coming to a close...

With the field experience over, it is incredible to look back on everything I have learned. There are so many aspects of running a classroom that I never thought about. I learned strategies for everything from nose-picking to dealing with tantrums to working with students at very different levels. It was incredibly sad to leave the classroom and I will miss all of the students very much, but I am happy to have learned so much about myself as a teacher from them!

Learning

I learned tons from both the students and my CT. I learned from the students that they like routine in their daily life and when the teacher changes things and does something way different, they have a hard time adjusting. I learned that the students genuinely like to work together and share ideas with one another. From my CT, I learned that the most important thing is to be able to think on your feet. Another quality I noticed about my CT is to be understanding of the differences that each student has.

Reflection on FE

i cant believe that we are starting classes tomorrow. i wish that i could have spent more time in my classroom. i had the Best CT and a fantastic classroom. i don't believe that it could have been a better experience. when i look back i feel that the kids who gave me the hardest time taught me the most. i feel that i truly want to be a primary teacher.

Last day

i cant believe i made it through this day with out crying. the class gave me a good bye card and hugs before they got on the bus. i cant believe that it went so fast. i wish i could stay at that school forever.. Do i really need to go back to classes? lol

Our CT

I had a wonderful time getting to know our CT and learning from her all that I could. She has taught me so much about myself and how I interact with the students that I cannot see myself. It was great to have that outside perspective and voice telling me what should maybe be done differently or what was done well. I will take what she has/had to say into consideration when working with future students. I appreciate everything she has done for me in the time we were with her and will never forget it. I thank her from the bottom of my heart.

Over Already?

It is weird to think that we will all be back in the classroom tomorrow. It will be hard to get back into the regular schedule again. The whole experience has been so wonderful. Being in a kindergarten classroom has been an amazing experience and I will always remember what I have learned from the students. They have taught me more than I could have ever taught them in the time that we were there. I hope that someday, that will change with my students, allowing me to teach them more than they teach me (which I know will never stop).

Last Day

I cannot believe that this field experience has already came to an end. I loved everyday of my placement, I loved everything about it. Just being there and helping out and interacting with the students made me realize being a teacher is the right choice for me. I will for sure go back and visit or volunteer in that classroom. I never thought I would consider teaching kindergarten but I think I would try it after being placed in a kindergarten classroom for the last month.

Time Flies

The last day of class was really bitter sweet. Saying goodbye to them felt weird, because it was one of those moments that didn't really seem like it was over yet. I don't think it's actually going to hit me until we go back to our normal classes on Monday. I'm definitely going to miss my class. I want to keep seeing the progress they're are making and the new concepts they know by the end of the year. I feel like when I do become a teacher and have my own classroom, the end of the year will always be hard for me. After spending such a long time with a group, I'll just have to let them go and start over again the next year. It's a tough thing that I'll have to get used to.

All Done.

Hard to believe a month has passed since I walked into the kindergarten classroom. The last day was a somewhat sad one. The children were so excited to see the book we made them and the CT loved it. She wants to laminate the pages! There were a few students who said they were sad we were leaving and one girl told me that I can just come back and visit every now and then. I'm really going to miss some of the students while others it will be nice to have a break from. Overall, this was a great experience and I loved the class I was in.

Last Day

These few weeks went by really fast. I remember on the first day thinking it was going to be hard to get to know each student. But on the last day I realized I did know every student and what they were interested in. I was also surprised that they were sad that we were leaving. I know our professors said that they would be but it still surprised me. On my last day our CT said she would love it if we would visit every now and then. I am looking forward to visiting them again soon!

All Done

It was a bittersweet goodbye on Wednesday. Looking back to everything that I hvae learned from my CT and my kindergarteners I'm truly grateful. It was a pleasure working with my CT. Even though there were some days that I couldn't wait to go home after field experience, I will miss the class I was with. I hope everyone had a great field experience!

Last Day

I have learned so much from being in this classroom. I now know what it is like to be in a room full of kindergartners. They are definitely a very enthusiastic group of individuals. I could see even today that so many of them wanted to learn and be able to succeed. After modeling a project many of the students wanted their project to look just like the one already made. The students made thank you cards for us that were very thoughtful. My partner and I also made each of them cards. They were ecstatic to each have there own. This was a great experience!

Potty Breaks

One of the worst things happened to my partner. We were doing small guided learning groups also known as centers. My partner was in charge of one center and a little boy asked if he could use the bathroom. My partner was just about finished so he told the boy to wait just a minute until they were done. The little boy had an accident all over the chair and floor seconds after. The little boy was taken down to the nurse and his clothes were changed. We avoided that area until we sent the kids to music then went back and cleaned up. Sometimes teaching is a dirty job. For the rest of this week we let every kid go potty right away when they needed no matter times they asked.

I can't believe all the assesments !!

I have been really surprised about the amount of man hours my CT has to put in doing individualized assessments on each child. I know they are beneficial, but very hard to do when you have 21 kindergartners all by yourself without a full-time aide. My CT has to put in about 80 hours he said before the end of December. We were given the chance to help test the children
one on one and I found it very time consuming because I could also find out where the child was by them being in my small guided learning groups. I am not sure how the CT was able to get it done and still teach the class at the same time.

all done!

well this has been without a doubt a learning experience! sometimes it has been a little rough, especially with kindergartners, and it has had a lot of good times as well. as a future educator i am definitely glad to have been able to do this. it has given many tools i can use to be a better teacher someday!

