January hits differently, and we want this episode to feel like a deep exhale as you head back into the classroom. We’re sharing a sneak peek of Teacher Winter Talks with seven incredible educators and quick, practical ideas to help you reset after winter break. You’ll hear simple shifts to reconnect with students, strengthen thinking across subjects, and make January feel more manageable. This is just a taste of what’s waiting inside Teacher Winter Talks, so sign up and grab your free ticket today!
Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and resources in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/january-teacher-tips/
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This is episode 240 of Teacher Approved.
Heidi:You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping
Heidi:educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm
Heidi:Heidi.
Emily:And I'm Emily. We're the creators behind Second Story
Emily:Window, where we give research based and teacher approved
Emily:strategies that make teaching less stressful and more
Emily:effective. You can check out the show notes and resources from
Emily:each episode at secondstorywindow.net.
Heidi:We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to
Heidi:the show.
Emily:Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's
Emily:episode, we are sharing some teacher approved tips from seven
Emily:fantastic educators that will help you make this your best
Emily:January yet.
Heidi:But first, let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we
Heidi:share a quick win that you can try in your classroom right
Heidi:away. So Emily, what is our suggestion this week?
Emily:This week plan something to look forward to. Coming back
Emily:after a long break can really feel rough, so you can make it a
Emily:little easier by giving yourself a boost. This could be something
Emily:fun that you're going to do with your students, or something just
Emily:for you. Maybe pack a yummy treat for after school, or grab
Emily:your favorite takeout for dinner, or plan a girls night
Emily:out for Saturday, or something you want to do with your
Emily:students that you love doing.
Heidi:Or if you are thinking longer term, how about you think
Heidi:about some spring break plans? I know it feels far away, but it's
Heidi:closer than you think. Maybe print a picture that reminds you
Heidi:of what you have to look forward to. You know, even if that's
Heidi:just a cover of a book you want to read, print that picture and
Heidi:tuck it into your plan book, and then you can peek at it when
Heidi:you're on your third inside recess of the week, and
Heidi:everything feels just a little bit too much.
Emily:If you like this idea or anything else we share here on
Emily:the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five star
Emily:rating and review in your podcast listening app?
Heidi:Now we are so glad you're here today, because we've got
Heidi:something fun planned, and we think you're really going to
Heidi:love it.
Emily:Since most of you are heading back today or tomorrow,
Emily:we wanted to help you transition from cozy couch mode to busy
Emily:classroom mode.
Heidi:Yeah, if you are feeling that post holiday slump and
Heidi:maybe if your routines have gotten a little wobbly, or if
Heidi:you're just ready for a reset heading into the second half of
Heidi:the year, this episode is for you.
Emily:In a couple weeks, we are hosting the teacher winter talks
Emily:event. It is a free audio summit designed to help you start the
Emily:new year strong. And today, we're giving you a sneak peek.
Emily:Seven of our amazing event speakers are here to share
Emily:quick, actionable tips that you can use right now.
Heidi:So think of this as the appetizer before the full meal.
Heidi:Each of these speakers has a complete session waiting for you
Heidi:at the summit, but what you're about to hear now is just a
Heidi:little taste.
Emily:So if something resonates with you, and I have a feeling
Emily:several of these will, you can sign up for your free ticket at
Emily:the link in our show notes, or at
Emily:secondstorywindow.net/teacherwintertalks.
Heidi:All right, let's kick things off with a tip that made
Heidi:me say, Why have I never thought of this? Have you ever
Heidi:considered that your student shirts could teach you? Kirsten
Heidi:Hammond from The Southern Teach has and it's kind of brilliant.
Heidi:So here's Kirsten.
Kirsten Hammond:Hi everyone. I'm Kirsten from The Southern
Kirsten Hammond:Teach, and I'm so excited to share a quick and easy strategy
Kirsten Hammond:that you can use right away to build real world events into
Kirsten Hammond:your social studies time. A little bit about me, I help
Kirsten Hammond:other elementary educators make social studies engaging,
Kirsten Hammond:meaningful and doable, even when time is tight. And one of my
Kirsten Hammond:favorite things to teach is how to connect what's happening in
Kirsten Hammond:the world right now to the skills we're already building
Kirsten Hammond:with our students.
