LLED- Blog on Field Experience

With the 10th week approaching, Kindergarten finally seems to be getting easier. I walk in, get things organized, and prepare to do morning meeting and calendar time. When I first began doing these things, it was nerve wracking and I felt that I had zero control of what was going on. Now I feel much more comfortable with classroom management and with the general routine of things. After the morning activities are over, we have math center time. For the last couple weeks I have been planning centers that apply to what they are covering that week, so I feel that I have a bit of authority over a part of the curriculum (which is exciting!). After math comes writing time, a time that I still feel I am struggling with. The kindergarteners have set things to write about, which I don't know if I necessarily like. I don't like to write about things that don't interest me and I am 22, so I can imagine that a 5 or 6 year old would feel the same. The more that I read and hear about the open-endedness of writing workshop, the more I like it. I think that writing about what piques your interest is an important part about learning your point of view and writer's voice. The next chunk of the day is very hands-off for me. There isn't a group for me to lead during reading time because another teacher comes in to do phonics, so I normally get my assessments and tutoring done for Amy's class during this time or I just sit around and observe the teacher's guided reading group. The final academic portion of the day is science/social studies, which is extremely teacher-led unless the kids are working on a project. 

So, all in all, I feel that I am learning a lot in the areas that I get to participate in, but not so much in the other areas. I am definitely someone who learns by doing, so observations only get me so far. However, I am very thankful that I do get the experience that I do each day because it is much, much better than grading papers at the back of the room or making bulletin boards (ahem... last semester).