Leaving Lawn Manor

Monday
Today was actually a really great day -- maybe one of my favorites! It probably helped that I had gotten a ton of sleep over the weekend (due to being at  home and not 'distracted' by friends) so I had more energy and patience. It also seemed like the kids were in good moods and ready to learn despite the hot, beautiful weather right outside.

Particulary, the child who usually causes the most trouble was phenomenal today. She didn't pull a star all day! I was so impressed. I sought out every opportunity I could to commend her on her excellent behavior. One time in particular, the kids were getting noisy and were walking all over as we were about to transition into a different subject/activity. I turn around and this student is sitting, criss-cross (a kindergarten golden rule) on the rug, silent. I was in awe. I immediately praised her and encouraged everyone to act just like her. What a moment for this student. It was such a great day for her.


The template I used last week for our clock lesson

In math, we learned more about clocks and how to tell time to the hour, in particular. This was
actually pretty quickly grasped, despite my initial preconceptions. The kids did really well with it!

In guided reading, I pulled two students to do some work on the phonemic awareness worksheet they were given. They did so much better with a little direction and reminders to continue working. If only they could do this well on their own...

In reading, we read one last story about butterflies (and made connections to our own class experiences with butterflies) before finishing our wax paper suncatchers and then doing a journal afterward. I wanted to make sure that I allowed time to reflect on the book through comprehension and prediction questions, but also that we connect the story to our own experiences with butterflies in the classroom. The kids seemed to get a lot out of this aspect of the lesson. They really liked talking about the cycle of a butterfly as well as their own memories about our caterpillars and butterflies. It was cool to hear how much they had learned about butterflies throughout the mini
unit.

This part of the lesson helped illustrate to me the importance of Performance Indicator 2G of the Human Development and Learning Illinois Professional Teaching Standard which states that the competent teacher "stimulates student reflection on prior knowledge and links new ideas to already familar ideas and experiences." This was definitely another eye-opening experience for me. And, the art projects turned out fantastically! I was so proud of their hard work throughout this unit!

I found out, a bit last minute, that last Thursday had been the final day for Earobics. So, today I had to think, on the spot, about how to fill that extra half an hour before lunch. I pulled a scholastic article from the basket and we sat down on the rug together to read. The kids seemed to get into it.

Lunch. Calendar. Music.

After music, we quickly filled folders and packed up. Then, since we had released the butterflies outside on Friday, we had never gotten to the Surprise Box that serves as a weekly reward for well-behaving students. Instead, we had to finish that up today. I wasn't thrilled with the idea -- even though I clearly explained why we were doing it today (several times throughout the day), I'm wondering how many students made the connection and understood what was happening. Anyway. Looking back, I definitely would have planned that out better on Thursday or Friday of last week to avoid that situation.

Home.

My Last Days:
My last days at Lawn Manor were spent observing, listening, helping, serving, and laughing. The kids are so funny (and getting sleep at night allows me to better see this). I'm really going to miss their individual personalities and quirks. What a class. I've been so blessed.

Some of the 'highlights' of my last moments at Lawn Manor with my kindergarten class:
-- the unexpected fire drill during lunch (during which I happened to be in the bathroom) and then waiting 20 minutes outside for an all-clear -- seemed like an hour for six year olds
--helping one-on-one again and really listening to the kids in a way so difficult with twenty swarmed around you
-- reading my last picture books to them and watching as the kids got extremely excited about the stories
-- noticing how they approached me in the mornings to tell me about their exciting lives (give it a day, they'll be back to Mrs. Drabek for sure)
-- watching the kids try to sit by me during group instruction and then having to comment because it became disruptive (not my fault!)
-- responding (quite calmly, actually) to a nasty, all-over-the-desk, bloody nose five minutes before dismissal
-- tying countless shoes, and realizing that I'll miss it soon -- until camp, that is :)
-- saying goodbye to 20 wonderful kids and a phenomenal cooperating teacher
-- receiving a bag full of teaching tools for my first job and signed by all 20 kids

My time teaching at Lawn Manor has definitely benefited me in that I have learned so much about my students, my lesson plans, my expectations, my assessment methods, my classroom management, my interaction with other teachers, my professionalism, the list could go on and on. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time spent there; it was definitely hard saying goodbye. I will very much miss my students and my cooperating teacher.

