This is episode 249 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 secondstorywindow.net.

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

the show.

Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. Today we are

talking about five things you can do to make teaching easier

right now that will also set you up for a smoother back to

school, seriously. And we have a teacher approved tip for making

sure everyone pays attention while you give directions.

Our try it tomorrow this week is a little different from

our usual classroom strategies. This one is just for you, that

hard working teacher. So Emily, tell us about this.

All right, so tomorrow, grab a sticky note and write one

word on it. March. Put it somewhere you'll see it, like

your desk, your monitor, your plan book, wherever. And the

next time you feel yourself getting really frustrated with

student behavior or just the general chaos of this time of

year, look at the note.

Yeah, March can feel like such a slog. Why is it 31 days?

It's such a long month.

The longest month.

Seriously. And sometimes just having that reminder is

enough to give yourself a little grace.

Yes, you're not doing anything wrong. It's just March.

It's just March.

If you enjoy what we share here on the podcast, we would love it

if you would take a second and leave us a five star rating and

review. It's one of the easiest ways to help new listeners find

us.

All right. Are you ready to take a look at five things

you can do in March to prepare for back to school?

I bet you anything, there's like nobody has blog

posts about this. There are not other podcast episodes on it,

and we promise we have not lost our minds or our calendars. We

are well aware that the first day of school is still five, six

months away. So today is not about handing you a list of

August tasks to start tackling in March, because that would be

completely unhelpful.

Definitely. But even though the first day is still

months away, March does provide a brief window of opportunity

for helping make that time a little easier. That's because

you are in the thick of things right now. You know exactly

what's working and what makes you want to close your door and

eat lunch alone.

Which, for the record, is sometimes the right call.

Totally. Zero shame about that. But it's important to

recognize that the clarity you have right now is valuable but

fleeting, and by July, a lot of everything you're aware of right

now is just gonna fade into a general blur.

So today we're talking about five small things you can

do today that will pay off later. This is the definition of

working smarter, not harder. You're making sure that the

effort you're putting in today makes both the end of this

school year and the start of next school year a little easier

to manage.

That is like our favorite kind of magic trick. So let's

look at our first suggestion, which is to reflect on what you

already know about next fall.

And really, this could not be simpler. You're probably

doing some version of this in your mind already.

Yeah, by now, most teachers have probably turned in

their letters of intent, so you know at least a few things about

next year. Are you staying in the same grade or switching

grades? Are you staying in your room or moving? Are there any

team changes that you need to account for?

And all of that is just floating around in your head

taking up space. So this first task is to get it out of your

head and onto paper. We are calling it a next year parking

lot, a running list where you can drop anything that comes to

mind about next year as it surfaces.

The key thing here is remembering there's no pressure

to make decisions. You're just giving those thoughts somewhere

to live so your brain can let them go and you can deal with

everything else on your plate right now.

Yeah, because that background stress is real and

it's really draining. When you've got a dozen unresolved

'what about next year' questions that are just floating around,

they add up even when you're not consciously thinking about them.

Exactly. It's like having open tabs in your brain, and

that makes me nuts. So grab a big sticky note, a scratch

paper, or even your notes app, and start a list of what's

changing, and then for each change, jot down a quick note

about what that might mean for you.

So if you're moving rooms, you might need to

remember to save boxes. If your team is gaining or losing a

member, then you might need to figure out a new distribution of

responsibilities.

But you really, you can figure all of that out down the

road. You don't need to know any of these details right now. You

just need a designated space to park all those thoughts that

keep racing through your brain. That's the perfect kind of task

for March, and it will save you from having to recall all of

those questions five months from now.

Once you've got your thought parking lot started, you

can turn your attention to our second March task, which is to

declutter with intention.

March is actually a really good time for

decluttering for two reasons. One, the clutter from the last

six or so months has probably built up quite a bit by now, if

your room is anything like mine was, and that clutter makes an

already chaotic classroom feel worse. When spring fever is at

its peak, reclaiming your physical space gives you back

some sense of agency. It's one of the few things you can

actually control right now.

