Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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?
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: And bonus, it gives you a calm moment in your day too. So
let us know how it goes.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: Oh, absolutely.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: But another reason that May is the right time to start
thinking about back to school is that you are still in your
classroom.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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?
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: We can speak from our experience that you don't really
want either of those extremes.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: Oh, my stomach is a knots, even just joking about
it.
Emily: They are the worst dreams.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: Number one, your classroom pain points are
crystal clear right now, like painfully, painfully clear.
Emily: Number two, you still have access to your fully set up
classroom. Document it now before it disappears.
Heidi: Number three, you still have time to test things out
with your current class. These are your own personal focus
groups right here.
Emily: Number four, planning in May is actually a gift to your
summer self. Future You sends thank yous and says you should
treat yourself.
Heidi: Yes, always treat yourself. And number five,
planning in May reduces back to school panic. Sleep through
August without those nightmares.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: Just a few minutes of reflection and planning in May
can save you hours of stress and probably tears in August.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
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.
Emily: Yeah, their level of concern in May has dropped to
like approximately zero.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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?
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: It's either that or fifth grade fractions. You can decide.
Emily: So hard to pick. Okay, Heidi, what are you giving extra
credit to?
Heidi: 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.
Emily: Wow.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: Oh, I'm gonna have to give that a try.
Heidi: 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.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm
Heidi.
Emily: 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.
Heidi: You can connect with us and other teachers in the
Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
Bye for now.
Emily: Bye.