April 14, 2025 • 19 mins
April might seem early to prep for next school year, but it’s actually the perfect time to take on some manageable tasks that’ll make back-to-school season way less overwhelming. In this episode, we're sharing five smart and practical things to do in April for back-to-school. You’ll learn why April is ideal for this kind of prep, how to prioritize without adding stress, and how these small moves can help you enjoy summer a bit more!
Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and all resources mentioned in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/to-do-in-april-for-back-to-school/
Resources:
- Freebie: End-of-Year Road Map
- Procedure Review Slides
- First Lie Wins
- La Roche Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser
- Episode 154, 5 Steps for Classroom Procedure Success
- Episode 150, Perfect Your Classroom Procedures With the Help of Our Guiding Quesitons
- Episode 50, 3 Guidelines to Make Classroom Transitions Work Smarter Not Harder
- Episode 49, Rapid Classroom Transitions: How to Save 45 Hours a Year
- Episode 48, How to Make Classroom Transitions Simple With Clear Beginning and Endings
- Episode 32, 5 Classroom Management Questions to Help Banish Bad Class Habits
- Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
- Shop our teacher-approved resources.
- Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
- Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!
More Related Episodes to Enjoy:
- Episode 158, Back-to-School Classroom Management: Are You Working Smarter or Harder?
- Episode 153, How Teachers Can Thrive During the Back-to-School Season - Our Best Strategies
- Episode 135, Treat Yourself! Make a Back-to-School Teacher Self-Care Plan
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Heidi (00:01):
This is episode 190 of Teacher Approved.
You're listening to TeacherApproved, the podcast helping
educators elevate what mattersand simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi.
Emily (00:13):
And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
Window, where we give researchbased and teacher approved
strategies that make teachingless stressful and more
effective. You can check out theshow notes and resources from
each episode atsecondstorywindow.net.
Heidi (00:28):
We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily (00:36):
Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we're giving you fiveeasy tasks that you can do in
April to get ready for back toschool, and we're sharing a
teacher approved tip for givinga spring refresh to your
classroom procedures.
Heidi (00:51):
Let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we share a quick
win that you can try in yourclassroom right away. Emily,
what is our prompt this week?
Emily (00:58):
This week, give the mystery compliment game a try.
You write each student's name ona small slip of paper and put
them in a jar, then have eachstudent secretly draw a name and
write down a specific complimentabout that person. Then in the
afternoon, you can read thecompliments out loud and let the
students guess who it's about.
Heidi (01:17):
I love this so much. It is a quick and easy way to boost
classroom kindness andconnection, which is so
important this time of year, andit is a perfect way to add some
surprise and delight.
Emily (01:28):
If you like this idea or anything else we share here on
the podcast, would you take asecond and give us a five star
rating? Ratings and reviews areone way new listeners find us.
So every rating and review is ahuge help to us.
Heidi (01:42):
So be honest, did you have a little bit of a heart
attack when you saw the wordsback to school in this episode
title?
Emily (01:50):
Don't worry if you did. That is completely normal, but
no need to panic. We promise youwill leave this episode feeling
inspired, not terrified.
Heidi (02:01):
Not only inspired, but also empowered, I think.
Emily (02:03):
Yes.
Heidi (02:04):
Now I know what you might be thinking. April seems a
little bit early to be thinkingabout back to school, especially
when you might still be countingdown the days to spring break,
or maybe you are just trying tomake it through the chaos of
testing season. But hear us out.
Emily (02:19):
Yeah, thinking about back to school in April actually
gives you a nice advantage.You're still in the classroom
routine, so all those systemsand challenges are fresh in your
mind. You don't have to thinktoo hard to know what worked
well and what you are never,ever doing again. That kind of
clarity is hard to come by inthe middle of summer break, when
(02:40):
last year feels like a cloudymemory.
Heidi (02:43):
So we are going to jump on that April advantage. And
don't worry, we're not about tosuggest things that are going to
take you hours to do afterschool. We have got five simple
things you can do in shortbursts, like independent work
time or planning time, to setyourself up for back to school
success without adding to youralready full plate.
Emily (03:04):
We want you to start next year feeling rested, refreshed
and ready to go, and one step inthat direction is by starting
your prep early. So let's diveinto the five tasks you can do
in April for back to school.
Okay, task number one to getready for back to school in
April is start your lists. We'restarting with something simple,
(03:25):
but seriously powerful. And wedon't mean just make a to do
list. We're talking about threespecific lists that will save
the day when you sit down toplan over the summer.
Heidi (03:36):
Our first list is a Ta-Da list. This is where you
celebrate everything you didwell this year. What did you try
that worked? What routines orsystems felt smooth and
sustainable? Write it down sothat you remember to bring it
back next year.