And the second reason is to think of decluttering as a

gift to future you. Fewer materials now means less to

pack, less to move, and less to organize in August. Every item

you let go of in March is one less item on your end of year

list.

Now, if you are someone who thrives with a big project,

maybe you want to come in on a Saturday and knock it all out

for once, and good for you, if that lights you up. But for us

lesser mortals, without that kind of stamina, you can take

this on a tiny bit at a time. Just start by picking out one

small area to focus on each week, that could be a drawer or

a cabinet even.

Or even just one shelf in a cabinet. The nice thing about

doing this now is that you really have time for small steps

to make a big difference. If you've got 12 weeks left of the

school year and picked one area to declutter each week, you

could make pretty good progress on deep cleaning most of your

room.

We have a whole episode, episode 60, all about spring

cleaning your classroom. Check that out if you want some more

tips. But the thing to keep in mind is to be discerning about

what you decide to keep.

Yeah, I think this is a common trap for teachers.

Getting rid of something potentially useful, even if it's

something you have never actually used, can make you feel

panicky. There's often the worry that you might need it someday.

That is how I held on to a set of coin rubber stamps for

years. I got them at a workshop early, early in my teaching

career, and I could never figure out what to do with them. I just

did not have it in me to manage ink pads. They were so nice, and

they seemed so special, and I just couldn't let them go. And

when I left second grade, you know what happened? They went to

a new teacher, never even having been opened after taking up

space in my math cupboard for over a decade.

Oh yeah, that is a cautionary tale that most of us

can relate to. You need space for things that will actually

help your students now, not things that might help future

students someday. When you unearth one of those treasures,

ask yourself, have I touched this in two years? If the answer

is no, it's not a someday item, it's a museum piece.

And you have our permission to let it go. Donate

what's still usable, recycle the rest. Another teacher will be so

grateful to have it. And if it helps, consider that it is doing

more good being used by students, even if they're not

your students, rather than sitting on a shelf.

You know, we need to get a custom, like, easy button that

you can use, that that sings, let it go. So when you like find

something, you hit the button and it'll sing to you, and

you'll be like, All right, I'll let it go.

Perfect.

And while you're at it, take a look at your classroom

library. Are there books that never get picked up? Are some

falling apart or outdated? We know it goes against a book

lover's heart to part with a book, but sometimes it's the

right choice.

Yeah, even public libraries clear out old books

all the time. I follow some librarians on threads, and

they're always talking about that, and people are shocked

that libraries get rid of books.

They'd be stuffed.

Yeah, and a little weeding now means a fresher,

more functional library in the fall, without having to do a big

overhaul in August, when you've already got 65 other things on

your list.

And your room's so hot and you just don't want to be

sitting there digging through your library. Plus, if you clear

out unused books, you'll have shelf space to buy new ones,

just in case you've accrued some scholastic bonus points this

year.

Buying new books is always the right answer. I don't

care what the question is.

Nope, correct. If you ever need us to back you up on a

book purchase, just send us a message, and we are more than

happy to help you justify it.

I'd say that's one of our gifts maybe.

Yep.

Okay, so you're thinking about upcoming changes. You're

slowly working away at decluttering. Emily, what is

next?

Well, our third tip for March is to save student work as

future teaching tools. This one is so easy, it almost feels like

you're getting away with something.

I love a sneaky good idea.

And there are so few of those in teaching, so you've got

to grab them when they come by. Okay, if you're staying in the

same grade, right now you're teaching content that you're

going to teach next year. And one of the most powerful things

you can do when you introduce a new assignment is show students

examples of what the work actually looks like.

Of course, you can always make that example yourself. You

probably have done that plenty of times, I know I have.But

kid-generated models land so much better than anything

teacher-made. When students see work from actual kids, they see

that the standard is achievable.

And that creates a real shift, and it's so easy. While

you're teaching these units right now, be intentional about

saving a few pieces. Grab examples that clearly show what

you're looking for, maybe even include different levels, like a

strong example, a middle example and a still developing example.

Seeing that range helps kids understand the expectation.

Just for privacy, remove any names before you share

anything with a new class, and you're good to go.

