Teacher Approved Tips: How to Plan Ahead for Future Problems! [episode 147]

Emily  0:37

Hey, there, thanks for joining us. Today we are sharing our best teacher approved tips for solving some future problems right now. What can you tell us about this, Heidi?

Heidi  0:47

There are so many unknowns about the upcoming school year. But there are some things you can predict even if you don’t have all the details yet. And if you know something is coming down the line, you can do something today to address it.

Heidi  1:00

For example, if you have your calendar, you might know that you’ll have parent teacher conferences, the third week of October, and that you want to stop teaching new content on December 18. You can prepare for parent conferences by deciding today what beautiful art project you’ll hang in the hall to impress your parents.

Emily  1:17

Or you can prepare by taking our parent conference mini course we’ll link to that in the show notes.

Heidi  1:22

And you can prepare for December by downloading our free December survival toolkit. We’ll link to that in the show notes as well. Another way you can prepare for the future is by making a Guided Discovery binder. If

Emily  1:36

If you haven’t yet, go listen to Monday’s episode episode 146. If you want to deep dive into a Guided Discovery lesson and why we love using this method.

Heidi  1:46

One of the things we talked about in that episode is making a chart for each school tool you introduce. So when you’re introducing scissors to your class, you have students talk about what scissors are used for and how to take care of them. And you list students responses on a chart. These charts become your class’s standard of care for school materials.

Heidi  2:05

Now, it’s not really practical to post a dozen of these charts around your room. And that’s fine, because most of the time your students will use their supplies correctly. Kids aren’t dumb, they already have a sense of what’s a good idea and what’s a bad idea.

Heidi  2:19

They just needed to know that you expect them to do more of the good ideas and the bad ideas. But sometimes, because our little friends lack fully developed impulse control, a bad idea is so good to break through, then we do have a problem to deal with. And that’s when you want the charts.

Heidi  2:36

If you filled out the charts on Google Slides, you could open up the file and use it as a reference while you chat with a kid that was just using his scissors to cut the tips off your markers. But having to reference slides can be cumbersome, a paper version might be easier to use.

Heidi  2:51

And that’s why you might want a binder. It’s a handy tool for storing everything. If you wrote your charts on paper, you can just easily add those to your binder.

Heidi  3:00

Or you can print your filled out charts from Google Slides, punch some holes and tuck them away for later. But

Heidi  3:06

But if you really want to get ahead of the game, or if you don’t want to print a bunch of Google Slides, you could fill out a general paper version of the charts to keep in your binder. Because guys, let’s be honest, most of the information about how to care for pencils and glue is not going to change much from year to year.

Heidi  3:24

And the kids are never going to remember exactly what was or wasn’t on the chart your class made. So you can totally get ahead of the game by filling out your own version of the chart and tucking it away for later.

Heidi  3:38

You still want to go through the process of making the chart with your class because it’s a valuable exercise in helping them learn how to respect their school materials. But you can use your version of the charts for future reference and for putting together your binder. We will never tell.

Heidi  3:53

It’ll be our secret. Besides adding the church to your Guided Discovery binder, you can solve another problem by adding some action plans. That way you were all set for how to address the scissor kid. You take a deep breath and come over for a chat.

Heidi  4:10

All you have to do is pull down your binder, find the chart for scissors and review it with him. Then you pull out an action plan that you’ve already copied and tucked into the binder pocket. Because you knew this moment was coming. He fills out the form and you discuss his plan to fix the problem.

Emily  4:27

Look at you. You had no way of knowing what exactly would go wrong but you knew something would. If it wasn’t scissor kid, it would have been glue girl putting glue stick on like lipstick, or stapler boy daring his classmates to put their fingers in the stapler.

Heidi  4:42

Of course, it’s gonna be something. Solving problems that haven’t even happened yet though, is a certified superhero move.

Heidi  4:51

And speaking of future problems, what do you do when you find out you’re getting a new student tomorrow? Our friend Ashleigh from the podcast Rainbow Skies for New Teachers is here with a bonus tip for you about preparing now for your future students.

Ashleigh  5:05

Hi there, my name is Ashleigh and I am one half a Rainbow Sky Creations. We are two Aussie teachers that love to help other teachers work smarter and not harder. And my tip today is all about working smarter.

