April might seem early to prep for next school year, but it’s actually the perfect time to take on some manageable tasks that’ll make back-to-school season way less overwhelming. In this episode, we're sharing five smart and practical things to do in April for back-to-school. You’ll learn why April is ideal for this kind of prep, how to prioritize without adding stress, and how these small moves can help you enjoy summer a bit more!

Prefer to read? Grab the episode transcript and all resources mentioned in the show notes here: https://www.secondstorywindow.net/podcast/to-do-in-april-for-back-to-school/

Resources:

• Freebie: End-of-Year Road Map
• Procedure Review Slides
• First Lie Wins
• La Roche Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser
• Episode 154, 5 Steps for Classroom Procedure Success
• Episode 150, Perfect Your Classroom Procedures With the Help of Our Guiding Quesitons
• Episode 50, 3 Guidelines to Make Classroom Transitions Work Smarter Not Harder
• Episode 49, Rapid Classroom Transitions: How to Save 45 Hours a Year
• Episode 48, How to Make Classroom Transitions Simple With Clear Beginning and Endings
• Episode 32, 5 Classroom Management Questions to Help Banish Bad Class Habits
• Connect with us on Instagram @2ndstorywindow.
• Shop our teacher-approved resources.
• Join our Facebook group, Teacher Approved
• Leave your review on Apple Podcasts!

More Related Episodes to Enjoy:

• Episode 158, Back-to-School Classroom Management: Are You Working Smarter or Harder?
• Episode 153, How Teachers Can Thrive During the Back-to-School Season - Our Best Strategies
• Episode 135, Treat Yourself! Make a Back-to-School Teacher Self-Care Plan

This is episode 190 of Teacher Approved.

You're listening to Teacher Approved, the podcast helping

educators elevate what matters and simplify the rest. I'm

Heidi.

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 secondstorywindow.net.

We're so glad you're tuning in today. Let's get to

the show.

Hey there. Thanks for joining us today. In today's

episode, we're giving you five easy tasks that you can do in

April to get ready for back to school, and we're sharing a

teacher approved tip for giving a spring refresh to your

classroom procedures.

Let's start with a try it tomorrow, where we share a quick

win that you can try in your classroom right away. Emily,

what is our prompt this week?

This week, give the mystery compliment game a try.

You write each student's name on a small slip of paper and put

them in a jar, then have each student secretly draw a name and

write down a specific compliment about that person. Then in the

afternoon, you can read the compliments out loud and let the

students guess who it's about.

I love this so much. It is a quick and easy way to boost

classroom kindness and connection, which is so

important this time of year, and it is a perfect way to add some

surprise and delight.

If you like this idea or anything else we share here on

the podcast, would you take a second and give us a five star

rating? Ratings and reviews are one way new listeners find us.

So every rating and review is a huge help to us.

So be honest, did you have a little bit of a heart

attack when you saw the words back to school in this episode

title?

Don't worry if you did. That is completely normal, but

no need to panic. We promise you will leave this episode feeling

inspired, not terrified.

Not only inspired, but also empowered, I think.

Yes.

Now I know what you might be thinking. April seems a

little bit early to be thinking about back to school, especially

when you might still be counting down the days to spring break,

or maybe you are just trying to make it through the chaos of

testing season. But hear us out.

Yeah, thinking about back to school in April actually

gives you a nice advantage. You're still in the classroom

routine, so all those systems and challenges are fresh in your

mind. You don't have to think too hard to know what worked

well and what you are never, ever doing again. That kind of

clarity is hard to come by in the middle of summer break, when

last year feels like a cloudy memory.

So we are going to jump on that April advantage. And

don't worry, we're not about to suggest things that are going to

take you hours to do after school. We have got five simple

things you can do in short bursts, like independent work

time or planning time, to set yourself up for back to school

success without adding to your already full plate.

We want you to start next year feeling rested, refreshed

and ready to go, and one step in that direction is by starting

your prep early. So let's dive into the five tasks you can do

in April for back to school.

Okay, task number one to get ready for back to school in

April is start your lists. We're starting with something simple,

but seriously powerful. And we don't mean just make a to do

list. We're talking about three specific lists that will save

the day when you sit down to plan over the summer.

