Monday April 30 2007

Today when I first arrived Mrs. MacDonald explained to me about education week and that the liturgy was this week so all the kindergarten classes had a rehearsal, but before that the class had to do there morning routine and get a couple things out of the way. So while they were doing that I marked all the pages in the afternoon’s money booklet, this took me longer than I thought because there was so many pages. When I was done that I glued googley eyes on the plasticine ladybugs, for the morning and afternoon classes. I was done just on time to walk down with the class to the library to practice for there liturgy on Tuesday. It took awhile since the students had to read and sing songs, all the classes were hyper since they were sitting for so long they wanted to get up and move around so I had to try to keep them quiet. Once we finished there was still 15 minutes before snack time so the class did show and share and also listened to a couple songs about money. After break the students had play time and I had to start cleaning up the class room to make it look neat for education week. Then I started to organize book orders, first I had to separate them and take them out of the book, then stamp the date on each one. My next task was to clean off the tables since they made such a mess today.

Thursday April 26 2007

Today when I first arrived Mrs. MacDonald was on duty and did not leave anything for me to do so I had to wait until the bell rang, once the class came in we had to hurry to get undressed and run to the library. We did not have much time since the kindergartens and grade ones and twos had a puppet show. We finally got the students there and back just on time to make it before the show started. The show lasted for the whole period; the students were so excited and really enjoyed themselves. The show was about the alphabet and the man presenting also threw in a couple magic tricks the kids loved. It was hard to keep the children quiet since they were constantly laughing. When everyone else left my class stayed behind to take a couple pictures with the puppets. Snack time came a little late so the students had longer time which meant less class time so we had no time to waste. After break the teacher started show and share and I had to separate 20 birthday hats, this was time consuming even though it was simple because they were fragile and I had to take my time so that they would not rip. After I was done this I had to mark a money book the students have been working on. This also took awhile since I had to mark every page in it for the Am and Pm class. I don’t mind marking, I have fun with it. There was still time at the end when the class was getting ready for home time so I wrote their names on a newsletter that will be handed out next week.

Wednesday April 25 2007

Today i was in Mrs. McNeil's class, the other Jk class. I got to sit with the class and be apart of the morning routine and listen to the students stories they had to tell. Before when i first got there the teacher let me in on what they did on Tuesday. They took a side profile of the students faces with the projector and then drew their faces on a paper hangin on the wall, then cut out the structure of the face with black paper. Today it was my job to get the students to take a piece of paper and make a name tag so that i could attach it to their tracing of their face. They had to write their name and then decorate it. After they were done their morning routine i started to call the students two at a time. I also had to help the teacher hold the childrens head sturdy so that she could trace it, some of the students were away yesterday.

After the break i went back to Mrs. MacDonalds class and they had to make their way to gym, so i stayed back with a student who was still eating snack and i had acouple of projects i had to work on. The first one was change the date on sheets that will be handed out next week, they all said the wrong date so i had to write over it with marker then write their names on it so we know we had enough. I did this for the morning and afternoon class. Then i had to mark and put stickers on work they did today. After i was done all this i washed down the tables stacked the chairs and got ready for home time.

Tuesday April 24 2007

Today I was in the first Jk class, my first job was to take out the book orders. first i removed them from the book then I seperated, stamped the date, wrote their names and stapled the different book order booklets together. This was very time consuming since there was so many different things I had to do. Monday the class made symmetrical butterflies with paint, two students were away and it was my job to help them make theirs. So i let them choose which paint they wanted and on one side they painted and then folded it together. They were excited to make them since they all love using paint.

After another student who was away last week missed when the class made a colored symmetrical butterflie, so for this one he had to color and glue on buttons. Then i had to cut up magnets and glue them on the back of a Spring art the class made last week so that we can put them up on the black board.

While I was doing this the rest of the class had to seperate their piece of paper into four squares and in each draw what a plant needs; example water, sun, soil and wind. Most of the students needed help with spelling so i got to help them before i started my next task. Then after the students were done with seat work they got to have play time and one at a time i got to pull the students aside to start their Mother's day art. It is a Mother's day poem and at the top is blank so that they can place their hand print. It was my job to paint their hand and make sure they were placing their hands in the right spot. They really enjoyed this, again because it involved paint. I only had about 15 minutes to do this so i only got through 9 students but it was not a problem since i have next week to finish.

