3 Tips for a Successful Sub Day with Kelsey Sorenson

Does the mere thought of preparing to have a substitute in your classroom make you feel sick to your stomach? 

If so, you aren’t alone!

In this episode of Real Teacher Talk, I sat down with Kelsey Sorenson of Wife, Teacher, Mommy to talk about how to successfully prepare for a sub day! We discuss what stops teachers from planning ahead for inevitable sub days, how to realistically take the time to plan ahead, and what exactly needs to be included to make your day away a success.

Kelsey Sorenson is a former third-grade teacher and substitute teacher. She is now a homeschool mom to 3 kids and owner of Wife Teacher Mommy, where she and her team serve Pre-K through 6th-grade teachers. Wife Teacher Mommy has been featured on We are Teachers, Teachers pay Teachers, Jane, Etsy, Food Network, CBC, Fox, and NBC. Kelsey and her team have helped hundreds of thousands of educators cut down planning time and balance the many roles in their lives with her time-saving resources, blogs, teacher life coaching program, Educate & Rejuvenate events, and Wife Teacher Mommy: The Podcast. Kelsey is addicted to Coke Zero and loves reading and listening to audiobooks.

If you loved Kelsey’s tips and want to learn more from her, make sure to head to her website for more! You can also follow her on Instagram to stay up to date with all of her tips and tricks!


Resources Mentioned:

Check out Kelsey’s website

Grab Kelsey’s FREE Sub Planning Starter Kit

Listen to Kelsey’s podcast

Follow Kelsey on Instagram

Join the Classroom Purge

Additional Resources:

Follow the Podcast

Follow Along on Facebook 

Follow Along on Instagram 

Register for the 3 PM Teacher Training at www.easyteachingtools.com/3pmteacher!

I would also appreciate it if you would leave me a review on Apple and a rating on Spotify!

I read each of them, and they help me make sure I am providing the content that you love to hear! Plus, you get to pay it forward because it will allow other teachers like you to find the podcast!

Click here to review, then select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review”.

Transcript

Kristen Donegan  00:02

Hey everyone, welcome back to real teacher talk. Today's episode is for you, if you dread doing sub plans, and I would assume that's probably most of you guys. So, we are so lucky to have Kelsey Sorensen here when I was thinking about sub plans and how to simplify them and make them something that you don't dread. I knew I had to have are so Kelsey, good to chat with you. Thanks for being here.

Kesley Sorenson

I'm so glad to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

Kristen Donegan  00:32

You are so welcome Kelsey Sorenson, she's a former third grade teacher and substitute teacher. She's now a homeschool mom to three kids. And you've probably already seen her over at wife, teacher, Mommy, where she and her team serve pre K through sixth grade teachers. She has been featured on a million different things, we'll share all the info and how you can connect with her in the show notes below. She also blogs, she creates amazing teacher resources, coaches, teachers, we were lucky enough to speak at her event over the summer, educate and rejuvenate. And she also has a podcast wife, teacher, mommy, the podcast. So Kelsey, again, what an intro. Thanks so much for being here.

Kesley Sorenson

So excited to be here. And we loved having you at our event as well. You just offer so much to teachers and I loved everything you organizing. It's the things they don't

Kristen Donegan  01:26

teach you, right? Same thing with our shirt plans in your credential programs and your master's degree, you're just dropped in and you're like, figure it out. So, um, will you let us know before we even get started a little bit on your education journey so teachers can know a little bit more about how you got to where you are right now before we start chatting all about some plans.

