Why Smart Teachers Start Planning for Next Year in May [Episode 193]

Heidi  0:00

This is episode 193 of Teacher Approved.

 

Heidi  0:06

You’re listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I’m Heidi.

 

Emily  0:13

And I’m Emily. We’re the creators behind Second Story Window, where we give research based and teacher approved strategies that make teaching less stressful and more effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from each episode at secondstory window.net.

 

Heidi  0:28

We’re so glad you’re tuning in today. Let’s get to the show.

 

Emily  0:36

Hey there. We’re so glad you’re here. In today’s episode, we’re sharing why now, yes, even in May, is actually the perfect time to start thinking about next school year. Plus, we’ve got a free tool to help you do just that without adding more to your plate right now.

 

Heidi  0:53

Let’s kick things off with the try it tomorrow, a quick win that you can try in your classroom right away. Emily, what is our idea this week?

 

Emily  0:59

Tomorrow, try out a silent transition challenge. So choose just one transition, like lining up for lunch or switching from math to reading, and challenge your class to do it completely silently.

 

Heidi  1:12

You can even set a timer to see how fast they can do it. Tell them their goal is to beat their best time without saying a word. It adds a little bit of fun and novelty to something that you are already doing every day.

 

Emily  1:25

This is one of those sneaky tricks that helps clean up your transitions and adds a little end of year energy boost when you know everyone’s feeling a little wiggly.

 

Heidi  1:34

And bonus, it gives you a calm moment in your day too. So let us know how it goes.

 

Emily  1:39

If you like this idea or anything else we share here on the podcast, you know what I’m gonna ask, would you please take a second and give us a five star rating, because ratings and reviews are one way that new listeners find us.

 

Heidi  1:51

Today, we are talking about why May is actually the perfect time to start thinking about next school year. And we know what you’re thinking. Are they crazy? I’m just trying to survive until summer.

 

Emily  2:03

I know we get it, and we’re not suggesting that you whip out a fresh teacher planner and start mapping out every minute of the first week of school right now. But there are some seriously good reasons why a little planning now can save your future self from that back to school meltdown that we all know so well.

 

Heidi  2:21

So let’s dive into it. Why is May such a smart time to start planning ahead for next school year? Well, we have got five key reasons why right now is the sweet spot for this kind of preparation, and I promise none of these reasons involve staying after school.

 

Emily  2:38

So let’s start with reason number one, your classroom pain points are crystal clear right now. We all have a mental ‘the things that make me want to pull my hair out’ list going on right now, right? So, whether we realize it or not, that list is in there.

 

Heidi  2:55

Definitely. In May, you have been living with your classroom routines for what feels like forever, and you know exactly which ones make you want to scream into your Stanley Cup every morning.

 

Emily  3:05

In the middle of May, I can pinpoint with laser precision which parts of my classroom systems are causing serious friction in my day, and it would still be fresh on your mind how that new center rotation system turned your sweet students into tiny tornadoes.

 

Heidi  3:21

But fast forward to July, and most of that clarity has faded into a blur of Wait, what was that problem again? May gives you the rare chance to make changes based on real time insight, instead of having to rely on fuzzy memories. Our teacher brains have this magical ability to block out the painful stuff once you’ve had a little relaxation time.

 

Emily  3:41

I know it’s like teacher amnesia. I think it’s because we wouldn’t come back next school year if we remembered everything perfectly during the summer.

 

Heidi  3:49

Oh, absolutely.

 

Emily  3:51

And that’s why, by mid summer, I’m thinking, oh, you know what, my writing workshop routine wasn’t so bad, when in reality, it made me want to pull my hair out every day.

 

Heidi  4:00

That’s why the first thing we recommend is jotting down your wins, your frustrations and your don’t forget those next year ideas while they are still happening. It’s kind of like leaving yourself a little warning note. Dear August Heidi, do not try the paper passback system again unless you enjoy paper avalanches and tears. Love May Heidi.

 

Emily  4:23

Throughout this episode, we’re going to be mentioning our free end of year roadmap resource that can help you end this school year strong and get prepared for next year. We love the fix it list in the roadmap. It’s a place to capture those thoughts before they disappear.

 

Heidi  4:38

But another reason that May is the right time to start thinking about back to school is that you are still in your classroom.

 

Emily  4:44

If you have ever tried to fix a classroom routine in August, you know how hard it is to remember exactly how things were set up or where you shoved that pile of math games in a spring cleaning frenzy.