Last Day

It was a hard time saying goodbye to the students. Our last day of field experience ended in good memories though. We brought ice cream and played games with the students to celebrate being their with them. Our CT expressed how much she didn't want us to leave and gave us a little gift for a thank you. It was one of the greatest experiences I have had being in the classroom. I am going to miss it.

Last Day!

I cannot believe that today was the last day. It was so sad to see the kindergartners walk out of the classroom for the last time. I recieved so many hugs today and a few of the children even said they did not want me to go a few times. One of the little girls gave me about 20 hugs and told me she loved me like 7 times. I will miss the children so much and it will be hard to walk into a ED 315 on Monday instead of the kindergarten room. I had so much fun and I will always remember my first real field experience.

Last Day

Well today was our last day. I can not believe how quick the time in the classroom went by! I feel like just yesterday I was nervously coming into the classroom for the first day! It is absolutely crazy to think back at how much time we spent in the classroom. I was really sad to go today and I'm going to miss all those kids so much! My partner and I read our book to our class before we left today and they absolutely loved it! It was great to see all the hard work that we put into the book truely appreciated! For Thanksgiving today our school did something differently. All of the kindergarten classes had "rotations". This means that they rotated between the 6 different Kindergarten classrooms. In each classroom they had something different set up such as a story, play time, puzzles and some Art work. It was so fun to see the kids outside of their normal classroom element. I had such a great time over these last 4 weeks and I feel like I have learned SOOO much! I can not wait to continue my schooling now!

Shaving Cream/Word Rings

Last week, as a reward, the students got to do their word work with shaving cream! Students really enjoyed the activity and were excited about spelling.  I remember spelling as such a dry subject, where all we did was memorize words and take spelling tests.  I know this idea has been around for a while, but getting to be apart of it was a learning experience! We got to see her take on keeping the students clean and focused.  This consisted of free drawing in the beginning and at the end.  Another technique my CT uses that I was unfamiliar with is word rings. Word rings are literally words on a metal ring, but they vary in their difficulty.  Once students have mastered their ability to read all of the words on one ring they can move to the next leveled ring.  I have really enjoyed this experience because I was able to see many different teaching techniques.  Along with that, my CT has allowed us to take the reigns and participate OFTEN. Its going to be hard to say goodbye today. 

Classroom evaluations

In my classroom, every week the teacher has the student fill out an "evaluation form" where they can monitor how they did in class that week. They either circle a smiley face, straight face, or frown. On the opposite side of the page, the teacher fills out the same form. The form is then sent home with the parents, so they can see what the student is thinking of their behavior compared to the teacher. I think it's a great way to help students understand their behavior and whether it's good or not.

Read Alouds

One of my favorite things to do for the class is read to the students. I have completed both of my read alouds and they both went very well. My CT discussed her overall thoughts with me and agreed that I was very strong at read alouds. I enjoy putting my own expressions into the book and being able to ask the students their thoughts on the reading. I have completed over 20 read alouds for the class and will miss them when I leave.

Last day already?!

Today was my last day, since I am going out of town for Thanksgiving tomorrow morning. I cannot believe how fast it went by, and I am going to miss my CT and my students so much! I am so thankful that I had such a great CT and class, and my CT asked my partner and I to continue to volunteer in the class when we have time. We made a snack with our students this afternoon, and then shared our predictable book with our class. They LOVED the book, and my CT is sharing the book at parent conferences. I am sad to be done with our placement, but also happy that I learned so much from this great experience. I hope everyone enjoys their last day, back to classes next week! Only a couple more weeks until Winter Break! ... :)

how fast was that

i just cant believe how fast this went! it seems just like yesterday i was simply just trying to learn all of the student's names. as much as it has been fun, i am glad it is almost done as well because it makes me excited to know that i am just one more step closer to being a teacher some day!! woot woot!

Student Contracts

My Kindergarten CT uses a very beneficial discipline technique called "Student Contracts." I was wondering if anyone else used something similar during their field experience? These contracts are used for two different students who have very noticeable and disruptive behaviors. They have an opportunity to earn six smiley faces a day. These smiley faces come from classroom, line, lunch-room, bathroom, gym, and I am drawing a blank on the other. I think it is a great idea because if a student has a bad morning, the student has a chance to make up smiley faces in the afternoon. You might be surprised on how well the children will react in the afternoon if they know that they are falling behind on earning a smiley. All you have to do is give them a quick reminder and they will behave...most of the time. At the end of each day these students take home a sheet to get signed by their parents to let them know how they did.