Emily (03:51):
If you're like us, it's so much easier to think of all
the things going wrong than torecognize all the amazing things
that are going great. But that'sthe reason why you need to start
working on it right away. Onceyou get a few things written on
your ta-da list, more thingswill come to mind. You'll start
noticing how smoothly yourmorning routine runs, or how you
maximize your transition afterlunch for a quick review time.
(04:14):
Make that list so you have aplace to write these
observations down.
Heidi (04:18):
It is so important to celebrate your wins. Not only is
that a great mood boost, but itwill help you identify what you
want to make sure to continue inthe future. And getting started
on it now, while you're still inthe thick of the school year,
will help you pinpoint thelittle details that might slip
your mind in a few months.
Emily (04:35):
Okay, next is the obvious list, your to do list. These are
the tasks you already knowyou'll need to handle before
school starts. Think aboutthings like what you need to
copy, what you'll need to label,or any supplies you'll want to
have ready.
Heidi (04:48):
If you made a to do list last year and you still have it
handy, definitely check thatlist. It's so much easier when
you do not have to recreate thewheel every year.
Emily (04:57):
And if you don't have one from last year, be sure to save
this year's list. Keep listeningfor a free resource we have for
you to help you keep track ofthese lists from year to year.
Heidi (05:07):
And the third list you need is your fix it list. This
is the place to capture allthose little annoyances that you
meant to fix but maybe neverquite got to. Maybe it's a
system that didn't flow, or aclassroom layout that didn't
work. Now it's the time to jotit all down before you forget.
Emily (05:24):
This is, for sure, one of the easiest lists for me to
make. I am always so aware ofevery little pain point in our
routine and all the ways I wantto improve my instruction.
Heidi (05:34):
Just because we're into term four doesn't mean that it's
too late to fix these thingsnow. In fact, solving a headache
now can be a smart way to makenext year a little smoother,
which is a huge bonus at thecraziness of back to school
time.
Emily (05:46):
But we've been there. We know how exhausting this time of
year is. If you don't have thebandwidth to tackle a problem
now, or if it's genuinelysomething that's too late to fix
at this point, the next bestsolution is to get it written
down so you don't forget.
Heidi (06:00):
Just get all of those thoughts out of your head and
onto the paper. It will free upyour mental load just having it
written down. And then whenyou're ready to set goals and
make plans for next year, thatlist is just gonna be ready and
waiting for you.
Emily (06:13):
And we've made these three lists easy for you with
our free end of year roadmapresource. This is a digital
planner that will help you wrapup the school year and start the
summer with intention.
Heidi (06:23):
The roadmap is in Google Sheets, which is nice because
that means you can access itanywhere, and it's already
formatted with a ta-da list, ato do list and a fix it list,
just waiting for your greatideas.
Okay Em, what is task number twothat we can do in April for a
better back to school?
Emily (06:40):
Task number two is reflect on which procedures to
repeat and which to rethink. Youknow we love talking about
routines and procedures aroundhere. We really believe that
good procedures and routineswill save you so much time and
stress each year.
Heidi (06:54):
So take a good look at how procedures and routines have
run in your classroom this year.Maybe try taking a day or even a
week to make notes of how theprocedures are going in your
classroom right now. Sometimes,just paying close attention to
your day to day for a littlewhile will make it obvious
exactly which procedures areworking and which ones you might
want to change in the future.
Emily (07:14):
And if this is an area you want to deep dive into,
we've got some episodes to helpyou with this.
Heidi (07:20):
Yeah, you know just a few episodes. If you need a deep
dive into procedures and how toplan and teach them, start with
episodes 150 and 154 where weguide you through discovering
which procedures your classroommay need, and we share our four
step method for teaching them.
Emily (07:34):
If you want to figure out why a certain procedure isn't
working, check out episode 32where we shared five questions
you can ask yourself to get tothe root of the problem and make
changes. If you have time, youcan even revamp that procedure
this year to test it out.
Heidi (07:49):
You know, you may as well troubleshoot things now and save
yourself the headache of coursecorrecting in the fall.
Emily (07:54):
Your classroom transitions are probably the
procedure you use most often inyour day. If you want to improve
your classroom transitions, wehave a three part series all
about making them efficient tosave you time and stress.
Heidi (08:05):
Who knew there was so much to say about classroom
transitions? Turns out thatthere is.
Emily (08:10):
Yep. That series starts in Episode 48. You could try out
some of our strategies beforethis year ends, but at the very
least, adding all of your notesto your fix it list can give you
a big head start later. Whenyou're setting up next year, you
won't have to rely on fuzzymemories. You'll have actual
notes from your teacher self whowas in it.
