When this semester first began, I came in with little to no experience in a classroom, and now, leaving this semester behind, I can now say I have had plenty of field experience between my ECS 100, ELNG 200 and ECE 200 classes, making me feel like a lot of growth in my teaching skills has occurred!
Looking back to the first day in my Kindergarten room, I remember the feeling I had in my stomach that morning. I was so nervous, yet at the same time, super excited. I really didn’t know what to expect, but I was hoping for the best of course. After that day was done, I remember already being so excited for what the next seven weeks were to hold, and the relationships that I was beginning to build with the children as well as the other professionals in the school!
The first few weeks I still felt like I was just feeling everything out. I was slowly getting to know each child on a deeper level, and names seemed to come easy to me, maybe because of all the practice I have had with names because of teaching at dance. The children also came to know me better over these first few weeks, finally learning my name, as well as getting to know me in a less professional setting by simple interaction during playtime. One of my most favourite things over these past few weeks was getting to know my students and what makes each of them unique, and I honestly found myself so grateful I had the opportunity to be apart of each of their lives, even for just a little amount of time.
As the weeks went on, me and my partner both started to feel much more comfortable and confident in the position of their teachers, so our co-op began to give us many more activities to do on our own in the classroom, as well as responsibilities, which was exciting for me! I remember the first time I got to lead the class to assembly on my own with all the other teachers and how confident I felt, as well as the first time I got to read a book to the class and teach them a new letter of the alphabet! My co-op also commented to me on how much my confidence seemed to grow from the beginning, and that truly made me feel so happy and accomplished inside.
As we now move on into the next semester of more growth and development, I will always remember my first experience as a teacher at St.Theresa Elementary School, and how much that opportunity shaped me into who I am today!