This is episode 193 of Teacher Approved.

You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping

educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm

Heidi.

And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story

Window, where we give research based and teacher approved

strategies that make teaching less stressful and more

effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from

each episode at secondstory window.net.

We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to

the show.

Hey there. We're so glad you're here. In today's episode,

we're sharing why now, yes, even in May, is actually the perfect

time to start thinking about next school year. Plus, we've

got a free tool to help you do just that without adding more to

your plate right now.

Let's kick things off with the try it tomorrow, a

quick win that you can try in your classroom right away.

Emily, what is our idea this week?

Tomorrow, try out a silent transition challenge. So

choose just one transition, like lining up for lunch or switching

from math to reading, and challenge your class to do it

completely silently.

You can even set a timer to see how fast they can do it.

Tell them their goal is to beat their best time without saying a

word. It adds a little bit of fun and novelty to something

that you are already doing every day.

This is one of those sneaky tricks that helps clean

up your transitions and adds a little end of year energy boost

when you know everyone's feeling a little wiggly.

And bonus, it gives you a calm moment in your day too. So

let us know how it goes.

If you like this idea or anything else we share here on

the podcast, you know what I'm gonna ask, would you please take

a second and give us a five star rating, because ratings and

reviews are one way that new listeners find us.

Today, we are talking about why May is actually the

perfect time to start thinking about next school year. And we

know what you're thinking. Are they crazy? I'm just trying to

survive until summer.

I know we get it, and we're not suggesting that you

whip out a fresh teacher planner and start mapping out every

minute of the first week of school right now. But there are

some seriously good reasons why a little planning now can save

your future self from that back to school meltdown that we all

know so well.

So let's dive into it. Why is May such a smart time to

start planning ahead for next school year? Well, we have got

five key reasons why right now is the sweet spot for this kind

of preparation, and I promise none of these reasons involve

staying after school.

So let's start with reason number one, your

classroom pain points are crystal clear right now. We all

have a mental 'the things that make me want to pull my hair

out' list going on right now, right? So, whether we realize it

or not, that list is in there.

Definitely. In May, you have been living with your

classroom routines for what feels like forever, and you know

exactly which ones make you want to scream into your Stanley Cup

every morning.

In the middle of May, I can pinpoint with laser

precision which parts of my classroom systems are causing

serious friction in my day, and it would still be fresh on your

mind how that new center rotation system turned your

sweet students into tiny tornadoes.

But fast forward to July, and most of that clarity has

faded into a blur of Wait, what was that problem again? May

gives you the rare chance to make changes based on real time

insight, instead of having to rely on fuzzy memories. Our

teacher brains have this magical ability to block out the painful

stuff once you've had a little relaxation time.

I know it's like teacher amnesia. I think it's because we

wouldn't come back next school year if we remembered everything

perfectly during the summer.

Oh, absolutely.

And that's why, by mid summer, I'm thinking, oh, you

know what, my writing workshop routine wasn't so bad, when in

reality, it made me want to pull my hair out every day.

That's why the first thing we recommend is jotting

down your wins, your frustrations and your don't

forget those next year ideas while they are still happening.

It's kind of like leaving yourself a little warning note.

Dear August Heidi, do not try the paper passback system again

unless you enjoy paper avalanches and tears. Love May

Heidi.

Throughout this episode, we're going to be mentioning our

free end of year roadmap resource that can help you end

this school year strong and get prepared for next year. We love

the fix it list in the roadmap. It's a place to capture those

thoughts before they disappear.

But another reason that May is the right time to start

thinking about back to school is that you are still in your

classroom.

If you have ever tried to fix a classroom routine in

August, you know how hard it is to remember exactly how things

were set up or where you shoved that pile of math games in a

spring cleaning frenzy.

But in May, you can look at your supplies and systems

right now, and make smart decisions. Your classroom right

now is a complete ecosystem, with everything in its perfect

place, more or less, right? Your library is organized, your

centers are stocked, and your walls showcase all of your

brilliant teaching systems.