Balancing act

One of the things that I have noticed with our time in the field, is how hard it is to give all the students the right amount of attention. My class has a handful of students that are right at or above average for where they should currently be academically. Likewise, there are a few that are considerably behind both academically and behaviorally. It isn't that the above average kids don't get any attention but the below average group gets far more praise and recognition. My school does the bucket filler slips and they get awarded for good behavior or doing something nice etc. Of course the above average group could get a couple of these slips a day because in general their behavior is great. However, what I have seen happening and even found myself doing is leaning more toward giving them out to the below average group to help boost their self esteem and to encourage more good behavior. It is so important to try and build up the kids that are behind just not at the expense of the other kids in the class. A balancing act that I will be much more aware of when I am teaching in the future.

Two days left... :(

There are only two days left of field experience...it seems to have flown by. I think that the most useful thing I've learned is in classroom management. My CT does an excellent job in ignoring little problems that solve themselves. She understands that trying to stop these behaviors will cause more of a distraction than the behaviors themselves. I also really like how she deals with bad behaviors. When a student is causing a distraction, she will sent them to a special area in the room to calm down. They sit in there until they decide that they're ready and rejoin the class. I like this strategy because the students rarely take more than a minute to realize that what they are doing is not worth missing out on what their friends are doing. I have not seen a student have to go calm down more than one in a day and rarely more than once in a week!

Slowly Learning

It's very easy to tell when the children did not get to go out for recess. They are absolutely bouncing off the walls. I can't blame them though; instead of running off a bunch of energy outside they are forced to sit on a hard floor in the library and watch Clifford for a half hour. I would be going insane too. This experience is definitely allowing me to pick up on some tricks that I will use in my future teaching. For example, my CT would always set up the daily station that I run with a box full of pencils. My groups will only have 4 students in them at most. So what ends up happening is a large portion of the lesson is lost with students trying to find the "best" pencil to write with. Plus a bunch of the pencils usually end up on the floor. To solve this problem, I simply only put 4 pencils in the box. This way they each have 1 pencil to take care of and there isn't even an option otherwise. It seems basic but it actually has solved a lot of problems for me. Last few days, here we come!

Substitute Teacher

I cannot believe how different most of the students act when there is a substitute teacher. It was not as bad as I could of thought, but there was times when students were acting like a totally different children then the ones I knew. She was in the classroom for a week and by the end of the week I was surprised on how the student's behavior changed towards her in just a week. She was an excellent example for me to learn from because I am sure I will be a substitute teacher a few times before I find a teaching position. I learned a lot from that substitute teacher and I will benefit from watching her and the way she handle all kinds of different things.

Predictable book reaction

I was very pleased with how our predictable book turned out. I was worried at first about how the students would react to getting their picture taken. A couple of them were defiant right away but noticed how much fun the other students were having and they decided to participate. Our CT was gracious enough to give us plenty of time at the end of the school day. We were able to round up markers, glue bottles, scissors, crayons, and more to resemble what the student's had. For example, "Toryan has 10 boxes of crayons." I am really looking forward to reading these books to the children and seeing their reaction after seeing their name and picture in print.

A visit to the principles office!!

In my class we have a little girl who from what I have observed has Oppositional Defiant Disorder. If you tell her to sit she stands, walk she runs, she always seems to be off in her own little world, and seldom participates in any of the classroom activities or lessons. Don't get me wrong, she can be a total sweetheart sometimes, but most days are a pretty big struggle with her. Last week she had not only put my CT over the edge, but the art teacher as well. In response to this my CT asked me to walk her down to the principles office. This sounds like an easy task but when I got there he proceeded to ask me tons of questions about her behavior and what was going on! I was totally caught off guard and sounded like a complete fool I'm sure. They were not just simple questions either, he wanted the details! It was super intimidating because he expected answers out of me, but I didn't know how to word them or what was and wasn't relevant to him! After what seemed like an eternity, which was only about 5 min in actuality, he finally dismissed me back to my classroom! Even though I wasn't in trouble, I got my first experience with being sent to the principles office!

Predictable book

We read our predictable book to our class and they loved it. Ours was a little different then what I assume everyone else will be doing. Our CT asked if the students could write it and also illustrate it. The students were working on writing a revised version of "Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see?" It was a good opportunity for them to practice. So that's what we did. Each time we turned the page and read the student's name they were so excited. Their faces would light up and they would grin. We made sure we paused long enough on each page so they were able to appreciate the work they had done. We told them this was our gift to their classroom and they would be free to read it anytime.

Substitute Teachers

My classroom has had three different substitute teachers in the last few weeks. I cannot believe how different the students act depending on their teacher. The first sub was excellent and class went on as though the teacher was there. The next two teachers were not as good. One of the subs struggled to explain lessons and failed to discipline the students. I cannot imagine what the classroom would have been like without my partner and I there to aid the substitute and manage student behavior!

Helpful Pointers

Over the course of my FE my CT and other teachers have been giving me and my partner some helpful tips on ways to save money. I thought I would one of my favorites, and see if anyone else has any other ideas.

~Laminate the name cards before you write the students names on them. Make sure you use permanent marker to write the names, and when the school year is over, use nail polish remover to take the name off. This way you don't have to spend money every year getting new name tags for all the desks. (:

Only three days left

As many have already shared, I cannot believe our field experience is almost over. I have learned so much about myself as a teacher, and cannot wait for more time in the field. The students have been great teachers themselves, and it has been really fun getting to know each and everyone of them. Overall this has been a really great opportunity, and I am thinking about going back and volunteering after our FE is over.

