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Heidi: This is episode 244 of
Teacher Approved.

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You're listening to Teacher
Approved, the podcast helping

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

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Heidi.

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

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Window, where we give research
based and teacher approved

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strategies that make teaching
less stressful and more

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

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each episode at
secondstorywindow.net.

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

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the show.

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Emily: Hey there. Thanks for
joining us today. In today's

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episode, we are talking about
the art of leaving school at

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school, how to actually end your
work day with intention so you

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can go home and have a life. And
we're sharing a teacher approved

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tip for protecting your personal
time each week.

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Heidi: But first, let's start
with a try it tomorrow, where we

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share a quick win that you can
try right away. So Emily, what

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do we have for this week?

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Emily: This week, try setting up
an errand basket by your

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classroom door. So find a basket
or a tray or a box, who cares,

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and put it somewhere near your
door if you have the space. And

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then anytime you have something
that needs to go to another part

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of the building, you can drop it
there. So if you need to return

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a book to the library, put it in
the basket. If you borrowed some

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math manipulatives from the
teacher down the hall, into the

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basket they go.

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Heidi: I love this. It gives all
of those random items a

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designated home so they're not
getting lost in the clutter of

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your room or adding to the
clutter of your room. And then

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you can grab everything when you
are headed in that direction

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anyway, instead of having to
make a bunch of separate trips.

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Emily: Yes, so smart. You can
even ask a student to add things

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to the basket for you so it's
out of your hair as soon as

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you're done with it. And it's
really a small thing, but it

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keeps those little tasks from
piling up and eating into your

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time, and, you know, helps cut
down on the clutter in your

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room.

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Heidi: If you like this idea, or
anything else that we share here

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on the podcast, would you take a
second and give us a five star

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rating? Ratings and reviews are
one way that new listeners find

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us, so every single one really
is a huge help.

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Emily: All right, let's talk
about something that so many

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teachers struggle with, that
moment at the end of this school

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day when the kids leave and you
look around your classroom, and

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you think, Okay, now what?

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Heidi: And then somehow, it's
5:30 and you're still there, or

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you finally leave, but you've
got a bag full of papers and a

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mental to do list that follows
you all the way home.

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Emily: Yeah, it's like, you know
that scene in A Christmas Story?

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And maybe if you haven't watched
A Christmas Story as much as we

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have watched A Christmas Story
over the years, this won't

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immediately come to mind. But if
you too watch this a lot at

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Christmas time, like our family,
you can picture this. It's when

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the family's sitting down to
dinner and Ralphie's mom is

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like, finally getting ready to
take a big bite of food. And

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then the dad asks for more,
like, cabbage, wasn't it?

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Heidi: Yes, I think it was
cabbage.

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Emily: And so she gets up and
takes care of that, and then she

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sits down again, and Ralphie
asked for more potatoes. And

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grown up Ralphie narrates, "My
mother had not had a hot meal

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for herself in 15 years."

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Heidi: Yes, yes, that is exactly
what trying to leave school

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feels like. And you know, you
can always count on us to have

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the most current cultural
references.

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Emily: I mean, A Christmas Story
is timeless, Heidi. But you do

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know how it goes. You tell
yourself, I'm gonna leave at

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four o'clock today. And then as
you're walking out the door, you

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notice the class library books
are a mess, so you stop to fix

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them, and that'll be quick,
right? And then when that's

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taken care of, and you go to
leave again, a co-worker stops

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by, needs to borrow something,
and by the time everything gets

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handled and all your
distractions, it's 4:30.

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Heidi: And just like Ralphie's
mom, you are making sure

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everyone has what they need, but
at a huge personal cost.

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Emily: Exactly. But here's the
thing about that scene, if

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Ralphie's mom had just put the
food on the table so everyone

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could serve themselves, it would
have been a completely different

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story, and that's what we're
talking about today. If you can

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create a system that supports
efficient planning, you can

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leave school at a reasonable
hour.

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Heidi: I think that every time I
watch that scene, like, woman

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just put the pot on the table.
You know, because teaching work

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does not have a natural stopping
point, like a lot of jobs do,

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there's no finished, right?
There's just, I guess I'm gonna

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go home now. And if you don't
decide when your work day ends,

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it will not end on its own.

