Maria+H's+Practicum

__//**October 4, 2011**//__ When I woke up for my first day of practicum at the Montessori Kindergarten, I was so nervous. I haven't had too much experience with kindergarten students and I did not know what to expect. When I first entered the classroom, there was only one student in the room with the teacher. After I had a discussion with the teacher, I sat down next to the girl and asked her what her name was. She looked up to me and gave me a blank look. "Are you a new teacher?" the girl asked me. I explained to her that I'm going to school to become a teacher and that I'm going to be in the classroom to help. After a few moments of silence the girl told me that her name was Shayla. In a few minutes, many of the children began entering the room.

Johnny, one of the older boys in the class, went straight to the work he didn't finish the day before. Johnny's work consisted of a 10x10 board and number tiles from 1 to 100. He had to place the appropriate tile in it's corresponding place on the board. Johnny was very distracted while doing his work and even with my guidance, he couldn't stay on track. Mrs. Allen, the teacher, rung a bell and the children gathered around the "line" for their morning routine. Everyday another student is assigned to do a different part of the morning routine. Today, Suzie was in charge of the calendar and had to read the date to her classmates. Many of the students couldn't sit still on the line like Mrs. Allen asked and this made it hard for Suzie to finish the calendar. After Suzie finished the calendar, Jacob was in charge of getting the globe so that the class could sing a global song. After the globe song was finished, Jacob grabbed the flag and they sang a patriotic song (This Land is Our Land). Mrs. Allen went through the new lesson she was introducing to the Kindergarten students and walked them through the activity.

After the students went back to doing their work, I walked around the class offering help to anybody who needed it. One of the girls in the class, Bridget, instantly bonded with me and wanted me to help her with everything. McKenzie needed me to help her write something, but Bridget was getting upset with her for "trying to take the college student away from her". Instead of allowing them to go back and forth, I asked both of the girls if they can find something to do together that I can help them in. Bridget and McKenzie decided that they both wanted to write stories, so I sat with them while they thought of some ideas. While they were working on their stories, I hear Bridget tell McKenzie that she would not come to McKenzie's birthday party if McKenzie only wanted presents. "You should be happy that your friends came to your party, not happy to get gifts from them. If you're a good girl, I'll give you one of my old toys", Bridget tells her. I asked Bridget where she heard that and she said her mom tells her that when she has a birthday party she shouldn't alway expect gifts. For a child her age, Bridget really understood the concept of appreciating friendships.

For my first day at this site, it turned out to be really fun. I got to know each one of the children and learned who struggles more in certain areas. It was really touching to know that many of the children came to me for help when they felt like they needed it.

__//**October 18, 2011**//__

My second day with the students was much easier than my first day. I felt as if more of the children were opening up to me and it made me feel special. There are a few students who seem to be more social than some of the others and are always coming up to me to help them with something. Looking at each one of these students, I am getting to know each one a little bit better. I'm getting to know what their frustration levels are and I'm getting to see their personalities shine. Tommy, a 4 year old, has a personality that stands out from others in the class. He has a real "matter-of-fact" tone to him and is very intelligent for his age. While the kids were sitting on line watching Mrs. Allen introduce new lessons, Jordan (3 years old) took off his shoes and was complaining because he couldn't get them back on. Tommy looked over at him and said "Well you shouldn't have taken them off". Bridget (5 years old) insisted that I watch her do various activities, and if any of the other students interrupted her, she would calmly repeat the rules that Mrs. Allen gave them.

To get to know the children in the classroom, I am sitting with them for a small amount of time while they are working on their lessons and asking them questions about themselves and what they like to do in school. Some of the kids have informed me that they really enjoy math, some writing, some even said they like working in the daily living area. There is a 3 year old boy, Neil, who has a deep fascination with sweeping the floor. He'll complete a lesson and go straight for the sweeper. There is a 3 year old girl, Jessica, who loves to water the plants. Bridget loves to read books to the younger kids, and often times, I've seen her try to read to her younger brother Damon (3 years old).

__//**October 20, 2011**//__

Being able to work within a Montessori program has really been a good experience for me. I haven't had much experience with a Montessori program prior to this, so I was curious to see what I would discover. These past few weeks within the class has really showed me new things. In one of my other courses, we were discussing behavior and positive reinforcement. I learned that positive reinforcement is not necessarily a strategy that students can benefit from. What I have observed with the Montessori program is that they don't have "sticker" programs on "stop light" indicators, however, they do have a "Peace Rose". When students are in conflict with one another, the offending student takes their classmate to the peace rose, hands him/her the rose, and apologizes for the action that took place. I question whether or not this strategy is appropriate for the younger kids (3 and 4) because at that age they can't really see things from other people's point of view and they don't have a large vocabulary to really put forth a well deserved apology. However I do believe that the older kids (some of the 4s and the 5 year olds) understand the purpose of the "Peace Rose" and understand how they are supposed to apologize and why it is appropriate to. In my own classroom, I'd prefer to use this method over the traditional "sticker" program because it allows children to solve their disputes independently on their own. Just like Mrs. Allen, I would not mediate unless there was reason to.

I believe the Montessori program supports the developmental stages that the children are in. Seeing that the class is mixed with children ages 3-5, there are materials within the classroom that are suited for all ages. During their time on the line, Mrs. Allen introduces each age's lesson so that they know what they are to be working on throughout the day. What I like about the Montessori program is that it allows the students to be independent and work at their own pace. Each child has their own pace they like to work in, and as long as they are working on their work and working to their potential, they can continue to work independently. The classroom is organized into various centers where there are multiple activities for the students to work on. For example, the Daily Living center has the watering cans and droppers for plant watering, wood polishing activities, etc. The Math center has the Montessori beads, Montessori blocks, base ten blocks, etc. The students know that they are too decide what center they would like to visit and to find an activity that was introduced to their age level and work on it quietly. Mrs. Allen also encourages the students to try new activities and if they are feeling confident, move on to higher level activities. While I have been here, not once have I seen Mrs. Allen deny a child an activity.