Don't underestimate how much easier it is to make

decisions and changes when your class is still set up and

running like usual, versus during the summer, when you're

staring at bare walls and all your stuff is piled into

corners.

That is so true. Take photos now. Take photos from

multiple angles, your reading corner, your small group area,

how you organize your supplies. Seriously, open up your drawers

and cupboards and snap a picture of how things are right now. And

even if you're going to be switching rooms next year,

seeing exactly what you did in your current room can make

future room setup so much simpler.

Absolutely. So take all the photos. And then I think

it's a good idea to keep the photos in a folder or a note on

your phone called classroom setup. Did you know that you can

just paste pictures and screenshots into a note? That's

really handy, too. So when you're a sweaty mess setting up

your classroom in August, you can just pull up those photos

instead of relying on your tired, summer fried brain.

Yes, the summer is a sweaty mess because, of course,

they don't have the air on. And don't forget to document your

classroom systems. Nothing worse than standing there in August

wondering, Wait, how did I organize my library last year?

And that leads perfectly into reason number three that

May is the perfect time to plan for back to school, and that is

that you still have time to test things out with your current

class. They're like your own little personal guinea pigs, but

cuter and with more opinions, I guess.

Oh, all the opinions. And at this point in the year, they

have been trained in your ways. They know your expectations,

which makes them perfect for experimenting with those What if

we tried it this way ideas.

Yeah, your current students are like the beta

testers of your classroom software. So maybe you've

realized your morning routine is taking twice as long as you want

it to. You can try a different approach now and get immediate

feedback on the changes.

Or maybe your dismissal routine is looking like a game

of hungry, hungry hippos, but with backpacks and lunch boxes,

test out a new system now and work out all of the kinks.

And the best part of this is it often helps refresh those

end of year behaviors that we know are getting so sloppy at

this time of year. Nothing like a little novelty to boost

engagement.

But don't limit your experimenting to just routines

and procedures. Don't be afraid to dream a little. Did you see a

fun reading idea on Tiktok or Instagram? Try it out with your

current kiddos, so you can see if it's worth implementing next

year.

Yeah, there is nothing worse than spending your summer

crafting the perfect plan for science experiments or small

group math or Tinker lab, only to find out that it just doesn't

work, all those summer hours wasted on something you can't

even use.

So do yourself a favor and give it a go now, even if

you don't have all the pieces figured out yet, give it a dress

rehearsal with your current class. Not only are this crop of

kids more able to pivot than your new students will be, you

also already have structures in place to fall back on if you

need to abandon ship midstream. Experimenting now kind of gives

you a safety net, or flotation device, I guess in this

metaphor.

Plus, as our Grammy used to say, a change is as good as a

rest. Trying something new now just might give you the

energetic boost you need to make it to the end in one piece.

Now, for reason number four, why starting back to

school in May is a great idea, planning in May lightens your

summer mental load. You know that feeling when you're trying

to relax in June, but your brain is still running with all those

don't forget this for next year tabs open.

When you take a little time in May to offload those

thoughts onto paper, especially in a low pressure way, it gives

your brain permission to let go.

Without a plan, we end up either completely ghosting

anything school related all summer, which leads to a real

nightmare come August, I have been there, or we spend the

whole break working without boundaries, and we end up

checking our emails during beach trips.

We can speak from our experience that you don't really

want either of those extremes.

Yeah neither approach really screams relaxing summer.

But when we identify specific priorities in May, we can

schedule focus work time and then fully unplug the rest of

the time, like actually enjoying that Emily Henry book next to

the pool without guilt.

Yes, you don't have to do a lot. You just have to get

intentional. It can even be as simple as if you're really

brave, only three work days on your summer schedule, so one in

June, one in July, and one in early August. Now if you know

exactly what you need to accomplish on each today, thanks

to your time spent thinking ahead in May, you can close

those teacher work brain tabs out on the other days and get a

ton done on those three days.

And our end of year roadmap is a great place to

start listing all of those to do tasks that you'll want to start

on during your school work days. And that brings us to our fifth

reason, planning in May reduces back to school panic. You know

that day and summer, when you're back to school, nightmares

suddenly start up again.

