This week at my CFE I was a councillor for the outdoor school! 
Although I did not get much sleep, it was a wonderful experience to see students in a more relaxed setting! This week, I was reminded of the importance of getting to know your children, setting clear expectations and remaining flexible and open-minded in all situations.
In the past two weeks, I have had the opportunity to council 3 cabin groups. No group was the same, and with each group I had different behaviours and I learned to adapt to the needs of the children. I have had the chance to be a councillor for both an all boys cabin and an all girls cabin. I did notice different dynamics between the boys and the girls. 
In my opinion, this week helped to reinforce the importance of knowing the children that you council, understanding their interests and preferences so that you can cater learning to their needs. When I am in the classroom, it is important to try and incorporate students’ interests into classroom content in order to inspire curiosity, passion and interest in subject material. Knowing your students creates a more caring and safe classroom environment. Students should be able to feel safe to come to you when they need help, guidance or just want to share a new discovery. That will be one of my main priorities when I have my own classroom, as students need a teacher that will be there for them.
One of the other important take-aways from this week is the significance of setting clear expectations. The night times were the hardest times for the children at camp. Even when I was a child I remember wanting to stay up as late as I could to talk to friends and see who could stay up the longest! Every night before bed I set clear, simple expectations and every morning/night we would review the previous night and the students would self assess their evening. 
It is crucial that expectations are set at the very beginning so that students are set up for success. In my own classroom in the first week, I will create a classroom agreement for students that outline my expectations and then each student will sign the document to hold them accountable. It will also be important, as I will refer to it throughout the year!
Lastly, when working with children being flexible is key! When I was co-teaching during field studies and when I was counselling, there were things that did not go as planned but that is okay. Sometimes the best learning experiences come from unplanned scenarios! 
I may have lost some hours of sleep this week; however I would not want to be anywhere else for my CFE experience!