Latest / Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies / 217. 3 Things to Do Before Students Arrive and After They Leave on the First Day

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217. 3 Things to Do Before Students Arrive and After They Leave on the First Day · Teacher Approved: Elementary Teacher Tips & Strategies

• 0:01
  Heidi: This is episode 217 of Teacher Approved.
• 0:04
  You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
• 0:09
  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 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 the back to school sandwich.
• 0:43
  That's what happens right before and right after that very first
• 0:47
  day with students. And we're sharing a suggestion for how to
• 0:49
  wrap up your first day with a little bit of fun.
• 0:52
  Heidi: But first, let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we
• 0:55
  share a quick win that you can try right away. Emily, what is
• 0:58
  our suggestion this week?
• 1:00
  Emily: This week, try creating a teacher prep soundtrack for
• 1:03
  yourself. Put together a playlist of songs that energize
• 1:06
  you and make you feel confident, whether it's upbeat pop or
• 1:10
  calming instrumental music or throwback hits that make you
• 1:13
  smile. Having a go-to playlist can be a game changer when
• 1:16
  you're setting up your classroom.
• 1:18
  Heidi: Music really can shift your whole mood and energy
• 1:21
  level. Plus, if you are feeling good while you're working, that
• 1:24
  positive energy carries over into everything you create for
• 1:28
  your students and their families.
• 1:29
  Emily: And if you have a new playlist every year, then it
• 1:32
  will be like when you hear those songs you can remember the year
• 1:34
  that you're setting up that classroom. That could be a fun
• 1:37
  idea.
• 1:37
  Heidi: That could be fun.
• 1:38
  Emily: If you like this idea, or anything else we share here on
• 1:41
  the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five star
• 1:43
  rating and review on Apple podcasts or Spotify?
• 1:48
  Heidi: Over the years, Emily and I have created an extensive
• 1:50
  library of back to school products. To help you find the
• 1:53
  tools that will make the start of your new year easier, today
• 1:56
  we are spotlighting our Guided Discovery resource. Tell us
• 2:00
  about this one, Emily.
• 2:01
  Emily: This one's one of our favorites, and we talked about
• 2:03
  it in detail in Episode 146. So the short version is that Guided
• 2:07
  Discovery is a hands on way to introduce students to your
• 2:10
  expectations around managing and using school tools. So if you're
• 2:15
  tired of smashed glue sticks and chewed pencils, this is the
• 2:18
  resource for you.
• 2:19
  Heidi: Now, it's got a long name because we need it to come up in
• 2:22
  search. So it's called the Guided Discovery of classroom
• 2:25
  procedures and rules for school supplies for back to school, but
• 2:29
  there is a link in the show notes if you want a shortcut.
• 2:32
  Emily: So in this resource, we give you a set of Google slides
• 2:35
  and a scripted lesson plan for introducing more than 20 common
• 2:39
  school tools. So of course, we cover pencils and crayons and
• 2:42
  scissors, but there's also materials for dice and
• 2:45
  clipboards and magnet letters and Chromebooks. We tried to
• 2:49
  really cover all the bases.
• 2:50
  Heidi: Yes, and you definitely don't have to do all of them,
• 2:53
  but for any tools that you use, you will be so glad to have
• 2:55
  this. Each lesson covers the six parts of a Guided Discovery
• 2:59
  activity, so that you are inviting students into the
• 3:02
  process of establishing the standards that they are
• 3:05
  agreeing, hopefully, to follow all year.
• 3:08
  Emily: And what I really love is that for each of the school
• 3:10
  tools, there's a quick fun activity so students can
• 3:13
  experience using that tool right away. So for example, if you're
• 3:17
  introducing markers, there's a small coloring page. For
• 3:19
  clipboards, there's a short around the room scavenger hunt
• 3:22
  so they can practice using a clipboard. Each activity is
• 3:24
  targeted to keep things engaging, but also moving
• 3:27
  Emily: Lots of o's in so. Plus, besides the lesson materials,
• 3:27
  quickly.