Throughout the day, I see many students helping each other. Mrs. Allen's group of children seem to be very helpful when it comes to their classmates. There is a 3 year old boy, Neil, who I believe just moved here from a different country. He has a hard time following the directions and is constantly being redirected to finish the activity he had already taken out. During this past visit, Neil chose to work on a pouring activity, where he was to pour liquid from one jar to another without overflowing. Mrs. Allen specifically said not to work on this activity on the tray, but to work on it on the table, and that the tray is just to transport it from the shelf to the table. Neil went right into pouring over the tray, and Tommy came over and nicely explained to him that he was not allowed to do that. His exact words were "Neil, you are not using our materials the right way. You are not allowed to use the tray". Tommy then showed Neil the correct way to complete the activity and walked away.

I believe that in an environment such as the Montessori program, the children not only develop academic skills but social skills as well. I observe so many social interactions with the students each time I visit the classroom. While some of the interactions may be off topic from what they should be doing, many of the interactions are school related and display the student's interest in certain subjects. I believe that the Montessori program is a program that effectively fosters children's learning in multiple ways that allows the children to be independent.

__//** November 1, 2011 **//__

As a classroom filled with kids ages 3 to 5 years old, I expected there to be chaos when I first visited the class. Surprisingly, the classroom was quite calm with only a few minor conflicts. As stated earlier, I feel as if the kids are opening up to me more and more each visit. I'm really getting to know their "true" personalities and frustration levels. I understand that there is no "perfect" child and that each child comes with their own behavior, and this class proves to be no different. What I do like about this class is that each child knows how to control their behavior and not allow it to get the best of them or disrupt the class. On occasion, I will see a few students get into a dispute over something, but it rarely escalates to something of a serious matter. However, there are two students who display challenging behaviors frequently during the days.

Each time I visit the class, I witness a new conflict between these two 5 year old boys. Johnny and Zach tend to get very aggressive with each other and are often times separated. I've seen Zach try to put all the blame on Johnny numerous times during my visits. During a particular visit, Mrs. Jessica was reading the class a Halloween book, where the kids were to hold a ghost figure and act out with her. During Johnny's turn, Zach was making fun of him for no apparent reason. Another incident occurred when the students were outside playing and Johnny purposefully tripped Zach while he was running. It seems to be a constant battle between the two of them. I've noticed that Zach is more verbally abusive, while Johnny tends to be more physically abusive. I've noticed within recent visits, that these behaviors have decreased in occurrence. They seem to be able to discuss things with each other without letting it lead into an argument. When they do get into disputes, I see less of the verbal and physical abuse and more efforts to communicate clearly.

There's another boy in the class who has challenging behavior. Neil's behavior doesn't have anything to do with aggression or "bully" tendencies. I believe that Neil has a hard time understanding the English language, and because of that appears to misbehave often. I recall a moment during one of my visits, where Mrs. Allen already introduced a lesson and he could not focus on the instructions. When it came time for him to work on the lesson, he did not know what to do, and therefore did it incorrectly. Then during my last visit, I sat down with him and tried holding a conversation with him. He did not display any interest in what I was saying, even though he didn't even appear to be listening to what I was telling him. During their outside time, I noticed that Neil was not riding on the scooter correctly. When I tried to instruct him how to sit on the scooter, he gave me a puzzled stare, and pointed to all the other kids who were not using the scooter correctly. Although I understood what he was trying to explain to me (that the other kids were doing it so why couldn't he), it was hard for me to understand why he couldn't just say that and take into consideration that I was looking out for his safety. His frustration grew so high and I could tell it was because he unable to articulate his thoughts correctly. I explained to him that I would tell the other kids the same thing I was telling him and that if he wanted to continue riding the scooter, he would have to sit on it properly. Five minutes later, he was back to sitting on the scooter inappropriately and Mrs. Allen approached him telling him the same thing I told him. A few minutes after that, he had the scooter taken away from him because of how he was sitting.

With Johnny and Zach, I think the Montessori program has it's advantages and disadvantages. I believe that because the Montessori program is so focused on independent thinkers, the environment will make it easier for Johnny and Zach to find separate areas of the room to work without having to interact with one another directly. At the same time, I believe that the environment may be too independent for these two and will encourage them to disrupt each other. During my visits, I've noticed that while Mrs. Allen or Mrs. Jessica are working with other students, Johnny and Zach will find ways to disrupt each other and their other classmates. I think Johnny and Zach need more structure within the class because they can't seem to stay on task when the teacher is not sitting right next to them. In Neil's case, I believe the Montessori program is wonderful for him. He is surrounded by a class filled with different age groups and different personalities (many of those who like to help people). I believe by the independent and social atmosphere that is within the classroom, Neil will have an easy time picking up more vocabulary. I believe it will not happen as quickly as it may in a different environment, but I think the experience he will get in the Montessori program will be very valuable. If he were to be put into the public school system, he may not have had the chance to have as many social interactions with his classmates.

Some things that might help these students gain self control are to have a task sheet for each lesson the students want to work on.This way they know exactly where they are in the lesson. Neil may need more one on one time with the teacher seeing that he has a hard time completing the lessons.