Three Days of Teaching Down

3 days in to the actual teaching...what can I say?

It's actually going pretty well. Apart from the inevitable few who don't seem to understand their own name, the kids are adorable. It has been a little interesting trying to figure out how much each kid knows. While some of the kids can practically read chapter books (ok, only one), some still have trouble with their letters. I think the hardest part in that sense is finding the balance between teaching such a wide range of abilities.

Not too many crazy stories so far - although this morning I accidently told an Indian boy to sit "Indian Style," then immediately corrected myself and said "Cross legged!" Ah I was so embarrassed, but this kid is really young and kinda off in his own world most of the time so I'm not sure he realized what I had said. I felt so bad though! Growing up hearing that it was just stuck in my brain. The other Fellows thought it was pretty funny though...as long as I did no lasting damage!

I also almost made a little girl cry because I tried to get her to read the book with me instead of just reading it to her like she wanted. I guess she's one of the ones who can't read well yet! My mentor didn't seem to think it was the end of the world though. This girl is super strong willed and also super sensitive - so had it been anyone else, I was doing the right thing. But you know, it's only three days in. I'm allowed to be feeling it out!

Ok, enough journaling. I will write more if I can think of anything else later!

One Week In

Well, one week in, things are looking pretty good. We did mostly administrative work this past week - getting our email set up, HR stuff, getting to know the city (which even though I lived here most of my life, I still enjoyed the field trip).

The other Fellows seem really nice. Most are from out of town, but there are still a few from the area. It doesn't seem like I'll be spending all that much time with them once the kids get here, but I'm glad I've had time to get to know them so far. Meeting M went well. We basically just sat at Chipotle and talked. The rest of the staff come back this next week, so I'll see him again then.

The school has a pretty interesting philosophy about teaching early childhood. It's very much rooted in the "Love and Logic" system, so it will be interesting to see how that philosophy plays out over the year. I think some of it will be great, but some of it will definitely take some adjustment in the way I would naturally relate to my students.

On Friday we helped a 1st grade teacher set up her classroom. She does it in a very different way than I've ever seen in that she has her class come in a couple weeks before school starts and lets them set up the classroom the way they want it. There are a couple "non negotiables," but by and large the kids get to choose. I thought it was really fun getting to meet the students and seeing how they problem solve!

Well that's about all for now, but I will definitely be updating more as school gets more interesting!

Almost There...

It's getting close! Next week I start two full weeks of training, then begin the 25th. This evening I have a one on one meeting with the Assistant Head of School (let's call him The Big Boss) then tomorrow night I meet my mentor (I think for the sake of this blog I'll just call him The Mentor, or M...like in James Bond)! I'm excited to be working with a male kindergarten teacher - they are few and far between so I think it will be different approach to the early childhood classroom than I grew up seeing. I really hope we get along - otherwise it will make for a long year!


I'll update once I've met with M and the Big Boss!