After the break i was back in Mrs. MacDonlads class. The teacher had to explain what they had to do in their money workbooks, they have to write what coin was in the picture and how much it is worth. Most of the students had problems with this so i went around and helped them out. When the class was done they had to go read a book then do show and share, One of the students was behind on his work so i sat with him and helped him finsih. Then it was home time and i stacked the chairs and got the class ready for home time.

Monday April 23 2007

Today my first task was to place stickers on both classes Spring booklets they have been working on for awhile, then mark math and spelling work the morning class finished today. Once the students came in it was my job to get them ready and hurry them for circle time. I guess because of the nice weather they were in a good mood and very hyper. When I was done all my correcting I had to trace out letters to spell out Tales of Peter Rabbit. This was time consuming because I had to search out every letter, trace it then cut out the letters, Then i had to tape the sentence up on the wall where soon the pictures and work will be hung up under it. After the break I pinned up spring work the students had done for home work, then marked the work the class did at work time. The class then had show and share and I had to find a life cycle workbook so that Mrs. MacDonald could show the class after she was done story time. By the time she was done sharing this workbook with the class it was home time and I stacked the chairs and helped get the students out the door for home.

WEEK EIGHT JOURNAL

This week went by very fast, i think it did since there was so much to do it kept me very busy. This week was a positive one since the teachers told me they really appreciated my work, it was productive since i got alot of things done. At the begining of co-op i knew that my presence was wanted but i did not realize how much they appreciate my work. Iv been told by all teachers that what i get done would have never gotten done if i wasnt there.

SInce the teachers told me about how much i help it made my week much better and more positive. The one thing i always have to remeber is that the students looks up to me and since they have to follow the rules i have to have respect and follow the rules i have been given, i find when at my co-op when you listen and do exactly what you are told there is no way you will have any problems with the teachers. It also makes the week much more productive and positive. I like helping because i love the feeling that i am making a difference wihtin the school. I hope the next week is as good as this week.

Friday April 20 2007

Today when i got there Mrs. MacDonald explained what i would be doing with the students today. The class was going to make butterflies out of play-dough, they had to coulor it red and do a black line down the middle and spots on each side. Then stick in antennas on the front and draw on eyes. Once the students went to start there seat work i started to call two students at a time to begin, the students were excited to make them and all volunteered to make theres first but of course we could only make two at a time. I got through most of the class before snack time but i had to stop since it was milk and cookie day. I had to go around to every student and open there milks and give them straws.

After the break the class had movie day and i stayed back with 4 students and finished up the butterflies. Then Mrs. MacDonald asked me to just touch them up with red marker this took me a while since i had to do everyone's but i did not mind since Mrs. MacDonald and i were talking so the time went by fast and eventually it was home time.

Thursday April 19 2007

Today when i arrived my first task was to finish decorating the butterflies, while the rest of the class did morning routine and got ready for library. When the class left i still had two more butterflies but i had to wait till the class got back. One student was not feeling well so i stayed back and we read acouple books one was about Arthur, he really enjoyed that story. When the class got back i finished the last two.

My next task was to mark a ton of homework, there was worksheets from the morning and afternoon classes, math and spelling was the main homework i marked. I also had to place stickers on all the worksheets, This was really time consuming but i finished on time.

After the break the class was going to make paper butterflies. There was 8 pieces that needed to be seperated and handed out to every seat, i did it as fast as i could since there was not much time. I went around helping the students create the craft, and after they were done they went to the circle to read and i went around and placed a pin holding the wings and body together. It was then time to get ready for home time and Mrs. MacDonald wanted me to seperate the butterflies so that she could place googley eyes on them. After i was done i stacked the chairs and cleaned up.

Wednesday April 18 2007

Today i was in Mrs. McNeil's class room, Today i got to sit with the class and participate in the afternoon routine. The class sings songs and chooses a leader for the day, they also share stories with the whole class. It was fun to just sit and listen to what they had to say, then the teacher explained what they would be working on this afternoon.

While they worked on their seat work i called two students at a time and explained what i was doing. I had to get them trace their hand and cut it out on blue paper. After i had to pin them up on a bulletine we were making for the class. This took awhile because some students had to re due it, some of the students cut of their paper fingers. I had time at the end to pin them up. There was still some students at their table doing work so i went up to acouple of them to ask if they needed help, one of the students did so i sat with her and helped her.

