Hi Melissa,
Congrats on the job! I was in a similar situation last year. I
filled in at the end of the year for a teacher whose husband was
very sick. She did come back at the end of the year.
I agree that spending some time getting to know the students is
valuable. However, you have to do your own thing also. You
will probably hear, "But Mrs. X. did it THIS way..." Try to take
that into account but they them know that you respect that but
can't do everything the same. This is a crazy time of the year.
Try to create high-interest activities but balance it with
quiet work to settle them down.
The teacher I subbed for was very disorganized. There was no
system in the class, so I put one in place. I couldn't deal
with the chaos of papers everywhere and confusion. That was a
big change for the kids but they loved it. They would say,
"Wow, you are so organized. Mrs. X. could never find our
papers..." I never said anything but positive things about the
reg. teacher. I Personally wise, we were very different. Yet,
with all the engaging lessons, it somehow worked.
That teacher retired and I told her position. Know that it is
not going to be a "perfect" year but you can do it. Can you
have them complete an interest survey and talk about what they
would like to do next year? Maybe you can plan some special
project that they can look forward to.
Enjoy the rest of your vacation!
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