Although I have observed teachers
in other kindergarten and first grade setting before, teaching and working with
a team is different. The GO Project is my first experience working outside of
the preschool setting. At my preschool, I know all of the staff and all of the
children. I know the children who will move up to my room and they know who I
am. It was daunting to go into this
program not knowing any of the people I would be working alongside or any of
the students. I only knew that I wanted to learn strategies to deal with
children who are older and how to work within a non-preschool setting.
On the first day of setting up for
our classroom at the GO project, my cooperating teacher said, “My motto this
summer is to not kill myself.” My jaw dropped slightly and my mind went into
panic mode. As we set up the class, I did not feel confident about being
prepared. What would be expected of me? What I should expect from the other
teachers and the students? It was alarming for me to not to have a plan or
scramble to have a plan. I like researching and being prepared.
Throughout the first week of
school, I discovered that “not killing myself” did not mean that my cooperating
teacher did not care or was not knowledgeable in her profession. It meant that
she was not going to stress things that she could not control. My cooperating
teacher is full of laughs and is very helpful. She has a stern side and does
put her foot down when necessary. Although her firmness may not be what is
outlined by NAEYC standards, it works. She will let the class know in a strong
voice when the children are not behaving as expected. Too often, I believe that
reasoning with children will get them to straighten up, but many times, it does
not. It is refreshing to feel that I can also be firm. I have observed in
classrooms where the teachers never raise their voice and the children will
only “listen” momentarily. I am a believer that although we get stern, we have
created an environment where the children do know that we care, so they shape
up and fall in line. I hear stories of the teaching assistants saying our class
can be a nightmare in the afternoon, and I am thankful that when we have them
they behave better. And as a person who recently did her first breakfast duty,
our kindergarteners are saints compared to some of the other children.
Although our curriculum has
guidelines, we have been able to incorporate a little creativity into our days.
We recently did fishbowl math where we worked on subtraction with the children.
We had real fish cutouts and fishbowls for the children to solve their
individual (differentiated) math equations. I think the children had fun
solving math problems using tools other than unifix cubes and paper.
I have also observed firsthand how
to use Fundation drills and work with children who are learning how to read.
There is still so much to learn, but I feel that the experience I have had thus
far has been great. I am beginning to have a clearer understanding of where the
children in our class are and where they should be. Although there is much to
do in the next few weeks, we can only focus on making sure the children have a
strong understanding of the foundations of reading and math. So in KC, we are
not “killing ourselves” but we are working hard to try to make them feel able
and ready for the coming school year. This means building their confidence and
their ability to make connections to the foundations we are teaching to their
everyday lives.
Our classroom is an environment
where we can laugh while we learn. So although I was taken aback in the
beginning, it has become an environment in which I am comfortable and I enjoy
working in. The teaching team in KC works well together even though we all have
different personalities. We all are open to new suggestions and are mindful of each other's ideas. We come in and are ready to pitch in. As we support the children and their learning, we support each other.
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