Kindergarten Views
Kindergarten Views
Blog #1
Sept. 11-13th
Due to Wiley Elementary being closed to students on Thursday and Friday, I was only able to go to my practicum 3 times this past week. However, I still learned so much in those 3 days! I typically attend class during math time, and let me tell you, kindergarten math is the best math ever. Right now, the students are working on numbers. Mrs. D does a variety of activities with her students, which helps them to not get too bored. This week the students started math by breaking into small groups. I was lucky enough to work with my own group. We did a worksheet where the students had to count a particular amount of objects and then write the number of that object beside it. After completing this, students went back to their seats where the students did a similar set of worksheets in a whole group. They would do a few problems along with Mrs. D and then try a few on their own. One thing that I noticed that I thought was a good idea, was how Mrs. D would have the students cross off the objects as they counted them. This helped them to see which ones they have already counted, so they would not lose track. Another thing that I observed was when Mrs. D would call on one of her students to answer a question, if they answered the question correctly, she would say "kiss your brain." I really liked this idea because it made the student(s) feel like they were really appreciated by their teacher and it helps the student(s) know they are on the right track. After math time, the students would have snack time and then developmental play centers. These centers consist of a variety of activities that the students can choose from. The centers include sand table play, iPad play, kitchen/pretend play area, play-doh, car play, and arts and crafts. These centers can be changed at anytime to different centers, but as of now, these are the choices the students have. This is something new for me to see in a classroom, however I think this a great way for kindergarteners to have a break from learning and be able to work on more of the social side of school by connecting with their peers in groups and practicing sharing and getting along with their classmates in small groups.
Reflection Question: What social class do you come from? Is it similar to the students you are observing? How will your upbringing affect the students you teach?
I come from a middle social class. My parents have always been able to provide for me and my brother, however we did not get everything handed to us. We did not get everything we wanted. Until I was about 10 years old, we lived on the more "poor" side of town, however we still had a 3 meals everyday plus snacks and a most of the toys we could have wanted. We also always had clean clothes and shoes. When I was ten, we moved to a big house (the one we live in now) but that does not make us "rich." We were not spoiled kids, but we were always so blessed with the life we have been able to live. I can not complain about my life and how I was raised. I would say that my middle social class is very similar to most of the students I am observing. However, I know there are some students in the class I observe that seem to wear some of the same clothes often and their clothes seem to be dirty and obviously not name brand. Although, there is nothing wrong with this, I realize they may have it a little harder than I ever did. My parents raised me to be thankful and appreciative of everything, because not everyone has it as good as me. I think this will affect the students I teach because I know that some kids are not so lucky and that just means they might need a little extra love and attention. It will also help me to realize that they may act out in class as a result to their home life and I will know to recognize this and understand their situation better, so I know not to be too rough on them for acting out. I think it also will affect my students because it will also be able to relate to many of my students who are also in the middle class. The hardest group for me to relate to will be the upper class students and parents because I will not be able to relate to them. These students and parents may be more snobby and may look down upon me, which will be difficult, so I will need to learn how to deal with these parents and students.
Family Composition(pg 93):
I have found that the teacher I am observing, has really built relationships with her students and their families in such a way that she knows what her students' home situation is like. During developmental play center time, Mrs. D calls students over to pick up their take home folders to put into their book bags with any important notes and such that their guardians need to see. During this time I have noticed that with each student she says some of the following statements. "make sure to show these notes to grandma" or "make sure to show these notes to mom and dad" or "make sure to show these notes to your aunt." I found this very interesting because I noticed that with each student, she knows who they are living with. I think this is really important because it helps her to understand the students background and that can better explain how they may learn and act while in the classroom. If a child is living with their grandparents then that means something went wrong with their parents, which could lead to the child acting out more. Because of this, these students may need a little extra TLC at school. A students outside world is very important to who they are in the classroom.
Another extra thing that I wanted to add was that Mrs. D talked to me about how she has a private classroom page for her class. Each year she tells her students' parents about the page and asks them for permission to put pictures of their children on the page. Only parents to the students in her class are apart of the page. It is a way to keep the parents informed about any important notes that are coming home with the students that day. It is also a way for Mrs. D to show the parents photos of what the children are learning in class. I think this is a great idea and something I would like to incorporate into my future classroom.