Kesley Sorenson

Yeah, absolutely. And you know, my education journey, it really just took a different direction than I ever imagined as I'm sure you relate to. So, you know, started, got my teaching degree, taught in third grade, but then I had my first child and then it was like, you know, I want to just take a short break. Yeah, be home with him and substitute teach because they still wanted to be in education, you know. And so I stopped I had a few classes who I regularly subbed for, and then it would just do other random ones too. And so when I did that, and I started subbing I started seeing some of the sub plans and I'm like, Who are these? I'm like, this is not enough for me to get through the day. And I'm gonna train teachers what about the you know, subs who come in here who aren't, you know, and but having been on the other side, I totally got why, you know, everybody wants to put in the effort to make these like incredible sub plans when you're like coughing and you're sick and whatnot

Kristen Donegan  02:44

wasn't like a sticky note, like here to eat. Good luck. Yeah,

Kesley Sorenson

like one pager like, just like, not even full page full, you know, just like, Okay, this is, you know, what will? Definitely, definitely not like an ideal scenario. So it was like, You know what, I think I can help teachers and kind of make some plans that would make it easier for both teachers. And now that I'm subbing I know what subs like to see. I knew the type of plans like, ooh, these ones, these are good. These helped me. And then I'm like, okay, I can kind of make that. So teachers, they don't have to do the work. But yeah, so then I started doing that I didn't really think much would come of it. If anything, I was like, Oh, I'll bring these with me. So I have them with me. But yeah, that just kind of took off. And the business took off, probably kind of the same as you I'm guessing, like, you know, just kind of wanted to help teachers, then it kind of developed into a full on company. So,

Kristen Donegan  03:40

so cool. And I love that you want to be able to help not only teachers, but help subs as well, because it's so necessary. You never know who's gonna be in your classroom. So you're like, fingers crossed, right? So why do you think it is so hard? When for teachers just to even take a day off? Whether they're sick? Or whether you know, whatever it may be? Why is it so hard for teachers just to do it?

Kesley Sorenson

Well, I think there are a few reasons. And first of all, like most jobs, if you're sick, you can just, you know, pick up your phone and call and be okay, I'm coming in today. But for teaching, it's like, Oh, if that happens, if your last minute sick, and you don't already have something prepared, you're like, Oh, well, I feel like it would be easier to just go in, try to like write up these plans. And that's probably why I got some sub plans that were like, you know, not very comprehensive or anything because you know, those teachers, they deserve their day off, you know, and they just didn't have the time to do that. So I think that gets in the way because some teachers they might feel bad if they're not able to like get the sub plans together in time. And I just think it feels like a daunting task to like have to put together sub plans versus going in. But another thing I think gets in the way is mindset. So when you tell yourself it's too hard, it's easier to go in then you easier to go in than to write sub plans or I can't go in because there's a sub shortage right now, when you're telling yourself these things, it feels true. And you're like, Oh, I just can't, you know, I really can't, and you believe that. But I think it's when you kind of question that, and you flip it, and you're like, you know what, I earned my sick days, I deserve to take them kind of tried to be like, okay, is this true? Can I really not take a sick day? Because there's a sub shortage or whatever? And you're like, No, I can. And, you know, you want to kind of flip it to something you believe, like, maybe even just like, the sub shortage is real. It's absolutely real. But it's not my personal responsibility. Totally. Like, it is a bigger problem in education. And actually, if I go in, I'm doing a disservice to teachers, because we're just letting it stay this way, if, you know, so it's like, we kind of we just need to do it, you know, and then they'll realize, oh, teachers, they're going to still take their days off, we got to figure this out, you know. So I think it's kind of mindset, it's kind of just how hard and daunting it is. And it's just not being prepared ahead of time. Because if you already have it, then it's easy to call in. But if you don't, then it's challenging.

Kristen Donegan  06:05

So it's so true. And I like what you said about the mindset piece, because I think such a big part in education. And I talk about this a lot with the teachers I work with, is we're often guilted into doing things whether someone else was putting that guilt on us, or we're taking that on as like, our issue our problem. And so people always were blown away by me when I'd say, No, I'm using all my sub days. And they're like, well, don't you feel bad? And I was always like, well know, isn't that what they're for? But it's so many teachers don't think that way that it's, you know, they want to show up for their students, even if they're, you know, on their deathbed or don't want to put that extra stress on on their teammates, which I totally get to it's a tricky. It's a tricky situation.

Kesley Sorenson

It is tricky. But you know, I really believe that that's what teamwork is for, like they'll cover for you. And then you'll do the same for them. And that actually builds a stronger team and a stronger relationship.

