May 12, 2025 • 21 mins
Ever wish you could head into summer already feeling ahead for next school year? We’re sharing five simple but powerful ways to tackle teacher back to school prep before the school year even ends, so you can enjoy your break without that looming to-do list hanging over your head!
Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and resources in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/teacher-back-to-school-prep/
Resources:
- Freebie: End of Year Roadmap
- Guided Discovery of School Tools
- First Day Pattern Block Activities
- First Day Lego Activities
- Looking Ahead, Looking Back Bulletin Board
- Teacher goodie bag ideas
- Peanut Butter Barebells
- Join the Teacher Approved Club!
- Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
- Shop our teacher-approved resources.
- Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
- Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!
Related Episodes to Enjoy:
- Episode 7, The Secret to End of Year Survival
- Episode 62, End of Year Awards: 5 Reasons You Should Rethink This Classroom Tradition
- Episode 188, Ending the School Year Strong: 3 Steps to Help Teachers Thrive in Term 4
- Episode 193, Why Smart Teachers Start Planning for Next Year in May
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Heidi (00:01):
This is episode 194 of Teacher Approved.
You're listening to TeacherApproved, the podcast helping
educators elevate what mattersand simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi.
Emily (00:14):
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 (00:29):
We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily (00:36):
Hey friends, thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we are sharing fivesmart ways you can prep for back
to school this May, and we'llgive you a teacher approved tip
to do something special for yourteaching teammates.
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, why not try a morning meeting remix? Just take
one element of your regularmorning meeting routine and give
it an unexpected twist.
Heidi (01:08):
I love this idea. It's especially helpful this time of
year when things might befeeling a little bit stale. So
if you usually do a standardgreeting, you could try having
your students greet each otherwith a compliment instead. Or
try adding a quick new activity,nothing that's going to take a
lot of work on your part, butsomething like a daily joke or a
question of the day, or a wouldyou rather of the day.
Emily (01:28):
Oh, I love it. Small changes like this can really
refresh your routine. It is allabout that balance of routine
and novelty that we talk about alot here that helps keep
students engaged. Your studentswill love surprises like this in
the middle of a daily routine,and it often just leads to more
engagement during a time whenenergy is probably flagging.
Heidi (01:49):
Plus, it's a no prep activity that still packs a big
impact. Just one small changecan make the whole morning feel
fresh again.
Emily (01:57):
If you like this idea or anything else we share here on
the podcast, which you make ourday by taking a second to give
us a five star rating and reviewon Apple podcasts.
Heidi (02:07):
So today we are talking about five smart ways to get
ahead on back to school prepwhile you are still in your
classroom this May. I know someof you might be giving us the
side eye right now, and that istotally justified, but hear us
out. In last week's episode, wetalked about why May is actually
the perfect time to startthinking ahead to next year.
Emily (02:28):
It really is. When you're still in the classroom, all
those pain points are crystalclear. You still have your
classroom fully set up, and youcan even test things out with
your current students. Plusdoing a little bit of planning
now can seriously reduce yourback to school panic later and
lighten your summer mental load.And who does not want that?
Heidi (02:48):
So today, we're getting super specific with five
actionable things that you cando right now in the month of May
to set yourself up for successwhen you return in the fall. And
none of these things will takehours after school. These are
quick wins that will pay bigdividends when August rolls
around.
Emily (03:05):
All right, let's dive into our first task for smart
back to school prep in May.What's up first, Heidi?
Heidi (03:12):
Well, the first thing you can do in May for back to school
is to save your old crayons,your markers and other supplies
to use during the first week ofschool. This solves a problem
that drives me crazy every year.Students are using their brand
new materials before they knowhow to care for them properly.
Especially if you have fundedthese materials yourself, there
is nothing sadder than watchinga fresh box of crayons get
(03:35):
demolished within like threedays because you haven't had
time to teach crayon proceduresyet.
Emily (03:40):
So before you send students home with their supply
boxes at the end of the year, orbefore you toss out those half
used items, set aside acollection of first week
supplies. So grab the stubbycrayons, the markers that still
work but aren't quite asvibrant, or those colored
pencils that are a bit shorterbut still have life in them.
(04:01):
Store these in a bin labeledfirst week supplies, and tuck
them away for August.
Heidi (04:05):
When students arrive next year, they can use these good
enough supplies for all of theget to know you activities and
the practice work before youteach your supply procedures and
break out the fun, fresh, prettynew stuff. This saves all of
those new supplies from gettingdestroyed, and it gives you
something to use until you havetime to teach those procedures.
Emily (04:27):
And honestly, this little step takes almost no extra time.
You're just redirecting thingsyou'd probably toss or send home
anyway, but it'll save you somuch frustration in those first
days back.
Heidi (04:37):
And you might even want to save some supplies that are
in really bad shape, like acouple of dried out glue sticks
or the whiteboard markers thathave the tips jammed inside.
Emily (04:46):
Yeah why do kids always do that? But hold on to a few,
because those really beat upsupplies are the perfect bad
examples to show when you doyour procedure lessons,
especially if you use the GuidedDiscovery method that we love.
