Subs...This Message is for YOU!

The job search can be daunting with the district's budget in a continuous deficit and positions still getting cut. But teachers, keep your heads up! We will all get a job when it is our time. The school and staff and classroom and students, will all be a perfect fit when we do!

"You will achieve your grand dream, one day at a time, so set goals for each day. Not long and difficult projects, but chores that will take you step by step, towards your rainbow. Write them down, if you must, but limit your list so that you won't have to drag today's undone matters into tomorrow. Remember that you cannot build your pyramid in twenty-four hours. Be patient. Never allow your day to become so cluttered that you neglect your most important goal: to do the best you can, enjoy this day, and rest satisfied with what you have accomplished."

-Og Mandino

This weeks CSA box consisted of greens, greens, greens! There were a few new veggies we have never tried before:

• Butterhead Lettuce


• Rainbow Swiss Chard


• Spring Spinach


• Snap Peas


• Bok Choy


• Musselburg Leeks


• Lovage

We have been snacking away on snap peas dipped in hummus and salsa. The fresh spinach has added a nice touch to the veggie egg-white omelettes in the morning, and our best creation this week was "Hodgepodge Soup." In the picture above, Brad is enjoying the freshly homemade vegetarian soup using leeks and lovage.

Hodgepodge Soup

• 8 cups organic vegetable broth


• 1 can cannelini beans


• 1 can black beans


• 1 can diced tomatoes


• 1 can cut green beans


• 1 can sweet peas


• 3 large leeks


• 1 sprig lovage


• 1 green pepper, diced


• 1 red pepper, diced


• 1/2 red onion, diced


• Chili powder, garlic salt, sea salt and pepper to taste

Enjoy!

Love Your Veggies!

In lieu of being "green" and eating healthy, my boyfriend and I decided to support our local farmers at Abundant Harvbest. A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm in Hillsboro, Oregon, Abundant Harvest grows high quality, nutritous produce without synthetic herbicides or pesticides, so we get all the goodness nature has to offer!

We joined the farm by purchasing a "share"of the season's bounty. In return for our financial support early in the season, bi-weekly from May to October we get to pick up a box of freshly harvested fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. What we like best about CSA is that as members we get to know who's growing our food and the methods the farmers use. We get to eat seasonally, support local farmers, and eat fresh and healthy foods. We are also anticipating getting to try a variety of new veggies we wouldn't typically buy at the grocery stores. Exciting!

I Love Snacks!

Today I found myself thinking about snacks. I personally snack often to keep my energy up and my metabolism running and I am often nibbling on something in the classroom in front of my kids. Nearly every classroom I have subbed in offers a snack time for students. In my own classroom I might offer two!

Why? Because Kids need snacks! When healthy snack choices are made, they provide the nutrients and calories kids need for growth, good health and energy to get through the day. Studies show that when children's nutritional needs are met, it's easier for them to focus and learn. Well-nourished children have higher test scores, better school attendance and fewer classroom behavior problems.

Studies show that kids today snack more often and eat more of their snacks at school — both inside and outside of the classroom. Therefore, teachers can play a key role in helping children establish healthy snacking habits.

Teachers can take an active role in educating students and parents about snacks sent from home by communicating the expectations for nutritious choices. Try these strategies for getting kids onboard for eating nutritious snacks and to take responsibility for making their own healthy choices:

• Talk about nutritious snacks often.
• Share examples of nutritious snacks that YOU like. Better yet, join your students and let them see you eating a nutritious snack during snack time. Teachers are important role models for kids and what you do can send a powerful message.
• Encourage children to share what they learn about nutritious snacks at home.
• Ask students to demonstrate what they learn about nutritious snacks in the classroom by bringing in nutritious snacks from home.
• Take a Snack Survey. Classify the snacks that student bring for snack time according to the Five Food Groups and "Others" category. Create a graph and talk about the results.
• Brainstorm a list of foods in each food group. Invite students to create nutritious snack combinations.
• Feature a "Nutritious Snack of the Week" on a bulletin board for children to try at home.
• Have students keep Snack Journals.

Happy snacking!

"When You Thought I Wasn't Looking"

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you displayed my first report, and I wanted to do another.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you fed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you gave me a sticker, and I knew that little things were special things.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you put your arm around me, and I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn’t looking I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt--but that it’s all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you smiled, and it made me want to look that pretty too.

When you thought I wasn’t looking, you cared, and I wanted to be everything I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking--I looked...and wanted to say thanks for all those things you did when you thought I wasn’t looking. 

By Mary Rita Schilke Korzan

Life As A Substitute Teacher

Okay, you came to school professionally dressed. You brought your grab bag of activities and events. You prepared the classroom before the students arrived. You ate your breath mints and smiled when the students entered. The day started off okay, but now it's 11:00 a.m., and the students aren't listening to you. In fact, they are throwing spit balls and having their own conversations. You know in your heart that the room is out of control. You are sweating, worrying about what will happen if someone opens the door and sees what is happening.

Take a deep breath. This has happened to all of us more than once. This scenario outlines what I call the rights of passage in substitute teaching. Despite all the careful preparation, there are times when we make behavior management mistakes because we do not know what we should do. 

Children, even the very best behaved children, will look at a substitute teacher as an easy target to intimidate. It is my opinion that most of the time, substitute time is party time. It starts with the misdeeds of one or two children and escalates into a full-fledged wing-ding if you are not careful from the beginning. I have learned that is is important to establish yourself from the very first minute of class.

I carry around my own list of classroom rules (in my head). After the students enter the class, the first thing I do is introduce myself and share a bit about myself, and go over my personal expectations for the day. I set the stage and I follow my own rules. I provide students with a snapshot of the days events. I find that students misbehave more when they do not know what is going to happen. I always write a schedule down on one corner of the board that encompasses all the time in the day if the permanent teacher doesn't have a place to do so already. I also always leave 15 minutes free at the end of the day as a possibility of game or time for them to share something about their personal life or interests. 

It is clear that the regular teacher has a huge advantage over us. He or she has established a rapport with the students over time. While the relationships with students is what I love about teaching and have been lacking since being a substitute, I try to stay positive about my current situation. I would love my own classroom to get to know the students and create original and exciting thematic units, so all I can do is hope for next year. For now, I am thankful for getting the chance to explore the different schools within the various districts I work in. I get a chance to see many different classroom setups and school environments. I not only get to get a feel for the type of school I would most like to work for, but I am continually learning, adjusting, and testing various education and teaching techniques. 

I wish all you other substitutes out there the best of luck. If you want your own classroom, just keep doing what your doing. We will make it happen! For now all we can do is keep our chins up and our minds open and learn as much as we can along the way. 

What Do I Do Now, Teacher?

Since my student teaching in the public school system came to an end this past June I have been teaching pre-k at a non-profit facility in Portland. We just finished up with summer session and kicked off the 2009-2010 school year on Tuesday. The classroom has been a little hectic with 18 (yes, 18) three and four year olds, but as long as I remember to take deep breaths on a regular basis I'm alright. Establishing routine and boundaries with the little ones is definitely a challenge.

Pre-k students are developmentally very different from my 2nd and 5th graders (obviously). From my education schooling, training, and experiences I have learned a great deal about the importance of setting firm guidelines starting on the first day of school. I have come to believe that when you establish your classroom rules at the beginning of the year, solicit student imput. You'll end up with the same rules, and the students will be more likely to pay attention if they've had a hand in establishing the guidelines. Then be sure to post the rules where the students will see them- preferrably at their eye level. It's hard to say "I forgot the rules" when they're displayed for all to see. Good luck to all you teachers out there, let's start this new year on a positive note!