Heidi (08:29):
Okay. Task number three that you can do in April for
back to school is one of myfavorites. Such a handy tip.
Take photos of your studentsdoing their everyday procedures.
Emily (08:39):
This is such a good one, and one that's really easy to
overlook.
Heidi (08:43):
But the nice thing is, this is so easy to do. Just
start snapping photos of yourstudents doing classroom
procedures the right way. Youknow the way that you want them
to be doing them.
Emily (08:53):
Get specific and take pictures of all the little steps
of the procedure. These photoswill be much more helpful in
your teaching next year, if theyget into the nitty gritty of the
steps students need to take.
Heidi (09:05):
So for example, think of your morning routine. You can
take a picture of the studentsentering the room, hanging up
their backpacks, turning in thehome folders, getting a pencil
and all of that fun stuff.
Emily (09:14):
Think about things like lining up, turning in work,
transitioning between centers,or using supplies. Any procedure
you know you want to teach nextyear, capture it now. I prefer
using pictures, but you mightwant to take some videos too. It
wouldn't hurt, and you may findyou want to use them.
Heidi (09:30):
These pictures or videos make awesome visual anchors when
you're modeling expectations foryour new class. It's so helpful
to have photos of kidscompleting the steps in your
room with your materials. Andbonus, your new students will
love seeing the kids that theythink are big kids showing how
it's done. Kids are way moreengaged in learning about
(09:52):
something from another kid than,you know, from a boring old
grown up.
Emily (09:56):
Plus, this is kind of a sneaky spring classroom
management hack too, becausewhen your kids know you're
taking pictures of them doingprocedures to teach next year's
class, they will be much morelikely to do those procedures
really well. So if yourprocedures are getting a bit
sloppy, definitely give this atry to get your students to
clean things up.
Heidi (10:14):
That is so smart.
Alright, Emily, what is thefourth task that teachers could
do in April to get ready forback to school?
Emily (10:21):
Do you have a new idea you've been curious about, but
you weren't sure when to try it?April is your moment. Task
number four is to do a trial runon something new.
Heidi (10:31):
Trying something new with your students in the spring is
the perfect timing. You've builtrelationships with your current
students, so it's a low pressureway to experiment.
Emily (10:40):
Plus this is a great way to increase engagement by adding
in something new, and to filltime after testing season, when
you're just trying to getthrough those final weeks of
school. So start by taking aminute to dream a bit about your
ideal classroom. What'ssomething you've been wanting to
try that you haven't had thetime or energy to do before now?
The end of the year is a greattime to do this, because you can
(11:01):
see firsthand what it will belike before you commit to a
whole new routine or teachingmethod next year. And if it goes
well, then you know youdefinitely want to include it in
your next year plans.
Heidi (11:12):
Maybe it's a new classroom routine or a behavior
system that you've had your eyeon. It could be some new
technology that you want to tryout, or maybe it's a fresh way
to do morning work or end of daycleanup. Once you decide what
you want to try, do it now,while you still have time to
adjust and troubleshoot. This isso handy. You know, that could
be trying out morning meeting orspending a couple of weeks
(11:33):
really trying out a new dailyvocabulary routine.
Emily (11:36):
By the time back to school season rolls around,
you'll already know if it'sworth using, and you'll feel way
more confident introducing it toa brand new group of kids.
Okay, Heidi, what is task numberfive?
Heidi (11:48):
Well, our final April task to help you prepare for
back to school is to decide whatorder to teach your procedures
next year.
Emily (11:54):
Now, clearly, at this point in the episode, you
already know that teachingprocedures is essential, but
obviously it's impossible andunnecessary to try and teach
everything on day one.
Heidi (12:05):
Oh no, you would lose your mind, and so would your
kids. So you need to decidewhich procedures to teach first,
and April really is the perfecttime to figure that out. Yes,
yes, we're serious.
Emily (12:17):
While you're still living your daily classroom routines,
ask yourself, which procedureskeep my day running? What's
really essential for those firstfew days, and what can wait?
Heidi (12:28):
By thinking through this now you're going to avoid that
August panic when everythingfeels important. Narrowing down
your top three to fiveprocedures to teach right away
will help you start the yearwith calm and confidence.
Emily (12:40):
And you'll be ready to plug those procedure lessons
into your first day and firstweek plans when you start
working on them.
And that's it. Those are ourfive things. So let's do a quick
recap of the five things you cando in April to get ahead for
back to school.
Heidi (12:54):
Number one, start your list. Specifically you want a
ta-da list, a to do list, and afix it list to really capture
what worked, what needs to getdone and what could use a tweak.
Emily (13:05):
Number two, reflect on what procedures to repeat and
what to rethink, so you're nottrying to remember in August
what drove you crazy in April.
