If the word formula makes you tense up a little, you’re not alone.

For a lot of teachers, formulas feel like:

• something you’re supposed to already understand
• something that’s easy for “techy people”
• something that can break everything if you do it wrong

BUT...
You don’t need to understand formulas to benefit from them. You just need to know what they can do for you.

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What a Formula Really Is

A formula is just an instruction. It’s the spreadsheet version of saying: “Add these up.” “Find the average.” “Count how many things I have.”

You’re not doing math. You’re telling the spreadsheet to do it for you.

The Three Formulas Teachers Actually Need

We’re not doing anything fancy here. These three cover most real classroom needs.

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Jessica

We’ve covered a lot in this series: images, sources, writing, school, AI tools, and real-world consequences.

So here’s the simplest takeaway of all:

AI can sound convincing. That doesn’t make it true.

Not everything that looks real is real.

Not everything flagged by a tool is wrong.
And not everything needs an instant reaction.

In today’s world, the most important skill isn’t knowing all the answers — it’s knowing when to pause.

You’re allowed to:

• slow down
• ask questions
• look for context
• say, “I’m not sure yet”

That’s not being behind. That’s being thoughtful.

AI is a tool. People still decide what’s true, fair, and meaningful.

And that part?

That’s still very human.

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Jessica

In a world increasingly shaped by Artificial Intelligence, we are seeing incredible innovations. However, with great power comes significant privacy risks. 

We regularly share parts of ourselves online: photos, thoughts, and our voices. When it comes to AI, this casual sharing can have serious, long term consequences. It can lead to losing control of your identity and blurring the very concept of truth.

Let’s break down why you need to think twice before handing over your digital self to AI.

The truth is the literal foundation of how we understand the world and trust each other. Without it, our ability to make sense of things together crumbles. We are already navigating an ocean of misinformation, but AI generated deepfakes are taking this to a new level.

These are not just clever fakes. They are hyper realistic images, videos, and audio that can perfectly mimic real people and events. Imagine seeing a video of a public figure saying something they never said, or hearing an audio clip of a loved one’s voice making a request they never actually made.

AI deepfakes pose a unique threat because they do not just tell a lie. 

Instead, they manufacture an entirely alternate reality that looks and sounds identical to the truth. When we can no longer believe our own eyes or ears, the line between fact and fiction disappears. This makes it easier for people to be manipulated and for reputations to be destroyed. Protecting the truth is not just about debunking fakes; it is about making sure we do not lose our fundamental grasp on reality.

The Danger of Giving Your Likeness and Data to AI

When you upload a selfie to an AI tool to turn it into a cartoon or enhance it, you are often giving that company permission to use your unique biometric data. This includes your face, your voice, and your specific mannerisms.

Once your likeness is learned by an AI model, you lose control. It can be used to generate new images or videos of you doing or saying things you never did. In addition, extracting your data from an AI model once it has been trained is virtually impossible. Your digital twin could exist within their systems forever.

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Jessica

If AI feels confusing or overwhelming, you’re not alone.

This technology showed up fast, and many parents are trying to understand it at the same time their kids are expected to use it responsibly in school.

Here’s the most important thing to know:

AI isn’t just a school issue, it’s also a life skill issue.

Instead of focusing only on “don’t use AI,” it helps to talk about how and why it’s used.

Helpful conversations include:

• Asking kids what their school allows and doesn’t allow
• Talking about when tools help learning and when they replace it
• Encouraging kids to keep drafts, notes, and proof of their thinking
• Modeling healthy skepticism about things you see online

You don’t need to know how AI works technically to support your child. What matters most is helping them slow down, ask questions, and be honest about their work.

AI will keep changing. But critical thinking doesn’t go out of style.

Here's a helpful flyer that you can send home with parents. I've included the Canva template here so you can make your own copy to edit.   

👉 Next up: the final takeaway that ties this whole series together.

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Jessica

 

Let’s be honest: getting accused of cheating, especially with AI involved, is stressful.

Most students aren’t trying to take shortcuts. They’re trying to do the work correctly, follow the rules, and turn things in on time.