We will put a link to our GuidedDiscovery for school supplies in
the show notes. If you don'thave it, you're gonna want it.
(05:07):
Okay, what's next, Heidi?
Heidi (05:09):
Well the second thing you can do to get ready for back to
school is to set up a three binsystem before you leave your
classroom in May. This is such agame changer for staying
organized over the summer.Instead of having everything
jumbled together, or worse,scattered between school and
home, or maybe even school andhome and your car, you create
three distinct spaces forthings.
Emily (05:30):
So bin number one is labeled summer working. This is
for any material you actuallyplan to work on over the break.
That might be new curriculum toreview, books you want to read,
or laminating you need to cutout. If you have goals for
working in the summer, it'shelpful to have your resources
in one place.
Heidi (05:47):
This is handy because if you have to pack up your room
before summer, like so many ofus do, you're probably cramming
stuff into any available space,and that means in the middle of
July, when you need yourteacher's manual, you're going
to have to dig it out.
Emily (06:01):
But if that manual is already in your bin, you're good
to go. Just be honest withyourself about how much you're
really going to get done. If youknow deep down that you are not
going to touch that vocabularyplanning all summer, don't put
it in the summer working bin.It's okay. Just accept it.
Heidi (06:19):
Bin number two is classroom setup. These are the
things you'll need right away toset up your room, your favorite
posters, your desk accessories,label maker, bulletin board
supplies, all of that fun stuff.
Emily (06:30):
And sometimes we call this our need first box, because
it has everything in it that youare going to need right away
when you get back to yourclassroom.
Heidi (06:38):
And then bin number three, which might be my
favorite is first week ofschool. This is everything
you'll need specifically forthose opening days. Your first
week lesson plans, name tags,get to know your activities,
your favorite back to schoolread alouds, those save supplies
that we just talked about, andmaterials for any special first
aid traditions that you have.
Emily (06:57):
I love this three bin system because it helps you
prioritize. When you return inAugust, you know exactly what to
unpack first. You're not diggingthrough 15 random boxes trying
to find your lunch schedule oryour welcome letter. It also
helps you be realistic aboutwhat you're actually going to
accomplish over the summer.
Heidi (07:14):
To make this super easy, just grab three storage bins or
even those large reusableshopping bags, label them
clearly and start sorting asyou're cleaning up your
classroom these last few weeks.This might take you, what, an
extra 20 minutes now, but it'sgoing to save you hours of
frustration in August.
Okay, Emily, what is next?
Emily (07:32):
Well, our third task for back to school is to prepare as
many permanent displays aspossible before you leave in
May. This is one of those worksmarter, not harder, tips that
can save you so much time. Lookaround your classroom right now
and identify which displays stayrelatively consistent year to
year, things like your calendararea, alphabet displays, number
(07:53):
lines, classroom rules or valuesand your subject area reference
charts. If these don't changemuch, why recreate them every
single year?
Heidi (08:03):
If you can leave things up on your walls and bulletin
boards, then absolutely do. Justtake down what's related to this
year and leave up the rest. It'sso nice if you can keep things
up and already have your displayready for you to add your new
kids names and birthdays andcalendar items to next year.
Emily (08:19):
This will vary a lot by school. So if you're not sure
how it is in your building, findout before you do any prep work
for next year. But if you dounfortunately have to take
everything down, you can stillwork smarter.
Heidi (08:30):
Yes, before you take everything down, take photos of
how these areas are set up. Youthink you'll remember, you will
not remember. Then carefullytake down your core displays and
store them flat in labeledfolders or large envelopes. You
could even go a step further andprepare new versions of any
displays that are maybe lookinga little bit beat up, a fresh
(08:51):
alphabet line or a newlylaminated set of calendar pieces
takes just a few minutes now,but can save you precious setup
time in August.
Emily (08:58):
May is the perfect time to evaluate which displays
actually served you well thisyear and which ones just
collected dust. Be strategicabout what you want to keep for
next year. One display thatwe're particularly fond of is
our looking ahead, looking back,bulletin board.
Heidi (09:15):
I love this one so much. It's a special end of year
activity that transitionsbeautifully into a beginning of
the year display in the fall. Soit is a two for one win.
Emily (09:26):
Yeah, this starts with your students reflecting on
their favorite parts of theyear. You put their memories up
on your bulletin board or wallto enjoy for the rest of the
year. But then after the yearends, or when you come back in
August, you just switch out thetitle on the bulletin board. So
now, instead of saying lookingback on second grade, it says,
looking ahead to second grade.Now your bulletin board shows
(09:48):
your new students some of thefun moments that await them in
your class. If you're interestedin trying this, it's available
in our shop, and of course, wewill link to that in the show
notes.
Heidi (09:57):
Other displays to consider prepping now are your
job chart, birthday display,class schedule and any behavior
or incentive systems. Just alittle time invested now means
these won't be on your August todo list. All right, Emily, what
is next?
