How to Get Ahead on Your Teacher Tasks for a Stress-Free Spring Break [episode 181]

Heidi  0:00

This is episode 181 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  0:14

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  0:29

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

 

Emily  0:36

Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today’s episode, we’re sharing our best suggestions for how to avoid working during spring break, and we’ve got a teacher approved tip for simplifying non routine school days.

 

Heidi  0:50

Well, today is a big day, because we are trying out a new segment called Try It Tomorrow, where we share a quick idea that you can try in your classroom tomorrow. So Emily, what is our very first Try It Tomorrow prompt?

 

Emily  1:05

Why don’t you try a good news greeting tomorrow? Dedicate a few minutes at the start of the day or your morning meeting by having students share one piece of good news with a partner or the class. This is an easy way to set a positive tone for the day, and it’s a great way to boost classroom community.

 

Heidi  1:23

I think that’s such a fun idea. And if you like this idea or anything else that we share here on the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five star rating? Ratings and reviews are one way that new listeners can find us. So every rating and review really is a huge help to us. All right, Emily, let’s take a stroll down memory lane.

 

Emily  1:44

Okay.

 

Heidi  1:45

Way back in November, we talked about how to get ahead on December and January planning and prep so that teachers could enjoy their winter break without having to work.

 

Emily  1:53

Ah, yes, that was a good one. That episode gave a system for managing all that extra prep work on top of all the other work that teachers have to do. So hopefully you all used that system to have a stress free winter break.

 

Heidi  2:10

But guess what, folks, we’ve got another break coming up. Woo hoo.

 

Emily  2:16

If you’re like me, the promise of spring break is what gets you through these dark, dreary, long winter days.

 

Heidi  2:23

It’s so hard. But as wonderful as a break is, it does come with a big downside. When the break ends, you do have to go back to all of your regular responsibilities.

 

Emily  2:36

Oh, well, way to kill the vibe, Heidi.

 

Heidi  2:38

That’s my brand, I’m afraid.

 

Emily  2:42

Well, you’re right, though, and what makes it even trickier is that you need to have everything ready for that first morning back without the benefit of planning time the day before. By the time you get to spring break, the last thing you have energy for is staying late to prep. When I reached that point, I just told myself that I will head home and it’s not that big of a deal. If I just I’ll do some planning during the break. It’s all good.

 

Heidi  3:07

And we all know how that goes, right? You either end up spending your break working for free, or you spend your break stressing about the work that you are not doing. So both of those options are miserable.

 

Emily  3:20

Yeah, that is a lose, lose. So let’s see what we can do to prevent that misery. The goal is to plan that first day back and then make sure all the materials are prepped and ready to go.

 

Heidi  3:32

This is one of those things that when I was teaching, I always meant to do, but somehow Spring Break crept up on me before I actually figured out what needed to happen. Because I didn’t have a system for managing all of that advanced work, I just didn’t get any of it done. So we are here to save you from that fate by helping you build a system that’s going to make all of this work out for you.

 

Emily  3:55

To start with, take a little peek at your calendar. Around here, we don’t get spring break until April, so there are still six weeks to go. Oh, but depending on where you live, your spring break could be just a couple weeks away.

 

Heidi  4:09

Now, back in December, we scheduled a day that we wanted to stop teaching new content, and unless your schedule leading up to spring break is as out of whack as your schedule is leading up to winter break, you probably will just be teaching your regular content all the way up to the last day before the break.

 

Emily  4:27

And that’s great because then it eliminates the headache of having to find ways to fill time before the break without teaching new content. So that’s one less hassle, and definitely a win.

 

Heidi  4:37

Now there is a good reason you might want to mix things up on that last day before the break, but just put a pin in that for right now. We will get to it in a few minutes.

 

Emily  4:47

Yeah, before we can get to that, let’s take another look at your calendar. If there’s anything unusual happening right before the break, make sure you account for that in your plans. It can be nice to plan field trips or assemblies or other events for the day before a break, because the kids are already going to be distracted that day. You might as well get all the interruptions over at once, right?

 

Heidi  5:07

And then once you have accounted for any out of the ordinary events in your schedule, we’re gonna skip ahead to your return after the break.

 

Emily  5:15

And try not to get too depressed at the thought of break being over. Ask yourself, how much of that first day back do you want to have planned and prepped before the break? Do you just want to deal with the first morning and figure out the rest during the day? Do you want to plan and prep the whole first day so you’re not stressed? You got to decide what’s best for you.

 

Heidi  5:36

Or, you know, maybe you’re the overachiever, and you want to prep that whole first week so that you’re not returning from break and then just immediately getting burned out again. Now wouldn’t that be nice?

