"Dear Diary..."

back to school, and back to school

it's the last weekend before school begins around here, and I'm very excited.
nervous, too, but more on that in a bit.
as most of you who read this on a semi-regular basis know, I am a substitute teacher.
so, "back to school" has a bit different meaning than for other teachers.
I have not had to spend the past week in meetings, or in a classroom, getting ready.
I did get a haircut yesterday, and the waiting area was filled with little ones, also getting their back to school styling, some more reluctantly than others.
and I have been looking for some back to school clothes, and put together my bag of tricks - my over-sized shoulder bag that I fill with all that stuff I MIGHT need: extra pens & pencils, a pocket dictionary, scissors, band-aids, extra shoes, my recess whistle, etc.
it's not that teachers don't have most of this stuff in their classrooms, but as a sub, I might not always be able to FIND it, or find it quickly.
normally, especially later in the semester, I'd be up early, drinking coffee, waiting for the phone to ring.
but this first week of school, I'm already scheduled, and I'll be helping out in Kindergarten.
think back now...
were you excited about going to Kindergarten?
or were you a cryer?
and remember, those of you closer to my age, 5K is now ALL day, not a half day, as many of us experienced.
that's a big adjustment, and I'm sure I'll be doing a fair amount of hand-holding, hugging, and drying tears.
and I love it.
I love working with elementary classes.
this surprises me, on several levels.
when I FIRST went to college, right out of high school, my intended major was Elementary Education, with a Music minor.
gradually, as time went on, I was finding I really wanted to take more music courses, and eventually changed into a Music Major.
real life stepped in, family illness, dropped out, dropped in, dropped out, worked, worked some more, got married, moved away, worked some more, and a few years later, went back to college as a "returning adult student."
I loved my time spent in college, although I got a bit tired of being a substitute mom to classmates, and balancing school and work and home was tough.
but I graduated with a K-12 teaching license for instrumental music.
I was an Official Orchestra geek, and I LOVED teaching - but NOT elementary.
Junior High was my thing, and eventually, High School was also great fun.
5th and 6th grade, not so much.
actually, I hated it.
but looking back, it had more to do with the structure of the music program, and the schedule, than with the kids.
long story a bit shorter: taught, taught some more, conducted youth orchestras, played in a symphony, taught private lessons, taught music camps, conducted more youth orchestras, played in a string quartet, and then real life slapped me in the face, again, lost my job(s), got divorced, worked odd jobs, worked some really ODD jobs, remarried, moved to Door County, became an artist, ups and downs (my husband is officially a cancer survivor), the economy took a dive, and I needed to find a "real job."
so I reinvented myself once more, and to my amazement, I love subbing, and I especially love working with the little ducks!
oh, I like the older kids, as well, and it's been good for me to work all levels, all courses.
but I'm about to take the leap, go back to college, and get my teaching license for Elementary Education.
in Wisconsin, it's now a grades 1 - 8 license, and I can't wait!
but I'm nervous, too.
I"m older, actually, a lot older, things have changed.
much of my coursework will be online.
it was weird, I applied online, registered over the phone, and ordered my books from a website.
I'll report to Silver Lake College in Manitowoc one weekend per month, taking courses this Fall, Spring, next Summer, and perhaps Fall 2011.
so, when mamy of my former colleagues are planning their retirement, I find myself buying new notebooks and shopping for a new lunch box.
back to school, and back to school...

delete, edit, and integrate, oh my!

still sorting out feelings about this strange summer of "unemployment," after a stressful, hectic, but very rewarding school year.
I feel as if I went to sleep as an artist, and woke up as an educator, with one foot stepping back into my former life as a music teacher/conductor.
I'm dragging the other foot, as there is still a lot of baggage I'm carrying with me.
but I'm confident that it will all fall into place.
I absolutely loved my time spent subbing, especially after I got to know more kids/teachers and their routines.
and although I was a bit scared at first, I'm so glad I also made the jump back into adjudicating music festivals for WSMA.
those Saturdays at Who-Knows-Where High School can be very long, but I think I'm a good judge, and I have a lot of fun.
and NOW, I'm dusting off the baton, and will be conducting a group of young string players with the Door County String Academy.
it's very exciting.
but I'm also nervous about it all.
want to make sure that all the parts & pieces fit, and don't interfere with the life I have here in Kolberg with Patrick, and the critters.
to all my artist friends, I want you to know that I've not quit "making stuff," but the emphasis has switched.
at first, it was out of necessity - just had to make more money.
but now, I think this is the direction I should go, it's where I'm supposed to be...
later,
Mrs. O'R

are you smarter than a 5th grader?

if you've never seen the tv show, I would suggest that you watch it.

once.

that's enough.

enough to make me a bit crazy (with major disappointment thrown in) at the number of adults in this country - educated adults - who fail miserably in this game.

one of the advantages of subbing is being able to see all the "stuff" in a variety of teacher arsenals, and try things out.

in a recent two-day assignment with 7th graders, I opted to try something fun for the last 20 minutes of a Friday afternoon.

using Brainquest, grade 5, we played our own version of "are you smarter..." and it was a huge success.

