• 16:55
  Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
• 16:57
  Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
• 17:00
  Bye for now.
• 17:00
  Emily: Bye.