So today I switched classrooms for my fall switch date with Karolena who is Lane’s intern. Lane is… family. So I was super excited to get to see her work. Lane is not the first family member/Stanley intern I have gotten to watch and I’m sure she won’t be the last… well maybe. Anyways, it was so cool to get to see this side of her considering I haven’t ever really. I literally took 3 whole pages worth of notes today, not just about Lane but also about her classroom and her interactions with the kids. It honestly never felt like I was watching someone I had grown up with. It felt more like watching a new teacher and once again trying to glean as much information as I could. Not really knowing at this point what grade I want to teach and now having pretty solid experience in pre-school and 5th grade it was nice to see the in-between stage. Since I barely remember second grade (thanks concussions ;-) ) I thoroughly enjoyed seeing where these kids were in terms of developmental stages and in terms of life stages. Things I noticed that were different were often little simple things like cutting out pictures still being difficult or sitting still and listening for more than maybe 10 minutes seemed hard but for the most part the kids were totally adorable and sweet… Much like any of the kids I have worked with so far in my “career”. The funniest part I found was actually wondering how my kids were, and how Scott was. I felt what I imagine a parent feels for the first time a kid goes off to school. I noted different times and wondered if they were transitioning into math yet or still reading or when 8:55 rolled around I wondered what they did in music class and whether or not there was a show for Lena/Scott. It was really hard not to quickly run down the hall and check on them. I guess I’ll have to maybe get used to this feeling since I still have 2 more switch days and an entire second semester at a different school. Also that whole every year getting a new class thing too… I guess that is where the mixed age classrooms are so great, the kids and teachers get to spend 3 years together so they really feel like they are a part of each other’s lives. I think I really like that. I’m finding more and more that I am definitely oriented towards the BP style of classrooms while still maintaining the structure of a traditional classroom… Wonder if I’d ever be able to marry the two together….
Things I absolutely loved about in Lane’s classroom:
→ The schedule up on the wall for the whole day and read through by the class
→ Morning stations oriented around math
→ Lane’s freeze-count to 5-melt transition
→“Fixing” their brains to change subjects → they twist near their temples and click their tongues it is SO cute and gets them to recognize a change in learning.
→ CAFÉ or Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency and Expand Vocabulary as a concept for reading/writing
→ Saying, “voice” if someone isn’t loud enough
→ Their expedition being a great idea for the kids and that age
They are learning about plants and are currently split into groups focused around roots, stems, flowers, leaves, seeds, and fruit. Their reading is focused on that, as is their writing.
→ ELD was fun… granted still total chaos for teachers with room switching and new name learning but they seemed to enjoy it. It was also tied into their expedition so it pushed/furthered their learning/understanding.
→ When it was turn and talk time they stood up if they didn’t have a partner and then found one. So much better than trying to figure out random groups of 3.
→ That the DLI book was called the “fix it” book… SOOOO much better than the actual (lame) title of Daily Literacy Instruction
As you can see, this day wasn’t about spending time with my cousin it was about learning. I took away so many different things, from classroom structure to transitions to little attention songs and so much more. I cannot thank Lane enough for letting me watch her; she is truly a gifted teacher… Which I’m learning is pretty damn common among Stanley interns. I’m so honored to be a part of such a cool group of people; it is like being a member of a football team that wins the Super Bowl, I’m just happy to be a part of this epic group. I hope one day I’ll be as cool as they are.
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