Intern Posting 9

This week was the first week of teaching 100%. Although I was not adding much more teaching material to my 75% of teaching, I was nervous about teaching Reading on Monday. On Mondays from 10:00 to 11:50, we introduce the new story of the week, review new high frequency words, and discuss our new letter of the week. I had never experienced those activities with the students and I had only watched my mentor teacher do those activities a hand full of times. On the few occasions that I did get to watch her teach these activities, I took notes on the order of which she completed each task so that I would be better prepared when I was doing the teaching.

I try to be as prepared as possible for any new experience in my life so when gathering materials to teach this for the first time, I made sure I had plenty of examples and activities to work on with the students. I also made sure I had back-up material available in case I had extra time toward the end of the lesson. While preparing for this lesson, I even made sure to practice what questions I was going to ask the students as well as determining discussion topics beforehand. I believe that, because I was so prepared, my lesson went very well for a first time.

Before actually beginning the lesson, I was nervous but not as nervous as I thought I would be. I moved right along from technology aspects to the reading aspects, but did struggle a little when introducing the new high frequency words. I do wish I would have spent more time reviewing the old high frequency words. However, my nerves quickly vanished and I became comfortable. I realized that it was just like teaching everything else, it's only a different topic. I loved having this experience and can't wait to have more fun with it next Monday!

Intern Posting 8

Now that I have been in school full time for several weeks, I think it is important to describe how I have grown or changed as a teacher so far. I have had a lot of experience with young children during my field experiences and my summer jobs up until now, but being in a structured classroom everyday undoubtedly allows a person to change as an educator. Almost every day I witness something I have never seen before and each day I become more comfortable and take on more responsibilities. I love that I get to be in this type of environment for those reasons alone.

In previous field experiences and even during the beginning of this semester I always knew that I needed to work on my "teacher voice" and setting expectations with the students. I had the most trouble finding my "teacher voice" because I was uncomfortable correcting another teacher's students. However, I am so comfortable in my new kindergarten classroom that I find myself well on my way to having a great "teacher voice." I now correct students right away and have even managed to correct students without disturbing the rest of the class or my teaching.

I am so happy that I have made it to this point of my teaching career and can't wait to see what else is in store. I think I still struggle with allowing students too many chances at times and I am not always quick to change their bees when necessary. I am working to become better in that category and believe that if I have made it this far, I will not have any difficulty reaching that goal in the future.

Intern Posting 7

Today was the first day that I began teaching 75%. I'm lucky because my mentor teacher and her aide are extremely helpful and provide me with a lot of great ideas for my lessons. I like that my mentor teacher is very organized and has everything done a week in advance. I'd consider myself organized too, but I probably was not as organized as she is. I like that she is providing me with a routine and organizational skills because she is an experienced kindergarten teacher and knows how to make the classroom run smoothly. I am slowly catching on to her routine and it is more than helpful.

I was not as nervous about teaching 75% as I thought I would be. I've been teaching for a while now and was confident that I could handle 25% more. I have noticed it takes longer to write lessons and it takes longer to plan, but the concept is still the same. The one thing I have had the most difficulty with is getting all of my materials together and my lessons separated from one another. Once I write my plans for the week I find it difficult to gather my supplies and depend on an aide to create everything for me a week ahead. I love the aide's help and I need help, but for some reason I'm finding it difficult to organize my supplies a week ahead. However, I love being organized a week ahead and am sure I will get used to it!

Intern Posting 7

Monday was my first kindergarten parent-teacher conference. I have previously attended a third grade parent-teacher conference, but there were some differences between the two. One thing that stood out to me was that kindergarten conferences often acknowledge student behavior instead of just student academic achievement. This makes sense because kindergarten is a time when social skills are learned and behavior is carved to meet the needs of what is expected from structured classrooms. I just found this interesting and it is something I definitely want to make a note of for my future classroom.

Another difference I found between the two and something that I really enjoyed was that my mentor teacher gave each parent examples of the students' work and showed them all something they could work on with their children. She gave great examples of how well the students were doing, but made sure to give ideas of how each child could improve. I just thought that was a wonderful way to get the parents involved as well as looking out for the success of each child.

At both conferences I have attended my input was welcomed and valued at the same time. I'm really starting to feel like everything is coming together and I am growing more as a teacher each day. Monday's conference was a big eye-opener for what next year could look like for me and I am glad I had this opportunity. I will without a doubt take what I learned on Monday with me forever.