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Emily: And we do know this from
experience, because neither one

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of us was good at this when we
were teaching. We had no system

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for knowing what was actually a
priority. We just stayed until

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we were too tired to function,
because there wasn't a way to

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know if we were ever, like,
quote unquote, done with work,

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because you'll never be done
with work.

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Heidi: Yeah, and I, I, honestly,
I had co-workers who literally

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worked through the night.

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Emily: Oh gosh.

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Heidi: More than once, and
multiple co-workers, like, more

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than 24 hours straight in the
building.

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Emily: Oh my gosh. And I was
gonna say that I had co-workers

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that were leaving the minute
that they could possibly leave

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every single day. And I was
thinking, Man, how do you go to

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that? So I guess we've got both
extremes. But let's see if we

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can figure out how to be
somewhere in the middle, because

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it's so easy to let the work
expand to fill whatever time you

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give it.

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Heidi: Yeah, and teaching work
is just notorious for that.

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Emily: Yeah, and remember how we
were gonna, we set up a time

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that we were gonna go after
school to the gym, to our ladies

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gym.

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Heidi: We don't need to get into
that.

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Emily: Yeah, we are getting into
that. Heidi and I decided that

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we were going to meet at the gym
after work a few days a week,

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and that way we could hold each
other accountable and get some

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exercise. We could catch up
while we're working out. It was

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gonna be such a good plan.

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Heidi: Well, it was a great plan
in theory.

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Emily: Yeah, because I would get
there and I'd be waiting.

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Eventually, I'd be like, girl,
are you coming? And you'd be

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like, Yeah, I'm gonna leave in
just five minutes. I just have

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to finish this one thing!

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Heidi: Because I hadn't even
left by that point.

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Emily: Oh, I know.

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Heidi: But in my defense, like
it was just one more thing, and

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then, you know, the one thing
turned into another thing, and

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I'd look up and Emily had been
sitting there for like, 20

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minutes. I'm really sorry.

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Emily: I'm sure I was an
absolute delight about it too.

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Heidi: And it's not like we had
the smartphone. So it's not like

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she could have been reading
Instagram or something.

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Emily: Nope. But come on, that
just one more thing trap is so

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real, and that's exactly why
having a system matters, not

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because you're bad at time
management, although maybe Heidi

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is, but because teaching will
always ask for more. There's

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always one more thing, so you
have to be the one who decides

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when enough is enough.

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Heidi: Which is what we are
calling a shutdown ritual. We

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are always telling teachers to
use routines with their

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students, because routines
reduce decision fatigue and they

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help things run so smoothly. But
often we skip this step for

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ourselves.

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Emily: Yeah. So today we're
going to walk you through a step

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by step process for closing out
your school day so you can

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actually leave, and not just
physically leave, but mentally

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leave, too. So we've got six
steps because, gosh, we love a

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step, a system with steps, so
good, and we're going to break

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each one down for you.

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Heidi: Well, let's dive in with
step one, which is to close the

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school day in a way that sets
you up for success. And this

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starts before the kids even walk
out the door. You know that 10

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to 15 minutes at the end of the
day when the kids are packing

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up, that is your time too. You
can't leave school on time if

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you haven't packed up already.

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Emily: So instead of just
standing there monitoring and

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waiting, try to use that time
strategically. Assign class jobs

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for anything that students can
manage. If a kid can sharpen

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pencils, change over the
calendar, or reset the

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attendance board, let them do
it. Your time should be spent

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doing the things only you can
do.

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Heidi: And make sure your
students know your expectations

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for how the room should look
before they leave. If you're

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coming in after dismissal, and
then you have to spend 20

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minutes cleaning up after them,
that's a problem we can fix.

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Emily: While the kids are
tidying up, you can be tidying

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your desk, putting away any
resources you had out, closing

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computer tabs you don't need
anymore. It would be tricky to

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do anything more complicated
than a few light tasks, but

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getting even one or two things
done before the bell rings helps

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you start your planning time
with positive momentum.

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Heidi: And really a bit of
momentum can make all the

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difference in how your after
school prep goes. If it helps,

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you could create a class end of
day checklist, things like

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blinds down, projector off,
desks clear, library neat, all

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of that. When everyone has a
clear picture of what's

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expected, you can hold the kids
accountable to those standards.

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Emily: All right, step two, once
the kids leave, you need what

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we're calling a reset, a way to
switch modes on purpose.