• 3:27
  Heidi: This is one of our resources that gets the best
• 3:29
  feedback. And here's a little share from Lynn, who said, "This
• 3:33
  has been a game changer for how my students use our classroom
• 3:36
  materials. It is easy to assume that kids will know how to use
• 3:39
  pencils and erasers, but they don't know my expectations. Now
• 3:42
  they do, and I am so much happier because
• 3:51
  there are a whole bunch of resources to help you address
• 3:54
  any hiccups down the road. When someone stabs the glue with
• 3:57
  their scissors or colors on the carpet, there are materials just
• 4:01
  waiting for you so you can address the problem right away.
• 4:03
  Heidi: So head to the show notes and grab the link for the Guided
• 4:06
  Discovery of School Tools resource. It will make your
• 4:09
  whole year run smoother.
• 4:11
  Emily: You know, we've been talking all summer about getting
• 4:14
  ready for back to school, and we realize that there's this one
• 4:17
  piece we haven't really addressed yet, and that's what
• 4:20
  happens right before and right after the very first day with
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  students.
• 4:24
  Heidi: This time of year, it's really easy to lose yourself in
• 4:27
  all of the thoughts around classroom setup and getting your
• 4:29
  systems ready. You likely have a million checklists for labeling
• 4:33
  supplies, planning procedures or organizing desks. And of course,
• 4:37
  those things absolutely matter.
• 4:39
  Emily: Yeah, but we know you know how important they are. But
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  often what gets overlooked is you as the teacher. How do you
• 4:48
  prepare yourself, both emotionally and practically, for
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  that huge moment when your classroom goes from organized
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  and empty to full of real kids? What do you do with all the
• 4:58
  nerves and energy and expectations leading up to that
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  day?
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  Heidi: And then in just seven short, or not so short, hours
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  after they arrive, they all leave. The door closes, the room
• 5:09
  is quiet again, and I can feel that moment. You're just left
• 5:14
  standing in the whirlwind of everything that just happened.
• 5:17
  And that moment deserves some attention too.
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  Emily: Yeah, so today we're talking about what we're calling
• 5:22
  the back to school sandwich. So it's not lunch, although, yes,
• 5:26
  definitely pack a lunch, especially on the first day
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  you're going to want it, but the emotional and practical layers
• 5:32
  that surround the first day of school. Because just like a good
• 5:35
  sandwich, the most important stuff might be in the middle,
• 5:38
  sure, but without the bread and the toppings on either side, it
• 5:42
  just it all falls apart, and it's not nearly as tasty.
• 5:45
  Heidi: So that first day is the filling. Stick with us here.
• 5:49
  It's big, it's flavorful, maybe even a little messy, but what
• 5:53
  you do before and after is what's going to hold everything
• 5:56
  together. And if you take care of those two pieces, the whole
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  thing is a lot more satisfying and a lot less likely to fall
• 6:02
  apart and stain your cute new first day of school outfit.
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  Emily: To make your back to school sandwich as sturdy and
• 6:08
  satisfying as possible, we're breaking it down into three
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  simple categories of teacher self-care that apply before and
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  after that all important first day.
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  Heidi: First is emotional prep. This is all about checking in
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  with yourself and making sure that you're grounded and headed
• 6:23
  in the right direction. Next is the logistical basics. These are
• 6:27
  the small, practical choices that make a big difference to
• 6:30
  your well being. And finally, comes your recovery plan. This
• 6:34
  is where you create space to breathe, reflect and regroup,
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  because the way you land matters just as much as how you launch.
• 6:41
  Emily: So let's take a look at that bottom slice of bread. What
• 6:44
  you need to do before the first day to set yourself up for
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  success. And we're gonna start where we always start by
• 6:50
  identifying our purpose.
• 6:52
  Heidi: Yes, it is so easy to get lost in the busyness that comes
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  with back to school. That's how we end up running ourselves
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  ragged, but somehow we still don't feel prepared, even though
• 7:02
  we're working nonstop. To combat this, we're going to take a
• 7:05
  couple of minutes to figure out what matters. First, stop and
• 7:09
  reflect on what kind of teacher you want to be this year. Think
• 7:12
  about the parts of teaching that bring you joy and the kind of
• 7:15
  impact you hope to have on your students.
