Dominique's+Practicum+Blog

**[|VIDEO]**
Dominique’s blog
 * Carlow Campus montessori preschool in trinity hall **



=September 22, 2011=

My first day of practicum was on Wednesday, September 22, 2011 from 8:00 am to 1:00pm. I believe my first initial thoughts were how the Montessori school education is different from the other catholic schools. But I was excited and really looked forward to learning about the Montessori school because this was my first time doing a practicum at a Montessori school. When, I arrived at the classroom I felt very welcomed by the teachers and the students. Also, I wondered why there were children from three- years-old to five-years-old in a preschool classroom. The children are very talkative and friendly, and they love meeting new people which most children are. ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍I thought the class schedule was different than other schools. Because of the children having thirty minutes of recess but it were fifteen minutes before lunch and fifteen minutes after lunch for recess. In addition, I thought the curriculum was not as strict as other schools as at a Montessori school.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ At the Montessori, children are doing different activities like drawing, tracing, reading a book, doing addition, or learning geography individually than switch to another activity which is motivated by a teacher. This will be a good experience for me to learn about a Montessori school. Also, I liked how the classroom was more child centered because they were more involved in their education. I notice that the children three to four-years-old got naps after their last fifteen minutes of recess but the five-years-olds did not. Also, I thought it interesting that the students brought bagged lunches for lunch instead of eating lunch in the cafeteria with the rest of the students in the school. In addition, the whole class in a circle would say hello to each other. ‍‍‍‍‍‍I thought it was very interesting when the children went over the days of the week they did not sing the seven days in a week song like most schools.‍‍‍‍‍‍
 * What are you initial thoughts, feeling, and reactions to the classroom environment that you are in? What are the children like? What are the first impressions to the class schedule, curriculum, and room arrangement? **

October 5, 2011
=What are you doing to get to know the children in the classroom? What do you know about them now? What are they interested in?=

When I first got to my practicum I first introduced myself to the classroom. In order to get to know the children I walked around the classroom and looked at each student desk that had big strips with each student name on them. Also, I watched and talked to each student doing my practicum. I started to know about the students by looking at a book that had a page for each student that had a picture of the student with their family and underneath the picture it had the names of the student’s siblings, their favorite food, favorite color, and if they had a pet its name. So now I know what the children’s favorite food, color, and their pet’s name. They are interested in: trucks, Barbie dolls, playing make believe a lot, painting, swimming, and Disney’s channel television show Jessie, Goodluck Charlie, and Shake It Up. Today, one of the students who was three-years-old was very upset because they wanted their mom. Because in the Montessori school preschool range from three to five-years-old. Later the same student had a temper tantrum when the five-year-olds went to computers with Mrs. Laura and he could go. Since he liked being around Mrs. Laura so when she left and he started crying and asking Ms. Conrad where did she go and when will she come back. Also, I was very upset because I was late because of the terrible thunderstorm the day before which took out the power of my whole neighborhood so my alarm clock did not go off. But when I got there I read the class a story called //The Falling Leaves// the children while Ms. Conrad taped it. The story was supposed to help the students learn about leaves which the students were learning about along with plants. ‍‍‍‍‍‍ This was my first time reading a story to a class I noticed hard it is for children to pay attention and be quiet.‍‍‍‍‍‍ But I like how the children were asking questions about the book as I was reading because they were interested in the book. Also, I thought that it was interesting that the teachers still used the peace sign for the students to stop what they are doing and be quiet. Before I read the story the teacher would say criss cross apple sauce which meant to sit ‍‍‍‍‍‍Indian style‍‍‍‍‍‍ and I thought that was very creative.