Kirsten Hammond:One of the simplest ways to do that is a routine that I'm going
Kirsten Hammond:to call what's on their shirts. Every day, students are walking
Kirsten Hammond:in wearing shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts that tell you
Kirsten Hammond:exactly what's happening in their world—sports teams,
Kirsten Hammond:holidays, races, community events, and using that as a
Kirsten Hammond:conversation starter is one of the quickest ways to bring real
Kirsten Hammond:world events into the classroom. All you have to do is ask this
question:Is anything you're wearing today connected to a
question:real world event? This works anywhere, and I'm going to share
question:with you an example from my own community.
question:So over the football season this school year, we've seen a big
question:mix of Texas teams in the hallways, as always, because
question:football is a really big deal in the state. There's Texas Tech
question:fans, Texas A and M fans, Longhorn fans, and this year has
question:been especially exciting because both Texas Tech and Texas A and
question:M are making their very first college football playoff debut.
question:It's been a historic moment for both programs and our students
question:have felt that energy. As a former Aggie, of course I am
question:always cheering for A and M, but honestly, I would love to see
question:either team make a strong run, because it's such a big point of
question:pride for our kids and families. So hopefully, as you're
question:listening to this, when this airs, maybe one of those teams
question:will still be in the playoffs.
question:When a student walks in wearing a college football hoodie or
question:some type of jersey or tshirt from their favorite NFL team,
question:this is a perfect opening for a quick and meaningful connection.
question:You can talk about how sports bring communities together, why
question:the playoff season matters for both college football and for
question:NFL football, and even local high school football, and also
question:thinking about how events can impact local traditions or
question:economies all without planning a full lesson. Maybe there's a
question:nearby stadium that a lot of teams play at, or maybe your
question:city is hosting a college bowl game. There's all kinds of
question:things you can insert in, and you don't have to do a ton of
question:research to do it.
question:If a student isn't wearing anything event related, they can
question:always share something happening in their neighborhood or
question:something they heard at home. It takes a couple minutes, requires
question:little to no prep, and it helps students see social studies
question:unfolding around them every day.
question:If you like strategies like this, I can't wait to share more
question:during my summit session, real world events without the heavy
question:lifting. I'll walk you through how to choose the right real
question:world events, how to keep discussions neutral, and ways to
question:weave those moments into your day in a way that builds student
question:confidence without adding more to your plate. I'm excited to
question:connect with you all, and you can find me on Instagram, Tik
question:Tok and YouTube at The Southern Teach.
Heidi:Okay, I love that, because this is one of those
Heidi:ideas that is hiding in plain sight.
Emily:And it is a great reminder that social studies
Emily:doesn't always need a lesson plan to work.
Heidi:And I love how adaptable this is. Even first graders can
Heidi:participate in this kind of discussion, and this is just a
Heidi:great way to re establish some connection with your students
Heidi:post winter break.
Emily:And what you didn't hear is how she structures these
Emily:conversations so they stay inclusive and productive.
Heidi:And that's what she breaks down on her full teacher
Heidi:winter talk session, along with ways to make this sustainable
Heidi:all year long.
Emily:Okay, our next tip is for anyone who's ever looked at
Emily:their lesson plans and thought, Wait, did three different people
Emily:write these? You know what I mean, your reading block has one
Emily:thing going on, and your writing block is doing something totally
Emily:unrelated, and grammar is just off in its own little world.
Heidi:Oh, yeah, been there. But Jessica Ivey, from Ideas by
Heidi:Jivey, has a simple fix. So here she is.
Jessica Ivey:Hey, Teacher Approved listeners. It's
Jessica Ivey:Jessica, also known as Jivey, from Ideas by Jivey, and I love
Jessica Ivey:helping teachers simplify their ELA block using mentor texts and
Jessica Ivey:routines that actually make your life easier. Today, I want to
Jessica Ivey:share a quick mid-year win with you, something you can do this
Jessica Ivey:week that won't add anything to your plate, but will make your
Jessica Ivey:lessons feel more connected.
