OTT: 251 The Gentle Teacher's Guide to Starting the School Year Strong

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Feeling that end-of-summer anxiety creeping in as the new school year approaches? Take a deep breath – you're not alone, and there's a better way to start the year.

The transition from summer relaxation to classroom chaos doesn't have to leave you exhausted by September. In this episode, we explore three gentle, practical approaches that will help you ease back into teaching without burning out in the first few weeks. Rather than diving headfirst into curriculum, discover why a "soft launch" focused on relationships and routines creates a stronger foundation for the entire year. Learn how to transform your classroom into what I call a "calm command center" with simple personal touches that energize rather than deplete you.

Most importantly, we discuss the power of gradually implementing classroom systems instead of trying to perfect everything on day one. I share specific examples from my own teaching experience, including how I made learning procedures fun and engaging through movement and collaboration. These strategies aren't just about making the first week easier – they're about setting a sustainable pace that will carry you through the entire school year with more joy and less exhaustion.

As we prepare to welcome students back, remember this truth: "Kids benefit the most from a teacher who is grounded and not frazzled." Your well-being directly impacts your teaching effectiveness. So give yourself permission to start gently and intentionally this year. Your future self (especially that mid-October version who's usually running on fumes) will thank you!

Ready to make this your most balanced school year yet? Listen now, and don't forget to subscribe for more practical teaching wisdom delivered with honesty and heart.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher.
Episode 251, three gentle waysto ease into the new school year
.
Okay.
So I do have two more episodesof Readers in the Making and you
can check it out on YouTube,where I'm talking about ideas to
help kids learn through thesummer.
So if you have kids, maybe youwanna check that out, but I am

(00:22):
not gonna do that for One TiredTeacher.
I'm going to talk about somethings that might help you get
ready for the new school year.
So welcome, welcome, Welcomeback.
Here we are.
We're still in June, We've just.
This is our last week in June,and we know what happens when
July rolls around.
Sometimes it's like all righttime to get serious.

(00:44):
So, whether you're sipping thatfirst cup of coffee in a quiet
classroom hopefully not becauseyou don't have to go back quite
yet or maybe you're staring atthat pile of papers that you
brought home and you're like,what am I going to do with all
this?
I want you to take a deepbreath, because today I'm
sharing three simple ways toease yourself back into the

(01:04):
school year without burning outby week two.
So hope you stick around.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Welcome to One Tired Teacher and even though she may
need a nap, this teacher isready to wake up and speak her
truth about the trials andtreasures of teaching here.
She is wide awake.
Wait, she's not asleep rightnow, is she?
She is awake right.
Okay, from Trina Debery,teaching and Learning your host,
trina Debery.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Hey.
So we're talking about threedental ways to ease into the new
school year.
We don't want to burn out inweek two.
We want to be ready to go.
So if it's that time of thesummer where you're starting to
think about school, let's talkabout that.
So the first, the first likegentle way is to start I can't

(01:59):
get my words out start with asoft launch.
Now, the first week doesn'tneed to be like a full academic
sprint.
You don't need to be like okay,we're going to get right
started in our math books, we'regoing to jump right into
reading, we're going to dowriting, we're going to do all
these things.
We don't have to jump rightinto all of that.
We can ease in more withroutines and fun icebreakers,

(02:22):
class expectations, read aloudsthat spark conversation, these
kinds of things that allow youto get to know your kids and to
build a connection and buildthat relationship as well as
teaching them routines.
Routines are the key procedures,procedures and routines.
They are that's your savinggrace Like that's the thing that

(02:46):
they need to know.
They need to be so good at itthat you're ready to move on.
You can intermix some academicswith that, but it goes a lot
further when you are reallyfocusing on the procedures and
routines.
That way you are notoverwhelming them and you're
also building a relationshipwith them and it can be really
fun.

(03:12):
I have a bunch of like gettingstarted, icebreaker kind of
things and even practicingroutines and procedures in my
back to school packs that I haveon my shop on TPT Trina Deberry
, teaching and Learning.
So I've got like a beach themeand a superhero theme and a what
is it?
Camp theme and I've got a bunchof different themes.
But inside of those packs theyare filled with those kind of
activities like for all that youneed for like the first week of

(03:33):
school.
So check that out If you areinterested.
I'll drop the link in the shownotes Anyway.
So but think of it like.
Think of this as like a get toknow you week for you and your
students.
You're building connectionfirst and content second.
That's the real foundation of astrong year and it will make

(03:53):
all the difference All right.
So your gentle way number two isto reclaim your space.
What does that mean?
Before things get too busy,take time to make your classroom
feel good to you.
Now that doesn't mean that youhave to come in over the summer
for weeks and weeks and weeks.
It may mean that you come infor a little bit longer than is

