Angela+Sweder

Welcome Angela!

Hi Angela, it was very nice to meet you last week and see your placement location. You seem to be adjusting very well! Let me know if you have any questions and I will be in touch to schedule my next visit! Pam


 * Hello! This has taken me some time to update, but I have been keeping a journal separately for my Student Teaching experience. I will list it all below.**

WEEK ONE - Hello friends! My placement got changed last minute. I found out on the Friday before I was to start that I was now placed at the Pre-K program in the Children's Museum. I didn't even know there was a Pre-K program! I just moved to Pittsburgh 4 days earlier.

- Stress [I was prepared for my other placement! I knew the best route to get there, I knew where to park, I knew the teacher's name. Now, I felt like I knew nothing!] - Excitement [Children's Museum? Awesome! It is a museum for children and I will be able to experience the children in that setting every day.] - More Stress [West End Bridge - That was my new route. I've heard horror stories of the traffic. Teachers - Are they going to like me? Will I like them?] - More Excitement [I love what I do and I can't wait to get started.]
 * INITIAL FEELINGS:**

No turning back now!

The first week was wonderful. There is a lead teacher (Mrs. Barron) and a teacher's aide (Mrs. B). They are both wonderful. I really took the time to observe and get a feel for their teaching style this week. They seem to balance each other out. I am already picking up on some of their habits and phrases. (They call all their students "friends" instead of "class" or "boys and girls") I also taught a mini-lesson during small group on my third day. (I taught the children how to brush their teeth.) I also met Pam, my supervisor. Everything seems great.
 * FIRST IMPRESSION:**

I already feel welcome.

WEEK TWO - Getting to know you.

I already am getting involved in as much as possible. I am consistently working independently with small group. The children seem to be testing me a lot. If I try to ask them to stop doing something, they will do it just a few times more to see if I am paying attention. Mrs. Barron & Mrs. B are helping me along in making sure they kids listen to me. They reinforce everything I tell the children. I feel very supported and respected.

Learning all of the names of the children is still a challenge. 17 kids with creative parents I am guessing. The spelling never looks as the name sounds. I don't feel so bad though, Mrs. B can't remember either. I am also trying to get to know the parents better. This is also a challenge. Some are very warm to me, while others treat me as if I can and will be discarded. Good thing I am here for the kids! :)

I've been really enjoying seeing the different parts of the museum and how the children interact with it. Here is an example of the daily schedule.


 * 8:15 - 8:35 ARRIVAL**
 * 8:35 - 8:55 PUTTING BELONGINGS AWAY / DOING THE MORNING PAPER (This is a sheet of paper with something for the children to do. For now it is just coloring, with the children being encouraged to write their names on the back.)**
 * 8:55 - 9:15 MORNING CIRCLE TIME (Calendar, weather, good morning song)**
 * 9:15 - 9:45 BREAKFAST**
 * 9:45 - 10:25 SECOND CIRCLE TIME (Songs/Dances, Lesson, Book, etc.)**
 * 10:25 - 11:00 CENTERS (Art, Math & Science, Housekeeping, Library, Blocks, Tabletop toys, Music, Writing, Computer)**
 * 11:00 - 11:45 BATHROOM BREAK / MUSEUM / OUTSIDE (Every day, the children either go to an exhibit or to the outdoor play area)**
 * 12:00 - 12:30 LUNCH**
 * 12:30 - 12:45 BRUSHING TEETH / BATHROOM BREAK**
 * 12:45 - 1:55 NAP**
 * 1:55 - 2:15 DISMISSAL**

Here are some of the centers. So far, the most popular are housekeeping and art. I've already spoken to Mrs. Barron about which center she'd like me to revamp. She chose Math and Science. I think it's already great, but I would love to help fix it up!



WEEK THREE - Becoming Miss Sweder

I feel like I really understand the classroom now. (as much as I can I guess!) The children finally look at me as an authority figure while also seeming to feel comfortable with me. I still help with small group and have begun to help with more activities when Mrs. Barron asks me too. I am finally getting used to hearing my name being called as "Miss Sweder."