Jessica Ivey:Instead of planning each subject separately, I want you to choose
Jessica Ivey:one picture book and use it in two different parts of your day,
Jessica Ivey:not the whole day, just two places. You know, by January, I
Jessica Ivey:usually hear from teachers that they feel like their reading,
Jessica Ivey:writing and grammar plans were created by three different
Jessica Ivey:people who've never met. Everything feels disconnected
Jessica Ivey:and it's exhausting to keep switching gears, for you and for
Jessica Ivey:the students.
Jessica Ivey:So I want you to grab a picture book that you already love. Now
Jessica Ivey:don't overthink this. Just look on your shelf. Pick something
Jessica Ivey:that you enjoy reading aloud, and then I want you to use that
Jessica Ivey:book for a reading mini lesson and one other part of your day.
Jessica Ivey:Now that could be a grammar warm up, a quick writing prompt, or
Jessica Ivey:even discussing vocabulary words within the text. You're not
Jessica Ivey:planning a whole week around the book yet. Save that for my full
Jessica Ivey:session in the teacher winter talks. I want you to just focus
Jessica Ivey:on reconnecting two pieces of your day.
Jessica Ivey:So let's say you read your book and you spot one meaningful
Jessica Ivey:reading moment and one sentence with great craft or structure.
Jessica Ivey:Use the reading moment in your comprehension lesson, and then
Jessica Ivey:pull that sentence later for a quick grammar or writing
Jessica Ivey:conversation. Boom, you have two lessons that are connected with
Jessica Ivey:zero extra prep. Our goal here is for students to see how
Jessica Ivey:reading, writing and grammar actually live together, and to
Jessica Ivey:give your brain a little break because you're not juggling five
Jessica Ivey:different books in one day.
Jessica Ivey:Now, in my teacher winter talk session called Mid Year Mentor
Jessica Ivey:Text Makeover, I'm going to show you how to turn that simple idea
Jessica Ivey:into a full planning routine that you can reuse with any
Jessica Ivey:book. It's honestly the biggest sanity saver I teach. Now, if
Jessica Ivey:you want to hang out with me before the session, you can come
Jessica Ivey:find me on Instagram @ideasbyjivey. I can't wait to
Jessica Ivey:share more with you soon.
Emily:What I love about this is how doable it feels. You don't
Emily:need a whole new curriculum to make things feel cohesive.
Heidi:Right. It's one small decision that reduces cognitive
Heidi:load for you, and helps students see how ELA actually fits
Heidi:together. And what she impacts on her full session is how to
Heidi:turn this into a repeatable planning habit, so it's not just
Heidi:a one time fix.
Emily:Okay, our next step is for anyone who's watched
Emily:students freeze on word problems, even when you know
Emily:that they can do the math.
Heidi:Ah, this is such a common problem, but Mona Iehl has a
Heidi:simple shift that changes how students enter the problem. So
Heidi:here's Mona.
Mona:Hi Teacher Approved listeners, I'm so glad to be
Mona:here with you. My name is Mona Iehl and I help kindergarten
Mona:through fifth grade teachers turn their math block into a
Mona:place where students feel safe to think and talk and problem
Mona:solve, even when the word problems get tricky.
Mona:So today's quick tip is one that you can use the very first day
Mona:back after winter break, or on any day here this winter or in
Mona:the future. It's honestly a game changer for students who
Mona:struggle with word problems. Here it is. Launch the problem
Mona:the same way that you launch a read aloud. I want you to use
Mona:the literacy comprehension strategies that you use every
Mona:day to help your students make sense of the situation before
Mona:they ever solve anything, because one of the biggest
Mona:hurdles for students with word problems isn't the math, it's
Mona:the reading. So if they don't understand the story, then they
Mona:can't make sense of the math.
