It was the first time in 14 years that I stepped foot into a kindergarten classroom. I was nervous and to top it of the beginning of the day was awful. I had been assigned to Mrs. Phillips classroom in Waterloo. At 7 in the morning I typed in the elementary school and went on my way, later I would find out that google maps had taken me into the elementary in Cedar Falls. It was my first day and I had already made an awful impression. Lucky for me Mrs. Phillips is the most understanding person I have ever met. She could tell I was nervous as I was apologizing for my tardiness, and she comforted me and helped me through my first day.
The first Monday I was there I had to introduce myself to a circle of 23 wide eyes kids. They were so entranced that there was someone new in the room. I told them my name and a few things about me. I told them that I was in school just like them, and that I lived on a farm. As soon as the word farm left my mouth about 6 hands shot up, some didn't even raise their hands and just shouted out questions and statements. "My grandpa has a farm!", "Do you have cows?", "Do you milk your cows?", "Do you drive a tractor?!" After the questions were answered the students went on with their day. Throughout the day I was asked several times what my name was and how long I will be there. When I left at 12:30 I was excited to call my mom and tell her all about my day.
The second week the kids were just as excited as the first. A few remembered my name. and a few just remembered that I lived on a farm. The second week I was thrown in with the kids to help. This was both exciting and nerve wracking. There were several times a student had a question that I wasn't sure how to answer. Who would have thought that a kindergartener could ask a question that would stump a college sophomore, well they can, and they did several times. The third week I went the students all knew my name and started greeting me in the morning with hugs. By now it was easier to answer questions now that I knew how things worked. For one of the weeks I had to come to school on a Friday instead of a Monday and let me tell you, those kids were shocked like I had just walked in with a box of puppies. Immediately several of them asked why I was there and asked me if I will be on Friday's from now on. I knew Kindergarteners had a short attention span, but man, those kids get distracted by a fly.
Later on in the semester it had some time for me to teach my micro lesson. This lesson consisted of everything that I had learned from Mrs. Phillips about classroom management, and teaching, as well as my ability to use the skills I have learned and teach a 15 minute lesson. Mrs. Phillips gave me a few ideas for assignments that would go well with what they were learning that week and the rest was up to me. Mrs. Phillips was very kind and gave me a few words of advice before starting. She said to use a BIG commanding voice, to be confident, and that I had been doing so well with the kids thus far. I began my lesson, used my BIG voice, and the kids listened without a hitch. The lesson went so smoothly form transition into the lesson, pre lesson, the worksheet, and the final transition.
Bottom line is that I wouldn't have been able to do it without Mrs. Philips as my mentor. She showed me what it takes to be a teacher and the good and bad of being one. She gave me confidence when I was nervous, and gave me advice when I was unsure. She never batted an eyelash when I had questions and made sure that I got a full experience. I will always look back on her words of wisdom and will never forget my first class and my first little kiddos.
Thank you.
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