Substitute Teaching

I took the substitute teacher training course offered at our school earlier this year.  I wasn't sure if I would be called on or not to serve, but I wanted to be available in case help was needed.  This morning I got a call from our head of school asking if I could substitute in one of the Children's House classrooms.  I quickly made a call and cancelled my morning plans and prepared to go in and be the best substitute teacher I could be with the two hours of training I had been given earlier this school year.

On the one hand, I was nervous because I was helping out the most senior teacher on the campus.  On the other hand, I was very pleased to be working with someone who could most likely handle twenty-five three to five-year-old children by herself if she had to.

I arrived on campus and went to her classroom and was given a quick five minutes overview of my responsibilities for the day.  She had two pages with the children's names and their pictures so that I could keep them straight.  I was relieved to note that I already knew about half the students from the prior year and other interactions at school-related functions.  And then, students began to file in quietly and the morning was starting.

Montessori children are very impressive.  They know what is expected of them and even the three-year-olds only needed small reminders to put something away or a suggestion of some new work if they weren't sure what they wanted to do.  But the best part was the older children.  The five-year-olds had been in the classroom for over two years now and they knew how all the "work" was supposed to be done, what should go where, if a child had not been given a "lesson" in that particular work and was therefore not ready to do that work yet. 

And they were my big helpers too.  If one child needed help with something I didn't know how to do, I asked that child if they had a friend that could show us how and every time, the older child was glad to help both me and the younger student out.  We had one child help a newer student on with his socks (a job that took fifteen minutes because neither was very skilled at putting on tight socks). 

When it was time to go out to the playground, I was told I'd go in when the bell rang to help the children with lunch.  What did I do?  I asked these older children and they told me everything that needed to happen.  I asked them what they did first and they told me they changed into their inside shoes, washed their hands and then prepared their lunches.  If it needed microwaving, they put their food on a plate and handed it to me to heat up.  They could have milk or water and they helped me with the picture and pouring the milk into the pitcher.  Then, they served each other milk. 

They waited for everyone at their table to be ready to eat and then began eating together.  They were using ceramic plates, real cutlery, cloth napkins and glasses and they were having the most civilized meal you can imagine, including polite conversation.

Then, my time as morning substitute was over.  I had an enlightening morning, met some new friends and got a lesson or two myself in how a well-run classroom with children who are given both freedom and responsibility can be a happy and calm place at the same time.

The Big Boy Update:  He can be bribed with gummy bears. 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  The "peepotty" thing she is getting much better at.  The "poopotty" thing she is resisting...mightily.