Heidi: This is episode 203 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 secondstorywindow.net.
Heidi: We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily: Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we are discussing six pressures that we are just
saying no to this summer, and sharing a teacher approved tip
for adding a little delight to your school day.
Heidi: But first, it's time for Try It Tomorrow, a favorite
quick win that you can try in your life right away. Emily,
what is our suggestion for this week?
Emily: Well, for this week, why not try listing your wins for
the day? At the end of the day, or before you're up and going
the next morning, make a list of all the things you got done in
the day. If you're feeling the pressure that you're not doing
enough, seeing a list of everything you are doing can be
very freeing.
Heidi: And don't feel like you have to limit yourself to just
the big stuff. Putting away the cereal that was left out or
remembering to send an email, these are all accomplishments
we're celebrating. You are doing better than you think you are.
Emily: I used to do a wins journal, and it really helped
me. I should get back to that.
Heidi: I know I was thinking, I need to do that too.
Emily: I have some good wins for today. I'm gonna get on a
notebook. If you like this idea or anything else we share here
on the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five star
rating and review on Apple podcasts? Ratings and reviews
are one way that new listeners find us, so every rating and
review is a huge help to us.
Heidi: Over the years, Emily and I have created an extensive
library of back to school products. To help you find the
tools that will make the start of your new year easier, today
we are spotlighting our first day and first week of school
planning guide.
Emily: We're really focused on helping teachers prep
intentionally and not haphazardly. So we put together
this guide to walk you step by step through how to create
thoughtful, effective plans for your first week of school.
Heidi: A successful first day of school builds a powerful
momentum that will carry you through the following weeks and
months. This guide will help you create your own perfect plan for
the first day of school, and also show you how to extend that
plan into the first week.
Emily: Just think how awesome it will feel knowing that your
first week is already planned, prepared and ready to roll.
Heidi: So check out the show notes for a link to our first
day of school lesson plan and planning guide.
Emily: Now I don't want to alarm anyone, but we are tiptoeing
into July now.
Heidi: And that means, if it hasn't already started, the BTS
buzz is going to ramp up big time.
Emily: Even as we speak, stores are stocking shelves full of
notebooks and glue sticks and the cheap pencil boxes that will
fall apart by October, you know the ones I mean. But we're not
saying this to scare you. We want to prepare you.
Heidi: Right. We want you to have a plan so when the ads pop
up on TV, or you turn the corner at the store and find yourselves
in front of the back to school aisles, you are prepared to face
down the beast without panic.
Emily: So in that moment when it's hard to breathe and it
feels like your stomach might drop out of your body, you need
to calm the part of your brain that thinks you're in danger.
Your eyes see notebooks, but your brain sees hungry tigers.
Those notebooks are a threat to your safety, so your brain
launches your survival reflexes.
Heidi: Now, obviously, logically, we know we are not in
danger, but our brains are wired to perceive threats, and
thinking about school in July can feel very threatening. So
take back some control by breathing deeply. This signals
to your brain that you are not, in fact, about to be devoured by
an ambush of tigers. And I think that is an awesome collective
noun for the way that the back to school display might actually
make you feel.
Emily: I just learned something new today. I think that is a
collective noun that I did not know, an ambush of tigers. I
love it. But then you need to choose a loving phrase you can
repeat to yourself. So maybe something like this feels
threatening and urgent, but it's not. Or, I am on track. I have
all the time I need to get ready.
Heidi: Because we know this moment is coming, we can make a
plan for how to respond when it inevitably happens, and we can
also prepare for how to react to the other front of this back to
school battle—social media pressure.
Emily: Yes, if you follow any teacher accounts, lots of
classroom content is headed your way soon. Not only might that
trigger your fight or flight response, but in order to
counter that panicky feeling, you might be tempted to do
whatever you see that other teacher is sharing.
Heidi: Now, whatever you're seeing online might be a totally
great idea, but when you jump into something because you feel
alarmed, you're not choosing it because it is great. You're
choosing it because any kind of action feels like an antidote to
panic.
Emily: It makes sense why we do this. The obvious answer to
feeling out of control is to do something within your control,
right? But this is where we run into problems. We see the
teachers on our screens who seem prepared, who seem calm and
ready to go. That is exactly how I want to feel. So surely if I
just do what they're doing, I will also be prepared and calm
and ready to go.
