Observe and Learn

I was blessed to observe in such a wonderful classroom!  The teacher was so incredibly organized that it made each day so productive and enjoyable! 

I think the most important thing that I learned during these last few months of observation was that each child is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...and should be treated as such...while still maintaining a cohesive flow and order in your classroom.  It's that balance of being a personal, yet general educator!! 

It was so fun to see that my cooperating teacher uses many of the ideas that we learned about throughout this course: clothespin behavior charts, a comfortable/colorful classroom, different testing methods, different teaching styles (music, poems, games, hands-on activities), and much more!

I learned that a teacher needs to be prepared for anything!  You need to be confident in yourself as a teacher, and not let your students walk all over you.  Being confident in your expectations and having a clear goal for your students, will help them feel confident and show respect to you as the teacher, and get the most out of their time in your class.

This was such a wonderful opportunity!!

Wait for the Chimes!

In the classroom I work in, things run so smoothly, thanks to a little creativity from the teacher.  She has downloaded fun songs and sounds on her computer and has set them each to go off at a certain time each day, indicating to the kids when to clean up and get ready for the next activity.

For example, each morning at 9:30 the kids hear the song, "I like to eat, eat, eat, apples and bananas...."  This means that its snack time!  Then at 9:40 they hear "5 little ducks went out to play..." and they know its time to clean up and go line up for recess. 

When its time to change from one learning center to another, they hear little bells, or funny noises like a rubber ducky squeaking.  This is so helpful to these kindergartners!  They enjoy singing the songs as they clean up, and they know that they need to be all done cleaning by the time the song is over.  This is great for the teacher, because she doesn't have to constantly remind the kids what to do!  They hear the sound or song and they KNOW! :)

Classroom rules include, no tattling unless you are getting hurt, no bullying, raising your hand before you speak, only getting drinks and going to the bathroom during recess, walking in the halls, and listening when the teacher is talking.

The teacher has many different ways of enforcing these rules.  She has a behavior chart with four color blocks on them: blue, green, yellow and red.  Each student has a clothes pin with their name on it.  Everyday the kids pins start on green.  If they are being extra good that day, the teacher will tell them to move their pin to blue (which means at the end of the day they get a small reward from the treasure chest.)  If a students breaks class rules, they are asked to move their pin to yellow.  That is a warning.  If their behavior still doesn't improve they are moved to red, and they lose a privilege, like recess. 

The teacher also has pieces of a puzzle that she puts up when the class as a whole is doing well, and once all of the pieces are up, they get a class party!

It works well and the students all respect the system.  Its great!

Involvement

What strategies does the teacher use to actively engage the students? How effective are these?

I feel so privileged to be working with this certain teacher!  She has been a teacher for about 5 or 6 years now, and is FABULOUS!  I don't think there was a strategy that I read about that this teacher doesn't utilize!

One strategy that I notice she uses to keep her kids focused while they are participating is calling attention to their good behavior.  Oh my goodness, it works like a charm!!  If she wants the kids to all be sitting quietly on the carpet and listening to her story, she will simply say, "Wow, look at Robbie!  He is sitting with his arms folded, looking at me....Thank you Robbie."  The class immediately reacts and follows this students behavior, in hopes that they will get called out as a good example! 

This teacher also uses holiday themes to help teach her students.  For example, for St. Patricks day she had her students sort the "Colors of the Rainbow" (skittles) and use them in math problems.  Now that we are nearing Easter, we have given the students a worksheet full of Easter eggs with a tiny math problem hidden on it.  The students then use magnifying glasses to find the math problem, write it out, and then solve it.  It's great!  The students have had so much fun with this activity, and their math skills have improved so much!  Its not the same old, boring routing!  Its new and exciting for them! :)

Parent Relations

Oh the MANY roles that teachers play:

-Educator
-Nurse
-Cheerleader
-Psychologist
-Mediator
-Storyteller
-Mathematician
-Artist
-Entertainer
-Coach
-Listener
-Friend
-Discipliner
-Interior Designer
-Organizer
-Technology Specialist
-Seating Chart Arranger
-Snack Passer-Outer
-Shoe-tier
-Disinfectant Guru
-Meeting Coordinator
-Career Specialist
-I think you are getting the hint!

TEACHERS DO IT ALL!!!!!!

 

It seems like teachers have it all figured out...but there is one role that they need to pay EXTRA SPECIAL attention to: PR.

 

No, not just Public Relations....I'm talking about PARENT RELATIONS.

 

A teacher can control the learning environment in their classroom, but they have no control over what happens, or doesn't happen at home!!!! 

 

As I have been working with students on their sight words, it is obvious which students practice at home with their parents or siblings, and which ones do not.