 

Emily  5:46

Yeah, I mean gold star to you, if you can manage that. But because it’s tricky to plan so far in advance, remember that it’s okay if your first day back doesn’t pick up exactly where you left off before the break. If you’re not certain how far you’ll get in your math curriculum, it’s okay to plan an alternative math lesson that doesn’t depend on getting other lessons taught first.

 

Heidi  6:08

Right. You know, planning a day of telling time games or a math review is still a meaningful use of learning time, and if a non lesson lesson is what you need to ease back into your regular routine, absolutely make use of that.

 

Emily  6:25

This does get a little trickier if you want to plan the whole first week back. In that case, you probably need to stick really closely to your pacing guide before you go to the break.

 

Heidi  6:34

It would be so sad to come back from spring break and then have the pressure of being behind schedule. So do what you can between now and then to get your lessons caught up.

 

Emily  6:44

Okay, so far, you’ve looked at the calendar so you know what’s ahead in the next few weeks, and you figured out how many of your post Spring Break lessons you want to have prepped in advance. Now comes the tricky part, getting all those lessons planned and ready for your return.

 

Heidi  6:58

But never fear, we are going to help you figure this out. I feel like I should have a superhero cape on, like Super Grover. I think we would all like to get ahead of the game, but making it happen can be really hard, and that makes sense. For most of us, planning ahead is not part of our regular routine. We have got enough to do just planning for the next week.

 

Emily  7:19

To simplify this process, the first thing to do is to make a list of every task that needs to be done in order to get those after spring break lessons prepped. What slides do you need to make? What copies do you need? What videos do you need to find, get that all in one place.

 

Heidi  7:36

And now this is an optional step, but it might be really handy if you estimate how long each of those tasks is going to take you, you just kind of need a ballpark. That way, if you have to prepare in random bursts of time, it’s handy to be able to just scan your list and quickly identify a task that can be done in just you know, the few 10 minutes, 15 minutes that you have.

 

Emily  8:00

These little chunks of time while the kids are busy are what we call pockets of prep. They are a few minutes you can grab to tackle a pressing task.

 

Heidi  8:09

As nice as it would be to have four uninterrupted hours to do all of this extra work, and I really wish that for you, but you know how things go into school, this isn’t going to be feasible with everything else that has to happen in a school day. So that means getting creative with the time you have.

 

Emily  8:27

And luckily, teachers are pros at maximizing 10 random minutes better than anyone else on the planet. So let’s make sure you get as many of those little pockets of prep as you can.

 

Heidi  8:38

Remember earlier in the episode when we mentioned that you might want an atypical schedule on that day before spring break? Now this is where that’s going to come into play, instead of having your regular school day on that Friday, or, you know, whenever your last day is, just we’ll pretend it’s a Friday. You might want to tweak things so that the kids are spending as much of that day as possible, doing independent learning tasks.

 

Emily  9:04

Right. Instead of teaching a math lesson that day, you could have students play math games. Instead of teaching a writing lesson, have kids do a writing activity that they can do without your guidance. Show a video for science and stretch silent reading time for a few extra minutes. This is all meaningful work, even if you’re not in front of the room teaching.

 

Heidi  9:23

And then while your students are doing those important learning activities, you can tackle the tasks on your to do list. This is how you can get ready for your return from break before break even starts.

 

Emily  9:35

If you’ve still got a few weeks before spring break, another way to create some pockets of prep is by adjusting your schedule temporarily. Between now and spring break, you could decide that on your weekly early out day, you’re going to do your schedule differently. Maybe on your early out afternoons, you add 15 minutes of partner spelling games so you can get 15 minutes to do your own work.

 

Heidi  9:58

Or you know, if you don’t have an early out day, maybe you choose every Friday to have an adjusted schedule that includes a shorter math lesson and 10 minutes for students to do you know, a Color by Number worksheet or something.

 

Emily  10:09

My kids always loved a Color by Number worksheet or color by equation. You can use it in lots of different ways.

 

Heidi  10:16

Yeah, a fun worksheet goes a long way. One way I added a little pocket of prep to my schedule every single Friday was showing a between the lions phonics video that gave me 25 minutes to plan the next week. You know, the kids always look forward to it. They really enjoyed it, and got a lot out of it, and it saved my sanity.

 

Emily  10:36

Oh, I love between the lions. That is a win win for everybody.

 

Heidi  10:40

If you are looking to add some pockets of prep, the easiest way to adjust your schedule is to take the times of day when you would normally teach a lesson and, you know, replace it with a video or a small group activity you could do online work or even independent work time for your students, then you can get going on your prep tasks while the students are engaged with their own tasks.