Emily (10:13):
The fourth task you can do in May for back to school is
to create a new student SOP,which stands for Standard
Operating Procedure, and do itnow, while your routines are
fresh in your mind.
Heidi (10:25):
Every teacher knows the mild panic of getting a new
student, especially after thosefirst crucial weeks when you
have already taught all of yournew procedures.
Emily (10:35):
And somehow those new students always seem to arrive
at the most inconvenient times,like right before lunch, during
a big class project, or, youknow, 30 minutes after you
started the school day.
Heidi (10:46):
Oh, always. So the idea here is to create a simple
checklist of everything a newstudent needs to know and to
have. This becomes your ready togo protocol that you can hand to
a buddy student or a teachingassistant to help them get a new
arrival up to speed.
Emily (11:01):
Your SOP might include things like where to hang
backpacks, how to order lunch,bathroom procedures, how to use
classroom materials, what thesignal for attention means, how
center rotations work. You know,all those little things that
make your classroom runsmoothly.
Heidi (11:17):
And also don't forget the physical items that a new
student needs, a name tag, cubbylabel, supply box, folder, login
information and so on. Plus,there's all the behind the
scenes stuff of adding theparents to your communication
system and informing anyspecialty teachers that you've
got a new student coming. Sowith all of that to manage,
really the best time to createthis list is now in May, when
(11:39):
all of your systems aresolidified and running smoothly.
Emily (11:43):
Right, because in May, you can clearly see exactly what
makes your classroom tick. It ishard to remember some of these
details once you have beenblissfully free of your
classroom for a couple months.
Heidi (11:53):
One idea is to make two versions, a simplified one for
students who might be helping anew classmate, and a more
detailed one for the teacher.Once you have your SOP, you can
store it in a visible place,maybe with your sub folder or
taped inside a cupboard door.You could even create a little
welcome folder with all of theessentials that you or your
(12:13):
helper can just grab and go.
Emily (12:15):
Or you could put it into any new student supply packs you
make. This takes maybe 30minutes to put together now. It
will save you so much stresslater.
Heidi (12:23):
Plus it ensures new students feel welcomed and get
consistent information, ratherthan just having to piece things
together as they go along.
Emily (12:31):
And it's one less thing that you have to worry about in
those first few months ofschool. Your future self will be
so grateful when that newstudent shows up in mid October.
Okay, Heidi, last task, let'shear it.
Heidi (12:42):
Well, our fifth and final back to school task for May is
to create a first day quick winbefore you leave for summer. I
think this is my favorite tip,because it addresses that back
to school anxiety that sneaks upon even the most experienced
teachers. You know, when thenightmares start, and it's the
first day of school and you havenothing prepared, or you're
(13:04):
trapped and you can't get whereyou need to be. This strategy is
the antidote to that anxiety.
Emily (13:10):
The idea is simple but powerful. Just prepare one key
element of your first day backnow, while you're still in
teacher mode. A great option isto prepare your first morning
arrival task, just somethingstudents can start working on
immediately when they walk in.
Heidi (13:25):
We love pattern blocks or Legos for your first day arrival
activity. And we have got acouple of resources that you can
use just for this. So we willlink to that in the show notes.
Emily (13:34):
You could also prep a favorite read aloud and the
activity that goes with it, oranother activity you know you'll
want to do that first day.
Heidi (13:42):
Just having one piece fully ready gives you an
incredible peace of mind. Whenthat mid July panic starts to
creep in, you can remindyourself, Hey, I've already
started. I am not starting fromzero.
Emily (13:53):
Whatever you choose, make it something that will truly
help that first day run moresmoothly. This is also a great
time to jot down any specialFirst Day traditions you want to
continue, or new ones you wantto try. Sometimes those details
fade over the summer and we onlyremember them the night before
school starts.
Heidi (14:10):
That's the worst, you're like, I was gonna do that, and
now, yep, no time. So stop thatnow and get your list going.
Setting up this quick first daywhen takes minimal effort now,
but provides maximum relieflater. It's like sending a
little gift to your future,maybe slightly panicked, August
self. We love helping futureyou.
Emily (14:32):
So let's recap our five smart tasks for May back to
school prep. Number one, savesome of your old supplies so
that you can use them whenyou're teaching proper
procedures. Number two, create athree bin system to organize
your summer working materials,your classroom setup or need
first essentials and the firstweek of school must haves.
(14:55):
Number three, prep permanentdisplays now so they're ready to
hang in August. Number four,create a new student SOP while
your routines are fresh in yourmind. And number five, set up a
first day quick win that givesyour future self a head start.
Heidi (15:10):
None of these strategies should take more than an hour at
the most, but together, they'llsave you so many hours of stress
and preparation in August. Andif you want more help planning
for next year, don't forget tocheck out our free end of year
roadmap. It's a digital planningtool that helps you reflect on
what worked this year, whatdidn't, and what you want to
change for next year.
Emily (15:30):
It's completely free, and you can access it through the
link in our show notes. You canfill it all out at once or
little by little as you havetime. And stay tuned for
information soon about ourupcoming teacher summer talks
event, which is happening in midJune. It's a free audio summit
with lots of back to schoolstrategies from experienced
teachers designed to fit intoyour summer schedule without
(15:51):
requiring you to sit in front ofa screen for hours.
