*Note that these episodes are designed and written as podcast episodes and therefore created to be listened to, which I encourage you to do on your favorite podcast app or by clicking play above.

Apple      Spotify      Google      Amazon      Stitcher

**This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you purchase from some links in this post, I get a portion of the amount in order to keep the lights on at Teach On A Mission and to feed my family.  I appreciate your support, and want you to know that all of my recommendations are based on items I have used, loved, and have served my own sustainability as a working parent.

Just as it was true in my last episode, it’s true here too.  These 5 habits are not rocket science, not earth shattering, but they are slightly different from other tips I’ve seen because they aren’t just for teachers, and they also aren’t just...

*Please note that these episodes are designed to be listened to.  I encourage you to tune in on your favorite podcast app or by clicking play above.

Holy moly! I recorded this episode in mid-January and am not publishing it until mid-February - woah!  But here’s the thing, at Teach On A Mission, we are nothing but #reallife, and sometimes deadlines aren’t met and life takes over.  So when you hear me say it’s mid-January, just know that I am completely wrong, but hopefully what I share still resonates with you.

In this episode we get super practical! Share this episode with a teacher who needs to hear the message that their sustainability is important and a priority!

These tips are not rocket science, but they are ones that have allowed me, as a working, teacher mom, to manage all the things in ways that are slightly automated, removes the need to think about it

Goes with the new motto I’m adopting in my life and I think all teachers should...

*This post includes affiliate links that allow me to keep earn a small portion of the sale amount in order to keep the lights on at Teach On A Mission.  I appreciate your support!

This video’s sole purpose is to recommend some tools, gadgets, or resources that I know will help you better manage the insane pace of a teacher’s daily teaching life.  They are not top tech tools, they are not organization specific, they are simply things that allow me, and many other teachers I work with, to get a better grasp on life and managing all of the roles they play that are most important to them.

What roles do you play in life?  I guess the better question is, who are you?  You’re probably a teacher.  Are you also a mom or dad? Are you also a friend, a homeowner, a person who prioritizes health and taking care of your body?

Well this video will help you manage all aspects of who you are, not just who you are as a teacher.

Top 5 Tools for...

1. No matter what planner I’ve had or lesson planning system I’ve used, I have always felt that the big tasks, the big projects I was working on as a teacher - like planning a unit, creating an assessment, planning out review and remediation, etc. - I always felt that no matter the lists I made to know what needed accomplished it just felt like I was barely keeping my head above water to get it all created and done in time.
1. Now, with Asana in my business, which absolutely applies to lesson planning and creation, then implementation in the classroom, I’m able to see when something I’m creating needs to be absolutely finished, and plan backwards, seeing where I have time available and when I’m able to work on it, and when I need to have certain aspects done in order to keep the train moving, but in ways that I’m not always thinking about only it.
2. In the classroom, if I ever wanted to implement something new and it required my creating and planning...

**Holy cow guys this is a long one, but, I have to admit, I really really loved recording this.  So, if you have to listen in chunks, that’s the beauty of a podcast, just pick right back up where you left off and it even rewinds it a few seconds for you when you’re able to click play again.

Here’s to a more intentional 2023, and a glimpse into my year-end reflection and planning process. I hope you find it helpful.

As promised, here is a link to that year-at-a-glance calendar I grabbed on Canva - it’s now a template you can use.

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER SHOW NOTES:   https://www.teachonamission.com/blog/being-more-intentional-in-2023-a-teacher-s-year-end-reflection 

SUSTAINABLE TEACHER FB COMMUNITY: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainableteacher 

FULL FOCUS PLANNER: https://www.teachonamission.com/planner 

At the time this episode will air, we’ll be up to our eyeballs in the Christmas season - which I absolutely...

About a few years into teaching, after trying all kinds of teacher planners including Plum Paper, one I made for myself, and even the coveted Erin Condren Teacher planner, I decided to commit teacher adultery or something else incredibly sinful as a teacher.

I threw away my teacher planner. GASP!

Tell them why you threw it away.

In this video I’m going to not just tell you what I did instead, which I’ve done before over on my podcast, which I’m releasing new episodes on weekly and I would LOVE for you to go check that out, but instead today on this video I’ll actually SHOW you what it is to lesson plan… digitally.

1. Advantages to planning digitally - All the reasons I shared in the intro, but let me elaborate
1. Advantage #1 - I don’t have to write the same dag-gone thing every year over and over just because the days don’t match up from last year
2. Advantage #2 - Sharing with colleagues
3. Advantage #3 - Links.  Instead of having a...

Ever been sitting at your desk, like this, and you go to make a quick lesson plan or double check you have everything you need for an upcoming lesson, and when you go to your Google Drive you lose your ever-loving-shiz trying to find something.

No, no way, not you…

Well if that’s something you’ve experienced, this video is just. For. you.

5 Best Google Drive Hacks for Teachers

1. Number one, best tip, number your folder AND documents. If you’re like me, you don’t think nor do you organize anything really in alphabetical order. And especially in teaching when so much of content we create goes in a certain time order, the way we organize files should be the same
1. Show numbering main folders by course (make class you have most preps or will take up most brain space your number 1)
2. Show numbering folders inside course folders by unit
3. Show putting asterisks on docs you want at the top
4. BONUS - make folders and subfolders
2. Naming conventions - if it’s a...

(Hold up big binder) - This right here represents what my students’ binders would look like at the end of each school year after having taken my class where we spent everyday either taking notes or completing practice and application activities and then storing them in this binder so they had access to all of it when it came time to prepare for their end of the year or end of course exam.

Drop it on desk - loud noise, shaking camera

Whether you teach little babies in elementary or big babies in high school - and I mean that in a lovingly, motherly way - you’ve experienced the drag and drop.  Circa 2012 ish drag and drop became a major soft skill for all students starting at about age 2 when new age testing dropped into our lives - pun intended.

And when we drag and drop on paper, other wise known as literally cutting and pasting, not digitally cutting and pasting, here’s what happens….Have cut and paste activity and do some cutting and scissors and...

I teach teachers how to flip their classrooms, and when I do, we spend a good chunk of our focus on making their own videos. I definitely recommend making your own videos in your flipped classroom, but sometimes it can be too large of an obstacle and stops you from even starting.

If that is the case, then using another teacher's videos may be the exact solution you need.

It truly can be a beautiful, interdependent relationship that your students can thrive in and benefit from.

In this episode, we're going to talk about situations where using another teacher's videos is a must and how to go about doing it well.

5 Steps to Start Flipping Your Classroom Printable

Hey! Did you know that I have a quick start guide to flipping your classroom ready and waiting for you to download and use to your advantage when you decide it’s high time to be more effective with your students but in ways that are more sustainable for you?

Well, I do.

And it’s an easy click away at the link...

1. Video Intro: Creating Flipped Videos is no small undertaking. It takes time and tools and effort and a system to keep up with it - all of which I teach and guide teachers on with my online course and other resources available on my website linked in the description below - but you don’t HAVE to make your own videos in order to flip your classroom. 
2. Channel Intro: Well Hey there, Teacher Friend, welcome to my channel, I am Mandy Rice of Teachonamission.com and the Sustainable Teacher Podcast bringing you weekly teacher-content to inspire and invigorate your love of teaching in a way that allows you to be a good teacher AND have a personal life - because YES, you can have both.  And I would love it if you would come hang out with me on Instagram so we can get to know each other better.  And as always, if this video is something you’re watching and nodding your head to, then go ahead and hit that like and subscribe button so you do not miss any...