subbing vs. teaching

After 5 years in my own classroom with urban high school students, subbing in a little k-12 school out in the country is c-a-k-e! Ok, so there is the thing about not getting paid a regular salary, which in this economy makes me nuttier than a squirrel turd, but still. It must be a little bit like being a grandparent vs. a parent. You pop in to the picture, smile a lot, have a snack, talk to the kids about what they are working on today, do general supervision, and you expect the kiddos to behave themselves. Here the fun bit is the variety in grade levels. One day I played with lincoln logs and handed out milk to 4yr olds and the next I'm in a computer lab with sophomores making power points.