Bah Humbug!

Just kidding! Despite not having any holiday decorations up in my house, I'm not against the holidays. I just got sick.

I got a bad head cold...that turned into massive coughing fits requiring my inhaler. I would get the coughing fits at night almost every hour for three nights in a row, leaving me only having about 6 hours of sleep over a three day period. Only stopping when my doctor took pity on me and gave me some of the good cough syrup.

During the last week and a half, I only took one day off from teaching. And that was because I woke up with no voice early in the sickness. The rest of the time, I showed up to work every day. Even exhausted, I showed up and taught. 

Which was not only stupid, it affected my health and my holiday season. I pushed through every day and came home only to go to bed early to try to get some extra rest. 

Now, before anyone complains that I could have gotten the kids sick, let me tell you that's not how it really works. My fingers stay out of my nose, I cover my coughs & sneezes, I keep my distance from kids when I am sick, and I wash my hands often. You can't say the same for 5 & 6 year olds. 

Teachers are notorious for not taking days off when they are sick. Why? Because it's so much work to prepare for a substitute. Often times, a teacher is just better showing up and muddling through their day.

Think about it: to prepare for a substitute, a teacher has to write out how every single minute of the day needs to go. And what kids get pulled out for what. What kids have health concerns to remember. And a teacher has to have all the materials ready in a stack for easy access. And how is a substitute going to know who the kids are without name tags? And subs don't know your classroom procedures so a teacher better write those down too. That way if Little Johnny acts up, the substitute will know how to handle that situation. Extra duties? Write 'em down! What do you want the students to do with the finished work? How do you handle all of them wanting to go to the bathroom now that you've let one student go? Do you let everyone sharpen a pencil at once or do you have a procedure for that? How do you take attendance? Line up for recess? Where do you go? Who's the line leader? Who are kids that need aides? Who are the helpful students who will tell you anything the sub plans forgot to mention? Where do the kids sit? Where are the crayons? Markers? Pencils? Do you have a class pet that needs feeding and where is that food? Can students use your fancy markers that are in a special bin marked with the teacher's name? How do your kids leave the building at the end of the day? Do you walk them out to meet their parents or let them run wild? Oh, and we can't forget what to do if it's a rainy day with indoor recess!

And that's if you get a good substitute! I often get good substitutes who really make an effort to follow my plans and clean up. But one time, I was sick and I came back to a classroom that looked like a bomb exploded. There was trash all over the floor, papers & pencils everywhere, and my free choice materials were just left out. 

Another time, all my dry erase markers had disappeared. My students told me that the gentleman would use the marker and then put it in his pocket (most likely out of habit) and then walked off with a set of my dry erase markers. (My students knew that dry erase markers stayed on the board, so they watched the sub with horror as he pocketed them they later told me.)

My sub horror stories aren't scary, but I have heard other teacher's stories that are. Sure, you hear tales of a substitute not following any of the plans for the day and totally doing their own thing. My favorite bad sub tale is when a substitute who not only did not follow the plans, but she opened up the teacher's art cabinets and let the kids take & do whatever they wanted for the day. (For you non-teachers, please note that many of us have special materials for special projects that only come out during certain times of the year.)

And when things like that happen, the district doesn't reimburse teachers for materials like that. Most of our fancy art supplies comes out of our own pockets. 

Some teachers only request substitutes that they know. Since I was a sub before I became a teacher, I do like to give the unknown person a chance now and then. But this last week, the week before Winter Break, I needed someone that I knew.

Here's why I pushed myself (admittedly too far I might add) this last week:

Friday ~ I woke up with no voice. I have in the past taught with no voice (kids have to pay extra attention to me) but I was going to be working with the entire kindergarten (Fun Friday) and knew I couldn't push myself like that. So I did stay home that day.

Saturday & Sunday ~ I stayed home all weekend. 

Monday ~ I had nothing set up for a substitute. I figured I could muddle through the day and then get a sub for Tuesday.

Tuesday ~ All the substitutes I contacted were busy. I had a parent holiday card the kids were making and I felt that was too important to leave to someone who may or may not get it done, much less make them how I wanted them to come out.

Wednesday ~ 1st night of only 2 hours of sleep. We were making gift bags for the ornaments we had make the week before and we also had library & a guest story teller. I figured with the breaks between the day, I would be fine. Plus, I would go home and sleep.

Thursday ~ 2nd night of only 2 hours of sleep. My own mother was coming to my class to volunteer to help the kids wrap their ornaments, put them in the gift bags, and then staple them to the parent cards we made on Tuesday. I knew set aside time to end the day with painting and some yoga for kids on youtube (Cosmic Kids Yoga ~ I highly recommend). But I had to be there for my mother! Plus, I was so tired that I figured if I went home and went to sleep, I'd get sleep just from being so tired.

Friday ~ 3rd night of only 2 hours of sleep. I was trying not to cry walking Dakota that morning. It was going to be a short day. I had parents coming in to help build gingerbread houses, I knew kids were going to be bringing me presents for the Holidays, and I knew that I couldn't disappoint them by not being there. I had to be there, you know, for the kids!

"Gingerbread Houses" were a success!!

This past weekend was filled with my mother's birthday brunch and my niece's horseback riding lessons that I take her to every other week. Today is the first day in a week that I have to just allow myself to be sick....

3 days before Christmas.

Nothings wrapped, decorated, and I still have a few presents to get.

At least I can sleep now! Thank you cough syrup with codeine! There's always a silver lining!