Day 162: Field Trip...Chaperone

While Day 162 was technically not spent in my own classroom, I was still part of an educational learning experience.  What did I do?  I spent the day as a chaperon on my sixth-grader's study trip.  (A note to those of you who teach middle school:  Kudos to you.  I don't know how you do it!)

The trip was to a local nature center where the students learned about the function of wetlands on a hike, identified birds in the habitat, acted as naturalists for the day while searching for frogs, snakes, and evidence of other animals (like bats, snails, deer, and chipmunks/squirrels).  The students also learned how pollution, erosion, and runoff affect watersheds; how to determine of water was "clean" by identifying live aquatic insects in samples of water from around the area; and how to identify trees by their leaves and bark. In all, it was an very informative trip, and the weather was cooperative.

While I was out in the park, my students spent the day with  a substitute.  They said they had fun and everything was covered.  A good day on both ends.

Day 159: Another Half Day

Monday, May 9 was Day 159.  For me, the day was a half day because of yet another appointment to the specialist for my knee.  I am almost 100%, but I am still having trouble kneeling down (as if to tie my shoe).  Try as I might, I just can't do it.  I still also have some weakness in my knee, mostly if I were to lie on my back to do crunches or something; the weight of my calf and foot pulls on the joint and aches.  Past that, I am doing much better than I was when I first started physical therapy.  I am actually back on the treadmill! (In small--like five-minute--doses, but on nonetheless!) Yeah!

Day 153: Half Days

Friday, April 29 was a half day--for me.  (My district doesn't do half days; the only exception being the last day of school.)  I took the morning so I could take my daughter to her follow up for her ankle.  (All clear, by the way.) 

I left my usual Friday routine out for the substitute.  As best as I can tell, everything was done.  There were Xs on the stuff I had marked, but no notes were left behind.  Nor was the sub there when I got to the building.  (On half days I come early so I can go over the morning, but no one was there.  Oh well.)

I also learned that there was no library on Friday.  Of course, that happened to be where my class was scheduled to be.  So that means I had no planning time.  So what do you do when you find out 20 minutes before you are to pick up the students from lunch that there is no special for them to go to after lunch?  Panic?  Cry?  Beat your fists and yell?  Noooooo.  (You might want to, but those won't solve your problem.)  

I decided to extend my insect unit in science by showing a 20-minute video on amazing insects and their life cycles, then have a discussion about it.  (We are in the middle of our milkweed bug colony right now, and we have learned the difference between complete and incomplete metamorphosis, so it fit.)  The students loved it, learned a few new things, and I got a chance to at least go over a few items for the afternoon.

Happy Friday!

Day 119: Reteaching

I returned to school today to a class frustrated with the substitute.  You know how your students are; they will tell you like it is!  Truth is, they didn't like him/her.  Not that the sub was strict or anything, but more along the lines that s/he didn't go through the routine like I had written out.

"S/he told us today was going to be different."  That's what they were told.  As a teacher and former substitute, I know you can't always recreate every little detail of the classroom teacher.  As long as you stick to the basic routine, things should be fine.  No.  Not this one.  Things that I wanted gone over weren't gone over like I asked them to be in my three-plus pages of detailed notes.  Even with my substitute helper (a student who is there to help the sub with the nuances and details of our daily routine), things were mixed up. Students were left on their own to do things without explanation.  Parts of the routine were skipped totally.  And it's not that my students were bad, they just had a hard time adjusting to the person in charge.

I have students who rely on our routine as a comfort.  Any change in the routine without explanation can cause meltdowns.  These two struggled all day.  Work that was assigned had to be retaught and gone over again when I returned.  I basically lost a day of teaching.  You all know how frustrating that can be, especially if you teach under a district timeline, like I do.  The good thing is I was able to get my students back on track and get the skills covered, understood, and applied.

Thing is, this person used to be a teacher.  What....?

What about you?  Have you ever had a substitute you weren't pleased with?

Day 118: The Day After the Bug

...and it was!

Tuesday I awoke feeling a lot better.  My stomach was still tender to touch, though.  I ate foods other than oatmeal and they stayed where they were supposed to.  Yes!

I still felt a little weak, but I managed to get some laundry done.  I worried about my class because I didn't recognize the name on the substitute list on the e-mail through work.  (We use a system called Aesop to fill our slots for subs, and she wasn't on my list of preferred subs.)  You know how it is.  We worry that the kids will get everything while we are out, or that we will have to reteach everything when we return.

My physical therapist did see me that day; I figured I had better get in because I hadn't been in for four days and I was starting to ache a bit.  (I go three days a week.) They went a little easier on me because my stomach was still tender, but I got a good session in anyway.  They have me doing stretches, exercises to build up my muscles, STIM (muscle stimulation through electrode patches) sessions, and X-taping.  The latter is my favorite because it's like a permanent brace on your leg and supports your muscles.  The tape goes from your thigh to your calf, crossing behind your knee to create a support. The first time they taped me, I was able to go up and down the stairs with no pain for the first time in six months.  I get taped once a week, and it stays on for about three to four days before I have to take it off and let my muscles relax a bit.