 

Heidi  4:56

But in May, you can look at your supplies and systems right now, and make smart decisions. Your classroom right now is a complete ecosystem, with everything in its perfect place, more or less, right? Your library is organized, your centers are stocked, and your walls showcase all of your brilliant teaching systems.

 

Emily  5:14

Don’t underestimate how much easier it is to make decisions and changes when your class is still set up and running like usual, versus during the summer, when you’re staring at bare walls and all your stuff is piled into corners.

 

Heidi  5:26

That is so true. Take photos now. Take photos from multiple angles, your reading corner, your small group area, how you organize your supplies. Seriously, open up your drawers and cupboards and snap a picture of how things are right now. And even if you’re going to be switching rooms next year, seeing exactly what you did in your current room can make future room setup so much simpler.

 

Emily  5:47

Absolutely. So take all the photos. And then I think it’s a good idea to keep the photos in a folder or a note on your phone called classroom setup. Did you know that you can just paste pictures and screenshots into a note? That’s really handy, too. So when you’re a sweaty mess setting up your classroom in August, you can just pull up those photos instead of relying on your tired, summer fried brain.

 

Heidi  6:09

Yes, the summer is a sweaty mess because, of course, they don’t have the air on. And don’t forget to document your classroom systems. Nothing worse than standing there in August wondering, Wait, how did I organize my library last year?

 

Emily  6:22

And that leads perfectly into reason number three that May is the perfect time to plan for back to school, and that is that you still have time to test things out with your current class. They’re like your own little personal guinea pigs, but cuter and with more opinions, I guess.

 

Heidi  6:38

Oh, all the opinions. And at this point in the year, they have been trained in your ways. They know your expectations, which makes them perfect for experimenting with those What if we tried it this way ideas.

 

Emily  6:50

Yeah, your current students are like the beta testers of your classroom software. So maybe you’ve realized your morning routine is taking twice as long as you want it to. You can try a different approach now and get immediate feedback on the changes.

 

Heidi  7:03

Or maybe your dismissal routine is looking like a game of hungry, hungry hippos, but with backpacks and lunch boxes, test out a new system now and work out all of the kinks.

 

Emily  7:13

And the best part of this is it often helps refresh those end of year behaviors that we know are getting so sloppy at this time of year. Nothing like a little novelty to boost engagement.

 

Heidi  7:25

But don’t limit your experimenting to just routines and procedures. Don’t be afraid to dream a little. Did you see a fun reading idea on Tiktok or Instagram? Try it out with your current kiddos, so you can see if it’s worth implementing next year.

 

Emily  7:39

Yeah, there is nothing worse than spending your summer crafting the perfect plan for science experiments or small group math or Tinker lab, only to find out that it just doesn’t work, all those summer hours wasted on something you can’t even use.

 

Heidi  7:53

So do yourself a favor and give it a go now, even if you don’t have all the pieces figured out yet, give it a dress rehearsal with your current class. Not only are this crop of kids more able to pivot than your new students will be, you also already have structures in place to fall back on if you need to abandon ship midstream. Experimenting now kind of gives you a safety net, or flotation device, I guess in this metaphor.

 

Emily  8:19

Plus, as our Grammy used to say, a change is as good as a rest. Trying something new now just might give you the energetic boost you need to make it to the end in one piece.

 

Heidi  8:29

Now, for reason number four, why starting back to school in May is a great idea, planning in May lightens your summer mental load. You know that feeling when you’re trying to relax in June, but your brain is still running with all those don’t forget this for next year tabs open.

 

Emily  8:45

When you take a little time in May to offload those thoughts onto paper, especially in a low pressure way, it gives your brain permission to let go.

 

Heidi  8:52

Without a plan, we end up either completely ghosting anything school related all summer, which leads to a real nightmare come August, I have been there, or we spend the whole break working without boundaries, and we end up checking our emails during beach trips.

 

Emily  9:06

We can speak from our experience that you don’t really want either of those extremes.

 

Heidi  9:10

Yeah neither approach really screams relaxing summer. But when we identify specific priorities in May, we can schedule focus work time and then fully unplug the rest of the time, like actually enjoying that Emily Henry book next to the pool without guilt.

 

Emily  9:27

Yes, you don’t have to do a lot. You just have to get intentional. It can even be as simple as if you’re really brave, only three work days on your summer schedule, so one in June, one in July, and one in early August. Now if you know exactly what you need to accomplish on each today, thanks to your time spent thinking ahead in May, you can close those teacher work brain tabs out on the other days and get a ton done on those three days.

 

Heidi  9:53

And our end of year roadmap is a great place to start listing all of those to do tasks that you’ll want to start on during your school work days. And that brings us to our fifth reason, planning in May reduces back to school panic. You know that day and summer, when you’re back to school, nightmares suddenly start up again.

