December post

With the holiday spirit, the kindergarteners got a chance to watch a Christmas movie. The movie was Rudolph's story and his experience with being different. I enjoyed watching this movie with the kids and being able to see their reactions to what was going on. They felt bad for Rudolph when he was being left out and they were happy whenever Rudolph was happy. Te expression I enjoyed most from them was when the movie introduced Rudolph's girlfriend. When the kids found out that he had a girlfriend, they all freaked out and said "Ewwwww!" and then started giggling. It was very innocent and I was glad I was there to see that.

Blog 10: EQ

I have reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ

1.) no; there isn't enough to get deep research
2.) yes; its a correct format and it gives chance to get really good research
3.) yes; it provides a framework and it allows for a substance to be taken
4.) no; its not specific enough to get enough research

What is the most effective way to ensure a successful kindergarten classroom?

Blog 9: Lesson 1 Reflection

1. Positive statement

  What are you most proud of in your lesson 1 presentation and why?

    I was most proud at the fact that I was able to prove to everyone else and to myself that I know enough about my topic to be able to talk about it that much and with that much detail and without using any sort of technology. 

2. Questions to consider

  A. What assessment would you give yourself on your lesson 1 presentation (self-assessment)

     I would give myself a solid P.

  B. Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the lesson 1 component contract.

     I feel like I knew enough about my topic and I was able to give references and I gave facts. I talked about my research and about my mentorship too. I was also pretty professional.

3. What worked for you in your lesson 1?

     I think the way I designed my lesson plan helped me a lot because I spoke about one thing and gave examples for it and then I moved on to something else but it all flowed and it connected very well together. 

4. (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your lesson 1?

     I would have made my lesson plan answer my EQ a bit more because my presentation was mainly about my topic and it didn't focus as much on answering my EQ as other presentations did. 

October extra post

Because it's October, the kids got the chance to paint pumpkins. After a long week of number and letter worksheets, the kids appreciated having the chance play and have fun in the play ground and with cups full of paint. 

I enjoyed seeing how every kid is when it comes to just painting a simple pumpkin. There were so many different ways because some kids will be very careful not to pass the lines and others would just add a lot of paint and make the paper so wrinkly it almost wripped. 

The many different styles of expressing themselves by just painting was very interesting. 

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

Working EQ: What is the best way to ensure a successful kindergarten class?

• Loving what you do; if you're unhappy, the children won't have a good experience.
• Being aware of what is going on in the classroom; making sure everyone is understanding everything and not having a hard time with others
• Classroom setting; having an appropriate environment and supplies

What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ?

I think the most helpful would be all the research I do for the research checks because that kind of gave me the idea of what my answers should be and my mentorship backed it up. 

Who is your mentor, or where are you doing your mentorship, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

My mentor is Ms. Dahline and I'm doing my mentorship at San Jose Elementary School and that relates to my EQ because I get to see how the classroom runs and everything that works and everything that doesn't work so that helps a lot with my EQ.

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1.) Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
     For my mentorship, I go and observe Ms. Dahline's class. I also go around and help the kids with whatever it is they are doing that day. So for my 30 hours, I'm going to continue that and instead of just doing the 50 hours for year long mentorship, i will add on 30 hours for independent component 1. Giving me 80 hours (not counting independent component 2)

2.)Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectations of showing 30 hours of evidence. 
    I will mostly take pictures of the classroom and the work the kids turn it. I might be able to keep some of the work they do and use it for my presentation.

3.)Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
    I'll be spending more time with the kids in the classrooms and that will help me get to know them better and how they experience kindergarten so that will help me get a better idea of what it's like to teach kindergarten.

4.) Update your Senior Project Hours log.
     Updated.

Behavior

      One of the biggest part of kindergarten is the children's behavior. How they behave during class and how they work and communicate with not only their classmates but their teacher too, says a lot about how the child is and how he or she works. That's why it's always good to teach them at a young age how they're suppose to behave in a classroom. In the kindergarten class I volunteer at, they have this poster.Those are the rules they are suppose to follow when they're all sitting down on the rug while Ms. Dahline is teaching something new. This way is easier to have a certain order in the class.

     Something else that works in a kindergarten class is a chart that keeps track of how well the child behaves. Everyday right before class ends, the teacher can go through each student and say whether they child was good or bad. Its a way to reward the kids that did behave and a way to encourage the kids that didn't.

Blog 6: second interview preparation

1.) My mentor is Miss Dahline and she's a kindergarten teacher at San Jose Elementary School from the Pomona Unified School District.

