ADVICE NO ONE GIVES YOU IN COLLEGE -PART ONE!!

I've been lucky enough to receive a phone call this morning for a couple of weeks sub work. It was completely out of the blue as I haven't even gone around with my CVs yet! It's always nice knowing where you're going to be in advance, and I'm thrilled to have this time to ease myself back into substitute teaching. I've never worked in this school before and just got the job from word of mouth from another principal. But it did get me thinking about how much of a rush it is to get out the door in the morning when you get a last minute call, so I compiled a list of things I do to get me moving as quickly as possible!


This is advice mainly aimed towards female teachers! It's something I never learned in college. I acknowledge it isn't ground-breaking advice, nor is it detrimental to having a great subbing day, but I feel it is important.

Looking presentable and professional is important in most jobs. It's especially important as a substitute teacher as, unfortunately, we do get judged somewhat on our appearance. I know it's important not to judge a book by it's cover, and all that, but as it is often the case that principals are only meeting you for the first time, all they know about you is what is on your CV. You may be the best teacher in the world, but if you turn up looking like you've just crawled out of bed and rushed out the  door like a crazy person (which is very possibly what you have done!), you're not going to give a good impression.


So here it is, MY ADVICE NO ONE GIVES YOU IN COLLEGE!!:

1. Always have a bottle of water beside you at night.If possible take a quick sip before you speak on the phone, if you are answering a call. It will help with the groggy voice and prevent you from sounding like the phone call disturbed your Wednesday morning lie in!!
2. As we come into the Autumn/Winter time, you can bet you'll end up with a cold at some stage over the coming months. It's important to mind yourself, get enough vitamins, eat right etc, etc.. (There's plenty of professional advice out there on how to mind yourself that I would encourage everyone to be aware of!) I found myself last year being quite ill for about a month. I'm (touch wood) someone who doesn't get unwell that often, but I found myself working non-stop for about five weeks. Over the space of two weeks I went from having headaches, to a cold, to a chest infection to eventually losing my voice for a couple of days. It took me a week to recover and then suddenly the exact same thing happened again over the following two weeks. I was working throughout it as I didn't want to call in sick while I was subbing for a sick teacher! As unappetising as it sounds I always kept lozenges beside me at night as well throughout the winter. I would wake up at about 8:00 am, pop one in my mouth and await a phone call. Not nice, but it worked, whenever the phone rang I sounded fresh as a daisy!!
3. My third bit of advice isn't for everyone but I think you should always shower right before bed time. If you're someone who can have a three minute shower in the morning, that's great! For me, I always wash my hair at night as it's long and thick and would take aaaaages to wash and dry otherwise!
4. Always plan what you are going to wear the night before. I know it sounds like a waste of time but it saves so much time and effort in the morning knowing exactly what to put on. There's nothing worse than going to your wardrobe and not having anything clean to wear! :/ 
5. Finally, for the girls, I have perfected my 'FIVE MINUTE FACE' and I would encourage everyone to do the same!! I know there's plenty of girls out there who don't wear make up, and that's great, embrace your natural beauty! But sometimes the occasion calls for it. Turning up to a school looking washed out and dark rings under your eyes doesn't give the best impression.

Here is how I get ready in five minutes:

• I always have my clothes decided on the night before. If I'm going into a brand new school I have a couple of 'go - to' dresses that I choose from to wear. They're smart and professional, until I see the dress code of the other teachers. (30 Seconds)

• I have naturally wavy/curly hair, it really doesn't take much effort to get it looking right! As I've stopped using heat on my hair for everyday purposes, I always put it into a plait at                night, so I just undo my plait, spritz in some sea salt spray (I use Lee Stafford Sea Salt               Spray. It doesn't dry out hair too much) and  some dry shampoo (I use Baptiste XXL                   Volume) (One of the best inventions. Ever!) for volume. (30 seconds)

LIFE SAVER!!

