CarpeAcum

Kindergarteners

Another day of subbing. Yay.

I slept until almost 11 a.m. yesterday, so I was not the least bit tired last night about 1:00. I was pretty tired at 5:00, though, when I got up to check for sub jobs. Then I got one, and subbed all day. Then I rushed home for two piano lessons (only had one), dinner, and a Girl Scout meeting. I am officially trashed.

Today's assignment was two elementary schools. At the first one, I taught one 45-minute class of Kindergarten music. It involved a DVD of Green Eggs and Ham and a singing game centered around a bluebird that the class taught me.

Then I had 45 minutes of "planning time", and a 2-hour transit time. This covered a 20 minute cdrive (the slow way) and lunch. I practiced some of my ballet accompanying on the grand piano at the second school. After I cleaned off the keys--yuck!

After lunch, there were 3rd graders (Green Eggs, then we played Rock, Rock), Kindergarteners, and 1st graders, then a short break and 2nd graders right up to the final bell. The 1st grade teacher was 10 minutes late picking up her kids, so while we waited, I started playing a game with them in the lunch room. They got a little out of hand with it, so by the time she arrived, they were kind of wild looking. I'm thinking to myself: 10 minutes ago, they were lined up nicely and ready to go. They got themselves into this state because I had to fill 10 minutes of extra time after I neatly wrapped up my 45 minute session. I may not be asked back, if she has anything to say about it.

That is probably the most frustrating thing about substituting so far. I never see the person I sub for. S/he only gets the reports from the kids, and/or ticked off teachers who may or may not mention that they were 10 minutes late, leaving the sub to punt with a group of kids who are complete strangers. I leave pretty clear notes, but I have read sub notes, and I tended to believe my students (whom I know) over some sub (whom I have never met). I think what I really need to do is get out there and meet some of the teachers I want to sub for. That way I at least have a professional relationship with them, and it's not all word of (kindergartener) mouth.

I have to go to bed now. But first, two loads of laundry. . .

Another sub job

I had my second sub job today. Since it was a 3 day weekend, that makes it two school days in a row! Yay!

Today's job was at Punkin's school. As I dropped her off at the bus, I asked if I should talk to her if I saw her in the hall. "NO," she said, quite emphatically, and I chuckled to myself. 12 year olds <g>.

So imagine my surprise when the first thing I see in my sub classroom this morning is Punkin and 3 of her friends! They had come by to say hi. I asked Punkin how I was supposed to ignore her if she came waltzing through my classroom! She informed me that I was supposed to talk to her friends, not her. And then proceeded to write my name on the white board.

It's all in good fun. She doesn't care if I talk to her, and I just want to make sure she knows I'm sensitive to it. She asked me today how it went, and I asked her if she had heard anything. I didn't have the occasion to do any discipline at all, so I imagine she was quite truthful when she said that she hadn't heard anything. If I had given out a detention or two, however well-deserved, I would probably have been "that dragon lady."

Today's classes were 3 drama classes. They are all performing the same radio variety hour script for audiences tomorrow, so all I had to do was get them started and they ran through the whole thing. Then I forced them (!) to rehearse small parts of it, mostly places where there were effects or music cues. Also, places where lots of students were involved, because, let's face it, it's much better to have ANYTHING going on than nothing. And it all needed extra rehearsal.

So I'm 2 for 2 with successful sub jobs. At this rate, I might even gain enough confidence to get comfortable with this. It sure is nice to just leave and come home--no prep, no grading, no worrying about anything. And 3 periods of drama is much better than 7-8 hours of retail at Starbucks or somewhere. Much better. And more suited to my talents and abilities.

Tomorrow, I am helping SIL with her German cooking day at the local HS. No $$$, but lots of goodwill and possible contacts. I need to take some cards with me.

First Substitute Job

I have been getting up early all week at 6:00 to try and find a substitute teaching job, but I thought that maybe it wasn't early enough. So on Friday, I got up at 5:30 and headed for the computer. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. The Beard got up and got ready for work. I drove him to the bus stop at 7, since I was up anyway. I came back and started planning what else I was going to get done during the day, and about 7:40, a job showed up at the local HS. I checked into it, and it is the choir teacher! I nabbed it really quick before someone else could and jumped into the shower. School starts at 7:20, and it wasn't even listed until 7:40--they wanted someone there NOW. So I was hurrying through the shower when I realized that it was Friday, and Friday's a late start day, which is why Punkin was still in bed. That helped me relax a little. I got myself ready and grabbed something for lunch. I woke Punkin up and told her she was on her own, just like our test run last Friday. I took my guitar, since the listing said that there were 2 periods of guitar. I didn't really use it, but I think it gave me a little credibility with the guitar students.

First period planning, then a guitar class, then a weird class period where the students filled out a sample job application--kind of surreal. Then girls' choir, where I actually got to rehearse the group, and lunch. I got to have lunch with my sister-in-law, so that was nice. I also got to meet some of her fellow teachers, so maybe that will mean that I get requested sometime.

After lunch, there was another guitar class, and then two more select choirs. I got to rehearse with them, but mostly they ran sectionals and tried to run each other :-). I think they got a little bit done, though. Probably the most fun I had all day was playing the piano accompaniment for the select girls' choir on a number they had already performed. So I played nand they sang in a circle around me. Then the bell rang and I was done. Woot!

I have already made a list of things I need to bring with me in a ready-to-go-tote bag: white board pens and eraser, a portable knitting project, a book, pen/pencil, lunch, a water bottle, hand sanitizer (!), a clipboard etc. I made the list for myself while I was teaching on Friday afternoon so I wouldn't forget.

All in all, it wasn't horrible. It was pretty easy money, really. Maybe I just got lucky, or maybe my local HS is pretty unusual. I have done about the same thing volunteering, so it will be nice to get paid for it eventually.