Week 2

This week went fast and slow at the same time. On Monday and Tuesday we did the majority of our home visits. Like I stated in my previous posting, I was unsure of how these would go. I do think now that the home visits are a valuable experience. These gave us the oppurtunity to see where the students were coming from. It was interesting to see the different ability levels of students and how it correlated with their living situations. In most cases it was true that the more affluent two parent homes had more advanced students where as the lower ses students weren't not on the same level. In the meetings we got to see what ability levels were coming in and how much support was offered at home. I also felt it was really good to get the chance to meet the students before school. On the first day we were able to greet all the students by name and I think it was good for the students to somewhat recognize us. I felt the students were more comfortable with being away from home and their parents.
On Wednesday and Thursday, we did a few more visits but spent most of the day preparing the classroom. We corrected misspelled names, changed nametags to prefered names, and other things such as that. I created the seating chart for the room. I had to figure out where each student should go; taking into account personalities and other factors to create a suitable learning environment.
Friday was the big day. I must admit I was very nervous. Up until this point I was a little apprehensive about kindergarten and all the challenges that would follow. At the beginning of the day, it was a little crazy. Parents were dropping off their children, some wanted their parents to leave whereas other wanted them to stay. Some of the parents didn't want to leave their kids. The parents left and the day did begin. Laura went over the rules and how we do things in the classroom. By the end of the day a lot of the students had gotten it down; though I am pretty sure we are going to have to reteach tomorrow.
In our room we have three children with autism, all with varying capabilities. Thus far in my classroom experiences, I have only worked with one child with autism back tutor year. I am very excited about gaining experience working with these students. From the home visits, I was very unsure about how things would go in the actual classroom. On Friday, only one of the students had some major difficulties. He got upset and threw a tantrum. When he came back into the classroom I was sitting near his seat and he put his hands around my throat like he was choking me. I just took his hands off my neck and then he sat in my lap. Oddly, it didn't really bother me or make me nervous. This may sound strange and I know we aren't supposed to have favorites, but he's up their on my list. I am really excited about all the experiences and challenges I am going to face working with these students.
Overall, kindergarten isn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. I actually really love it. I am so thankful that I am getting this chance to work with these young students.