Thermostat

I forgot about one of the other strange duties teachers perform in their jobs. We are a thermostat.. literally. We control the temperature in our classrooms by taking that huge stick that opens the windows to open them wide when the heat first starts blasting, crack them as the morning wears on, and shut them almost completely after lunch. It's a ritual that is totally automatic for me at this point in my career and I am really good at it.

The Sub Folder

The Substitute Folder- Very important for ALL teachers (especially new ones). As I mentioned in my previous post, sometimes teachers are not informed until the last minute that they will be out of the room (or the building) for the day attending professional development. Sometimes you get sick with no warning and have to call in or leave early. It is very important for all teachers to prepare an EMERGENCY FOLDER for a substitute teacher.

What should you put in the folder?

1. Your daily/weekly schedule

2. A class list (including a break-up list with child and teacher assignments in case there is no substitute assigned)

3. An overview of the flow of the day and routines you use with the kids. I structure mine like most substitute plans, but leave out the prep. Always leave information as to where to pick them up, where to take them at lunch, who is your school aide, etc.

4. Lists and charts- A line partner list, table spot and rug spot map.

5. EASY activities. You never know who your sub will be. A lot of schools (like mine) have very capable regular subs, but sometimes substitute from SubCentral shows up and might be incapable of doing ANYTHING (sorry to all the excellent subs, but I'm sure you've seen it too!). You can stick to all your regular subjects, but make them userfriendly.

Examples (Keep in mind, this is first grade):

• Morning Meeting- Most subs can write a morning message and read it with the children. This helps them to introduce themselves to the kids. I also tell them to let the children circle sight words. They can also change the day on the calendar and review our web of the Fall season with the children.



• Word Study- Do NOT have your sub do your normal program (ours is Words Their Way). I usually keep paper with a big box for a picture and a single line. Since this is for the emergency folder, I do not focus the words on the sounds we are studying, but instead write the name of an animal on each sheet (one per child). You can put them together later (post sub) to make a "Book of Animals" for the class to read. The sub can read all the words with the kids, though.



• Read Aloud/ Literature Response- I usually leave a simple book for the substitute to read aloud like "Ms. Nelson is Missing," or "The Carrot Seed" in the folder. I instruct the sub to read it aloud to the class and then I include paper with a big box and some lines at the bottom to write about their favorite part.



• Reading- The sub can just pass out the "Just-right baggies" and tell the children to read quietly for 15 minutes using the timer.



• Writing- I usually leave simple paper and tell the sub to let them write a "snow story" or something of high interest. Usually their writing is crap when their is a sub, so I don't let them use their real writing folders on these days.



• Reading (after lunch)- I always have mixed level bins of books in the room too. I tell the sub to put one bin at each table and to let the kids read from their books for 25 minutes after lunch.



• Math- I leave copies from the Everyday Math Math Masters book of simple addition problems or the connect the dots by 1s and 5s. The sub can also count with them using the number chart and practice simple addition together. There are a lot of simple math worksheets available online as well.



• PREP- Give them a little job to do during their prep. I usually ask them to sharpen all of the pencils and clean the tables. This helps me out for when I come back.



• Extended Day- Don't forget this part. I usually leave a simple project (like making bookmarks) for this time. They can read their Just-Right books again if they finish early. The kids are tired and the sub is too.

6. Dismissal Procedures (including a list of kids who go to afterschool)

A Teacher's Many Hats

Other people know that being a teacher is hard, but they don't know exactly why. They might think "kids are obnoxious," or "you have to be too patient," but they don't know the gritty details... so for those of you who were wondering, here they are.



1. Triage Nurse- From the time you pick up your class in the morning, several children are usually already complaining about various ailments and you need to figure out which ones are real and which ones are fake, which ones require the nurse, a call home, or a little TLC in the classroom, and which ones are totally ridiculous. An experienced classroom teacher in his or her role as triage nurse can do the following:

• Spot a case of pink-eye from 30 feet away.


