K/1 @ Silver Creek

Welcome to a new year! At just a week into the new school year, I have been very fortunate to already work 2.5 days at a Teacher on Call (TOC). I love my TOC experiences because I get to teach all different grade levels, meet tons of kids, and see some really wonderful classroom environments created by amazing teachers. Here's what I have been up to so far this year in my 1.5 days teaching K/1 at Silver Creek!

September 7 - Kindergarten/Grade One at Silver Creek Elementary School

I got called to come in to this K/1 class because the teacher was doing Kindergarten interviews. It was a really small group of grade ones (who I taught several times last year when they were kindies) and it was so neat to see how much they matured over the summer!

The teacher had a fantastic day plan (LOVE IT!) and the kids were great! We did tons of fun activities, some great team building things (can you say giant marble works tower), and generally had a great day.

For me the biggest thing was the huge change in maturity. I read them a pretty lengthy story (something that would not have worked at all when I was in for them in K last year) and they were ALL paying attention! The story had some tough words, but they were right there with me. It was such a cool experience. It was a great way to kick off the school year!

September 11 - Kindergarten/Grade One at Silver Creek Elementary School

On September 11 I was back in the K/1 class at Silver Creek, but just for the afternoon. The teacher is pregnant, and I have several days upcoming when she has various appointments. This day was different in that I had the regular batch of Grade 1s, but I also had three new Ks.

The school has a gradual entry program where 6 Ks came Monday/Wednesday, and 3 Ks came Tuesday/Thursday. I had the Tuesday group, and it was FASCINATING how the classroom dynamics changed. It was a more challenging day than what I had on Friday, and the 1s were not quite as mature as they had been just four days before. I think it must be the adjustment period!

It was another great day, and while it tested my classroom management a bit more, it gave me good experience with students who were brand new to school (it was, after all, the very first afternoon of full day kindergarten for three of the students).

My next booked day in the K/1 class is not until October 1, so it will be really interesting to see how the students have grown and changed once again!