Subbing and Staying Home. . . and Halloween!

With all four kids in school I've been working almost daily.  I didn't get a traditional teaching job like I'd wanted so I slapped on a smile and became a substitute teacher.  It really was a deliberate decision to slap on a smile.  I subbed 15 years ago and I know what subbing is like.  I know about the unwritten rule that you can get away with anything when there's a sub.  Subbing has just two things going for it: First, I like being home when my kids are home and second, I'm not trained to do anything more lucrative than teach.

I am a sub.

Like the grumpy Dr. Seuss character who discovers green eggs and ham are palatable, I discovered being a substitute teacher is something I enjoy doing.  If the teacher leaves great lesson plans, I'm a happy camper.  If they don't, well, I assume they don't mind that I take liberties and make things up as I go along.  And except for a few moments here and there, I've enjoyed my days.   One subbing surprise has been that I love teaching kindergarten.   I did my student teaching at 6th grade and am comfortable in the upper elementary grades.  It turns out subbing is the teaching job I didn't know I really wanted.

My favorite days are when I get to sub at my kids' school.  When I teach there, my kids will stop in at recess or wave in the hall.  And at the end of the day we go home together.  When I am CO's teacher my day is also filled with spontaneous hugs, kisses and declarations that I'm "the best mom ever!"

I know it's hard to top that, but as a former librarian, my tied-for-first favorite was a multi-day job at the coolest library in the world.  This job was a taste of heaven for me.  The books!  The creativity!  It was beautiful!  Of course I took pictures:

 

 

As a sub it's hard to sweep in and out of schools when the reward for teaching is making a difference in kids' lives.  Luckily I have small, rewarding moments like when the boy with cerebral palsy waves at me in the hall and continues the conversation we had when I was his sub.  He remembers that I carefully listened to him talk all about his favorite video game.  He remembers that I waited for him to type with his "device" the words he spoke that I couldn't understand.  He remembers I disapproved of his violent video game and he smiles now when I playfully wag my finger at him before he disappears into his classroom.  It's not as easy to find those moments as a sub, but they're there.

Well, the last couple of days I have been feeling sick. My 7th grader was also sick but he rested and recovered.  Smart boy.  I took the opposite approach:  total denial.  Not needing to call in sick is supposed to be a substitute's perk, but I took cold medicine and subbed Friday and Monday.  (It's hard to both admit I'm sick and turn down the automated temptress who offers me money for my time.)    When I woke up still feeling crummy today I lectured myself.  "Self?" I said.  "Please stay home today so you can get a little R&R." 

The request was so polite that I obediently answered; "Yes, Maam." 

As luck would have it, the job I turned down this morning was my utopia: teaching at my kids' school in the library!  Staying home sick is never fun but did I really have to miss out on such a cool day?!?  Since I've taken up talking to myself, I'd better tell myself I misheard the temptress and that it was really just a high school P.E job.

Boo!

Speaking of boo, I think some Halloween photos will cheer me up. 

Happy Halloween 2012. 

Ben was a punk rocker.  I was a hunchback with a comb over (not pictured). RO was God's gift to women.  JO was a mummy with a mohawk.  For SO we got crafty with old pants, Smarties candies, and the glue gun.  She was a Smartie Pants.  And my girly CO was Spiderman (NOT Spidergirl or Spiderwoman). 

If mohawk crafting is in your future and you'd like to avoid sifting through the "how to" pages on the internet, I'll tell you the secret.  Working in chunks, apply egg whites to clean, dry hair (I used a round preschool paintbrush), then blow dry on low.  Use hairspray on stubborn fly-aways.  For longer or thinner hair, have your hawker tip upside down while you blow dry.