Kristen Donegan  06:58

I love that. What would you say that are the three things that teachers need to let go of? When planning for us?

Kesley Sorenson

Well, okay, so I'm gonna kind of go off what you were just talking about. But I think some of what needs to be let go of is guilt, the guilt of like, their team or the guilt of Oh, what if there's not a sub? What if I make things inconvenient for my admin, or the guilt of just Oh, my students are going to have a hard time with this. I think we need to just let go of that guilt and know that it's going to be okay,

Kristen Donegan  07:25

if we take a day. Well, we'll still go on if you're not in there tomorrow, right?

Kesley Sorenson

It's almost like an I don't know how to phrase this in like a in the best way possible. But it's like, you know, almost an inflated like, oh, it just cannot go on without me. That's not exactly true. It actually can like they will figure it out. I'll

Kristen Donegan  07:43

be okay. Okay.

Kesley Sorenson

Another one is kind of what we talked about, but just letting go some limiting beliefs like, you know, maybe you're not feeling guilty, but you're just feeling like, oh, well, it's just harder, like, it'll be easier to go in. And it's just kind of like being like, well, actually, what if there was a way for it to be easier to call in, if I just kind of get prepared ahead of time. So kind of letting go those limiting beliefs. And then third, also thinking this is something I hear all the time that it has to be exactly what you would be teaching that day? Yeah. Because they're like, Oh, my district requires that we have to follow this exact, exact, you know, what we will be doing that day, but then you can prepare ahead of time, if you're doing that. And it's called emergency sub plans for a reason like if you know, like a week or two ahead that you're going to be absent, then absolutely, you can have it reflect as closely to what it would have been. But if it's like, you're sick, you can't do that. And you shouldn't have to do that. So that is where you can have like a sub tub of emergency sub plans, that if you prepare how to time, it's actually going to be better than if you did it last minute, because it can still hit standards, it can be spiral review. It can be meaningful learning. But even if it's not exactly what would have been happening that day, so it doesn't have to align perfectly. So I think that's another thing that teachers can let go of,

Kristen Donegan  09:00

oh, that's a big one. I like that. But it doesn't have to be the way you would do it. You got to tell your students, you always have that one friend who's like, Well, my teacher does it this way. Do you know what I'm talking about? Now, so many teachers, myself included, you know, often think it takes too long to plan for a sub. Is there a quicker, maybe even more efficient way to do so?

Kesley Sorenson

Absolutely. Well, for one, I do have a starter kit that will help teachers be able to jump right in, that outlines everything you need to do so you don't have to figure it out on your own. I will give you that link in the show notes. But really, it's kind of what you're talking about, about preparing ahead of time. So you just need to think of what are some activities or things that we could do that the class could do that don't take so much time and preparation on my part, you know, like what is some spiral review? What's the concept that my students might want to or not want to but need to review it So just kind of planning ahead of time, because I feel like if you put aside just like an hour or so to prepare, like multiple days of sub plans, potential options, it would be a lot quicker, then when you're trying to make it align exactly with what you were doing while you're sick. Does that make sense? Totally.

Kristen Donegan  10:17

And no one's thinking in the right mind when it's in the middle of the night, and you've got food poisoning, and you're trying to, like, get everything ready. If having something there that you could easily pool makes so much sense.

Kesley Sorenson

I feel like finding a block of time be like, Hey, okay, this hour, like, say on Friday, like, you know, I would get out early on Fridays, don't have some planning time a bit, okay, I'm going to spend one hour of that, putting together three days worth of sub plans. And then when you have that on your calendar, in the back of your mind, like ideas are going to come like, oh, I should do that, I should do that. Because you know, it's coming. And you're kind of mentally preparing in your mind. And then you just kind of sit down and you're like, Okay, I'm going to get this done, it's going to be ready. And a lot of times things will take the amount of time that you give them. So like if you just give yourself that hour, and you're like, I'm gonna bust these out, and just, you know, turn off all distractions, you'll be able to accomplish that.