Oh, the dreams where you show up on the first day and

your classroom is still a storage closet, or you're

teaching in pajamas, or my personal favorite, and this is

the one I usually have, which is, I've forgotten that I even

had a teaching job until the morning of the first day of

school, and then I'm just like, in sheer panic trying to get the

class set up, and the students are like, already filing in. Oh

my gosh, it's such a nightmare. It's just as bad as the I wake

up in it and I have a college final, and I never went to class

all semester.

Oh, my stomach is a knots, even just joking about

it.

They are the worst dreams.

Why do teachers have this problem? But seriously, a little

intentional planning in May can slice that August panic in half.

Even just having lists of what worked and what didn't, gives

you a roadmap.

Instead of facing an overwhelming blank slate in

August with nothing but panic and diet coke to fuel you,

you'll be working from a plan that your May self thoughtfully

created for you. It's like having a time traveling teacher

assistant.

And when you've already documented your classroom setup

and identified your priorities, those August work days become so

much more manageable. You might even, dare I say it, enjoy

setting up your classroom.

Ooh, maybe.

And speaking of making things manageable, this is where our

free end of year roadmap comes in. We created this resource

because we know that May is not the time for complex planning

systems that require 12 different colored highlighters.

The free end of year roadmap includes simple

reflection prompts and our favorite list making tools, the

to da list for celebrating your successes, because you did have

wins this year. And it's important to notice that. The

fix it list for identifying what needs improvement, and your to

do list for planning your summer work. It can help you make a

strategic plan for setting work goals while maintaining summer

life boundaries. You can assign tasks to each month, sort tasks

by where you do them, when you need to work on them, and how

long they take. And you can pinpoint which tasks are most

beneficial for meeting your back to school goals.

And we've designed it to be flexible, so you can fill it

in all at once, or fill it in a little at a time between Field

Day and end of year assessments with all your free time.

The goal with this roadmap is not to create more

work for you, but to help you organize the thoughts that are

already bouncing around in your brain. Your brain is an

excellent idea generator. It's not a great list keeper, so do

your poor brain a favor and get everything written down.

You can grab your free copy of the end of year roadmap

by clicking the link in our show notes. It's completely free,

just a helpful tool from us to you. Plus, since it's in Google

Sheets, you can type what you want and then print it out if

you want a paper copy. So much quicker to type things than it

is to hand write them.

And if you find the roadmap helpful, you might be

interested in coming to our free teacher summer talk summit at

the end of June. It's the easiest summer PD, but one that

you'll actually enjoy, because it is all about making back to

school easier, not harder.

But more on that later. For now, let's recap those five

reasons why May is the perfect time to start planning for next

year.

Number one, your classroom pain points are

crystal clear right now, like painfully, painfully clear.

Number two, you still have access to your fully set up

classroom. Document it now before it disappears.

Number three, you still have time to test things out

with your current class. These are your own personal focus

groups right here.

Number four, planning in May is actually a gift to your

summer self. Future You sends thank yous and says you should

treat yourself.

Yes, always treat yourself. And number five,

planning in May reduces back to school panic. Sleep through

August without those nightmares.

Remember planning for the new school year in May isn't

about adding to your already overflowing plate, it's about

capturing insights that will make your life easier later.

Just a few minutes of reflection and planning in May

can save you hours of stress and probably tears in August.

So download our free end of year roadmap using the link

in our show notes, and start giving your future self the gift

of preparation.

We would love to hear how you're planning to set your

future self up for back to school success. Come join the

conversation in our teacher approved Facebook group. Bring

your successes, your struggles and your end of year survival

strategies.

Now for our teacher approved Tip of the Week, where

we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters

and simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is

preview next year's content to boost end of year engagement.

Tell us more about this, Heidi.

We all know that may classroom management can be,

challenging, shall we say? One of the reasons is that students

feel less invested. They've mentally checked out because

they think that they have learned everything they need to

know and they don't care anymore.

