One Tired Teacher
One Tired Teacher
OTT 253: What to Do Before You Get Sick – Smart Planning for the Inevitable
Every teacher knows the feeling: waking up with a scratchy throat or fever, but dreading the thought of writing sub plans while sick. What if you could eliminate that stress with some smart planning now?
The beginning of the school year brings excitement, fresh starts, and, unfortunately, exposure to countless classroom germs. As someone who battled chronic sinus infections throughout my teaching career (later diagnosed as an autoimmune condition), I learned the hard way that emergency sub plans aren't just helpful—they're essential for your well-being and peace of mind.
Think of emergency sub plans as your teaching insurance policy. They might be tedious to create, but they're invaluable when needed. Most districts require at least five days of emergency plans stored where colleagues can access them. The best plans keep it simple with review activities rather than new learning, clear instructions, and print-ready materials that don't require technology navigation. Your substitute—who might range from an experienced former teacher to a new college graduate—will thank you for the clarity.
Creating a dedicated sub-tub or binder with clearly labeled materials makes implementing your plans seamless, even if you can't communicate directly with your replacement. Start by preparing just one day of plans; this gives you breathing room to add more gradually. Store everything where a designated buddy teacher can access it if needed.
You deserve to rest when sick without the weight of classroom guilt. Your students will be fine for a day (or more) without you, especially with thoughtfully prepared activities keeping them engaged. Whether you're managing laryngitis from teaching, caring for a sick child, or simply needing a mental health day, having emergency plans ready is your gift to your future self.
Ready to get started? Download my free day of ready-to-use emergency sub plans at the link in the show notes, and check out my complete sub plan bundles if you want comprehensive coverage for the entire year. Your future sick self will thank you!
🌿 You can’t pour from an empty cup — but with the Sub Survival System, you’ll never have to panic when you need a day.
Ready-to-go sub plans designed by a teacher who’s been there.
Because rest isn’t a luxury — it’s part of the job.
👉 [Explore the Sub Survival System on TpT]
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Welcome to One Tired Teacher, episode 253. What to do before you get sick Smart planning for the inevitable. So we're talking about back to school, my friend, and it's here, it's upon us, it is August and whether you're starting this month or next month, it's right here. I know in my district we are starting this week, or at least teachers are starting this week. So I wanted to make sure that I shared a little bit about like thinking ahead, being proactive, being set this year so you're not super stressed out when the inevitable occurs, which is sickness, oh, the sickness that comes sometimes when you are surrounded by a group of teeny, tiny germs. So let's talk all about how to be prepared. Hope you stick around.
Speaker 2:Welcome to One Tired Teacher. And even though she may need a nap, this teacher is ready to wake up and speak her truth about the trials and treasures of teaching here. She is wide awake. Wait, she's not asleep right now, is she? She is awake right. Okay, from Trina Devery, teaching and Learning your host, trina Devery.
Speaker 1:Hey, so welcome back. Welcome back to One Tired Teacher. It's August, it means that we're juggling more, we're juggling prep, we're juggling excitement, overwhelm and all the germs they are waiting to pounce. As you can even tell, my voice sounds a little bit raspy itself and at the time of recording I strained my vocal cords. I participated in something over the weekend where I was yelling like really loudly for long periods of time, and my vocal cords are strained, and it's been several days now and they're still a little raspy.
Speaker 1:This was. This is actually something that would commonly happen to me year after year after year in the classroom, and I would get laryngitis like almost every single year, I mean like completely losing my voice. So I don't know if it's just like something that happens sometimes, but it's just so not good for me to strain my voice like that, so I will. I will have to control myself next time. So anyway, today I'm going to talk to you about something that most teachers don't think about until it's too late, and that's being prepared for the days when you just can't be there, and this can be because you have laryngitis or a stomach bug, or maybe even you need a mental health day. And that is okay, because sometimes we have to take those days that's us putting our own oxygen mask on first, those days where we need to take a little breath, to take a little break, to take a moment to spend our day in bed watching Netflix or whatever we're watching, and just relax. That's okay. You can do that, you are allowed to do that. I want you to do that for yourself. Another thing that happens sometimes is we need a surprise appointment, or we've, you know, we've got a little one that's sick in the back seat. I don't know how many times that happened on the way to school, and it's just a part of everyday life when you're a teacher and you deserve to be able to rest without guilt or chaos. So let's talk about emergency subplans, what works, what to prep now and how to make sure your future self is high-fiving you for being ahead of the game.
Speaker 1:So, first of all, why should we plan now, at the very beginning of August, when we're healthy and we're jumping back into the school year? Well, let me just say, as a person who had chronic sinus infections for so much of my teaching career, it was just a matter of time and, yes, there were even beginning of the year, times where I was sick and talk about stress and anxiety, especially when you're trying to set up your procedures and your routines and set up, you know, build that rapport with your students and you're out sick. There is nothing worse than that. But the reason we are planning now is because the first few weeks they always feel like survival mode, but the truth is you, they always feel like survival mode, but the truth is you will be out of that eventually. Also, no one wants to be writing subplans at 3 o'clock in the morning with a fever, and subplans are like insurance. They're boring to make but they're essential when needed. And this is a really important thing to keep in mind.