 

Emily  11:05

If you can’t adapt a whole day to allow for more pockets of prep, try cutting things down for a couple weeks. Instead of teaching a science lesson for a week, use some handy dandy educational videos, or maybe only meet with two small groups a day instead of all four. And then use that extra time to get your work done.

 

Heidi  11:23

Now obviously we are not recommending this as a long term plan, but I promise that your kids will be fine if they’re getting fewer small groups just for a couple of days.

 

Emily  11:33

Hopefully this gives you a few new strategies to employ in the coming weeks to help you find more pockets of prep in your schedule, and don’t feel bad about finding time to complete these tasks during the school day. You’re using that time for teaching, even if you’re not in front of the class.

 

Heidi  11:50

And the kids are still engaged in meaningful learning activities. That’s the most important part. Your kids aren’t being short changed. You’re just working smarter, not harder.

 

Emily  12:00

Also, can we just say, you should be able to do the tasks that are required for your job during the hours that you’re being paid for your job.

 

Heidi  12:08

Absolutely.

 

Emily  12:10

Now, the key to being productive in these few precious minutes is knowing exactly what you need to get done. Go back to that list you made of everything to get ready before the break. You might want to assign one of those tasks to each pocket of prep so you’re not wasting time deciding during your work time what you’re going to do.

 

Heidi  12:28

And then watch as one by one, each of those get ahead tasks gets crossed off your list. So as we are looking ahead to spring break, start by taking a look at your calendar. Make sure you are aware of what needs to happen before and after the break, and then decide how much of your return you want to have prepared in advance.

 

Emily  12:48

After that, make a list of each task needed to get those preparations finished, then all you have to do is carve out a few pockets of prep to get all that work done, and look at that you are ready to come back from your break before break even starts.

 

Heidi  13:02

And we would love to hear how you are getting ready for spring break, or activities that students can do so you can have a little pocket of prep. Come join the conversation in our Teacher Approved Facebook group.

 

Emily  13:13

Now let’s talk about this week’s teacher approved tip. Each week we leave you with a small actionable tip to elevate what matters and simplify the rest. This week’s teacher approved tip is, make a standard schedule for your non routine days. Tell us about this, Heidi.

 

Heidi  13:30

Well, I love this one because it can be such a time saving hack. Now here at the teacher approved podcast, we would normally suggest sticking with your daily routine to make classroom management easier, but there are just some days when it is not possible to do that. You know, for example, days when you have a substitute or a class party or some other major interruption that’s going to just mean that the day is not normal.

 

Heidi  13:54

Instead of trying to push through with your regular plans on those crazy days, do yourself a favor and make a plan B schedule. Now, ideally, this plan B schedule is going to involve a lot of independent student work time, because that means that you don’t have to worry about leaving small group plans for a sub or trying to teach a lesson to kids who are only focused on that afternoon where they’re going to be performing for the school assembly.

 

Emily  14:22

To simplify your planning, try keeping your plan B schedule similar to your normal schedule, just with some tweaks. If your students are used to being in their desks from 11 to 11:30 for writing time, plan some sort of independent writing activity for that time.

 

Heidi  14:37

So just a look at my plan B schedule with my second graders, I tried to keep the same morning routine, even though the rest of my day was going to be off. So that meant that the kids did their morning work and we had morning meeting. But then instead of our regular writing time, because that required a lot of effort for me, which is why I did it first thing in the morning, I gave the kids a fun writing prompt, maybe with a simple craft or other low key writing activity. Then we’d go to recess, and when they came back, we would start math. But instead of a regular math lesson, I would have the kids play math games or, you know, maybe if we had a sub, I would leave them a work packet to do.

 

Heidi  15:16

After lunch, we had planning time, and then I would show a 30 minute video for science, I would read a picture book instead of doing a reading lesson. The kids did centers without meeting with me for small groups, and they would have independent reading time for maybe just a few minutes longer than normal. At the end of the day, I would do another simple activity instead of a language lesson, and then it was time to clean up. It wasn’t such a big departure from our normal schedule that it was creating hassles with my kids’ behavior, but it was just so much easier to plan for.

 

Emily  15:46

And besides sub plans and other unusual school days, you might want to schedule an occasional Plan B day so that you can take care of your other responsibilities. If you’re drowning in grading or you have a big deadline, an adapted schedule can really save you.

 

Heidi  16:03

I often did this on the days we had parent conferences, because I just didn’t have the energy for both things in a day.

