Monday, October 10, 2011

Substitutes

I have a confession.  I would rather do a full week of bus duty then have to plan for a sub.  However, I am sitting here thinking about this because my oldest child had a stomach bug last night, so here I am.  Worrying about what is going on in my classroom, and feeling guilty about thinking about what is going on at school.  (For the record, my eldest is feeling better, just tired from the long night).

Since I hate to be absent, I feel like I am always scrambling to prepare. For example:  I was at school this morning by 6:40 to get ready.  My husband thinks that is crazy. It probably is.  But, I just can't come up with things on the fly...you know?  And what I might have planned for me to do, might not work with a sub.

So my question is this.  How do you prepare for a sub?  Do you have a generic sub folder loaded down with stuff for the kids to do?  I find that I write out step-by-step lesson plans (today the plans that I left were seven pages long!)  HELP!

I hope this makes some sense....I'm working on little sleep here!

Have a great day! 


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6 comments:

  1. Ms. PreppyOctober 10, 2011 at 11:08 AM

    Oh how I despise planning for a sub too! It's almost easier for me to go to school sick than worry it!

    Here's what works for me...at the beginning of the year I make a template of my daily routine and save it at school and at home. It's about 3 pages long. Before I leave school every day I place all worksheets, etc on my desk in order from start to finish for the day. That way, if I have to be out, all I do is get on my computer at home, add in the work for the day, and email it to one of the girls on my team. Everything is already set out for a sub and it seems to work pretty well!

    Hope your sick kiddo gets well soon! And that it doesn't spread like wildfire throughout the family!

    Ms. Preppy's Adventures in Primary and Polka Dots

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  2. Mrs. NunleyOctober 10, 2011 at 11:35 AM

    Awesome ideas! Thanks!!

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  3. JenOctober 10, 2011 at 5:02 PM

    If I know I'm going to be out, it is pretty easy to throw stuff together a little at a time but it still takes me forever. A sick kid....throws me for a loop everytime. I don't care how cleaned up and organized the room is when I leave the night before. Unless I know there is going to be a sub there, it is never sub ready!! I would rather go to work sick than plan for a sub. My husband does not get it either! When my kids were younger and sick more often I would beg him to take the day off. He has a 'desk job' and can just not show up and no problem...it is so different for us! Luckily my kids don't get sick a lot and are a little older. I have a sub 1 and 1/2 days this week. I'm already stressin about having the stuff ready!

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  4. AnonymousOctober 13, 2011 at 5:47 AM

    I HATE planning for a sub. Here's what I do. I get a tub and fill it with activities that reinforce what they learned in Kindergarten (or whatever is the previous grade--I teach First). They follow the same schedule I always do, so the math activity will be on top, then reading, then writing, then word work, then guided reading (I'll leave their guided reading books to be read to buddies), then in the afternoon, they'll do an art activity. this way, you don't need to have things current. It won't hurt them and might help since we don't usually have a lot of time to reinforce past learning. I sometimes think I should have a few other packets for weeks when I might have to be out more than one day (God forbid!).

    Kimberly
    1st in Maine

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  5. Mrs. NunleyOctober 13, 2011 at 4:06 PM

    You all have such great ideas! Thank you so much for sharing!!

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  6. DelightedOctober 22, 2011 at 1:17 PM

    Preparing for a substitute is awful. Every year I promise myself that I will have a tub ready for those days when I can't drag myself out of bed. As of today... I still don't have that tub ready.

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