Kristen Donegan  11:07

Yeah, I love being intentional with your time. And if it's not for me, like if I'm not scheduling out, I'm not gonna do I mean, they keep putting off the sub plans, until it's that middle of the night emergency. Yeah, you know what I'd add something I learned years ago as well, like you said, to get prepped, anytime I would run out of time in a lesson or something, and I had these extra copies. And I'm like, What am I going to do with them? You can set those aside, as well. For like those emergencies, they're already prepped, ready to go and add them to Chelsea's starter kit? If if you're a little low on time, it's full on last minute. Um, what would you say teachers should include in their sub plans? What are the must haves?

Kesley Sorenson

Yeah, so I kind of talked about there being two components to your sub plans. So the first is your sub binder. And this has like all the information that your sub will need about the class. So not actually what they're teaching, which is the information they'll need to have a successful day. Like what like a list of your students and the schedule, and not just one schedule, but any alternate schedules. All the specials are like, you know, if you have a Friday like early, I was scheduled like I did, or if you have like if there's an assembly. Different special schedules include any option that could happen on a last minute day. Then also like your seating chart that is very important. So the sub can know who is where. And any attention prompts I loved when teachers would leave those. So I could like keep it as consistent as possible, like any response or anything they would use. Because it's so simple. If you're just like, hey, I say this, and they say that, that's a really easy thing to tell yourself to do, that will make the day go a lot smoother. Just little things like that, like arrival procedures, dismissal, how things go, so they can kind of keep it consistent enough for for the students. Then there's the sub plans that are the actual teaching content, like any short lesson plans, again, you don't want to keep any lessons, you don't want them very long, because the sub doesn't have a long time to look over them before they're just hopping right in. But I did like you know, having a short like description of like what you could do with the students to go along with each thing, just so you're not like handing out papers, and like, so there's actually some like learning and communication going on. I felt like a lot of subs who I've even talked to like on Facebook, and over the years, they're like, I hate when teachers think that I'm not capable of doing anything. And I'm just a glorified babysitter, a lot of them, especially now, when like, you know, if they're still there, they're there because they want to be options and things that could be doing for the same day that are probably easier. So if they're there, they want to be there. And so I think just kind of realizing that, okay, I can do something that's a little more engaging with those plans, too. And I kind of went on a little bit of a tangent there. But that's kind of what to keep in mind when doing those lessons, like keep them short. But they can also still be meaningful and not just like handout these, them handout this and handout that either, so you're expecting

Kristen Donegan  14:10

them to teach.

Kesley Sorenson

Yeah, so we have a little bit of teaching. And it's very explicit, though. It's just like, hey, here are some like guiding questions you can ask, you know, they are a substitute teacher. They're not a substitute page handout, or, you know,

Kristen Donegan  14:27

no, because I've talked with teachers who were like, no, they're just there to like, be a warm body in the classroom like no, they could still teach, they could still run guided reading groups, they could still have their day be as normal as possible. And what would you say when you're talking about what would you include? In your plans? How explicit is too explicit or not explicit enough?

Kesley Sorenson

Oh, that's like a good question. So I feel like kind of a rule of thumb like where at least when I was this Sub are and how our plans are laid out, is I have like maybe like five bullet points for each subject. And then I had like room for like the sub to, like, take notes on how it went or whatever. Yes, I wouldn't do more than that. Because then it's like you have to remember, they don't have a ton of time to read these. So. And I do like, I like bullet points because it makes it easier to read and skimmable than just like big long paragraphs. So and as

Kristen Donegan  15:26

a sub Did you like having that section where the sub could leave notes back to the teacher?

Kesley Sorenson

I did. So then you could kind of let them know how it went. Or if there were parts that you didn't get to, that they then can stick right back in their sub tub like your engine? Yeah. So I like I liked having that for sure. And that's why we include that in ours.