Only three more days!

I cannot believe that we only have three more days of field experience left. This month has gone by so fast! I have benefitted so much from being in my kindergarten classroom. I can honestly say I have enjoy everyday and always looked forward to what I could take out of each day. I know by working with the class of kindergartens I was placed in will make me a better teacher one day!

Last Week

I only have three more days left with my kindergarteners. I think it will be a bittersweet farewell. I enjoy and look forward to my field experience. So far, I have learned so much. You can only learn so much out of a text book. Being in an actual classroom and helping my CT, along with my partner, has really opened my eyes. I have been able to put what I have learned to practice and have learned a lot along the way as well.

National Education Week

Since it was American Education Week all of our students received a pencil, small American flag, and a card for a free scoop of ice-cream . It was so fun to see how excited the students got when they found out what they were getting. They were most excited about the American flag. This made me realize how much little things make children so happy.

Teaching Update

Teaching in the classroom comes with a lot more responsibility than I thought. Its a fun learning experience seeing all the students learn new things daily. We have been teaching math strategies to the students on addition and subtraction. Its difficult at times to get the students that know the facts more to stay focused and the students that are following behind to understand the material. This at time causes many disruptions in the classroom that I have had to learn how to handle. So far it has been the best experience ever.

Silent Reading time

One of my favorite times of the day is silent reading. The students grab a couple books and sit anywhere in the classroom they'd like to. They also rotate who gets to use the bean bags and pillows. It's one of my favorite times, because I can walk around and sit with each student individually and hear them read. It's also interesting to see which stories they've picked. I've gotten to know some of these students pretty well and the books they read definitely match their personality. It just goes to show you that everybody enjoys reading, they just read different things.

Oops...

Last week I was working on shared writing with a small group of students. In our group, the students decide on a topic and together we write a topic sentence, detailed sentences, and a closing sentence. We are working on capitalization, paragraph structure, and punctuation. When we've completed that as a group, each student writes in their journal coming up with their own topic.
One student was having trouble deciding what to write about, so I suggested Thanksgiving. He matter-of-factly said, "We don't celebrate holidays." Ooops...sorry. We didn't make a big deal about it, I just replied, "But you can be thankful for things without actually celebrating Thanksgiving." He got a big smile on his face and said, "You're right. I am thankful for many things!" So he proceeded to writed what he thankful for and we had averted any potential awkwardness. Boy, I'm going to miss some of those students!

Crazy Week

I felt like this week flew by. The students seemed to be super hyper this week and refused to follow directions more than usual. Let's just say I am happy it is Friday night and I have a few days to relax. I love working with the children but they can definitely grind on a person's patience. It's great working with the kindergartners but having such a big class makes it very difficult. I feel somewhat bad that after next week my CT won't have my partner's and my help to control the class. Overall, so far this has been a very good experience and I have a much better understanding of what a kindergarten teacher goes through.

difference between your CT and a sub...

we had a sub all last week, and let me tell yah! there is a difference! the kids know they can get away with more, and they take full advantage of it! they werent jumping off the walls or anything like that, but they definitely did not listen as well as they can. i felt bad for the sub, she seemed to be pretty stressed out the entire time. and i only pray after college i can get a job right away, so i dont have to be a sub for the time being...

Directions

During the first part of math everyday, my partner and I each take a group of students to the media center to work on math. At first my group thought that this was a time to goof off and color. I finally got fed up with it and the ones that were messing around and not doing math, had to put their names in the notebook when we get back. From that point on, my group has been angels. I guess they just needed to know that I was not going to let them just play.

Non-fiction book

On Thursday, our CT gave us the assignment of reading a non-fiction book to the class. Our first graders are learning about animals and their habitats. During this reading aloud I may have some challenges. I have a "big" book that requires someone else to help me hold the book. With all of our read alouds we have to turn a lesson along with it; because it's a non-fiction book, I not only have to read the book but explain and tell facts about what I am teaching. My lesson plan ended up being about two pages. I hope it goes well, and is not to long and I can keep their attention throughout the learning.

Reading and Modeling

I have also really been enjoying the experience. I think that spending this time in the classroom has helped to make the things we learned in class concrete. Watching my CT model during her read alouds is great to see. I see that it works while reading whith the students and watching them use the concepts that she shows them. After doing a few read alouds myself, I think it is actually my favorite thing to do thus far!

Week 3... Time is flying by!

I can't believe it is already the third week! I absolutely love my placement, my CT has been teaching for 23 years, and requests college students for the morning and afternoon whenever she can. She has taught my partner and I so much about teaching and how she has accumulated everything she has in her classroom. Teaching is a lot more work than I thought it would be, but my CT uses all of the resources she possibly can. If you have not taken pictures of your classroom yet, I recommend that you do, just so that you can remember certain aspects of the room. I love being able to walk into the classroom at 12:00PM, and seeing that all of the students are so excited to see me walking through the door. I am really going to miss being in the classroom everyday, and I hope to be able to continue to volunteer in the classroom. This week I am trying to finish up all of my assignments, so next week I can enjoy the last couple of days. Hope everyone is also having an eye opening experience!

