Episode 21: It's time to Get Your Year in Gear (FREE Teacher Summer Challenge!) was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the latest audio-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors. Sonix is the best audio automated transcription service in 2020. Our automated transcription algorithms works with many of the popular audio file formats.
Rachael:
Hey, teachers, if you have a classroom and a commute, you're in the right place. I'm your host, Rachael, and I want to ride along with you each week on your ride into school. This podcast is the place for busy teachers who want actionable tips, simple strategies, and just want to enjoy their job more. Let's go.
Rachael:
Well, hello there, welcome to another episode of The Classroom Commute Podcast. I'm Rachael, your host, and I'm so glad you're joining me today. But I am especially excited today because it is almost time to kick off the annual "Getting Your Year in Gear" Summer Teacher Challenge. Now, you might be thinking, 'OK, I just finished school. I don't want to start thinking about starting school again.' Or maybe you haven't even finished school yet. And you've got another week or so left before you actually wrap up the school year. That's OK. There is absolutely no pressure to start doing this challenge, yet. But I know that some of you, if you're like me, you get antsy about thinking about the new school year and you want to use your time wisely in the summer so that you can plan, little by little, instead of waiting till the very end, when you feel like you're scrambling to get everything together. That's what this whole challenge is about. So, if you're not ready for it yet. No big deal. Come back to us when you are. But if you are ready, we are ready for you.
Rachael:
And I keep saying "we". So who do I mean? If you've done this challenge with me before, you know that my good friend Mary Beth from Brain Waves Instruction and I team up to bring you the Getting Your Year in Gear teachers summer challenge. And it's a challenge that's designed to help you tackle the back to school tasks and activities that will set you up for major success in the coming school year.
Rachael:
And it's completely FREE. That's the most exciting part about this. There is so much goodness and it's ALL free. And today I want to give you the inside scoop about the challenge so you have all the information that you need to get started with the challenge. I'll let you know where to sign up, how to sign up and how to get started.
Rachael:
So let me ask you this. Do you feel your head begin to spin when you think about planning for a new school year? If so, you are not alone. There is so much to think about when getting ready for a new school year, which means it's easy to get overwhelmed. And when you get overwhelmed, you forget details -- those really important details that we need to have a successful start to our school year. And this happens whether you are a new teacher or if you've been teaching for years. And when we get overwhelmed and we forget those details, we are sending ourselves into a school year and playing the year long game of catch-up, trying to catch up on all those things that you forgot to do at the beginning of the school year.
Rachael:
Well, here is the good news. That is not going to be you this year.
Rachael:
You are going to be so well-prepared, so ready for the school year - better than any other year before. So I hope that as we work through this episode and I share with you all of the amazing things about this challenge, that you will join Mary Beth and I this summer for this free power planning session like no other.
Rachael:
All right. Let's dive into the details. So what exactly is the Getting Your Year in Gear teacher summer challenge? Well, it's a challenge that is designed to help you get ready and organized to meet the school year head on. And we've broken up the back to school planning into five weekly themes so that you can spend an entire week thinking about one aspect of your back to school planning.
Rachael:
So the first week we're going to focus completely on classroom design -- everything from DIY projects to classroom decor themes or color schemes, and how you're going to arrange your classroom so that it makes sense. We'll talk about bulletin board ideas and design so that you can really wow your students when they come into your classroom that first day of school.
Rachael:
In the second week of the challenge, we're gonna take all of our energy and focus it on organization and inventory. So we're gonna take inventory on all of the things that you already have in your classroom and make a list of the things that you need to get for your classroom, whether that be student supplies, school supplies for your entire classroom to share, or supplies that you need at your desk. Mary Beth and I have put together a master inventory checklist so that you can go through your classroom and take note of the things that you already have and the things that you need to restock up on before the school year begins.
Rachael:
The third week is really going to set you up for success for the school year moving forward. We're talking all about curriculum mapping and planning ahead activities and systems and routines that you want to have in place to be used for the entire school year. We are big fans on prepping things like back to school activities, classroom routines, books, and even planning and prepping your things like student birthday gifts -- and doing it during the summer so that you don't have to think about it once the school year begins. So in week three, it's all about planning now, prepping now, so that you are ready later.
Rachael:
In the fourth week. We are going to turn our focus to developing new instructional strategies that will help you fine-tune your teaching and keep you up to date on the best teaching practices. Yes, we are going to talk about all things distance learning and tech, because at this point, we don't know what the new school year will bring.
Rachael:
We don't know if we will be starting remotely. Or if we will start school and then have to revert BACK to remote teaching. So we are going to prep you and get you ready for things like that. And of course, on top of that, we are also going to be giving you our favorite strategies to promote engagement and participation in your classroom. So stay tuned for that in week four.
Rachael:
And finally, we will wrap up the challenge with a week focused on creating an amazing classroom community that translates into an amazing school year. We've got ideas for connecting you with parents and students to set your classroom up for huge success. Oh, man, I am so excited, if you can't already tell. I might actually be talking faster as I go through this because I can't wait to get you on board and get you set up for this challenge with us.
Rachael:
So now that I've given you the details on what we're going to be covering in the challenge, I want to let you know what what's included in this free challenge. We've put together a step-by-step action plan that's going to help you do all of those things that I just mentioned above -- like creating an amazing classroom design, getting your classroom organized and taking inventory, working on your long range curriculum plans, and so on.
