Life as Jenn

Here is what I have in my "bag of teacher tricks"

Starting from the left:

PEZ candy, stickers, foam stickers, and pencils - these are used for at the end of the day to reward those students that showed an amazing job.

Whistle on coil - Used of course for playground to round students up to get in line

Bucket of crayons, Mr. Sketch Markers, Glue sticks, fine tip markers chalk - You never know when you'll need these items for an art activitiy or color in assignment

Hand Sanitizer - So many germs are passed around during the day.  Keep those hands clean to keep sickness AWAY!

Pencils - I don't know how many kiddos throughout the day asked for a pencil, but I'd definitely need more than two hands to count them all.  Always bring extra pencils with you and sharpen them ahead of time so that you and the kiddos can focus more on the assigned task than a sharpening a pencil.

Post-Its and punch out - Write each student's name on a post it and stick it on the desk/table where they sit.  Throughout the day, go around and use the punch out on the sticky note.  The student with the most punch outs on their post it wins a prize!

Flashcards - Flashcards are great time fillers!

Calculator - Sometimes when you sub, you encounter a math page that doesn't contain an answer key.  I've found that a calculator helps in answering questions quicker!

Popscicle Sticks - At the end of each stick is a title of a game or an activity.  You might have extra time to play these games at the end of the day.  I only choose one.

Name Tags - It can be heartbreaking to a child if you can't recall their name or say their name correctly.  I always try to remind kids that everyone makes mistakes and that I'm new and they're new to me.  Name tags can definitely help any sub avoid situations such as these.

Substitute Business Cards - I always bring a stack of business cards with me to any job assignment so that teachers know who I am and who was working in their classroom for the day.  I include the following information on the cards: A catchy title "I'm Here For You!", My name, My job position, work experience, certifications, my phone number, email address, and the address to this website.

Hopefully, you can find this helpful.  I know that I did! Happy Subbing!