Despite the vast differences in my two student teaching placements, I have learned so much at both. I would not trade my experiences for anything. Through these two varying situations and in working with these students, I feel as though I have gained insight into the role of a teacher. I will carry these experiences with me throughout my professional career and use this knowledge as a way to continually improve and learn. I have been so blessed to have the placements that I did and to work with the people I did. To God be the glory.

So, in closing, I reflect on my time as a 'teacher' grateful for the opportunities given to me and hoping to some day apply my discoveries to my own class. Because as one door closes, God has continuosly shown me that another will be opened. And I guess all you can really do is jump in as you commit to live and learn.

Monarchs and Acrobats

Monday
Today was a great day at school!

Math went really well, despite the annoying technological difficulties. The internet was extremely slow this morning. So, even though we usually start with a video clip that describes and 'teaches' the daily lesson, I was forced to rethink the lesson and figure out what to do instead, or in the
meantime.

I basically just ended up switching around two parts of the lesson. It was annoying but little else. It ended up working out just fine. Talk about flexibility, though.

Guided reading was fine. Because the math lesson went a bit longer than usual, guided reading was cut a bit short. I still got to pull three groups, but I would've rather pulled a couple more yet. However, I had grabbed two new books for my top reading group and we started them today. One is a level E book that I'm really excited to try with them. It's so cool to see them pick up the words so quickly. I'm really impressed!

Reading was a lot of fun. We read a nonfiction book about the butterfly cycle. We talked a bit about this topic (basically just a review because we've talked about this before), charted it on the white board and then did an art project on the topic.

The kids really seemed to enjoy it and it wasn't too difficult or easy for them. It was also a nice way to reinforce the idea of the cycle.

Lunch. Calendar. Music. Home.

Tuesday
Today was yet another unusual day. When I walked into the classroom, I noticed that our caterpillars had finally transformed into beautiful butterflies. I knew the kids would be excited about this and I prepared for an enthusiastic morning.

Math went well today. We started off by reviewing the material from yesterday. I wasn't happy about how the students were grasping the material so I made an interactive review on the Pantheon board. The kids really enjoyed this and it helped reinforce the material. The computer was back to

Similar to what a Pantheon board looks like

normal (below average speeds) so we were able to watch a video about the material we were learning today.

Guided reading went okay. The pictures were quite small on the worksheet I had chosen for centers time so the kids had a lot of questions about that. Meanwhile, I was trying to pull groups not only for reading, but also to catch up on some work that kids had missed or done poorly on. I wanted to be sure to review the pages with them, and redo some of it, before sending it home to parents. Overall, this went well. The kids worked hard and we got a lot done.

At ten, we had a Chinese acrobat performance assembly in the gym. The kids absolutely loved this and talked about it for the rest of the day. At one point during the assembly, a student of mine said she needed a kleenex. I asked if she could wait until the end of the show, but she said she couldn't.
So, the kindergarten teacher next to me watched my kids while I went to get some toilet paper from the nearest bathroom. In all my years as a student, I've never imagined myself in the teacher role at an assembly.

Lunch. Calendar. We then did some new word family words. We went over them on the board and used the magnetic letters to tap out the -ug words. The kids practiced them and did book boxes for a bit before gym.

Folders. Park. Home.

Wednesday
I did not teach today. We had a Senior luncheon and class at Trinity today.

Thursday

Today was a good day. Math went well and the kids really seemed to grasp the idea of the order of events. They liked drawing pictures that illustrated when they get up in the morning, go to school, and eat dinner at home.

Guided reading went well too. I've been trying to squeeze in most groups each day so students get some solid reading time daily. My cooperating teacher told me that apparently our kindergarten class had the highest reading scores in the school. Score! Nice.

Reading was fun. We continued our work on butterflies but also spent some time on phonics and phonemic awareness.

Lunch. Computers. Park. Home.

