Exploring the Kindergarten Classroom

I chose to explore the Pre-K and Kindergarten Classroom.

The first thing that I noticed about this classroom is the organization. This classroom is neatly organized into different centers for math, reading, writing, science, computer, and audio centers. The books in the classroom all organized by categories and levels. All of the baskets are organized and labeled so that the children and teachers can easily identify what they are reading. The walls are covered in different posters and acitvities pertaining to mainly literacy and reading. There are posters everywhere pertaining to letters and numbers. This is an especially great setup for a classroom because it allows the children to always be learning. Having visual images all over the classroom to help develop children's learning is an important aspect to an effective classroom.

One specific aspect of the classroom that I particularly loved was the activity "Playing with Letters" that  allowed children to participate in a sensory activity like fishing for the capitol letters. I  also found it important that she allows the children to label the different things around the classroom themselves, like the sign hung up at the water table. I actually work in a Pre-K classroom and they have a similar activity with sand and the children really seem to enjoy it. Searching for the letters in the sand gives the activity an extra aspect that really engages the students and encourages their learning without them necessarily even realizing it. 

The Log Hotel activity was another great activity set up in the classroom. The use of props to discuss the science text is a great method to use with children of that age. The "story glove" that prompts the students and keeps them on track at the center is a great method to keep the students engaged and learning while participating in this activity. 

I also loved the computer station that was set up for children who may not get engaged with typical reading books like other children would as well as the listening center. It is important to connect with all types of students. Not all children are the same type of readers or learn in the same way so it is essential to have variety of methods throughout your classroom to accommodate all students. The Starfall computer program was a great alternative way to learn about letter sounds other than simply hearing your teacher teach it to you. 

This Kindergarten classroom was very well organized and set up in a way that really engages the students and encourages constant learning. 

Memory of Language Arts

Throughout my education career I have always had language arts. My memories of it really vary but one thing that always stood out was the "reading diaries" that we kept. From grades 1 to 8 I remember keeping what we called a "reading diary" where we would complete all of our work regarding our language arts activities. We would write reflections each night about the chapter or section that we had read that day and reflect upon things like the characters actions and choices, the settings, the plot twists, and other things like that. This was something that I really enjoyed to do as I liked to be able to reflect and discuss the novels as it made it come alive to me. This was one thing that always stood out regarding language arts throughout my own elementary education.