Blog #1
Sept. 11-13th
Due to Wiley Elementary being closed to students on Thursday and Friday, I was only able to go to my practicum 3 times this past week. However, I still learned so much in those 3 days! I typically attend class during math time, and let me tell you, kindergarten math is the best math ever. Right now, the students are working on numbers. Mrs. D does a variety of activities with her students, which helps them to not get too bored. This week the students started math by breaking into small groups. I was lucky enough to work with my own group. We did a worksheet where the students had to count a particular amount of objects and then write the number of that object beside it. After completing this, students went back to their seats where the students did a similar set of worksheets in a whole group. They would do a few problems along with Mrs. D and then try a few on their own. One thing that I noticed that I thought was a good idea, was how Mrs. D would have the students cross off the objects as they counted them. This helped them to see which ones they have already counted, so they would not lose track. Another thing that I observed was when Mrs. D would call on one of her students to answer a question, if they answered the question correctly, she would say "kiss your brain." I really liked this idea because it made the student(s) feel like they were really appreciated by their teacher and it helps the student(s) know they are on the right track. After math time, the students would have snack time and then developmental play centers. These centers consist of a variety of activities that the students can choose from. The centers include sand table play, iPad play, kitchen/pretend play area, play-doh, car play, and arts and crafts. These centers can be changed at anytime to different centers, but as of now, these are the choices the students have. This is something new for me to see in a classroom, however I think this a great way for kindergarteners to have a break from learning and be able to work on more of the social side of school by connecting with their peers in groups and practicing sharing and getting along with their classmates in small groups.
Reflection Question: What social class do you come from? Is it similar to the students you are observing? How will your upbringing affect the students you teach?
I come from a middle social class. My parents have always been able to provide for me and my brother, however we did not get everything handed to us. We did not get everything we wanted. Until I was about 10 years old, we lived on the more "poor" side of town, however we still had a 3 meals everyday plus snacks and a most of the toys we could have wanted. We also always had clean clothes and shoes. When I was ten, we moved to a big house (the one we live in now) but that does not make us "rich." We were not spoiled kids, but we were always so blessed with the life we have been able to live. I can not complain about my life and how I was raised. I would say that my middle social class is very similar to most of the students I am observing. However, I know there are some students in the class I observe that seem to wear some of the same clothes often and their clothes seem to be dirty and obviously not name brand. Although, there is nothing wrong with this, I realize they may have it a little harder than I ever did. My parents raised me to be thankful and appreciative of everything, because not everyone has it as good as me. I think this will affect the students I teach because I know that some kids are not so lucky and that just means they might need a little extra love and attention. It will also help me to realize that they may act out in class as a result to their home life and I will know to recognize this and understand their situation better, so I know not to be too rough on them for acting out. I think it also will affect my students because it will also be able to relate to many of my students who are also in the middle class. The hardest group for me to relate to will be the upper class students and parents because I will not be able to relate to them. These students and parents may be more snobby and may look down upon me, which will be difficult, so I will need to learn how to deal with these parents and students.
Family Composition(pg 93):
I have found that the teacher I am observing, has really built relationships with her students and their families in such a way that she knows what her students' home situation is like. During developmental play center time, Mrs. D calls students over to pick up their take home folders to put into their book bags with any important notes and such that their guardians need to see. During this time I have noticed that with each student she says some of the following statements. "make sure to show these notes to grandma" or "make sure to show these notes to mom and dad" or "make sure to show these notes to your aunt." I found this very interesting because I noticed that with each student, she knows who they are living with. I think this is really important because it helps her to understand the students background and that can better explain how they may learn and act while in the classroom. If a child is living with their grandparents then that means something went wrong with their parents, which could lead to the child acting out more. Because of this, these students may need a little extra TLC at school. A students outside world is very important to who they are in the classroom.
Another extra thing that I wanted to add was that Mrs. D talked to me about how she has a private classroom page for her class. Each year she tells her students' parents about the page and asks them for permission to put pictures of their children on the page. Only parents to the students in her class are apart of the page. It is a way to keep the parents informed about any important notes that are coming home with the students that day. It is also a way for Mrs. D to show the parents photos of what the children are learning in class. I think this is a great idea and something I would like to incorporate into my future classroom.
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