Final Day :(

Today was my final day at CAL. It was definitely bittersweet! I'm happy to be back at my apartment, but I am going to miss the kindergarden class there!

It was such a good day today. One girl showed me that her mom curled her hair so it would look like mine! Too cute. The end of the day was so nice. The students made us thank you books, complete with pictures. This one looks like I have a beard, but that's kindergarden drawing for you! :) They also gave me some yellow flowers!

I worked with two students today. We had read the book "Chalk" earlier in the week, which they both really enjoyed. We looked at the book again. Then they made their own book for it. I had written out lines of the story on separate pieces of paper. I had them draw a picture on each so they would remember what that page was about. After that we mixed up the pages, and they had to put them back in the correct order. They had a lot of fun with it! We are actually recorded for part of that. So of course, that's when they decided to start acting up. I guess I'll get to see my classroom management skills on tape. :/ I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that! 

Overall, it was such a fantastic experience. I'm going to miss the students and the teachers there so much! I really can't wait to finally be a teacher! 

[I'm bad at titles]

So unfortunately today, my student was sick again! I did get to work with another ESL boy this  morning though. We read "Chalk," by Bill Thomson, which is probably my favorite children's book. He really enjoyed it. We were going to do an activity with it later in the afternoon, but then he got sick too! I hope these boys get better! So after he left, I went and worked with the ESL teacher.
She is SO busy. She has 42 students and no extra help. She also teaches 2 reading classes. I think there's something wrong with this picture. I am really enjoying the school and the environment there, but this desperately needs to change. These students cannot possibly be receiving the support they need when she is that busy. 
After school, a classmate and myself went to visit her student's family. That was quite an experience! We got there around 4:30, but they were about to start eating dinner, so they fed us. I had my first mole, which was fantastic! They spoke mostly Spanish the entire time, so my brain definitely had a workout! I could understand most of the conversation, missing certain points here and there. But I know that if I wanted to respond, I would really struggle. Listening is definitely easier than speaking! I wish I was fluent in Spanish. I made my decision today, I am absolutely taking a Spanish course next semester.
Anyhow, time for some more homework! 

"She's not a lady, she's a girl!"

Oh, Kindergarten. The things you hear! Today, a student thought we said grow when we actually meant glow (regarding glow-in-the-dark beads). This resulted in, "But what happens when the beads grow up?!" Too. Cute.
Unfortunately I didn't have too many more activities than yesterday because my student went home early as he was sick. Hopefully tomorrow he's feeling better! 
Tonight the girls I'm staying with and myself were talking to our host, who is actually one of the principals at the school. We got into a conversation about how to adjust for cultural differences and how it would work best to involve parents more in their child's education.
After a while, we started to talk about the future for some of these kids. While many are likely legal residents (the school cannot ask for this information legally, so they do not know students' status), there are some undocumented students everywhere. While these students can do great in school and graduate at the top of their class, that is the end of the road for them. You can't go to college without a social security number. In our current world, it's difficult to have an economically stable life without having a college diploma. "The cure to cancer could be walking down our halls." But currently there is nothing they can do about it.
I'll be honest, I don't keep up on politics at all. But I know of the Dream Act and can only hope this will be passed in the near future. For a country that wants desperately to be at the top, our education system is not fighting hard enough. 
"The cure to cancer could be walking down our halls." This is why I'm going to be an ESL teacher. If I come out of this field experience with nothing more than that, I will have had a fantastic experience.

Kindergarten!

Today was absolutely fantastic! I am worn out and ready for a nap (which I can't take due to homework), but I feel great. I'm starting to have second thoughts about only wanting to teach secondary. Kindergarden is fun!
I did a lot of observation today, but I also was involved in the classroom. I helped a group of students finish a reading worksheet as they missed class last Friday. I also helped students with a measuring activity (Kindergardeners really have no concept of this!). 
I listened to my particular student read a little. This was nice to get a better feel for what his strengths are and where he struggles. He is great with sight words and also is good at sounding out words. He did mix up sounds often, however. I hope this is something we can work on this week. 
All of the students today were very well-behaved and eager to participate in class. I also received several hugs and compliments throughout the day from the students. What a confidence boost! :)
I'm eager to get working more with my student this week. It's going to be a good one!

Level III!

Here I am, writing and waiting [im]patiently to leave for Latimer for my field experience. I'm currently going through some pre-travel jitters! (Do those exist for anyone else?) I am terrible at packing, and every five minutes I realize I forgot something (which is especially not good as I no longer have room in my suitcase)!
I am planning on blogging every day this week . . . someone should bribe me with candy or something so I actually accomplish this. ;)
I'm eager to get started working with my student, but definitely nervous at the same time! I have no experience with a five-year-old, so this will be quite the learning experience. I feel a little better about this though, as a classmate will also be working in the Kindergarten classroom with me. We have our lessons prepared and ready to go, but our first day tomorrow we will still be winging it. 
Anywho, time to make dinner and double triple-check the suitcase.