Experiencing Group

First of all, I would like to start off my saying that I honestly enjoyed working with my group, all of us were constantly on the same page, we all had very creative ideas, we all worked well together, which resulted in a very successful presentation! (If I do say so myself, haha!)

Now, all of the other groups had great presentations....but in any project, there were certain things that I noticed some people needed to work on to enhance their presentation. 

(These are just my own personal thoughts and opinions)

1. Always speak to your audience! Not towards the wall, not towards your peers in the presentation, not the floor, and not just the teacher. Remember, opening your body up (ie: standing with good posture, facing the room) will enhance your speaking voice as well as aid you in "owning" the room.

2. Please, please please PRACTICE your presentation. Or at least make sure you KNOW the information that you are presenting. The better acquainted you are with the main objective of the presentation, the better informed your audience will be! 

3. This was mentioned in class, but make sure that your voice tone is appropriate for the presentation. Don't be so comfortable with your stage presence that you're speaking as if it were a normal conversation with a classmate. On the other hand, don't be so nervous that you can barely speak...it's OKAY, we all have to present!

4. These are just "no-no's"...

No gum.

No "umm".

No "you know?"

No fidgeting.

No looking aimlessly around/at the floor/etc.

No slacking (it's a group presentation, meaning, work WITH your group!)

All in all, I think our whole class did a really great job, and I personally thought it was a fun experience. I usually like to be in charge, I have A-type personality :) but it was honestly a fun time and I was very proud of our work! Thanks to all of my group members! And congratulations to the rest of the class!!

My Cloodle!!

PowerPoint (Terrific) !!

When the new assignment was given, I was completely against it from the start. I've always disliked PowerPoint presentations all throughout my school career, and in all honesty, I do not intend to use PowerPoint to teach any of my students in the future. Mr. Smith explained that we were in total control of our grade level, lesson plan, and objectives, as long as we followed the education curriculum. In some sense, I was excited, just because creating a PowerPoint can be very creative, and I was driven to make it as FUN as I possibly could.

Being an Early Childhood Education major, I chose Kindergarten for my grade level, and reading for the curriculum. Basically, I expected my students to previously know their alphabet, be able to sing the alphabet song, recognize the letters of the alphabet, and have slight knowledge on constructing the letters, as well. 

In my future classroom there are a few things that I already know I will be implementing on a daily basis, such as repetitive classroom goals. Each and every day, with each and every assignment, I will ask my students "What's our Focus?" and then guide them to understand what we will be covering.

 

I will also make sure the students know what materials will be needed for each classroom activity for each particular "focus." 

At the conclusion of an activity, my students will also be able to recognize the 'At-Home Checklist'. I plan on sending agenda's home with my students daily, for their parents to follow along and keep up with what their children are learning. I may write special notes to certain parents, or place reminders, etc. and then I expect my students to return the next day with the agenda signed and dated. They will also be asked to do five things concluding an assignment:

Practice 

Share 

Review 

Do 

Explore

I had a lot of fun while making my presentation, I was able to use a lot of clip art, 

animations, and colors! I used very little words, considering my age group, and presented the focus using large letters of the alphabet. We covered letters A-E (for that particular lesson plan). Then once the slide show was complete, the students had the chance to be active and enjoy a 'scavenger hunt' around the classroom of different items beginning with the letters A-E. Once every child had returned to their seat, we evaluated what we had found during the scavenger hunt, and then went on to the conclusion of the PowerPoint, which assigned everything that they needed to do for homework. If I were to do another PowerPoint presentation, I would possibly include games on the actual slide show, and let the children be interactive that way.

I'm very proud of my slide show, I think it shows my passion for teaching, and clearly shows my personality as an individual. I also think that if it were to be presented in an actual Kindergarten classroom, that the students would not only be able to follow along, but also understand and enjoy the lesson plan.

I enjoyed presenting to my peers, I really don't have a fear of presentations, so it was fun to show off my hard work! I also enjoyed watching my peers PowerPoints because of all the differences in ideas, set-up, and so on. All in all, I enjoyed this lesson and definitely learned a thing or two!!

Now for the after effects....

Will I ever use PowerPoint in my classroom?

Will I ever recommend using PowerPoint in a classroom?

The answer to both would be yes! As long as teachers stray away from the boring lecture type of presentations, and include more interactive games/activities, I think that PowerPoint can truly be an effective tool. I would recommend it for older grades, considering younger children cannot read as much, nor focus as long, but I would still occasionally implement a presentation or two in my own classroom regardless of age.

Domains of Childhood Development

Physical

This domain refers to the development of physical skills, known as 'motor skills.' Motor skills give children the ability to make purposeful movements and learn the physical characteristics of self and the environment. It is through physical development that children develop gross movements, fine controls, hand-eye coordination, balance, and kin aesthetic sense. This developmental domain is strongly affected by the child' individual opportunities to practice, observe, and be instructed on fine and gross motor skills. 