A Teacher's Creed
 * Poem **
 * http://members.tripod.com/~Patricia_F/poems.html **

I believe I have been called by God to teach. I believe in children...young and old...black and white...rich and poor....each in need of learning. I believe in blackboards, chalk dust, textbooks, and computers for each has a part in imparting knowledge. I believe the love I give to my students will someday be reflected in their lives. I believe the gift of teaching is not measured simply by marks, enrollment, or the end of the school year. It is in the witness I give and the fullness of the life lived by those I teach. I believe I have the power to lead those in need of learning to the threshold of their own minds. I believe in my giftedness to use each of the tools available no matter how new or old..for the light of knowledge in the eyes of another is my goal. I believe teaching is more than tests, diplomas, paperwork, and fundraising. It is the values I breathe daily into another...slowly. It is in the faith I share in Jesus...ever changing and growing...never ending. I believe my success today goes unnoticed...until those i teach and touch can stand alone and say "in my life I have learned..." I believe if I have taught and touched one person...in God's name...I have used my gift to me justly..and can humbly say... I believe in teaching....  I AM A TEACHER!!

Thanks to Julie McClellan

October 19, 2011
==Is there a child who is particularly challenging? What are the child's behaviors like? How do you think the curriculum helps or hinders their self control? What are some things you might try to help the child develop self control?==

 I think student T has a challenging behavior because she does not listen to the teachers and what they are trying to tell her to do more than the other students. Also, she will get out of her seat or get up from the carpet to do what she wants to do while she is supposed to be listening to the lesson that the teachers are trying to teach. In addition, if a teacher or another adult would ask student T to do something sometimes she would not even play them attention while they would talk.  One day I noticed child T got up from the carpet and walked over to the toys and started playing with them when child T was supposed to be practicing her handwriting on the carpet with the rest of the students. Then, the teacher asked child T are you should not be playing with the toys but on the carpet practicing you handwriting so she took her back to the carpet and she sat down next to her while she did her handwriting. I think to guide her more appropriately is give her examples of people doing what the teacher has asked them to do. For example, the teacher could say let me see that is doing what I asked the class to do and she could say their names.  I think that might make child T and the rest of the class want to do what the children the teacher called out are doing a good job is doing. Student T wants something and if it is by you she would reach over you to get the object. If she wants something and another student has it she would take it from them. Then, if another student tells the teacher that she took an object off them and the teacher tells student T to give it back she would get upset. She would throw the object down and sometimes try and leave the classroom.  Also, I think the curriculum hinders her control by not having a TSS which could help her better. This is why my recommendation is that student T gets special attention and helps to make sure she can get the best education that she can. The school should use some of the tuition from student T to pay for a TSS teacher to work on a one on one basis with student T for lesson plans. Also, the teachers could stay after school to help student T to make sure she stays in her seat, and learn and understand the lessons. **Quotes ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: blue; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> [|Ernest Dimnet] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> A human being is not attaining his full heights until he is educated. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: blue; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 19px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> [|Horace Mann]

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; display: block; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"> [|http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_education.html#ixzz1f6xSzmJO] [|http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_education.html#ixzz1f6xABCvu]

Eric Erikson’s developmental stage in kindergarten is the stage of initiative vs. guilty because it is from age three to five-years-old.<range type="comment" id="281898"> For instance, when Child E was getting his lunch, a little girl dropped her fork and napkin on the floor. Child E was considerate enough to pick it up and give it to her. Child E felt guilty when he did not listen to Ms. J during math time and he got minutes. This meant there Child E got minutes taken away from the time he could play outside. I started my practicum at a new practicum site which was at Carlow’s Campus School the kindergarten class. The teachers were very nice and welcoming to me their names is Mrs. J and Mrs. S because they talked to me like I were already a teacher and not a student observing their classroom. Mrs. J has been a teacher here for six years but she has been teaching for ten years now. When you first walk into the classroom there are classroom rules and the alphabet on the wall like all classrooms. Also, the classroom has a big alphabet carpet so the children could listen to a story and learn lessons. They have a reading center with many books, reading work books, and they had a listening center so the children could hear the story and follow the words as they listen to the story. The class has a make believe center which had a kitchen and dress up clothes and wallets, and shoes for both for both sexes. On the windows are daisies and the class has a class pet which is a fish.‍‍‍‍‍‍ The teachers have birthday cakes for each month and it had their name and date of their birthday for what month they were born. I thought it was interesting they had a Lost a Tooth thing just like the birthday cake. There was a clothes line going across the classroom both ways filled with all the children names hanging on them with clothes pin‍‍‍‍‍‍. In addition, the whole class in a circle would say hello to each other. ‍‍‍‍‍‍I thought it was very interesting when the children went over the days of the week they did not sing the seven days in a week song like most schools.‍‍‍‍‍‍