Heidi (13:13):
Number three is to take photos of students doing your
procedures to create easy, reallife visuals for modeling
expectations for nextyear'sstudents.
Emily (13:22):
Number four do a trial run for something new. Test out
a new routine or system now soyou can see what works with a
group you already know.
Heidi (13:30):
And our last one is number five, decide which order
to teach your procedures so thatyou are ready to start the year
with a clear plan, instead oftrying to teach all of the
things all at once on day one.
Emily (13:50):
Even just picking one of these tasks to try can make a
big difference, and your futureteacher self will definitely
thank you.
Heidi (13:58):
And don't forget to head to the show notes, where you can
find a link for our free end ofyear roadmap digital planner.
This will help you figure outyour schedule for the next few
months, reflect on what you wantto maintain and change in the
coming weeks, and break downtasks so you can get things done
without stress.
Emily (14:15):
We'd love to hear what you do in April to get ready for
back to school. Come join theconversation in the Teacher
Approved Facebook group.
Now let's talk about this week'steacher approved tip. Each week
we leave you with a smallactionable tip that you can
apply in your classroom today.This week's teacher approved tip
is do a quick refresh on atroublesome procedure. So tell
(14:36):
us about this, Heidi.
Heidi (14:37):
Well, as you may have noticed, teachers, spring fever
is real, and classroom routinescan get a little wobbly this
time of year. So one way tocombat that is to try a quick
win refresh. So start by pickingone routine that's maybe gotten
a little sloppy, you know,lining up, cleaning up or
transitioning between subjects,and reteach it like you did at
(14:58):
the beginning of the year. So wewant to model it, practice it,
and praise it like it's brandnew.
Emily (15:05):
And then discuss how students can continue to meet
your expectations going forward.Just because summer vacation is
peaking around the cornerdoesn't mean we give up on our
standards of behavior.
Heidi (15:15):
Now to help you out, we have a set of Google slides that
you can use to revisit anyprocedure. So how it works is,
for each procedure that you wantto refresh, you can have these
students rate themselves on howwell they are currently meeting
your expectations from one tofive. The kids know. The kids
know they're pushing theboundaries. And then you can use
that information to guide yourdiscussion, and you can find a
(15:38):
link to the slides in the shownotes, or you could visit our
shop.
Emily (15:41):
Refreshing a routine takes less than 10 minutes, and
the payoff is huge. Students geta clear reminder of
expectations, and you get back abit of the calm structure your
classroom needs in the springchaos.
Heidi (15:53):
All right, to wrap up the show, we are showing what we're
giving extra credit to thisweek. Emily, what gets your
extra credit?
Emily (15:59):
I'm giving extra credit to the book, First Lie Wins by
Ashley Elston. So generally, Istick to romance books or maybe
historical fiction, but I havebeen dipping my toe into the
thriller waters. I'm not intoviolence or anything too scary,
so First Lie Wins fits the bill.
Heidi (16:17):
It sounds a little intense.
Emily (16:19):
No, trust me, you can do this. You can do this one. So
here's the blurb. Evie Porterhas everything a nice southern
girl could want, a perfectdoting boyfriend, a house with a
white picket fence and a garden,a fancy group of friends. The
only catch? Evie Porter doesn'texist. So it was a fun, quick
read. If you have some other nonscary thriller recommendations
(16:41):
to share, I'd love to hear them.I found that what I'm enjoying
about starting to read somethriller books that aren't too
scary is that it just makes melook for reasons to read them
during the day, like it'sgetting me reading even more
than I already was, because Ijust want to know what's going
to happen, and so it's kind offun to have a different read.
I'm mixing it in now, stillgetting in plenty of romance.
Don't worry.
Heidi (17:02):
That is a nice change of pace. And it's nice when you
have something compelling that'sdrawing you back to the book.
It's always a fun feeling. Thiscould be a fun one if people
have spring break still to lookforward to, that could be a fun
pring break read.
Emily (17:14):
Yes, definitely. Okay, what are you giving extra credit
to Heidi?
Heidi (17:18):
Well, this is much less exciting, but my extra credit
goes to La Roche Posay EffaclarGel Cleanser. How do they name
these things, right? Withsalicylic acid. So I saw a hack
on Instagram for using it toprevent ingrown hairs, sorry,
TMI, and I thought I would giveit a shot. And I have to say,
I've been very happilysurprised. The trick is to use
(17:41):
this gel as like a shaving gel,and then follow it up by
applying hydrocortisone cream.It has made a huge difference
for my skin. I don't think I'vehad any problems since I started
trying this. Now I will say Ithink the magic ingredient is
the salicylic acid, and notnecessarily that specific
cleanser, because I know I didtry using a shampoo with
(18:01):
salicylic acid instead, and Iliked shaving with that better
because it's a little thickerthan the cleanser.
