The Classroom Is A Good Size And Is Broken Into Sections

For the classroom observation assignment I was able to observe at Stepping Stones Family Childcare and Preschool Program. I conducted observations for five hours each on the dates of September 24th and September 25th of the year 2015. This licensed home-based daycare and preschool program is located in a quiet suburban neighborhood on 4103 Bryant Street, Blasdell, New York. The facility allows for a twelve-child capacity (ages 6 weeks to 12 years with four additional school age) and is owned and founded by Kim Bannister. When I observed, there were two additional staff present. Therefore, there were a total of 3 adults and 12 children at the center when I observed. New York State Senator Marc C. Panepinto was also present on September 25th as he read to the children and toured the home. I chose this specific setting as I personally thought it would be an interesting dynamic to study how a home-based preschool program is run.

Hi everyone, I am observing on Wednesdays from 8-10 and Fridays 3-4 in Cuesta Children’s Center Preschool 2. I believe a child’s environment can affect their mood, social skills, ability to learn, mental health, and physical health. These essential elements need to be meet or it will affect their adult lives. I feel the Cuesta Center does a remarkable job of offering all of these, and has wonderful transitions throughout the day. I enjoy observing the teachers modeling acceptable class room behaviors, asking open-ended questions while using descriptive language to help to expand children’s speech, and they were engaged in the children’s presents. I was engrossed with how the class offers multiple opportunities for children to broaden their

The teacher passed around a microphone to each child, it symbolized who was speaking and this made everyone special. The students then had to write two sentences and draw a picture of what they remembered best about their holiday break. Eventually, they shared their two sentences with the teacher or me. Second, I noticed that once everyone read their journals, the teacher quickly called on students based on their bin color, which meant it was time for reading to begin. Each student had their own colored reading bin which included: three reading level books, a word list of the week, and a worksheet using the given word list. The colored bins symbolized what the student was to complete during reading time. For example; students with yellow bins read with the teacher at a table, students with green bins worked on the worksheet, students with blue bins read the three books quietly, and students with pink bins worked on writing on a small whiteboard the word list for the week. This strategy was beneficial because it developed independence. Thirdly, I noticed enthusiasm during the math lesson at the end of the day. The teacher had the students sit on the purple rug for a math lesson. The teacher used her laptop and the video clip to provide the students with visual instruction. Once the video clip was over, the teacher pulled up the worksheet to preview together with the class. Then the students went back to their desk to work on the worksheet

For my ethnographic research I am observing a second grade classroom. I have chosen to observe classroom reading and writing time with the students. In addition I have decided to interview three people (teacher, parent, and student) from the school at which I am completing my observation hours, P.S. 152 Gwendoline N. Alleyne School in Woodside, Queens to have a solid understanding of my research. I will use alternative name for students and teacher. Mrs. S is piloting a writing workshop in her classroom and ELA/ literacy standards will be the primary focus throughout her teaching. My primarily focus will be on the classroom routine.

At the second primary tour that we visited, we were given a quick tour of various classrooms throughout the school, in which we spent about 5-10 minutes each. This school is newer, and the walls are very bright, with the teachers working hard to cover the walls with educational information and posters. Each classroom was working on studying a different country to put on display for the entire school, and each classroom would make a flag, talk about various animals, and some

I was in Westside elementary school the site teacher was Karen Riner and she taught kindergarten.

As I walked in the class, I was looking for positive examples of the environment, interactions by the teacher, classroom climate, and the teachers respect for diversity. I immediately felt a

The structure of the classroom in which I was observed in had a warm welcoming and childlike atmosphere, which every preschool or head start classroom should have. As one should enter the daycare center, the first thing that is seen at the door is a bulletin board of all the teachers and staff at the daycare. Along with that is an introduction piece of the teachers for each classroom, it talks briefly about how long the teacher has been in their profession, as well how long they have been working at the daycare center, and what they love about working at the center. As you enter the classroom, there is the office and in front the office there is the cubbies for the student to put their jacket and things of that sort. Behind the cubbies are

I found it interesting that people who use American Sign Language (ASL) are bilingual, which makes sense. Learning how to keep communication open with parents who are deaf or have hearing loss was interesting. Also learning that their reading levels are lower was a new concept to me but it makes sense if you aren’t seeing and hearing the letters and the sounds that they go with them; they may not have as much meaning at first. I was glad for the promising element s of reading instruction for children. I want to teach math, using captions or stories may help with the

Show and ask children if they would like to go in the Toddler classroom and explore.

They also helped them pick up on different concepts. When the students were playing with playdough, the teacher helped them make different foods and helped them cut the dough up. They would model how to do something and the kids would try it by themselves while the teacher accessed them. I think these teachers did a great job with the kids. If I had to suggest anything, I would suggest to start more conversations with the kids. I think kids need to be pushed in to further thinking, especially in an inclusion classroom. I would also encourage the kids to communicate more with each other. I noticed that most of the kids were sticking to themselves, and they weren’t playing with each other. I think student to student conversations are just as important as the teacher conversation. Other than that, I think these teachers did a great job communicating with the kids, Not only did I learn more about how to start conversations, but I had a fun time being there with these

In the CLM classroom, the student’s behaviors were increasing, whereas in the reading specialist classroom, the behaviors were decreasing. It was interesting to see how different groups of students acted as they approach the end of the school year. I liked the conversation I had with Mrs. B on the last observation because I got to experience a different perspective on the topic of medications. Usually, I am used to hearing people say that you should not medicate children at such a young age, so her perspective was unique and her reasoning for medication was valid. Thus far, I have really enjoyed field because of the different aspects that I can investigate within the classrooms each

As a freshman student at the University of Delaware I imagine myself participating in school activities (clubs) as well focusing on classes.  I look forward to meeting new people, living in a dorm, and becoming independent.  I will feel most comfortable in the smaller class settings and joining activities that I have done before.  Where I will need to stretch is in the larger classroom settings (asking questions and answering questions) and trying new activities out of my comfort zone.

Throughout the day I was able to learn and see the structure in which this program is designed and how it works for the children. Because it was a summer school program they merely just played and had fun most of the day. The biggest group activity was doing the craft for the day. Some kids were eager to participate and other were not. The project was manageable but somewhat difficult and it took all hands-on deck to get it finished. The teachers decided to bring in the kindergarten class so that the older kids could help them get through it. The bigger kids were troopers and really stepped up to help them. The teacher maintained a well-structured and organized classroom even when there were lots of children.

The larger the classroom the more students you can teach, the less teachers you must employee and the better budget we can save. Is this true? It is the thinking of some but not all. Classroom sizes influence everyone young and old. It effects students who may not understand the lesson so they choose to act out, it effects children being left behind and held back and it effects teacher’s ability to do their job and give students an education. As a student and future educator, the conclusion that have come to is classroom sizes can have effects on disciplinary issues, individualized teaching structures and can cause stress on educators.