• 7:17
  Emily: A great addition to this exercise is setting a one word
• 7:20
  theme to guide your year. Maybe it's steady or wonder or grace
• 7:25
  or joy, just one word that you can come back to when things get
• 7:29
  overwhelming. You can write it on a sticky note and put it
• 7:31
  somewhere where you will see it every day.
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  Heidi: We talked about choosing a one word theme back in episode
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  27 if you want to go back in time and revisit that. But we
• 7:41
  also have some guiding questions in our back to school readiness
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  checklist, if you want a page that's already all set up to
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  collect all of your thoughts.
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  Emily: While you're in that reflective space, the readiness
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  checklist resource also has a goal setting page, plus some
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  more pages specifically focused on teacher prep, like a page for
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  listing what you're letting go of, writing yourself permission
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  slips, and writing a quick note of encouragement to yourself.
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  You can print it and stick it in your plan book, your desk
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  drawer, or even just take a screenshot and set it as your
• 8:09
  phone lock screen.
• 8:10
  Heidi: Oh, and set a reminder to take a photo of your classroom
• 8:13
  once it's all set up. You've worked so hard to get it ready,
• 8:17
  celebrate the moment before the kids come in and mess it all up.
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  Emily: Now, let's talk about prepping your personal launch
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  plan. You have to remember to take care of the human behind
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  the teacher. So map out what your ideal morning looks like on
• 8:29
  that first day. When will you wake up? What will you eat? What
• 8:32
  music will help you feel grounded?
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  Heidi: With that vision in mind, what can you do in advance to
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  make morning smoother? Maybe pack your lunch, lay out your
• 8:40
  clothes, fill your teacher bag and get your own kids' backpacks
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  ready the night before. Every little step you can do ahead of
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  time helps.
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  Emily: We shared lots of good tips for this back in episode
• 8:50
  209 so give that a listen if you want a refresher. But another
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  handy suggestion is to stock a desk drawer or a cabinet with
• 8:57
  your survival essentials. You may want to set up a day one
• 9:01
  emergency kit with things like tissues, band aids, lozenges and
• 9:06
  extra snacks that you want to have handy on the first day.
• 9:08
  Heidi: Yeah, in the first couple days of school, there just is
• 9:12
  not a lot of wiggle room if your contact lens gets dirty, or you
• 9:14
  get a stomach ache, you're kind of stuck. So make sure you have
• 9:18
  on hand anything that you don't want to be caught without.
• 9:22
  Emily: And I know we've mentioned this before, but one
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  of the best gifts you can give yourself is not working late on
• 9:26
  the first day. So for that to happen, you need to prepare day
• 9:30
  two at the same time that you prepare day one. We promise it's
• 9:33
  not as tricky as it sounds. Episodes 144, 145, and 146 walk
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  you through exactly how to streamline your first day of
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  school plans and extend that process through the first week.
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  Heidi: Think how happy you will be at the end of that first day,
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  to waltz out of the school at 3:30 and have a long, relaxing
• 9:51
  evening ahead of you. But you know, first we need to make sure
• 9:55
  that that evening is actually relaxing.
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  Emily: Start by deciding how you're going to transition when
• 10:01
  students leave. Will you sit quietly for five minutes, text a
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  friend, take a walk around the building? Have a plan so you're
• 10:08
  not left floundering. And if you want a fun idea, make sure to
• 10:12
  listen to the end of the episode, because we have a fun
• 10:15
  Heidi: Next create a cozy landing zone at home, pillows,
• 10:15
  tip to share.
• 10:18
  snacks, soft lighting your favorite show all queued up.
• 10:21
  Everything you need to really relax. Stock the recovery kit we
• 10:25
  talked about in episode 209. Make it easy to take it easy.
• 10:30
  Need that on a shirt.