Read Alouds

Our CT has some of the students read stories to the class. This class has many different reading levels and not all of them can do this. When they do a read aloud they sit in front of the class and read a page then show the book to everyone. Most of the time they are really quite and don't show the pictures well, but some students do pay attention which I found to be interesting. I like the idea of having the student read a story to the class, it helps to portray a positive reading image for the other students.

ABC's

Every week on Monday's the kindergarten classroom that I am in introduces a new letter for the week. My teacher has a box that is wrapped as though it is a gift. Inside the box is a stuffed animal of some type that begins with the letter. My cooperating teacher usually chooses a student to open the box if their name begins with the letter of the week. This makes the children really excited about learning new sounds and how to draw letters. It is a simple and fun way to get the students enthused. Today we started the letter D and inside the box was Duddly the Dog. Every animal also has a short story that is read to go along with the character.

Time is Dwindling Down.

There is only a week and a half left and time has been flying by. I cannot believe all of the things we have covered in my class. The students are learning so much, so fast. It will be sad to leave the children next week because I have come to know each one of them, and I have become close with each one as well. Once again there is only a week and a half of F.E which means that I only have a week and a half to complete the assignments. I feel that I am falling behind but I am determined to crack away at each until each is done. I hope everyone alse is getting their assignments done. Time is dwindling down.

New Perspective

I am looking forward to this last week and a half of being out in the classroom. I don't know about everyone else but this has been a huge eye opener for me. At first I thought it was a bit ridiculous that we were going out in the classroom during our first semester into our Education classes. However, now I see just how everything that we have learned is incorporated into the daily life. I think overall that is what I am going to take away from this experience. I think while in school, I as well as others, may have .. if I even want to go so far as to say have an "unrealistic" view of what a day at school is really like. I had the idea that I couldn't wait to get into the school and change every child's life and make sure that everyone can read and everyone knows their numbers. I see now that it is almost as if we just throw all of the information that we can at the students in such a small amount of time and just hope that they grasp something out of it all. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. I think it is great all the different programs inside of a school that help catch students up as well as helping other to excel even more.

Weekly Goals

I have several goals this week...
First, finish our predictable book. Since our group is so heavy into literacy during the time period we're there, we decided to focus on that topic. It should be awesome! We have some uncanny personalities in our room, so I'm hoping they'll present themselves in the pictures (which should be fun).
Second, visit with my CT about pursuing my reading specialist certification. Since we've had such an exposure to literacy and low-level readers, I've thought about getting this licensure.
Third, finish my interviews with students and CT about their favorite books.
Fourth...not sure.
Hope everyone is on top of the assignments. I kind of forget from time to time that we need to be doing more than just going to the classroom and doing read-alouds...
Have a great week every one!

Who knew...

So last Friday at the school I'm at for field experience they had an early dismissal due to a staff development meeting. So my partner and I went in on Friday during the morning, we usually go in the afternoons. Let me tell you, the mornings and afternoons are like day and night. For one, there are a lot less students. I think there were only 17 as compared to the regular 27 we have in the afternoons. Secondly, the mornings are dedicated to reading and introducing the Daily Five in the classroom. In the afternoons we go to specials, have snack and have math. The schedule, the class size, and the fact that there were two other SCSU Block One students were there made a big difference. Usually by the end of the day, I'm worn out from all the classroom management and repeating instructions but after Friday morning, I was good to go for the rest of the day! I hope to stay for an entire day next week. I'm looking forward to it! Hope everyone's field experience is going great!

Morning section... a whole different story

Today was an early out day at our school so my partner and I went to the morning part of the day rather than our usual afternoon time slot. It was a completely different experience! Usually when we are in the classroom in the afternoon there is between 20 and 25 students, this morning, however, there were 15 students. In the afternoon half of another kindergarten class is combined with ours so that is why there are more later in the day. It is a night and day difference between morning and afternoon. I am usually exhausted after an afternoon of keeping children out of trouble, but after this morning I felt like I hadn't been there at all. It was somewhat mind blowing actually.

The Daily 5

As I read through the posts, it sounds like most SCSU students have different things they are doing with the students in the classroom. As for our classroom, this is our schedule (every day) due to low-level readers:
1215: Conduct read aloud
1235: Students read to self
1:00: Student break outs with assigned teachers (shared writing, journal writing, shared reading). My partner and I are in charge of a group of about 9 students which has been a GREAT experience for me.
1:50: Specials
2:50: Dismissal
I am learning quite a bit about the structure of their literacy program and am contemplating pursuing my Reading Specialist Certification. In the first few days, I really didn't agree with the structure of the students day (reading and math only). However, as I spend more time with the students and through guidance from my CT, I realize that the students will benefit more from the reading program at this time and can catch up with science and social studies later. We've really put the Daily 5 to use in this classroom!

only 2 weeks left!

It's crazy to think that there are only 2 weeks left of field experience. For me, it has gone by rather quickly. Each day is a new adventure and I love that every day is not exactly the same. My partner and I have been working on our predictable book assignment for ED 315 and we're finding it kind of hard to get pictures taken of all the students. They're always busy with lessons, testing, going to different places, etc. Hopefully we can get it taken care of quickly. Again, there are only 2 weeks left of field experience!