 

Emily  10:11

Oh, the dreams where you show up on the first day and your classroom is still a storage closet, or you’re teaching in pajamas, or my personal favorite, and this is the one I usually have, which is, I’ve forgotten that I even had a teaching job until the morning of the first day of school, and then I’m just like, in sheer panic trying to get the class set up, and the students are like, already filing in. Oh my gosh, it’s such a nightmare. It’s just as bad as the I wake up in it and I have a college final, and I never went to class all semester.

 

Heidi  10:43

Oh, my stomach is a knots, even just joking about it.

 

Emily  10:47

They are the worst dreams.

 

Heidi  10:49

Why do teachers have this problem? But seriously, a little intentional planning in May can slice that August panic in half. Even just having lists of what worked and what didn’t, gives you a roadmap.

 

Emily  11:02

Instead of facing an overwhelming blank slate in August with nothing but panic and diet coke to fuel you, you’ll be working from a plan that your May self thoughtfully created for you. It’s like having a time traveling teacher assistant.

 

Heidi  11:17

And when you’ve already documented your classroom setup and identified your priorities, those August work days become so much more manageable. You might even, dare I say it, enjoy setting up your classroom.

 

Emily  11:29

Ooh, maybe.

 

Emily  11:33

And speaking of making things manageable, this is where our free end of year roadmap comes in. We created this resource because we know that May is not the time for complex planning systems that require 12 different colored highlighters.

 

Heidi  11:45

The free end of year roadmap includes simple reflection prompts and our favorite list making tools, the to da list for celebrating your successes, because you did have wins this year. And it’s important to notice that. The fix it list for identifying what needs improvement, and your to do list for planning your summer work. It can help you make a strategic plan for setting work goals while maintaining summer life boundaries. You can assign tasks to each month, sort tasks by where you do them, when you need to work on them, and how long they take. And you can pinpoint which tasks are most beneficial for meeting your back to school goals.

 

Emily  12:21

And we’ve designed it to be flexible, so you can fill it in all at once, or fill it in a little at a time between Field Day and end of year assessments with all your free time.

 

Heidi  12:30

The goal with this roadmap is not to create more work for you, but to help you organize the thoughts that are already bouncing around in your brain. Your brain is an excellent idea generator. It’s not a great list keeper, so do your poor brain a favor and get everything written down.

 

Emily  12:47

You can grab your free copy of the end of year roadmap by clicking the link in our show notes. It’s completely free, just a helpful tool from us to you. Plus, since it’s in Google Sheets, you can type what you want and then print it out if you want a paper copy. So much quicker to type things than it is to hand write them.

 

Heidi  13:03

And if you find the roadmap helpful, you might be interested in coming to our free teacher summer talk summit at the end of June. It’s the easiest summer PD, but one that you’ll actually enjoy, because it is all about making back to school easier, not harder.

 

Emily  13:18

But more on that later. For now, let’s recap those five reasons why May is the perfect time to start planning for next year.

 

Heidi  13:25

Number one, your classroom pain points are crystal clear right now, like painfully, painfully clear.

 

Emily  13:32

Number two, you still have access to your fully set up classroom.  Document it now before it disappears.

 

Heidi  13:39

Number three, you still have time to test things out with your current class. These are your own personal focus groups right here.

 

Emily  13:46

Number four, planning in May is actually a gift to your summer self. Future You sends thank yous and says you should treat yourself.

 

Heidi  13:53

Yes, always treat yourself. And number five, planning in May reduces back to school panic. Sleep through August without those nightmares.

 

Emily  14:02

Remember planning for the new school year in May isn’t about adding to your already overflowing plate, it’s about capturing insights that will make your life easier later.

 

Heidi  14:09

Just a few minutes of reflection and planning in May can save you hours of stress and probably tears in August.

 

Emily  14:16

So download our free end of year roadmap using the link in our show notes, and start giving your future self the gift of preparation.

 

Heidi  14:23

We would love to hear how you’re planning to set your future self up for back to school success. Come join the conversation in our teacher approved Facebook group. Bring your successes, your struggles and your end of year survival strategies.

 

Emily  14:36

Now for our teacher approved Tip of the Week, where we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters and simplify the rest. This week’s teacher approved tip is preview next year’s content to boost end of year engagement. Tell us more about this, Heidi.

 

Heidi  14:51

We all know that may classroom management can be, challenging, shall we say? One of the reasons is that students feel less invested. They’ve mentally checked out because they think that they have learned everything they need to know and they don’t care anymore.