Heidi (15:55):
We are excited to be sharing more details about that
soon, but in the meantime, wewould love to hear which of
these five tasks you are goingto try. Come join the
conversation in our teacherapproved Facebook group.
Emily (16:06):
Now for our teacher approved Tip of the Week, where
we share an actionable tip tohelp you elevate what matters
and simplify the rest. Thisweek's teacher approved tip is
create welcome back goodie bagsfor your teacher teammates. Tell
us about this, Heidi.
Heidi (16:22):
We all know that first day back for teachers can be
overwhelming. There's so much todo and so little time, and
you're so tired. A small gesturethat can make a big difference
is preparing little welcome backtreats for your grade level team
or teaching partners.
Emily (16:35):
These don't have to be elaborate or expensive. A simple
paper bag with a few thoughtfulitems can be such a morale
booster when you're all rushingaround trying to get classrooms
ready.
Heidi (16:44):
Some things you might want to include are chapstick,
colorful sticky notes, a pack ofmarkers, or some chocolate,
because, you know, chocolatedoes make everything better.
Emily (16:55):
I love adding a small moisturizing hand sanitizer or
lotion, especially sinceteachers hands take such a
beating during those first weeksback, and if you can find them
on sale now, it's so muchcheaper than buying them in
August, when school supplies areat premium prices.
Heidi (17:10):
The key is to make these now while you have a little
time, and then just tuck themaway with your first week bin
that we talked about earlier.You can even add a simple
handwritten note saying howexcited you are to work together
this year. But just a warning,if you add chocolate, make sure
to keep this bin someplace cooland not in the trunk of your
car.
Emily (17:28):
For sure. What makes this tip special is that it's
focusing on teacher to teacherconnections. We spend so much
time preparing for our students,but our colleagues are such an
important part of our dailysupport system.
Heidi (17:40):
Start planning these little welcome bags now when
you're not in a rush and youwill be everyone's favorite
teammate when you hand them outduring the first hectic work
day. And you know, don't we allwant that a little bit?
Emily (17:52):
I always want to be the favorite.
Heidi (17:54):
We are not above bribery here. But really it's a simple
gesture that just shows that weare all in this together.
Alright, to wrap up the show, weare sharing what we're giving
extra credit to this week.Emily, what gets your extra
credit?
Emily (18:07):
I'm giving extra credit to the new peanut butter flavor
of my favorite Barebells proteinbars. So I think I've given
extra credit to Barebellsbefore. Barebells are far and
away the yummiest protein barsI've ever tasted, and the peanut
butter flavor is next level. Itquickly shot to my favorite
flavor, and it's not too peanutbuttery, which I think is a good
(18:30):
thing. It's not like a Reese'sPeanut Butter Cup.
Heidi (18:33):
Yeah, that would be a lot.
Emily (18:34):
But in a good way.
Heidi (18:35):
Maybe I have to come steal one and see how I like it.
Emily (18:37):
Yes, you should. What are you giving extra credit to,
Heidi?
Heidi (18:41):
Well, I'm giving extra credit to the celebrity British
Bake Off on the Roku channel. Sothey've done this for years. I
think ever since Great BritishBake Off started, they would do
some celebrity episodes as afundraiser for Red Nose Day. But
we just never got it here in theUS. PBS didn't show it. It
(19:02):
didn't show up on Netflix. SoI've seen some episodes on
YouTube, but otherwise, it'sjust really hit or miss what you
could see. But Roku startedshowing it, and Roku is free. It
does have ads, but I didn'tthink the ads were too bad, it
was just maybe one mid episodead. And it was just really fun
to see, you know, people whocan't bake try to do like the
(19:23):
similar activities that they doon a regular Bake Off episode.
People have no idea what they'redoing, so which is almost more
fun. Do I know all of thecelebrities? I do not.
Emily (19:34):
No, a lot of them are very Britain specific
celebrities.
Heidi (19:39):
But they're still very entertaining. So if you want
something fun and light to getyou through these last few
months of school, definitelycheck out the celebrity British
Bake Off episodes.
Emily (19:48):
And when you told me about this, I immediately turned
it on and found the James McAvoyepisode that I have wanted to
watch for like, what, wasn'tthat like 2020 or 2021? So I
finally got to watch it. Nospoilers, but he did an
excellent job.
Heidi (20:03):
He really did. I was surprised at how well he did a
baking.
Emily (20:06):
I know he took it seriously, which I think is fun,
because a lot of times on here,some of them take it super
seriously, and some are justthere to be silly. And I like it
when they try really hard, andthen if they fail, it's still
great, but I just wanted them tohave tried hard before they
fail.
Heidi (20:21):
It's kind of like, if you've ever seen people around
the Olympics being like, theyshould always just have one
regular person in an Olympicevent, you can really appreciate
how talented the Olympians are.This is kind of that, if you've
watched the regular Bake Offepisodes.
