Reflection #1

Today was my first experience in a Kindergarten classroom. It was a very different experience for me. The students in the class are high risk students. It was interesting to me that there would be a kindergarten class with just high risk students in it. There are 21 students in the classroom. This is the first year of all day kindergarten. Today I spent most of the day observing and helping students.

I had a very busy and interesting day. I am not quite sure what to think of it. My teacher is nice and was very eager to include me into the classroom and the activities that they will be doing. It was very interesting to observe a Kindergarten classroom. I feel that it is very different from other grades. Kindergartners are just starting off and they have to be taught how to behave in a classroom setting. One thing that really surprised me was that there did not seem to be an assistant. I thought that every kindergarten room had at least one assistant. It is hard work dealing with 21 kindergarteners alone. Another thing I noticed was that there did not seem to be a behavior management plan. I felt that it was very hectic and noisy at some points in the day. At one point during the day I read them a story. It was very difficult because students were interrupting or not paying attention but I was not sure on how to discipline them because there did not seem to be a plan.

Today I learned how important it is to have a behavior plan. The students continued to act out because they were not disciplined for their actions. I believe I still have a lot to learn about classroom management and discipline but I believe that this class will challenge me to think about how I would handle different situations. This has also helped me realize how much I have grown in that I noticed something was missing and feel that something should be done about it.