A family member is ill, and we are all pulling together and planning for the unexpected as we don't know what will happen in the days ahead.
Fortunately as a young working mother, I was always planning for the unexpected since one never knows what will happen day to day with babies. So today I'm planning a substitute packet that will keep the program on track with some standards-based teaching points that students have to complete and which are fairly easy for a substitute teacher to teach.
I'm not sure if I'll need the packet, but I want to be prepared. One of the tough parts of teaching is that that you have to leave lessons when you are out. In the best of circumstances, educators have a sub folder or notebook ready for days like this, but typically even if we have these notebooks, we have to update them to meet where the children are now.
I also cancelled extra events and commitments for the next two weeks since I want to have more time and mind for my family members as they face our loved one's illness.
At my school this year there have been a number of losses, and though every educator who experienced a loss mostly kept their grief and struggle quiet and at home, these losses do affect the whole community. In some ways the struggles bring us closer together and in other ways these struggles challenge the status quo of programs since substitute teachers have to be hired and programs adapted to the change.
Though life typically takes on a fairly predictable routine, these unexpected times occur and it's important that we deal with times like these in ways that we'll look back on with pride and assurance that we did what we needed to do to support those around us. Onward.