Mona:So instead of handing your students a problem and hoping
Mona:for the best, I want you to try this. Tell them the story out
Mona:loud. Ask them to close their eyes and make a movie in their
Mona:mind. For example, here's what it might sound like. Okay, guys,
Mona:there's three fourths of a birthday cake left in the pan
Mona:after my dad's birthday party. My brother and I want to split
Mona:the remaining cake with our other brother. So I'm trying to
Mona:figure out how much of that cake I actually am going to get to
Mona:eat. And as you tell it, I want you to ask your students to
Mona:visualize. We want them picturing the pan, seeing the
Mona:cake cut into fourths, and imagining that there's only
Mona:three of those equal pieces left, and that then they're
Mona:going to be shared among three people. Then they're going to be
Mona:able to start to reason about the size of those pieces before
Mona:they ever touch a pencil.
Mona:Okay, but here's a first grade example. You might tell this
Mona:story to your students. There are 38 kids out on the
Mona:playground, you guys. They're all playing, they're on the
Mona:monkey bars, some are going down the slide. There's a few other
Mona:kids on that spinny thing, you know, the one where you like,
Mona:hold on and it spins you around real fast. Okay, there's 38
Mona:kids. Can you see them? Okay, but here's what happens next. A
Mona:whole class comes outside to the playground. They come busting
Mona:through the doors, their teachers being like, wait, wait,
Mona:wait, wait for me. But all these kids are running out onto the
Mona:playground. And now there are 53 kids on the playground. What I
Mona:want you to figure out is how many students came out to play.
Mona:Now, your students can imagine the playground, right? They're
Mona:there every day. They can start to see, okay, that first group
Mona:of kids is on the, all the equipment, and then more come
Mona:running through the doors. They're building a story, a
Mona:meaning before they solve. Now this tiny shift helps learners
Mona:access the problem, especially those who rely heavily on
Mona:strategies like visualizing and retelling and making mental
Mona:models in literacy, this is a great way to transfer those
Mona:skills. And it sets our students up to engage with math because
Mona:they understand the situation.
Mona:If this idea is resonating with you, I would love for you to
Mona:join my session at teacher winter talks, where I'm sharing
Mona:a simple daily routine called word problem workshop that helps
Mona:students take risks, to talk about their thinking and truly
Mona:become problem solvers, even in the middle of the year. I can't
Mona:wait to connect with you at the summit and share with you this
Mona:simple routine that can really shift everything, even in
Mona:January. See you there.
Heidi:That line, launch the problem like a read aloud,
Heidi:changes the whole entry point.
Emily:And it's a great reminder that when students feel oriented
Emily:and confident, the math thinking follow.
Heidi:In her full teacher winter talk session, Mona turns
Heidi:this shift into a daily routine that builds confidence and
Heidi:mathematical talk over time.
Emily:If word problems are a sticking point in your room,
Emily:this one is worth your time. And staying in math for a minute,
Emily:our next speaker brings a reflection strategy rooted in
Emily:thinking classrooms research.
Heidi:Cassie Tabrizi helps elementary teachers make math
Heidi:time more meaningful, and today, she has a simple twist to get
Heidi:students really thinking about their learning.
Cassie:Hey, teacher approved listeners. My name is Cassie
Cassie:Tabrizi and I support elementary teachers who want math time to
Cassie:feel more meaningful for them and for their students. Today,
Cassie:I've got a simple mindset shift that can lead to deeper thinking
Cassie:and stronger retention in your math block. It's called writing
Cassie:notes to your future forgetful self. The idea comes from Dr.
Cassie:Peter Liljedahl's book Building Thinking Classrooms in
Cassie:Mathematics.
Cassie:At the end of a unit or even just a lesson, students take a
Cassie:few minutes to reflect and jot down the most important ideas in
Cassie:their own words. But here's the twist, instead of writing for
Cassie:their teacher, they're writing for their future forgetful self.
Cassie:That shift in audience makes a huge difference. The pressure's
Cassie:off. The goal isn't perfection. It's about making connections.
Cassie:What do they need to remember later? What would actually help
Cassie:when they forget?
Cassie:For learners, it gives some light structure. Think like
Cassie:guided math journal pages with questions that focus their
Cassie:thinking. Things like, what did you figure out today? What was
Cassie:tricky at first, but makes more sense now? What do you want to
Cassie:remember the next time this comes up? These journals become
Cassie:a personal toolkit, something students can revisit in a few
Cassie:weeks when they're spiraling back to old concepts or they're
Cassie:preparing for a checkpoint like an assessment or a test.
