Memories at the ECLC
Journal #5
So far I’ve done reading time with the students because it keeps them engaged and all in one place so it’s easier to manage. I read a book called “Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons”. They really liked it and I kept asking them questions which kept them engaged. I’ve also done mini lesson projects with them. For one Mrs. Guzman had these cardboard boxes covered in different color construction paper and the students had to glue and draw windows and doors and roofs to mimic different buildings. I sat with them to show them how to start and then let them do the rest. We do something called process art which lets them focus on the “process” of creating rather than the actual outcome. Of course I encouraged them to count the number of windows, but the point is it doesn’t have to look completely perfect and accurate by the end of it. I’m usually there during their play time, so sometimes I try and incorporate little things like the alphabet or I ask them questions if their playing a matching game. There were these pop-its with the abc’s on them and I asked one of the students, Liam to read me each letter of the alphabet when I point and he got all of them. I was happy because he’s really quiet and gets shy to speak but as he was getting them right he spoke louder and had a really big smile on his face.
Other than that my teacher is really open to me being involved in the classroom. During the end of the day we do a goodbye song and sometimes she’ll let me lead the goodbye. Also, by the time I get there it is play-time but when I want to read the students a book she’s had no problem with it. I do try not to switch up their routine too much though because their play-time/winding down is really important, and having a constant routine for their age group is vital.
Journal #6
I wanted to use this reflection to talk about some of the students and their behavior or just overall thinking processes. First of all, I think every age group is different but when a person thinks of special-needs classrooms in general they are under the impression that every kid in that class has a learning barrier or isn’t as smart as a child in a regular classroom. Every day that I go to my internship I see just how untrue that is. A lot of these kids really just need attention or things to stay busy. For example, this kid L, I can’t lie he is a little menace a lot of the time. He has ADHD and can be very rude to the teachers but he is sooooo smart. For a four year old he is so creative when it comes to building things. He built a transformer out of blocks. He built a crane used for construction out of these connection sticks and it was actually flawless. He is also verbally intelligent. He has a smart mouth but the kind that leaves you shocked. The other day he said something ridiculous to Mrs. Guzman, and she asked him to repeat what he said. Instead of repeating it he said “your mother” and then let out this evil little laugh. Honestly he is so funny, but he’s also really bad. Then there’s A who is three but by her assessments she’s at a four year old level. Like L she also has behavioral issues. She was actually one of the newer students who started a week before I started my internship at the ECLC. She has this little sense of entitlement and doesn’t listen sometimes and can be disruptive and loud when we’re doing group activities. But other times she’s really sweet and she’ll remind the other kids to bring their picture ID’s with them around the room. Not to mention she’s really good at spelling her full name and has no problem writing the alphabet out. And she reads a little bit.
Journal #7
I want to say that at the beginning of the internship I was really struggling with how “intense” I can really be with the kids because they are so little. For example, when they weren’t listening I was scared to be too mean/rough or scar them forever so I tried to approach them more gently instead of yelling. In reality they don’t listen sometimes UNLESS you put your foot down, which sometimes requires yelling (I’m not gonna lie I still haven’t gathered the courage to raise my voice). Going along with that, being in a special needs classroom every student has to be approached differently because some are more sensitive or even hard-headed than others. When L is misbehaving and causing scenes in class, sometimes Mrs. Guzman will yell at him and send him to cozy (it’s a little box cubby for them to sit in to reflect), and other times she will tell me to ignore him. In extreme cases, with J his new thing is to hide behind other teachers and adults when he is in trouble/acting up in an attempt to get away from Mrs. Guzman. On our full day internship last Friday he hid behind me and grabbed onto me (he is really strong for such a tiny kid might I add), the solution for me in that situation was to walk him to the library and sit him down. He ended up throwing himself on the floor and crying/screaming. To be completely honest, in these cases I’m at a loss. You can’t coddle him in that situation but coddling is the only thing that gets him to calm down, and distracting him with something else is not an option because he gets so caught up in the moment.
I’m learning that there are some kids that are so easy to manage and others where it’s almost impossible to calm them down. I also am learning that in the morning the students get way more overwhelmed and tired so that exacerbates their meltdowns. Towards the end of the day it’s much easier to get through to them. With pre-k the most you can do is put your foot down and be consistent even when its frustrating and they don’t listen. You have to stay on top of them until they sit on the rug when they are supposed to, share their toys, grab their picture IDs, etc. Kids are sneaky so even if you tell them to do something once, if you don’t follow through neither will they.