Spring Break - A MUST for Every Pregnant Teacher

Yup, right about three weeks before a due date & after a LONG stretch from winter break until spring, a week off is definitely nice.  Not that I didn't work, of course!  I had some last minute logistics in the baby department as well as long-term planning to take care of.  It was nice to have the time to do all that not after being on my feet all day.

Anyway, here's who's been keeping me busy & from posting so much...stinkin' karate kid!

I'm about 38 weeks now.  This belly is HUGE! He wants OUT! But, hopefully he'll be like his dad and be a little late; or wait at LEAST one more week so I can transition back from break with my long-term sub.  Here we are figuring out our FIRST diaper change and infant car seat belt adjustments:

              

So other than some last minute house clean up and baby purchases, I really wanted to go over my long-term sub plans to ensure I was ready for anything!  My original post about how I got started long-term planning can be found here.

Finalizing Long-Term Substitute Planning



General Daily Schedule/Routines/Transition Expectations
My long-term sub has not previously been in my room for subbing before, so simply looking at my plan book, knowing all the transitions there are in a day, and what I typically do daily/weekly is not very clear cut.

So I decided to print out a general layout of each day and it's transitions... almost like a typical sub plan except I made sure I was a bit more detailed, adding in teacher things also, like "email/post newsletters" on Friday or Monday for the following week.

This first page of the general layout briefly goes over who is in/out for the day, my basic behavior/class management plans, as well as how to sign on to the computers/Smart Board.  The second picture is a general idea of how I incorporated the teacher to-dos and transitions.

Files & Materials

I originally was going to just have a "location list" for all my materials, but that sounded like way too much work (for me and sub), so I just pulled everything (almost) that would be needed into sub tubs.  This also helped me check that I have everything I needed for each week/subject and to ensure that I'll be able to find things to refile later.

Reading & Literature Circle Sub Tub - includes weekly plans, materials, teacher keys, etc.  Each binder clip holds all the needed work for the week, including assessments.  The orange label on the clip tells what unit & week it is for.
Details on how I incorporated my district adopted curriculum with Daily CAFE can be found here.

Everything Else Sub Tub/Box - I labeled each section with longer dividers that stuck out so that she could easily access where items are.  It's hard to see, but each section also has it's own expandable file holder so things don't get mixed up.

The PLAN Book
Alright, I was NOT planning on making sub plans for EVERY day of EVERY week I'll be out...way too tedious & redundant.  I figure whoever takes over will need to be able to look at my plan book to readjust plans in the event things get pushed back, changed, etc.

My weekly lesson plan book that I already filled out with lessons, dates, events, etc. 

Inside binder cover has an easy HW check off sheet & stickers for our chart.  I also have students in charge of putting on stickers and know how to check off, so she can use their help!

The four major tabs I added in this sub binder.  I really did not want it to be like a giant manual that was overwhelming, so this is what I broke it down to.

Some class/school routines & procedures that she will be encountering the tail end of this year.  More about this can be found here. I alphabetized them & the pink sticky notes on top will help guide her to the pages easily rather than having them in some crazy random order.

Not the best picture, but the "Student Data" tab has rosters, seating charts, parent input forms from the beginning of the year, and testing data on kids that she can bring to any needed meetings or get to know them better.

My long-term will be in charge of grading & report cards for the final quarter.  I wanted to ensure she had a place to record grades if she preferred to also complete them on paper.  I also added a mini tutorial I put together on the basics regarding how to input grades onto our online system, report card comment tips, current report cards that show what I gave them in academics & effort this year so far, and the awards list for the previous/last quarter.

Electronic files are saved under a folder on the teacher desktop so that she has access to any lessons, already created directions, weekly newsletters (see more below), etc.

Parent Communication
I communicate with my students and their families in two basic ways:

Class website is ALWAYS updated with links/files/information:

• I have already input all known upcoming events, major projects, & HW for the year.
• Obviously, she can add/delete where needed, but this will eliminate some uploading here and there. I provided a temporary password.  I use teacherweb.com and love it!
• Homework page that shows my weekly tips, etc.

Weekly Newsletters (posted on website & emailed out):

• I saved one for every week until the end of the year onto the teacher computer desktop.  Each newsletter already has dates I know about and tid-bits or reminders about upcoming things.  All she will have to do is update changes and type in a mini recap of the past week.  Then it will be uploaded to the website & emailed out.  I have some students who need hardcopies, so directions are also attached on who to print for and how to upload.

 

Upcoming Events & Miscellaneous

Important Meetings such as end-of-year class placement will be missed.  I already typed up a mini blurb about each student and, if there is one, a teacher I would recommend he/she be with next year based on ability, personality, needs, etc. & emailed it out to my principal and counselor, who will be at that meeting.

Upcoming events such as the volunteer luncheon, holidays, and special staff birthdays I will miss required pre-planning.  I already purchased and put together gifts for my volunteers with cards that my long-term can pass out when it's that time of year.

I also made sure that holidays, such as mom & dad's day had a craft/activity ready in the event she doesn't have one up her sleeve.

In addition, I pre-purchased gifts for a couple co-workers' birthdays in May who I'm close to and want them to know I'm thinking about them.

Duties that I can't/don't want to leave hanging also required some pre-planning.  Obviously, someone else can sit in on other meetings or be the note-taker in leadership, but I also plan the small group math curriculum for our 5th graders who get intervention help from our title 1 para 3 days/week for 30 min/day.  I didn't want to leave her hanging as to what to teach next, so I gave her a list of remaining concepts with ideas on how to teach them so she can go at her own pace.

Report Cards were also due right after spring break.  However, I didn't want to spend my break doing that, so I gave myself a deadline of that Friday before or earlier so my principal could review and make comments as necessary.  I basically kept a word document open where I noted things throughout the quarter in every subject so that by report card time, all I had to do was edit for grammar and make it flow.

End of year portfolios are bound books I give to the students containing some of their work this year.  I almost shot myself for saving all this work and giving myself more work NOW to do.  I used spring break to make sure they were glued and bound.  I left some blank pages for things I knew I wanted added to the books while gone.

Phew!  So that's my long-term planning in a large nutshell.  I wanted to make sure that I didn't leave any frayed odds and ends.  And if I did, I at least feel good about getting most things taken care of.  I am definitely toasting myself with a glass of wine (or three) real soon...