We're Learning Together

After last Friday's class I learned that all members of my cohort were also eager to share with me their experiences during the first week of school. Those who also began their September experience the first week had many stories, some were even similar to what I had seen, heard, and I could relate and even sometimes offer advice. It was easy for me to realize that we were all exhausted, nervous, excited, and a bit overwhelmed. More than anything I learned that even with a mixture of emotions we were still learning. We've all learned how we will and wont be running our own classrooms which is to me one of the most important lessons we can take away from our first month.

During the frist week of school I was also learning more and more about the students. I tried to make my rounds around the classroom as fair as possible. When they were given choice time to do any activity of their choice I traveled around the room and spent a few minutes with each of them to explore with them. I also got to read a bit with four students to see where they were reading and when we all did the handprint art project I was able to talk to them a bit more. I am learning slowly that you have to make the most out of every moment because with twenty-four students you have to make sure that each and everyone of them knows that you care about them and how they are doing that day.

One of our assignments was to find out 3 things we didn't already know about our students that we couldn't tell just by looking them. This is what I discovered:
1. Student A loves to read and can read well for his age level. He told me that he practices a lot at home and I even learned that with his older siblings he may have been even more encouraged to read more.
2. Student B told me about his first time riding a bus when he was in daycare. He told me that because he had already been on a bus before he wasn't as scared the first day of Kindergarten. He trusted me enough to tell me that his first time was scarey and he did miss his mom but now he is used to it.
3. Student C was a bit hesitant to participate in PE because he wasn't as interested in the activities that were going on so he chose to sit out while the other students were running and dancing. He told me that he would rather play with his cards or go bowling. As I looked around the gymnasium I realized that a few other students were sitting out as well. Luckily, the last activity of the day was a ball game and student C was immediately excited because he wanted to participate.