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  Emily: Yeah. Also make an intentional plan for how you can
• 10:34
  minimize demands for a few days. Maybe your kids get extra screen
• 10:38
  time for the first week of school. Maybe you're getting
• 10:40
  more takeout than you normally do, and that's totally okay. The
• 10:44
  start of the school year is just a season. It's not your whole
• 10:46
  life.
• 10:47
  Heidi: Alright. That is the before the first day of school
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  bread slice. That's a sentence I never imagined saying. Make time
• 10:57
  to reflect on what you want to have happen, prepare for your
• 11:01
  personal launch, and set up your recovery plan.
• 11:04
  Emily: So next comes the filling, but we have spent all
• 11:06
  summer covering the middle of this sandwich—lesson plans,
• 11:09
  community building, classroom setup and so much more. If you
• 11:12
  need some ideas, make sure to scroll back to some of our past
• 11:15
  summer episodes in your podcast feed.
• 11:18
  Heidi: And now we can talk about the top slice of bread, what to
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  do after you make it through that first day. We'll follow the
• 11:24
  same pattern as we did before, of figuring out your emotional
• 11:27
  prep, your logistical basics and then your recovery plan.
• 11:31
  Emily: Once the students leave, take five minutes to jot down
• 11:33
  what went well, what didn't, and what you want to try differently
• 11:36
  tomorrow. Celebrate small wins, even if the win is I made it
• 11:39
  through or I remember five names. Even small
• 11:43
  accomplishments deserve to be celebrated.
• 11:46
  Heidi: And there is also a sheet for this in the back to school
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  readiness checklist. We really have thought of everything. So
• 11:52
  grab that if you don't have it already.
• 11:54
  Emily: I always say we overthink things so that you don't have
• 11:57
  to. So you also want to set a reminder in your phone to take a
• 12:02
  photo of your classroom after the students leave. Notice how
• 12:05
  it's already changed because your students were there.
• 12:07
  There's something beautiful, really about seeing that
• 12:10
  transformation.
• 12:12
  Heidi: Once you've had a moment to recover and reflect, focus on
• 12:15
  the logistics of getting day two set up. Hopefully you have had a
• 12:19
  chance to prepare most of the materials in advance. If not, do
• 12:23
  whatever you can to make the morning of the second day flow
• 12:26
  as easily as possible. Yes, I know you are so tired right now,
• 12:30
  but you will probably still be that tired in the morning.
• 12:33
  Emily: A suggestion that might help us to plan one easy win for
• 12:36
  day two. So maybe it's a favorite read aloud, a simple
• 12:39
  game, or even showing a 15 minute video. Focus on teaching
• 12:43
  your essential procedures and activities to build your class
• 12:45
  community, and you'll have all the important stuff covered.
• 12:49
  Heidi: As you're wrapping up your work day, do what you can
• 12:52
  to protect your energy. It's totally okay to skip the chatty
• 12:55
  teachers lounge or to say, I need to recharge, I'll catch up
• 12:58
  with you tomorrow. It's okay to be smart about your limits, even
• 13:01
  if that teacher across the hall might not understand.
• 13:04
  Emily: Once you've cleaned up day one, and set up day two, and
• 13:07
  finally made it back to your front door, it's time to recover
• 13:11
  with intention. So treat yourself the way you would treat
• 13:13
  a tired toddler. Eat something comforting, take a warm bath if
• 13:17
  you like a bath, go to bed early. You've just done
• 13:20
  something incredibly hard, and you deserve that kindness.
• 13:24
  Heidi: Use that recovery kit you prepped, or start one now. Put
• 13:27
  on jammies as soon as you're home, do a puzzle, read a book,
• 13:30
  watch a movie, get out of coloring a book. Prioritize the
• 13:33
  things that give you the space to bounce back.
• 13:36
  Emily: Or if you've got a totally different personality,
• 13:39
  maybe you want to hit the gym, re-energize with a night out, or
• 13:42
  start a brand new project. This is not our journey, but we love
• 13:45
  that for you.
