Adventures in Subbing

I am so thrilled to be able to host Brandi Jordan from Really Good Stuff as my guest blogger today. Brandi and I connected through #TeachChat one night. It was my first ever Twitter chat, and she was so helpful. So when she suggested swapping guest blog posts, I thought it was a fantastic idea. I know you will love reading about Brandi's journey as a substitute teacher.

It is true. A substitute teacher is the steady rock on which classroom teachers and students rely. Subs are the ones who can save the day and give teachers peace of mind, because they know that their students will be taught, encouraged, and cared for in their absence. It takes courage, enthusiasm, adaptability, patience, and a keen sense of adventure to be a sub.

After having my classroom for many years, I took a couple of years off to pursue an entirely different career. What I quickly discovered was that this new career, which was commission-based, did very little to supplement our income. While I was not quite ready to return to having my own classroom, I decided that substitute teaching was the next best option. 

I was quickly accepted into the substitute teaching pool and had my first sub job within a couple of weeks of the start of the process. I ended up teaching a third grade class and realized how much I missed being in the classroom. Thankfully, before the end of the day, the principal approached me and asked if I would be interested in taking a long-term sub position for a first grade teacher who was going out on maternity leave... the following week. Talk about jumping feet first into subbing!

I was there through the end of the year and was lucky enough (said entirely tongue-in-cheek) to be there for state testing. I was thankful for the position though, especially because only a week after I started I found out I was pregnant with our first child. Over the summer I worked at the other job and decided that I would continue subbing until the beginning of October if I got called. A week before school started, I got the call that a second grade teacher in the same school had been involved in a bad car accident, and they needed a long-term sub for her class immediately. So, I became a second grade teacher and had the pleasure of having many of the same children as they had moved up from first. Mid-October arrived, and while the teacher was not quite ready to come back, pregnancy issues forced me to step-down from the position. 

I continued subbing occasionally after my son was born and enjoyed every moment of it. These days, I teach my own children at home, and while I love it, some days I sure do wish I could call a sub of my own! They are worth their weight in gold.

Brandi Jordan is a mom, teacher, wife, author, and expert multi-tasker. She is the Managing Director of Really Good Stuff’s blog, The Teachers’ Lounge, and her newest ebook, A Teacher’s Guide to Using Social Media and The Internet in the Classroom, was just released for free download.  Follow her on Pinterest and chat with her during #TeachChat every other Wednesday night from 9-10 p.m. EST.

Leap Into TpT Sale!

If you haven't discovered the resources at Teachers Pay Teachers, now is your chance. And if you already know of its value, this will make you giddy with happiness. It's a Leap Into TpT Leap Day Sale! If you enter the promo code L2P9Y at checkout on February 29, you will automatically get 10% off. And tons of sellers will be throwing additional sales as well. Almost all of the best sellers will be participating, so now is your chance to stock up on lots of phenomenal items.

Yes, I am participating in the sale too! On top of the 10% flat discount, I will be offering everything in my store for an additional 20% off. That's 28% off the regular price. I know; it doesn't sound right, but if you do the math, it's 28% off the original price. That's all of my Just Add Paper plans for K-5, including the bundles. And the Down with Downtime activities, including the bundles. Even my new line of CCSS Emergency Sub Plans that has grades K and 1 available will be on sale.

So, fill those carts now and shop 'til you drop (or get carpal tunnel syndrome) on Feb. 29. After all, it only happens once every four years.

Win a $200 Amazon Gift Certificate!

** Contest Is Now Closed**

Winners are: Meagan E. and Teresa P.!! Check your emails for a message from Charity Preston at The Organized Classroom Blog. CONGRATULATIONS, ladies!!!!!!

Yes, you read that headline correctly. Charity Preston at The Organized Classroom Blog has spearheaded a phenomenal contest! She has gathered 11 teacher bloggers along with Marygrove College MAT blog as a sponsor, together to pool resources and offer a HUGE prize! And there's not one, but TWO $200 Amazon gift cards up for grabs!

What do you need to do to enter you might ask? 1) Just visit the Pinteresting Teacher Blogs board on the Organized Classroom Blog's Pinterest page. 2) Create your own Pinteresting Teacher Blogs board on your Pinterest page, and repin all of the pins from the contest board. 3) Then enter your information into the entry form by CONTEST CLOSED. TWO winners will be chosen using a random number generator and notified via email.

Here are the participating blogs: Marygrove College MAT blog, Sunny Days in Second Grade, Technically Invisible, Laura Candler's Teaching Resources, Sub Hub, Teaching Resources by Shelley Gray, Cooperative Learning 365, The Organized Classroom Blog, 3rd Grade Gridiron, The Lesson Plan Diva, Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies, and The Cornerstone for Teachers. Make sure you show them love by becoming followers if you aren't already.

Good luck!

*This contest is no way endorsed by Pinterest.

Animal Picture Writing Prompts Freebie

Picture writing prompts are making their way into standardized testing. As a sub, you can kill two birds with one stone with a picture writing prompt... you can fill time, and it can be purposeful. And many other bloggers are on the picture writing prompt bandwagon with a collaborative Pinterest board and a linky party at Diary of a Wimpy Teacher and co-hosted by Classroom Magic. But I know that not all subs have computer access in the classroom (I don't), so I created a freebie document of Animal Picture Writing Prompts you can download and print.

Or you can visit the Writing Picture Prompts Pinterest board for these and plenty of other picture writing prompts from other fabulous bloggers. Here are my prompts that can be found on the board and in the download.

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.

Why I LOVE Being a Sub

In celebration of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd do love in a different way... why I love being a sub. I'm not going to lie, it's a tough job, not always fun, and has a bunch of down sides. But there are also plenty of positives about subbing, and today is a perfect day to remember them. This is what I love about being a sub:

1) Flexibility. You can work when you want. If my children are sick, I am sick, I have car trouble, or I have an appointment, I just don't take a job for that day. No worries about finding a sub or writing lesson plans.

2) Less Paperwork. Ask many teachers, and they will tell you one of the most tedious parts of teaching is all the paperwork that comes with the job. As a sub, however, you don't have to worry about writing IEPs or documenting RTi or completing report cards. The only paperwork you really need is your Daily Report.

3) Grandparent Privileges. Much like a grandparent who gets to play with the grandkids and then give them back, a sub gets to "give a class back" to the full-time teacher at the end of the day. This is particularly pleasant in those classes with the extra "challenging" students.

4) Less Pressure. In these days of high-stakes testing, it is not the sub who takes the heat if the students are not getting the scores expected. When there is a student who is below level, the sub just does what they can for the day. But there is no pressure to get that student on grade level.

5) Teach and Leave. Once all the students have departed for the day and clean-up is done, subs get to leave right after school is out. Not so with full-time teachers. They have lesson planning, meetings, grading, and all that paperwork.

6) "Stealing" Ideas. My final and favorite part of being a sub is getting to go in multiple classrooms to see how other great teachers have their classroom set up, use different teaching strategies, and so much more. I have gotten so many amazing ideas just by seeing them in practice in other teachers' classrooms.

Those are my sub favorites. What do you love about being sub?

You Know You're a Substitute Teacher When...

Normal people would be highly annoyed that their phone rang at 6 a.m., but for a substitute teacher, it means work... and that's a good thing! How would you finish that sentence? Put your responses in the comments. Or you can make your own by clicking this link.

And then go visit Kindergarten Lifestyle and join your creation up with her linky party!