Substituting

Since graduation I have taken up substituting for a few different districts in the area. Sadly, I really don't love it. It's a bummer but it's not the same as having your own class. I went into teaching because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of children. In one day all you can really do is get all the things done that the teacher leaves and make sure nobody gets hurt. But I have been trying to make the best of it. The best jobs are the ones that are for an extended period of time. It gives me a chance to set expectations and get to know the kids. Also, the few goods days make the not so good ones bearable. I try to focus on those! I thought I'd document a few of those.

In one of the second grade classes that I subbed for, there was a little girl with a broken arm. She had a doctor's note keeping her in from recess. However this day I had to do yard duty so I asked her if she would like to come out with me and we could just talk together at recess. She did and we talked about how she had just moved here. She was having a hard time making friends and being in a new place. I told her that I had moved at her age and we talked about it. Then we saw a little girl crying so we went over and tried to talk her through the struggles she was having with her friends at recess. We were successful in cheering her up and then this sweet little girl that I spent my recess with says to me, "Substitutes always know how to make things better!" So sweet!

Over Halloween, I was given a three day job. This was a job I really liked because I had enough time to set expectations and hold the students to them. The teacher's plans weren't great and the party wasn't planned well, so I put my skills to use and did what I could to make things run smoothly. I had a couple boys who thought I was "hot" and took the opportunity to tell me so. After I got after them and gave them a little lesson on respect, they didn't like me as much but we worked it out. Halloween was awesome because I planned a super fun organized party and of course dressed up! I dressed in my Hershey's candy bar dress. The kids loved it! During the school's costume parade all the kids watching were chanting, "Hershey's! Hershey's!" over and over as I walked by. When we went outside to go to the next side of the building I was telling my class how great they were doing and how everybody loved their costumes. One of the boys that was at the back of the line with me said, "They don't love us. They just love your costume!" I died laughing.  

My old practicum teacher asked me to sub for her fourth grade class for a full week. This was so awesome because I had a lot of time and I was comfortable with the teacher's style. We did a lot this week and I had a lot of good moments. One of the naughty boys admitted to me that he tries to get out of trouble by using his cute smile...he said he worked on his mom. This class was full of characters and sweethearts. One little girl wrote me a note thanking me for being the substitute and being brave enough to do it. But my favorite was on the last day. A boy in my class, that had been a gem all week, left me this brownie on my desk. 

He was so embarrassed when I thanked him it was absolutely darling! I hope I can teach my kids to be as thoughtful as this. 

So even though I constantly complained about my job as a substitute, I guess it wasn't all bad. It's moments like these that remind me how much I love to teach and how much I love kids!