Following Schedule.

The first week my partner and I sat down with our CT and filled out our calendars for our read alouds. As the weeks have gone on we have had to push back our read alouds due to co-teaching with the other kindergartners or our CT has had to be pulled out to go to meetings. I find this frustrating but I know we will be able to make the day up, but if we keep having to move our days I feel like we will run out of days. Does anyone else feel like the calendar is not working out??

Communication

Communication will determine how students will react to you.  I have learned that the way you word sentences makes a large difference on the reaction of your students.  Learning when to be stern or when to be precise is critical.  When you explain something on a test, you must be careful with what you say.  On the other hand, when you have to handle a behavioral issue you have to be stern and understand what that child will react to.  When I was helping students with a math test on Monday I made sure I explained the question thoroughly, but didn't tell them the answer.  I related the problem to them personally so that they could see it more in black and white.  Communication determines the demeanor of the classroom.        

Good days and well, not as good days

Monday of all days was a great day. Even after the daylight savings switch, the kinds were really good today. The words, "take a break" weren't mentioned all afternoon!!! They seemed to stay on task and engage in the activities more than usual. It was great!

Then came Tuesday. It is amazing how things can change from one day to the next. They were all riled up and silly. Both the CT and I seemed to spend the entire afternoon trying to keep their attention.

These two days have been a good lesson in understanding and patience. Some days are great, others maybe not as much. I think I learned that it is okay to let kids be a little silly now and again, as long as you keep it under control and still make the day is as productive as possible.

Cultural Background

Today I was sitting next to one of my students; we were coloring camels for our classroom desert collage. Out of no where she says, "I was born in Mexico." Instantly I was curious, so I asked if her whole family was from Mexico. She told me her parents were both from Mexico but her little brother was born in the United States. I asked her if she spoke spanish and she said yes we speak it at home. For the rest of the time she refreshed my spanish skills and we spoke in spanish together. This conversation with her made my day!

Learning To Fly

I'm definitely starting to get more comfortable with the students, and they are used to having me be there everyday. This has both positives and negatives though, because it seems that they are trying to push the limits of what they can get away with while I'm working with them. Last week was a little hectic, but yesterday turned out to be a great day and they all listened to me very well. My CT also told me yesterday that she was going to be gone for all but 15 minutes of the class today, and I would basically be leading class. Yesterday, as a warm-up, I led the SMARTboard activity which went very smoothly. Today of course it would not work for me, but I just had the students come to the computer to complete the activity. The students were a bit "energetic" for me today as well, but I really can't blame them because they're regular teacher wasn't there and it's pretty much what I expected. I felt that I made it through the day very well seeing as this was my first day of being "teacher" instead of just "field experience student".

Thoughts

My field experience has been very rewarding. I have been able to see what working in a classroom is really like. The different situations that teachers have to deal with on a daily basis, especially with the diverse personalities that students have. It has also been very interesting to see the way in which students are able to process information at different speeds, I have enjoyed observing this the most. Some students are able to catch on really quick to the storyline while others struggle. In my classroom the CT has a wide range of abilities to with, some students are really good at reading while others greatly struggle. While I am helping out in the classroom, the students pick either reading or writing to start with and then half though the hour they switch. The students enjoy having the choice on what they want to do. This works well because my CT is able to monitor the progress of the students especially with the wide range of abilities.

Daylight Savings Time

I don't know if it is just me, but it seems that daylight savings time has messed up the routine in the classroom. I had a read aloud yesterday. The kids and I were feeling a little off because it was the first day back after daylight savings time. I am learning how to deal with classroom issues and behavioral problems even when I am feeling a little off. I watch my CT and he seems to adjust and keep rolling. I think this is a great trait to learn how to adapt on the fly in the classroom. I think if you let things get to you it could undue the entire day. I think my CT does a great job of refocusing the kids and moving on to the next lesson.

Extreme Chaos

My field experience has continued to be a great experience for me. My teacher is very helpful and knowledgeable. I love that she is willing to share so much with me and my partner. We just started something new today that I am very excited to get into. We are pairing with 2 other classrooms (for a total of 3 kindergarten classes) and all having math together. My teacher was recently gone to a conference, where she and some of her colleagues, learned about co-teaching. They are going to try this concept in their Math lessons. So far from what I can tell all the students will come together (30-40 students) and listen as the 3 teachers do a mini-lesson together. Than the students will be broken down into small groups (4-5 students) depending on their level they are at. Each group is then assigned to a teacher or a FE SCSU student. I think that this is a great concept and excited to see how it goes! I think it will be VERY interesting and a learning experience for everyone!

Math Stations

During Math, we often place students into groups and have them participate in stations.  We usually have four stations where students participate in different activities.  Students enjoy these times because they have an opportunity to do things hands on, instead of just working out of a Math book.  Students actually beg to have stations almost every day during Math.  I like this time because I usually get an opportunity to teach one of these stations.  It can get a little hectic, but it is helping me learn to be innovative and change things as the groups switch.  Its all a learning process, but its really fun to be apart of!      