After break i went to help Mrs. MacDonald, the class had to do show and share and then go to gym. It was my job to start decorating the painted butterflies the class made this week. They had to make the pieces symmetrical, so they had to glue on 4 pieces of fruit loops, two green triangles and two blue squares. I also had to watch after a student who could not go to gym class since he did not finish his snack. I enjoyed this art because it was fun to make. I just ran out of green triangles when the rest of the class came back from gym and it was the end of the day, before i left i cut more green triangles up for tommorow and cleaned the room and stacked the chairs for home time.

Tuesday April 17 2007

Today i was in the Jk class, the first task i had to do was paste 4 circles on constuction paper then paste the tilte of the work in the middle. This took me awhile since i had to make so many. The class had to go down to get their pictures taken, so the Teacher wanted me to come with the class rather than stay back and finish. She wanted me to help keep them organized and quiet. The pictures only took 15 minutes and we were back to class in no time, there the teacher explained to the students what they were doing at seat work today.

While they were busy doing that i finished up what i had not done before. The students made there way to the desks to begin and i had to start a new project with them. Their names were written out large on a piece of construction paper and i had to run glue over the letters and it was the students job to stick sun flower seeds over the glue to spell out there names. The kindergarten classes are starting a new unit for spring and as a class yesterday they planted a seed, they will water it everyday and in acouple weeks they will check to see if it has grown. I got through the whole class except for the students who were not here today, this took me the whole time; seat work and play time but we finished before snack time. After break i went back to Mrs. MacDonald's class and they had story time while i did the same craft for her as i did in the last class. The craft with the circles, but i also had to draw lines in each circle so that the students could write there sentence on it. i finished just before the end of the day and helped clean up the class room and stack the chairs.

Monday April 16 2007

Today i arrived a bit early and Mrs. MacDonald Had me fold newsletters about education week coming up, this did not take me long and I finished before it was time for the students to come in. Once they came in the class did their morning routine and Mrs. MacDonald explained what they would be doing today. At seat work they had math homework to do and she explained that I would be calling two students at a time to paint a butterfly. They have to do this because they are starting a new unit for spring and summer. I got through all the students and Mrs. MacDonald was very happy since the morning class did not finish. It took the students awhile and it was very messy but we all enjoyed it. We finished just before snack time and I had to spray down the desk and clean up the mess since there was paint EVERYWHERE. After the break I cut out circles for the morning and afternoon class, I had to do this because this week they will be making all different kinds of butterflies. The class was reading a book together and I did not want to bother Mrs. MacDonald so I sprayed down the desks and stacked the chairs. There was still 15 minutes left so I went out in the hall and took down the Franklin bulletin and brought it back. Mrs. MacDonald said she really appreciated my work today since I finished so much, so overall it was a productive day.

WEEK SEVEN JOURNAL April 9-13

This week overall was really productive, i believe i helped get alot of things done. We finished some things we did not even plan on doing so i feel really good about that, it's like every day i help in the class rooms i gain an even greater amount of appreciation for the teachers. Since i now realize even more about how much work goes into the things others would think are little things. I hope next week is similar to the week becuase it went really well the students were not to loud and hyper and we got alot done. This week also went by very fast, atleast to me it did.


This week i also worked alot with the students one on one because of the art we had to do and there was alot of assistance needed with work. I enjoy when i get to help the students one on one with work because it makes me feel like an actaully teacher. It also gives me a better feel of what it will be like if i persue to be a teacher in the future. Some times at my placement it is difficult when the students done listen, overall they are really good but sometimes they have their days were they just dont want to listen. It is hard enough as it is when they are acting good to try and get everything done but when they are hyper it is even more of a challenge. I am up for the challenge though because i really enjoy what i am doing here at my placement.

Friday April 13 2007

Today I ended up arriving earlier then normal so I had more time to work on things, the first task I had to do was mark math homework the morning class had done, and put a sticker on it at the end. Mrs. MacDonald had to go on duty and there was still ten minutes till the bell rang and the students came inside so she got me to clean up the class room. When the students have play time they really make a mess of the class room so I just made it look in order and organized.

Then the students came in I started to help a student who was absent yesterday write his story about Peter rabbit, while I was doing this Mrs. MacDonald explained to the class how to do their seat work today. Today they had to do math, they had to fill in the missing numbers from one to one hundred. Then after they were done that they had to do two pages out of their work books. Once they went to the desks I started to call the children one by one to finish the Franklin art we have been working on for the week. This took awhile because there was till 13 kids that had to finish, but I was done on time and it was now time to clean up and have show and share. The students had to go home and write what they liked best about there field trip they went on a while back and draw a picture, then when they were done showing the class I hung up all their work on the bulletin board.


