This week was my first full week teaching kindergarten. I was super excited to get back into the classroom and happy to see the students for countless days in a row!
My first day was on Halloween. I dressed up as Snow White, see picture below. Some of my students did not recognize me. When I walked down the halls little girls would come up to me telling me how excited they were to meet a REAL princess. They would then tell me how much they loved me and how pretty I was. It was so cute and I felt so special! Throughout the day we did Halloween based activities. At lunch, I got to meet my new Faulty Advisor (FA) Gerri, who explained to all the teacher candidates, about her expectations for our two week practicum. After lunch, I carved a pumpkin for the class and the children assisted in taking the guts out. We named the pumpkin Spooky. At the end of the day we had a Halloween party which consisted of the students eating healthy Halloween themed snacks that they brought in for the entire class. I made ghost lollipops for each student, see below. Overall it was a great day!
On Tuesday, I did the entire calendar routine for the first time. It went well and I remembered all the components of the intricate routine. My teacher said I did a good job! The entire day went smoothly and it was nice to see my other SA teach. She has a very similar style to my other SA, they job share, so it is easy to follow. I got to experience gym and music for the first time which was great! It is nice to see the students experience other classes.
On Wednesday, there was a TTOC (Teacher Teaching On Call) so I taught the students the majority of the day. I did the calendar routine, a trip to the library, and we had special guests in our classroom. Student dental hygienists came to discuss the importance of brushing your teeth and healthy foods. The kids enjoyed the presentation and learned that the dentist isn’t a scary place. After lunch, my other SA who was teaching resource on Wednesday came to observe one of my lessons. I read the book Humpty Dumpty then got the students to read it with me numerous times. After I showed them the activity we would be doing. It consisted of: colouring in 4 pictures, cutting them out, and gluing them in order of how they appear in the nursery rhyme. I explained the steps thoroughly and showed the actions as I explained it. I also indicated how you should use tools, what you should/shouldn’t do, and how important the assignment was. All students did the best work my SA has ever seen. Three students in particular we were both super impressed with. It was the first time they coloured within the lines and used numerous colours. I put the projects on the wall and you can’t even tell which students is which. This was great news as usually you can pick out certain students work. Today was definitely my favourite day of teaching so far!
On Thursday, there was another TTOC in the classroom. She taught the entire day and I assisted with routines and helping the children with their work. It was interesting to see how a TTOC handles the classroom since they do not know the students. What I have observed after watching two TTOC’s in the classroom is that it is really important that they have experience working with kindergarten. The students need the teacher to explain each activity step-by step and show the actions as it is explained. This is so the students can see exactly how it needs to be done. When the TTOC explained the activity with words but did not show the activity visually the project turned chaotic. Every student wrote their name on the wrong page and drew their pictures upside down. Making the students erase or restart caused frustration for the students and the teachers.
On Friday, there was another TTOC in the classroom, so my SA told me to observe grade one all day. I was excited to get a chance to see a different grade, different teaching style, and meet different students. Grade one was very different than kindergarten. In kindergarten we do about 1-2 activities a day whereas in grade one they do 4-7 everyday. Also, most of the students can read/write simple sentences. All activities they did involved writing sentences. It was fascinating to me that just a year ago they were in kindergarten. It showed me how much they actually learn in Kindergarten and how far they come in one year. It was great to see a different classroom and to meet new students! I was very grateful to have the opportunity to be in a grade one classroom as that was my first grade choice before practicum started. Surprisingly, I found myself missing my Kindergarten students and feeling sad when I saw them in the hall and they said they missed me. For weeks I have been trying to get into a grade one classroom and once I was in there I missed my kindergarten kids. It’s not that there was anything wrong with grade one, the kids and teacher were amazing! Its just that I have developed a relationship with each of my kindergarten students and I understand their personalities and when they are doing their best work. In such a short period of time I have grown attached to these children and I miss not seeing them everyday. I really do love teaching kindergarten and my students. I cannot wait until I see them next week!
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