Sadly, nothing new to see here. I really miss being in the classroom.  Hope to make my reappearance next year.  🙂

Online offerings

9/30/2020 From BoredTeachers: 80+ Fun & Educational Websites for Elementary School Students

From BoredTeachers: 34 best virtual tours, classes, and events

Google’s List of Sites

• Presented by Google Docs, this List of Sites for Families to Use While School is Closed, includes a link to information about Google Classroom for Parents
• Virtual Field Trips, Reading & Writing, Math, STEAM
• Sites with off-screen learning activities
• Other things like typing, art, and meditation

Cincinnati Zoo 

Every day at 3:00 p.m. Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden will be presenting a Home Safari Facebook Live, a short video about one of their animals. If you don’t want to access through Facebook, click here to view the videos and other resources on their web page.

Free Subscriptions

Click here for a list of of education companies offering free subscriptions due to school closings. Though many of the companies in the list are offering free services to schools and school districts, some have options for home use, like:

• Khan Academy: “Remote learning with Khan Academy during school closures.”
• PBS Learning Media:  Sign up for assignments and projects in science, math, health, and the arts.
• Scholastic: “Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.” 

Also, if you scroll down to the end of the web page, there is a list with links of things to do with your kids at home while school is closed.

Simpler times  

Oct. 22, 2019

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Fifth graders are planting flowers (left) and designing a trellis with string and wooden stakes in a small container garden outside my friend’s classroom. My volunteer time in her garden has been curtailed (again) by a long-term sub assignment. Across campus this time, I’ve taken over a classroom of fourth graders after a teacher was fired. It’s a first for me. The fired part, that is. It’s my fourth time as a long-term substitute in elementary school.

Whether a teacher quits or is released from her job, the kids ask the same question: Hey, where’s our teacher? My job (should I choose to accept it) is to keep the students’ academic progress on track until a permanent replacement can be found. Eight weeks is my limit. Being in the classroom watching kids learn and grow is a joy, yes. But it’s also stressful, fast-paced, unrelenting, and a lot of work. I’m a retired teacher. I’d like to spend most weeks writing or working in the yard.

More later…

Nov. 25, 2019

It’s been very exciting being back in the classroom. *screams and pulls out hair*

We’re on Thanksgiving Break now. I’m counting the days till Christmas. Fifteen days can’t be that hard. *Seriously?*

Every time I do this I am reminded how hard teachers work. It’s unbelievable. I always wonder: How did I do this? I have it easy now. My fourth grade team shares everything with me: plans, materials, assessments, worksheets, teaching tips, and more. I don’t stay after school for meetings, though I do enter grades and data from home. I don’t receive phone calls from parents at all hours; don’t get texts from them at the grocery check-out either.

Even though I’m counting down the days, I’ll miss the kids. I worry about them while I’m their teacher and spend a lot of time reflecting on ways to improve my teaching to help them achieve. Yes, I get attached. But that’s what being a teacher is all about. Making connections. And so many different characters! A short story writer’s dream.