Speaker 1:I know in my school district, even with my principal, we had to have at least five days of emergency sub plans in our classrooms and our team leader, which was me, our team leader had to know where our sub plans were. I on my team, I was like you know what? I don't want to know everyone where everyone's subplans are, because I'm not responsible for every single person being out. We had 13 people on my team at some some years. Most years it was around 10. But it was like not ever below, I don't even think nine. So I was like we're gonna have a buddy and that, but that sounds funny. We're gonna have a partner and that person is going to know where our subplans are and we're going to rely on each other and if you need me because your partner is also out, then you know you can text me or call me or whatever, and let me know where your subplans are. So I didn't need to have like a map of everyone's subplans, where your sub plans are. So I didn't need to have like a map of everyone's sub plans. Anyway, it was really important to have these five days ready to go in case of emergency and, honestly, I used to do 10 days because I was sick every year or my kids were sick, somebody was sick. So it's really important to have these all set and ready to go. It is like an insurance policy, all right.
Speaker 1:So what do we include in a basic emergency day? Well, first, you want to keep it simple and repeatable. You want to do all of your subjects reading, writing, math, maybe word work, something science, social studies. We definitely want to do something low stress for science and social studies, because we don't always know what experience our sub has. Sometimes we get like a former teacher and they're outstanding and they could take it and run with it, but sometimes we get like a college graduate or not even a college graduate and they don't necessarily know what to do with kids that are high engagement and also keeps kids under control. So we have to remember that. We also want to focus on reviewing, not new learning. So it's easy for the sub and it's not disruptive for the students, it's important to include classroom expectations and a clear sub note at the top. You want it to be print and go as quick as possible. You might even want to have your copies already all set and ready to pass out.
Speaker 1:That was not the expectation in my school. We just had to have the plans and then we had to. You know the buddy. Our partner had to get it to our para and they would take care of the copies, or I've done that myself before. I usually did have copies for those first few days just in case there was like I couldn't get there or whatever, and I didn't want to put extra work on a teammate. But we want to make sure that we're not.
Speaker 1:It's so hard for subs when we have to log in and there's, you know, the login link, and then they get confused and then where do they go? And it's, it's really hard. I know this is 2025. And we're like, hello, can't we get people into our system? But it is really stressful for subs. I cannot tell you how many times I've had to go into a classroom as the student support specialist and try to help the sub figure out how to log into our school. You know Schoology platform. So it was. It's just, it's so much easier if it's just print and go.
Speaker 1:Now, like I said, I had a sub tub, I had a sub binder. I actually had a tub. It was like one of those file folder kind of boxes that had the handle, it has a little lid or whatever, and then I would have folders hanging, folders of, like you know, month or day, one, day, two, day three, day four, day five, all the way through day 10, or just five days, and I would have the print and go. You know, I'd have the sub templates to use that I could, you know, make it, make it my own, and then I would have work for word, work for reading, writing, math, science, social studies and actually, if, if, that's something that would benefit you. I do have a freebie, a free day that is. I'm happy to share with you and give you so that you can also have, like, at least a day ready to go and you know exactly what you have and you're all set and you don't have to worry about it.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to find the link. That's why it's taking me a second. Okay, it's Trina Devery, teachingandlearningcom forward slash. Let me make sure this is the right one. Subplans day one. All one word subplans day one. That's a really long URL, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is. It is. So it's sub plans day one. I'm going to share it in the show notes so that you can see it and grab it. But that has everything that you need and has the templates and everything. And if you're like you know what, I love these and I want all five days, I've got that for you too.
Speaker 1:I also have back to school beginning of the year sub plans for August. I have monthly sub plans. I have got you covered in sub plans. I am the queen of making sub plans. Let me tell you Whoa. Okay, so that was an accident. All right, sorry about that, anyway. Okay, so let's move on.
Speaker 1:How to make this doable. First of all, you want to pick one day and get it prepped Just one. That's why this free day is so easy for you. It's all done, it will be all done. All you have to do is make the copies. You're going to keep it in a labeled folder or a tub and let someone on your team know where it is. Once that's done, you've got breathing room and you can add more days later if you can. Now, if you like.
Speaker 1:I said, if you, if you need a headstart, I'm going to give you this day for free. It's for second grade, it's ready to go, it's printable, it's low prep, it's standards aligned and you can grab it and breathe easier. And if you want, you can also grab the five day bundle. I have a 10 day bundle. I have monthly sub plans. I've got perfect ones for back to school. So if you do, by chance, get sick at the beginning of the year oh please, let's pray that doesn't happen Then I've got you covered, okay, so you're all set. You deserve to rest when you need to and your classroom can absolutely run without you for a day. I promise you.
Speaker 1:I know sometimes people go to school sick because it's so much harder than writing sub plans. That's why I have done it for you, because I was sick all the time. I got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease when I was 40, which explained why my immune system was so weak and I was just constantly sick, and so I learned to write really helpful subplans. In fact, the subs used to come to me when they were subbing in other classrooms and say can I please have your subplans? I was like no, you have to use the sub plans that are there. And I and they're like they don't write good sub plans Because a lot of times, you know, they tell us administration tells us that they should be able to pick up our lesson plans and teach from there, which is absolutely insane and ridiculous.
Speaker 1:Like they're not.
Speaker 1:They don't have the same experience, they don't have the same information. They don't, they haven't been working with the kids. That doesn't even make sense. Those lesson plans are for you. They are not for someone else to teach off of. I think that is the most ridiculous expectation.
Speaker 1:But anyway, and also, like you know, you can tell subs page whatever in the math book and and maybe they can wing that part. But unless you have a really super scripted program for every single subject. It's very hard to just hand it off to somebody else. So make your life easier, make the sub's lives easier and just keep the kids busy and engaged, busy being the key word, so just keep that in mind. Also, have some early finisher activities in my monthly sub plans, just FYI, in case they need a little more to do in the day, all right. So start small, prep what you can and give yourself that peace of mind. Thanks for being here. Next week we're gonna talk about a way to kick off the school year with laughter, connection and zero pressure. See you then. Until next time, sweet dreams and sleep tight.