I've started teaching the kids new songs! Every time I ask the kids to pick a song, they choose Old MacDonald. Well, I worked at a Children's Fitness Center. And I learned about 50 songs! Of course, I can only remember a few. I started with "Bringing home a baby bumble bee." When I was a kid, the words were slightly different. (Bringing the bee home, smashing it up, licking it off, then puking!) Although I love this one strictly for nostalgic purposes, I changed the words to something more appropriate with the help of a little girl in the class. (Bringing the bee home, smashing it up, WASHING it off) We also sing 5 Green & Speckled Frogs. (This one showed me how rusty I am on the lyrics!)

Finally, one of their favorites:

I have a little turtle his name is Tiny Tim I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim
 * TINY TIM**

He drank up all the water he ate up all the soap he woke up in the morning with a bubble in his throat

So I called the doctor so I called the nurse so I called the lady with the alligator purse

BUBBLES said the doctor BUBBLES said the nurse BUBBLES said the lady with the alligator purse

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles

Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles POP! (clap hands together)

Mrs. Barron didn't know that one. I had to teach it to her. I feel very comfortable with both Mrs. Barron and Mrs. B. I look forward to learning even more from them.

WEEK FOUR - I feel at home.

I've started teaching circle time and I love it! Day 1 & 2 were a little more rocky, but I've gotten into the swing of things. It's different when you observe and play along with the kids. Once you are the center of attention and need to remember every thing that comes next, your mind tends to go blank. Luckily, I felt it was worse than it actually was. Again, the kids tested me. But, by Day 3, we were all in order. We also started giving out jobs this week.

The whole theme to the classroom this year is based off of the book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom". For those of you who aren't familiar, it is an alphabet book where the entire alphabet climbs a coconut tree. But once they all get up there, it is too heavy and they fall. Its very colorful and fun!

With this theme, there are a few coconut trees in the room. The first one is the behavior tree. Every child's letter of their first name is on the tree. They all start on green (the top). Once they begin "making bad choices", they are moved to yellow. (This like the warning. They will usually lose 5 minutes of museum or center time.) Finally, red is the lowest. This means we talk to the parents and they lose at least 10 minutes of play time. At any time, the student can work their way back up the tree by making "good choices.

The next tree is for their jobs. This one has coconuts with photos of different jobs, such as line leader, door holder, table setter, etc. It also has smaller coconuts with photos of each student. They love having jobs! Except, no one likes to be the caboose!



WEEK FIVE - I feel like a teacher.

I have begun to teach just about the whole class. Mrs. Barron helps with transitions and still announces a lot of things. We talked about me starting fully next week. I am excited. I still feel very comfortable with both the class and teachers. I begin to realize I am past the halfway point. When I realized this, I felt both excited and sad.

Excited because when I began this journey, it felt like it would be forever until I was finished. I felt like I'd never be a teacher. But sad because I truly am growing so close with everyone here; the teachers, the students, the parents, the staff. I am lucky to feel sad. I know a lot of people don't get this great experience. Mrs. Barron has asked me to apply for student teaching so I can teach for them. I felt very proud and accomplished.

While I was reading a book to the kids today, one of the boys began blurting something out. I was about to tell him to "put his bubble in", but then I heard what he was saying. "You are an excellent teacher Miss Sweder." My heart melted. It all feels very real this week. I finally feel like I am growing and learning. I finally understand why this process is necessary.

Did I also mention I am EXTREMELY worn out? Tired? Sick? Emotionally drained? I think it's only going to get worse, until it gets to the point that it is the only way my body knows how to function. But I love every second of it.

WEEK SIX - I am a teacher! (well... almost)

I am the teacher of the classroom. Fully! I do everything and still, I am loving it. I am finally getting adjusted to the never ending feeling of tiredness. I am actually helping plan lessons for the upcoming weeks. I feel like I am a colleague and not a student teacher. It is a great feeling and makes me even more excited for whats to come.

