Pete Saves the Day (Freebie)

Hiya Everyone!
     First of all, I'm having a gleeful moment of instant nostalgia. The Sound of Music is on and I feel like I'm 8 years old again, getting to stay up late on a school night to watch Maria twirl around and around on the top of a mountain. Love it! Now on to a great little freebie I have for you...
     If you're anything like me, taking a day off from school ties your stomach in knots. Sub plans to write, materials to prepare, checking the clock every ten minutes and wondering if everything's OK.   It's usually easier just to go in, even if you're under the weather. Taking a day off during the first few weeks of school is even worse - how can your little guys can possibly get through the day without you there?!?
     Well, I faced the unthinkable on Friday.  It was the 7th day of school and I needed to take a personal day - YIKES! My Dad was having surgery (which went VERY well - woohoo!) and I wanted to be at the hospital with my family. I debated for a while about whether I should take the day off, because my class is just settling in to routines and procedures and I felt a little bit like I was abandoning them during a really crucial time. To make things even more tricky, it was School Picture Day. After talking with my AP, we decided that picture day was manageable and the kids would be just fine without me for a day (imagine that).
     So I got to work creating very detailed sub plans that I thought would keep the kids busy, engaged and learning on their first day with a sub. I wanted to give the sub easy to follow plans, knowing that he/she would be not only facing the usual challenges of being a sub, but also tackling them with a class still relatively unfamiliar with each other and the routine. Enter everyone's favorite feline - Pete the Cat!
    I had just introduced my newest group of kinder kids to the first Pete book on Thursday, and as expected, they were in love. I figured that giving them a day full of Pete was the best way to keep them engaged and help the day moving along.  I came up with lessons and follow up activities for reading, writing, word study, math and science and wrote detailed directions for the sub. I prepared all of the materials, left everything labelled and organized, and left school on Thursday feeling OK about abandoning leaving my sweet class in the hands of a well-prepared sub.
     The day's plans came out so well that I thought I would share them as a little gift from me and Pete to make your life a little easier. If you have a day off coming up or just want to prepare an emergency sub kit, everything you need is in the packet.  Just grab a copy of the book, Pete the Cat - I Love My White Shoes, follow the directions for prepping the materials, and enjoy a stress-free day off!

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Have a great day off!