Yeah, you don't need your second graders telling, you

know, third grade Johnny, hey, we saw your work today, and it

wasn't the good example.

Avoid that, avoid that at all costs. And when you have

your pictures, drop them into a folder on your drive, something

simple, like a label of work examples organized by subject,

will help you know exactly where everything is, and that's it.

When these units come up again next year, you won't be

scrambling to create samples from scratch, or, you know,

trying to remember what good work looked like. You're going

to have the real thing all ready to go.

You can extend this same idea to anything else you might

want to reference in the future. Photograph anchor charts before

they come down, take a picture of a strong notebook setup, and

definitely grab photos of any bulletin boards you like. You

tell yourself you remember, but you won't remember. It's like

every year I have to look at last year's pictures of how I

set up my Christmas decorations, or my mantle and shelf decor.

I'm like, How did I do this? I never remember, and you won't

remember either.

Okay, ready for tip four? This is for the version of you

who has a running wish list of things that they always say

they're going to implement next year.

This is my chronic downfall. Every summer, I would

build this vision of the kind of classroom I was going to run

this year. And this would be the year for the consistent morning

message. This would be the year I figured out rubrics for

grading. This would be the year for weekly family communication

that didn't feel like a chore every week. And then August

would hit, and it's just 100% survival mode. So those ideas

would get pushed back again. And when I finally came up for air

in October, it felt too late to start something new, so it got

pushed again to next August, rinse and repeat over and over.

Well, you know for sure, I was not any better at that. In

fact, I was probably enabling a lot of your bad habits.

I guarantee it.

But it's just such a draining cycle to be trapped in.

You can see how these ideas would benefit your classroom and

your students, but figuring out how to manage new systems on top

of starting the school year is almost guaranteed to fall apart.

So if you want to have something different, we need to do

something different.

And that is why our fourth tip is to try out the

thing you've been wanting to try. Whatever that might be, a

new grading system, a new type of technology, or a new class

routine, March is your moment for greatness.

Or you know, if not greatness, at least giving it a

solid effort. That's because right now, you have something

valuable, a class that already knows your routines. They trust

you. So when you introduce something new, you're not also

managing new relationships and new schedules and new everything

at the same time.

Yeah, you just get to try the thing. Think of it as a low

stakes prototype. Start that morning message, test a

different end of day procedure, or try a new transition routine.

See what actually takes too long, what needs tweaking, and

honestly, what you don't enjoy as much as you thought you

would.

Yeah, definitely pay attention to that part. There

are ideas that sound great in theory and feel exhausting in

practice. Finding that out now with students who are already

used to you is so much better than finding it out in week two

with a brand new class.

Okay. And that brings us to our fifth March task, which

is something you are going to thank us for. Next week, we are

kicking off the Quiet Your Chatty Class Challenge inside

the Teacher Approved Club, and we want to invite you to join us

by starting a free trial.

Spring chatter is real and it's here. You maybe have

noticed that. The energy is high, focus is scattered, and

getting students to actually listen while you're giving

directions can feel like a full time job on top of your full

time job.

But we can help you manage that. As part of the

challenge, you'll get three already-done-for-you mini

lessons and systems specifically designed to address classroom

talking. Plus you'll get printables, a teacher's guide,

and a daily video with us, so we can help walk you through it.

You can use all of this right now with your current

class to get things a little quieter during work time. But

here's the back to school piece, and this is what we love about

it. When you go through the challenge now with those

students that already know you, this will be your practice run.

You're learning how the pieces fit together, getting all of the

materials prepped, figuring out what works, before you ever have

to introduce any of it to a brand new group of kids.

So then when fall rolls around, you're not trying

something new, while also building relationships and

teaching first week procedures. You'll already know the system

and have your materials all prepped. It means you'll be

implementing something you've already tested.

If you have ever introduced a system you've never

tried before, while simultaneously doing everything

else September requires, you know exactly how much easier it

will be to figure things out now.

You can start your free trial through the link in the

show notes. So come join us for the challenge. Get some real

relief from the spring chatter, and walk away with materials and

systems that will be already prepped for you in the fall. So

it is a double win.