Here’s the good news: there are simple habits that can protect you.

Your process matters. Not just the final product.

Here are some helpful habits:

• Save drafts and outlines
• Keep notes or brainstorming (even messy ones)
• Use version history when possible
• Ask your teacher about AI rules before using tools

These things show how you worked, not just what you turned in.

One more important reminder:

AI tools don’t know who wrote something. They only recognize patterns. Clear writing can sometimes look “AI-like,” even when it’s 100% your own.

That’s why keeping proof of your thinking is smart, not suspicious.

You’re allowed to ask questions.
You’re allowed to slow down.
And you deserve fairness.

I have a set of posters for you with all of these rules! It's free! Check it out in a previous post. 

👉 Next up: what parents should know about AI and school.

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Jessica

If you have made it to Week 4, I want you to notice something.

You did not overhaul your life. You did not commit to an intense system. You did not become a completely different person. You learned a few simple skills.

That is the point.

This week is not about adding more. It is about connecting what you already know how to do into a gentle weekly reset you can repeat again and again.

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What You Have Learned So Far

Over the last few weeks, you practiced:

• Week 1: Basic food prep
• Learning how to wash, cut, store, and make food visible.
• Week 2: Snack systems
• Learning how to pair foods and make snacks easy to grab.
• Week 3: Lunch assembly
• Learning how to build one reliable lunch without overthinking it.

These are not one time actions. They are skills. Week 4 is about learning how to revisit these skills once a week in a way that feels supportive instead of overwhelming.

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The Week 4 Skill

The gentle weekly reset. Not a full meal prep day. Not a rigid schedule. Not a perfect plan.

A short reset that helps future you feel less stressed.

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What a Gentle Reset Is (and Is Not)

A gentle reset is:

• Flexible
• Short
• Repeatable
• Focused on what actually helps

A gentle reset is not:

• An all day project
• A test of discipline
• An everything or nothing situation
• You are allowed to stop when it feels like enough.

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The Gentle Reset Framework

Use this framework once a week. Any day that works for you.

Step 1: Decide What Matters This Week

Ask yourself:

• What meals usually cause me the most stress?
• What would make this week feel easier?

You do not need to prep everything. You only need to prep what supports you most.

Step 2: Choose One or Two Skills to Practice

Each week, pick one or two of the skills you have learned. For example:

• Basic prep only
• Snacks plus lunch
• Lunch plus dinner leftovers

You do not have to practice every skill every week.

Step 3: Set a Time Limit

Decide ahead of time how long you are willing to spend. Twenty minutes counts. Thirty minutes counts. Stopping early still counts. The reset works because it is repeatable, not because it is long.

Step 4: Reset the Environment

This part is often overlooked and very powerful:

• Clear space in the fridge
• Move ready food to eye level
• Put snacks where you can reach them

Let unfinished tasks go You are not setting up perfection. You are setting up ease.

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Jessica

If you’ve made it this far in the series, congratulations, you’re officially past the scary part.

✅You understand rows.
✅You understand columns.
✅You’ve typed information into cells and nothing bad happened.

Now we get to the part where spreadsheets stop being “organized” and start being supportive.
Enter: checkboxes and color-coding.

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Jessica

This is called conditional formatting, which is just a fancy way of saying: “When this happens, change the color.”

That’s it. That’s the whole idea.

Let's start with the Sample Spreadsheet. Click HERE to make a copy to your Google Drive.

*Excel instructions follow

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Jessica

Teachers are in a tough spot right now.

AI showed up FAST. Policies are still fuzzy and expectations don’t always match reality.

Here’s the truth: AI isn’t the enemy. Confusion is.

When assignments are judged only by the final product, tools like AI detectors can feel tempting, but they don’t tell the full story. They can’t see thinking, effort, revision, or learning. They only see patterns.

That’s why focusing on process matters more than ever.

• Some helpful shifts: Ask for drafts, outlines, or brainstorming notes
• Include short reflections: “How did you approach this?”
• Be clear about what AI use is and is not allowed
• Treat detection tools as conversation starters, not verdicts

When students know the expectations and know you value how they got there, trust grows.

And learning does, too.