Heidi: And that sense of panic is so strong, it's so urgent, we
don't always stop to think if doing those things will actually
be the things that make us prepared. Then we spend lots of
time and energy and money on projects that are not moving the
needle.
Emily: And guess what that does to your sense of panic once
school is closer. It's not good. And that's how some of us end up
in the doctor with rashes and ulcers and dislocated jaws. But
not me, that one's you. Heidi.
Heidi: Well, thankfully I did not do all of that in the same
year. I just, I like to spread out my stress injuries.
Emily: Well, our hope for all of you is zero doctor visits this
back to school season. I mean, that is really just a good goal
in general, but especially good during back to school season. So
we're going to avoid that by handling our stress in more
meaningful ways. One way we can do that is by recognizing that
just because something looks amazing on social media doesn't
mean it is fit for our classrooms.
Heidi: Okay. So we are going to channel all of the messaging we
were taught in the 90s, and we're going to just say no to
these six social media pressures.
Emily: Let's start with the big one, the elaborate classroom
theme. You know, the ones, rainforest retreat, outer space
odyssey, 1950s diner or whatever the latest trend Tiktok has
dreamed up.
Heidi: Themes like these can be incredibly fun. There's a huge
wow factor at meet the teacher night, when everyone wants to
poke their head in and see all of the fun decor. But decking
out a classroom is also incredibly expensive, time
consuming, and often not sustainable.
Emily: Yeah, a decked out room makes a big splash on day one,
but by October, your students won't even notice the palm
leaves or the Galaxy backdrop anymore. What will matter is how
they feel in your classroom, safe, welcome and known. If a
theme helps you get there and you love it, go for it. We would
never tell you not to.
Heidi: But if it feels like something you have to do in
order to keep up, give yourself permission to say no, even if
the teacher across the hall has literal vines hanging from the
ceiling and your students ooh and ah as they walk past. You do
not have to deck out your room. Your classroom is not a
performance space. It's a place for real learning, real kids and
a real human teacher.
Emily: And if you do feel guilty for keeping it simple, remind
yourself that science actually backs you up on this. Studies
have demonstrated that overly decorated spaces detract from
student learning.
Heidi: Yeah, those elaborate themes can actually keep
students from focusing on academic content, and they
create an environment where the decorations are competing with
learning objectives, so you can feel confident in saying no to
this with zero guilt.
Emily: So the second pressure that we are saying no to is the
pressure to laminate all the things. And we get the appeal
because we love a laminator. We each own our own personal
laminators. But the key to being the queen of lamination is
knowing what is lamination worthy.
Heidi: Yeah, lamination takes a lot of work, and it can be
expensive if you're the one footing the bill. At my school,
we were literally charged by the foot for that. So save your
laminating for what really matters.
Emily: In order for laminating to be worthwhile, the pros of
doing it have to outweigh the cons. So Heidi, tell us what
some of the cons of laminating are.
Heidi: Well, first of all, laminating is permanent. If you
decide you need to change something, there's not an easy
fix once it's all encased in plastic. Second, it can make it
hard for students to read. If you decide to laminate a chart,
for example, you will also have to spray it with that clear,
matte spray paint so that the kids can read it. Third, it
takes a lot of time to feed everything through the machine
and then cut it all out. And fourth, once paper is laminated,
it is probably not recyclable.
Emily: And don't forget that some teachers are cut, laminate,
cut kind of teachers, so that is, like, twice the amount. So
that is a big time commitment. Now, if it's something that your
kids will be handling all the time, then you probably do want
to laminate. But otherwise, save your time, save your money, save
your sanity, and just say no to over laminating.
Okay, what is the third pressure we're saying no to, Heidi?
Heidi: This is the pressure to jump on the current trend. Every
year, a new must have or must do explodes across teacher
Instagram or Tiktok. I haven't quite spotted the one for this
year yet, but I'm sure it will show up soon. Do you remember
not too long ago the summer of brag tags, Emily?
Emily: Oh yes.
Heidi: Or sticker stores or elaborate reward menus, or
investing in every conceivable form of flexible seating. It is
easy to think, if I don't do this, my classroom won't be good
enough, but the truth is that a lot of these trends are band
aids.