Friday
Today was a really good day! In math, I finally introduced the idea of the clock which means we were learning where the numbers on the clock go. To help with this, I made a template on the Pantheon board where kids could come up and write in the numbers or circle numbers in order to help them become familiar with the order of the clock. The kids really enjoy using the board and they seem to benefit greatly from it.

Guided reading was pretty much the same. I had gotten new books for a few groups, so they enjoyed those.

Reading was great because we are finishing up our unit on butterflies. We read another story (nonfiction) and then made butterfly suncatchers with wax paper. They really liked this and they

turned out nice (well, those who finished). After lunch, along with my cooperating teacher, we took the kids outside to release the butterflies from the nets. The kids loved this and got really excited about it. They kept saying goodbye and adding names to the bugs even though each kid had named each butterfly something different. It was cool to see how excited the kids were about this unit and project.

One more week now!

Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn

Monday
Today was pretty laid back. My teacher was out today and we had a substitute in; however, she was pulling students to take the ISEL test so she wasn't even in the room.

We began the day by reviewing some math. We focused on a few areas that the kids need some reminding about: the terms, where to start when graphing (the top or the bottom of the graph), etc. We did a fun activity on the SmartBoard and then followed it up with a worksheet. Most of the kids seemed to grasp it. We're going to start to move on now.

For guided reading, I asked if the kindergarten aide could pull the five students who were absent on Friday to finish a math review sheet. While she did that in the tech room, I pulled guided reading groups in the classroom. It went really well. I felt so much more organized and I could get through groups more quickly while still reading a book or two with each group. What a difference!

In reading, we started our unit on caterpillars and butterflies. The kids have been really excited
about this for a while. They keep looking at the jar of caterpillars in our room. Today we read a story and then we finished up a project from the other day. That one is going on the bulletin board outside. Tomorrow we'll read another story about caterpillars, non-fiction this time, and then do an art project. We'll also spend some time reading a word family book and doing some phonics.

Tuesday
We started off our day with a little bit of math. We did a quick review of some of the ideas that a few students still seemed to struggle with before taking the post-assessment. Just based on observations, the students seemed to do very well. It will be interesting to look those over tonight. Finding and implementing an assessment 'quiz/test' has been cool. It has definitely opened my eyes to better understanding how to analyze "individual and group performance in order to design instruction that meets learners' current needs in the cognitive...level of development" (IPTS #2 Human Development and Learning: Performance).

In reading, we began by reading a word family book. Unfortunately, because milk is late sometimes, we start reading, have milk, and then finish reading afterward. Let me tell you, that makes for some difficult transitions. However, it seemed to go alright today. We then read a non-fiction book about caterpillars. We talked about how they turn into butterflies and learned a lot about different kinds and colors of butterflies. The kids were really engaged in the lesson. Then, we made paper chain caterpillars. This was fun and the kids got into it. They turned out really cute! I'm hoping to find a way to display their work somehow. And afterward, we did a writing assignment in our journals. I began a sentence and then had students finish it and draw their accompanying picture. Of course, the sentence was about butterflies. Most students did very well; some did not quite finish before it was time for computers.

Today was hot lunch -- which I forgot about until I realized that on these days, lunch is half an hour later. So not only do the kids complain about how hungry they are, but I needed to fill that
extra time. So, we took out the reading we had saved for later and finished that. I also let the kids come up, table by table, to look at the caterpillars in the jar up front. They find this so fascinating! I can't wait to tap into some of that excitement!

Gym. Park. Home.

Wednesday
Today started off really well. Math went fine -- we did a pre-assessment for our new unit: time. Some kids did really well with this; they were able to take an educated guess about what time the clock showed despite having no knowledge about the concepts. This was really cool to see.


However, some kids seemed to get a little frustrated with the assessment even though I kept reminding them that it was alright if they didn't know the answers yet -- we hadn't covered the material so I obviously don't expect them to know it. After a few more reassurances, they were fine and we finished the page.

Guided reading was fine -- as usual. Because of the strange timing of the school year, there is a lot going on in the classroom and outside of it. For example, my teacher was pulling students out of the

room all day for a mother's day project we're working on. It's a fun project -- a cookbook filled with recipes submitted by the kids. I've actually played a large role in this project. I typed up the recipes and printed them off. I also had to find a few recipes for the kids who didn't bring any in. It's been cool to get this experience too.