• 13:48
  Heidi: Whatever type of recovery you need is the right choice.
• 13:51
  And like we mentioned earlier, give yourself permission to
• 13:54
  lower the bar at home. Use paper plates. Let everyone zone out on
• 13:57
  their devices for a while. Order dinner without guilt. You're not
• 14:01
  letting things slide. You're being strategic when your energy
• 14:05
  is so limited.
• 14:06
  Emily: If you are someone with a tough inner critic, this can be
• 14:09
  hard to accept, but really, the best thing you can do during a
• 14:11
  stressful time is to give yourself grace. Nothing good
• 14:14
  comes from making yourself feel guilty for not meeting some
• 14:17
  random standard of perfection. Beating yourself up won't
• 14:20
  suddenly give you more energy. So be kind to yourself and
• 14:24
  accept that this is a normal part of such a huge transition.
• 14:28
  Heidi: I wish I had understood this back when I was teaching.
• 14:30
  Emily: I know.
• 14:31
  Heidi: I was, I would really beat myself up about not having
• 14:34
  it together. But you know what this is, just a few days, you
• 14:37
  will figure it out, and things will get back to normal, we
• 14:40
  promise.
• 14:41
  Emily: Plus, I think most people don't have it together. We
• 14:43
  assume everyone else has it together. I think nobody has it
• 14:46
  together. And just remember the first day of school is just one
• 14:51
  day in a whole year of teaching, but it can feel so big and
• 14:53
  overwhelming. So remember that the real magic happens in how
• 14:57
  you prepare yourself, not just your classroom, and how you take
• 15:01
  care of yourself after.
• 15:02
  Heidi: We would love to hear your tips for what to do before
• 15:05
  and after the first day. Come join the conversation in our
• 15:08
  Teacher Approved Facebook group.
• 15:10
  Emily: Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where
• 15:13
  we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters
• 15:16
  and simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is
• 15:19
  to wrap up the first day of school was some fun. So tell us
• 15:21
  what you have in mind, Heidi.
• 15:23
  Heidi: Oh, I'm so excited about this, I'm doing little hand
• 15:25
  claps. That's probably terrible for the audio. Oh, but this is a
• 15:28
  fun one. Now, as you know, the first day of school leaves most
• 15:32
  of us just running on pure adrenaline. Once the kids leave,
• 15:35
  it's so easy to either dive straight into day two prep or
• 15:40
  get stuck in one of those never ending hallway conversations
• 15:42
  that somehow just suck your will to live.
• 15:45
  Emily: Yeah, that's why I love your idea of a quick cheers and
• 15:48
  chat check in with your grade level team, or maybe your
• 15:51
  teacher friends. It's just structured enough to feel
• 15:55
  special and meaningful, but it's light enough that it won't
• 15:58
  hijack your whole afternoon or require a lot of your energy.
• 16:02
  Heidi: So here's how to make it work. First, decide your goal.
• 16:06
  Are you looking to debrief the day, share a few laughs, or just
• 16:09
  celebrate that you survived? Decide if you are hosting in
• 16:13
  your classroom or somewhere else in the school, and then pick
• 16:15
  your timing. I would recommend right after dismissal, because
• 16:19
  you want to grab everyone before they scatter to start prepping
• 16:21
  for tomorrow.
• 16:22
  Emily: Then decide if you're doing this with your grade level
• 16:25
  team, just your teacher besties, or the whole staff. Keep the
• 16:28
  refreshments simple, but a little special. Grab some
• 16:31
  sparkling cider, a fun mix soda or even chocolate milk if that's
• 16:34
  your vibe. Don't plan on something like donuts or muffins
• 16:37
  that will require an extra errand before school, because we
• 16:40
  want this to be painless, not adding to your crazy first
• 16:44
  morning of school.
• 16:45
  Heidi: Oh, yeah, absolutely not. And the nice thing about
• 16:48
  limiting it to a drink is you can pick it up from the store
• 16:51
  weeks in advance, and it is really easy to make things a
• 16:54
  little more special with something as simple as those
• 16:57
  dollar store champagne flutes.