Kristen Donegan  15:46

Yeah, I always appreciated that coming back like, Hey, why did this get done? Or like, what? What was the day like? Yeah, I love getting notes back especially good notes. Back from the sub. What do you think teachers can do right now to get students ready and prepared for a substitute, especially since this episodes airing beginning of the year, so maybe they haven't had a sub yet?

Kesley Sorenson

Yeah. So I think the beginning of the year is honestly the perfect time to start talking about what will happen when a sub comes. And even mentioning the fact that they may not get a warning before there's a sub like, I might get sick, you might get sick, and I won't, you wouldn't be there, I might not be there if I get sick last minute. So there might be a substitute who comes in the classroom, this is what we do when there's a substitute, and just kind of having a conversation about your procedures. One thing that I love, because I've talked to a lot of teachers about sub plans, and one of them mentioned that they have the students part of their procedure, when a sub comes is the students explain the day, and the rules and everything to the sub. So the sub is like, hey, so and that's like part of their plan. So like, you know, raise your hand and have the students raise their hands and kind of tell you how things go. And honestly, I mean, obviously, the teacher would kind of explain that too. But it kind of gives the students ownership because then when they need to do something like Oh, you guys said that this is what we do. So I kind of liked that idea I had I hadn't done that myself, it was just a very interesting idea that I liked. Another one is to just talk about what would it be like to be a sub kind of build that empathy? Like, imagine that you were walking into a classroom full of 30, or however many students that's like class size here in Utah, are higher? But imagine you're walking into a classroom with 30 kids, you don't know them at all? And how would that make you feel you need to get up and teach in front of them, and kind of build that empathy, like, Oh, I think I should be well behaved for them, you know, just kind of doing what you can to prepare them for the day ahead of time, whether or not they know or not. And if you know that you're going to be gone a certain day, then prepare them for that specific day as well. But also prepare them for the fact that there might be days that are surprise sub days.

Kristen Donegan  18:01

And what would you say to that sweet friends who all throughout the day is letting the sub know that they're not doing things the way that you would be doing them?

Kesley Sorenson

Oh, yeah, that. And they feel like that's like the caveat with doing that idea of having them tell the sub or whatever is making sure that there's the students, they need to know that the sub isn't going to do everything exactly the way that you do it. And that that's fine that they are also a substitute teacher, like we mentioned, and they might have their own way of doing things and to listen to the sub that would be part of part of what they should even tell the sub if you used that idea I mentioned.

Kristen Donegan  18:35

Yeah. Now, we all know that there's a massive sub shortage right now I've looked into subbing for my district to help and support them. And I have mixed feelings about for sure. But um, what would you say, and you touched on this earlier to the teacher who's like, I really need to be out. But there's a sub shortage. And I don't have a sub for my class, they're not coming in. Or I don't know if his subs gonna come and I spend time doing all these plans? And then what would you say about letting go of all the what ifs and the guilt?

Kesley Sorenson

Oh, my goodness, yes, that's so huge. And the first thing kind of what I mentioned before is that the sub shortage is not your personal responsibility to take on your shoulders for one. But I also kind of have four reasons that I talked about, and I talk about these, like on my podcast and everything, that teachers should not feel guilty for a sub shortage. So the first one is that nobody wants your germs, right? So if you're sick if we learned nothing else from COVID, is that we don't want to spread all these germs around. So just like you wouldn't want a sick kid coming into the classroom and getting the whole class sick. You don't want to do that either. That doesn't help if all of a sudden you come in and then other teachers and students are getting sick. Now that feels obvious. But when you think about it, it's like just you needing a sub versus multiple teachers needing a sub that's honestly actually creating a bigger problem. Yeah. When you think about it that way, when you think about it that way, is it one side versus like three subs, you know, because if you, you know, get together with your team or you're in the teachers lounge and you spread it around. That's not helping the situation either. Number two is mental health is a health period. So if you are feeling burned out, and already and then you get sick, and you don't take your sick days, that is not helping. And honestly, in my opinion, if you need to take a mental health day, you're not even like, physically ill, but your mental health is very, very bad. You can take a mental health day too, that is another type of sick day. Don't

Kristen Donegan  20:42

you have to like it doesn't even have to be really bad. I feel like your mental health, but if you're just needing a breather? Like it's okay.

