Day 108: Yet ANOTHER Two-Hour Delay!

Ah.  The snow that was supposed to fall Monday night came down like it was it's JOB.  Here's the thing: When I left physical therapy at 7 p.m, the sky was dark and there were just a few stray snowflakes.  No big deal, right?  WRONG!  By 9 p.m., there was about three inches on the ground.  What? Where did THAT come from?  Needless to say, I went to bed that night a little frustrated because I knew there would be another delay.  Which would set my plans back a day.  The plans I carefully prepared over the weekend (and had already printed out) for my two-day absence later in the week.  The plans that had to be replanned, readjusted, and reprinted so they would be ready Thursday morning. Grr. 

I know what you're thinking.  "Just cut and paste the work from your template."  Ah, if it were only that easy.  See, now I had to move my Friday comprehension quiz into next week (not on a MONDAY, though), and had to push my language arts block forward.  Which means that I had to come up with a "filler" day for Monday so the students could have time to get ready for their comprehension quizzes (because you know they probably won't remember over the weekend...).  I also needed to adjust Social Studies because we had to take some of that time on Tuesday to finish language arts activities.

I have the plans fixed now, and am hoping no other weather-related interruption occurs while I'm gone.  There isn't any in the forecast, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans...

Day 79: Split Classes

Today a colleague was out.  His plans were on his desk; all student work, overheads, read alouds, etc. were ready to go for the substitute.

Only there was no substitute.

Seems we couldn't get one to cover his class (or another in an upper grade), so we had to split his students among the remaining five of us.  (Sometimes being a large school can be a good thing, especially when it comes to something like this.  I have been in schools where there is no sub for a class and either the students were cobbled together to watch a movie and do busywork, the class was split between maybe three other classes and given "split packets" to do, or the teacher tried to teach a class that had grown by perhaps 10 children.  None of these is a good scenario.)

My class grew by four today, so I had 22 bodies.  (One of mine was absent.)  Overall, it wasn't bad.  The students joined right in with my class and we worked on our assignments with no problems.  Things may be a little hairy for my colleague when he returns tomorrow (Thursday), because the students did slightly different things with each of the other teachers.  While we are all on the same story in reading and just about the same lesson in math, the social studies and science curriculums are all different.  (We have to rotate the science kits, so whoever is not doing science is working on social studies.)  I'm sure he'll work it out.

What do you all do when there is no substitute to cover your class?  Does your principal pull someone from another class or area?  Do you split?  What happens? Drop me a comment and let me know.

Day 78: Half Day and Substitutes

Today was a half day for me.  Not because of a district day (We have one half day all year.), but because I had a doctor's appointment this morning to review my right knee.  The same knee I have been having problems with for the past few months.

Seems I injured my knee, or rather one of the tendons in my knee, and it hasn't had a chance to heal properly.  With children at work, children at home, and children every other weekend at my live-in job at the group home, it's no wonder.   I have to go back Monday to see a sport clinician for treatment options.  Some of the options already given to me are: complete immobilization of my leg for a period of time (SO not practical at this point in time), consultation with an orthopedic surgeon (not quite feeling that one), or steroid injections in the joint (This seems the most likely; had them when I was younger for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.).  I've already been doing everything else I can think of, from icing the joint, taking ibuprofen when my stomach can handle it (although I was given a neat little patch to try today), elevation, wearing flats or sneakers (no heels for a while), and wearing a knee support when it's really painful.  I even teach part of the day sitting.  With all that said,  I'm just frustrated.  I'm in some state of continual pain, I haven't been able to exercise in months, and I've gained five pounds (and I am not a person who gains weight easily. I miss my Pilates!  And my running!).

Anyhow, my students have been very patient with me with all of these appointments and keep asking for updates when I come in after one.  It's sort of sweet.

I came in today during lunch, so I checked in with the sub, then picked them up from lunch.  You would have thought I was a rock star or something.  As I approached the cafeteria, my students were already lined up and I heard, "Mrs. _____'s back!  She's here!"  When I got into the doorway, I was mobbed by my second graders, each of whom tried to squeeze some part of me for a hug.  (I actually did feel like a rock star for just a minute!) After I got them calmed down enough to walk down the hallway like civilized people, we went on with business as usual.  Not that the sub was mean or anything; she used to teach in the same building I teach in now.  She is often a sub for me.  As the kids put it, "We had fun, but it just wasn't the same."

Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.