Emily (18:07):
Okay.
Heidi (18:08):
Definitely worth trying out, especially as temps get a
little warmer and sleeves maybeget a little shorter.
Emily (18:14):
All right, I'm gonna check it out.
Heidi (18:16):
That is it for today's episode. Try out some of our
five easy things that you can doin April for back to school, and
make sure to grab our end ofyear roadmap freebie from the
link in the show notes to helpyou finish the year strong.
We hope you enjoyed this episodeof Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
Emily (18:34):
And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
or subscribe in your podcastapps that you never miss an
episode.
Heidi (18:41):
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 (18:47):
Bye.
This is episode 190 of Teacher Approved.
You're listening to TeacherApproved, the podcast helping
educators elevate what mattersand simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi.
Emily (00:13):
And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
Window, where we give researchbased and teacher approved
strategies that make teachingless stressful and more
effective. You can check out theshow notes and resources from
each episode atsecondstorywindow.net.
Heidi (00:28):
We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily (00:36):
Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we're giving you fiveeasy tasks that you can do in
April to get ready for back toschool, and we're sharing a
teacher approved tip for givinga spring refresh to your
classroom procedures.
Heidi (00:51):
Let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we share a quick
win that you can try in yourclassroom right away. Emily,
what is our prompt this week?
Emily (00:58):
This week, give the mystery compliment game a try.
You write each student's name ona small slip of paper and put
them in a jar, then have eachstudent secretly draw a name and
write down a specific complimentabout that person. Then in the
afternoon, you can read thecompliments out loud and let the
students guess who it's about.
Heidi (01:17):
I love this so much. It is a quick and easy way to boost
classroom kindness andconnection, which is so
important this time of year, andit is a perfect way to add some
surprise and delight.
Emily (01:28):
If you like this idea or anything else we share here on
the podcast, would you take asecond and give us a five star
rating? Ratings and reviews areone way new listeners find us.
So every rating and review is ahuge help to us.
Heidi (01:42):
So be honest, did you have a little bit of a heart
attack when you saw the wordsback to school in this episode
title?
Emily (01:50):
Don't worry if you did. That is completely normal, but
no need to panic. We promise youwill leave this episode feeling
inspired, not terrified.
Heidi (02:01):
Not only inspired, but also empowered, I think.
Emily (02:03):
Yes.
Heidi (02:04):
Now I know what you might be thinking. April seems a
little bit early to be thinkingabout back to school, especially
when you might still be countingdown the days to spring break,
or maybe you are just trying tomake it through the chaos of
testing season. But hear us out.
Emily (02:19):
Yeah, thinking about back to school in April actually
gives you a nice advantage.You're still in the classroom
routine, so all those systemsand challenges are fresh in your
mind. You don't have to thinktoo hard to know what worked
well and what you are never,ever doing again. That kind of
clarity is hard to come by inthe middle of summer break, when
(02:40):
last year feels like a cloudymemory.
Heidi (02:43):
So we are going to jump on that April advantage. And
don't worry, we're not about tosuggest things that are going to
take you hours to do afterschool. We have got five simple
things you can do in shortbursts, like independent work
time or planning time, to setyourself up for back to school
success without adding to youralready full plate.
Emily (03:04):
We want you to start next year feeling rested, refreshed
and ready to go, and one step inthat direction is by starting
your prep early. So let's diveinto the five tasks you can do
in April for back to school.
Okay, task number one to getready for back to school in
April is start your lists. We'restarting with something simple,
(03:25):
but seriously powerful. And wedon't mean just make a to do
list. We're talking about threespecific lists that will save
the day when you sit down toplan over the summer.
Heidi (03:36):
Our first list is a Ta-Da list. This is where you
celebrate everything you didwell this year. What did you try
that worked? What routines orsystems felt smooth and
sustainable? Write it down sothat you remember to bring it
back next year.
Emily (03:51):
If you're like us, it's so much easier to think of all
the things going wrong than torecognize all the amazing things
that are going great. But that'sthe reason why you need to start
working on it right away. Onceyou get a few things written on
your ta-da list, more thingswill come to mind. You'll start
noticing how smoothly yourmorning routine runs, or how you
maximize your transition afterlunch for a quick review time.
(04:14):
Make that list so you have aplace to write these
observations down.
Heidi (04:18):
It is so important to celebrate your wins. Not only is
that a great mood boost, but itwill help you identify what you
want to make sure to continue inthe future. And getting started
on it now, while you're still inthe thick of the school year,
will help you pinpoint thelittle details that might slip
your mind in a few months.