Our first list is a Ta-Da list. This is where you

celebrate everything you did well this year. What did you try

that worked? What routines or systems felt smooth and

sustainable? Write it down so that you remember to bring it

back next year.

If you're like us, it's so much easier to think of all

the things going wrong than to recognize all the amazing things

that are going great. But that's the reason why you need to start

working on it right away. Once you get a few things written on

your ta-da list, more things will come to mind. You'll start

noticing how smoothly your morning routine runs, or how you

maximize your transition after lunch for a quick review time.

Make that list so you have a place to write these

observations down.

It is so important to celebrate your wins. Not only is

that a great mood boost, but it will help you identify what you

want to make sure to continue in the future. And getting started

on it now, while you're still in the thick of the school year,

will help you pinpoint the little details that might slip

your mind in a few months.

Okay, next is the obvious list, your to do list. These are

the tasks you already know you'll need to handle before

school starts. Think about things like what you need to

copy, what you'll need to label, or any supplies you'll want to

have ready.

If you made a to do list last year and you still have it

handy, definitely check that list. It's so much easier when

you do not have to recreate the wheel every year.

And if you don't have one from last year, be sure to save

this year's list. Keep listening for a free resource we have for

you to help you keep track of these lists from year to year.

And the third list you need is your fix it list. This

is the place to capture all those little annoyances that you

meant to fix but maybe never quite got to. Maybe it's a

system that didn't flow, or a classroom layout that didn't

work. Now it's the time to jot it all down before you forget.

This is, for sure, one of the easiest lists for me to

make. I am always so aware of every little pain point in our

routine and all the ways I want to improve my instruction.

Just because we're into term four doesn't mean that it's

too late to fix these things now. In fact, solving a headache

now can be a smart way to make next year a little smoother,

which is a huge bonus at the craziness of back to school

time.

But we've been there. We know how exhausting this time of

year is. If you don't have the bandwidth to tackle a problem

now, or if it's genuinely something that's too late to fix

at this point, the next best solution is to get it written

down so you don't forget.

Just get all of those thoughts out of your head and

onto the paper. It will free up your mental load just having it

written down. And then when you're ready to set goals and

make plans for next year, that list is just gonna be ready and

waiting for you.

And we've made these three lists easy for you with

our free end of year roadmap resource. This is a digital

planner that will help you wrap up the school year and start the

summer with intention.

The roadmap is in Google Sheets, which is nice because

that means you can access it anywhere, and it's already

formatted with a ta-da list, a to do list and a fix it list,

just waiting for your great ideas.

Okay Em, what is task number two that we can do in April for a

better back to school?

Task number two is reflect on which procedures to

repeat and which to rethink. You know we love talking about

routines and procedures around here. We really believe that

good procedures and routines will save you so much time and

stress each year.

So take a good look at how procedures and routines have

run in your classroom this year. Maybe try taking a day or even a

week to make notes of how the procedures are going in your

classroom right now. Sometimes, just paying close attention to

your day to day for a little while will make it obvious

exactly which procedures are working and which ones you might

want to change in the future.

And if this is an area you want to deep dive into,

we've got some episodes to help you with this.

Yeah, you know just a few episodes. If you need a deep

dive into procedures and how to plan and teach them, start with

episodes 150 and 154 where we guide you through discovering

which procedures your classroom may need, and we share our four

step method for teaching them.

If you want to figure out why a certain procedure isn't

working, check out episode 32 where we shared five questions

you can ask yourself to get to the root of the problem and make

changes. If you have time, you can even revamp that procedure

this year to test it out.

You know, you may as well troubleshoot things now and save

yourself the headache of course correcting in the fall.

Your classroom transitions are probably the

procedure you use most often in your day. If you want to improve

your classroom transitions, we have a three part series all

about making them efficient to save you time and stress.

Who knew there was so much to say about classroom

transitions? Turns out that there is.

Yep. That series starts in Episode 48. You could try out

some of our strategies before this year ends, but at the very

least, adding all of your notes to your fix it list can give you

a big head start later. When you're setting up next year, you

won't have to rely on fuzzy memories. You'll have actual

notes from your teacher self who was in it.

Okay. Task number three that you can do in April for

back to school is one of my favorites. Such a handy tip.

Take photos of your students doing their everyday procedures.

This is such a good one, and one that's really easy to

overlook.

