Blog Entry #8

I cannot believe this semester is almost over.  I have learned so much during my field work and thru this course.  I think that one of the most important things that I have learned is that teaching isn't just a job.  You need to do a lot more if you want to be successful.  You need to know each of your students.  Get to know them outside of the classroom.  This could help with many things as they are learning.  I didn't realize that a teacher is more than a teacher.  You are a listener, judge, caretaker, nurse, helper, and friend just to name a few. 

I also didn't realize that there are different ways that your students learn.  I think I knew this but I never really thought about it too deeply.  Teachers need to apply all of the learning strategies into their lesson plans.  This could be a challenge but if you do what you need to then you will have a successful lesson.

The last thing that really struck home to me is classroom management. this is key to being an amazing teacher.  I have seen a teacher who's main goal is to be the students friend and her classroom is out of control.  There has to be an in between.  Classrooms need structure.  You can achieve this and still be a friend if you are willing to try.  I cannot wait until I become a teacher.  This course made me so excited for what is to come.

Blog Entry #7

There are a lot of procedures in the classroom that makes Kindergarten run smoothly.  The children know that the first thing they do when they walk through the door is to hand in their homework folder. Then they go sit on the rug.  They know that recess is after math and that snack is after recess.  This makes it so they don't ask every ten minutes when snack and recess are. The students also know what to do if they get done with an assignment earlier than the other students.  This is book time. Kindergarten procedures are very important.  I think the students like it better if they know what is going to happen next.

The classroom management that Mrs. Wolf uses is bucket filling.  At the first of the year they read the book that goes along with this classroom management plan and then they discuss what it means to be a bucket filler and a bucket dipper.  Mrs. Wolf has a paper bucket for each child.  In these buckets there are four sticks.  If they are miss behaving she warns them that they will get a stick pulled if they don't change their behavior.  If they get two sticks pulled they get a note sent home to their parents.  If by chance they get all four pulled then they have a parent teacher conference.  Its funny to watch these Kindergarteners because they know what all of this means.  They are  devastated when they get just one warning.   I have witnessed one student so devastated because she got her stick pulled out of her bucket she was in tears for a while. I think that it is working because the buckets and sticks mean so much to them.   Mrs. Wolf does allow them to earn it back by showing her how they are supposed to be acting.  I really like this management plan.  The students really get involved in it.  I love it when I over hear someone that they need to fill Mrs. Wolfs bucket.  :)

Blog Entry #6

There are many situations in kindergarten to get the students actively involved in what they are learning.  One of the many examples is Color Bingo.  Mrs.Wolf has a colored Bingo song.  She holds up the pictures and they sing along to the tune of Bingo.  I think I have heard those kids sing this song a thousand times when they are writing or working on their own.  I have also noticed that each student recognizes the words of the colors.  I was reading to a little girl the other day and she saw the word yellow.  She was so excited, sang that part of the song and then said, "Yep, I'm smart I can read Y E L L O W!!"  ha ha it made me smile because she was so proud of herself.

Another way that Mrs. Wolf engages the whole class is when they are finished learning about a fairy tale they discuss what it was about.  She reads them at least three versions of the same tale and they tell her the differences and similarities.  Then they go over what the fairy tale is about. Mrs. Wolf calls on some that volunteer and some that don't and by the end of their talk they have a big list of what the stories were about.  After the discussion is over Mrs. Wolf has them write in their journals. For a kinder this is hard so they draw pictures of what they remember from the story and then before they are done they have to let her see what they drew. 

Mrs. Wolf is great at asking questions and keeping her students engaged in what they are doing.  she has different strategies.  Some I have seen and I am sure there are some that I will see soon. I am just grateful for the example of teaching that she is giving me.

Blog Entry #5

Teachers have many roles that they play each day.  The most important role that a teacher plays besides being a teacher is being a caregiver.  Mrs. Wolf is a great example of caring for her students.  She knows her students parents and mostly about their home life.  She knows their allergies and what they like and don't like.  She even knows which student needs to have a little extra attention.

An example that comes to mind is snack time.  I know that may sound so stupid but this is a great example of Mrs. Wolfs care giving skills.  There are Three students in her PM class that cannot have milk with their snack.  She makes sure each and every day that they have something to drink.  whether she gets their juice or gives them water.  As a teacher if you didn't care about stuff like that those kids would be sick every single day. 

Teachers have become one of the most important people in children's lives.  If you don't care about your students they will sense it and either act out or stop caring themselves.  The roles of a teacher are important for the teacher and their students success.

Blog Entry #4

I feel like this blog entry is perfect this week.  I have just had a day full of assessments.  Mrs. Wolf  manages her assessments by taking her students one by one out in the hallway or somewhere where they don't feel pressure from the other students. Right now because these kids are in Kindergarten the assessments seem easy.  They are learning the Spalding phonograms.  Each student is taken out one at a time to test the knowledge and understanding of the ABC phonograms.  I always thought that the ABC's all just had one sound until I was introduced to the Spalding way.