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Heidi: This is something most
teachers skip, and it costs

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them. When you're in teacher
mode, you are on. You know how

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it is. You're busy and
responding to whatever's

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happening in the room. You're
making 1000 tiny decisions every

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minute. Planning mode, though,
is completely different. It's

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reflective, focused, quieter,
and it's really hard to just

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flip a switch between them.

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Emily: Oh yeah. If you try to
jump straight from one to the

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other, your brain is very likely
still going to be buzzing from

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the day, and that's when it
becomes really tempting to grab

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your phone and scroll for a few
minutes to decompress.

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Heidi: It's a trap. Don't do it,
because that is how you end up

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losing 20 or 30 minutes of your
after school time before you've

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even started working, then
you're behind before you begin,

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which makes everything harder.

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Emily: And we're not going to
shame anybody for needing to

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scroll your phone, but if you
focus now, you can go home and

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scroll your phone on your couch.
So let's pivot. Okay, try giving

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yourself a real reset, something
that helps your nervous system

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transition without sucking you
into a time vortex. This could

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be listening to two or three
calming songs with your eyes

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closed, or taking a couple laps
around the building to get your

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blood moving and let the stress
of the day go.

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Heidi: You could also try
answering a couple reflection

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questions, something like, what
went well today? What actually

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needs my attention now? You know
the key is just to keep it

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simple, this is a bridge, not
another task you have to keep up

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with. Think of it like putting
the cabbage on the table. It's

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how you take care of yourself so
you can actually focus when it's

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time to work.

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Emily: And it's probably easiest
to pick one ritual to start

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with, but you may find you need
different resets on different

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days. If you're extra tired or
carrying a lot of stress, the

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walk might be perfect. If you're
feeling scattered, the breathing

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and music might be better. Try
keeping a little list in your

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desk so you don't have to think
about it in the moment.

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Heidi: All right. Step three.
Once you've reset, it's time for

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what we are calling the triage
question. And it's it's just one

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question, what must be done
today so students will be okay

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tomorrow? Usually, this is the
things like making copies,

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prepping materials, maybe
entering a critical grade, or

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writing an important note. Just
stick to the absolute essentials

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to start with.

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Emily: If it doesn't affect
tomorrow, it doesn't actually

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have to happen today. Hopefully
you have some time and energy

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left after handling the
essentials. But if you don't, at

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least you can leave knowing
tomorrow is covered.

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Heidi: Which brings us to step
four, the power block. This is

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where any extra time gets used
intentionally.

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Emily: So your power block is
just going to be a single focus

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work session where you tackle
one category of task instead of

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a little of this and a little of
that, and trying to multitask a

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bunch of things at once, which
is how I usually work, and then

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I'm like, gosh, I didn't get
anything done.

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Heidi: I know that feeling. And
we talked about this in last

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week's episode, Episode 243,
about protecting your planning

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time. We called it choosing your
lane. You don't have time or

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energy to be hopping all over
the road. Pick one lane and stay

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in it.

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Emily: So your power block might
be grading or planning or

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organizing and prepping, but
avoid doing all three in one go

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if you can. Switching between
task types drains your energy

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and leaves you feeling like, I
worked so hard, but nothing's

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done.

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Heidi: You might even want to
assign one type of task to each

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day of the week. I know this is
a really common hack for you

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know, business people. Mondays
are for making copies. Tuesdays

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are catching up on grading. On
Fridays, you plan out the next

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week, just whatever makes sense
with your schedule.

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Emily: And we talked about this
last week, about how you could

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do the same kind of thing with
your planning time during the

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day, and so it could be the same
task after school to just

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continue whatever you didn't get
done during planning time, or

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maybe you want it to be
different, but that is a great

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strategy to make sure you know
what you want to focus on every

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day. And if you have regular
after school meetings like

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Heidi's school did faculty
meetings on Mondays and

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collaboration on Wednesdays, you
might need an adjusted routine

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for those days.

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Heidi: Yeah, that schedule
really made things tricky,

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especially when I had after
school bus duty. Some days it

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could be like 30 minutes. So you
might need to get creative with

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your plans. On meeting days,
maybe you only focus on what

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absolutely has to be ready for
tomorrow, and then you go home.

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On other days, you build in
extra time to make up for it.

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Emily: It will likely take some
experimenting to find a system

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that works, but the time you
spend figuring it out will pay

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off.

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Heidi: To make the most of your
power block, before you start

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decide what "done" looks like.
It might help to finish the

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sentence, At the end of this
block, I want blank to be

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finished.