2.) Five questions:

• What did you study to become a kindergarten teacher?
• When did you know you wanted to be a kindergarten teacher?
• How do you like your experience as a teacher?
• What made you decide to be a teacher?
• Did you always like working with children?

Blog 5- Mentorship Reflection

1.) Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship.

       During the summer I was volunteering at the red cross but I decided to not stay there for the rest of the school year so once the year started I was looking for a mentor and Ilse mentioned the elementary school was volunteering at and said I could go there. I went one day to see how it was and I liked it so I decided to volunteer there too. The principal of the school agreed and put me in a different classroom so now I volunteer with kindergarten kids at San Jose Elementary School.

2.) What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

     The book I found on child development has been the most helpful because it tells me how it is normal for kids that age to act a certain way so it won't take me by surprise. Also on how to react with it. The book is called Child Growth and Development.

August Additional blog

On my first day of mentorship, I went to San Jose Elementary School to volunteer with kindergarten kids. The teacher Ms. Dahline introduced me as Ms. Diaz and told the kids I would be there to help them if they need. That day the kids were working on tracing the letter M. They had a worksheet similar to this one.

The kids were taught to "go up the mountain, down the mountain, up the mountain and down the mountain". I went around and helped some of them out because they had trouble when it came to writing their own letter M instead of tracing it. They also had to match up pictures that started with the letter M. 

That day I learned that a lot of kids are different when it comes to asking for help because some asked for help right away and some just stayed there staring at their paper until I came up to them and asked if they needed help. 

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1.) Who do you plan to interview? Why?
      I plan to interview Ms. Dahline, she is the kindergarten teacher I am volunteering with.

2.) What additional questions do you plan to ask?

• What is the most rewarding thing about teaching kindergarten?
• What skill would you say is the most helpful when it comes to interacting with the kids?
• How much of an impact do you think you have in the children's development?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1.) List topic here: Teaching Kindergarten

2.) Write a question that will help you focus your research this month: What should my strongest skill be when it comes to teaching Kindergarten students?

Summer Mentorship Component

1.) Red Cross Mentorship- Summer Log

2.) Contact name: Martin Villapudua
     Contact number: 9099733293

3.) What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience? List them.

• How effective are the coupons when it comes to bringing in new donors?
• When it comes to rewards, how do people become eligible for the bigger rewards?

4.) What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? why?

       Coming up with new ways to promote donating is not easy. you have to know what the people will like and what will not only grab their attention, but keep it as well. Also, some people are kind enough that they don't care about the rewards, they just want to help others. It shows there are good people out there

5.) What is your senior topic going to be? How did what you did help you choose your topic? Please explain. 

       With the 10 hours i did, it made me rethink and i don't think i want to keep my topic as marketing. Also, my mentor got promoted and now does something completely different at the red cross. I want to see if i can get a new mentor that has to deal with eating disorders because i had been wanting something that dealt with nutrition. I focused my topic more on eating disorders because that's something I'm interested in. If i can find a new mentor on time, then I will change my topic, if not i'll just stay at the Red Cross and see what i can do with my mentor and base my project off that. 

Blog 1: 2 hour presentations

1.  What presentations did you see?

Lupe Lara- Music Performing and Promoting
Bryan Posada- Gracie Jiu Jitsu
Viviana Bravo- Photography Galleries
Arianna Castellanos- Forensic Science
Symphony Moreno- Photography
Alfredo Nunez- Boxing
Jackie Gaeta- Woman's Nutrition
Angel Flores- Photography studio
Daniel Song- Physical Therapy
Beladona Ontiveros- Bakery
Madisyn Delgado- Culinary Arts
Brianna Sigala- Cancer Advocacy
Brandon Rodriguez- Coffee Shop Management
Jorge Mancilla- Marriage & Family Therapy
Luz Cervantes- Cake Decorating
Stephanie Salas- Counseling

2.   What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.  

What is the requirement for making time? How long do i have to be talking and how long does the activity have to be? Can i divide the activity time to have two separate activities or do i need just one?

Does my activity have to relate to my best answer or does it just have to relate to my topic?
 
3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?

I think the most important thing about the senior project is that the presenter has to be interested in their own topic and know all their information because if the presenter isn't interested in their own topic then how do they expect the audience to be interested as well.

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

Animal Training because i work well with dogs especially and i think i would enjoy doing research and working with animals throughout the year. I also think that animal training has something to do with how animals think and that kind of ties in with psychology which is what i want to major in.

5. What are you doing for your summer mentorship?


I will try to get a mentor in an animal shelter or see if i can get a mentorship at PetSmart or PetCo