This isn’t about lowering standards.
It’s about teaching in the world we actually live in.

To help you as a teacher introduce AI to your classroom in a safe way, I've created a poster set for you to use. You can access the template on Canva HERE.

   

👉 Next up: what students can do to protect themselves (and their work).

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Jessica

I opened my Teachers Pay Teachers Yearbook this week and had one of those quiet, sit-with-it-for-a-minute moments.

I started my store back in 2013, and for a while there, it really took off. I was creating resources constantly. Posting. Sharing. Building. Dreaming big.

And then… life happened. Hard seasons. Overwhelming seasons. The kind where your energy goes toward surviving, not creating. What used to be weekly product uploads slowly turned into:

• one resource a month
• then every couple of months
• then once or twice a year

I stopped promoting and sharing. I put that part of my life on the back burner, not because I didn’t care, but because I simply didn’t have the capacity.

So when I looked at this year’s TPT stats, I didn’t expect much.

But here’s what surprised me:

Even in my quiet years, my resources still reached real teachers, in real classrooms, helping real students.

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Jessica

What the LSU Situation Taught Us

Recently, students at Louisiana State University were accused of using AI to write papers.

Not because someone watched them cheat. Not because plagiarism was proven. But because software flagged their writing as “possibly AI-generated.”

For some students, that meant: 

• zeros on assignments
• long appeal processes
• stress about grades, scholarships, and academic records

Here’s the part that matters most:

AI detection tools don’t actually know who wrote something.

They look for patterns. And because AI was trained on huge amounts of academic writing, much of it written by students and professors, human writing can sometimes look “AI-like.”

That doesn’t mean AI was used. It means the student wrote clearly and formally, the way most students are properly taught to write.

Even faculty acknowledged that these tools are not definitive proof. This situation matters because it shows us something important:
When we treat AI tools as fact instead of as one piece of information, real people can be harmed.

Technology can help us ask questions. But it shouldn’t replace human judgment, context, or conversation.

👉 Next up: what this means for teachers, students, and parents moving forward.

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Jessica

If you have been following along, here is what you have already done:

By now, you may notice something important: This series is not about specific foods.

It is about learning skills you can reuse every week, no matter what groceries you buy or how much variety you like.

Week 1 taught you how to prep food.

Week 2 taught you how to pair and package snacks.

This week, you are learning a new skill: How to assemble a simple lunch without overthinking it.

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The Week 3 Goal

Create one simple lunch that is ready to grab during the week.

Not a full week of lunches. Not multiple recipes. Just one option that removes a daily decision.

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Why Lunch Is the Hardest Meal

Lunch usually happens when:

• You are low on energy
• You have limited time
• You need something filling

When lunch feels unplanned, it often becomes skipped or unsatisfying.

Having a lunch assembly skill means you can repeat it every week with different foods. This week is about giving future you something steady and predictable.

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The Lunch Formula

Think of lunch as a formula, not a recipe. You already have the base.

From Week 1 and Week 2, you likely have:

• Washed vegetables
• Prepped fruit
• Simple proteins or snack items

Now, we are taking those skills and just assembling them. The Simple Lunch Formula consists of:

• Vegetables
• Protein
• Something filling
• Something you enjoy

That is it.

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Option 1: The Mason Jar Lunch

This works well if you like something fresh and ready to go.
Layer in this order:

• Dressing or dip (OR use a separate container and skip this step)
• Crunchy vegetables
• Protein
• Greens or grains

Examples:

• Chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, and vinaigrette
• Chicken, bell peppers, spinach, and ranch
• Quinoa, roasted vegetables, and hummus

Make two or three jars. Stop there.

My Fave Mediterranean Shrimp Salad

Make a mix of chopped cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes and toss with Greek seasoning and olive oil, dash of red wine vinegar.

Cook shrimp marinated in olive oil, red wine vinegar, and Greek seasoning. 

Layer mix, top with shrimp, add some romaine, seal jar. 

Need some fats? Add feta cheese and kalamata olives.

Want some carbs? Serve with a pita on the side, or add some quinoa or brown rice before the romaine. 

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Jessica