2. Good Morning!
Overall I enjoyed my time in Miami Heights Elementary. It
was full of wonderful surprises and the children were
awesome! The staff were very friendly and helpful as well. I
met several kindergarten teachers and I asked them about
what their days are like, what is the hardest part about
teaching etc.
School is very open with a lot of landscaping with small
gardens and trees. There are two separate buildings with
the younger ones in one building and the 3rd, 4th and 5th
graders in the other.
The school seemed fairly populated and not over
populated. The classroom I volunteered in had 18 children
and one teacher.
3. I worked with Mrs. Ortiz, Kindergarten class.
The room was filled with decorations, letters, words,
and cartoons. Boards all around the room were
decorated by categories. For example: there was a
reading/letter board, science board, Spanish board,
math board, concept and time/calendar board.
There was a cozy area and the rug area where the
children gather around to have a book read to them
or during free choice/work time they would build
blocks, work with science related games/toys and
legos. There was an easel and a table set for arts and
crafts. In a corner was a half circle table that was
used for free writing and mini white boards for
children to practice writing. Finally, there was the
computer center.
4. I honestly did not have any great expectations because I have
never been to an elementary classroom.
Then after a few minutes of being in the classroom I absolutely
loved it. I love how fun the classroom looked and how packed
it was with materials for the children to play and use.
Watching the teacher sing every morning with the kids “Good
morning” by Greg and Steve. Also, getting to see them do their
little choreography and being able to join was really fun.
I realized that teaching does not have to be a very boring
stressful job but you are able to have fun with the children and
always do your best to make it a memorable experience.
5. “No I do not like green eggs
and ham” said Sam I Am.
The day after reading Green Eggs and
Ham with the children and doing several
activities, the teacher brought a surprise.
She brought in eggs and ham with an
electric frying pan. I actually helped her
cook the eggs and the ham and color it
with green food coloring. The children
were amazed and were so excited
watching the eggs and ham change
color. I really enjoyed this experience
because seeing the children get so
excited over the simplest things was
very rewarding. It made me think about
how much my teacher goes the extra
mile for these children all the time. I
thought about all the times I would like
to do the same for all the children I will
come in contact with in the future.
6. There were times when we danced and
laughed but there were also times where
the children opened up and would discuss
their thoughts and feelings with one
another during “sharing time.” This is
when a child that wants to share
something (it can be a dream, wish,
experience, thought etc.) raises their hand
and speaks. Afterwards, the other
children are open to discuss it with them
and ask them questions. This one moment
that I remember most was when a child
opened up and told the story of a friend of
her moms that got into a motorcycle
accident. The teacher simply asked how
the child felt and the child responded
saying she was sad. So the other children
asked her questions about it and asked if
they could help her feel better. I felt that it
was very interesting for me to see how
comfortable the child felt to express why
she was sad and what happened. When I
become a teacher I would like for the
children in my classroom to feel
comfortable enough to just express
themselves and be themselves.
7. On this day, all the children including the teachers dressed up as farmers. Everyone had straw
hats, plaid shirts, bandanas, braids and some even had freckles drawn on their cheeks. This was an event
for the kindergarten classes.
All the parents walked in and gave their breakfast item of choice. One parent actually stayed and helped
cooked some of the food items and the teacher cooked scrambled eggs with cheese. The children were
doing their journal entry and when the food was ready and they finished, we started to serve them. The
children absolutely loved it and were so happy to eat it.
After that we put on some country related sing a long songs for them to dance to in the rug area. They
jumped, dance, sang, and laughed. The chicken dance was played and they loved it! At one point one
child started a conga line and I was able to join in and so did the teacher.
The school put on “Barnyard” the movie after recess for the children to watch and it was really nice.
Towards the end of this exciting day, they call the teacher over the intercom to inform her
that they were ready for her class to go get some free snow cones by the cafeteria. The children all
started to jump up and down and scream “YAY!” out of excitement. The teacher and I started to laugh
and we went to take them to get their snow cones. I actually helped to make some of the snow cones
for the children.
8. 1. Communication: This experience has helped me a lot to
better improve my speaking, listening, writing and reading
skills. Many of the children were having difficulty with the
assignments and I need to be prepared to assist them
accurately in whatever they needed. Listening skills were used
in situations where children were expressing themselves and I
needed to do my best to listen carefully. I needed my hand
writing to be excellent when grading papers or helping
children with assignments. When speaking to children I
needed to use very proper language. I needed to refrain from
slang or mispronunciations.
5. Global, Cultural, & Historical Perspectives: Since I was in a
public school environment, my global, cultural, and historical
perspective skills were improved. Even though I was mostly in
a classroom full of children from Latin culture, there was still
differences in language and religion. Also, outside of the
classroom when I came in contact with other children there
were many different cultures represented. As a teacher in a
public school, these skills are of very high importance.
6. Personal, Civic, & Social Responsibility: This skill was highly
used in the classroom. As a teacher you are set as a role model
and it is true for assistant teachers or helpers as well.
8. Computer & Technology Usage: I found myself many times
having to use technology. I needed to have an understanding
on how to use technology when the teacher was showing me
how she puts in grades as well as helping the children when
they would have trouble with the computer they were using.
9. Aesthetic Appreciation: I really love creative arts and crafts.
So volunteering with this teacher and being able to decorate
the room and help with creative assignments was ideal for me.
I really gained a higher appreciation for arts and crafts.