Emily (20:36):
Yes, exactly.
Well, that's it for today'sepisode. Try out some of these
five smart ways to prep for backto school this May.
Heidi (20:44):
And don't forget our teacher approved tip to create
those welcome back goodie bagsfor your teaching teammates.
It's such a simple way to startthe year with positivity and
connection.
We hope you enjoyed this episodeof Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
Emily (20:59):
And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
or subscribe in your podcast appso that you never miss an
episode.
Heidi (21:06):
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 (21:13):
Bye.
This is episode 194 of Teacher Approved.
You're listening to TeacherApproved, the podcast helping
educators elevate what mattersand simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi.
Emily (00:14):
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 (00:29):
We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
the show.
Emily (00:36):
Hey friends, thanks for joining us today. In today's
episode, we are sharing fivesmart ways you can prep for back
to school this May, and we'llgive you a teacher approved tip
to do something special for yourteaching teammates.
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, why not try a morning meeting remix? Just take
one element of your regularmorning meeting routine and give
it an unexpected twist.
Heidi (01:08):
I love this idea. It's especially helpful this time of
year when things might befeeling a little bit stale. So
if you usually do a standardgreeting, you could try having
your students greet each otherwith a compliment instead. Or
try adding a quick new activity,nothing that's going to take a
lot of work on your part, butsomething like a daily joke or a
question of the day, or a wouldyou rather of the day.
Emily (01:28):
Oh, I love it. Small changes like this can really
refresh your routine. It is allabout that balance of routine
and novelty that we talk about alot here that helps keep
students engaged. Your studentswill love surprises like this in
the middle of a daily routine,and it often just leads to more
engagement during a time whenenergy is probably flagging.
Heidi (01:49):
Plus, it's a no prep activity that still packs a big
impact. Just one small changecan make the whole morning feel
fresh again.
Emily (01:57):
If you like this idea or anything else we share here on
the podcast, which you make ourday by taking a second to give
us a five star rating and reviewon Apple podcasts.
Heidi (02:07):
So today we are talking about five smart ways to get
ahead on back to school prepwhile you are still in your
classroom this May. I know someof you might be giving us the
side eye right now, and that istotally justified, but hear us
out. In last week's episode, wetalked about why May is actually
the perfect time to startthinking ahead to next year.
Emily (02:28):
It really is. When you're still in the classroom, all
those pain points are crystalclear. You still have your
classroom fully set up, and youcan even test things out with
your current students. Plusdoing a little bit of planning
now can seriously reduce yourback to school panic later and
lighten your summer mental load.And who does not want that?
Heidi (02:48):
So today, we're getting super specific with five
actionable things that you cando right now in the month of May
to set yourself up for successwhen you return in the fall. And
none of these things will takehours after school. These are
quick wins that will pay bigdividends when August rolls
around.
Emily (03:05):
All right, let's dive into our first task for smart
back to school prep in May.What's up first, Heidi?
Heidi (03:12):
Well, the first thing you can do in May for back to school
is to save your old crayons,your markers and other supplies
to use during the first week ofschool. This solves a problem
that drives me crazy every year.Students are using their brand
new materials before they knowhow to care for them properly.
Especially if you have fundedthese materials yourself, there
is nothing sadder than watchinga fresh box of crayons get
(03:35):
demolished within like threedays because you haven't had
time to teach crayon proceduresyet.
Emily (03:40):
So before you send students home with their supply
boxes at the end of the year, orbefore you toss out those half
used items, set aside acollection of first week
supplies. So grab the stubbycrayons, the markers that still
work but aren't quite asvibrant, or those colored
pencils that are a bit shorterbut still have life in them.
(04:01):
Store these in a bin labeledfirst week supplies, and tuck
them away for August.
Heidi (04:05):
When students arrive next year, they can use these good
enough supplies for all of theget to know you activities and
the practice work before youteach your supply procedures and
break out the fun, fresh, prettynew stuff. This saves all of
those new supplies from gettingdestroyed, and it gives you
something to use until you havetime to teach those procedures.
Emily (04:27):
And honestly, this little step takes almost no extra time.
You're just redirecting thingsyou'd probably toss or send home
anyway, but it'll save you somuch frustration in those first
days back.
Heidi (04:37):
And you might even want to save some supplies that are
in really bad shape, like acouple of dried out glue sticks
or the whiteboard markers thathave the tips jammed inside.
Emily (04:46):
Yeah why do kids always do that? But hold on to a few,
because those really beat upsupplies are the perfect bad
examples to show when you doyour procedure lessons,
especially if you use the GuidedDiscovery method that we love.
We will put a link to our GuidedDiscovery for school supplies in
the show notes. If you don'thave it, you're gonna want it.
(05:07):
Okay, what's next, Heidi?
Heidi (05:09):
Well the second thing you can do to get ready for back to
school is to set up a three binsystem before you leave your
classroom in May. This is such agame changer for staying
organized over the summer.Instead of having everything
jumbled together, or worse,scattered between school and
home, or maybe even school andhome and your car, you create
three distinct spaces forthings.