• Distinguish between bed bug bites, allergic reactions, and infectious disease.


• Know who is actually going to throw up and who is faking.


• See a fever in a child's eyes.


• Administer treatment of a "drink of water" for ailments such as headaches, sore throats, and stomachaches.


• Administer the treatment of a "saltine" to children complaining of stomachaches from being hungry.


• Bandage microscopic paper cuts that you're not sure even exist with mini-bandaids.


• Use the "is your finger going to fall off?" measure to determine who goes to the nurse and who stays in class.


• Knows when ice is actually needed.

2. Janitor- For the record, I have already had to clean up urine this week from a child who peed his pants with no warning. He didn't even ask to go to the bathroom. As a teacher in an urban public school, the reality is that you can't rely on the janitorial staff to show up when called. You need to be equipped for the following:

• blood (on tile, rug, or fabric)


• urine (on tile, rug, or fabric)


• juice that spilled in a bookbag and is leaking all over the floor and on another child's jacket.


• cockroaches


• mice (and their feces)


• ketchup (that kids hoarded from lunch and then exploded all over their pocket or something else).


• spilled milk- it smells if you don't get it all out.

*** I leave vomit for the janitors, but it's a good idea to have scotch tape and some extra chairs handy to cordon off a vomit area and some air freshener so everyone doesn't vomit. Last time I had vomit in the room it took the janitors 45 minutes to respond.

3. Mediator- Kids fight. They do. They often have poor social skills and low self-esteem and get in nasty fights even in the lower grades. As a teacher you need to not only break up the fight, but simultaneously teach them a new social skill to avoid future fights and build up their self-esteem all the while administering stern consequences for their actions. It is a delicate balancing act.

4. Social Worker- Kids and their families need help and sometimes you are the only one who can help them to fill out the forms for services or tell them where to take their children to the doctor for free or how to get their child glasses.

5. ACS worker- While teachers do not work for Child Services, we are often the ones who end up having to decide whether or not to call. As mandated reporters we are REQUIRED by law to report abuse or neglect and could be held accountable if anything happens to a child after we have suspected abuse. As a side note, I am told by children almost weekly that their parents hit them. It is a sensitive matter how to deal with each case and whether or not to call it in. Teachers have to work fast if they notice an injury such as a burn or bruise on a child. We ask the children what happened and I usually have another teacher get the story as well so we can compare answers (in my experience, I have learned that administration cannot be trusted to do this!!!!!). We have to notice patterns of bruising. We have to be delicate with children. We have to be delicate and stern with the parents. I have had to tell them "You need to bathe your child" "You need to clean his/her uniform" "You need to get your child to school in time to eat breakfast." We bear the brunt of parent rage if ACS has indeed been called even if it was by a neighbor or the school nurse. We are often interviewed by ACS workers (who to their credit have HELPED many of my students. None of their visits have resulted in a removal of a child from their home in my experience). In one case, the ACS worker had the abuser (an unwelcome and intimidating relative the family was having a hard time getting rid of) removed from the home and got new bunkbeds for the kids who were sleeping head to toe with their siblings.

6. Full-time secretary- The paperwork and administrative tasks that teachers are responsible could staff a FULL-TIME SECRETARY!!!! I'm not kidding. I really think I have enough to do to employ someone else full time.

7. Teacher- The best part!

Simple Pleasures and Necessities

Here is my personal list of simple pleasures and necessary items that keep me sane in the classroom throughout the day.

1. Nice Hand Lotion- Sometimes when things are really chaotic and I have a million things to do I like to take 5 seconds to myself and put on some nice smelling lotion. It's especially good if things aren't smelling to good in the classroom.

2. A Mini Fridge- I finally broke down and got one this year. I like to stock it with seltzer water and baby carrots.

3. Seltzer water- Keeps you hydrated and the bubbles feel nice for when you just need a sensory experience.

4. Baby carrots- Teachers often end up staying two or three hours after school ends. I find that baby carrots keep me going if I'm hungry for an after school snack.