Oh, and speaking of my knee pain, they finally figured out the culprit.  I have back problems that have affected the nerves in my leg, which are affecting my knee joint and the muscles around it, causing the weakness and pain I've been experiencing.  Quick backstory: I injured my back when I delivered my son a few years back.  The delivery also caused my pelvis to be out of line for several months before it was caught and supposedly remedied.  Enter a car accident less than a year later.  Several years down the line, here I am, trying to get put back together again.  I feel like Humpty Dumpty.  The good news is that I should be back to my old self by summer vacation. Can't wait!

Day 109: T-Minus...

One day until I blow this Popsicle stand! 

Okay, okay, maybe I'm a LITTLE excited about being in New York for a few days with the Scholastic folks.  I am really looking forward to everything this weekend has to offer.  I will try to update each night, but if I don't I'll be sure to take notes for each day so I can get it all down for you!  I'll also take some pics and post for your viewing pleasure.

My plans are out for the substitute, along with all writing project samples, models of projects, game materials, notes regarding students, picture day information and schedules, overheads, workbook pages, emergency plans, folders, read aloud information, etc.  (When I plan, I PLAN!) 

I am ready.  Bring it on.

Day 108: Yet ANOTHER Two-Hour Delay!

Ah.  The snow that was supposed to fall Monday night came down like it was it's JOB.  Here's the thing: When I left physical therapy at 7 p.m, the sky was dark and there were just a few stray snowflakes.  No big deal, right?  WRONG!  By 9 p.m., there was about three inches on the ground.  What? Where did THAT come from?  Needless to say, I went to bed that night a little frustrated because I knew there would be another delay.  Which would set my plans back a day.  The plans I carefully prepared over the weekend (and had already printed out) for my two-day absence later in the week.  The plans that had to be replanned, readjusted, and reprinted so they would be ready Thursday morning. Grr. 

I know what you're thinking.  "Just cut and paste the work from your template."  Ah, if it were only that easy.  See, now I had to move my Friday comprehension quiz into next week (not on a MONDAY, though), and had to push my language arts block forward.  Which means that I had to come up with a "filler" day for Monday so the students could have time to get ready for their comprehension quizzes (because you know they probably won't remember over the weekend...).  I also needed to adjust Social Studies because we had to take some of that time on Tuesday to finish language arts activities.

I have the plans fixed now, and am hoping no other weather-related interruption occurs while I'm gone.  There isn't any in the forecast, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans...

Day 79: Split Classes

Today a colleague was out.  His plans were on his desk; all student work, overheads, read alouds, etc. were ready to go for the substitute.

Only there was no substitute.

Seems we couldn't get one to cover his class (or another in an upper grade), so we had to split his students among the remaining five of us.  (Sometimes being a large school can be a good thing, especially when it comes to something like this.  I have been in schools where there is no sub for a class and either the students were cobbled together to watch a movie and do busywork, the class was split between maybe three other classes and given "split packets" to do, or the teacher tried to teach a class that had grown by perhaps 10 children.  None of these is a good scenario.)

My class grew by four today, so I had 22 bodies.  (One of mine was absent.)  Overall, it wasn't bad.  The students joined right in with my class and we worked on our assignments with no problems.  Things may be a little hairy for my colleague when he returns tomorrow (Thursday), because the students did slightly different things with each of the other teachers.  While we are all on the same story in reading and just about the same lesson in math, the social studies and science curriculums are all different.  (We have to rotate the science kits, so whoever is not doing science is working on social studies.)  I'm sure he'll work it out.

What do you all do when there is no substitute to cover your class?  Does your principal pull someone from another class or area?  Do you split?  What happens? Drop me a comment and let me know.

Day 78: Half Day and Substitutes

Today was a half day for me.  Not because of a district day (We have one half day all year.), but because I had a doctor's appointment this morning to review my right knee.  The same knee I have been having problems with for the past few months.

Seems I injured my knee, or rather one of the tendons in my knee, and it hasn't had a chance to heal properly.  With children at work, children at home, and children every other weekend at my live-in job at the group home, it's no wonder.   I have to go back Monday to see a sport clinician for treatment options.  Some of the options already given to me are: complete immobilization of my leg for a period of time (SO not practical at this point in time), consultation with an orthopedic surgeon (not quite feeling that one), or steroid injections in the joint (This seems the most likely; had them when I was younger for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.).  I've already been doing everything else I can think of, from icing the joint, taking ibuprofen when my stomach can handle it (although I was given a neat little patch to try today), elevation, wearing flats or sneakers (no heels for a while), and wearing a knee support when it's really painful.  I even teach part of the day sitting.  With all that said,  I'm just frustrated.  I'm in some state of continual pain, I haven't been able to exercise in months, and I've gained five pounds (and I am not a person who gains weight easily. I miss my Pilates!  And my running!).

Anyhow, my students have been very patient with me with all of these appointments and keep asking for updates when I come in after one.  It's sort of sweet.

I came in today during lunch, so I checked in with the sub, then picked them up from lunch.  You would have thought I was a rock star or something.  As I approached the cafeteria, my students were already lined up and I heard, "Mrs. _____'s back!  She's here!"  When I got into the doorway, I was mobbed by my second graders, each of whom tried to squeeze some part of me for a hug.  (I actually did feel like a rock star for just a minute!) After I got them calmed down enough to walk down the hallway like civilized people, we went on with business as usual.  Not that the sub was mean or anything; she used to teach in the same building I teach in now.  She is often a sub for me.  As the kids put it, "We had fun, but it just wasn't the same."

Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.