Lee Stafford Sea Salt Spray

• I then move onto my face where I moisturise my face and lips, prime, and apply foundation. (One Minute)

Step One

• After this I do my eyes. My eye make up is just liquid eyeliner on my top lash line and some mascara. If I have time I'll use under eye concealer which I pat in using my Eco Tools Blender. (One Minute)

Step Two

• I apply matte powder to set my foundation, contour my cheek bones and forehead and apply a bit of blush on my cheeks. (One and a half minutes)

Step Three

• Finally I spritz on whatever perfume I'm using at the time and a moisturizing lip balm. (30 Seconds)

Step Four

I then grab my handbag, sub kit and something to eat and I'm out the door. I'd recommend everyone trying a FIVE MINUTE GET READY ROUTINE. At the end of the day, no realistic principal expects you to be there within 10 or 15 minutes of receiving a phone call, but the quicker you arrive the better it looks!

Happy Subbing!

Aisling♥

SUBSTITUTE/OLCS FORM

Here is a form I filled out and brought with me to every school I subbed in. It reminded me what documents to bring (check off) and gave all the details a school would need.

I just found it very handy to have with me so secretaries or principals aren't asking for everything individually, it's all together on one sheet.

                                                        CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FORM



If you have never worked before you won't be on OLCS. The form below are all the details you'll need to be put on the system. Once on the system use the form above for every school you go into.

                                                      CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FORM

FREEBIE!!!! GET TO KNOW ME FACEBOOK WORKSHEET!

As a substitute teacher I know how difficult it can be sometimes going into new classes. I found myself last year doing a lot of sub work in younger classes. I love working with younger children as they try so hard to please and your day is spent doing core subjects  with educational games, songs and rhymes thrown in. I found sometimes that suddenly going from that to an older class a bit daunting. Sixth class don't tend to enjoy singing songs or doing rhymes while transitioning from one  subject to another!

It's nice to have a few lessons that appeal to older children in your sub kit. Although in one sense it is easier with the older classes if you're left high and dry for work, as they're normally able to tell you what they've been doing this week or last week. 

I have a couple of stand alone lessons that are tried and tested and always seem to work with fifth class and sixth class. Here's a worksheet I created that I think would be perfect as a lesson to get to know the children in your class. I think this is a perfect way to start your first day with a class if you are subbing for a week or more. It allows you to show the children that you're somewhat on their level with social media etc.. (!!!!!) and it gives you a chance to go through them afterwards and ask the children to give more information about themselves. (Oral Language!)

For example:

'Child's name, you wrote that Harry Potter is youR favourite book, why do you love Harry Potter?'

etc... etc...

I also think as a class teacher it might be nice to do this at the beginning of the year. Why not take the children's photos and stick them on as their Facebook Profile Pictures? I think it would be a nice display for the first week!

                                         
                               CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD WORKSHEET

MY RULE WORKSHEET FREEBIE!!

I love the idea of children helping draw up a classroom contract. I first heard of it in college during a drama lecture. The idea is that the children come up with various rules to make the classroom a safe and productive environment. The children then sign the contact and therefore agree to the rules.

If any teachers are planning on doing this, I've created a worksheet in which the children can write their own rule and think about why it is important and why it should be part of the classroom rules.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD WORKSHEET

BIRTHDAY HOMEWORK PASSES FREEBIE!!

I think it's pretty standard in most classrooms to see some sort of display showing when each child's birthday is. I was recently looking at some wonderful examples that I've taken screen shots of for when I have my own classroom (!) I think it's important to do something to acknowledge the children's special days!
                         


                        
                            via GIPHY



 One thing that a lot of teacher's do is give no homework. I quite like this idea as it's completely inexpensive. Most children will get presents and sweets for their birthdays so I think no homework is very much appreciated by children plus you're more than likely going to get a note from the parent saying that they went somewhere for the evening to celebrate and didn't have time to do their homework anyway. I know homework shouldn't be seen as a negative thing (etc.. etc..), but I do believe no homework is an appropriate 'reward' for birthdays.

I completely disagree with children being banned from doing P.E or Art if they are misbehaving as these are important parts of the curriculum, but I am all for no homework on special occasions!!

I think an extra added touch is to give children Homework Passes, to put into their diaries to show their parents that they don't have to do homework. It's a bit of a gimmick but I think it's a nice touch, something I'll be using when I get my own class. Until then you are more than welcome to download them, print them off and laminate them!

I made a copy in colour and a copy in black and white. The black and white would be nice to print on coloured paper and possibly be cheaper than printing the coloured ones!??

 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PASS IN BLACK AND WHITE

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PASS IN COLOUR