Emily (05:30):
So bin number one is labeled summer working. This is
for any material you actuallyplan to work on over the break.
That might be new curriculum toreview, books you want to read,
or laminating you need to cutout. If you have goals for
working in the summer, it'shelpful to have your resources
in one place.
Heidi (05:47):
This is handy because if you have to pack up your room
before summer, like so many ofus do, you're probably cramming
stuff into any available space,and that means in the middle of
July, when you need yourteacher's manual, you're going
to have to dig it out.
Emily (06:01):
But if that manual is already in your bin, you're good
to go. Just be honest withyourself about how much you're
really going to get done. If youknow deep down that you are not
going to touch that vocabularyplanning all summer, don't put
it in the summer working bin.It's okay. Just accept it.
Heidi (06:19):
Bin number two is classroom setup. These are the
things you'll need right away toset up your room, your favorite
posters, your desk accessories,label maker, bulletin board
supplies, all of that fun stuff.
Emily (06:30):
And sometimes we call this our need first box, because
it has everything in it that youare going to need right away
when you get back to yourclassroom.
Heidi (06:38):
And then bin number three, which might be my
favorite is first week ofschool. This is everything
you'll need specifically forthose opening days. Your first
week lesson plans, name tags,get to know your activities,
your favorite back to schoolread alouds, those save supplies
that we just talked about, andmaterials for any special first
aid traditions that you have.
Emily (06:57):
I love this three bin system because it helps you
prioritize. When you return inAugust, you know exactly what to
unpack first. You're not diggingthrough 15 random boxes trying
to find your lunch schedule oryour welcome letter. It also
helps you be realistic aboutwhat you're actually going to
accomplish over the summer.
Heidi (07:14):
To make this super easy, just grab three storage bins or
even those large reusableshopping bags, label them
clearly and start sorting asyou're cleaning up your
classroom these last few weeks.This might take you, what, an
extra 20 minutes now, but it'sgoing to save you hours of
frustration in August.
Okay, Emily, what is next?
Emily (07:32):
Well, our third task for back to school is to prepare as
many permanent displays aspossible before you leave in
May. This is one of those worksmarter, not harder, tips that
can save you so much time. Lookaround your classroom right now
and identify which displays stayrelatively consistent year to
year, things like your calendararea, alphabet displays, number
(07:53):
lines, classroom rules or valuesand your subject area reference
charts. If these don't changemuch, why recreate them every
single year?
Heidi (08:03):
If you can leave things up on your walls and bulletin
boards, then absolutely do. Justtake down what's related to this
year and leave up the rest. It'sso nice if you can keep things
up and already have your displayready for you to add your new
kids names and birthdays andcalendar items to next year.
Emily (08:19):
This will vary a lot by school. So if you're not sure
how it is in your building, findout before you do any prep work
for next year. But if you dounfortunately have to take
everything down, you can stillwork smarter.
Heidi (08:30):
Yes, before you take everything down, take photos of
how these areas are set up. Youthink you'll remember, you will
not remember. Then carefullytake down your core displays and
store them flat in labeledfolders or large envelopes. You
could even go a step further andprepare new versions of any
displays that are maybe lookinga little bit beat up, a fresh
(08:51):
alphabet line or a newlylaminated set of calendar pieces
takes just a few minutes now,but can save you precious setup
time in August.
Emily (08:58):
May is the perfect time to evaluate which displays
actually served you well thisyear and which ones just
collected dust. Be strategicabout what you want to keep for
next year. One display thatwe're particularly fond of is
our looking ahead, looking back,bulletin board.
Heidi (09:15):
I love this one so much. It's a special end of year
activity that transitionsbeautifully into a beginning of
the year display in the fall. Soit is a two for one win.
Emily (09:26):
Yeah, this starts with your students reflecting on
their favorite parts of theyear. You put their memories up
on your bulletin board or wallto enjoy for the rest of the
year. But then after the yearends, or when you come back in
August, you just switch out thetitle on the bulletin board. So
now, instead of saying lookingback on second grade, it says,
looking ahead to second grade.Now your bulletin board shows
(09:48):
your new students some of thefun moments that await them in
your class. If you're interestedin trying this, it's available
in our shop, and of course, wewill link to that in the show
notes.
Heidi (09:57):
Other displays to consider prepping now are your
job chart, birthday display,class schedule and any behavior
or incentive systems. Just alittle time invested now means
these won't be on your August todo list. All right, Emily, what
is next?
Emily (10:13):
The fourth task you can do in May for back to school is
to create a new student SOP,which stands for Standard
Operating Procedure, and do itnow, while your routines are
fresh in your mind.
Heidi (10:25):
Every teacher knows the mild panic of getting a new
student, especially after thosefirst crucial weeks when you
have already taught all of yournew procedures.
Emily (10:35):
And somehow those new students always seem to arrive
at the most inconvenient times,like right before lunch, during
a big class project, or, youknow, 30 minutes after you
started the school day.