Emily: Yeah, these fun ideas look like solutions, but they
don't always solve any problems. Sometimes they just create more
problems. So if you're already overwhelmed, ask yourself, will
this new idea actually meet a need in my classroom, or does it
just give me something to control while I feel panicky?
Just remember, new is not always better. Sustainable, simple and
meaningful will always win in the long run.
Heidi: Well, moving on, let's talk money. Social media loves a
color coordinated classroom—matching bins,
personalized water bottles, rainbow carts, charming lamps,
boho chic supply caddies, and adorable first day of school
gift bags for every student. But none of this is required. You do
not need to spend hundreds of dollars for your classroom to be
warm and welcoming.
Emily: And of course, those perfectly coordinated shelves do
look so cute in an Instagram reel. I definitely understand
the appeal. But you know what's even more valuable? A calm,
healthy teacher who still has enough money in the bank account
to pay for groceries. Connection doesn't come from fancy fonts
and Pinterest worthy baskets. It comes from you, the teacher,
your presence, your attention and your care.
Heidi: There's another kind of pressure that creeps in when you
see other classrooms online looking finished and polished
before August even begins. It's the sort of thing that social
media is famous for, and this is the pressure to make everything
picture perfect before the first day.
Emily: You have seen these classrooms online, I'm sure.
Every bulletin board is styled, every space is labeled, every
inch of the walls are covered. But here's your permission slip.
It is okay to leave your walls blank. In fact, it can be
better. When your students walk in on the first day, they'll see
a space with room to grow. They'll see that their work will
matter, because it's going to fill the walls.
Heidi: If you're worried that leaving empty space will make
your room look unready, just add a little touch. All you have to
do is print a sign that says, brilliant work coming soon. Or
watch this space for amazing ideas. This lets your students
know that this is our classroom, not just yours, and you're so
confident that they have great things ahead that you are
intentionally leaving room for that greatness.
Emily: And that brings us to the last pressure that we are saying
no to this one is the sneakiest, because it doesn't show up as a
to do list. It shows up as a feeling. And this is the
pressure to compare yourself.
Heidi: Oh, we all know that feeling so well. You see another
teacher's classroom or lesson plan or first week schedule, and
you think, I'm already behind, but you are not. What you're
seeing is a moment, not the full story.
Emily: Right. Social media doesn't show the extra help that
teachers might have or the extra time they might have because
they're in a different season of life. You don't see their doubts
or their debt or their burnout, you just see the highlight reel.
So instead of comparing, connect and remind yourself that your
journey is valid, your timeline is okay. You are not behind. You
are building something real.
Heidi: So let's sum it up this way. You don't have to perform
your teaching for anyone else. Your classroom doesn't need to
look like an Instagram post to be effective. You don't need to
do it all. You just need to do what matters for your kids and
for yourself.
Emily: So let's recap the six pressures that we are absolutely
saying no to this summer. Elaborate classroom themes that
you do not enjoy doing, laminating everything, whatever
the latest trend is that will take a lot of work and not solve
any real problems, spending lots on classroom setup, making your
classroom picture perfect, and comparing yourself.
Heidi: The most prepared teachers focus on the invisible
work—understanding their students, planning meaningful
instruction and creating simple systems that support learning.
Social media makes the decorative work visible, but
it's the foundational work that actually serves students.
Emily: Your back to school prep should make the transition
easier, not heavier. If a task feels like it's for social
media, it probably is not essential. If it feels like it's
for your students or your own sanity, that is your compass.
Put your energy there and let the rest fade away. Now we would
love to hear what you are saying no to this summer. Come join the
conversation in our Teacher Approved Facebook group.
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 bring
back the lucky duck for some surprise and delight. So tell us
about this one, Heidi.
Emily: And we brought it up again in Episode 158 when we
Heidi: I love this idea so much. We first talked about this back
in episode 114 and it's one of those tips that's so simple but
so effective. So this idea comes from crafttaycorner on
Instagram. The idea is that each day, you put a rubber duck on
one student's desk, and that student becomes the lucky duck
were talking about surprise and delight for team building. The
for the day.
lucky duck gets special privileges and responsibilities
for that day. Maybe they're the line leader. They get to choose
centers first, or they get extra technology time.