If this was your classroom, what might you change?
= = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 19px;">If this was my classroom I would change that there is no TSS in the classroom for the children have certain disabilities and needs extra attention like Child T and child E. <range type="comment" id="711373">Also, I would have a timeout area when a child hits another child or misbehaves in anyway as a punishment. In addition, I would have more than a two of the children’s favorite toys so they will not be any fighting. Furthermore, I would have a paint area so the children can draw how they feel to express themselves instead of violence. I would have shown and tell for the children to bring in something that they have that they love. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 19px;"><range type="comment" id="395180">Also, since the children are so young I would have recess inside from fall until the end of winter because it is too cold outside to stay outside for the children for thirty minutes. In addition, I would have recess in fifteen minutes periods instead of thirty minutes. So the children will not be bored for long periods of time learning. Therefore, they can have more than one break between a couple of lessons. For instance, after reading and math, and snack they could have a fifteen minute recess. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 19px;">Then, after lunch, science, social studies, and handwriting they could have another fifteen minute recess. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 19px;">In addition, I would have my classroom more like the Montessori schools. At the Montessori, children are doing different activities like drawing, tracing, reading a book, doing addition, or learning geography individually than switch to another activity which is motivated by a teacher. So the children can be more involved in their learning by picking things to do make them more interested in learning.<range type="comment" id="462474"> I believe the more children are interested in what they are doing the more they would want to learn. = November 30, 2011 = = How has your own professional teaching practice changed as a result from this practicum experience? = My initial goal is to become a great teacher and become better at writing and doing my lesson plans in the classroom because as a teacher you should not have information or materials missing from your lesson plans or handouts. For example, when I did my lesson plans in my practicum I noticed I forgot an example of a turkey for my turkey lesson plan so the children would know what the final product would look like. Therefore, for my next lesson plan with sorting and counting with toy animals I wanted them to draw and color their own favorite animal from the toy animal so for an example I showed them my drawing of a r<range type="comment" id="336105">abbit. = = So I want to make sure my lesson plans are perfect so they will not be information missing from my lesson plans so they can learn the information and do well on their homework and tests. I want to become a great teacher so I have to make sure that the students learn and retain the information that I am trying to teach them. Also, I think my lesson plans should be new and exciting so the children would want to learn the material being taught. As a result, I decided to do a third lesson plan in my practicum about shapes and patterns since I wanted a chance to make a perfect lesson plan without forgetting information or material. = = Also, another initial goal during this practicum was to learn to get better integrating the arts with different subjects like math, social studies, and science. In addition, I wanted to become better making my lesson plans more child centered and creative so the children would be more interested in my lesson plan. I did my last lesson plan on sorting and counting. I started by letting the children to play with the fake animals of different colors and sizes, and then I went over what each animal was. Then, I had them pick out their favorite animal and draw and color it. So I showed them an[|Dominique's Practicum Blog] example of what I wanted so I drew a rabbit and colored it. After that, the children showed the class the picture of their favorite animal. = = Next, I said I am going to read //Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?// and this book has some of your favorite animals. So I read the book and after I asked the class what animals were in this book and they told me mostly all of them. I told them now we are going to be learning about sorting and counting. I told them what sorting and counting is, sorting is grouping things together by something they have in common and then you count how many of each object you have. In addition, I would show them example by sorting the fake animals by what animal they were and then I counted them. <range type="comment" id="722339">Then, I ask them how else would they count and sort the animals. They said by color and size so I was happy they learned the lesson I was trying to teach them. = =