Ashleigh  5:18

So just imagine this, it’s the beginning of the school day, all the students are rushing in, some of them have little problems that they need to sort out. Others are a little bit unsettled, you have a to do list a mile long in your head about everything that needs to be done for the day, when you hear a knock at the door. You look up and you see your principal or someone from leadership with a new student for your class.

Ashleigh  5:43

Alarm bells, right? You think, oh my gosh, I didn’t even know this student was coming. I have got nothing prepared for them. And as a teacher, we want the best for the kids in our class. So you’re thinking, I want the student to feel settled, I want the student to feel a part of the classroom. And I have not been prepared for this.

Ashleigh  6:01

Well, this has happened to me many times until I put this into place. When you’re preparing your classroom displays and student supplies at the beginning of the year, create two spare packs of supplies that are ready for any student may they start in the middle of the year.

Ashleigh  6:20

So I’m talking books, if you’ve got books that you need to sort out, have a spare pile of those, lead pencils, any student supplies you give out diaries, anything you give to those students at the beginning of the year, create two separate packs. So if a student walks into your classroom, and they are new, you can just give them that pack and they are ready to go.

Ashleigh  6:43

Now that is only just step one. Step two is while you’re creating your classroom displays, bulletin boards, anywhere that you’re having your students and names up in the classroom, create a master document just with one of each of those things. So you might have name tags for their tubs, name tags where they put their school bags, you might have a desk charts.

Ashleigh  7:07

There could be all sorts of different things around your classroom, where you’re using names, you might even have names for their book covers, or book covers, in general. Keep all of that in one central document. And that way, when the new student comes into your class, you just need to find out what their name, Harry, lovely to meet you, here is your set of books. By the end of the day, we’re going to have your name up in the classroom, and you’re going to be part of this class and community like everyone else.

Ashleigh  7:36

Then all you need to do is open up that one document, pop in the student’s name and print off that one document. It saves you opening up several documents, trying to remember all the different things that you need. It’s a little bit of work at the beginning, but it’s going to help you later.

Ashleigh  7:54

The other thing that this tip really, really helps with is next year, and I’m sure you’re probably thinking, well, we’re just getting ready for the school year this year, I don’t need to worry about next year. But next year, you’re going to be able to open that doc and remind yourself of all the different things that you needed and that you prepared for your class.

Ashleigh  8:12

So not only is it doubling as a way to help introduce that new student into your classroom community, but it’s going to create like a little mini checklist for your future self. And that can be really, really helpful as a teacher.

Ashleigh  8:26

So to help the student get ready and be settled in from the get go less stressful for you less stressful for them have a pack of items ready to go set that up while you’re setting up your current students and also set up a master document of anywhere in the classroom, that they’re going to have their name or that they need something personalized. So it is there.

Ashleigh  8:49

I hope that tip really helps you. It has absolutely saved me in the past. And it really allowed me to spend time settling that student in instead of focusing and worrying about all the things that I need to get organized for them.

Ashleigh  9:04

Now before I go, I am a teacher too, and I know how time poor teachers can feel. So I wanted to give a quick shout out to our freebie eight time saving secrets. You can go and grab that by clicking on the link and saving yourself a little bit more time and working smarter and not harder. Thanks so much. See you soon and good luck for back to school. Bye.

Heidi  9:28

That was so smart. Preparing for future new students while you’re preparing for your current new students is a perfect example of working smarter, not harder. Thank you so much for that tip, Ashleigh.

Heidi  9:39

You can hear more great tips from Ashleigh and Alicia on the Rainbow Skies for New Teachers podcast and on Instagram at @rainbowskycreations.

Heidi  9:48

And if you want a handy checklist to keep track of all of the supplies both your current students and future students need download our Ready for School Checklists. There’s a student supply checklist already set up and just waiting for you to edit. You can find the link to that in our show notes.

Emily  10:03

And just to know if you’re listening to this in July, they’re ready for school checklists are free for our podcast listeners only. You can find that at secondstorywindow.net/ready.

Emily  10:15

That’s it for today’s episode. Solve future problems by taking action today. Prepare a Guided Discovery binder so you’re ready to address any problems with school materials.

Heidi  10:24

And don’t forget Ashleigh’s suggestion to gather supplies for future new students while you’re prepping for your current new students.