After break the students had movie day so the other kindergarten classes came in and watched a bunch of little shows, while they were watching movies I started to mark the two pages they worked on today, and the math work. After I was done this Mrs. MacDonald had me cut out a bunch of ladybug shapes and wings, this started to hurt because the paper was thick and I had to cut out a lot. Mrs. MacDonald said I did not have to finish it today since there was so much but I knew I could finish on time and I did. It was time for the visiting classes to go back and they got ready for home time while I stacked the chairs.

Thursday April 12 2007

Today when i arrived i had to mark two pages out of a workbook the morning class did today, before i started Mrs. MacDonald noticed that there was various pages in the workbook that she has not yet got around to doing so i marked them. Marking took me awhile because there were alot pf pages to do, while i was working on this the class went to library. I finished just on time and the class came back from library, then Mrs. MacDonald explained what they had to do at there desks today. They have read books and watched movies on Peter rabbit lately so they had to write three sentences about the rabbit. Once they started many hands raised because they needed help, i enjoyed helping them write out their stories even though it took along time. Many students had trouble sounding out the words and even coming up with a story to write, many students missed play time. Once they were done it was snack time and after snack time the class did show and share and handed in homework they completed from the night before. I got to pin up work on the bulletin board and then the class had story time while i stacked the chairs and cleaned up the class room for home time.

Wednesday April 11 2007

Today i was in Mrs.Mcniel's class the first thing she had me do was run to the storage room to get a bunch of paper. She wanted me to cut out kites and bows for the kites, This took me awhile because i had to cut out 50 kites and 200 bows. I had to cut out 200 bows because i needed 4 for each kite. I had to keep running back to the storage room because i kept running out of paper, This took me the whole period but i finished just in time for snack break. After break i went back to Mrs. MacDonalds class there they were about to head down to gym so i stayed in the class and marked a bunch of work, first i started marking three pages in the workbook they did today. I had to do the morning and afternoons books, after i was done i had to put stickers on other work for the morning and afternoon class. Once i finished the students came back from gym class and we had a bit of time to get two more Franklin arts done, once the two students were finished the rest of the class got ready for home time while i cleaned the class room and stacked the chairs.

Tuesday April 10 2007

Today I was in Mrs. Yurinsich’s class room, I arrived a bit earlier today and the first thing she had me do was glue together the front onto booklets. The booklets are for the open house that they are having at the end of the month, the booklets have a front page with their name and a picture of them which is what I had to glue together. Inside the booklets is a bunch of work the students have done over the months. Most of the work had been glued in already, but their was three crafts that had not yet been done. So it was my job to separately glue the work into the booklets, after I glued the front page on. This took me awhile but eventually I finished with a bit of time to spare before snack time, so I went to the craft table and helped some of the students make crafts, some of them even made me something one of the students made a necklace and bracelet for me (picture up top) and another student painted a picture. Then it was time for snack and I helped the students clean up and get ready for the break.

After I made my way back to Mrs. MacDonald’s class room, there she had me start to finish the rest of the Franklin art. The week before the students colored in parts of Franklin and today I called two at a time and they started to cut out the pieces. After they were done I helped them glue it onto a toilet paper role covered in green paper which resembled Franklin’s body. Since this took them awhile we only got through 10 students but I have the rest of the week to finish.

Before the end of the day I got to test one of the students, every student has a paper of numbers and letters and you have to see if they know what they are and at the end you add up all the ones they got right. One of the students was away when the rest did it so I got to test him.

WEEK SIX JOURNAL April 2-5

When something is difficult, I try to deal with it my self instead of always calling for someone to help. Not always asking for help helps me to learn to work conflitcs out myself. Sometimes a student will act out and many times I know I will have to ask Mrs. MacDonald for help or the other teachers but sometimes I can deal with it myself and work it out with the student what is bothering them. There had been manytimes were I am succesful with this, like one time a student was crying and I sat with them and we talked about what was bothering them and at the end the student was laughing and everything was good.