Substitite teachers!!!

Our cooperating teacher was gone on both Wednesday and Thursday of last week, so we had two different substitute teachers in our classroom. This was a very interesting experience for me! The classroom behaved very differently than they do when my CT is present. There were some problems that we don't normally have such as the students trying to get away with things that are normally not allowed, but at the same time they were abnormally well behaved!!!! The class ran very smoothly, which is not something I expected to happen while my CT was gone. It was also kind of cool because me and my partner got to be in charge for part of the time because we knew a little bit about the daily routines and what not. Another aspect that I found very interesting was that on the second day we had a male sub and none of the students had ever had a male teacher before! I guess that morning a student came into the classroom and ran out screaming because she thought there was a strange man in the room!!! The students were full of questions for him all day being as they found it a little strange to have a male teacher! He said it was the first time he had ever been asked both, if he had ever been divorced, as well as how he proposed to his wife! It was a fun and interesting couple of days to say the least!

Field experience

Alright, I have to say that my field experience is a little different than I thought it would be. Maybe I am used to students that are more robotic and willing to listen. It's been a crazy two weeks in the classroom. Each student is fun in their own way, but there are more behavioral problems than I anticipated. However, I've learned to anticipate the problems and deal with them. The students respond well to the CT, but not so much to other teachers that are in the room. Looking forward to week three!

Energized class

I thought that the students would be full of excitement and ready for the weekend last Friday before Halloween. To my surprise, the children were much more wound up this week (perhaps the leftover candy.) Since the weather was so nice my cooperating teacher decided to take the students outside for the last part of the day. This was really nice for the children because they were not about to concentrate on anymore school work. My cooperating teacher also had added some new activities and games for the students. This drew their attention directly towards those things instead of the tasks at hand. Overall, I would not say it was a bad day just a little more challenging then the rest.

Read Aloud

Today, I had a read aloud and overall, I thought it went great. My CT thought it was very nicely done and had a few pointers for me, but the pointers were greatly welcomed! The kindergarteners were kind of hard to keep quiet while I read, but I somewhat expected that. They were just too excited about the book.
We had a fourth person helping in the classroom today. She was helping to teach a lesson while our CT was busy with something else. Even with the fourth person, the kids were still pretty crazy and hard to keep completely under control.
I got to teach a portion of the day on the smart board today for the second time. The smart board is getting easier for me to work with because I have been able to use it more often than in regular class and I can see the students using it as well. I definitely need more work with it, but I am getting better. After a little bit more practice, I will be a professional. Hahaha.

"Krazy" Kindergarten

I honestly never imagine Kindergarten to be so much busy work. I always pictured it being so fun all the time, but i am realizing how much work it takes just to walk down the hall. Don't get me wrong, I love all of the kids and they are all super cute. I just didn't expect having to constantly repeat things, and reminded students what they should be doing. Although things can get stressful, I am really enjoying the experience. I think i will be taking a lot away from my CT and all the kids.

Chaos in the Classroom

Today my CT was gone. We had a substitute teacher and it was pure chaos today. The kindergarteners acted like it was a full moon and they were werewolves. One of the girls, who is usually a kindergartener that needs special attention, was horrible today. It was hard to make sure she was paying attention, participating when need be, etc. Fortunately I have another volunteer that comes in in the afternoon and a para that helps out once in a while. Luckily, she came in today to help out! I'm looking forward for my CT to be back tomorrow and for the kindergarteners to behave! Besides a substitute teacher, my field experience in a kindergarten classroom is great! My CT is easy to work with and communicate with and she is very welcoming and enthusiastic!

Feathers

I had the students sit on the rug while I was explaining a new lesson. One of the students was wearing a sweatshirt with feathers on the hood. A student behind her started to pluck the feathers, which then started to float into the air. Soon the whole class started jumping on top of each other trying to catch those feathers. I was so frustrated, and the feather student was so embarrassed, that I all could do was laugh.

Technology

We are a week and a half into our field experience and I am so surprised with the amount of technology used. My CT uses only the smart board for lesson plans. I was also surprised when my CT went onto YouTube and played a short video that supported the lesson plan. I have also been really impressed and taken back with the access to technology for the students when I went to the computer lab with the kids. They do computer lessons and learn how to navigate a computer. My CT was also telling me that the school has 60 iPods they also use to reinforce lessons. The iPods have 80 different applications. I thought this was very impressive.

It was a good day!

I did my first read aloud yesterday and it went really well! The students loved the book I read. Because the afternoon is centered around specials (music, art, gym) and math, I read a book about numbers. My CT asked me to make sure the students were engaged in the story and to make sure to ask them lots of questions while reading. I had so much fun reading the story and it was great to see them all enjoy what I was reading.

-dragonfly28

Halloween!!!

Last Friday was super chaotic in my classroom! Being as it was the day before Halloween weekend the students were full of energy! Attention spans were very short and we had to keep the activities short, sweet, and very hands on! We did pumpkin math with the students which was a ton of fun! The class was split into three groups with my CT, my partner, and I as the group leaders. With each of our groups with did predicions of what we thought the pumpkins looked like inside, how many seeds we thought it had, and then finally we dug out the insides and counted the seeds! The students in my group really loved it! They all took turns pulling goopy globs of pumpkin guts out! It was a great experience for me as far as classroom managment goes. It was super messy and a bit of a challange to keep everyone on task, but we all had a great time!