I began taking a lot of pictures with the kids this week. I want to remember each and every one of them and my entire experience here. But I also came up with an idea to make a collage for them to hang up in the room. This way, they will remember me too! And they love looking at pictures. There is a "family wall" in the classroom where the children bring in photos and post them to the wall. Every day they look at the wall and point out different people. I would feel honored to make that wall!

Parent-Teacher conferences were this week. I am glad I got to experience these. I was amazed that some parents did not want to sign up for one, and some did not show even though they did sign up for one. These conferences helped me to understand how they are held, what to expect, what to say, etc. All of the parents that did show up were very receptive. They were all asking what they can do at home to help. This was encouraging. It was also funny to hear parents tell horror stories of their children act at home when it is so far from how they act at school. I was invited to say my piece on all of the students as well. Again, I felt very welcome and comfortable.



WEEK SEVEN - Starting to get sad.

I am really trying to focus on the my project this week. How can I improve the science center? When they chose that as the center they thought needed the most work, I didn't necessarily agree. I thought it was pretty good! And the children seemed to like it. But as I observed more and more, although they did love certain things in the center, maybe things could be added to enhance that. For example, they love bugs! Mrs. Barron found a stink bug on her purse and put it inside of a magnifying glass. I believe they like that it is living and moving. They also love things having to do with nature such as leaves and rocks. I have a few ideas and I can't wait to incorporate them. - Discovery bottles (water, paper, animals, rocks, pebbles, etc.) - A plant of some kind? - Kaleidoscopes (there are a few that you look through, but none that have items enclosed inside.) - Fish? (I have to check with the teachers!) - Acorns (There is a tree on the way in that has hundreds of acorns! Since the science center is next to the math center, I would like to do some kind of sorting.) - Books (There are a couple, but no one pays much attention to them) - Organization! (This is key!)

We received a new student this week, and we lost one. There were some problems the parents had so the children switched classrooms. All I think about again is the children. The way I have bonded with these children and these teachers over the past 7 weeks, I can only imagine these children did as well. The new student did adjust greatly though. She really connected with me and became sad when I told her I was leaving in a week. I wanted to tell her I felt the same way! But instead I told her we have so much time left to play! Although it did not feel like it!

How am I going to say goodbye to my class every year once I am a teacher? I wonder if ALL teachers feel this way.

WEEK EIGHT - Goodbye friends.

JUMPSTART. They are taking over this week. Which is a good thing in a way. It gave me time to observe and reflect. It also gave me time to organize and finish the science area. I will post some photos and my information on that soon! With Jumpstart coming in on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we really only have Monday, Wednesday and Friday to teach lessons. Monday was full of activities. We did a lot of songs/dances because they seem to have extra energy on Mondays. I also came up with a lesson for reviewing the letter A. I used glue to form an uppercase and a lowercase "a" on two sheets of paper. Then, I poured sand over it. This formed a textural "a" the children could actually feel. Then, around circle time, I had 4 children separately come up and get blindfolded. They would then feel the letter and pick if it was uppercase or lowercase. The class loved it! And they did so well! (We carried this activity out through the week for "s" and "m")

We also carved pumpkins! This was so much fun. I am a child at heart and carving pumpkins is still so exciting to me. The children were able to stick their hands in the goop and feel around for seeds. They also had to use their words to describe what they felt. Some children LOVED doing this, while others were a bit hesitant. I then had each child draw a part of a face on the pumpkin. They loved this as well!

The week flew by and before I knew it, it was Friday. This was another busy day. A teacher at King invited our class over to do some Halloween projects with her class. By the time we got back, it was already lunch then nap! I couldn't believe my last day went by so fast. Mrs. Barron & Mrs. B got me some wonderful presents and wrote me a very nice card. One of the students also made me a little box to keep on my "new desk."

I have learned so much from this placement. Both teachers were open and friendly and so easy to talk to. I felt comfortable trying new things and hearing their criticism. It was a positive learning environment for both the children and me! I will NEVER forget my time here or what I learned from it. Are you sure I can't just stay for the next 8 weeks? I think I found my calling!