Heidi (10:46):
Oh, always. So the idea here is to create a simple
checklist of everything a newstudent needs to know and to
have. This becomes your ready togo protocol that you can hand to
a buddy student or a teachingassistant to help them get a new
arrival up to speed.
Emily (11:01):
Your SOP might include things like where to hang
backpacks, how to order lunch,bathroom procedures, how to use
classroom materials, what thesignal for attention means, how
center rotations work. You know,all those little things that
make your classroom runsmoothly.
Heidi (11:17):
And also don't forget the physical items that a new
student needs, a name tag, cubbylabel, supply box, folder, login
information and so on. Plus,there's all the behind the
scenes stuff of adding theparents to your communication
system and informing anyspecialty teachers that you've
got a new student coming. Sowith all of that to manage,
really the best time to createthis list is now in May, when
(11:39):
all of your systems aresolidified and running smoothly.
Emily (11:43):
Right, because in May, you can clearly see exactly what
makes your classroom tick. It ishard to remember some of these
details once you have beenblissfully free of your
classroom for a couple months.
Heidi (11:53):
One idea is to make two versions, a simplified one for
students who might be helping anew classmate, and a more
detailed one for the teacher.Once you have your SOP, you can
store it in a visible place,maybe with your sub folder or
taped inside a cupboard door.You could even create a little
welcome folder with all of theessentials that you or your
(12:13):
helper can just grab and go.
Emily (12:15):
Or you could put it into any new student supply packs you
make. This takes maybe 30minutes to put together now. It
will save you so much stresslater.
Heidi (12:23):
Plus it ensures new students feel welcomed and get
consistent information, ratherthan just having to piece things
together as they go along.
Emily (12:31):
And it's one less thing that you have to worry about in
those first few months ofschool. Your future self will be
so grateful when that newstudent shows up in mid October.
Okay, Heidi, last task, let'shear it.
Heidi (12:42):
Well, our fifth and final back to school task for May is
to create a first day quick winbefore you leave for summer. I
think this is my favorite tip,because it addresses that back
to school anxiety that sneaks upon even the most experienced
teachers. You know, when thenightmares start, and it's the
first day of school and you havenothing prepared, or you're
(13:04):
trapped and you can't get whereyou need to be. This strategy is
the antidote to that anxiety.
Emily (13:10):
The idea is simple but powerful. Just prepare one key
element of your first day backnow, while you're still in
teacher mode. A great option isto prepare your first morning
arrival task, just somethingstudents can start working on
immediately when they walk in.
Heidi (13:25):
We love pattern blocks or Legos for your first day arrival
activity. And we have got acouple of resources that you can
use just for this. So we willlink to that in the show notes.
Emily (13:34):
You could also prep a favorite read aloud and the
activity that goes with it, oranother activity you know you'll
want to do that first day.
Heidi (13:42):
Just having one piece fully ready gives you an
incredible peace of mind. Whenthat mid July panic starts to
creep in, you can remindyourself, Hey, I've already
started. I am not starting fromzero.
Emily (13:53):
Whatever you choose, make it something that will truly
help that first day run moresmoothly. This is also a great
time to jot down any specialFirst Day traditions you want to
continue, or new ones you wantto try. Sometimes those details
fade over the summer and we onlyremember them the night before
school starts.
Heidi (14:10):
That's the worst, you're like, I was gonna do that, and
now, yep, no time. So stop thatnow and get your list going.
Setting up this quick first daywhen takes minimal effort now,
but provides maximum relieflater. It's like sending a
little gift to your future,maybe slightly panicked, August
self. We love helping futureyou.
Emily (14:32):
So let's recap our five smart tasks for May back to
school prep. Number one, savesome of your old supplies so
that you can use them whenyou're teaching proper
procedures. Number two, create athree bin system to organize
your summer working materials,your classroom setup or need
first essentials and the firstweek of school must haves.
(14:55):
Number three, prep permanentdisplays now so they're ready to
hang in August. Number four,create a new student SOP while
your routines are fresh in yourmind. And number five, set up a
first day quick win that givesyour future self a head start.
Heidi (15:10):
None of these strategies should take more than an hour at
the most, but together, they'llsave you so many hours of stress
and preparation in August. Andif you want more help planning
for next year, don't forget tocheck out our free end of year
roadmap. It's a digital planningtool that helps you reflect on
what worked this year, whatdidn't, and what you want to
change for next year.
Emily (15:30):
It's completely free, and you can access it through the
link in our show notes. You canfill it all out at once or
little by little as you havetime. And stay tuned for
information soon about ourupcoming teacher summer talks
event, which is happening in midJune. It's a free audio summit
with lots of back to schoolstrategies from experienced
teachers designed to fit intoyour summer schedule without
(15:51):
requiring you to sit in front ofa screen for hours.
Heidi (15:55):
We are excited to be sharing more details about that
soon, but in the meantime, wewould love to hear which of
these five tasks you are goingto try. Come join the
conversation in our teacherapproved Facebook group.
Emily (16:06):
Now for our teacher approved Tip of the Week, where
we share an actionable tip tohelp you elevate what matters
and simplify the rest. Thisweek's teacher approved tip is
create welcome back goodie bagsfor your teacher teammates. Tell
us about this, Heidi.
