Read-alouds
The First book was Just a Chicken by Langston Moore and Preston Thorne. I really enjoyed this book and how well it would work in a classroom when discussing self-esteem. This book could also be used in math when trying to talk about the different patterns and also to talk about the number of animals in the book. In Science, you could discuss the different habits of the different mascots. In English, students would write about stories when they weren’t #JustaChicken and PE teachers could build obstacles children have to pass through.
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell was the second book. This book could not only be used for self-esteem but also in science to talk about frogs and ducks about how they live in the wild. Teachers could use this book as an English lesson to talk about how authors use patterns in books, and this could be used in Social Studies to teach the students about bullying.
The final book was Oh the Places Youll Go by Dr. Suess. For English, the students could write a story about all the places that they have gone. In Art, you can talk about the different patterns in all the pictures. In math you could use this book to talk about time, the kid goes to many places throughout the book so you can talk about how time would pass. In Geography, you can talk about distance and the distance between states and countries.
Learning Experiences
The past two weeks in school we have been talking about self-esteem. It has been so interesting to learn about the differences between “global” and “earned” self-esteem an how both affect the children in different ways. We are also making a puppet show based on those concepts. It is a really good way to get the same message across in a different manner.
Current Event
For my current event, I chose the topic of how little early childhood education teachers are paid. It is such a big issue in our country that has a huge impact on all generations. Early childhood teachers may have some o the biggest impact on children developmentally, but less and less people are wanting to become teachers due to the low wages and long hours. Over the past 10m years, there have been fewer people going to school to get a degree in education. It is a good thing for someone wanting to go into the teaching field because that means that there is plenty of jobs. On the other hand, it is a real issue for the children. The teachers who go in without a passion for teaching are not going to make a positive difference for the children. If teachers were paid higher wages then maybe more people would think about becoming one.
Quote of the week
This was the quote I chose because it means so much to me and it relates to self-esteem. If you are a teacher you have so much impact on a child’s life just by the things you say to them. If you constantly put down a child by telling them they are not good enough, not smart enough, or not enough, in general, they will think less of themselves. On the other hand, if you build them up with words of encouragement, and help them reach their goals they will really push themselves. They will think about new dreams and new careers they would never have imagined.
Observations
I am in the Early Childhood Education class at school, so that means I get to go out to a classroom all year. I get to see the kids every other day which is really nice. I have noticed that when they are upset with each other they do this thing called ” a bug and a wish” it really teaches them to communicate. They say one thing that bugs them that the other student did and then they say something they wish they wouldn’t do. So if a kid hit another one they would say ” it bugs me when you hit me, I wish you would be nicer and not hit me.” It really helps in the classroom in preventing tattling for no reason.
Reflections
This has been a pretty good week. My A days are more stressful than B days. I really need to work on procrastination and wait until the last minute to do everything. I can tell that is what is going to hurt me this year if I don’t fix it now. I have been doing better about it recently like with this blog I did not wait until Sunday, and that is what I would have done last year.
Peyton's Teacher Cadet Blog 