Rachael:
When you sign up for the Getting Your Year in Gear challenge, you will be receiving each week from us a "Week at a Glance" calendar guide. That's going to walk you through all of the tasks that will keep you on track for a successful year. We have even included so many freebies and resources that you'll find in that calendar guides that are going to save you so much time.
Rachael:
Guys, we are taking the stress out of back to school planning. We have done the heavy lifting so that you can just coast into the new school year. With each "Week at a Glance" calendar guide that you receive, you'll find clickable links that will lead you to resources and ideas that will help you tackle each task that you are to be completing that week. These are links that lead to things like checklists, video tutorials, printable freebies shopping lists, progress trackers, and so much more. Oh, I'm so excited. S
Rachael:
So you might be thinking, how long is the challenge? Well, it's completely self-paced, meaning you can do it as quickly or as slowly as you want throughout the summer. If you're listening to this episode at the beginning of the summer, you have all summer to pace it out and do it however you want. If you're catching this episode later on in the summer after the challenge has started, you are welcome to eliminate things that you don't need to do or just move at a quicker pace. It's completely up to you.
Rachael:
But that being said, we've broken the tasks of the challenge into twenty five days over the course of five weeks, giving you your weekends off - Of course - it is summer after all! But you can go slower or faster. That completely works, too. You will receive your "Week at a Glance" weekly calendar on the Sunday of each week so that you can prepare for the week ahead. If you're not ready to move on from the previous week, no problem. Just work at a pace that works and fits your schedule. And don't worry, we'll be sure to add the links from the previous weeks that you may have missed inside each email that we send your way. We'll make sure that you don't miss anything. Don't you worry.
Rachael:
And let me say it one more time. You guys, this challenge is FREE. It will cost you nothing to become a more effective, more intentional, and less stressed. It costs nothing to participate in this challenge, which is why it's so exciting. It's something that Mary Beth and I have poured our sweat and tears into. And we hope that you will join us and benefit from it as much as we are really hoping that you will.
Rachael:
Now, let me be clear. The goal and the entire purpose of the challenge is so that you create and design a blueprint for your year. It's not necessarily that you're going into your classroom on day 1 when we're talking about themes and color schemes and that you're actually decorating your classroom on day 1 of the challenge. No, the idea is that you are creating the blueprint for what you want your classroom to look like so that when you do go into your classroom, the two or three weeks before school starts, you're not thinking 'Where do I begin? How do I get started? Let me think this through.' No, you will have your blueprint and you can then execute all of those things that you have been planning and prepping and gathering ideas for during this challenge. You can put those ideas into place when you actually get into your classroom. I realize that you're not going to go in every single day of the challenge to work on your classroom and to plan for your school year. We don't expect that. Of course, that's not realistic to think that every day you're going to go into school. Instead, as you go through the challenge, we will provide you with progress trackers where you can jot down all of your ideas and intentions for each theme of the challenge so that you are ready to hit the ground running as soon as you get into your classroom, whenever that may be.
Rachael:
The last thing that you might be thinking is 'When does the challenge start?' Well, that depends on when you're listening to this episode. If you are listening to this episode, when it goes live at the beginning of June, then you are going to want to get on the waiting list over at classroomnook.com/podcast/21. And you can get on the waiting list. You'll get your first week of tasks on June 14. It's a Sunday. And then you can begin on June 15th, the Monday right after. And of course, like I've mentioned, if you're not ready to begin on June 15th. That's OK. Go ahead and get signed up. You can still get the e-mails with all of the weekly challenges in your inbox. And then you can start on them whenever you're ready.
Rachael:
If you are catching this episode later on in the summer and the challenge has already begun, then you can still join in at any time. Again, just head to the show notes at classroomnook.com/podcast/2 and still sign up. If we've already begun, you will still get links to all of the past weeks. And you can begin the challenge whenever you're ready.
Rachael:
And if participating in this challenge really isn't your thing, no worries. I'm still going to be supporting you here on the podcast each week. Just like we have different themes for each week of the challenge, I'm going to be covering those same themes here on the podcast to still give you actionable tips and strategies for planning your school year. You'll still get value from those episodes. Being a part of the challenge will just give you those resources and printables and freebies to help you then execute the tips and strategies that we'll talk about on the podcast. So I hope you will consider joining in the challenge.
Rachael:
But if that's not your thing, please still feel free to join me each week here on the podcast, where we will discuss all things back to school. Oh, and if you're already on my email list, you are already set, my friend, to be part of the challenge. Whether you want to participate or not, that's totally up to you. But we will already be sending you those weekly "Week At A Glance" calendar guides that you can use each week to help prepare for back to school. So if you are already on my e-mail list, no action needed. We will see you in the challenge, should you choose to participate.
Rachael:
All right, guys, that's all I have for you today. I cannot wait to get this challenge underway and get started. I hope you will join me. I hope that you sense the excitement in my voice to get started and help support you in planning for a new school year -- whatever that might look like -- I am along for the ride and I cannot wait to do it with you. Have a wonderful rest of your day and a good start to your week, and I will see you again next week. Bye for now.
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