Kesley Sorenson

Absolutely. I agree. Yeah, it doesn't even have to be like, you don't have to let it get to that level before you take that day off. But especially if it does make sure that you do

Kristen Donegan  20:59

Yeah, take care of you.

Kesley Sorenson

Yeah, because your mental health, if you don't take care of yourself, then you're not going to be able to take care of your students or your own children or, you know, and, you know, just taking care of yourself is important, you're more than your job.

Kristen Donegan  21:12

So that yeah, you are.

Kesley Sorenson

And then the third is it is a promised benefit of your job. I think you mentioned this earlier. So it's like, it is a benefit of why shouldn't I be able to use it? You know, it's a while

Kristen Donegan  21:25

though it is. But then I hear from teachers, depending if they have a union or not, or where they're, you know, the world, but it's just so interesting how different sub like sick days and personal days, and all of that are on teachers.

Kesley Sorenson

And they really are frowned upon by like some admin in July, which is so unfortunate. And it's like, you know, maybe, I don't know, maybe you could consider like is that the school district? You want to be working for long term, if they're not even going to respect your physical and mental health to take those days? You know, I mean, I'm not saying you'd have to change right away. But yeah, but when you see teachers

Kristen Donegan  22:02

who were like going through cancer treatments, or who were in the ER or whatever, like writing sub plans and emailing parents backs and things like that, I think that adds to kind of the expectation or like the unspoken, unwritten rule in education that you just keep showing up no matter what. Yeah. All right. Sorry, I got us off on a tangent. Oh, you did, but I feel passionate, I feel passionate about Oh, yes.

Kesley Sorenson

To be able to take those days. Yeah. And that it's, you have the benefits and your mental and physical health matter, all of it, it goes together. And then just remembering that your class and everything is going to be okay, if you take that day off. I mean, I mentioned that earlier in the episode, but I really just remembering that it's going to be okay, it's going to work out. So take the day if you need it.

Kristen Donegan  22:50

What would you say to those teachers who like I want to but my teammates aren't supportive? Or maybe they're, you know, a little I can't think of a better word than sassy. But like, you know, like, how do you what would you say to them?

Kesley Sorenson

And this is, Okay, hang on, sorry.

Kristen Donegan  23:12

I'm throwing, you

Kesley Sorenson

know, like going into like coaching terms, okay. I have to, like, you know, change it into terminology that will work more generally. Okay. So, really, when I think about it is you can't control what other people think about what you do, right? We can't control other people, and we shouldn't let other people's reactions control us. Because you know, if we are not taking care of ourselves, just so just to make things more comfortable for the teacher next door, but that's making ourselves less comfortable. That's not serving ourselves.

Kristen Donegan  23:44

Yeah, that's a good one. That's so true to

Kesley Sorenson

me. And remember, if no one else is an advocate for you, then you need to be the advocate for yourself. Otherwise, you're just letting people walk all over you.

Kristen Donegan  23:56

That's so true. That's a good one. That's a good truth. But now, um, we've talked about the shortage. And maybe you find a sub that you're like, oh, they were so good. How do I get them to keep coming back to my class?

Kesley Sorenson

Yes. So one thing, honestly, that you can do is if you make that binder, and you have great sub plans, they're going to that alone in itself is going to make that sub be like ooh, I like that class. I know I'm going to be covered or the day or those students were well prepared for me to come in, you know, so if you do those things and prepare ahead of time, that alone is going to help that sub like your classroom, or maybe somebody else's who doesn't do those things.

Kristen Donegan  24:39

Like do you have a list when you're slapping of like no, we're not gonna go back to that. Yes, yeah. So you said as as you as the sub use mentioned, you wanting to go back if you know they're prepared and the kids is there anything else that would make you want to go back to that class?