• 16:58
  Emily: Yeah, and nobody wants a bunch of extra work at the start
• 17:01
  of the school year, so disposable champagne flutes for
• 17:05
  the win. The next step is to send out an invitation a few
• 17:09
  days in advance so it doesn't get lost in the back to school
• 17:11
  chaos. Clearly promise that it will be very quick or people
• 17:15
  will not be excited to attend.
• 17:16
  Heidi: And then once everyone arrives, literally, set a timer
• 17:20
  for 10 minutes, 15 minutes max. This is really important. By
• 17:24
  setting a timer, you show that you understand how stressed
• 17:27
  everyone is and that you respect their time.
• 17:29
  Emily: And your time, because you still got stuff to do, of
• 17:32
  course.
• 17:34
  Heidi: Then offer one or two simple questions for everyone to
• 17:37
  answer, something like, what made you smile today? Or, what
• 17:39
  are you proud of right now? This keeps things moving and makes
• 17:42
  sure that everyone gets a chance to share without it turning into
• 17:45
  a whole complaint session, or without a few strong
• 17:49
  personalities hijacking the whole thing. And finally, just
• 17:52
  wrap it up with a quick toast to the new school year.
• 17:54
  Emily: It's such a simple thing, but it can transform an
• 17:57
  exhausting afternoon into a moment of real connection and
• 18:00
  perspective, all while protecting your time and energy
• 18:03
  for getting ready for tomorrow. From time to time, we all need a
• 18:06
  reminder that we're not in this alone, and it's especially
• 18:09
  important to build those relationships with your
• 18:11
  coworkers.
• 18:12
  Heidi: If this sounds like something you would be
• 18:14
  interested in doing, we have a little freebie for you. We give
• 18:18
  you a step by step guide for how to organize a cheers and chat
• 18:21
  check in, and have an editable invitation that you can use. We
• 18:25
  even include ideas for your toast to the new year and some
• 18:29
  recipes. I'm using air quotes, a few simple recipes for some
• 18:32
  fancy sodas.
• 18:33
  Emily: Well, we're from Utah, so we know a fancy soda. Okay, so
• 18:37
  we were not gonna leave you all hanging, and we'll have a link
• 18:41
  to this in the show notes where you can go grab it for free.
• 18:44
  It's a freebie.
• 18:45
  Heidi: To wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're giving
• 18:50
  extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra
• 18:53
  credit?
• 18:53
  Emily: I'm giving extra credit to ice cream taste testing.
• 18:53
  Heidi: Well, I would like to co sign that.
• 18:56
  Emily: Yeah, we did this as a family recently, and it was just
• 18:59
  so much fun. Everybody loved it. I got, I don't know, eight pints
• 19:03
  of fun ice cream flavor. So I went for, like, fancier brands
• 19:06
  or really unique flavors, and then I got those little plastic
• 19:11
  condiment cups, and then I put a scoop of each flavor into each
• 19:15
  cup. But I mean by scoop, it's probably more like...
• 19:17
  Heidi: A melon baller.
• 19:17
  Emily: Yes, a robust spoonful. So everyone could get, you know,
• 19:22
  maybe a couple spoonfuls out of it, just enough to taste, and
• 19:25
  then everyone would have a stack of cups to try. This way. I
• 19:30
  wasn't having to, like, run back and forth scooping for each
• 19:33
  flavor. I did all the scooping in advance, and then put it
• 19:36
  right back in the freezer to hold up. And then I numbered the
• 19:39
  cup so that we could all try the same one at the same time. And
• 19:41
  then we gave it a rating out of 10. I think last year we did it
• 19:43
  out of five, but the kids wanted to do it out of ten. And then I
• 19:48
  averaged all the scores. So our winner this year was Van Lewin,
• 19:52
  which my father speaks Dutch, and he let me know I am not at
• 19:55
  all pronouncing that correctly, but you'll forgive me. It is
• 19:59
  their pistachio flavor, and it was tasty and so fun. I loved
• 20:03
  it, and that was a really yummy flavor.