Cassie:In fact, Dr Liljedahl suggests letting students use their notes
Cassie:on an assessment later on. This is not about letting them take a
Cassie:shortcut. It's a powerful way to reinforce and retrieve what
Cassie:they've learned. This retrieval practice really helps move
Cassie:information from working memory to long term memory, so we can
Cassie:battle the forgetting curve and really achieve deep
Cassie:understanding. And one more thing as a side note, these
Cassie:notes aren't graded. That's part of what makes them feel safe and
Cassie:real.
Cassie:So if you're curious about more steps that you can take to
Cassie:master your math instruction, come join me in my winter summit
Cassie:session. We'll dive into practical ways to create
Cassie:clarity, increase motivation, and move information from
Cassie:working memory to long term memory. Can't wait to see you
Cassie:there.
Emily:Notes to your future forgetful self. I love how low
Emily:pressure that feels.
Heidi:Yeah, it's turning reflection into something
Heidi:students actually want to come back to, not just something that
Heidi:they're rushing through. In her full teacher winter talk
Heidi:session, Cassie walks through how to build this kind of
Heidi:reflection into your math routine in a way that's
Heidi:sustainable.
Emily:Okay, we are halfway through our summit sneak peek.
Emily:How are you doing? Are you getting some ideas brewing?
Heidi:Oh, yeah, I'm already making a mental list of which
Heidi:full sessions I want to catch first.
Emily:I love it. Our next tip comes from Meg Anderson at The
Emily:Teacher Studio. She spent over three decades in the classroom,
Emily:and she's got so many useful takeaways.
Heidi:So here is Meg.
Meg:Hi, I'm Meg from The Teacher Studio. I'm so glad
Meg:you're here and taking a few minutes for yourself today. I
Meg:spent over three decades in the classroom, mostly in upper
Meg:elementary, and one thing I learned the hard way is that
Meg:January is different. We come back from winter break ready to
Meg:reset, reestablish routines and jump back into learning, but our
Meg:students often need a little more time than we expect.
Meg:So here's a simple but powerful reminder, as you head back into
Meg:the second half of your year, slow down your wait time. After
Meg:winter break, students are often hesitant. They're out of
Meg:practice, sharing their thinking, unsure of expectations
Meg:and sometimes just a little rusty. When we ask a question
Meg:and jump in too quickly or call on the first raised hand, we
Meg:unintentionally send the message that speed matters more than
Meg:thinking. Intentional wait time changes that.
Meg:When you pause just a few extra seconds after asking a question,
Meg:you give students space to first, process what's being
Meg:asked. Second, organize their thinking, and finally, take a
Meg:risk without being rushed. Those quiet seconds communicate
Meg:safety. They tell students, your thinking matters here. This is
Meg:especially important in math and discussion based lessons where
Meg:we want reasoning, not just answers. Wait time helps build
Meg:confidence, encourages more voices to participate, and
Meg:supports productive struggle, something students really need
Meg:as they ease back into learning routines.
Meg:So if January ever feels quieter or slower than you expect,
Meg:that's not a problem to fix. It's an invitation to lean into
Meg:these intentional pauses. In my full summit section, I'll dig
Meg:much deeper into how strategies like wait time fit into a bigger
Meg:picture of productive struggle, what it really looks like, how
Meg:to support it without rescuing students too quickly, and how
Meg:small shifts can lead to deeper thinking and stronger student
Meg:engagement.
Meg:If this idea resonates with you, I'd love for you to join me
Meg:there. Thanks for listening, and remember, those quiet moments
Meg:you build into your lessons matter more than you think. I'd
Meg:love to keep in touch, and you can find me at
Meg:www.theteacherstudio.com, or on Instagram and Tiktok
Meg:@theteacherstudio.
Emily:I love how much permission there is in that
Emily:reminder.
Heidi:Yeah, you can tell she has spent a lot of time in the
Heidi:classroom. Her tip reframes this January wobble not as a problem,
Heidi:but as part of the learning process.
Emily:Meg's teacher winter talk session zooms out to show how
Emily:moments like this fit into a bigger picture of student
Emily:thinking and growth.
