Surviving a Substitute

Well, today we had a substitute.

In any other classroom, at any other school, this statement might not mean much. Maybe a slightly altered schedule, with slightly more behaviors. But at this school, subs often cause problems. Well, let me clarify. It's not the subs that cause the problems, but the lack of a regular teacher.

Anyway, despite this situation, we had a solid day -- no major behaviors and even a successful swimming session. Even though I'm new to the classroom, I think I've gained a basic understanding of what the paras and my cooperating teacher consider a 'good' day. I was thrilled that today could be one of those :)

I also got to help a bit when students transitioned from swimming to the classroom or from there to recess, etc. I still don't quite know how each child will respond to certain prompts but I noticed today that the amazing paras in my room needed just a little bit of extra help due to the absence of my cooperating teacher.

I also got to see my first large group 'lesson' today. It was a Bible lesson about Moses parting the red sea. It was interesting to notice that instead of the cognitive knowledge of the story itself, the lesson seemed to teach skills such as asking for a turn to handle the white board, following directions, and sitting quietly to listen to friends' responses. This type of lesson is still new to me and will probably take a while to get used to. I'm glad I've been able to observe the paras in the room to see how they interact with each child.

So, despite my anticipated uncertainties about today, I learned a lot and enjoyed seeing a full day in the classroom.