I believe me being there can take some stress away from the teacher because I can deal with things they just might not have time for. At my co-op I mark and sometimes am wokring by myself when the rest of the class Is with the teacher I don’t mind doing work by myself but the best part is when I get involved with the students like at work time when they need help, I like helping them because I also learn more ways and tricks of getting them to do it them self, because I find when they want “help” they want you to do it for them so I try to find new ways that they can do it themselves and still learn while I help them. Next week, I hope to help them with their work like I did this week since I enjoy it so much, instead of doing so much seat work myself (even though I don’t mind doing it).

Thursday April 5 2007

Today was really cold so i had to help the students take off all their winter gear, once the students were ready and sitting at the circle we had to get their library books ready and organize who had theirs and who forgot thiers.Once we were ready we went to library and this took awhile because some of the students had to figure out which books they already had out, also when the other students are still trying to choose books the students who are done start to get bored and get restless and I have to keep them quiet and in line. When we got back to the classroom Mrs. MacDonald explained their seat work, today they had to write two sentences about Easter and draw a picture. Many students needed help with idea about what to write and how to write it out. This took a long time because some students were really struggling, but I had fun helping them and all the students finished before the bell for snack time. Before snack time I had to hand out the drinks to the table for cookie and milk day. It was my job like every cookie and milk day to open the drinks and place a straw in the drinks.

After the break I cleaned the room and stacked the chairs. Since the students did not have much time for play time because seat work took them so long they had the choice to go be apart of movie day or stay in the class and have more play time. Half the class wanted to go watch the movie so I went over with them and had to stay with them to make sure they acted good, some of the girls during the Easter movie got bored so I took them back to class to play.

Finally the movie was over and the rest of the students and I made our way back to the room. When we got back Mrs. MacDonald had work out for me to finish I had to stamp the date on the page they worked on in their writing books today. I also had to mark work they did this week. Then at the end of the day the day care students made their way out and left behind some hats and mitts so I had to run them over to them day care, this took a long time because I had to keep going back and forth because we kept finding new things in the class room, finally they got all their gear.

Wednesday April 4 2007

Today I was in Mrs. McNeill’s class; the first thing I started on was cutting out the Easter baskets that the students colored in on Monday. After I was done cutting them out I glued them onto a yellow Easter card, this took me awhile because I had to organize all the pieces of the card and the names to make sure they were being glued onto the right card. Then on a separate piece of paper the students wrote an Easter poem and I had to glue them into the inside of the card.

Once I was done there was still enough time before snack that I could start the other part that needed to be done. I had to first go to the office to use the cutter and cut up tissue paper, there were three different colors and it was my job to hot glue gun them onto the front of the Easter card. This took me awhile because I wanted it to look really good and at the end it did. Then break came and I was not done so I asked Mrs. McNeill if I could come back after break to finish the last part. So instead of heading back to Mrs. MacDonald’s class right away, I finished up the cards. The last thing I had to do was hot glue gun jelly beans in to the basket to make it look like there were Easter eggs. This did not take me to long but at the end the cards looked very good.

So when I was done I got back to Mrs. MacDonald’s class and I had to mark work the morning and afternoon class did today. When I was finished I stacked the chairs and got the class ready for home time.

Tuesday April 3 2007

Today i was in the Jk class, the first task i had to do was name and staple book orders that will be handed out to the class later in the week. Once i was done this the students had work at there desk and some kids wanted help so i sat with them and worked on it. Once they finished the seat work that was assigned they had play time, during play time i got to call two students at a time and we died Easter eggs that would go in the Easter baskets they made. This was exciting because the kids were really enjoying dying them, and are excited for Easter to come. This took the rest of the class because we got everyones egg died. Then it was break and after break i made my way back to Mrs. MacDonalds class. There i organized, stapled and named a project that will be handed out to the students later on. After i finished i cleaned the room and stacked the chairs and the children were getting ready for home time.

Monday April 2 2007

Today i had to leave co-op early so to make up for lost time i arrived early. When i first arrived Mrs. MacDonald had a bunch of news letters that needed to be handed out, so to make sure everyone got one i wrote all their names on the papers. After i finished i glued tails onto the easter baskets they made last week, this took me awhile because i had to do the morning and afternoon classes. Then it was my job to help a student who was away to start the easter basket. By the time he was done, the rest of the class started math work back at the desks, alot of students had trouble with this worksheet so i went around and helped anyone who was struggling. Then when the class had play time i marker a numerous amount of work from the morning and afternoon students, even though i do plenty of marking i enjoy it. By the time i was done this i had to leave.