Yeah, their level of concern in May has dropped to

like approximately zero.

Yeah, but there's a simple way to raise that concern

level again, give them little previews of what they'll need to

know next year. When students know that what they're doing

right now matters for what's coming next, it often gives them

a little extra motivation to stay engaged.

And you can sprinkle in little comments like, Oh, you'll

need to know this for third grade, or your next teacher is

definitely going to love that you already understand this.

It's not to scare them, but just to plant the idea that they're

leveling up soon, and that builds excitement.

And if you know what your students are excited to learn

about next year, that can be a great hook too. For example,

second graders might be especially jazzed about learning

cursive or tiptoeing into multiplication, so you might

say, you're going to need these skip counting skills when you

start learning real multiplication next year. Or

this kind of sentence writing is what gets you ready for cursive.

It's a light touch strategy, and you don't want to

step on any teacher's toes for next year, but it can really

help reignite some buy in during those wiggly end of your weeks

without adding more to your plate.

This strategy works because it taps into students'

natural desire to grow up and master new skills. It gives them

a reason to care about reviewing concepts that they think they've

already mastered. So next time your class seems to have checked

out, try giving them a little glimpse into next year's

learning adventures. It might be just the motivation boost they

need to finish this year strong.

To wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving extra

credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra credit?

I'm giving extra credit to the new picture book Don't

Trust Fish by Neil Sharpton and illustrated by Dan Santat. And I

made Heidi look at this yesterday because I gave it to

my kids for Easter. I had heard it was hilarious and it did not

disappoint. So I made Heidi read it too, when she came over. It's

like a nature guide that goes wrong when it veers into all the

reasons why you shouldn't trust fish, like, they spend all their

time in the water where we can't see them. Some are as big as a

bus, and that is not okay. We don't know what they're teaching

in their quote unquote schools, and they are likely plotting our

doom. This book is a must have. It would be perfect to launch a

writing activity as well. I think it is a delight.

It is so funny, very witty. I saw a picture of a fish

today, and like, the first thing my brain said was, don't trust

fish.

I saw someone showing this, like, cute fish shaped

basket for target, and I immediately, yeah, thought the

same thing. Oh no, don't trust fish.

And I think you could have a lot of fun with that at

the end of the end of the school year, especially, you know a

twist on animal reports, why you shouldn't trust ring tailed

lemurs or something.

Yes, I think that would be the most fun activity. Should

we make that activity? Let's drop everything and make a

writing activity today. Stay tuned. Maybe we'll get it

together.

It's either that or fifth grade fractions. You can decide.

So hard to pick. Okay, Heidi, what are you giving extra

credit to?

My extra credit goes to the Ecosia web browser. It's

like, you know, a different kind of Google. This is a great

company that plants trees based on how many people use their

site. You can see on the home screen how many trees they have

planted, and I just checked, so as of today, the number is

229,612,190 trees.

Wow.

I also really appreciate that they are transparent about

where their money goes. Every month on Instagram, they share

how much they earned, how much went to trees, and then how much

went to other costs. It's just so refreshing to see a company

that has transparency and values. Now, I have to admit, it

was a bit of a pain to switch over from Google, because so

much about, you know, Google just already knew what I needed

it to do. And I still, I haven't moved completely over on my

phone, but baby steps. I'm moving in the right direction.

Oh, I'm gonna have to give that a try.

I've been very impressed. And I feel good doing my Google

searches. It does not work with Rakuten, though, if you do have

a rakuten add on, it doesn't, doesn't work with their browser.

But I figure the trees are worth it.

That is it for today's episode. Remember that May is the perfect

time to reflect on what worked this year and start planning for

next year. Download our free end of year roadmap using the link

in the show notes to help you get started. And don't forget

our teacher approved tip to preview next year's content to

get your students engaged.

And stay tuned for information about our upcoming

free teacher summer talks event at the end of June, where we'll

be sharing our best back to school strategies.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm

Heidi.

And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow

or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an

episode.

You can connect with us and other teachers in the

Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.

Bye for now.

Bye.