But the nice thing is, this is so easy to do. Just

start snapping photos of your students doing classroom

procedures the right way. You know the way that you want them

to be doing them.

Get specific and take pictures of all the little steps

of the procedure. These photos will be much more helpful in

your teaching next year, if they get into the nitty gritty of the

steps students need to take.

So for example, think of your morning routine. You can

take a picture of the students entering the room, hanging up

their backpacks, turning in the home folders, getting a pencil

and all of that fun stuff.

Think about things like lining up, turning in work,

transitioning between centers, or using supplies. Any procedure

you know you want to teach next year, capture it now. I prefer

using pictures, but you might want to take some videos too. It

wouldn't hurt, and you may find you want to use them.

These pictures or videos make awesome visual anchors when

you're modeling expectations for your new class. It's so helpful

to have photos of kids completing the steps in your

room with your materials. And bonus, your new students will

love seeing the kids that they think are big kids showing how

it's done. Kids are way more engaged in learning about

something from another kid than, you know, from a boring old

grown up.

Plus, this is kind of a sneaky spring classroom

management hack too, because when your kids know you're

taking pictures of them doing procedures to teach next year's

class, they will be much more likely to do those procedures

really well. So if your procedures are getting a bit

sloppy, definitely give this a try to get your students to

clean things up.

That is so smart.

Alright, Emily, what is the fourth task that teachers could

do in April to get ready for back to school?

Do you have a new idea you've been curious about, but

you weren't sure when to try it? April is your moment. Task

number four is to do a trial run on something new.

Trying something new with your students in the spring is

the perfect timing. You've built relationships with your current

students, so it's a low pressure way to experiment.

Plus this is a great way to increase engagement by adding

in something new, and to fill time after testing season, when

you're just trying to get through those final weeks of

school. So start by taking a minute to dream a bit about your

ideal classroom. What's something you've been wanting to

try that you haven't had the time or energy to do before now?

The end of the year is a great time to do this, because you can

see firsthand what it will be like before you commit to a

whole new routine or teaching method next year. And if it goes

well, then you know you definitely want to include it in

your next year plans.

Maybe it's a new classroom routine or a behavior

system that you've had your eye on. It could be some new

technology that you want to try out, or maybe it's a fresh way

to do morning work or end of day cleanup. Once you decide what

you want to try, do it now, while you still have time to

adjust and troubleshoot. This is so handy. You know, that could

be trying out morning meeting or spending a couple of weeks

really trying out a new daily vocabulary routine.

By the time back to school season rolls around,

you'll already know if it's worth using, and you'll feel way

more confident introducing it to a brand new group of kids.

Okay, Heidi, what is task number five?

Well, our final April task to help you prepare for

back to school is to decide what order to teach your procedures

next year.

Now, clearly, at this point in the episode, you

already know that teaching procedures is essential, but

obviously it's impossible and unnecessary to try and teach

everything on day one.

Oh no, you would lose your mind, and so would your

kids. So you need to decide which procedures to teach first,

and April really is the perfect time to figure that out. Yes,

yes, we're serious.

While you're still living your daily classroom routines,

ask yourself, which procedures keep my day running? What's

really essential for those first few days, and what can wait?

By thinking through this now you're going to avoid that

August panic when everything feels important. Narrowing down

your top three to five procedures to teach right away

will help you start the year with calm and confidence.

And you'll be ready to plug those procedure lessons

into your first day and first week plans when you start

working on them.

And that's it. Those are our five things. So let's do a quick

recap of the five things you can do in April to get ahead for

back to school.

Number one, start your list. Specifically you want a

ta-da list, a to do list, and a fix it list to really capture

what worked, what needs to get done and what could use a tweak.

Number two, reflect on what procedures to repeat and

what to rethink, so you're not trying to remember in August

what drove you crazy in April.

Number three is to take photos of students doing your

procedures to create easy, real life visuals for modeling

expectations for next year'sstudents.

Number four do a trial run for something new. Test out

a new routine or system now so you can see what works with a

group you already know.

And our last one is number five, decide which order

to teach your procedures so that you are ready to start the year

with a clear plan, instead of trying to teach all of the

things all at once on day one.

Even just picking one of these tasks to try can make a

big difference, and your future teacher self will definitely

thank you.