 

Having a professional and positive relationship with the parents of your students can help you coordinate your plans for their child during that academic school year.  You can become a team, working towards the same goal: the success of their child.  Parents can help their children by assisting them with homework, checking their grades, volunteering in their classroom, reading out loud with them, spending quality time away from electronics with them, and talking to them about what they are learning in school, and what they want to "be" when they grow up.

 

When a student receives quality instructions and guidance in the classroom, and that is coupled with quality study and learning at home, there is almost no room for failure.  :)

Preparations

Over the past two months I have assisted the cooperating teacher with some preparations for getting her class ready for the next day. 

 

What I usually am in charge of is seeing that our early morning Language Arts materials are all ready to go.There are SO MANY different materials that this program requires: Picture cards, letter cards, tracing cards, game boards, worksheets, flashcards....
I go through many different file folders and tubs to get all of the materials in order for my group, and then I do the same thing for the teacher's group.

Come language arts time, it can be overwhelming...trying to cram all those mediums into those little 5 year old heads!

 

  (Side note: I don't know if its just me, but repetition has always been most effective for me!  When I am constantly changing from different cards and papers and games and worksheets, the kids seem to get antsy and lose focus... I think keeping it simple would be more effective!)

 

I also help the teacher clean and sanitize all of the tables and chairs, hang up and take down the students artwork in the halls, and run copies in the copy center.

 

Sometimes I wonder how teachers do it all when they don't have an aid in their classroom, or a volunteer!!  That could get so overwhelming!

Exceptional Students

After reading about ADHD and learning disabilities, it is hard to pinpoint if these little kids are dealing with a chemical imbalance...or just normal 5 year old concentration issues!

It's so common for these little kindergartners to lose focus, or focus on many things all at once!  They can be day dreaming, or jumping up in down instead of sitting quietly in their seats.

At this young age they are still learning HOW TO LEARN.  They are learning what it is like to be in a classroom for multiple hours at a time.  They are learning what its like to sit at a table, work with others, how to share, and how to listen and follow directions...it can be tiring!

The last week of January we were teaching the students all about Groundhog Day that was coming up.  By the end of the day the kids were getting restless.  I was working with a group of students at my table and they did NOT want to sit in their seats!  So...I allowed them to learn in a new environment...out of their seats!

The 5 kids all crouched down below the table, so I called them my little groundhogs!  I would hold up a sight word that we were supposed to be learning, and they would "pop up" out of their "groundhog hole" to see the word and then shout it out!  They LOVED this! 

They became so focused on the words!!!  I had their undivided attention....something I was desperately struggling for while they wiggled in their chairs.  

Allowing them a little "wiggle-room" made their educational experience not only more enjoyable, but also more EFFECTIVE!!! :)

We do have two students in the classroom who are being observed and tested for specific learning disabilities.  The Special Education teacher has come in multiple times to observe these students doing different activities.  They leave the classroom once a day to receive specific help to meet their needs.  They are getting a jump start to their academic journey, finding the tools the need in order to be a successful student and participant in life.  :)

Every Student Can Be Successful

This week I had the opportunity to work with many students on one-on-one basis.  In this particular classroom of kindergartners, the majority are ESL students, making their scholastic journey an extra struggle as they pursue to master learning the basics of both languages.  

On Wednesday, the teacher assigned me to pull kids aside one-by-one and help assess where they were at with their math skills.  I would read the questions aloud and they would follow instructions to the best of their abilities.  

One experience really touched my heart.  Little Juanito (name changed) has the lowest scores in the entire class.  He struggles with the alphabet, with sounds, with numbers...you name it!  He gets frustrated and says he can't do things like every body else.  

Well when it was his turn, Juanito was asked to fill in the missing number.  

The problem looked like this: "11  12  __  14  15."

Juanito looked at me and said,

"I can't do this!"

I looked in his eyes and said, "Yes you can!!  You know your numbers! :) Let's count them!" I pointed to each number as he slowly said,  "....eleven....twelve......thirteen??" 

"Yes!" I exclaimed, "Now write it in the blank."

Again, Juanito replied,

"I can't do this!"

"Yes you can Juanito!  You are so smart!  Remember when we worked on patterns?  What pattern do you see?  Look," I said pointing to each number, "one and one....one and two....??"

"ONE AND THREE!!!" he shouted!

"Very good!!! :) Write that down!"  

...

When he finished, he put his pencil down, and with a big smile on his face he said,

"This is FUN!  I LOVE school!!!!"

:)

It nearly brought tears to my eyes.

Every student is important.  Every student has the potential to be someone great.  Every student needs to be reminded of their own self-worth and that they CAN succeed.  He found all the right answers.  He felt empowered and smart.  I felt so touched to witness such a tender moment in this child's life.

I heard a quote that said, "Teaching, its not about the income, but about the outcome."

Its moments like these that mean more to me than gold.