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Emily: That needs to be a
specific, measurable task, not

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"catch up on grading," because
that's so vague, doesn't give

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you a clear endpoint. Something
specific, like grades entered

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for one subject, or slides done
for this week's math lessons.

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That helps you know exactly what
needs to get done during this

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time, and when you're done.

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Heidi: Yes, because if you don't
know what finished looks like,

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you'll just keep working until
you run out of steam, and then

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it'll be tomorrow morning.

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Emily: Okay, step five is the
hard stop. This one sounds

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simple, but if you've tried it,
you know, it can actually be

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really hard to maintain.
Definitely the hardest for me.

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Heidi: Yeah, we know how it is.

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Emily: I do know.

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Heidi: This is where you set a
non negotiable leaving time, and

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when that time comes, you leave.
Theoretically. Yes, absolutely

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do it, set an alarm if you need
to, you know, set it on your

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phone.

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Emily: And when the alarm goes
off, give yourself like, five

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minutes to wind down. So save
your work, close your tabs, turn

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off your computer, pick up your
bag and then walk out the door.

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Heidi: And if you find yourself
thinking, Ah, just five more

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minutes, that's a red flag. That
five minutes turns into 15,

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which turns into 30. Ask Emily
how many times she waited for me

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at the gym.

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Emily: I don't even want to talk
about it. I'm still mad. It's

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been a decade, at least.
Something that might help with

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this is having a permission
phrase you can tell yourself,

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something like, I've done what I
can with the time and energy I

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had today, and that's enough.

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Heidi: Because, honestly, it is
enough. You showed up, you did

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the work, you're ready for
tomorrow, so you're allowed to

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stop.

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Emily: Which brings us to our
final step, which is step six,

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the closure ritual. That's what
I call closure. Oh, no, more

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00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:57,840
really recent cultural
references! For some of you

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00:14:57,930 --> 00:15:03,930
young'uns listening, that's from
a TV show called Friends. Okay,

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so the closure ritual, this is
about signaling to your brain

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that the day is actually done.
Before you leave, make sure your

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room is reset for the morning.
Maybe write an intention for

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tomorrow or the top three tasks
that you want to get done in the

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morning. And then this part is
important, leave the list at

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school. Do not carry it out with
you.

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Heidi: Physical actions can also
help signal a clear shift in

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your energy. Turn off the
computer, turn off the lights,

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close the door. This helps your
brain know that work time is now

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over.

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Emily: And then think about what
happens when you get home.

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What's your transition ritual
for closing the door in school

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and opening the door to the rest
of your life? This could be

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taking a walk, doing some yoga,
dancing to your favorite song,

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playing with your kids, taking a
hot shower, doing a puzzle. I'm

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only laughing because I know
realistically that a lot of

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these are going to be hard to do
when you get home and you have

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to do your real life, but if you
can, have something that you're

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going to do right away that will
help you release the stress of

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the day and reconnect with
another part of your life, it

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will make that transition so
much easier.

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Heidi: Yeah, and it doesn't have
to be a 30 minute thing. It can

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be a 10 minute thing, but it
just helps your nervous system

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reset and helps you engage with
the life that's in front of you,

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instead of having your brain
halfway back in your classroom.

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Emily: Right.

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Heidi: Because when your brain
knows the work is contained and

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tomorrow is handled, it can just
actually relax.

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Emily: And then, if you find
yourself thinking about school

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stuff anyway, just open the
Notes app on your phone and jot

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it down, or send yourself an
email reminder. That's my go to.

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And then your brain knows that
that thought is captured

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somewhere, and so you don't need
to think about it anymore.

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Heidi: All right, Emily, give us
a quick recap of our six steps

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for a shutdown routine.

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Emily: Step one, close the day
while students are still there,

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use that pack up time to get
yourself ready too. Step two,

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reset your nervous system before
you start working. Give yourself

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a real transition that is not
your phone. Step three, answer

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00:16:56,490 --> 00:17:00,030
the triage question, what must
be done so that students are

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okay tomorrow? Step four, use
your power block for one

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category of task only. Decide
what done looks like before you

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start. Step five, set a hard
stop. When it's time to leave,

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leave. And step six, close the
day with a ritual. Reset your

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room, write tomorrow's tasks and
create a transition for when you

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get home.

