It’s great to be back! 🙂

It’s such a good feeling when the students seemed to miss you just as much as you missed them. It’s great! It’s like, “Hey, I’m doing something right!”. A few of them saw me and immediately came out to give me a hug. Hugs are the greatest.

There’s always something happening in the Kindergarten/Grade 1 classroom. Today we made popcorn! Which was super fun. No, we didn’t have a “movie day” but we did make popcorn not just because it’s super delicious and fun, but because the students were learning about their five senses. The teacher made popcorn and talked about the different sights, smells, sounds, feels and tastes that popcorn has. It was such a rich and memorable activity for the kids (and myself). The students brainstormed with the teacher on what popcorn feels like, tastes like, smells like, sounds like and looks like. They then proceeded to fill out a worksheet (basically, just copying off the sheet where they brainstormed). I thought it was really cool how the teacher brought in popcorn makers, and butter, and the kernels and the students were asked to inquire and make guesses and ask questions about the process. It was all very cool and something that I hope to be able to do as well when I have a class of my own. This is definitely what enacted learning is all about.

Another exciting “new” thing to happen today was that I put up my first bulletin board! WOHOO! I’m sure I’ll be putting up a LOT more bulletin boards as time goes on, but this IS my first one, so it’s pretty special for me. I made it to display the Beautiful Oops masterpieces that the students made last week. I’m really happy with how all their artworks turned out and how the bulletin board looked at the end. The students were really proud of their artworks too 🙂 It was a proud moment for us all.

I’m kind of sad that I won’t be seeing them for another week or so! But that’s fine I guess. I’m going through a cold right now anyway — I wouldn’t want to spread the germs! (Just spread the love)

That’s a wrap.
My two-week short practicum is officially over. And I’m actually really sad about it!
Being in the classroom has taught me so much valuable information that I don’t think I’d learn if I weren’t in a classroom. I’ve grown so attached to all the students and I’m going to miss them a lot (Even if technically, I’ll be back on Thursdays)

So my second week went pretty much the same as my first, I helped a lot around the classroom! Sometimes I worked with the Kindergarten students, sometimes the Grade 1s and sometimes both of them together. I was able to teach Math this week, which was interesting. They were learning how to properly write their numbers down. I would work with them in groups, teaching them a song as to how they can remember the proper way to write down numbers. It’s so interesting because you see so many of them struggling, inverting numbers and such. But then, we were all like that when we were younger, we all had to start somewhere — it’s really humbling to see that. I was glad to see them writing their numbers correctly as I was singing the song. At the end, I made them rewrite all the numbers (1-10) on their own so I could assess whether they actually absorbed what I taught them. Most of the students wrote their numbers correctly, and it was so great to see them proud of their numbers!

I was also given the opportunity to do a SEL lesson on the book “Beautiful Oops” by Barney Saltzberg. My S.A. told me in advance that this book would be great to read in her class in particular because there are a few students who struggle with “perfectionism” and giving up when they make mistakes. I read the book and I thought that the students were actively engaged and it seemed like they all really enjoyed it. It enabled them to use their imagination and creativity in figuring out what they can make out of their “oops” or “mistakes”. They then created their own beautiful oops. They were all so into their artworks and so proud of what they made. It made me feel so proud too! 🙂

Over-all, I’m going to really miss being in the classroom… and I can’t wait for Thursdays!