Heidi:And if your January feels heavy or slow this year, that
Heidi:perspective is really grounding. And if you need another tip,
Heidi:perfect for this time of year, keep listening, because you know
Heidi:what else January brings? Sickness and sub plans.
Trina:Hey, Teacher Approved listeners. I'm Trina Deboree
Trina:from Trina Deboree Teaching and Learning and the podcast One
Trina:Tired Teacher. And I spent 27 years in the classroom, mainly
Trina:as a second grade teacher, but also as a media specialist, and
Trina:I was that teacher who used to come to school sick because
Trina:writing sub plans felt harder than actually teaching.
Trina:Here's the simplest shift I want to share today. Stop thinking of
Trina:sub plans as something you do when you're sick, and start
Trina:thinking of them as something you set up once to protect your
Trina:future self. Most teachers don't avoid sub plans because they're
Trina:lazy. They avoid them because they're exhausted, and when sub
Trina:plans live only in your emergency brain, they never get
Trina:done.
Trina:Instead, here's the easy win. Pick one calm afternoon, not a
Trina:sick day, a calm afternoon. Does it exist? Yes, I believe it
Trina:does. And create a basic, reusable sub binder, just your
Trina:schedule, your class list, a short note to the sub and a
Trina:couple of flexible activities that work any day of the week.
Trina:That's it. Not cute, not fancy. Just ready. That one small shift
Trina:turns sub plans from panic mode into a safety net.
Trina:In my winter teacher talk session, the sub survival
Trina:system, how to plan once and rest easy all year, I share the
Trina:full framework, including how to keep sub plans simple, stress
Trina:free and guilt free, even during the busiest seasons. If you've
Trina:ever dragged yourself to school because the thought of sub plans
Trina:felt overwhelming, this session is for you. I'm so excited to
Trina:connect with you during the summit. You can find me at
Trina:trinadeboreeteachingandlearning.com, and if you like real talk and
Trina:practical support for tired teachers, I'd love to have you
Trina:listen to my podcast, One Tired Teacher. Take care of yourself,
Trina:your future self will thank you.
Heidi:I love how much compassion there is in Trina's
Heidi:reframe.
Emily:Yeah, this really does reframe sub plans as an act of
Emily:care for your future self, especially when that future self
Emily:might have strep throat.
Heidi:Yeah, the strep throat, that always took me down at
Heidi:least once a year.
Emily:Oh, it's the worst.
Heidi:Trina's summit session, the sub survival system, will
Heidi:show you how to build that safety net once, and then you
Heidi:can stop carrying sub plan stress around all year.
Emily:And speaking of taking care of yourself, our last
Emily:summit speaker preview is someone we love collaborating
Emily:with. Our buddy Kelsey Sorenson from educate and rejuvenate has
Emily:hosted teacher conferences for five years. And she always
Emily:brings this grounded permission giving energy to our summit as
Emily:well.
Heidi:Her tip isn't a strategy or a hack, it's more of a
Heidi:perspective shift, and honestly, it might be exactly what you
Heidi:need to hear right now.
Kelsey Sorenson:Hey, Teacher Approved listeners. My name is
Kelsey Sorenson:Kelsey Sorenson. I am a certified life coach, former
Kelsey Sorenson:classroom teacher, current homeschooling mom of three, and
Kelsey Sorenson:founder of educate and rejuvenate. You might know me
Kelsey Sorenson:from the book, the podcast or Instagram, all of that same
Kelsey Sorenson:name, educate and rejuvenate. We've also hosted a event for
Kelsey Sorenson:teachers for the past five years. So if you've been to one
Kelsey Sorenson:of our educate and rejuvenate conferences, hello, I'm so
Kelsey Sorenson:excited to see you over at teacher winter talks as well.
Kelsey Sorenson:Heidi and Emily and I love collaborating on our events, so
Kelsey Sorenson:so much fun.
