I am thankful for

 1. I enjoy seeing the kids walk through the door every morning, saying hello and seeing them smile.
2. I love teaching calendar time so I can experience teaching
3. I love walking around the classroom and helping the kids with their work, as they have many questions.
4. I love encouraging them when they're discouraged, as I feel i'm making a difference.
5. I love making crafts with them.

Tech in the classroom

Today after calendar time Ms.Price called 3 students to the teacher desk and let the other children watch "Between the Lion", which is really a great learning tool. I was curious as to what she was doing, but I was sitting with the kids so they wouldn't misbehave. After a while she called me over and told me they were taking an online test with iPads, something all the kids had to do so they would then be qualified to work on the app at home. The test wasn't even being graded. She had to go to the bathroom so I sat with them and made sure they stayed on task and answered the questions at a reasonable pace. One little boy got many of the questions right, but every time he finished one test there was another one. There was a total of five tests with 20 questions minimum. It was exhausting the kids. One little girl had no idea what the answers were, and to make it worse it wasn't multiple choice. She had to type in the numbers herself. The whole thing seemed ridiculous, as they were being tested over some things they hadn't even learned, AND IT WASN'T EVEN FOR A GRADE. The teacher was annoyed over how much time it was taking, as the 3 children called up had been there for almost 30 minutes. Only 3 children. I would have to say what i've observed of 5 and 6 year-olds using iPads, it's counterproductive, as they are still very little. Let's just say, today was a frustrating one.

Yesterday

Yesterday I finished making the wreaths with the kids and then circulated the classroom helping the kids with their work. Then I was enlisted to play a spelling game with 3 of the kids ( maybe 4 but I was confused and only did 3), and they loved it. They each got a board with four pictures with 3 letter words. They were words like "bat" "hit" "can", and so on. They then each had a little basket of words and a spinner. The spinner had 1-3 on it, and whatever number the kids landed on was how many letters they got to pick out of the basket. The first to spell out all the words was the winner, and the kids loved it. Other children were distracted from their work because they wanted to watch. Learning really can be fun! I can't remember what it's called but i'll be sure to find out.

Turkeys

Yesterday I visited a Montessori school and discovered it was not my taste at all. The children were receiving no instruction, simply doing their own thing. Sure, it was a peaceful and behaved environment, but I couldn't see any learning. They said the children learn independently, uninhibited by the fast-paced and demanding ways of traditional schools. It may be appreciated by many, but it's far from my taste. In fact, when talking with my elementary teacher about it she told me there was a montessori student in Kindergarten this year and he was unable to listen to the teacher and follow instructions. What else would you expect though of a child who's been able to do his own thing for his whole school career?
Moving on, today I had a blast at school. I made hand paint turkeys with the little kids. I painted their palms and thumbs brown, and then their other fingers individual colors. They LOVED it. We also made glue patterns on their leave collages and then poured glitter on the top. It took my whole time at the school to finish the turkeys, and I only got through 8 of the collages. The kids said the paint tickled and we all had a good laugh. When I become a teacher I will most definately be making the turkeys. 

Beans

Today I did calendar time and then proceeded to help students with worksheets and then work in small reading groups. I've found the best way for me to encourage them is by giving big high-fives. They find it funny when they smack my hand as hard as they can. Along with intelligence the kids are also full of sweetness. A little boy came up to me and told me I was pretty. It was such a nice thing to say, and it made me smile. I told him he was handsome. the teacher showed me a method of counting to a specific number using different combinations of numbers. Use beans that a green on one side and white on the other. If you're counting to 4 you can have 2 white and 2 green, or 3 white and 1 green, and so on. It's a cool way for the kids to learn different ways to count to 4. I learn something new every day.

Lovin' it

Today I did calendar time, and I feel I'm really getting the hang of it. I dance with the kids, review the date, show how many days they've been in Kindergarten, and count to 70. I then helped a girl share her favorite things in front of the class. I really like who I am in the class. That's what you want in a job, right? I then read with the group of kids average at reading, as they whisper-read, and I walked round and made sure they knew the words and were on task. When they were done I asked them questions about the book which they were really excited to answer. I also observed kids in the class with exceptional behavior, and reported them to the teacher. They were called up and given a slip to write their names on, which were then put in a bucket. Now the children had a chance of winning the drawl and visiting the treasure chest. I was really impressed with the system. The children are sweet, all having different personalities. I'm a sucker for the ones that want to hold my hand and give me a hug. They really know how to be adorable. In short, I love learning how to become a teacher. Every day this assures me my future profession is the right one for me.

A lot to say

I must confess I have been lax in recording my teaching experiences, but that is because until up to this point, my days were spent making countless copies, assisting other teachers, and merely observing the children. Now, thanks to the understanding of my wonderful teacher, I have become very involved. Every morning I teach calendar time. Then I proceed to teach reading groups and work privately with the struggling students. They are all so wonderful. I worked so hard today I was surprised to feel somewhat exhausted from the tedious act of teaching. I feel becoming tired is an important part of knowing you're working hard. Behavior issues are now more under control and the children are becoming more independent. Kindergarten really does shape young ones.