Math Smart Board Lesson

Monday, the paraprofessional in my classroom was sick, as well as my partner, so it was only myself and my CT in the classroom. The first graders were SO hyper and full of energy, and my CT had to give a math test to half of the class. During that time, she asked if I would take the other half of the class and work on a Smart Board math lesson with them. At first I was nervous and not sure how the students would respond to me, but for the most part they stayed with me and paid attention. This was one of the first times that I had done an activity on the Smart Board, and whenever I needed help the first graders told me what to do. It amazes me that they all understand how to use the technology that we are learning about now! Overall, the math lesson went very well, even though the first graders were ready to go to gym by the end of the lesson!

Read Aloud

Today I had my first Read Aloud. I had a little trouble getting the student's attention, but I was happy with how they engaged themselves in the story and picked up some patterns. My CT encouraged us to read books to the kindergarten students that dealt with counting, adding/subtracting, or any patterns. I read "Fish Eyes: A Book You Can Count On," which included all three. I was impressed at how well the students were able to count up to 22 fish and were able to add one from each page. In a way, I thought it was even easier reading to children as opposed to classmates because they became more involved and really thought long and hard about any questions I had for them. I thought it was very beneficial for my CT to bring a book that he/she could tie in to a math lesson. Right after I was done reading, the CT worked on simple addition and patterns on the whiteboard. I was more than happy to help out with a lesson!

Crazy day

We had the craziest day at school. The first thing was is that our CT wasn't there so the kids were not on their best behavior. we had another student come in from St. Ben's so teach something so the schedule was off and thirdly we had a child wet herself. This wouldn't have been that much of a problem but our sub left the room to walk the child to the nurse and none of us knew what the protocol was. Lucky i was able to run to another classroom for help. but over all today what just crazy. I cant believe how much throwing the teacher being there keeps the student in line.

Volunteers and classroom help

My classroom has only 17 in it and on an average day there are two or three of us there along with the CT. I didn't think much of it until yesterday afternoon when we were doing our usual afternoon math stations and it was just myself and the CT. Holy crap was there ever a difference. There are eight different stations so seven pairs and one group of three. They spend fifteen minutes at a station and the rotate. The computer station is by far the quietest, once they sit at a computer you can't even tell they are in the room anymore. Otherwise, without all the help, it takes only a minute for two or three stations to be off task and the room gets wild. Those volunteers make a world of difference and I hope they know how appreciated they are!

Teacher or Performer?

After a week now, I haven't quite decided if me, my partner and our CT are actually teaching our kindergarten class or if we are just entertaining them till its time to go home at 3. Dont get me wrong, I am having a blast going in every day. These kids can say some of the most random things I have ever heard, some of it is good material for me to even use. But I still dont know that we have really taught them anything. At the end of the day our CT says we should really try to come in for the morning and see how different it is. He says they actually sit there and listen to you and you feel like you have taught them something. So I think I am going to try and get in one morning, just to see the difference. But as of right now, I simply perform for thirty different 6 year olds hoping I can keep their attention enough to ignore the fly on the wall or the leaves falling from the tree.

Wide Range

While I am at my field experience, we are there during math time. The students are given math addition timed quizze once or twice a week. They are given 5 minutes to complete 100 basic addition skills. When I get them back to grade them its amazing to see the range that the students have. The last one I graded had as low as a 12 and high as a 100. Its amazing to me that there can be such a gap in 2nd grade classroom. It really tests your ability as a teacher as you try to bring it to a more even understanding. It opened my eyes to seeing that not everyone is the same, and to be a good teacher you need to be able to teach from many different angles.

Math Test

Today our first graders were given a math test to see how high they could write their numbers up too (counting by ones). We were told to just walk around, observe them and answer any questions they may have. It was interesting to see the technique each student used to count. For example, some wrote in the tens spot first and went back to fill in the numbers. It also gave me a better understanding of each student's skills not only in counting but writing their numbers also.

First Week

I really like my classroom, the kids make every day exciting. Each day when my partner and I get to the classroom the students have read aloud time, which is great for us because we are able to read to them. It's a great opportunity to practice while also increasing our exposure to different genres of literature. We are then able to work with the students' reading and writing. This is also great because the students love to read to you. They have journals they write in everyday, some write mini books with chapters while others write about their day. The main idea here is to get each student writing and keeping them motivated. I like the idea of this because the students seem to enjoy when they are able to write about something that interests them. Afterwards, if the students choose to, they may share their writing with the class.

First Week

The first week in the kindergarten classroom went by so fast. Sometimes it felt like we were not doing much at all, but other times we were so busy with the students. It was a great learning experience getting to work one-on-one with the students and learning more about them as an individual. From what I can tell so far, kindergarten is going to be a lot of work. Even so, kindergarten is still what I want to teach. Let's see how the rest of the field experience goes, then I will tell you how I feel. Now onto the start of the second week.