Okay, those are our five tasks you can do in March to get

ahead for back to school. And we promised you they wouldn't be

overwhelming, and they weren't, right?

I agree, yes, right. I'm speaking for the listener.

They're nodding along.

Thank you, Emily. So number one, reflect on what you

already know about next fall. Start a next year parking lot to

get those floating thoughts out of your head and onto paper.

Number two, declutter with intention. Set a goal to

sort through one small area per week. Let go of the museum

pieces, weed your classroom library, and enjoy the mood

shift that comes with a cleaner space.

Number three, save student work right now as

feature teaching tools. Next year, you'll have real student

samples ready to go, instead of scrambling to create something

from scratch.

Number four, test drive the new management system or

routine you keep meaning to try. Use your current class as your

low stakes prototype, so you're not figuring it out in week two

of next year.

And number five, start a free trial of the Teacher

Approved Club and join us for the Quiet Your Chatty Class

Challenge. Get immediate relief from spring chatter and walk

away with systems and materials already prepped for fall.

Make sure you check the show notes for the link to start

your free trial and join the challenge, we would love to see

you there.

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 to try

the five finger game, and this is the perfect tool for helping

reset shrinking attention span. So tell us more about it, Heidi.

Well, this is such a good one for getting students to

actually listen while you're talking. The dream, right? So

here's how it works. When you are about to give directions,

hold up your hand with all five fingers up. You know, don't wave

around in the air. You can just have your hand in front of you.

And then ask your students to mirror you. They hold up their

own five fingers against their chests. Once they're ready, you

just give your directions. Anytime someone talks out of

turn, blurts or interrupts, you put down one finger, and your

students then immediately mirror you. So they're watching,

they're paying attention, and they are physically tracking how

the class is doing as a group.

And because everyone mirrors every finger, students

aren't just managing their own behavior. They're aware of the

groups. They're quietly holding each other accountable without

you having to say a word about it.

And that means you don't have to give any warnings or

call out names, and that shifts the dynamic completely. You just

put a finger down and keep going, and the students will

figure out the rest pretty quickly.

Just make sure you're keeping the talking to the

minimum, even the most focused student can only pay attention

for so long.

And if you teach younger kids, you might be able to keep

them invested in this process just by making it feel like a

challenge. "Let's see if we can get everyone to listen to my

directions without talking. Do you think we can do it with zero

interruptions?"

If you teach older kids, though, they might need a bit

more of an incentive. Tie the outcome to whatever motivates

your class. If all five fingers are still up at the end of

directions, maybe they earn a brain break, a couple minutes of

free choice, an extra recess minute, or whatever works for

your group.

Try it this week. It takes about 30 seconds to teach,

and you can introduce it before your very next set of

directions.

And this pairs beautifully with the Quiet Your

Chatty Class Challenge that we mentioned earlier. If spring

chatter is wearing you down right now, that challenge is

going to give you a whole toolkit of strategies, just like

this one.

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 repeat extra credit to the TV show Shrinking.

Season three is airing now on Apple TV, and I'm pretty sure I

gave this extra credit in season one and season two.

It's just so good.

It deserves it. I think it's the best show on TV right

now. If you like humor and heart and found family, and Harrison

Ford being the absolute best version of himself, I think

maybe ever, you will love it. Every season just gets better.

So what are you waiting for? Go watch it.

Yeah. How rare is that this show gets better each

season?

Yes, it usually goes the other way.

Yeah, because I liked the first season, but I wouldn't say

it completely won me over. I think I was still, like, waiting

for, like, a big, heavy drama twist. So I was bracing myself,

and then you get to the end, you're like, Oh, it was just,

like, it was dealing with real things, but not in a way that

left you emotionally wrecked.

Yes, which I do appreciate that about the show.

It's not just fluff. They're covering real human emotions and

experiences, but in a way that feels, what's the word I want to

say? I was gonna say wholesome, but that doesn't feel right.

It's, it feels real but, but not too heavy and sweet, but not

saccharine.

Yeah, it's, it's like Ted Lasso, but maybe slightly less

funny?