The students are also assessed on beginning, middle and end of the story.  this is the one that I help with.  I love listening to their little voices when I ask them to tell me the story of  The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  some of them really get into it and then there are some of them just make it all up.\

I can tell that assessing students for report cards can be stressful to a teacher.  But in the end it seems that it is worth it because you know where each child is and what needs to be done to help those that are behind catch up.

Blog Entry #3

There is a lot that goes on in a classroom full of five year olds.  Sometimes I wonder how Mrs. Wolf handles it all.  In our class there are about four or five children where English is their second language. There are some strategies that she uses for her students that are English learners. I have noticed that there are times when Mrs. Wolf asks them a question and when they look puzzled she tries to ask the question in the little Spanish that she knows.  I know this helps the kids.  Lately they have all been tested into the ESL program and we are waiting to see what is going on there. 

Mrs. Wolf is amazing at what she does.  I have noticed with those English learners that she is spending a little bit more time making sure that they understand the directions, rules and procedures in the classroom.  Our school also has a class that they call imagine learning.  in this class the students play on the computer that tells things in Spanish and translates them into English.  This has helped some students in the years past.  Especially those that are in kindergarten and are still confused on some things. 

Blog Entry #2

This week I had the opportunity to work in a small group of Kindergarteners.  I was working with them on writing their names and letters.  It was interesting to sit there and watch them as they tried their hardest to remember just how the letters went.  I notices a little boy get sad as he couldn't remember how to right  a g.  So I thought of how I could make it fun for him with a rhyme.  I told him to go around town and into the garage.  Its so funny because he light up and started saying the rhyme.  Now that it has been a couple of days I have notices that every time he writes his name he and his whole table say " Go around town and into the Garage".  This whole incident just reminded me that students learn differently. 
We also worked on our numbers.  Some students get the numbers no problem but there are others that struggle.  I noticed with the ones that got finished first they suddenly got bored and didn't want to do the activity anymore.  The teacher suggested to put them into groups of two and if one finished faster they were to help their partner. To be honest I didn't think that it would work but it did.  Once the faster child finished they were the support team for the other students.  It was great to see them help one another and to make it even better they got to know each other a little more.
I have had the opportunity to work one on one testing some of our ESL students.  We went over some basic questions and it was interesting to me because I could tell right off the bat the students that spoke fluent Spanish at home and those that used both English and Spanish.  I had to tell them a story about a girl that went to the pet shop with her mom and she could only get a fish.  The students had to repeat the story back to me.  There is the cutest littlest girl that I was telling the story to and her version was about how fluffy the animals were.  She didn't repeat anything I said. I just laughed and had to tell her the story again. 
I like working in groups and one on one with students,  I hope that I can work with them more and more.  I feel like I get to know the kids so much better and they get to know me as well. 

Blog Entry 1

I am doing my field work at a charter school.  I get the opportunity to observe and help in Mrs. Wolf's kindergarten class.  Let me just say that I love it.  The topic that I chose is, what the teacher does all day.  I chose this because being in a kinder classroom can be difficult but also fun. 
The first couple days in the classroom felt like total chaos.  It was the first couple days of school and the children were trying to get used to being at a new school with a new teacher.  I am grateful for the teacher that I am working with.  I felt like she knew what to do and how to help the children calm down.  The first thing that she put into place for these days  is a routine.  The students come in, hand in homework and then they sit on the carpet and read a book. After story time its math time.  So far the lessons have been very hands on.  The students get to play with bear counters and shapes because they will be using them all year and she wanted them to get a feel for them.  She uses music to teach them how to write their numbers. The kids love it and sing along with her.   Its funny because sometimes I get those silly songs stuck in my head. 
After math the routine continues with handwriting.  These Kindergartners are making an ABC book that they get to take home when they are finished with the alphabet.  First, the lesson is a poem about the letter of the day followed by a silly song with words that start with the letter.  Then it is handwriting time and the students have to sit and write the letter as best as they can.  When they are done writing they get to draw, glue or paint something that has to do with that certain letter in their ABC books.  The students love it and I feel like it is incorporating different learning styles into one lesson.  By the time this is over the teacher gets a break and sends the kids out to recess for a little bit. 
Mrs. Wolf is a great teacher.  I feel like she is more than a teacher to these kids.  She is also their friend.  Between the stories that they tell her, to her helping them with their work, even to her tying there shoes, you can tell that she means more to them than just a teacher.  Mrs. Wolf is always in the classroom leading the instructions and helping the students.   You can tell that she  is exhausted by the end of the day but so far I haven't heard her complain.  So far I have learned that being a teacher isn't always going to be easy for me but it will be worth it.