This week was another great experience with our field trip to Grouse Mountain. It was definitely an eye-opener to see how much work goes in to planning a large trip with 70+ grade 2 students! From ensuring that everyone has their medical kits, to bus-sick supplies, it was so important to experience a major trip like this. It goes to show that as a teacher, you must be prepared for everything and have great organizational skills. The trip itself was incredible- we took the gondola up and saw the Grizzly bears (Grinder and Koola). This was my first time seeing the bears, and they were beautiful! The kids loved them, and it was definitely the highlight of our experience up the mountain. The students also learned about animals in the Grouse Mountain environment, and we had a brilliant presentation by one of the Squamish Elders in the Feast House. It was so captivating, and we even got to perform the dance of the Raven and Coyote.

In order to follow up on the field trip, I put together a slide show of some of the photos that I took from Grouse Mountain. It was a collection of images to allow students to think about their experiences- thus, prepping them for their writing activity. I was happy with the slides that were put together, but I felt that the lesson was rushed and didn’t give the students enough time to write. Next week I will be giving them some extra time to write their reflections and possibly draw a scene of their favorite part of their trip. This lesson was one of my first lessons that I really did not feel great about. Even though there were only some minor kinks that needed to be worked out, I am beginning to feel more critical of myself and how well I deliver a lesson. It is definitely important that these lessons come and go, and that I am able to reflect on the pros and cons. However, it can be a challenge to let go of the mistakes when you are so far along in your journey. It was a good lesson to review and I’m looking forward to improving the minor adjustments that were needed in my last 2 weeks of practicum.

This week I also had the opportunity to sit in on two student meetings- one with the support staff at CC, as well as a parent meeting. The first meeting was regarding a student whom is showing signs of being on the spectrum, as well as OCD and anxiety. It was great to provide input in this meeting and be involved in having a discussion about mental health. The following meeting was a year-end meeting that discussed the student’s progress in 2nd grade. As the student has cognitive behavioral disorders, the parents felt it would be best to keep him back a year so he can re-learn and re-focus on grade 2 concepts. However, support workers felt that it would be more appropriate and a better fit if he kept with his age-group. They believe that keeping a student within their social circle has many benefits to learning than keeping him back. I do agree with the support workers and hope that the parents will agree with allowing him to progress into 3rd grade.

2 more weeks to go! I can’t believe we are finally at the end. I am looking forward to our TOC day on Tuesday! It’s going to be a great experience and will prepare us for the real world of teaching!