Working in my kindergarten classroom has been an incredibly rewarding experience. A large portion of the time I spend in the classroom, the students work in small groups at various rotations between the other teachers and myself. The rotation station that I lead is where students come to practice their writing and spelling skills. We use various techniques such as practicing our alphabet-phoneme song and breaking words down into individual phonemes in order to string them together to spell entire words. Working with the students in these small groups has allowed me to become familiar with each student’s writing and spelling abilities. As a result, I am able to witness, first-hand, each student’s educational growth as it occurs, which in and of itself, is a remarkable experience. Moreover, knowing that I have helped contribute to their growth makes it an even more satisfying experience. I’m super psyched that I have the opportunity to make a difference in young students’ lives by continuing the work I do in my kindergarten classroom and with Project DIRECT.
 
P.S. Beginning my Monday mornings by walking into a classroom of enthusiastic students who are excited to greet and hug me is a pretty awesome way to start the week.

I love going to my preschool each week! I have been at the same preschool for a few semesters now, so I have really gotten to know a lot of the staff that work at my site. At first, they were a little unsure about what role I could have in the classroom, but now they understand that I am there to help with any extra work that they need. I usually end up playing with the kids during center time, reading to them before carpet activities, or dancing with them during music. I also help out with kids that need extra one-on-one time or help.
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I love being able to see the kids week after week, and it’s such a great time to take a break from my busy schedule. The kids have grown so much over the year, and it’s so interesting to see how they learn and change so much. For example, at the beginning of the year, they struggle with learning letters and numbers, or sitting still during carpet time. Now, they know when to follow along with the teacher, and many of them can write their name or even read short words! I can’t wait to see how much they will learn by the end of the year, and how much they will grow!