That quiet calm at the start of the year? Yeah, it won’t last... unless you do this.

Welcome back to The Unteachables Podcast. It’s still back-to-school season, and this episode is for every teacher who wants to avoid the classic Week 7 spiral when behaviours suddenly spike and everything feels a bit… cooked.

I’m giving you a front seat to the real reason that early-term magic fades—and what to do right now (yes, even this week) to avoid the whiplash of your “angel class” suddenly turning into chaos gremlins.

If you’ve ever thought, “What happened to my lovely class?” or found yourself pleading with the room to just start packing up already, you need this.

We’re talking about:

• What the grace period actually is and why it ends
• The difference between setting expectations vs reinforcing them
• The boring-but-brilliant routines that will carry your class through the term

What you’ll learn:

• What “grace period” behaviour is—and why it isn't lasting!
• The routines that do the behaviour management for you
• How to create buy-in for expectations so students actually follow them
• What to do when (not if) kids start testing boundaries
• How to balance warmth and structure without being “too soft” or “too strict”
• Easy wins for your starter, transition, and exit routines

Resources mentioned:

• The Back to School Bootcamp: https://www.the-unteachables.com/backtoschoolbootcamp
• Join the Behaviour Club: https://www.the-unteachables.com/tbc
• The Back to School Mega Bundle: https://www.the-unteachables.com/offers/WC32PseW/checkout

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Feeling like last year’s behaviour battles stole your joy? Let’s change the energy at the door. We kick off the new season with a grounded, practical roadmap to reset expectations, reclaim credibility, and build calm with routines that do the heavy lifting—even if you’re returning to the same challenging group.

In this episode, I’m giving you a front seat to:

• What to do when you’re dreading going back to school after a chaotic year
• Why co-disregulation is real—and how to avoid it
• How to reset your credibility and teaching presence with students who’ve seen you struggle
• The difference between being approachable vs credible (and why it matters)
• Why routines do the heavy lifting for classroom management
• How to press "reset" without shame or defensiveness—yes, even mid-year!

Resources mentioned:

• The Back to School Bootcamp: https://www.the-unteachables.com/backtoschoolbootcamp
• Join the Behaviour Club: https://www.the-unteachables.com/tbc
• Listen to past episode on Credible vs Approachable teacher presence

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

In last week’s episode, we talked about what to do when student energy is flat, motivation is MIA, and you're pulling teeth just to get through a lesson. This week, we're flipping the script and tackling the other end of the spectrum, those wild, chatty, off-task end-of-year vibes that have you asking:

🫠 “Why is everyone shouting?”
🫠 “Why can’t we sit down for longer than 2 minutes?”
🫠 “Is it me? Am I the drama?”

This high-energy chaos is totally normal (and very human), but it doesn’t mean you have to just white-knuckle your way through it. In this episode, I’m walking you through exactly what to do when your students are dysregulated, off-task, and bursting with excitement as the holidays approach.

We’re talking clear routines, calm teacher energy, classroom games that actually work as brain breaks, and how to keep your lesson bones strong while still leaning into festive fun. Let’s do this.

What you’ll learn:

• Why student energy spikes in December (and why it’s not a behaviour “problem”)
• The brain science behind high arousal and dysregulation
• How to stay consistent and calm, even when students are bouncing off the walls
• The exact classroom games and mindfulness activities I use to channel energy without chaos
• The real reason some students act out before the holidays
• How to reset your teaching presence when you’re just plain tired

Resources Mentioned:

• 🎁 Free Game Download: 13 no-prep classroom games you can use anytime
  https://www.the-unteachables.com/freedownloadgames

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website