Emily (04:35):
Okay, next is the obvious list, your to do list. These are
the tasks you already knowyou'll need to handle before
school starts. Think aboutthings like what you need to
copy, what you'll need to label,or any supplies you'll want to
have ready.
Heidi (04:48):
If you made a to do list last year and you still have it
handy, definitely check thatlist. It's so much easier when
you do not have to recreate thewheel every year.
Emily (04:57):
And if you don't have one from last year, be sure to save
this year's list. Keep listeningfor a free resource we have for
you to help you keep track ofthese lists from year to year.
Heidi (05:07):
And the third list you need is your fix it list. This
is the place to capture allthose little annoyances that you
meant to fix but maybe neverquite got to. Maybe it's a
system that didn't flow, or aclassroom layout that didn't
work. Now it's the time to jotit all down before you forget.
Emily (05:24):
This is, for sure, one of the easiest lists for me to
make. I am always so aware ofevery little pain point in our
routine and all the ways I wantto improve my instruction.
Heidi (05:34):
Just because we're into term four doesn't mean that it's
too late to fix these thingsnow. In fact, solving a headache
now can be a smart way to makenext year a little smoother,
which is a huge bonus at thecraziness of back to school
time.
Emily (05:46):
But we've been there. We know how exhausting this time of
year is. If you don't have thebandwidth to tackle a problem
now, or if it's genuinelysomething that's too late to fix
at this point, the next bestsolution is to get it written
down so you don't forget.
Heidi (06:00):
Just get all of those thoughts out of your head and
onto the paper. It will free upyour mental load just having it
written down. And then whenyou're ready to set goals and
make plans for next year, thatlist is just gonna be ready and
waiting for you.
Emily (06:13):
And we've made these three lists easy for you with
our free end of year roadmapresource. This is a digital
planner that will help you wrapup the school year and start the
summer with intention.
Heidi (06:23):
The roadmap is in Google Sheets, which is nice because
that means you can access itanywhere, and it's already
formatted with a ta-da list, ato do list and a fix it list,
just waiting for your greatideas.
Okay Em, what is task number twothat we can do in April for a
better back to school?
Emily (06:40):
Task number two is reflect on which procedures to
repeat and which to rethink. Youknow we love talking about
routines and procedures aroundhere. We really believe that
good procedures and routineswill save you so much time and
stress each year.
Heidi (06:54):
So take a good look at how procedures and routines have
run in your classroom this year.Maybe try taking a day or even a
week to make notes of how theprocedures are going in your
classroom right now. Sometimes,just paying close attention to
your day to day for a littlewhile will make it obvious
exactly which procedures areworking and which ones you might
want to change in the future.
Emily (07:14):
And if this is an area you want to deep dive into,
we've got some episodes to helpyou with this.
Heidi (07:20):
Yeah, you know just a few episodes. If you need a deep
dive into procedures and how toplan and teach them, start with
episodes 150 and 154 where weguide you through discovering
which procedures your classroommay need, and we share our four
step method for teaching them.
Emily (07:34):
If you want to figure out why a certain procedure isn't
working, check out episode 32where we shared five questions
you can ask yourself to get tothe root of the problem and make
changes. If you have time, youcan even revamp that procedure
this year to test it out.
Heidi (07:49):
You know, you may as well troubleshoot things now and save
yourself the headache of coursecorrecting in the fall.
Emily (07:54):
Your classroom transitions are probably the
procedure you use most often inyour day. If you want to improve
your classroom transitions, wehave a three part series all
about making them efficient tosave you time and stress.
Heidi (08:05):
Who knew there was so much to say about classroom
transitions? Turns out thatthere is.
Emily (08:10):
Yep. That series starts in Episode 48. You could try out
some of our strategies beforethis year ends, but at the very
least, adding all of your notesto your fix it list can give you
a big head start later. Whenyou're setting up next year, you
won't have to rely on fuzzymemories. You'll have actual
notes from your teacher self whowas in it.
Heidi (08:29):
Okay. Task number three that you can do in April for
back to school is one of myfavorites. Such a handy tip.
Take photos of your studentsdoing their everyday procedures.
Emily (08:39):
This is such a good one, and one that's really easy to
overlook.
Heidi (08:43):
But the nice thing is, this is so easy to do. Just
start snapping photos of yourstudents doing classroom
procedures the right way. Youknow the way that you want them
to be doing them.
Emily (08:53):
Get specific and take pictures of all the little steps
of the procedure. These photoswill be much more helpful in
your teaching next year, if theyget into the nitty gritty of the
steps students need to take.
Heidi (09:05):
So for example, think of your morning routine. You can
take a picture of the studentsentering the room, hanging up
their backpacks, turning in thehome folders, getting a pencil
and all of that fun stuff.