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Heidi: If you want some help
putting this together, remember

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that the February teacher
survival kit has a page that

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walks you through these steps.
It gives you space to plan out

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00:17:27,989 --> 00:17:30,239
your routine, track what's
working, and adjust as you go.

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Emily: And if you're someone who
wants this kind of targeted

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00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,090
monthly support all year long,
that's exactly what we do in the

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00:17:36,090 --> 00:17:39,000
Teacher Approved club. Each
month we focus on a specific

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00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:42,030
shift that matches where you are
in the school year. It's like

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00:17:42,030 --> 00:17:44,820
having a guide who knows what's
coming and is there to help you

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prepare for it.

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Heidi: And we would love to hear
your tips for leaving school at

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00:17:49,170 --> 00:17:52,080
school, please come share your
wins and your struggles in the

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00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:53,280
Teacher Approved Facebook group.

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Emily: Now for the Teacher
Approved Tip of the Week, where

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we share an actionable tip to
help you elevate what matters

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and simplify the rest, and this
week's tip comes from our

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00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:06,150
friends Ashley and Alicia at
Rainbow Skies For Teachers. And

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we love this idea. Tell us about
it, Heidi.

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Heidi: Yes, and we love Ashley
and Alicia. So this is such a

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00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,260
good tip. They suggest
dedicating one afternoon each

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week to leaving school as soon
as your contract time is over.

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This is just one afternoon where
you commit to a completely

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school free evening and do life
for yourself.

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Emily: I love this. And to make
it easier, they suggest

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scheduling something that forces
you out the door, a reoccurring

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commitment that you can't skip.

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Heidi: You know, like meeting up
at a gym.

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Emily: I guess I needed to get
really brutal in my enforcement

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so that you couldn't skip it.

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Heidi: I knew you had to love me
anyway, or you could have

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charged me, I guess.

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Emily: There we go.

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Heidi: I know Ashley signed up
for French lessons every

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00:18:48,780 --> 00:18:51,660
Thursday. She met her French
teacher at a local coffee shop,

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and they practiced something
new. Even if she didn't become

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fluent in those afternoons, the
point was to have something on

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the calendar that got her out of
the building.

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Emily: Oh, I love that. And
Alicia took a similar approach.

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00:19:01,710 --> 00:19:05,130
She booked a four o'clock
Pilates class each week. When

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you know class starts at four,
you have to be out the door,

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00:19:07,170 --> 00:19:09,990
right? Oh, that was, that was a
good that's a good rhyme to help

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00:19:09,990 --> 00:19:13,200
you with this! When you know it
starts at four, you have to be

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00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,220
out the door. There's no room
for just five more minutes when

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you have to be somewhere at a
certain time.

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00:19:19,620 --> 00:19:22,050
Heidi: Yeah, that deadline makes
it so much more likely that you

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00:19:22,050 --> 00:19:25,230
will actually leave on time, and
having that one protected

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00:19:25,230 --> 00:19:27,600
afternoon gives you something to
look forward to each week.

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00:19:27,930 --> 00:19:30,120
Emily: And it doesn't have to be
lessons or a fitness class. It

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00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:32,790
could be a weekly coffee date
with a friend or a hair

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00:19:32,790 --> 00:19:35,370
appointment or a craft night or
whatever works for your life,

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00:19:35,670 --> 00:19:38,430
just maybe not meeting with your
sister who is too nice and will

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00:19:38,430 --> 00:19:40,350
let you get away with showing up
late.

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00:19:41,790 --> 00:19:44,010
Heidi: The point is that it's
recurring. It's on the calendar,

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00:19:44,010 --> 00:19:47,520
and it's something just for you.
It's not about, you know, making

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00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,860
every day special, it's about
making sure you have at least

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00:19:49,860 --> 00:19:52,290
one afternoon where you
prioritize yourself.

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00:19:53,430 --> 00:19:55,530
To wrap up the show, we are
sharing what we're giving extra

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00:19:55,530 --> 00:19:57,450
credit to this week. Emily, what
gets your extra credit?

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00:19:57,840 --> 00:20:02,040
Emily: I'm giving extra credit
to the game. Game a gentle rain.

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00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:04,770
So I asked for this for
Christmas, and mom got it for

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00:20:04,770 --> 00:20:04,980
me.

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00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:06,210
Heidi: Is it digital?