Kesley Sorenson

I think even just like creating a relationship with the sub like, you know, were some teachers were I would then have their numbers and like, you know, we might even chat about a few things or I mean, obviously, if you feel like you kind of click in bond in that way, yeah. But even just like, you know, then texting like a thank you leaving your phone number because they feel like having that direct communication rather than just like this sub binder system, you know, this is my number, I would love to hear how the day went or whatever and be able to chat about if you want, if there's anything I could do to make next time better or like that. What can I do for next time, kind of even hinting that you want them to come back,

Kristen Donegan  25:36

please come back. And I need a

Kesley Sorenson

thank you card, leave a treat. Like I feel like that goes a long way. Because they feel like a sub is kind of a thankless job sometimes, when you show like, I truly appreciate you, thank you so much for coming, trying to do as much as you can to prepare for them. And then also letting them know like, because you know, your students might not behave in the way you like, even tried to prepare them to so just know like that you are willing to take their feedback into consideration and thinking what can I do to make this even better for you next time, and try to just open that door communication, because then you're able to reach out to them, you're like, Hey, I'm going to be gone this day. Or even like, Hey, I'm sick, do you happen to be available? You know?

Kristen Donegan  26:15

Yeah, I love the text message, the ones that I really liked, I can plan it ahead of time before someone else told them to sub. It's so helpful.

Kesley Sorenson

And even on the last minute ones, like there are some times where it's like, you know, say Tuesday's weren't a day usually said, but like, oh, yeah, I could make it work for you, you know, we had that relationship. So I feel like it's really building relationships with subs, and seeing them as kind of like, a team member almost, you know, like you work together. So

Kristen Donegan  26:48

I like thinking of it that way. Thanks. Now, I realized I didn't ask this yet. But this was something I was just thinking of when you're planning for a sub. And I feel like I'm no your answer this way. Do you change things up? Or do you try to keep the routines the same?

Kesley Sorenson

So there are a few, it's kind of like both in a way, actually. So we have like the binder where we have like the set routines like you know, where you can do as much as possible to keep it the same. But then also ahead of time like to have certain things that are for substitute days, like when you talk to your students about like, hey, when we have a sub one thing that I like, is this just word of the day, like your sub can pick a word like a longer word, like seven or eight letters, or whatever. And they can write it on the board throughout the day, like they earn a letter, and then they earn something if they spell out the whole word with a sub, like, it might not be something you do every day, but it's like, Hey, this is a procedure we have when there's a sub. So having little things like that, that can kind of make the day go smoother, where it's like, oh, this is special, because we have a sub. Or even like in our starter kit, we have these punch cards that are for sub days. So there's kind of like the word of the day is like class behavior. And then the punch card is individual, it's great to have a combo of both because you know, sometimes the class. Yeah. So I think having some procedures in place specifically for when you have a sub so in that was a little bit different. But then you also try to keep some things the same, even though the lessons again, might be different. So again, it's summable, you know,

Kristen Donegan  28:23

so anything to keeping the routines, as similar as you can, you know, like coming to the carpet lining up kind of what your day looks like, helps the day run smoother as a sub.

Kesley Sorenson

Oh, yeah, absolutely. And obviously, you could only do that if you have that information. So that's what's so helpful about having like that sub binder put together so you can be like, know what those procedures are, and kind of try to keep them as consistent as you can. Yeah, cuz

Kristen Donegan  28:48

there's nothing better than coming back from having a sub. And just getting that note, being like the day was great, like your class. Yeah, it's like a well oiled machine. I would love to come back. Like that's the best. Now, what would you do? This is a little off topic. But then on the other hand, coming back as a teacher, and you get like that note, that's not so cool. Yes. From the sub. How could you work on that with your students?