 

Emily  15:07

Yeah, their level of concern in May has dropped to like approximately zero.

 

Heidi  15:11

Yeah, but there’s a simple way to raise that concern level again, give them little previews of what they’ll need to know next year. When students know that what they’re doing right now matters for what’s coming next, it often gives them a little extra motivation to stay engaged.

 

Emily  15:28

And you can sprinkle in little comments like, Oh, you’ll need to know this for third grade, or your next teacher is definitely going to love that you already understand this. It’s not to scare them, but just to plant the idea that they’re leveling up soon, and that builds excitement.

 

Heidi  15:43

And if you know what your students are excited to learn about next year, that can be a great hook too. For example, second graders might be especially jazzed about learning cursive or tiptoeing into multiplication, so you might say, you’re going to need these skip counting skills when you start learning real multiplication next year. Or this kind of sentence writing is what gets you ready for cursive.

 

Emily  16:03

It’s a light touch strategy, and you don’t want to step on any teacher’s toes for next year, but it can really help reignite some buy in during those wiggly end of your weeks without adding more to your plate.

 

Heidi  16:14

This strategy works because it taps into students’ natural desire to grow up and master new skills. It gives them a reason to care about reviewing concepts that they think they’ve already mastered. So next time your class seems to have checked out, try giving them a little glimpse into next year’s learning adventures. It might be just the motivation boost they need to finish this year strong.

 

Heidi  16:35

To wrap up the show, we are sharing what we’re giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra credit?

 

Emily  16:40

I’m giving extra credit to the new picture book Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpton and illustrated by Dan Santat. And I made Heidi look at this yesterday because I gave it to my kids for Easter. I had heard it was hilarious and it did not disappoint. So I made Heidi read it too, when she came over. It’s like a nature guide that goes wrong when it veers into all the reasons why you shouldn’t trust fish, like, they spend all their time in the water where we can’t see them. Some are as big as a bus, and that is not okay. We don’t know what they’re teaching in their quote unquote schools, and they are likely plotting our doom. This book is a must have. It would be perfect to launch a writing activity as well. I think it is a delight.

 

Heidi  17:23

It is so funny, very witty. I saw a picture of a fish today, and like, the first thing my brain said was, don’t trust fish.

 

Emily  17:31

I saw someone showing this, like, cute fish shaped basket for target, and I immediately, yeah, thought the same thing. Oh no, don’t trust fish.

 

Heidi  17:40

And I think you could have a lot of fun with that at the end of the end of the school year, especially, you know a twist on animal reports, why you shouldn’t trust ring tailed lemurs or something.

 

Emily  17:48

Yes, I think that would be the most fun activity. Should we make that activity? Let’s drop everything and make a writing activity today. Stay tuned. Maybe we’ll get it together.

 

Heidi  17:59

It’s either that or fifth grade fractions. You can decide.

 

Emily  18:02

So hard to pick. Okay, Heidi, what are you giving extra credit to?

 

Heidi  18:07

My extra credit goes to the Ecosia web browser. It’s like, you know, a different kind of Google. This is a great company that plants trees based on how many people use their site. You can see on the home screen how many trees they have planted, and I just checked, so as of today, the number is 229,612,190 trees.

 

Emily  18:28

Wow.

 

Heidi  18:29

I also really appreciate that they are transparent about where their money goes. Every month on Instagram, they share how much they earned, how much went to trees, and then how much went to other costs. It’s just so refreshing to see a company that has transparency and values. Now, I have to admit, it was a bit of a pain to switch over from Google, because so much about, you know, Google just already knew what I needed it to do. And I still, I haven’t moved completely over on my phone, but baby steps. I’m moving in the right direction.

 

Emily  18:58

Oh, I’m gonna have to give that a try.

 

Heidi  19:00

I’ve been very impressed. And I feel good doing my Google searches. It does not work with Rakuten, though, if you do have a rakuten add on, it doesn’t, doesn’t work with their browser. But I figure the trees are worth it.

 

Heidi  19:16

That is it for today’s episode. Remember that May is the perfect time to reflect on what worked this year and start planning for next year. Download our free end of year roadmap using the link in the show notes to help you get started. And don’t forget our teacher approved tip to preview next year’s content to get your students engaged.

 

Emily  19:33

And stay tuned for information about our upcoming free teacher summer talks event at the end of June, where we’ll be sharing our best back to school strategies.

 

Heidi  19:43

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I’m Heidi.

 

Emily  19:47

And I’m Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an episode.

 

Heidi  19:54

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  20:00

Bye.