Today was a very busy day at CC. We had to run-through Morning Meeting session quite quickly as we were asked to watch the K class parade down the hall in their celebratory attire for Chinese New Year. Their outfits were fantastic and dragon face-masks were incredible! It is amazing to see how some of the classes work towards building diversity and appreciation for all cultures in the school community.

When the students settled back into the classroom, I assisted Mrs. S by giving the spelling test, as she worked one-on-one completing student assessment. They all did really well on the quiz! Surprisingly, there was not much stress related to the concept of having a “test.” I was worried about anxiety levels when I mentioned it was time to have our spelling test, but there was not much worry circulating the class- everyone did great. We then moved into our math session, where we worked on addition strategies which Mrs. S did a fantastic job of explaining. Today we focused specifically on “counting up” from the greater number (typically good for numbers, 1, 2 and 3), as well as “doubles.” I feel it is so important that these students have the ability to utilize these strategies at this age and beyond, as when I think back to my early my education, I never had these types of wonderful lessons/learning techniques. Math was always a struggle for me in school, and if these strategies were taught at that time, understanding the concepts would have been so much easier.

After recess, the students participated in “Jump Rope for Heart,” that was held in the gym. They all had a great time skipping with their buddy class. When the students arrived back in the classroom, they worked on spelling sheets and had time for centers. During centers, they worked on creating words with different objects (i.e. beach shells, dominos, plastic/washable colored plates). I enjoyed watching them create their letters in an assortment of ways (not just writing on a piece of paper). This activity allowed them to use their imagination in a creative fashion- making use of a multi-modal experience.

After lunch period, the students had 15 minutes of silent reading, and then one of boys had a race car book he wanted to read-aloud to the class. He is one of the lower readers in the class, but he did such an amazing job reading to his classmates, and took time to make sure the audience had viewed all the photos thoroughly! I felt that he gained so much confidence from this experience. Afterwards, I shared a Valentine’s story with the class, which all the students loved. We then moved into some social responsibility due to the bullying issues that have been ongoing in the classroom. We used a Second Step lesson that depicted a photo of a boy who wanted to play with his friend who was using building blocks. We spoke about the importance of body language, and how it can tell so much more than a person’s words. The student’s had great ideas about how to resolve the issue that the 2 boys were in, and learned the importance of sharing and trading. I felt this was a useful activity considering the classroom dynamics that have been a concern for both teachers and parents.

To conclude the day, Mrs. S gave an art lesson on creating heart holders for Valentine’s Day cards. The concept of the activity was for the students to create 3 animals made of hearts only (all body parts had to be created with hearts). The boys and girls had some great techniques and used lots of color. It was also extra special for me, as one of the students wrote on his Valentine heart that “I love you Miss. H, and you are the best teacher ever” 🙂 These are the moments that are definitely cherished the most as a student-teacher, especially when you are not having the best of days. Overall it was a great day, and I stayed late to help Mrs. S complete some marking. We are looking forward to Valentine’s week ahead!