Educate & Rejuvenate: The Podcast

The Sneaky Way Your Teacher Brain Steals Your Last Weeks of SummerIf you're down to your last couple of weeks of summer and staring at a list of everything you meant to get done, this episode is for you. Kelsey shares a live coaching clip from this year's Summer Refresh event, over 1,000 teachers watched it happen in real time, featuring a teacher named Tori, who came to the call with two weeks of summer left, an unfinished to-do list, and a heavy, anxious feeling she hadn't quite named yet.What unfolds is a masterclass in noticing your "teacher brain" in action: the stories we tell ourselves ("it'll get better when school's out... when testing's over... when I leave the classroom"), the loops those stories keep us stuck in, and what it actually looks like to pause and find, as Kelsey puts it, "the space between stimulus and response."What You'll HearThe teacher brain story loop — why "it'll get better when ___" rarely delivers, and how it shows up as both a weekly micro-cycle and a full school-year macro-cycleThe Viktor Frankl-attributed quote that anchors the whole episode: "Between the stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose."Tori's live coaching session — she came in wanting to "enjoy the rest of the summer" and instead uncovered anxiety, disappointment, and a rumination habit she didn't fully recognize until she named it out loudThe "thought villages" / "bouncing castle" moment — coach Chrissy's metaphor for how our thoughts cascade and circle instead of leading anywhereWhy being "in your head" isn't the same as processing — and how resisting an emotion is often what keeps the pressure onTori's breakthrough — she doesn't leave with a finished to-do list, but with real clarity on what she actually wants from her remaining summerA Few Moments Worth MarkingTori naming her anxiety as physical for the first time, noticing it in her chest, shoulders, and neck, and realizing, "This is the first time I've actually stopped to consider that."Kelsey's reframe: there's nothing wrong with sitting in anxiety and not getting things done. The real question is simply, is that what you want?Tori's own aha: enjoying summer means letting go of the impending deadline and "letting it be what it is"

Fresh off the Summer Refresh, Kelsey is sharing a special crossover episode from the Teacher Approved Podcast, hosted by sisters Heidi and Emily of Second Story Window. This episode is the perfect classroom-side companion to everything we talk about here at E&R because you can't build a classroom rooted in safety and connection if you don't have that foundation for yourself first.Heidi and Emily walk you through the three questions every student is silently asking in their first three days of school: Am I safe? Am I seen? Am I needed? Answer those, and you've built the foundation your whole year stands on.In this episode:Why a student's brain can't learn until it feels safe and how predictability + clear procedures build that sense of securityThe Tell, Try, Tally, Talk method for teaching procedures (revisit Episode 75 for the full breakdown)Simple ways to introduce yourself as a real person, not just "the teacher"Day 2: how to help every student feel truly seen, including your quieter, more introverted kidsDay 3: turning classroom jobs into meaningful ways for students to feel needed plus how to reflect now on which jobs are actually workingWhy this relationship-building isn't time away from curriculum; it is the learningThis week's Try It Tomorrow: writing a note to your future first-day selfTeacher-Approved Tip: creating classroom jobs that actually matterExtra Credit picks: DeleteMe (privacy protection service) and the picture book When You Go to Dragon School🎙️ Join Kelsey at Teacher Summer Talks 2026Kelsey is a featured speaker at this year's Teacher Summer Talks Audio Summit, hosted by Heidi and Emily, with a brand-new session, How to Stop Dreading September Before the School Year Starts, available exclusively there. It's a free audio summit, and if you loved this episode, you'll love the rest of what they do.👉 https://wifeteachermommy--secondstorywindow.thrivecart.com/tst-26-max-pass/

Tired of hearing what works in theory? This episode is all about what's actually working, for real teachers, in real classrooms, right now. Kelsey shares a live panel recording from the Summer 2025 event featuring Educate & Rejuvenate Club members who show up and tell it straight: how they've navigated burnout, set boundaries they actually keep, and found their footing again. From 30-year veterans to brand-new teachers, from public school to homeschool, this conversation covers the full spectrum. If you've ever wondered whether any of this stuff actually makes a difference, this episode is your answer.

You can't organize your way out of a cluttered mind. In this episode, Kelsey pulls back the curtain on a top-requested coaching workshop from the Educate & Rejuvenate Club and gives you the inside scoop on what actually makes decluttering work and why it has to start with your thoughts, not your stuff. From thought downloads to scarcity mindset around that mug a student gave you four years ago, this episode is part pep talk, part practical playbook for a cleaner space and a clearer head.

Does your brain ever get in your own way? In this episode, Kelsey revisits one of her most beloved archives — a 2023 episode she recorded just one hour after signing her book deal — and shares the simple mindset hack that has carried her through every hard season since. Using a hilarious story from the Eras Tour, she walks you through the core tool at the foundation of her Inside Out Teacher Framework: learning to tell the difference between a thought and a circumstance. Once you know it, you can't un-know it, and it just might change the way you show up in your classroom and your life. Plus, Kelsey shares a personal update on everything that's happened since this episode first aired and why she's more committed than ever to helping teachers find their footing from the inside out.

Some conversations just make you feel less alone, and this is one of them. Kelsey sits down with Joe Vitale and Jamie Wanko of the Balancing Act Podcast for a warm, hilarious, and deeply relatable conversation about what it really means to balance life as a teacher. They talk beach mishaps, Gilmore Girls, making time for yourself without guilt, and the kind of friendship that makes you a better teacher and human.Joe and Jamie are also our Day 2 keynote speakers at the Educate & Rejuvenate Summer Refresh 2026, where they'll record a live podcast episode on July 1st exclusively for attendees. General admission is FREE for the first time ever. Grab your spot: educateandrejuvenate.com/summer2026.

Burn out all year. Crash all summer. Repeat. Sound familiar? This episode breaks that cycle. Kelsey is back with a tried-and-true archive episode on how to have a purposeful teacher summer, not just one where you're recovering. She covers the two summer mistakes most teachers make, how to set real intentions for your time off, and why this isn't a planning problem... It's a burnout problem. With a fresh 2026 update layering in her Inside Out Teacher Framework, this one hits different. Listen now, then grab your free spot at the Summer Refresh event on June 30–July 1 at educateandrejuvenate.com/summer2026.