The Snake Encounter, Part 2
As I stood before the snake, trembling like a baby about to take her first step, I couldn’t help but wonder why my family wasn’t coming to my aid. The …
Teaching Foreign Languages
As poor as my Spanish and French speaking abilities are, I forget how much more I know than those I am substitute teaching in middle school or high school, so …
Disturb Nature: Camp with the Family
As the children became more accustomed to hiking in nature,through forests and deserts, in mountains, along craggy coastlines, and over bogs, their chatter increased. Suddenly, the silence of nature was …
The Noise Level
Can I keep every class quiet? Notice that I used the adjective “every” in the preceding sentence. Therefore, the answer to that question is absolutely not. I am a substitute, …
Keeping the Peace with Schedules
Yes, camping is all about family togetherness. Yes, you need to coordinate schedules to achieve this. But sometimes just a few extra schedules can mean the difference between a peaceful …
High School P. E. Class
It never ceases to amaze me, when I substitute for a high school physical education class, that the students dressed in their gym uniforms, shorts and white tee-shirts, never want …
Occupying Young Children in the Car
You know all those plastic children’s lunch boxes used during school time; well they are ideal for travel occupation. You need at least one lunch box per child, and depending …
The Elementary Class Informant
Grade school is not what it was like when my children went through it about eight years ago. Presently, when I’m called in to substitute for kindergarten through fourth grade, …
And Limitations
Besides time and money, limitations for a family may include the ages of the children and later when the children are teens, and more daring, the ages of the parents. …
Finding Assistance with Certain Subjects
Don’t be afraid to ask department heads questions about the material you are asked to present to students either to refresh your own memory or to garner examples on how …