Star 1:

I would say the first area that I’ve shown the most growth in during this practicum would have to be my knowledge of child development at the kindergarten level. Coming into the practicum I really had no idea what I was coming into (as I had previously mentioned to you) and through having you and Tessica reviewing my lesson plans, I got a lot of feedback of concepts that the students don’t quite understand yet. For example, you both gave me great feedback on how the kindergartners don’t have a good understanding of age and seasonal changes (even though many may wish it was, Christmas is not a season) just to name a few. This was really insightful into how I should structure and organize many of my lessons. Another part of the children’s development that I didn’t know was such an impact before practicum was how important routine is to them. This got brought up in school recently, and young students feel a higher sense of security and control over their environment(s) when they have a routine to follow. Because the students have been conditioned into knowing what to expect (and what Mrs. Watson expects) during their day, their routine has been a very useful classroom management tool with Mrs. Watson’s kindergarten students. 

Star 2: 

I have really seen how strong of an impact creating a good relationship with your students can be. Always being supportive, positive, and praising students for doing their best work has really allowed the students to connect with me. I can see that the students recognize that I care about them; and in turn, the students show me kindness and respect. Something that really stands out to me when I think about this concept of creating good relationships with the students (especially kindergartners, many of which are leaving their families for the first time) is how connected they feel to us TC’s after only being with us once a week, for 6 weeks. Children come inside in the morning, recess, and lunch and immediately want a big hug and want to tell us about everything that’s happened since the last time we saw them! It is such a great feeling for me when the students are coming into the classroom so happy to see me and give me a hug, this really made me think about how important this is for them, and for me! If they are happy yo be here, I am happy to be here and vise versa! 

Wish: 

I am excited to continue to work on my lesson planning and how I can improve my ability to incorporate movement breaks and indigenous information to my teachings. I found it very admiring how Tessica is such a great role model to her TCs regarding incorporating brain and movement breaks, as well as indigenous context into the classroom everyday. From talking to some of my fellow TC’s, not everyone is as lucky as I am to have a TM as passionate about these aspects of education. I have made it my goal to continuously try new things and grow as a student and teacher, in order to best myself and my students. I think being aware of these aspects of the new curriculum and how to link these into our teaching practices would be much more difficult if I didn’t have someone like Tessica Watson as my mentor! I hope all my mentors are as great of a resource as Tessica has been throughout my time in her classroom.