Week 16!

A view from the back of the classroom once again...

Mrs. Swann is shown here taking her classroom back!

Trent, Torre, Gabriel, and Keyton

Working on Christmas Crafts

I found Hanna reading to Cale like this...

I am going to really miss these little ones.

I cannot believe my time with Mrs. Swann in Kindergarten is over. It has been a challenging, yet rewarding time. Over the first few days we realized we had several children who did not know the letters beyond the ones in their name (even have one who couldnt write his own name), and now these children are readers! They can read "She is at the rug with Kim." I am so proud! They know the signs are sounds for the letters, they know that bat says /b//a//t/ and that it belongs in the -at word family. They can give me many, many words that start with /g/, not to be confused with /j/ - an easy one to confuse when you are five years old. They can write their names with ease, some even their last names. They are learning how to be students in a classroom, still with frequent reminders of how to treat their friends. :) And some still working on writing "b" with the stick on the right side.

While my students have learned so much over the past 16 weeks, I may have learned more. First of all, I have learned what it means to "manage" a classroom of 23 five year olds. I have learned that these little guys really do need 3-4 group bathroom breaks a day, and how to carfully arrange this among the busy curriculum and instruction time. I have learned about differentiated instruction and recognizing the needs of individual students. I have learned that some studentsjust need a hug and a gentle push to success.

The greatest thing I learned was to set my expectations clearly to my students. For example, in the beginning of the day, I would usually ask my students how we can stay on green light all day. We would set the goal to all "go green" throughout the day. When I set my expectations and give them the challenge of all "going green," they work hard to prove they can do it.

I have also gained experience in proactive verses reactive classroom management. If I could sense trouble between two students, I would address it by moving one of the students before it became an issue. Once I got to know my students, I was able to read the room well and be proactive in discipline.

I have learned alot of useful tools from Mrs. Swann, my host teacher. I loved watching her move around the classroom and keep the students' attention. "You have to do everything but stand on your head, to keep these kid's attention!" I believe I remember her saying that once in the beginning of our time together. I can now say, after these 16 weeks, that is very much true!

A Little Thank You Speech :)

I am very thankful and grateful for:

Mrs. Swann and her maddess with Bob the Builder and those crazy signs and sounds! These kids are readers because of the things you do! I love every minute of it.

Mrs. Furgeson for her constant encouragment and for just getting all those worksheets printed off and torn out of books! What would we do without you?! You make my smile!

Mrs. Morris for dealing with my tears of joy, frustration, exhaustion, etc. You are the one who got me through this program and I am sooo so grateful for your patience and encouragement. I can't thank you enough.

Jill and Lynette for keeping me smiling and laughing down in the Kindergarten cage.

All of Rivesville School for being so supportive of us Benedum girls. I couldn't have asked for a better place to spend my three years!