I think it's funnier than Ted Lasso. But in a different

way.

Ted Lasso's kind of broad humor.

Yes.

And this is very like, intelligent, quiet moments.

Yes, it's a little like, Wait, what did he say? Oh, it's

so good. I love it so much. What are you giving extra credit to,

Heidi?

Well, my extra credit is going to the Proper Mountain

Woman's Club.

Yahoo.

Which is something that you Emily introduced me to, and

we've had so much fun doing this the past few months. Our mom

even joined us. It's just been so much fun. And don't let the

name intimidate you. It is not about survival skills.

No rope tying required.

Instead, it's more like Girl Scouts for grown ups, but

with a fun theme, instead of, you know, I don't know what Girl

Scout badges, I wasn't in Girl Scouts.

No, me neither, sadly.

But each season has a different focus. And then

there's a list of possible merit badges you can earn. And the

badges are all digital, which was kind of sad, but if you earn

enough of those badges, you qualify for a physical patch. So

that's been really fun.

Yeah.

And this week we are wrapping up the winter session,

which has been all about Emma M Lion.

Which is the book series that we love.

Yes.

That's an extra extra credit for this week that we're

both giving double extra credit to, because I know we've given

it before, but it is so good, best book series. I just

finished going through it for a second time on audio. It's so

good.

Oh, that's so fun. So we have earned merit badges for

having tea parties, making Valentine decorations, and even

howling at the moon. But it does also have practical suggestions

like deep cleaning your bathroom, finishing a project,

tidying your desk, which I still have not done.

I know I need to, I should like right now go do my

washing my makeup brushes one.

Oh, there you go. Yeah, that's an easy one. So I bring

this up now because the spring season is starting March 20, and

if you want a gentle invitation to be more present in your life,

this might be what you're looking for. I feel like it has

been so good for me to have these little nudges to just add

some whimsy to my day, like wearing a brooch on Thursdays is

one of the merit badges. And you know, honestly, it did not make

me a more productive person to wear a brooch, but it just felt

so ridiculous that it made my Thursdays have a little more of

a sparkle. I feel like it made winter a lot more enjoyable. So

I'm looking forward to it.

I feel like, especially in winter, it's nice to have

these, but I mean, at any time, I think it's good, and whimsy is

my word of the year, so I was already looking for ways to add

whimsy to my life. So this, like, has just worked out to be

perfect. And you can just do whatever merit badges you want.

You don't have to do any that don't speak to you.

Yes, like, there's one that was like, spend 50 hours

outside or something.

No, it was 100.

Oh my gosh, yeah, we're not doing that.

In winter?

I did not even give it a second thought.

No, and I'm also not going to learn how to make Beef

Wellington. Like, I'm just not. But there are plenty of things

on here that, like, maybe I wouldn't have necessarily

thought, like, oh, I want to do that. But it was just

interesting enough that I'm like, I'm going to try that. And

then, and then it was so fun. Like, when we made the, we did

foil embossing for Valentine's Day decorations, and I had never

even thought about that before, but it was so much fun.

And the kids did it with us.

Yeah, it was great.

We went to a fountain after dark and threw in a coin.

Yeah, we've had tons of fun.

Yeah, learning about Victorian poets and composers

and all kinds of things.

Memorizing Queen Victoria's children.

I got cards to make flashcards, so I can still get

that one. We do not have a discount code if you want to

sign up for this, but I know there are some out there, so if

you do want to sign up for this, definitely look around for a

discount before you join.

If I see any for the spring season, I will put them

in our stories on Instagram.

Smart, perfect.

And if you like earning merit badges, I just have to put

a little plug. And this idea came to me before we did this

club. You're going to really like the Summer Teacher Summer

Talk Session.

So we're already hard at work on it.

Yes, yes, it's going to be so fun this summer.

That is it for today's episode. Pick one thing from

today's list and use it not only to make March a little easier,

but to make back to school a little easier as well.

And if you want to join us for the Quiet Your Chatty

Class Challenge, the link to start your free trial of the

Teacher Approved Club is in the show notes, and we would love to

have you there.

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.