This week was very interesting! Prior to TOC day, it was somewhat nerve-wracking heading into an unknown school/classroom. Fortunately, it was an easy transition knowing that our cohort is detail-oriented and prepared fantastic day plans for everyone. Going into a Grade 7 class was exciting for me- I really enjoy all age groups, and tutor older students outside of school-time. However, coming from a Grade 2 class, I was prepared for the kids to be focused and easy to manage- little did I know that my Grade 2 strategies were alien to these students! I was shocked when I exhausted all of my management techniques and ended up keeping them in after school for their constant chatter and disrespect when others were talking. Despite the noise, the day went smoothly, and it was nice to teach another grade’s curriculum. The class discussions were interesting, and I enjoyed observing students during their work-time. They were all very artistic, and created some amazing owl’s from a directed drawing activity that we learned from our art class at UBC. At the end of the day, I really missed my Grade 2’s and CC. It was hard not seeing them, and will definitely become even harder as I take on the final week of practicum.

Back at class on Wednesday, it was nice to get into the swing of things again after the long weekend. Students were excited to participate in some fun activities that were in store for the week. We began our 3-D diorama projects for Social Studies. Each student was to pick a province in Canada that they were interested in learning more about and create a visual representation in 3-D format using a shoe-box. Students were very excited to start the exercise, and the visuals created have been well thought-out and colorful. One of the biggest challenges that I faced during this lessons was the constant need for students to acquire more paint, and the mess that was left before home-time. Lesson learned- do not allow students to paint on their desks without newsprint underneath! Also, students need more than 15 minutes for a big clean up. Next time, I will definitely allow at least 20 minutes for paints, water cups, etc., to be organized and put away neatly. Little details like these have definitely become more apparent as time has progressed in this practicum.

For this coming week, I will have the opportunity to learn more about other classes at CC (i.e. resource room, learning assistance, other grades, etc.). We also have our class play to practice and prepare for on Thursday. We will have a full crowd as parents will be attending! The students are very excited to perform, as they have worked tremendously hard on creating props and role-playing. I can’t wait to see how they do! It has been such a long journey and it will be hard to say goodbye at the end of this week. I do look forward to visiting them again before the end of the year.

On a final note- the Cougar Canyon Carnival was a great success this year, and I enjoyed running the mini golf station on Friday evening. It was amazing to see the effort put in to creating a fun and active community event!