Kelsey Sorenson:I want to offer you something today, not a productivity hack,
Kelsey Sorenson:not another classroom strategy. You'll be getting plenty of
Kelsey Sorenson:those, but a perspective shift that has completely changed how
Kelsey Sorenson:I move through the season. Because let's be real. Winter
Kelsey Sorenson:can feel really heavy. The holidays are over, the to do
Kelsey Sorenson:list doesn't disappear. It's darker, colder, quieter, and
Kelsey Sorenson:it's easy to start thinking, Why do I feel like this? What's
Kelsey Sorenson:wrong with me? And here's the truth, what if nothing is wrong
Kelsey Sorenson:with you at all? You are just in winter.
Kelsey Sorenson:Literally, winter is not a season of blooming, it's a
Kelsey Sorenson:season of rest, of a slowness of quiet, unseen growth. So let's
Kelsey Sorenson:pause and really sit with that. And see how we can sit with that
Kelsey Sorenson:analogy as teachers, because we are conditioned to go, go, go,
Kelsey Sorenson:to hold it all together every day, every season, we rarely let
Kelsey Sorenson:ourselves let up until we hit a break, literally like winter
Kelsey Sorenson:break or summer break, and we crash and we're already burned
Kelsey Sorenson:out.
Kelsey Sorenson:But what if we allowed for seasonality, even within the
Kelsey Sorenson:school year? What if we could still have a time to pull back,
Kelsey Sorenson:simplify and get intentional about what matters most? Think
Kelsey Sorenson:about it. Trees aren't blooming right now, not because they're
Kelsey Sorenson:broken, but because they're wise. They're conserving energy,
Kelsey Sorenson:they're preparing, they're doing the invisible work that makes
Kelsey Sorenson:spring possible. And you are allowed to do the same. You are
Kelsey Sorenson:allowed to slow down, to simplify, to take things off
Kelsey Sorenson:your plate. You're allowed to stop fighting winter and be
Kelsey Sorenson:like, Oh, I'm feeling the winter blues, and start working with
Kelsey Sorenson:it.
Kelsey Sorenson:Maybe that means not changing the bulletin board this month,
Kelsey Sorenson:or using AI to streamline your lesson planning, or finally,
Kelsey Sorenson:signing up for that meal service so dinner doesn't drain you
Kelsey Sorenson:after a long day. And that is the mindset shift that I want to
Kelsey Sorenson:leave you with today, not to fix yourself, but to give yourself
Kelsey Sorenson:permission.
Kelsey Sorenson:And inside of my winter talk session, it's called five tiny
Kelsey Sorenson:tweaks that help teachers survive winter burnout, I'll
Kelsey Sorenson:walk you through some practical, doable ways to support your
Kelsey Sorenson:energy, your nervous system and your time right now. And if you
Kelsey Sorenson:grabbed the max pass, don't skip the bonus. I'm sharing my
Kelsey Sorenson:burnout to balance audio series, my full coaching framework, plus
Kelsey Sorenson:access to an AI coaching tool I built specifically for teachers.
Kelsey Sorenson:But for now, take this with you. You are not behind. You're not
Kelsey Sorenson:failing. You are in winter, and this is a season to simplify.
Emily:That is such a helpful tip. We all could use the
Emily:permission to be more gentle with ourselves in the winter.
Heidi:Yeah, if this season feels heavier than you expected,
Heidi:you are definitely not alone. Kelsey's teacher winter talk
Heidi:session offers small, supportive ways to care for your energy
Heidi:during this season.
Emily:If winter burnout feels real right now, that session and
Emily:the bonus she's sharing are a beautiful place to start.
Heidi:So that is our sneak peek of the teacher winter talks,
Heidi:seven speakers, seven tips you can start using this week.
Emily:But remember, these are just the teasers. Each of these
Emily:educators has a full session with so much more depth waiting
Emily:for you, plus we've got so many other speakers that you haven't
Emily:even heard from yet.
Heidi:Teacher winter talks is completely free to attend. Come
Heidi:learn, low effort, big reward strategies to help you prevent
Heidi:mid year burnout and reignite your teaching spark with
Heidi:practical, bite sized audio tips you can listen to on the go and
Heidi:use right away.
Emily:You can head to secondstorywindow.net/teacherwintertalks,
Emily:or head to the link in our show notes to grab your free ticket.
