It was so nice to finally be back in the classroom! It’s been a difficult transition for many of us going back to UBC after falling in love with our practicum classes. When I arrived, it felt great to hear from Mrs. S about how much the kids missed me and that they had been asking where I had gone. When I went to open the door at 9am, they were so excited to see me and many of them gave me big hugs- it truly is one of the best feelings! During the first part of the morning, we got to go practice for the Scrooge concert that they will be performing in early December. It’s amazing how easily kids that age can pick up 4 different songs and remember all the actions- they must have been practicing! For the past few nights I have had the songs on repeat in my head as I go to sleep at night! 🙂 When we got back from practice, I took the students through morning calendar with our VIP while Mrs. S got to assess some students out in the hallway. The students seemed to be a bit off task today, so I was able to practice some management skills. There was a lot of movement and not much focus, so they owed me 1 minute at recess. I typically do not like to punish the entire class for a few student’s actions, but decided it need to be done. Mrs. S didn’t’ have a problem with it (as she sometimes uses this technique), and they put their heads down on their desks until I said they could leave. I am curious to know if group punishment is something that should be used often, or if I should focus the punishment on individuals?

After recess one of the students read a story to the rest of the class, and then students had gym period. This was our prep period, so Mrs. S and I some time to mark math worksheets that she was using for report card assessment. We also spoke about the behaviors in the class that are beginning to affect some of the other students’ learning. This has been an ongoing issue since the beginning of the year, and finally there will be a meeting to address some of the concerns. Hopefully there will be some further support for those who are in need of extra resources. I am learning more about the complexities of children with behaviors and the importance of inclusion in the classroom. However, I can understand how some of these behaviors are truly effecting other student’s learning and progress, and the amount of time that is taken away when having to focus on others who are consistently defiant. It is definitely a difficult situation, but I’m happy to hear that Mrs. S is looking into further help for some students that are in great need.

The second half of the day we had a great opportunity to sit in with one of the best numeracy consultants who works with many districts in BC. We got to listen to her take on primary mathematics, and we even got to watch her perform a lesson for a K-1 classroom! It was such a great experience being able to watch her teach, and to see how engaged the students were with the lesson. The students were learning about subtraction, and the teacher brought in a variety of manipulatives for the children to use (mini turtles, fish, farm animals, lizards, etc.). Being able to physically play with these manipulatives and “create” a story about 7-1=6 was so much fun for the children. All the students were excited to share their numeracy stories for a variety of equations, and some even acted it out! To observe a professional teach a lesson was extremely valuable, and there were a lot of great takeaways. Specifically, I learned the importance of repetition. With young children, it is essential to repeat and practice what they are learning, as some may not be able to catch on as quickly as others. In addition, when using manipulatives, it is also important to allow the children to draw what the manipulative is depicting (i.e. drawing 7 circles and taking one away). You can also allow them to write the numbers out in word form when they feel comfortable. Including a number of ways to represent numbers is very important, and the students demonstrated that they were able to accomplish this. I found this session to be extremely helpful, and it gave me some great ideas and strategies to use for further lesson planning!

After school, I stayed with Mrs. S to help paper the hallway boards for Christmas decorations that need to be up before the Scrooge concert. It was great to stay and help the other teacher’s prepare for this, as I am learning so much about them and their passion for teaching. I really look forward to helping out at the Scrooge concert evening that is coming up in the next few weeks!