Heidi: What I love about this is that it's not something that
your kids are earning or working toward, it's just pure surprise
and delight. You're just choosing someone to make their
day a little more special. And that kind of unexpected joy does
wonders for classroom morale.
Emily: And you can totally adapt this to fit your classroom.
Instead of set jobs, maybe the lucky duck gets to sit in a
special chair or spin a prize wheel. If this is the excuse you
needed to buy a prize wheel, you could do it for this. Or choose
the transition song. Really, anything that makes the child
feel special for the day is going to be such a morale boost.
And crafttaycorner does this all year long. We think it might
be even more impactful if you use it for just a few weeks here
and there. Makes it so special and unexpected.
Heidi: Yeah, just makes sure everyone gets a turn before you
retire it, or you're gonna have some very disappointed kids.
Now, the reason we are bringing this up in the middle of summer,
and okay, we're not saying this is vital, but if you have been
to Michael's Crafts lately, you may have seen their wall of
rubber ducks. There are itty bitty, tiny ducks and giant
ducks and lots of regular sized ducks in cute and clever
costumes. Now there's absolutely no pressure. Remember, we are
saying no to things that don't serve us, but if you wanted an
excuse to buy those adorable ducks, you know this might be
your answer.
Emily: Yes, if this would serve you in your classroom, if not,
ignore us completely. But if it would, do this, okay. If we
haven't sold you yet on the lucky duck surprise and delight,
we've got some more duck based suggestions that you could use
your ducks for.
Heidi: I don't know if anyone's ever said duck based suggestions
before.
Emily: Well, I did just have baby ducks in my yard, so this
is like perfect time for all the duck discussion. So if a student
gives a clever response, you could let them put a duck on
their desk as the, and I'm going to try and say this without
laughing, Waddle Great Idea Award.
Heidi: Only thing better than a rubber duck is a duck pun.
Emily: So now their job would be to listen to other students
responses during the lesson, and pass the duck on to them. Just
make sure the duck is supporting good discussion and not
distracting from it. You'd have to be careful with this one.
Heidi: Another slightly unhinged idea is to save a duck for when
the day is just falling apart. You know, when three kids are
melting down and someone spilled their entire water bottle and
you are questioning all of your life choices. Pull out a rubber
duck, hold it up, and then say something completely ridiculous,
like time for a quackitude adjustment, or according to duck
law, we all get to try again, and then you can shake things up
to reset the day.
Emily: That's amazing, hitting a reset button, but like, with
100% more silliness, and so that's just bound to turn
everybody's mood around. And sometimes we just need to
acknowledge that teaching is weird and wonderful, and a
rubber duck is the perfect mascot for that.
Heidi: It's really such a small, pointless thing, but sometimes
the smallest gestures make the biggest difference in how kids
feel about being in your classroom. And also, if you ever
find yourself in a situation where you need someone to help
you justify a purchase, please reach out, because we are your
girls.
Emily: It's like the dad from my big frat Greek wedding, and
everybody can ask him about a word and say, How does this come
from Greek? Well, we are that person for weird ideas. Tell us
an idea, and we will connect it to how you can use it in the
classroom. I promise, we can come up with it. Bring it to the
Teacher Approved Facebook group. We got you.
Heidi: To wrap up the show, we're sharing what we're giving
extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets you extra
credit?
Emily: I'm giving extra credit to the book Colton Gentry's
Third Act by Jeff Zenter, wait, Zentner, maybe that's how you
say it. Zentner?
Heidi: That's a mouthful.
Emily: Yeah, a lot of consonants. It's about a former
Well, that's a good recommendation. I have not even
country music star who loses everything after speaking out
about gun violence, and he ends up back in his hometown, just
like trying to figure out what to do next after he's basically
heard of this book.
been kicked out of country music. And this book has
I think it just came out earlier this year, so it's newish.
heartbreak and humor and second chances, and just like a lot of
heart. I think you could probably consider this a rom com
read, but it's from the male main character's perspective,
which is unique, and honestly, probably not something I would
usually go for, but I loved it. It felt really fresh and fun.
Heidi: Okay, well
Emily: What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?
And I'm still thinking about it, which is very rare. I usually
finish a book, and a week later I can't even remember what it
was about.