And, when my teacher's not pulling kids for that, she's pulling other students for testing. And then there's a sub who's pulling students for a different kind of assessment. And the RTI teacher pulls students all day. And it's Teacher Appreciation week so room moms are in and out for various reasons. Let's just say, I'm definitely practicing my patience.

There was a luncheon for all teachers and aides today because of Teacher Appreciation week. However, there was a miscommunication with the time of the lunch, so it ended up starting late. So, the lunch began at noon instead of 11:30 and ended around 1 or so. That means we missed music and went straight into calendar. Because I didn't have time to pass out papers and folders when the kids were at music, we had to switch around the way in which we completed this
process.

The kids didn't take this too well. And we didn't have time to go to the park as the afternoon as a reward for not losing a star. Instead, we played a quick round of Freeze Dance. I guess it sufficed. And then we were a minute or two late to leave for the bus. Overall, our afternoon was thrown off. It was a little hectic but, again, I was given the opportunity to practice patience and flexibility.

It was a very 'growing' kind of a day.

Thursday
Math was good today. We talked more about time and the kids really seemed to pick it up quickly. On the little on-line quiz we took, they needed a bit of extra explanation but overall were grasping the concept. I was a little surprised by the depth of their thinking at one point. The question was: which takes more time -- sleeping or reading a book? (And, of course, pictures were present). But some of the kids were asking, 'well, how long's the book?' One even made a comment about the Bible, noting that reading that book would take a long time. I was impressed by this clarification of thought and pointed it out to them.

Guided reading went well too. I started off by pulling a few of the lower readers who had missed a few phonics sheets we've been doing lately. I wanted to work one-on-one with them to finish those and get that extra practice. However, that meant less time for reading groups. You win some, you lose some, I guess. I did get to a few groups though.

Computers, lunch, reading. I read another book about caterpillars and butterflies. The book really held their attention and they were focused and listening. Then, we did a writing assignment as a whole class. However, I quickly realized that the idea was a bit over their heads so we didn't spend a ton of time on it. They were getting frustrated which was making me lose patience (something I need to work on, for sure), so we finished it up quickly and moved on.

We played a few quick rounds of heads up seven up for their behavioral treat today. I also tried something new by walking around the room to ask the students who had to sit out today why they couldn't play the game. I encouraged them to try harder tomorrow. I'm hoping this will help those students work toward a good day tomorrow and in the future.

Overall, a solid day.

Friday
Today was a pretty good day overall. After math, we had a visit from a preschool class who came to observe a kindergarten lesson. Luckily, my teacher had given me a heads up a couple of weeks ago. She had asked that I prepare a lesson that was appropriate for both age groups and involved a hands-on activity as well to get the kids moving. All the kids seemed to enjoy the lesson and it wasn't over anyone's head.

I read a story about the rainbow (and colors), showed a youtube video about colors, and then we made a (fairly simple) rainbow art project. I had prefaced the lesson to my kindergarteners by reminding them to be on their best behaviors for the lesson to show the preschool kids how well behaved they were. I also asked that they be good helpers to the little kids during the art project. It was fun to see the kids working together so well. What a cool thing to see.

This threw off our whole day, though. This lesson took place during our usual guided reading time so the kids kept asking when we would be doing centers. We ended up doing centers/guided reading after the preschool lesson and it almost seemed like a normal day after that. After milk, we did reading/writing and then lunch. After lunch we did Calm Classroom again. I started the week off doing this and then, as things got busy, I dropped it for a few days. On Fridays, the kids get excited so I figured it would be a good idea to calm them down for the afternoon. I'm glad I did.

Calm Classroom

Gym, and then surprise box. The kids got a little wound up right after gym so it was a matter of bringing them back in. I turned off the lights and they sat with their heads down for a few minutes to get the room quiet. After surprise box, it was time to go home. Again, I ensured that the kids were quiet because they were excited to go home for the weekend.

