Today we had a TOC in who graduated from the UBC program last year- it was great to have the chance to observe her, and she also provided me with the ability to take on more throughout the day. During morning meeting, I had some students that were having difficulty with their behavior, so I began to incorporate/practice some techniques that I learned in our classroom management seminar. I was using touch and the “teacher stare,” to help guide the students if I felt they were off track, and it did help to some degree. It was also “Super Hero Day,” so the face masks became a problem at times, in which I had to take them away until recess. Before Mrs. D, our counselor, came in to read us a story on social responsibility, I had the chance teach some DPA as well as visualization. I brought in a thumb ball and the students loved it! This one in particular has different actions that students must perform (i.e. “Kick a soccer ball,” “Shoot a hockey puck,” “Sink a basketball”). These are all great actions for a brain break/to get the students active. After this, we had some extra time before our story, so I took the students through a breathing & visualization lesson. I asked them to find a special place in their imagination that makes them feel happy and safe. For some of the students, they really enjoyed the exercise and I could tell that they were able to get into the activity. However, for some of the boys, they did not pay attention and acted silly. Next time I will talk more about mindfulness before I begin, and to lay out some strategies in finding that happy place- perhaps this might help them maintain green-zone behavior.

During recess, I saw some amazing things happening on the playground. The primary students had formed a large circle around 3 girls skipping jump rope. It took me back to when I was that age, and the song they sung while jumping was one I could remember skipping to. There must have been more than 30 students standing and cheering/singing the jump rope song. The way they interacted was interesting, as it took some time for them to organize who would be the next in line to jump. Myself and the other teachers on recess duty were watching attentively as they sorted out their differences and worked on decision-making. There was a few times where there was some shouting and arguing, but we decided to step back and let them resolve their issues. It was a wonderful experience to see the formation of a community, and their ability to mediate among themselves.

I also had the opportunity to go work with one of our students who requires extra assistance in the learning center. I enjoyed observing how patient the teacher was with the student, but also how she was strict in keeping him focused. They worked on letter sounds and symbol recognition. There was also a great IPad game that he played to reinforce the words that were previously learned. I enjoyed being able to work along-side the EA.

For the remainder of the afternoon, students worked on a mental-math strategies worksheet. It was difficult for many of them to put their strategies into words- many of them said that they “just knew how to do the math in their brain, and couldn’t explain it.” I thought this was a good way to help students gather their thoughts about mental math, so they are able to share the process of how they come up with the answer. I find this essential to math, as most students will just memorize the method and will not be able to explain why. Times have definitely changed since I went to school!

Another observation that I have made during class is the over-use of needing ice for injuries after PE. During most classes, students are “injured,” and need to go to the office so they can get ice. It seems as though they have been abusing this lately, and are requesting ice just because others need it. I am curious about how to monitor this, and to know when it is being carried away. I do not want to stop a student from getting ice if they are injured, especially if it is a sincere injury. However, I believe the use of it is being manipulated.

Overall, it was a great day with lots of hands-on experience, and I am looking forward to working with Ms. T again- she was great and had amazing insight!