'Twas the week before Christmas (break!)

Wow, if this isn't my least favourite week of the year, I don't know what is. Depending on the year and what kids I had, the last day or two before Christmas break was AWFUL! Or it was awesome. It all depended on how I'd planned my year.

First, don't be afraid to let people (whose kids you like...) know that your schedule is filling fast, and if they'd like you to hold any days that are in high demand (like the last day before any break) you'd be happy to. There's no harm if you do this. The upside is that you might have kids you like and who know you. Bonus! If it doesn't pan out, you'll get a call that day. Guaranteed.

Second, be vigilant on subfinder, making sure that you can fill your schedule with teachers you like, rather than just what's available. Get those cards out when you are in jobs, so teachers know how to reach you and request you.

Be prepared with some random holiday-y activities and things that will engage the whole class if need be. Silent ball works. Any sub who can keep a class together on the last day before a break without a solid lesson plan is golden. Heads-down, Thumbs-Up works, too. If you're lucky, you'll have no more than 60-minutes to fill for each class. If you're unlucky, the kids are on blocks and you're going to have to scramble.

Also, your budget plays into this. While it's nice to be available during those high-demand days, look at your budget numbers and see what you can do to avoid it if you don't have something lined up before it happens. How nice would it be to go on vacation a day early and not deal with those stressors all day? Look at your budget. Can you do it? Consider it!

The best year of holidays for me was the year I had the honors social studies and language arts kids for the three days the week of Thanksgiving and the entire week before Christmas. They were amazing, as always. They focused all week, got their work done, read their books and even cleaned up perfectly after their holiday party and gift exchange on the last day. That's how that week *should* look for subs. Tests are also great ways to spend that last day, as it forces focus and eliminates that need for kids to be reminded of material for a test when they return from break.

I had one year I regretted working that last day when I was showing Elf and the kids were allowed to bring food. One kid ate so many cookies he put himself into a sugar coma before the end of class and had a pounding headache when he woke up. The kids were predictably bouncy, unfocused and unproductive, as was planned. Unfortunately, I was not properly equipped to handle that.

All too often, that last day is a management nightmare. That week is dicey. By doing some careful planning on either activities to entertain or just not working that day, you can easily avoid stressful work days, saving your sanity and your energy for your family.

Giving Away Control - Really!

As a sub, there's nothing more frustrating than feeling like the kids are in control of the room. You should be, right? Rule that room with an iron fist. No! You can't go to the bathroom. What do you think you're doing with your headphones in? Texting? Not on my watch! RAWR!

Seriously... you're going to give yourself a migraine and you're not winning kid hearts. Granted, you don't *have* to win kid hearts, but it really helps when you do.

The good news is that you don't have to be a complete pushover to win kid hearts - and you don't have win all their hearts, just the ones that really want to work with you and will if you are reasonable. Then you can deal with your troublemakers without creating more.

There are two policies I enforce religiously in classes. The first is the electronics policy: They're not allowed unless and until the regular classroom teacher leaves me a note that they are. End of story. You challenge that, and consequences happen. It's that fast and that easy. Administrators are grateful when I call to get a cell phone removed from my room. It's one more teacher who is standing by the school policy. It's also an entire room of students who see, firsthand, that I mean what I say and I will back it up all the way to removal from my room if it becomes a greater issue.

The other policy I enforce is for safety of all students, and it deals with food. In the vast majority of classes, food is not allowed. In science labs, it's completely verboten. In other classrooms, it all depends on school rules, teacher rules and class allergies. If I have a student with a fatal allergy to foods at any point in my day, nobody eats in any of my classes and I will call an administrator to remove a child who refuses to abide. Straight up, that kid who is eating could kill a kid next period, and I'd be responsible. That's not okay, and it's a battle I will justify picking to anyone who needs justification. It's not just food. It's a potential attack on another student if it's peanut butter.

But that brings me to the title of this post: Giving away control. Outside those two fairly unyielding policies, I have very few rules that cannot be modified to fit the situation. Bathroom passes are granted one at a time with a sign-out sheet for the students, and they largely self-monitor. They control it.

Movement about the room, I'm not so picky on if they're working and productive. Even when I've asked them to stay in their seats, I'm willing to overlook the ones who move (they know that I'm granting amnesty) if they're productive and not disrupting. This is especially true if the class is nice and I have a photo seating chart.

I seldom know what a teacher's absolute rules are, or how passes are granted or anything else. My information is limited. By giving some control away in bathroom passes and movement, I'm better able to enforce those rules I do care about and show that I'm not entirely evil, just trying to maintain some semblance of order and an atmosphere of productivity.