Overall a good (busy, but good) day.

Classroom Confidential -- Chapters 10 and 7

Chapter 10:

What's the big idea about social justice? Why are the ideas of chapter 10 important for a Christian teacher?
I thought this chapter was very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the part where Schmidt says "teachers realize that most of their students observe, experience, or think about issues of social justice every day. Great teachers do not ask kids to leave their life experiences at the door each morning" (p. 215). I love culture and the idea of how our beliefs and experiences impact our actions and the way we learn. I think it's so important to remember that kids bring their experiences with them into the classroom and use their backgrounds to learn.

I think that sometimes we so quickly forget that we are not just teaching our kids math and science, but also about the world and how we interact with it and with other people. Schmidt explains that "[w]hen you're teaching social justice, the curriculum is ourselves" (p. 215). As Christian teachers, we need to remember that "when you introduce your students to social justice education, you encourage them to look at the real world inquisitively, boldly, and from various points of view to observe how other people, particularly children, exist" (p. 216). Despite where we're teaching, Christian teachers should be finding ways to illustrate Christ's love in all that they do.

Social justice is a part of our world. Students need to be made aware of this so they can have a better understanding of their world and their role and responsibility in the world. It is our job to educate them about this in a way that they can understand.

Chapter 7

Based on Schmidt's chapter seven, how will you use the community in your own classroom? Cite Schmidt in your response. What are compelling reasons for doing so?
This chapter was really interesting in that it promotes the idea of using the community in our classrooms -- something that is so important and sometimes rarely used. Some ideas that stuck out to me from this chapter include:

1. Community based projects put kids in the driver's seat
2. Community-based projects are academically and socially rigorous
3. Community-based learning requires different ways of knowing

I particularly agree with the second and third of these because I believe I've experienced these before. In my opinion, learning occurs more frequently and deeply when students are acting through meaningful projects and hands-on experiences. Getting involved in the community outside of a school can be a fantastic way of doing this.

I hope to provide opportunities for students to participate in community events and service too. It might be fun to invite individuals to the class to speak with students about their jobs or other topics. It will definitely take a lot of work upfront for these types of projects, but the long-term effects will definitely be worth the effort. When kids get involved in the community, they learn about values and ideas bigger than academics. They are picking up skills and ways of thinking that can be transferred to tons of different situations and experiences. Students can learn so much from their community. It is crucial that teachers do all they can to build these bridges for their students.

La Vie Est Folle

Monday
Today we took a pre-assessment in math; I wanted to see how much the kids knew about graphing before we started in on the unit. The material on the quiz wasn't too hard and I figured they would do well on it; however, even though the assessment was straight from the website we use everyday, it still wasn't the most clear worksheet I've assigned. The kids had a rough time with it because the

sheet wasn't clear. The shading needed for some of the problems was too light so it was difficult to see and the kids didn't really understand what was being asked of them. After some explanation, they did alright. I still wasn't too happy with the quiz overall, though. I decided I wouldn't depend too heavily on it to tell me what the kids knew. And for the post-evaluation, I would either use a different sheet altogether or shade in the squares to help the students better understand what I was asking them to do.

In reading today, we read a book about recycling. After, I had the students write a letter to the character from the story. They seemed to enjoy it and they did well overall. It's been important to get some writing in; I'm hoping to keep focusing on this a lot in the next few weeks.

Tuesday
Today in math, we did an activity about graphing. We've been talking a lot about picture graphs and bar graphs so today I used the Pantheon board to make an empty picture graph for an activity. I asked the students which of two objects/pictures (heart, star, soccer ball, moon, etc.) they preferred. This helped me illustrate my competence in my ability "to integrate technology into classroom instruction" (IPTS 4: Planning for Instruction). Then, we graphed the data and I asked them questions about the graphs. This was a good activity because it was more hands-on than some of the worksheets we usually do in math. The kids really enjoy the videos we watch, but everything ends up routinized after doing the same thing everyday. So, I try to come up with new ways of making math exciting for the kids.