I asked them all to stand, and then went around the room, asking the questions in order off the cards.

if they answered correctly, they got another question.

if they answered incorrectly, they had to sit down, and the question went to the next person.

the "record" for number of correct answers in a row was 6.

and although it was very frightening when I went through most of the class before someone could tell me in what year we celebrated our country's 200th birthday, the kids had a lot of fun, and I felt as though it was "educational" fun, as well.

are you smarter than a 5th grader?

later,

Mrs. O'R 

separation

ok, ok, I know I said I would post the IL theme for the week, and start my "going postal" project.
and we will - we are - I just haven't finished my piece yet!
sorry!
real life got in the way the last couple of days.
but everything's ok, I just have to juggle some things in my schedule, it's going to be a very busy week.
so, here's the theme:
primitive
I will finish my mail art/entry this afternoon, and post it tonight.
and although many of you have e-mailed and commented nice stuff on my posts regarding my new adventures in substitute teaching, I've created a separate blog for that stuff, so that those of you looking specifically for art stuff will not be confused/disappointed/dismayed/dare-I-say-crabby.
here's the new blog, and I hope you'll read it from time to time.
actually, I was quite surprised by the number of you that confessed you had previous lives as teachers and substitutes.
pretty cool.
gotta go, remember to e-mail me when your IL mail art entry is ready to be mailed to me, and I'll send the address.
later,
Patty

learning as I go

got my second call to sub yesterday.
second graders!
remembering how tired I was after a day in first grade, I was a bit nervous.
but I had been assured that this was a lovely group of kids, and that their teacher is very organized.
well, he was certainly correct, on both counts.
I had three pages of typed, detailed instructions, a stack of "if you have time or would rather..." stuff, the day was not interrupted by any special events, and so I was able to follow the schedule without incident.
we pledged to the flag, changed all the calendar information (including day, date, days left in the school year, and local weather conditions), and had a sharing time, where I asked them what their favorite part was of this past week's lesson on the planets.
they all had something to share, and begged to sing their planet song for me.
how could I refuse?
pretty cute, just a little tune so they now know the order of the planets.
then I was to check their work folders for parent signatures, and they dutifully lined up for inspection.
a signature for today's date would indicate that they did their assigned homelink page (what happened to homework?) and had read for at least 15 minutes.
almost all had done so, but a couple out of my new bunch of 14 little ducks had not completed their work, nor had the necessary signature.
their teacher had already warned me in her notes that anyone not completing their work would have to stay behind while the rest went to the computer room, and although they both tried to convince me that was not really the way they did things, I stuck to what I had been told (and what my other little ducks were telling me - kids really want everyone to follow the rules, and they are quick to rat on anyone who is not doing so!).
after computer time, it was, of course, bathroom break time.
and recess.
I had recess duty, and had to borrow a whistle from the second grade teacher next door.
it was terribly cold, and I wasn't really prepared for it (no one told me Fridays are casual, and I could have worn jeans!), but the 20 minutes went quickly, only had to break up one little scuffle and remind a couple of indignant young ladies - eleven going on sixteen, you know? - that if they stopped yelling at me and stood in line, they would surely get their turn on the tire swing and if by some odd chance they didn't, they would still live to old age, drive cars, etc.
oh, and I was hugged repeatedly by the sweet little first graders I had subbed for on my last visit.
("Mrs. O'R, Mrs. O'R, you came back!")
after recess, I had to administer their Friday spelling test.
(nice to see a few things that haven't changed in the three hundred years since I was in grade school.)
they giggled at the sentences I made up for each word, then jumped into action as soon as I repeated the last one on the list - it was time to move into their "tribes" for shared reading.
each tribe, a group of 4 or 5, would take turns reading together a section from their Scholastic newsletter (I remembered those, too!), and today's topic happened to be recycling!
I was in heaven - I could actually contribute something to our limited conversation.
I would have loved to have had more time to talk with them about recycling, Earth Day, etc., but the schedule demanded that we move on to the reading resource room to pick out their RIF books.
the school had received a grant from Reading is Fundamental, and they could now select a free book.
pretty cool.
while they looked, I spoke briefly with the reading teacher, and told her about the recycling discussion, and asked her if they ever recycled books, or had book swaps.
they had not, but her face lit up, and perhaps something will come of the suggestion.
we waddled back downstairs, time for another bathroom break, hand washing and lunch.
hamburgers, baked beans, tater tots, and canned peaches.
got to remember to pack my own lunch next time.
and bring a cup for coffee.
sure could have used one about 11:40, as I had to go back out into the cold for the lunch recess duty.
there were several other teachers out there, though, and we chatted a bit.
after lunch, things seemed to go very quickly - the Phonics teacher paid a visit, and drilled them with flashcards on all the various vowel-sound letter combinations, and whether or not syllables were "open" or "closed" - I was impressed!
as soon as she made her exit, we lined up for the walk upstairs to the library, then music (yes, they had to sing their planet song again for the music teacher), and after music they went to gym.
I used the half hour to go over the math lesson I was supposed to teach when they got back, and discovered the note from yesterday's sub that they had not gotten to yesterday's assignment.
quick adjustment in plan, but we managed.
the kids were great, working with their "3 o'clock buddy" to complete yesterday's worksheets, while we had snack time, and we got a good start on the day's assignment.
I would have preferred to keep working on it with them - I can't believe they now do fractions in second grade! - but promptly at 2:20 the second grade class next door piled in for the movie.
I don't know if it was just because it was Friday, but it was just an animated story, something about an Indian and his horse, not particularly educational, but I decided I could correct their spelling tests, and make sure their math journals (what, no workbooks, have they eliminated the word "work" from grade school vocabulary??) were complete, and that they understood my instructions for that last lesson.
I worry that I will explain something in a way that's not kosher, and scar them for life, but so far, so good.
the movie ended at 3, they stowed their stuff, turned their chairs up on their desks, and lined up.
little ducks, all in a row.
I was to receive one of the three H's before they could leave - a handshake, a high-five, or a hug.
and I was surprised by how many chose to hug me.
including the identical twins (who had worn identical t-shirts) that I confused all day, and finally just started calling "twins," and they would answer in an eerie sort-of unison.
they clear out fast on Friday, and I was home by 3:30, tired, in need of a cup of coffee, but pleased with how the day had gone.
and I've already gotten another call for a day in May - 5th grade, hear we come!
later,
Patty