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00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:09,030
Emily: No, it is a little, I
don't know what to call it,

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00:20:09,030 --> 00:20:11,490
because it's not boards and it's
not cards, it's actually like

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00:20:11,490 --> 00:20:15,360
little tiles. So it's a one
person game. You can play with

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00:20:15,360 --> 00:20:18,300
two but it's designed to be a
one person game. And that's what

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00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:19,740
I liked about it, because I'm
like, Well, I like doing

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00:20:19,740 --> 00:20:21,420
puzzles, but it'd be nice to
have something that was like,

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00:20:21,420 --> 00:20:23,850
shorter and quicker that you can
just like, finish in one

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00:20:23,850 --> 00:20:24,240
sitting.

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00:20:24,630 --> 00:20:27,750
And so basically, the way it
works is you have these little

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00:20:27,750 --> 00:20:32,100
tiles that are like triangle
shaped, sort of, and they have

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00:20:32,100 --> 00:20:36,270
different halves of flowers on
each edge of the tile. And then

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00:20:36,270 --> 00:20:39,240
you have to match them up. So
you lay down one tile, and then

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00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:41,850
you just randomly draw out
another and you try and match it

427
00:20:41,850 --> 00:20:47,100
to another flower. And so you're
trying to just grow out your

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00:20:47,100 --> 00:20:50,940
whole design here, but every
time you're able to match it

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00:20:51,060 --> 00:20:54,150
where four of them are meeting
together, so it's not exactly a

430
00:20:54,150 --> 00:20:57,180
triangle. It's hard to describe
the shape, but when you get four

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00:20:57,210 --> 00:21:00,690
that are all met together, you
get to put a little flower token

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00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:02,580
in the middle of the four.

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00:21:02,970 --> 00:21:06,510
And so you're trying to get all
eight of your little tokens down

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00:21:06,510 --> 00:21:09,780
before you run out of tiles. So
it's kind of, to me, a lot like

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00:21:09,780 --> 00:21:14,430
doing a puzzle. It's very puzzle
like, but it's shorter, easier,

436
00:21:14,430 --> 00:21:16,980
it's tactile, it's chill. It's
something I can do if I only

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00:21:16,980 --> 00:21:20,190
have 10 minutes, which is what I
like about having a puzzle out.

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00:21:20,190 --> 00:21:23,280
But sometimes I don't have a
puzzle out, so you can just grab

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00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,280
this and play the little game.
And actually, my 15 year old has

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00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:30,540
been playing it multiple times a
day, so she loves it too. It's

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00:21:30,540 --> 00:21:32,640
just so nice. I'm going to be
looking for some other little

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00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:36,000
games like this, like one person
puzzley kind of games that you

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00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:36,780
can do quickly.

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00:21:37,020 --> 00:21:38,430
Heidi: Well, it's so nice to
have something that you can just

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00:21:38,430 --> 00:21:40,290
unwind with that is not on your
phone.

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00:21:40,410 --> 00:21:43,350
Emily: Yes, I need any more of
those that I can get.

447
00:21:43,950 --> 00:21:46,320
Heidi: Or, you know, doesn't
require a billion supplies, like

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00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:47,160
a craft can.

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00:21:47,220 --> 00:21:50,040
Emily: Yes, exactly, or a setup,
like, there's not, you can just

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00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:52,140
grab it and immediately start
playing on the table. You don't

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00:21:52,140 --> 00:21:54,240
need to, like, do anything
elaborate.

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00:21:54,330 --> 00:21:55,110
Heidi: Oh, that's nice.

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00:21:55,290 --> 00:21:57,210
Emily: What are you giving extra
credit to, Heidi?

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00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:01,680
Heidi: Well, my extra credit
goes to candle wick trimmers,

455
00:22:02,100 --> 00:22:06,120
which is really weird if you
never thought about this. So I

456
00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:10,380
got invited to a favorite things
party in January, and the theme

457
00:22:10,380 --> 00:22:11,490
was hygge.

458
00:22:13,170 --> 00:22:17,160
It's Danish.

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00:22:17,340 --> 00:22:19,770
Emily: Hopefully there's no
Danes listening to us right now.

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00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:20,760
We're so sorry.

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00:22:20,850 --> 00:22:24,720
Heidi: But it's like the Danish
art of coziness, which is what

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00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,060
you want in the winter, right?
So we were supposed to bring a

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00:22:27,060 --> 00:22:29,790
favorite thing that helps us get
through the winter, but it had

464
00:22:29,790 --> 00:22:30,900
to be $5 or less.