Emily:And if you want lifetime access plus bonus resources for each
Emily:speaker, you will want to upgrade to the max pass after
Emily:you sign up.
Heidi:We cannot wait to see you there. We are going to have so
Heidi:much fun.
Emily:Now for our Teacher Approved Tip of the Week, where
Emily:we share an actionable tip to help you elevate what matters
Emily:and simplify the rest. This week's teacher approved tip is
Emily:to design your seating for speed. I have a need for speed,
Emily:Heidi, tell us about this one.
Heidi:Well, one thing that Emily and I often recommend
Heidi:doing mid year is adjusting your seating arrangement. However,
Heidi:before you start figuring out where everyone is going to sit,
Heidi:take time to figure out one important detail. How quickly
Heidi:can you get to any desk? Proximity to the teacher is the
Heidi:number one deterrent to off task behavior. So your goal with your
Heidi:seating arrangement is to be able to reach any seat in the
Heidi:fewest possible steps.
Heidi:So that means designing for walkways, and probably not
Heidi:perfect rows, because if you have to walk all the way around
Heidi:the perimeter of your desks to reach that back corner where the
Heidi:kids are talking, you're going to do it less often, and when
Heidi:you're tired, that means you're just going to default to calling
Heidi:out instead of walking over and actually dealing with the
Heidi:problem.
Emily:Designing your seating like this might seem
Emily:unimportant, but clear paths help you circulate more and
Emily:manage behavior quietly, and the real bonus is it cuts down on
Emily:the amount of walking you have to do, and your feet will thank
Emily:you for that, for thinking of them.
Heidi:If you want to learn all about our strategy for using
Heidi:your classroom seating arrangement for maximum impact,
Heidi:you definitely want to sign up for the teacher winter talks. On
Heidi:top of the 25 amazing sessions, Emily and I will be doing a
Heidi:three day live challenge to help you create a seating chart that
Heidi:works as one of your strongest classroom management tools. In
Heidi:just a few minutes a day, during this challenge, you will walk
Heidi:away with your own seating chart tailored to address your
Heidi:specific classroom needs.
Emily:So head to secondstorywindow.net/teacherwintertalks
Emily:to grab your free ticket to join us on January 17 through 19th,
Emily:2026, and you can join us for the three day challenge too.
Heidi:To wrap up the show, we are sharing what we're giving
Heidi:extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your extra
Heidi:credit?
Emily:My extra credit goes to K18 dry shampoo. So I have seen
Emily:this recommended all over the place, and I finally gave it a
Emily:try when I, like, found a Black Friday deal. The rumors are
Emily:true, guys. It's amazing. It's way better than any other kind
Emily:of dry shampoo that I've tried. And it isn't the cheapest, but I
Emily:do feel like a little goes a long way. So like, in the long
Emily:run, I don't feel like it's that expensive.
Heidi:Oh, that's good to know. I'm gonna have to be on the
Heidi:lookout for that.
Emily:Yeah, for sure. What are you giving extra credit to?
Heidi:So my extra credit goes to some new pens that I just
Heidi:got. They are the Tul (T-U-L) retractable gel pens. My
Heidi:preferred pen is the muji 0.5, long time devotee of the Muji.
Emily:It's true.
Heidi:But those pens, I found they don't write well on post it
Heidi:notes, and that is so frustrating. I've had to keep
Heidi:other pens around, so I thought I would give these a try. And
Heidi:these Tul pens are great. They write so smoothly. And now I'm
Heidi:trying to decide if I need to get the pretty colored ones too.
Emily:I think you definitely do.
Heidi:Well I will put a link to the pens in the show notes in
Heidi:case you also need some new office supplies to get you
Heidi:through January.
Emily:That is it for today's episode. Make sure to sign up
Emily:for teacher winter talks, and there is a link to that in the
Emily:show notes. We would love for you to join us. We're going to
Emily:have so much fun.
Heidi:We hope you enjoyed this episode of Teacher Approved. I'm
Heidi:Heidi.
Emily:And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow
Emily:or subscribe in your podcast app so that you never miss an
Emily:episode.
Heidi:You can connect with us and other teachers in the
Heidi:Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.
Heidi:Bye for now.
Emily:Bye.