REFLECTION
I have watched children practically all my life. I watched my cousins since I was in fifth grade. That was the first time I took care of another being either than myself. My responsibility was to make sure the child was taken care of. What I learned throughout the years prepared me for taking care of children as a teacher's aide for McKinley's Child Care Class.
I volunteered as a teacher's aide for five months at the KCAA-Muriel Preschool. I didn't realize how much preparation the teachers had to go through before presenting a lesson. The students were very attentive in class because Miss May knew how to catch the listeners. What she says to the class must be in a proper tone and with enthusiasum. I liked how the class was scheduled. We would have outdoor play for an hour. Then we would have circle time for half an hour. Circle time consist of singing songs, reading a book, and talk about today's plans. After we would have open centers for one hour before another circle time. I only stayed until they end open centers. Usually during open centers, I would help with the act activity for the day or I would play with the students. The students respected me as a teacher. I got along well with the staff and the students at the school. I grew a close bond with my class. My class loved to talk to me. Students would show me their new toys or they would tell me about their weekend. I would listen attentively to what they had to say. Children are so full of energy and imagaination when they are playing. It amazes me at times. This experience prepared for yet another experience.
Running our preschool was a stressing experience. It is similar to the preschool when I volunteered. The only difference is that I AM THE TEACHER. I am the one planning the lesson. It can be stressful because you need to think of ideas for one whole day. When I volunteered, I helped out what the teacher had already planned. Since we are the teachers, we had to plan it and go through with the lesson. The first day of preschool was nerve racking. It seemed like everything wasn't going the way I hoped for it to be. No one seemed prepared. Eventually I adjusted to the preschool and so did the other teachers. It turned out to be fun. I am not tense as I use to be because our class are prepared compared to before. Our class learned from our mistakes from the beginning. We were able to work through the gliches to make it a better learning enviornment for the teachers and students.
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