465
00:22:31,530 --> 00:22:32,490
Emily: That's so hard.

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00:22:32,790 --> 00:22:34,590
Heidi: Like, I can't think of
anything that's $5 or less. So I

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00:22:34,830 --> 00:22:40,530
was like, Oh, okay, so central
to hygge is candles. Like so

468
00:22:40,530 --> 00:22:44,700
much of coziness revolves around
candles. And if you want your

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00:22:44,700 --> 00:22:47,850
candles to keep burning bright,
you have to practice good candle

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00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:52,260
hygiene, and that means trimming
the wick before you burn the

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00:22:52,260 --> 00:22:55,680
candle. So you can use scissors,
but like, if your candle's in a

472
00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,590
jar, it's really hard to get the
scissors in there.

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00:22:58,620 --> 00:22:59,880
Emily: Oh, I know, I've tried.

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00:23:00,030 --> 00:23:03,000
Heidi: I bought a special little
wig trimmer that's kind of

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00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:06,690
shaped like an L so it can,
like, just snip the little

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00:23:06,690 --> 00:23:09,540
candle. And I'll put a link in
the show notes, if you have no

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00:23:09,540 --> 00:23:11,730
idea what I'm talking about, I
sound like a crazy woman. You

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00:23:11,730 --> 00:23:15,000
can see what it is there, so you
can just keep your candles

479
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,510
burning. I have strong opinions
about this. I have a special

480
00:23:18,510 --> 00:23:21,810
little foil wrap I put on it if
it's starting to tunnel so,

481
00:23:21,810 --> 00:23:23,490
like, the edges will all melt
evenly.

482
00:23:24,210 --> 00:23:27,150
Emily: Oh yes, I do that as
well. Now that I know that,

483
00:23:27,150 --> 00:23:30,150
like, you need to, like, make
sure the whole top is melted

484
00:23:30,150 --> 00:23:32,910
every time, or else it will,
like, get that hole down the

485
00:23:32,910 --> 00:23:36,180
middle. And now that I know
that, I always make sure it

486
00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:38,700
melts all the way to the edge,
although it drives me crazy when

487
00:23:38,700 --> 00:23:40,530
you still get, like, an edge
that just won't melt down.

488
00:23:40,530 --> 00:23:42,750
Heidi: Oh my gosh, that is so
funny, because right before we

489
00:23:42,750 --> 00:23:46,860
started recording, I had this
candle, and the edges were not

490
00:23:46,860 --> 00:23:49,710
burning, so I got out, I have a
little scraper, I was like, I

491
00:23:49,710 --> 00:23:51,090
wonder if I can scrape this off.
And sure enough.

492
00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:58,080
Emily: Okay, so you have a
little candle first aid kit at

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00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:01,920
all times. Well, I need a candle
wick trimmer because I don't

494
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:02,310
have one.

495
00:24:02,310 --> 00:24:04,950
Heidi: Okay. Well, we'll have to
get you one. I think the one I

496
00:24:04,950 --> 00:24:07,650
put the link in the show notes
too is rose gold, it's very

497
00:24:07,650 --> 00:24:09,060
fancy, but mine is just silver.

498
00:24:09,540 --> 00:24:10,950
Emily: Okay, well, I'll check it
out.

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00:24:12,420 --> 00:24:15,540
Heidi: That is it for today's
episode. Start by planning your

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00:24:15,540 --> 00:24:18,600
after school transition ritual.
Once you have that in place,

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00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,390
experiment with the rest of the
steps to find what works for

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00:24:21,390 --> 00:24:21,660
you.

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00:24:24,270 --> 00:24:28,020
We hope you enjoyed this episode
of Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.

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00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,350
Emily: And I'm Emily. Thank you
for listening. Be sure to follow

505
00:24:31,350 --> 00:24:33,870
or subscribe in your podcast app
so that you never miss an

506
00:24:33,870 --> 00:24:34,320
episode.

507
00:24:34,770 --> 00:24:37,080
Heidi: You can connect with us
and other teachers in the

508
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,260
Teacher Approved Facebook group.
We'll see you here next week.

509
00:24:40,470 --> 00:24:41,280
Bye for now.

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00:24:41,310 --> 00:24:42,090
Emily: Bye.