(04:17):
given to you.
I don't know, I don't know howteachers get it all done.
I honestly don't know.
I had friends that would refuseto come and would come on the
first day that teachers wereallowed to come back, and it was
madness for that person and Ifelt like how much, how much
extra time did you get with yourfamily then to turn around and

(04:39):
like live at school for thatfirst week?
It was just exhausting.
So you kind of have to decidewhat works for you and and to
like let everybody do theirthing.
We don't have to judge it.
It's okay If people didn't come.
That's all right.
That's a good thing.
They prioritize themselves andtheir family.
But it's also okay if you do gobecause in a way you're

(05:02):
prioritizing yourself and yourfamily.
You're not going to be insaneon the first week.
It's going to be much easierFor me.
I wanted to have my classroomready to go before we really had
to be back, because that wasthe fun part for me.
That was the enjoyable part.
Decorating it, setting it upand having everything ready, all
set and ready to go made mefeel better.

(05:23):
Plus, I was the team leader andpeople always needed me and it
was like constant questions andso I felt like I never had time
anyway.
So I almost felt like I had todo it, but I didn't feel upset
about it because it's the partthat I really liked.
But an idea for you is to, youknow, add a lamp post, a
favorite quote, put on your,your favorite, you know, go to

(05:46):
playlist, make it enjoyable.
I used to bring my kids with me.
Sometimes, honestly, that wasnot super enjoyable because they
, you know, they got bored andthey wanted to go home.
So the times that I could do itby myself were so much better.
But you got to do what you haveto do.
I do remember bringing my sonJackson, when he was a baby, in

(06:06):
his pack and play into myclassroom and like putting him
in the pitch dark bathroom.
That sounds mean now that I'msaying it out loud, so, but he
would go to sleep and he did goto sleep, but it was like nap
time.
That's why he was in there.
But you know, now that I thinkabout it, he was probably
terrified because he couldn'tsee anything in there.
So I'm feeling a little bitguilty about that, and he's

(06:27):
about to turn 21.
I could probably let that go, Ithink, because you know we make
mistakes.
Anyway, you want your space.
You want it to feel like a calmcommand center, not a chaotic
command post.
And a small touch of joy, aplant, a framed photo, a cozy

(06:51):
corner, it can really make allthe difference, all right.
So the final easy, gentle, easystrategy for the new year is to
have a Whoa, where did thatcome from?
So sorry about that.
We're just going to keep going,we're just going to not even
worry about it.
So the third of course, this isa gentle, calm thing.
And then we have that blastingmusic.
It's a graceful routine resetso you don't have to do

(07:13):
everything on day one or dayfive.
Ease into systems and routines.
Start with one daily, you knowone daily habit.
Maybe it's a mindful minute,maybe it's a fun dismissal song
or journaling after lunch.
Let your new rhythm kind ofbuild slowly, if that's your way
.
For me, I spent a lot more timedoing routines and procedures

(07:36):
throughout the whole day.
I made it fun.
I would still do my read aloud,we still might start a math
lesson, but I would use KaganCooperative Learning Structures
to make it more engaging.
I would teach them how to lineup.
Let's say we're going to usethat as an example.

(07:56):
I teach them how to line up inthe hall before we actually had
to go somewhere.
I wanted to teach them beforewe actually had to go somewhere.
It was a little harder whenspecials was first thing in the
morning.
I will say so.
I would like break it down tosteps that we could, you know we
could, we could act out withour body.
So it'd be like step one youknow, push your, push your chair
in.
Step two walk to the line, youknow, with a place for your

(08:20):
hands.
Step three stand in your spot.
Step four you know, keep yourhands, you know, in the, you
know in the right spot and focuson the person ahead of you.
I don't want to make that toocomplicated, and so I would make
it really simple and short, andthen we would practice those
steps, we would act them out,and then we would look, you know
, get a non-example and then anexample, and then I would have

(08:41):
kids do a simultaneousroundtable, which is where
everybody has the paper, and youstart with step one and they're
kind of drawing it out andwriting it and then they rotate
around the table and then theperson in spot one moves to spot
two and now on their paperthey're going to put the second
step in step two while someoneelse is doing that on their
paper.
So by the time they get backaround to their seat the whole

(09:04):
paper is filled out and it justhas a collaborative feel.
It also makes it fun kids getto move and it just brings it
kind of to life.
So that's just one example, butI really liked to focus on
routines and procedures.
So if you want to start offslowly, that's perfectly fine,
but I also think it's okay tolike really hit the ground

(09:27):
running when it comes to that.
Anyway, don't forget, kidsbenefit the most from a teacher
who is grounded and not frazzled.
So those are a few, just a fewquick tips to keep in mind.
You've got this you really dothis year is.
You know it will pick up speedfast, but if you give yourself a
gentle launch, you'll startstronger and more centered.

(09:48):
Thanks for listening and I'llsee you next time.
Here's to a joyful start in ayear full of possibilities.
Until next time, sweet dreamsand sleep tight.