Emily (09:14):
Think about things like lining up, turning in work,
transitioning between centers,or using supplies. Any procedure
you know you want to teach nextyear, capture it now. I prefer
using pictures, but you mightwant to take some videos too. It
wouldn't hurt, and you may findyou want to use them.
Heidi (09:30):
These pictures or videos make awesome visual anchors when
you're modeling expectations foryour new class. It's so helpful
to have photos of kidscompleting the steps in your
room with your materials. Andbonus, your new students will
love seeing the kids that theythink are big kids showing how
it's done. Kids are way moreengaged in learning about
(09:52):
something from another kid than,you know, from a boring old
grown up.
Emily (09:56):
Plus, this is kind of a sneaky spring classroom
management hack too, becausewhen your kids know you're
taking pictures of them doingprocedures to teach next year's
class, they will be much morelikely to do those procedures
really well. So if yourprocedures are getting a bit
sloppy, definitely give this atry to get your students to
clean things up.
Heidi (10:14):
That is so smart.
Alright, Emily, what is thefourth task that teachers could
do in April to get ready forback to school?
Emily (10:21):
Do you have a new idea you've been curious about, but
you weren't sure when to try it?April is your moment. Task
number four is to do a trial runon something new.
Heidi (10:31):
Trying something new with your students in the spring is
the perfect timing. You've builtrelationships with your current
students, so it's a low pressureway to experiment.
Emily (10:40):
Plus this is a great way to increase engagement by adding
in something new, and to filltime after testing season, when
you're just trying to getthrough those final weeks of
school. So start by taking aminute to dream a bit about your
ideal classroom. What'ssomething you've been wanting to
try that you haven't had thetime or energy to do before now?
The end of the year is a greattime to do this, because you can
(11:01):
see firsthand what it will belike before you commit to a
whole new routine or teachingmethod next year. And if it goes
well, then you know youdefinitely want to include it in
your next year plans.
Heidi (11:12):
Maybe it's a new classroom routine or a behavior
system that you've had your eyeon. It could be some new
technology that you want to tryout, or maybe it's a fresh way
to do morning work or end of daycleanup. Once you decide what
you want to try, do it now,while you still have time to
adjust and troubleshoot. This isso handy. You know, that could
be trying out morning meeting orspending a couple of weeks
(11:33):
really trying out a new dailyvocabulary routine.
Emily (11:36):
By the time back to school season rolls around,
you'll already know if it'sworth using, and you'll feel way
more confident introducing it toa brand new group of kids.
Okay, Heidi, what is task numberfive?
Heidi (11:48):
Well, our final April task to help you prepare for
back to school is to decide whatorder to teach your procedures
next year.
Emily (11:54):
Now, clearly, at this point in the episode, you
already know that teachingprocedures is essential, but
obviously it's impossible andunnecessary to try and teach
everything on day one.
Heidi (12:05):
Oh no, you would lose your mind, and so would your
kids. So you need to decidewhich procedures to teach first,
and April really is the perfecttime to figure that out. Yes,
yes, we're serious.
Emily (12:17):
While you're still living your daily classroom routines,
ask yourself, which procedureskeep my day running? What's
really essential for those firstfew days, and what can wait?
Heidi (12:28):
By thinking through this now you're going to avoid that
August panic when everythingfeels important. Narrowing down
your top three to fiveprocedures to teach right away
will help you start the yearwith calm and confidence.
Emily (12:40):
And you'll be ready to plug those procedure lessons
into your first day and firstweek plans when you start
working on them.
And that's it. Those are ourfive things. So let's do a quick
recap of the five things you cando in April to get ahead for
back to school.
Heidi (12:54):
Number one, start your list. Specifically you want a
ta-da list, a to do list, and afix it list to really capture
what worked, what needs to getdone and what could use a tweak.
Emily (13:05):
Number two, reflect on what procedures to repeat and
what to rethink, so you're nottrying to remember in August
what drove you crazy in April.
Heidi (13:13):
Number three is to take photos of students doing your
procedures to create easy, reallife visuals for modeling
expectations for nextyear'sstudents.
Emily (13:22):
Number four do a trial run for something new. Test out
a new routine or system now soyou can see what works with a
group you already know.
Heidi (13:30):
And our last one is number five, decide which order
to teach your procedures so thatyou are ready to start the year
with a clear plan, instead oftrying to teach all of the
things all at once on day one.
Emily (13:50):
Even just picking one of these tasks to try can make a
big difference, and your futureteacher self will definitely
thank you.
Heidi (13:58):
And don't forget to head to the show notes, where you can
find a link for our free end ofyear roadmap digital planner.
