Making School Fun

So I'm constantly torn... be stressed and focus on the things that can make you crazy or take it all in stride and do your best to keep things light, fun, and meaningful. There is a certain amount of stress that comes with any job - honestly, with life in general - but teaching is uniquely stressful. I was feeling super swamped last week, all weekend, and yesterday about aaaalll kinds of fun things. Assessments, running, eating, decorating... I mean really stressed. (Like stress-eat a stack of oreos stressed) and then I talked with my de-escalator. Everyone needs a de-escalator in their life, mine happens to by my best friend, fellow teacher, roomie, and sister - shout out to Jackie! She helps me wind down when I'm spinning and I realized that it's within my control to change my attitude. And so I had FUN at WORK and messed up the whole room like a leprechaun came in.

And the kids. Went. Nuts.

It was great! I let them run around, jig, point, explore, laugh and just be kids. I stopped thinking about the assessment we still have to finish and just let them enjoy St. Patrick's day in our classroom. * The best part of the whole thing is that they were 100% certain it could not have been Miss W because she cannot handle messes! Priceless * My OCD helps me pull off surprises without them suspecting a thing.

It's really important that we, as teachers, step back and remember that they are still children and sometimes we can even let them act like it.

 

Our leprechaun left the kids a "treat under their seats" and a St. Patty's day pencil. Simple and fun!

How I Write Sub Plans

So - a little history lesson: I was a substitute teacher for five years before I got my permanent teaching position. Five wonderfully enriching years (there are a lot of perks!) being a substitute will teach you a lot about teaching. I would consider my time subbing more valuable than any teaching course I could have taken in undergrad. The experience taught me a lot about classroom management, planning, room setup, what works, and what doesn't.

There's a lot that doesn't work.

But after five years of subbing you really get an idea of what sub plans are amazing, helpful, and fabulous! So I have tried to combine all of the things I love (organization, procedures, obvious solutions) and eliminate all of the things that drive me freaking crazy (missing items, vagueness, too much information). I think I have struck the optimal balance and so I would love to share what I have learned with you!

The Basics

• Make it easy to find and understand. If your plans are a loose piece of paper amongst many loose pieces of paper then your substitute will probably overlook them. Don't make it a scavenger hunt, okay?
• Include a schedule for many different types of days: early dismissal, two-hour delay, etc.
• Keep your normal routines in place! It will make things so much easier for everyone.
• Do not rely solely on students to get things done as in: the kids know what to do. This is a great idea in theory but I remember many times as a substitute when I asked the class a question and they stared at me like I was speaking in a foreign language. Not good for anyone.



I recently opted for a binder to house all of my substitute materials but a folder or basket works just fine as well. Just have everything together in some way!

 

I have different sections that you will see in the pictures they are very self-explanatory. If my lessons include worksheets or books I include them in a neat pile next to the binder. I label everything. Not because I don't trust the substitute - on the contrary! My own experience tells me that labeling is a good thing, it works okay? Don't question it.

* Totally just noticing my typo on the page below, and reprinting now... *

In the interest of being helpful I also include a hot pink sticky note marking the section with the actual lesson plan for today.

Here is an example of the first page of one of my sub plans.

My actual plans are broken down my time blocks (not pictured). Keep it simple! I also do not believe in changing up my entire schedule and abandoning routines while I am out. I keep things like I would any other day - just simplified. * If your kids know routines really well then they should be able to function without you for a day! *

Put a couple of simple lesson ideas in the back, just in case! You just never know how much another teacher will get through with your kids. It pays to be prepared!

I hope this was a helpful post about creating plans. If you keep the same format, template, and have materials on hand, then being out of your classroom can be simple and stress-free! Or at least, less stressful :)

So happy!

I just love when another teacher uses and loves my creations! A kindergarten teacher wanted to use my key details materials in her classroom, how cute are they?

 

Grab all of the resources for free over at my TpT Store, enjoy!

Spring is Coming

It finally feels like we've turned the corner and Spring is coming... thank goodness! I love winter but I'm really excited for warmer weather, florals, running outside (half marathon in May anyone?), and getting some sun! But let's focus on one thing at a time.

Like, say, getting back into a routine? I don't know about you - but we have been so disconnected when it comes to school, home, friends, etc. Snow days and sniffles combined make for one serious hiccup in our usual routine. I am a routine following lady, especially at school, so I am seriously craving some sort of rhythm.

You can imagine how excited I was when a student walked in carrying these this morning...

Gorgeous! His mom is a florist and when she does weddings she often sends in the extra blooms... how lucky is that?

So onto the routine... here are some things I prepped and got ready to go for March.

 

 

One of my favorite things I started doing this year was a class newsletter in addition to the grade-wide newsletter. I love being proactive with communication and this system really works for me. I use these lovely templates from Simply Delightful in Second Grade. They are free, editable, and adorable! Totally in love. I cannot say enough good things about being extra communicative and open with families. Communication is the backbone of successful everything.

 

I also changed up our centers...

Sight word games are much more fun with themed erasers and a pot o' gold, don't you think?

 

Found this great book on TpT last year, I love the readability!

 

I also have about 10 different writing activities and a few phonics activities for this month, all found on TpT and all fabulous! I also changed out all of the books for library center in order to keep those learners engaged.

 

How do you change things up for each month?

Hello March!

Had a very successful trip to Party City and Wal-Mart to get things ready for March! Will post pics soon of all the goodies I found, so ready for Spring in the classroom! How do you get things ready for a new month? I love changing things up! Here's my check-list:

• Create monthly class newsletter (I found these fabulous templates from Simply Delightful in Second Grade - I love her style!)
• Collaborate and create grade-wide newsletter
• Change out centers:
• Library - new favorite books that correspond with a theme, for March we are learning about folktales so it works perfectly with folktales from Ireland! Fiona's Luck anyone? Lots of great Irish folktales on that site too. I also have some St. Patrick's Day and Dr. Seuss books of course.
• Writing - new writing prompts, all things Irish! Also I have some fabulous writing prompts from TpT... just search St. Patrick's Day writing. I also include vocabulary word cards to help my kids when creating their fabulous stories.
• Word Study - Pot o' Gold sight word game (I found an actual pot of gold from Party City, cannot wait to use it)
• Pack up February activities and monthly things - change out calendar, month labels, decorations.
• Get morning work, independent work, guided reading plans, intervention plans, etc. organized and cleaned out - ready to go for the new month.

Today's surprise snow day will be filled with cooking and prep for the week, running, coffee, and probably some cooking shows.. my motto for snow days: enjoy the extra time!