Blog 1 My Workplace: October 19, 2011

  My Workplace is called Children's Choice Educare and it is a pre-school and Kindergarden. It is a small business with six staff members. These staff members are people that are patient, some what strict, and like children. I don't know what kind of college degree they have but one teacher had to complete some courses at their local community college. My workplace serves the parents kids that are going into pre-school and kids that are also going into Kindergarden. The strengths in my workplace is that since it is a small bussines like my mentor said they get to teach their morals and their own philosophty. I don't think they have weaknesses that i have seen.

Blog 2: My Mentor

 My mentors name is Frances Kong and Robin Kong. Frances Kong is the owner if Children's Choice and is also the kindergarden teacher. Robin Kong is what you can call the principle she has her office where takes care of all the money, teachers, and paper work. For Ms. Frances a typical day is to get there in the morning and to finish the morning circle time, then she does circle time again with the kindergarden class only. After that she gives them class work and once they are done she takes the kids outside. Then she gives them a lesson based on what they are studying that month. Once that is done she goes into Ms. Robins office and deals with paper work also and makes each kid they're homework packet. For Ms. Robin in the morning she creates the kids breakfast then she goes into her office a manages the school. She also goes to the grocery store if needed and helps with the kids. Ms. Frances got interested in this field because she was already a teacher in her country so when she moved in to the U.S she wanted to have her own school to be able to teach her philosophy so she took classes in community college and opened her own school.  

Blog #3: My Role: Tuesday

My main responsibility is to help the kids while they are doing they are doing their class work. My title is something like a teachers assistant. Other tasks i am completing each weeks is helping set up breakfast, creating an art project, play with the kids, and help create the kinder garden homework packets. A regular day for me is to get to the school in the morning and play with the kids, then sit in morning circle with them or set up the breakfast, then i go with the kindergarden class and help them with their breakfast, after that i listen to circle time with Ms. Frances, then I help with the class work especially the kids that need extra help, once that is done we all go outside. Then we go inside and listen to the lesson plan, after that i help get their lunch ready and when they finish their lunch i take my lunch brake. Once i'm done with my break I go into the office to create homework packets and with other paper work and that is how my day ends.

Blog #4: Project Brainstorm

For my project this year I will have to create a art project this every week also create a goal for a kid so he can successfully know his alphabet. My project was created by my mentor so i can have an idea as to what type of things I will have to face when I do become a kindergarden teacher my self. To complete my project during the week i'm just searching and thinking about ideas for my art project and for the plan i have for the kid i'm focusing on. Ms. Frances is helping me with my project, what she does is look over what i am doing and tells me if i should add or fix the project that i am doing.

Blog #5: Progress on my WLE Project, part 1:

Today at my WLE I, helped serve breakfast then I observed morning circle with kindergarten class. After that, I helped the kids that needed the most help with their work get it complete. Then we went outside and when we came back we gave the kids their lunch. Once they finished lunch, I gave them an art project which was to create a flower with construction paper then, I went upstairs to the office and helped Ms.Frances to create the homework packets. Then, I helped with Robin with other work she needed help with. I planned another art project that would be tied to a science project that I'll be doing for that class as my WLE project. I have done two art projects already.

Blog #6: Leadership Skills: Tuesday Nov 15th

The leadership skill I am using the most is collaborate productively. I am using this leadership skill the most because I have to use this skill everyday with my mentor Ms. Frances in order for me to know what I should be doing to be able to help her and the kids as much as I can. I think I am using this leadership skill well because I haven't gotten in trouble for doing something wrong and when I don't understand something I ask Ms. Frances for clarifications. I can improve in using this skill by reflecting on how my day went and how to make it better the next time I go. This leadership helps me work because if I don't communicate with my mentor then I wont know what to do during the day. Beside communicate powerfully my mentor also uses thinking critically because she needs to decide on what her students need the most and how she can help them so they can succeed.

Blog #7: What I learned, Reflection:

This experience has taught me that I really do want to become a kindergarten teacher and that i still need to work on being able to control a classroom because I would always have difficulties being able to have the classroom quite when I was there by myself. Some challenges I faced was that I would come in wit a project that turned out they had already done so I would communicate with my mentor so we can make up an art project. Also sometimes the kids would fight and I would have to stop them which wasn't easy and I would have to tell my mentor. From this lesson i learned that being a kindergarten teacher is really what I want to be which is why I decided to intern here so I could make sure it was something I actually wanted to do. My creativity had to really be put to use for my project because my project was to make up art project for the kids every Tuesday so I to think of something creative that i thought they would really enjoy. Something I believe now  that I didn't believe before is that kids these days are smarter than you think. A skill that i learned during WLE and is important to in this profession is ho to be able to make different packes for different levels of understanding for the kids. If someone asked me why what I did at my WLE was important I can tell them it was important because I was able to be a part of an important stage of someone life which is basically learning who they are and their basics.

Blog #8: Professionalism

Since I had return to my WLE i didn't have to much to get my internship but I did have to back and ask I they would be able to welcome me back.  The most effective way of looking for a job and getting hired is by having some type of connection or recommendation in the work place. In my case my former adviser's partner is the principle of my internship which is why I got this internship last year. As a result of my WLE, I think being a professional or a responsible adult in the work world means to always have professional language because you never know who can be listening. Also to have good communication skill in case you need help with anything.  

Blog #9: Life at my WLE:

Today at my workplace i helped serve breakfast in the morning. Then the my mentor let me do the morning circle so we talked about the calendar, numbers, and the alphabet. Then I helped the kids with their class work. Once we all finished we went outside for play time while I picked out some leaves. Then I helped warm up and open the kids lunches. When they finished eating I read books for a couple of students. When the tables when ready I gave each kid the rim of a paper plate and some leaves so they could make a Christmas wreath. I help they kids with gluing the leaves to the rim of the paper plate. once everyone finished I went to lunch and after that i helped in the office. I helped Ms. Frances make the homework packets and helped Ms. Robin with paper work for the kids. Then I went downstairs again with the kids and left home after that. I think I have improved as an intern because there are somethings that I don't need to be told to do I just do it. Also I know that I improved because Ms. Frances let me do the morning circle so she know I am ready for more things to do with the kids. What makes my workplace a great place to work at is that all the staff likes each other which makes it a work place clear on animosity. Also that all the staff wants each kid to succeed and know where to draw the line when kids are not making the best effort to do well.

Blog #10: The End:

I will really miss my internship a lot I will miss the kids a lot they were all very nice to me especially today when the kindergarten kids gave me a lot of drawings because it was my last day there. I cant wait to see them sing at their Christmas program they will be having on Thursday. I will also miss the staff a lot since this was my second year interning at my internship and I have grown very close to them. I am glad I returned because I got to work close to Ms. Frances which owns the place and is the kindergarten teacher. She gave me a lot of tips of what classes are good to take in college if I want to open my own business in the education field. This experience really help me in my future goal of becoming a kindergarten teacher because I got to work with them and understand their need more. I am sure I want to become a kindergarten teacher because of this experience.