A Long-Term Assignment

I've spent the last 4 weeks (with 3 more weeks to go) guest teaching in a 4th grade class at Creekview Elementary. I've subbed for 3 years and up until this assignment the longest I'd been in the same class has been about a week. I've really enjoyed it. It's nice to have the same place to go to work every day and not be always waiting to find out what my next assignment is. I like knowing what to expect each day and being able to get to know the students better. I'll admit that there are days (like today) when I come home exhausted and skip my workout, take a nap at 5:00 and get pizza instead of making dinner! There are three 4th grade classes (a total of 87 students) and they each rotate through my room for an hour a day on most days of the week. I mostly teach science and writing but I've also done some debate stuff which is fun. My regular class has 30 students which feels like an awful lot of kids some days! Drake is in my homeroom class and Garrett comes through for one of the rotations and it has been fun to be their teacher and see them in their school environment. This week I took 30 students (about 10 from each class) who had done all their reading minutes in January and February on a bowling field trip. It was chaotic and noisy, but also a lot of fun and I managed to get everybody there and back again without any trouble. Whew! I'm enjoying this new experience and feel like I am really learning and growing. I've definitely gained a greater appreciation for my own kids and how hard they work to keep good grades and to do well in school. And I appreciate their teachers more and all the hard work they put in to make everyday a great day.