5. Visine Natural Tears- A MUST!!! The children have pink eye often. Even when you send them to the nurse, a lot of times they are sent back to class because their parents are not going to pick them up. I got it several times my first year and the doctor always said just to use a natural tears eye drop. I use the natural tears if my eyes are irritated or even the least bit red and I haven't gotten pink eye since.

6. Aloe Vera Hand Sanitizer- I don't like to use too much of this, but sometimes things are just too gross to handle and with no sink in the room this is the only way to feel clean. Aloe vera keeps your hands from drying out.

7. A Spray Bottle (or two)- I have a big one that I fill with water and about a teaspoon of Ivory Dish soap and a teaspoon of baking soda. I use it to clean the tables daily. I find that it cleans marker, pencil, and crayon marks and has no chemical smell. Also, it's safe for the kids to touch so I often spray the tables and the kids love using paper towels to scrub them. I have a second smaller spray bottle just for water. You can use it for science experiments and if it's really hot in the room the kids love it when you mist them. It's important to keep it really clean since bacteria can grow especially if you're going to mist the kids.

8. Disinfectant spray- So many nasty things come up that soap and water won't cut it. I keep a real disinfectant spray in the closet. I have used it to clean up vomit, blood, and urine in the room (the janitors do not always come for such biological hazards).

9. Rubber or latex Gloves- When cleaning up vomit, blood, or urine one must use rubber or latex gloves. Ask the school nurse for a little bundle of them at the beginning of the year.

10. Vaseline and Q-tips- These go together for me. Each year I buy a little tub of vaseline and some Q-tips for those cracked and bloody lips the children often have. I dip a Q-tip in the vaseline and hand it to the child to put on their lips. I find that it's sanitary and works really well. Plus, sometimes kids need a little extra TLC and ask for it even if they don't need it and it's really inexpensive so I don't mind.

11. A First Aid Kit- The nurse will get really mad at you if you send kids to him/her with a paper cut. Always keep bandaids of all sizes in the room. I buy them at the dollar store. I find that one of those mini bandaids can really comfort a kid is crying because they have a "cut" you can't even see with a microscope. Alcohol wipes are also good for when you get a paper cut and can't wash your hands.

12. Baby Wipes- The cuts down on kids leaving the room. Especially if you are doing a project with glue, they can wipe their hands in the room. Sometimes I have the kids wipe the tables and chairs with them too if there is a lot of glue or if a kid is naughty and draws on the table.

13. Hand Soap- Our teachers bathroom never has any so I bring my own.

14. Saltines- When the kids are losing steam or if someone has a stomachache, I give them a saltine and it makes everything better. Plus, a lot of times, the kids complain of a stomachache because they haven't eaten breakfast. A saltine won't provide nutrition, but it will tide them over until lunch.

15. A metal canister- A veteran teacher gave me a large metal cookie canister after she saw me removing all of the contents of my closet and disinfecting everything because I had found mouse droppings. I didn't know that keeping candy in the closet would bring the mice. I keep all edible items (including my saltines) in the canister or the fridge or microwave and I haven't had a problem since.

16. Plain Hand Lotion- Eucerin or Vaseline have nice hypo-allergenic lotions that the kids can use if they have dry skin. When kids complain of bug bites, I also let them put a dab on their bites. It comforts them and has a placebo effect on the itching.

17. A microwave- They're very inexpensive these days. Without a teacher's lounge (I know many schools have this issue), it makes it convenient to heat up your lunch. It's also helpful for science projects where you have to heat water or if you want a cup of tea during the day. I once made pizza bagels with the children and we melted the cheese in the microwave. They loved it!

18. Plants- Having something natural and alive in the room really helps calm the mood. Plus, the kids love watering them.

19. An Extra Umbrella- When your holed up in a building all day, sometimes the weather changes and you're not prepared. I always keep and extra umbrella around just in case.