And don't forget to head to the show notes, where you can

find a link for our free end of year roadmap digital planner.

This will help you figure out your schedule for the next few

months, reflect on what you want to maintain and change in the

coming weeks, and break down tasks so you can get things done

without stress.

We'd love to hear what you do in April to get ready for

back to school. Come join the conversation in the Teacher

Approved Facebook group.

Now let's talk about this week's teacher approved tip. Each week

we leave you with a small actionable tip that you can

apply in your classroom today. This week's teacher approved tip

is do a quick refresh on a troublesome procedure. So tell

us about this, Heidi.

Well, as you may have noticed, teachers, spring fever

is real, and classroom routines can get a little wobbly this

time of year. So one way to combat that is to try a quick

win refresh. So start by picking one routine that's maybe gotten

a little sloppy, you know, lining up, cleaning up or

transitioning between subjects, and reteach it like you did at

the beginning of the year. So we want to model it, practice it,

and praise it like it's brand new.

And then discuss how students can continue to meet

your expectations going forward. Just because summer vacation is

peaking around the corner doesn't mean we give up on our

standards of behavior.

Now to help you out, we have a set of Google slides that

you can use to revisit any procedure. So how it works is,

for each procedure that you want to refresh, you can have these

students rate themselves on how well they are currently meeting

your expectations from one to five. The kids know. The kids

know they're pushing the boundaries. And then you can use

that information to guide your discussion, and you can find a

link to the slides in the show notes, or you could visit our

shop.

Refreshing a routine takes less than 10 minutes, and

the payoff is huge. Students get a clear reminder of

expectations, and you get back a bit of the calm structure your

classroom needs in the spring chaos.

All right, to wrap up the show, we are showing what we're

giving extra credit to this week. Emily, what gets your

extra credit?

I'm giving extra credit to the book, First Lie Wins by

Ashley Elston. So generally, I stick to romance books or maybe

historical fiction, but I have been dipping my toe into the

thriller waters. I'm not into violence or anything too scary,

so First Lie Wins fits the bill.

It sounds a little intense.

No, trust me, you can do this. You can do this one. So

here's the blurb. Evie Porter has everything a nice southern

girl could want, a perfect doting boyfriend, a house with a

white picket fence and a garden, a fancy group of friends. The

only catch? Evie Porter doesn't exist. So it was a fun, quick

read. If you have some other non scary thriller recommendations

to share, I'd love to hear them. I found that what I'm enjoying

about starting to read some thriller books that aren't too

scary is that it just makes me look for reasons to read them

during the day, like it's getting me reading even more

than I already was, because I just want to know what's going

to happen, and so it's kind of fun to have a different read.

I'm mixing it in now, still getting in plenty of romance.

Don't worry.

That is a nice change of pace. And it's nice when you

have something compelling that's drawing you back to the book.

It's always a fun feeling. This could be a fun one if people

have spring break still to look forward to, that could be a fun

pring break read.

Yes, definitely. Okay, what are you giving extra credit

to Heidi?

Well, this is much less exciting, but my extra credit

goes to La Roche Posay Effaclar Gel Cleanser. How do they name

these things, right? With salicylic acid. So I saw a hack

on Instagram for using it to prevent ingrown hairs, sorry,

TMI, and I thought I would give it a shot. And I have to say,

I've been very happily surprised. The trick is to use

this gel as like a shaving gel, and then follow it up by

applying hydrocortisone cream. It has made a huge difference

for my skin. I don't think I've had any problems since I started

trying this. Now I will say I think the magic ingredient is

the salicylic acid, and not necessarily that specific

cleanser, because I know I did try using a shampoo with

salicylic acid instead, and I liked shaving with that better

because it's a little thicker than the cleanser.

Okay.

Definitely worth trying out, especially as temps get a

little warmer and sleeves maybe get a little shorter.

All right, I'm gonna check it out.

That is it for today's episode. Try out some of our

five easy things that you can do in April for back to school, and

make sure to grab our end of year roadmap freebie from the

link in the show notes to help you finish the year strong.

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

And I'm Emily. Thank you for listening. Be sure to follow

or subscribe in your podcast apps that you never miss an

episode.

You can connect with us and other teachers in the

Teacher Approved Facebook group. We'll see you here next week.

Bye, for now.

Bye.