Please read the about me so you don’t think this first post it too random.. Lets jump right in,I actually started two days ago with my Practicum so this day will be more of an intro and catch up day. I am in an inclusion classroom. This basically means that the teacher I have been placed with runs all over the school everyday except for lunch and a ten minute planning period. She brings students to her room, goes to their room to help them, brings them back to hers, goes back to theirs, and then she spins around and does cartwheels down the hallways, or thats what it feels like as I run behind her in my teacher attire (flats are not meant to run, just saying). She also does not have time to talk to me during the day so these sprints are where she answers my questions and tells me tidbits about the children she works with and other random facts and stories. I enjoy these runs and really feel like I am getting in shape while trying to remember what the heck the name of that thing that I read that one time in that one book that I need to know right now to contribute something intelligent to this very rapid conversation. You get the picture, its fast paced.
I have basically met all the children that I will work with over the next semester in the last two days. The disabilities range in severeness and each is very unique. And the saying, “kids say the darndest things” is the epitome of my observation thus far.
In the mornings we pick up Mike before school starts and take him to the classroom. The very first morning after sitting in the office and waiting to be picked up, I truly had flashbacks to the car rider line in elementary school, we walked through the halls and a child yelled out, “MRS C! THERE BE A ROACH IN DIS BACKPACK!” I was caught off guard to say the least and instead of her ignoring, saying thats nice or just passing it off to someone else she picked up the backpack and said, “Ill be right back..” I watched as she took the backpack from the random student and came back a minute later grinning. “MRS C! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM??” “He has gone to heaven. Have a good day.” It was quite a little scene to watch. She then walked with me and began to ask my hometown, etc like nothing had just happened. So we finally zig-zag through the halls, that have no rhyme or reason to them and Mrs. C works on his writing with him and he tries to get as much in as possible in about twenty minutes. It is kind of stressful because it is the only time she has to squeeze him in and he is really struggling with sentence making, punctuation, and spelling. He also likes to tell us stories about his parents, not being able to sleep, and his pets.. He loves Mrs. C. We listen to the announcements, say the pledge, have a moment of silence, you know the drill.. And then Mike goes to PE.
Mrs. W’s class is next and she is very intense. She even referred to herself as a drill sergeant. We actually go to her room and work with a little boy on reading, math, and two part directions. She is a kindergarten teacher and we are there during an activity called “the daily 5” where you read, write, work on phonics, and work with partners. This seems to fly by and nothing out of the blue has really happened in this classroom. But I am very impressed with her very regimented teaching abilities. Then its back to Mrs. C’s room for some more reading and phonics but on the way we make a pit stop to pick up two angels, Unique and Chloe. (I know this is a lot for the first entry but I am catching everyone up so I can just tell stories and experiences the other days) Tay and Jad come from another classroom and Mrs. R and M. come to help too. Tay is everyone’s entertainment. She is very spirited and opinionated (aka stubborn). Mrs. R and Mrs. C have very different ways of dealing with these behaviors. Jad takes meds that make him sleepy and if you are not paying attention he will fall asleep quickly, while smiling, and it is kind of precious. Chloe is very sweet and is not very talkative but is always dressed in her leggings, boots, and cute top and of course bow and glasses (she loves fruitloops). And last but certainly not least, Unique, who is always fashionable in her three-headbands. She is a talker and likes to play footsie. I like to watch how they break down the phonic sounds in each word (turns out Dr. Darch’s class is really important). This is thirty minutes of high-frequency words, review, breaking down, funny outburst by Tayl, and edibles (fruitloops and cheezits) and verbal praise. This is where most of my stories have come from but I’ll save them for the next blog so as not to overwhelm my diligent readers.
After this we return Unique and Chloe and were off to Mrs. P’s room to see our friend, Ray. Mrs. P is a second grade teacher whom we help with centers (you remember where you rotate to working with books, computers, worksheets, etc) and Ray is struggling with writing. We pull him off to the side and write about what he got for Christmas. After Ray finishes his few sentences we go back to Mrs. C’s room (see what I mean about back and forth?) to see my friends Chloe, Tay, and Jadar again for more reading and phonics. More working and snacks and then we get another group from Mrs. W’s class (kindergarten), Gage and Niema. Gage is so sweet and dresses very “fratty” with his loafers and collared shirts. We work on building sentences, reading difficult words, and phonics. They also get little snacks for staying on task and answering correctly. I wish I got fruitloops for daily achievements!
After they finish up it’s time for me to head out so I can make it to my favorite class ever, Ethics. We are discussing the meaning of life and to help us understand our very amusing teacher asked, “It’s like trying to answer ‘what is water?’ you really can’t” actually you can, but instead of saying that I sit quietly i the back wondering why this class is a requirement at Auburn. No barner jokes necessary for that thought. Alright well now I have run you through pretty much what my mornings consist of. Feel up to par? Anyone up for taking my daily jog through the school with me? It really has been great just being there thus far and I hope it continues to be a positive experience for all involved. More to come but this has taken me way longer than expected so for now so long folks.