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.