Social/Emotional

This domain refers to the development of a child's ability to play with others, understand the expression of emotions, form attachments, and handle peer pressure. It gives children the capacity to understand the feelings of themselves and others. A child's temperament plays a major role in their ability to develop socially and emotionally. Social interaction demands that children are able to cooperate, follow directions, have moral reasoning, and self-control. Social and emotional development gives children the capacity to understand the feelings of others and how to control and understand their own.

Cognitive

This domain refers to the child's creative and intellectual development. Intellectual development refers to the capability to process thoughts, hold adequate attention, remember events, understand the environment, and the capability to plan, predict, evaluate, and regulate any given task or situation experienced. Creative development refers to the outcome of intelligence acquired as well as events experienced and imagination applied constructively in academic and everyday knowledge. 

Language/Communication

This domain refers to several essential components of development. Language development and effective communication capabilities are highly dependent on other developmental domains. Communication capability includes a wide range of social behaviors and skills. Effective verbal ability is dependent on phonology, semantics, syntax, thought processing, and pragmatic abilities.

Understanding these developmental domains and how to educate our students to aid in their personal development within these domains is extremely important. 

Two More for the Roll

As a current student studying 'Early Childhood Education', one of my strongest beliefs is the fact that young children learn best through play. Think about it. Would you rather write a short story on your own, or use costumes and props to act out your own story within a group?

Children learn when they are actively engaged in an activity, therefore, over the next few years I will be collecting as many new ideas and suggestions for lesson plans that incorporates fun, interaction, and nothing but smiles across my students' faces.

I've added quite a few new blogs to my blog roll, all of which entertain the idea of 'play' being the key for teaching young children. Some of the blogs are more helpful for the classroom, whereas others are going to help me out at home with my own daughter (and future children!) Each of the blogs I've added are centralized around different themes: outdoors, science, arts and crafts, active play, pretend play, and parenting tips.

The first blog I'll be sharing with you struck my interest not only for the interesting activities, but the FREE downloads, worksheets, lesson plans, and so on. As a future teacher, I know that this site will come in very handy. I've checked out a few of the different links and posts, and I just enjoy the fact that it's full coverage for whatever the topic may be. Not only is the subject matter discussed, it is also put into terms for children to understand, as well as including multiple games, activities, worksheets, and so on. I strongly suggest you check it out and perhaps add it to your own blog roll if you're in the education field (or even if you have children of your own at home!)

Itsy Bitsy Learners





The second blog that I'll be sharing with all of you focuses greatly on the importance of play. There are so many great ideas for physical activities, nature focused activities, indoor activities, and ALL OF THEM include some form of play. I decided to read about the 'Picnic in the Dirt Patch' which is directed towards young children (Pre-K - first grade.) It's a very simple idea for a lesson; place a blanket on the ground, invite the students to a 'picnic', bring along different dishes (cupcake pans, boiling pots, juice containers, cups, coffee mugs, etc) and let the children explore their surroundings for 'ingredients'. This gives the children the chance to explore nature and enjoy hands on play with dirt, mud, leaves, straw, mud, water, rocks, etc. Once the children start experimenting with all of their 'picnic foods' the blogger suggests getting the group to talk about their findings, their creations, and so on. It's just a great idea, very simple, very inexpensive, and ends up teaching your children a lot! This is another blog that I hope you decide to check out, particularly if you're in the education field of young children!

Let the Children Play




ENJOY :-)

My Beliefs about Technology and Learning

Technology in today's society has a variety of positive and negative attributes. I believe that it is important for one to understand technology to a certain degree, and I also believe that it is important to at least stay updated with what is current. On the other hand, some people rely on technology way too often, and I worry that some day in the future, everything will be based on nothing BUT technology!

There are plenty of positves though, which I will list below.

Successes:
-Communication between relatives/friends/co-workers
-Capablility to be used for educational things...
*White Board
*Blogging
*Lap Tops
*College Websites (D2L, LiveText, etc.)
*Games for young children
*Apps for toddlers-children
-A great way to keep informed about the real world (Whether your interests be the news, famous red carpet gossip, the latest restaurants, the most trendy clothing, etc.)
-It's a great tool for young children lately. (My two year old daughter is capable of playing MANY games--educationa ones--through a few different websites!!)
-It makes shopping easier for people of all ages!


There aren't many negative dealing with technology, but the few that have come to mind will be listed below.

Downfalls:
-Difficult to understand for some people
-It is relied on VERY heavily, the fear of technology completely taking over
-Basic technology errors...
*Crash
*Viruses
*Loss of information
*Back-up unavailable
-Cost! Big bucks for the latest technology $$$



So, all in all, I believe that technology is very important and crucial in any field of study or career. Everyone should at least be introduced to the simple technological updates and be familiar with common sources of technology!

I believe if I can stimulate the mind children, they will learn; if I guide the hearts of children, they will succeed.

By nature, children are always mentally active in seeking to understand the world surrounding them.  I will grasp onto this concept and use as many different teaching strategies possible to stimulate my students’ minds.  Most children construct their knowledge and understanding of the world in their own experiences.  Through scaffolding, my students will learn the concept at hand, venture off into their own understanding, and then I will guide them back to observing and reflecting on their findings.  I believe that children learn when they are intrigued and they retain that knowledge through guidance of an effective facilitator.