Heidi (16:22):
We all know that first day back for teachers can be
overwhelming. There's so much todo and so little time, and
you're so tired. A small gesturethat can make a big difference
is preparing little welcome backtreats for your grade level team
or teaching partners.
Emily (16:35):
These don't have to be elaborate or expensive. A simple
paper bag with a few thoughtfulitems can be such a morale
booster when you're all rushingaround trying to get classrooms
ready.
Heidi (16:44):
Some things you might want to include are chapstick,
colorful sticky notes, a pack ofmarkers, or some chocolate,
because, you know, chocolatedoes make everything better.
Emily (16:55):
I love adding a small moisturizing hand sanitizer or
lotion, especially sinceteachers hands take such a
beating during those first weeksback, and if you can find them
on sale now, it's so muchcheaper than buying them in
August, when school supplies areat premium prices.
Heidi (17:10):
The key is to make these now while you have a little
time, and then just tuck themaway with your first week bin
that we talked about earlier.You can even add a simple
handwritten note saying howexcited you are to work together
this year. But just a warning,if you add chocolate, make sure
to keep this bin someplace cooland not in the trunk of your
car.
Emily (17:28):
For sure. What makes this tip special is that it's
focusing on teacher to teacherconnections. We spend so much
time preparing for our students,but our colleagues are such an
important part of our dailysupport system.
Heidi (17:40):
Start planning these little welcome bags now when
you're not in a rush and youwill be everyone's favorite
teammate when you hand them outduring the first hectic work
day. And you know, don't we allwant that a little bit?
Emily (17:52):
I always want to be the favorite.
Heidi (17:54):
We are not above bribery here. But really it's a simple
gesture that just shows that weare all in this together.
Alright, to wrap up the show, weare sharing what we're giving
extra credit to this week.Emily, what gets your extra
credit?
Emily (18:07):
I'm giving extra credit to the new peanut butter flavor
of my favorite Barebells proteinbars. So I think I've given
extra credit to Barebellsbefore. Barebells are far and
away the yummiest protein barsI've ever tasted, and the peanut
butter flavor is next level. Itquickly shot to my favorite
flavor, and it's not too peanutbuttery, which I think is a good
(18:30):
thing. It's not like a Reese'sPeanut Butter Cup.
Heidi (18:33):
Yeah, that would be a lot.
Emily (18:34):
But in a good way.
Heidi (18:35):
Maybe I have to come steal one and see how I like it.
Emily (18:37):
Yes, you should. What are you giving extra credit to,
Heidi?
Heidi (18:41):
Well, I'm giving extra credit to the celebrity British
Bake Off on the Roku channel. Sothey've done this for years. I
think ever since Great BritishBake Off started, they would do
some celebrity episodes as afundraiser for Red Nose Day. But
we just never got it here in theUS. PBS didn't show it. It
(19:02):
didn't show up on Netflix. SoI've seen some episodes on
YouTube, but otherwise, it'sjust really hit or miss what you
could see. But Roku startedshowing it, and Roku is free. It
does have ads, but I didn'tthink the ads were too bad, it
was just maybe one mid episodead. And it was just really fun
to see, you know, people whocan't bake try to do like the
(19:23):
similar activities that they doon a regular Bake Off episode.
People have no idea what they'redoing, so which is almost more
fun. Do I know all of thecelebrities? I do not.
Emily (19:34):
No, a lot of them are very Britain specific
celebrities.
Heidi (19:39):
But they're still very entertaining. So if you want
something fun and light to getyou through these last few
months of school, definitelycheck out the celebrity British
Bake Off episodes.
Emily (19:48):
And when you told me about this, I immediately turned
it on and found the James McAvoyepisode that I have wanted to
watch for like, what, wasn'tthat like 2020 or 2021? So I
finally got to watch it. Nospoilers, but he did an
excellent job.
Heidi (20:03):
He really did. I was surprised at how well he did a
baking.
Emily (20:06):
I know he took it seriously, which I think is fun,
because a lot of times on here,some of them take it super
seriously, and some are justthere to be silly. And I like it
when they try really hard, andthen if they fail, it's still
great, but I just wanted them tohave tried hard before they
fail.
Heidi (20:21):
It's kind of like, if you've ever seen people around
the Olympics being like, theyshould always just have one
regular person in an Olympicevent, you can really appreciate
how talented the Olympians are.This is kind of that, if you've
watched the regular Bake Offepisodes.
Emily (20:36):
Yes, exactly.
Well, that's it for today'sepisode. Try out some of these
five smart ways to prep for backto school this May.
Heidi (20:44):
And don't forget our teacher approved tip to create
those welcome back goodie bagsfor your teaching teammates.
It's such a simple way to startthe year with positivity and
connection.
We hope you enjoyed this episodeof Teacher Approved. I'm Heidi.
Emily (20:59):
And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
or subscribe in your podcast appso that you never miss an
episode.
Heidi (21:06):
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 (21:13):
Bye.
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