Kesley Sorenson

So I think that is when you have a conversation with a classmate, okay, what happened? And you kind of try to kind of build in that ownership. I like to build in like, you know, ownership of behaviors and decision. So it's like, Hey, what happened? What could have gone better? And what are we going to do next time? And then you can also have them write an apology note to the substitute whether or not the substitute will actually get it or not, I think it's important for them to be able to be like, Hey, we're so sorry, or whatever. And it could be the whole class or even if it's just specific students, you know, but I think that just teaches them to kind of, you know, we apologize when things go wrong, and it's not like a punishment. It's just It's just what you do. You know,

Kristen Donegan  29:56

I like that I used to do I never did that. But I really actually I really like that idea. I'd also depending on what happened, if it was kind of like a whole group thing, I would add it to our weekly email like, hey, we had a sub, it didn't go, you know, the way we wanted, here's what we're going to work on for next time around, please make sure to talk to your child or whatever on during that this happens. I know we're more than capable. And, you know, so that there's that communication. I think with caregivers, too, that they can, I don't want to say put a little fear into their child, but have a conversation and be like, Hey, were you part of what happened? And I know you can do better next time around.

Kesley Sorenson

I think that's a great idea, too.

Kristen Donegan  30:37

I love that. Now, I love you mentioned your starter kit. It sounds like a dream for teachers. Now not only do you have a starter kit, you also have though, the whole subline for Yeah, the grades so teachers could easily go get what they need printout and be planned.

Kesley Sorenson

Yeah, yeah. So we have sub plans, we have them ready to go. We have pre K through six grades. We have special education bundles that like combine some of the grades we have monthly themed we have maternity leave, we have departmentalized we have learned

Kristen Donegan  31:09

it I get asked that all the time. Like I don't know what to do. So. Okay, so when they go on leave?

Kesley Sorenson

Yeah. So we have we have a whole bunch. So they're all in our teachers pay teacher's store and on our website.

Kristen Donegan  31:24

So we will link all that up? Or can they also get your starter kit to see how useful they can transform planning partners in their classroom like today?

Kesley Sorenson

Yeah, so the starter kit is completely free. And it has some of those essential forms for your binders. Like it has the schedules, I believe it has those punch cards, it has a form that's like how did your day go, I was like emojis where they can like circle have a wet or whatever. And then it has a couple of sample lesson plans and activities for each of the grade levels. So it's a great way to get started. Um, you can find that sub planning starter kit.com. Look at your domain. Let's say on a podcast, drag to the page.

Kristen Donegan  32:05

Yeah. And we will link all of that below for all of you so you can make sure to get your hands on those immediately. Kelsey, where else can teachers connect with you if they're wanting some more? Some plan support?

Kesley Sorenson

Yeah, so I have several episodes of my podcast so if you enjoyed listening to this make sure to hop over to wife teacher mommy the podcast too. Because we have some episodes about sub planning. And then you can find us on Instagram On basically all the social medias under wife teacher mommy Tik Tok we just started tick tock I know I'm like I feel like I'm old for this. Almost

Kristen Donegan  32:46

feel very old. I'm like, I don't know what we're doing here. I need like a class and then if I begin I need a class how to learn tic toc and like I probably won't Killzone. Thanks so much today for chatting about sub plans. My biggest takeaway, and I'd love to hear what yours are teacher friends, let us know on Instagram is that it's okay to take a sub day and it doesn't have to be as hard as maybe it is right now. There's ways to make it easier. So I appreciate your coaching and your mindset work and just sharing practical tips that teachers can use right away because life's too short to be spending at making sub plans.

Kesley Sorenson

Absolutely. Thank you so much, Christine, for having me today.

Kristen Donegan  33:30

You are so welcome everyone else. Thank you so much for joining us. We will see you back next week. In the meantime, make sure to take some time for yourself today. You work hard. You deserve it by everyone.

Kesley Sorenson

Right

OUTLINE:

Welcome and introduction to Kelsey Sorenson.

0:02

How her education journey took a different direction than she imagined.

1:25

What are the three things that teachers need to let go of when planning for their students?

6:58

What are the must haves in your sub plans?

10:16

How explicit is too explicit or not explicit enough in your plans?

14:46

What it’s like to be a sub.

17:14

You can’t control what other people think about you, but you can control what you do.

21:58

How do you get a sub to come back to your class?

24:07

What to do when you get a note from a substitute.