One thing that absolutely makes my life easier as a substitute is having a somewhat organized teacher. When I found out who the teacher I was subbing for was, I knew I had nothing to worry about because she is THE most organized teacher I know. She had jury duty and found out last night last minute. She already had plans on her computer so just had to e-mail them to the secretary.
She teaches am and pm kinder. So two different classes, but the same stuff both times. I feel rushed people! I swear that every 15-20 minutes it was something new we were doing. And oh my were the kiddos funny! We played wordman during reading (like hangman, just with out the hanging) and I picked the word 'and'. They were down to the last second and also were one away from losing and someone guessed it. I hear another kiddo say, "Boy Ms. T is good! That was a tough one!" So cute :)
And another kiddo was showing me a burn on her arm and her deskmate asked if she 'stopped, dropped, and rolled'. Can you tell they are learning about community? And the same one with the burn told me in a dropped voice that a different deskmate had said a bad word that she can only say at home. But then she told me... and it was 'hate'. I love kinders!
Ok back to organizing. So the teacher was super organized and the kiddos come in, put folders and backpacks away and move clothespins from one side of the sign in to the other.
They had table work all ready to go!
Blurred out names :) The crayons each have their own color container.
She told me what kiddos were good helpers, which needed reminders, and a few special kiddos. She let me know in her plans when kids leave her room for special classes, etc. Very helpful! All her materials were organized superbly!
Everything has a home!
Reading materials ready for me on top and below, like instructed in her plans!
Every supply has a home and the kiddos know it and so that's super helpful. It helped make my day run smoothly and the kiddos know their routine, that's for sure!
As a substitute I too appreciate it when things are organized. This is a case of a REALLY organized classroom, but it is helpful if things are in there place when I get there, it helps the whole day go smoother! Thanks for a great blog post.
ReplyDeleteYeah this teacher is known as the organized one :) Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteIt is refreshing to hear that a sub appreciates organized plans. Whenever I am out of the class I take a lot of time to prepare my sub plans and make sure that the sub knows and has the material needed to make the day run smoothly. It is frustrating, at times, when a sub disregards all plans and does their own thing disregarding all my preparation.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I have teachers tell me about subs who disregard the plans and this always intrigues me because I wonder why they would. I know how much work goes into writing the sub plans as I had to do that student teaching when one day we had to go to a university meeting and our mentors had to teach a day again. Thanks for being organized!
DeleteDeep sigh - what a fabulous classroom.
ReplyDeleteLoving exploring your blog...am off to dig in for some more!
Happy day!
Lol :) Thanks for visiting Felicity!
DeleteI hear you, Miss T!! My experiences as a sub so far have only ever included 1 teacher leaving a plan (or even a note for that matter). It has all been left up to me to find things and to provide my own lesson plans etc..! So glad you had such a wonderful time with this class!! Hope you are having a wonderful week ~ x
ReplyDeleteTina
Good Morning Mrs Rubie
Oh Tina, that's so sad! It should be the opposite! Have a good week too!
DeleteThanks for sharing. I am your newest follower! Come visit me...
ReplyDeletelearnplayandhavefun.blogspot.com
Jessica
Those are some great ideas. I'm definitely working on being more organized..as it does not come naturally to me.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like a great sub! I have had quite a few not so good ones. I lay everything out with post-it note labels. I always over plan. Unfortunately, I've had subs who leave my room a mess and I have no idea what work my students did. I had one in February who told my kids that Santa didn't exist and it was just their parents. If they didn't get anything, their parents were poor. Who does that?! There was nothing Santa or Christmas related out in my room, and I doubt my kids brought it up. We've had some crazy subs in my building.
Thanks Jana :)
DeleteMost of my teachers sticky note things too which I love.
I just don't get subs that don't follow the lessons and say things like your sub did.