herding cats

one of the non-resolutions I made at the beginning of the year was to find more ways to supplement our income.
basically, I had to get a job.
I did not want to completely abandon my artistic endeavors, but it was obvious that I could not help support us the way that I want to with what I had been making at art shows, selling on the internet, etc.
we all know it, and feel it - the economy sucks right now.
so, I began the long, drawn-out process of getting transcripts from several institutions of "higher" learning, rewriting (and then rewriting again!) my resume, and digging in the archives for other long-forgotten pieces of important paper.
like my birth certificate, my teaching license, etc.
I applied at many places, but unless I was willing to work the night shift at WalMart (no WAY!), I wasn't getting anywhere.
this is a very tourist-driven economy up here in Door County, and winter is not the time to be looking for work.
then it dawned on me that I could renew my teaching license, with the intent of "subbing" in the public schools around here.
getting a renewed license proved to be quite costly, and required taking several courses.
(if I had the money to take classes, I wouldn't be applying for jobs!)
so I opted for the 5-year substitutes license, and when it finally arrived, began all the paperwork for applications to the school districts closest to home.
and yesterday, after an absence of more than 10 years, I got my first call back to the classroom.
I was scared to death, but once there, and all heck broke loose, I didn't have time to be afraid.
I didn't have time to pee.
a dozen first graders (Brenda, stop laughing!) were counting on me to guide them through their very hectic day.
as it turned out, I had made my return to teaching on the day of THE PROGRAM - the entire school was having a concert that evening, in conjunction with parent conferences and a month-long exploration on the topic of RESPECT.
so my day was a series of we-usually-do-this-now-but-because-of-the-program-we're-doing-this.
I can punt, no problem.
if I have a plan.
but my teacher had left no plan for me.
the other first grade teachers were great, a plan was eventually delivered, and we made it through calendar time, glittering the covers of our RESPECT booklets (I'm an artist, but I'll be honest, I don't do glitter - what a mess!), several bathroom breaks, recess duty (I even got a whistle!), lunch (the meat with sauce poured over institutional mashed potatos was quite mysterious), and with the help of a movie, the rest of the day until time for the rehearsal in the auditorium for THE PROGRAM.
ohmygosh, it was like herding cats!
but, I must admit, I enjoyed their little songs, with all the hand motions, and attempts to "get down" in a particularly jazzy number, entitled "Respect."
where was Aretha when we needed her?!?
the rehearsal went much longer than expected, but we made it back in time for Art class.
I was so excited - what a cool art room, great big tables to work on, and shelves piled high with boxes of stuff!
art stuff!
but, because of THE PROGRAM and conferences, all they were going to do for 40 minutes was clean.
so I went back to the classroom, and tried to straighten up the room a bit, and read through the math lesson I was to present when they got back.
before I knew it, the day was over, I helped them all with packing their backpacks, putting on snowpants (thank god for velcro!), and sent them on their way.
schools are off today, and I was glad I didn't have to wonder if the phone would ring at 6 a.m.
I was exhausted, but it's a good tired.
I really earned my 82 dollars yesterday, and today I can do art, at home.
but no glitter, please.
later,
Patty