In guided reading, my cooperating teacher wanted me to start working with the other groups as well
as my two groups. So, I started pulling the other kids during centers today. We did just some basic group reading since I only had a bit of time with each group today. However, it was nice to be able to work with each of the kids on reading and to see where they're at and where they need help. It might take a few days to figure out which students are at what ends of the reading levels, but I'm starting to figure out which students need more help and how I can go about that.

During reading, we learned a new word family today. After practicing the words, I used the magnetic letters on the board to help us form the words and practice saying them, spelling them, and using them in a sentence. I think it was helpful to give the kids a little background of the words instead of just flying through them.

Wednesday
In math today, I gave each student a worksheet and a folder to put up in front of them. This isn't our final assessment of the unit, but I wanted to give it as a way of determining how much the students are grasping and what we can go back over and what I should re-teach. Overall, the kids did really well with this. This helped show me that it's okay to move on to a slightly new topic in the unit.

In reading, we read another Eric Carle book called Rooster's Off to See the World. To accompany
this book, we are making roosters as an art project that will hang in the hall on a bulletin board. We will also do a writing activity that will incorporate this topic. I've found that the kids really appreciate consistency, so finding ways to include reading, writing, and social students will be really cool. Although we started the project today, we will definitely need to finish it tomorrow or Friday.

Thursday
Today was a great day. In math, we started a slightly different topic that branches off from graphing. The kids didn't quite get the idea at first, but by the end they were right on. We watched the accompanying video first to give them some background knowledge. Then, I put several of the same objects in a bin (markers, for example), but some were different colors. So, for one part, I had five green markers in the bin and two yellow ones. I then had a student come to the front, turn around and choose a marker. With this activity, we talked about the idea of most and least likely to be chosen. We then did a little worksheet that went along with this. By the end of this lesson, the kids really had the idea. After taking a look at those worksheets, there were only a few kids who got mixed up on a problem or two.

In guided reading, I started by pulling a student who needed to re-do a phonics worksheet. Almost the entire thing was wrong. My teacher had mentioned to me that she wanted to know if any students were really having trouble so I did. She said to re-do the assignment with them and then staple the two pages together before sending it home. That's exactly what we did. The student seemed to understand the topic but he needed that extra guidance and occasional  reminder about what needed to be done first.

My Eric Carle bulletin board so far

I then pulled a few different groups for reading again.

In reading, we continued our rooster projects. We also read a non-fiction story about roosters and chickens. The kids always seem to enjoy these kinds of books and ask a lot of questions and get into them. It's fun to watch.

Next week we will definitely need to switch topics in reading. Every classroom at Lawn Manor has been given a cup full of caterpillars
that will eventually become butterflies. I am going to start a unit of this topic to help kids understand the process a bit better. They are already really excited about it!


Friday
Today was busy! And a little crazy.

It was a half-day for preschool and kindergarten testing. And it was Cinco de Mayo.

Kids were dismissed at 10:45 so we just did math and guided reading. For math, I gave them the last worksheet in the unit -- it was a pre-assessment and then a 'test'. I didn't use the test as a test, but rather as a way to see how they were doing with the material. We will take a final assessment on graphing this coming week. Based on the worksheets today, there are a few things I need to reteach and focus some attention on before then.

I pulled a couple of groups for guided reading today. It wasn't
much out of the norm. I decided that I would go through all of the groups' logs and books after school to get organized and be fully ready to focus some major attention on promoting progress for future weeks. It took a while, but it was definitely worth the effort!

After this, we had a presentation put on for us about Cinco de Mayo. So, I took the kids down to the gym and was responsible for keeping them focused and quiet. They did a really good job. Everyone seemed to enjoy the presentation. Very cool.




It was also someone's birthday today so we celebrated with cupcakes right after the assembly. Because it was so close to lunch time and we had little time before the kids headed home, we decided to bag the treats and send them home.

What a busy half-day.

After the kids left, I gave two assessments to incoming kindergarteners. I had observed the tests being done when the assessments happened last week, but now I was the one in  charge of administering them. It went really well! The kids did great. I definitely tried to remember to build some trust and engage them in conversation in order to help them relax. They didn't need much help with that though; they were both very chatty.

What a long half-day. Very fun, though :)