 

Emily  16:09

Well, yeah, especially because the way that we did conferences, we had conferences before school, teach all day, more conferences after school until 9pm. So to, like, teach all day in the middle of that, you’re not going to have the stamina you need to keep going after school.

 

Heidi  16:24

And sometimes you have to come back and teach a regular school day, the next day. Yeah, when do you get that lesson planned? This sort of plan is also great to help you get in some pockets of prep for your after spring break planning. So think of how much you could get done while the kids are working in a day, it’s really amazing what you can pack in.

 

Emily  16:44

Creating a plan B schedule makes planning easier. You already know exactly what kind of activities and materials you need to keep the kids engaged, so you’re not wasting time wondering what to do before lunch that day. If you want to hear more about planning a schedule like this, go back to Episode 168 where we share more details.

 

Heidi  17:02

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

 

Emily  17:07

Oh, my goodness. I love this. I’m giving extra credit to my new dry skin favorite, Bioderma shower oil.

 

Heidi  17:15

Oh, okay.

 

Emily  17:16

It’s this lovely, silky body oil that you put on during your shower and then you rinse it off. Any other body oil that I have tried is meant to be applied after you turn off the water, and then your shower turns into a slip and slide, and I have almost died like more than once trying to moisturize in the shower. But the kicker is, with the Bioderma oil, you don’t feel sticky at all, and it doesn’t make your shower slippery. I genuinely do not know how they achieve this sorcery. I’ve used it as a shave oil too, and it works great for that. I saw someone say they put a few pumps in their bath. So I’m going to try that next. And I have one very dry skinned child who has started using it in the shower too, which sadly means we’re going through it faster. But okay, it’s worth the price, and it’s seriously so good. And I don’t think it’s priced crazy. You get a really big bottle for the price, so I don’t think it’s bad.

 

Heidi  18:11

Well, that’s good to know this winter air has been killing me.

 

Emily  18:14

Yeah, it’s been rough. What are you giving extra credit to, Heidi?

 

Heidi  18:18

My extra credit goes to the Gavin and Stacy documentary. Okay, I know this is a deep cut. If you have missed out, okay, Gavin and Stacy is a British sitcom from 2007 I know this is going way back.

 

Emily  18:33

Some of our listeners were probably like in elementary school.

 

Heidi  18:38

Oh, I know. So this is the story of Gavin, who is English, and he falls in love with a Welsh girl named Stacey. And if you are American, that may not sound like a big cultural difference, but apparently it is. It’s just a very sweet rom com with a lovable, quirky cast of characters. It’s got real Ted Lasso vibes, I mean, not sports related, but in the like, we’re all here to love each other.

 

Emily  19:02

Yes, and with the like British humor sensibilities, yeah, maybe a little bit more like language and inappropriate jokes than you’re used to as an American, just as a forewarning, but the heart makes up for it.

 

Heidi  19:16

It’s Family TV over there. I don’t know that I would call it that here.

 

Emily  19:21

No.

 

Heidi  19:22

The language isn’t too bad, surprisingly, but there are a lot of grown up jokes. Anyway, they stopped making episodes in 2010 because, you know, they had made all of like, 16 episodes.

 

Emily  19:33

Yeah, that’s just enough to archive the whole thing if you’re British.

 

Heidi  19:38

But it did come back for a Christmas episode in 2019 that ended on a huge cliffhanger. We’ve all been dying, and then finally, after five years, they came back and did a finale to wrap up the whole series. Then to go along with the finale, the BBC made a documentary, and I hadn’t been able to see it, because you had to have a subscription to Brit box, which I didn’t want to deal with because I always forget to cancel. So I was excited the other night when it finally showed up on Amazon. The documentary is lovely. It is so sweet. It’s so well done. It gave some great behind the scenes and background info, and I totally cried at the end. So give it two thumbs up.

 

Emily  20:16

Any good show like their farewell, you know, behind the scenes things always going to get you. And I have not watched this because it was when I did my little Brit box trial subscription in order to watch the finale, the documentary wasn’t on there yet, so it must have come on after my trial ended. So now I’m going to have to go buy it on Amazon and watch it and have a cry myself.

 

Heidi  20:39

It was really worth it.

 

Emily  20:40

Oh, I love it. If you haven’t watched Gavin and Stacy, go watch it and then come talk to us about it, because we love it. We’ve loved it for a long, long time.

 

Heidi  20:49

That’s it for today’s episode. Get started on your post spring break plans now, so that you can get everything prepped in advance, and don’t forget our teacher approved tip for streamlining your plan B daily schedule.

 

Heidi  21:05

We hope you enjoyed this episode of teacher approved. I’m Heidi.

 

Emily  21:09

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  21:16

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  21:22

Bye.