This will help you figure outyour schedule for the next few
months, reflect on what you wantto maintain and change in the
coming weeks, and break downtasks so you can get things done
without stress.
Emily (14:15):
We'd love to hear what you do in April to get ready for
back to school. Come join theconversation in the Teacher
Approved Facebook group.
Now let's talk about this week'steacher approved tip. Each week
we leave you with a smallactionable tip that you can
apply in your classroom today.This week's teacher approved tip
is do a quick refresh on atroublesome procedure. So tell
(14:36):
us about this, Heidi.
Heidi (14:37):
Well, as you may have noticed, teachers, spring fever
is real, and classroom routinescan get a little wobbly this
time of year. So one way tocombat that is to try a quick
win refresh. So start by pickingone routine that's maybe gotten
a little sloppy, you know,lining up, cleaning up or
transitioning between subjects,and reteach it like you did at
(14:58):
the beginning of the year. So wewant to model it, practice it,
and praise it like it's brandnew.
Emily (15:05):
And then discuss how students can continue to meet
your expectations going forward.Just because summer vacation is
peaking around the cornerdoesn't mean we give up on our
standards of behavior.
Heidi (15:15):
Now to help you out, we have a set of Google slides that
you can use to revisit anyprocedure. So how it works is,
for each procedure that you wantto refresh, you can have these
students rate themselves on howwell they are currently meeting
your expectations from one tofive. The kids know. The kids
know they're pushing theboundaries. And then you can use
that information to guide yourdiscussion, and you can find a
(15:38):
link to the slides in the shownotes, or you could visit our
shop.
Emily (15:41):
Refreshing a routine takes less than 10 minutes, and
the payoff is huge. Students geta clear reminder of
expectations, and you get back abit of the calm structure your
classroom needs in the springchaos.
Heidi (15:53):
All right, to wrap up the show, we are showing what we're
giving extra credit to thisweek. Emily, what gets your
extra credit?
Emily (15:59):
I'm giving extra credit to the book, First Lie Wins by
Ashley Elston. So generally, Istick to romance books or maybe
historical fiction, but I havebeen dipping my toe into the
thriller waters. I'm not intoviolence or anything too scary,
so First Lie Wins fits the bill.
Heidi (16:17):
It sounds a little intense.
Emily (16:19):
No, trust me, you can do this. You can do this one. So
here's the blurb. Evie Porterhas everything a nice southern
girl could want, a perfectdoting boyfriend, a house with a
white picket fence and a garden,a fancy group of friends. The
only catch? Evie Porter doesn'texist. So it was a fun, quick
read. If you have some other nonscary thriller recommendations
(16:41):
to share, I'd love to hear them.I found that what I'm enjoying
about starting to read somethriller books that aren't too
scary is that it just makes melook for reasons to read them
during the day, like it'sgetting me reading even more
than I already was, because Ijust want to know what's going
to happen, and so it's kind offun to have a different read.
I'm mixing it in now, stillgetting in plenty of romance.
Don't worry.
Heidi (17:02):
That is a nice change of pace. And it's nice when you
have something compelling that'sdrawing you back to the book.
It's always a fun feeling. Thiscould be a fun one if people
have spring break still to lookforward to, that could be a fun
pring break read.
Emily (17:14):
Yes, definitely. Okay, what are you giving extra credit
to Heidi?
Heidi (17:18):
Well, this is much less exciting, but my extra credit
goes to La Roche Posay EffaclarGel Cleanser. How do they name
these things, right? Withsalicylic acid. So I saw a hack
on Instagram for using it toprevent ingrown hairs, sorry,
TMI, and I thought I would giveit a shot. And I have to say,
I've been very happilysurprised. The trick is to use
(17:41):
this gel as like a shaving gel,and then follow it up by
applying hydrocortisone cream.It has made a huge difference
for my skin. I don't think I'vehad any problems since I started
trying this. Now I will say Ithink the magic ingredient is
the salicylic acid, and notnecessarily that specific
cleanser, because I know I didtry using a shampoo with
(18:01):
salicylic acid instead, and Iliked shaving with that better
because it's a little thickerthan the cleanser.
Emily (18:07):
Okay.
Heidi (18:08):
Definitely worth trying out, especially as temps get a
little warmer and sleeves maybeget a little shorter.
Emily (18:14):
All right, I'm gonna check it out.
Heidi (18:16):
That is it for today's episode. Try out some of our
five easy things that you can doin April for back to school, and
make sure to grab our end ofyear roadmap freebie from the
link in the show notes to helpyou finish the year strong.
We hope you enjoyed this episodeof Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
Emily (18:34):
And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
or subscribe in your podcastapps that you never miss an
episode.
Heidi (18:41):
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 (18:47):
Bye.
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