• 20:04
  Heidi: Yes, I was shocked that the kids liked it.
• 20:05
  Emily: I thought that would be the least favorite, pistachio. I
• 20:09
  got it because I like pistachio, and I was like, Well, I'm
• 20:11
  getting it for me, but everybody loved it, even the kids. It was
• 20:14
  so good.
• 20:15
  Heidi: Yeah, it was really good. I've been craving it now.
• 20:17
  Emily: Highly recommend it. We also, in our family, celebrate a
• 20:21
  little holiday called flavor day, which is Labor Day. But
• 20:27
  when my youngest was younger, much younger, she thought it was
• 20:31
  flavor day, and kept calling it flavor day. And we decided that
• 20:35
  from henceforth it shall be known as flavor day. And so we
• 20:38
  usually go get ice cream. So if you would like to adopt flavor
• 20:41
  day for your own family. I think an ice cream taste test would be
• 20:44
  an excellent way to celebrate that.
• 20:49
  Heidi: Yes, that would be perfect.
• 20:49
  Emily: And this is the exact kind of thing we talk about on
• 20:49
  our other podcast, the Holiday Headstart. So if you want to
• 20:52
  hear more about traditions and ice cream, come on over to the
• 20:56
  Holiday Headstart. That was an unplanned plug.
• 20:58
  Heidi: And we really would love to have you there. If how we
• 21:02
  plan back to school resonates with you, you will love how we
• 21:06
  plan Christmas.
• 21:06
  Emily: Get a load of how we prepare for Christmas.
• 21:09
  Heidi: Oh, boy, yeah, we're not ready.
• 21:11
  Emily: We overthought that one too so you don't have to. What
• 21:15
  are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
• 21:17
  Heidi: I'm giving extra credit to the book The Spell Shop by
• 21:19
  Sara Beth Durst. I think the second in this series just came
• 21:23
  out recently, which I haven't read yet, but just read the
• 21:25
  spell shop, and it was so sweet. I love a cozy fantasy. And this
• 21:29
  just checked all the right boxes. The blurb on Amazon calls
• 21:32
  it a hallmark rom com full of mythical creatures and fueled by
• 21:36
  cinnamon rolls and magic. And I could not have summed it up any
• 21:39
  better.
• 21:40
  Emily: Sign me up.
• 21:41
  Heidi: So I'm not sure how to pronounce this character's name.
• 21:45
  That is the downside to fantasy novels is like, how do we say
• 21:47
  these names? We don't know, so I'm just going to give it my
• 21:49
  best guess. But the premise is that librarian Kyla and her
• 21:54
  sentient spider plant Kaz, I was calling him Kaz, I don't know if
• 21:58
  that's right. They escape a revolution and return to the
• 22:02
  tiny island where Kyla grew up. Her goal is to build a life
• 22:05
  while at the same time hiding the forbidden magic books that
• 22:08
  she saved from the burning library. And so she ends up
• 22:11
  opening a jam shop that just happens to sell spells on the
• 22:14
  side. And of course, along the way, she learns that life is
• 22:17
  better when you have other people to trust. It's very sweet
• 22:20
  and imaginative. If you're looking for something to escape
• 22:23
  into, like after a long first day of school, it's just the
• 22:27
  perfect little getaway into imagination.
• 22:30
  Emily: Oh, I love it. I'm putting on my TBR right now.
• 22:34
  Heidi: That is it for today's episode. Remember to prep your
• 22:38
  back to school sandwich. Take care of yourself before, during
• 22:41
  and after that first day. You have got this and we are
• 22:44
  cheering you on every step of the way.
• 22:46
  Emily: And don't forget to grab our cheers and chat freebie from
• 22:49
  the link in the show notes.
• 22:53
  Heidi: We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm
• 22:57
  Heidi.
• 22:57
  Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
• 23:01
  or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
• 23:03
  episode.
• 23:04
  Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
• 23:06
  Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
• 23:10
  Bye for now.
• 23:10
  Emily: Bye.