Day 12 of the St. Patty's Day Blog Hunt

Foiled again! The pot o' gold is still just out of your grasp. But you are getting closer. First of all, welcome to visitors finding me through Cooperative Learning 365 and Best Practices 4 Teaching! They did not lead you on a wild goose chase because there is another freebie for you grab. This one is a Lucky Day Writing Activity based on the book Lucky Tucker by Leslie McGuirk. It includes a shamrock story organizer and writing paper for the final story.

If you are not familiar with the story, it tells of a bad day for our friend Tucker that turns into a good day after he rolls in some shamrocks. If you need a copy, just click on the book cover to take you to Amazon to order your own.

Tomorrow be sure to look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow at Teaching in Room 6.

If you would like to start the hunt at the very beginning, Day 1 was in Mrs. Jump's Class. Happy hunting to each and every one of you!

Everything I Learned in Kindergarten Yesterday

Yesterday, I had the privilege of subbing in kindergarten. I have not spent much time in kinder. In the four years I have subbed, I think all of three days have been in kinder. So, I was feeling excited, nervous, and a little bit scared. I arrived at the school my usual 30 minutes early to prepare myself, locate everything necessary, and review the lesson plans. It all turned out beautifully! The kiddos were great, and we all had a lot of fun. I did make a few observations, so here is a list of everything I learned in kindergarten yesterday...

Kinders are used to routines. Most students are, but nowhere is this more apparent than in kindergarten, espcially during calendar time. Choruses of, "That's not how we do it!" rang out around the room. So I changed my strategy and told them that I needed help. I would choose helpers to "do it the right way" by who was sitting quietly. The rest of calendar went smoothly.

Kinders are loving. I had been there an hour with students whom I had never met, when no fewer than 3 students said, "I love you!" and gave me a hug.

Kinders are a good workout. I came home with my quad muscles aching, and I couldn't figure out why. Then I remembered all the up and down I had done. Squatting down to meet them at their level makes for quite the leg workout. I decided that I would have wicked thighs if I taught kinder all the time!

Kinders are fun. I spent the day singing songs, reading books, coloring, cutting, and pasting.

Kinders are appreciative. I was reading the second book of the day, which happened to be The Three Billy Goats Gruff." I was using my best "troll" voice. One student giggled every time I spoke in "troll." And then another pops up with, "Ms. F, you sure are a good reader!" Why, thank you! Ha!

Kinders are exhausting! It was a day of love, fun, and learning, but I came home pooped! I realized it's that there is no downtime in a kinder classroom. There is no "work on this while I get the next lesson prepped." And I am pretty sure they broke a record for the number of times my name has been spoken in one day.

So, hats off to all you full-time kinder teachers! You have my utmost respect for doing all that every single day. Feel free to share your kinder teaching and subbing observations.

What's the Hubbub, Bub?

Sub HubBub, that is. The first issue of Sub HubBub, the monthly newsletter of the Sub Hub blog, is set to go out straight to your email inbox on Wednesday, February 1. And there is a freebie inside just for subscribers! Don't miss out on any issues. Become a subscriber today, if you haven't already. Just click on the link to fill out the form below. Or find the shortened version in the sidebar on the right.