Heidi: I am giving extra credit to myself. I've ever done that.
I solved the stupidest problem, and I know it's really dumb, but
I'm so tickled with myself about this.
Emily: Okay, tell me.
Heidi: So I have been doing this thing the past few weeks where
an hour after I go to bed, I wake up like dead out of my
sleep, like, did I remember to take my bedtime pills? And I
cannot remember. So then it's like, did I, uh... Now you're
probably thinking like, oh, Heidi, they have pill cases
exactly for this, which I do use at bedtime, for the pills that I
take every night. But then sometimes I have to take, like,
my allergy pills I have to take, depending on what the allergy
situation is. So it's very much like, I can't, I can't just have
a set plan. I have tried to think this through.
Emily: You need a plan, but it needs to be flexible.
Heidi: Yes. So what I decided was, like, I needed something
random. Remember, we love a random thing here. I could have
got a rubber duck, that would have been perfect. So I I count
out my little pills every night into a ceramic dish, like I
bought a little trinket dish for it, because I've been using a
pill lid. And I thought, let's elevate this moment. Anyway. So
I got this little ceramic dish, and for my birthday, I took,
this is the stupidest thing, but I, we're going on this journey.
For my birthday a couple months ago, a lovely neighbor gifted me
a like, three inch quartz crystal necklace.
Emily: Oh, my.
Heidi: And I'm sure there are women my age who could wear such
a thing, but I am not one of them. So I've been like, what do
I do with this giant pink quartz crystal necklace? So what I did
is I took it off the, I took the crystal off the chain, and I put
that so when I count my pills at night, I put the crystal in the
dish, and then after I take my pills, I put the crystal away so
I can remember. But this has worked out so well because it's
turned into this whole like sensory, weird moment of, like,
the crystals cold, so I have that like input for my brain,
and it makes a sound when it goes in the ceramic dish. I have
that other input, so I'm having all the sensory input so I can
remember that I did, in fact, take these dumb pills. So all of
that is to say, if you have something that you are
struggling to remember, give yourself a weird sensory cue
that goes with it so that you can remember if you've done it
or not. And you know, I've slept through the night, so I hope
everyone else can too.
Emily: Okay, so wait, so do you put it in the dish, then take
your pills, then take it out of the dish?
Heidi: Yes. So I put it in the dish when I take the pills, and
it makes a little clink when it goes in. So it's like my so it's
like, my key to my brain. Sometimes you get on autopilot,
you know.
Emily: Oh yeah, constantly.
Heidi: So that little clink has been a good little help. And
then I take the pills and I put the crystal away. So it's like,
if I, if the crystal was still in the dish, I could leave the
crystal there.
Emily: I think that's what I was wondering, of like, the how do
you...
Heidi: But then I take the crystal away so that the next
day I have to put it back out so I remember, like, Yes, I did
count the pills out for that night.
Emily: Okay. So what if, what if, then you were, like, an hour
later, like, I think I remember the clink in the dish. But was
that yesterday or today? Or does that just not happen? Because it
feels like it just happened.
Heidi: It hasn't happened so far, because, I think, because
that crystal is just so sensory, like it's heavy, it's cold, it
makes this separate sound. It's so big I can't
would make a statement as a necklace. So that has just
helped my brain shake up its autopilot a little bit.
Emily: Well, I think it's, our old lady is showing but it's
okay, because I have to take iron, but only every other day.
And so I struggle sometimes to be like, wait, what day did I,
did I take it yesterday or two days ago? And it sometimes
helps, because I keep it on a different shelf, so I have to,
like, remember the feeling of like, oh, yesterday did I get
that down? But maybe I can come up with something to help with
this. But every other day just makes it even more confusing.
Heidi: Well, I'd be happy to buy you a crystal if you need one.
Emily: I think I'd rather have a duck, real or rubber. I don't
know that a real duck would help me.
Heidi: No probably not.
Emily: Well that is an interesting point at the end of
this episode, there's the period on this.
Heidi: We're just 200 episodes in, you know us too well by now.
Well, that is it for today's weird episode. Remember to just
say no to social media pressures as you're getting ready for the
school year, and you have our permission to buy all of the
silly rubber ducks you want, keep that in mind.
Emily: Snd crystal necklaces, apparently.
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.