October 28th

I had fun doing art today. I am glad I was able to mix up the regular art I had been doing and include a sensory experience that the children were able to help make too. Michael was really into it as always and Wyatt seemed to be interested with it too. Michael told me that the mixture of blue water, oil, and a ton of green glitter reminded him of a frog. It was cool to see that the experience triggered those memories or associations. He also told me to put food in it, so I could tell he wanted to expand upon the experience with his own ideas. When the second group came around, it seemed to me that the plain water sitting out caught everyones attention. While Joey did not last long, Drew stayed a pretty long time and stirred the mixture and examined it. My favorite was Gavin who stayed the entire time. I know when I interviewed his mom she said that he has trouble focusing on anything for more than a few minutes. Once Gavin was engaged, he was there for the entire 15 minute art slot. He got up from his chair at one point, and I thought he was done, but he sat down at the chair next to him and started looking at that container of water. Whenever we had to clean up for song, he would not get up until the art was taken away. I was happy to have found an interactive activity that he was drawn to for so long. I made sure his mom knew about it when she picked him up today.

October 27th

As I was setting up art today, I felt like I had way too much paper included in my lesson plan. The lesson plan called for 30 pieces of paper and tin foil. I felt like that was a little much (I don't really know what I was thinking when I made it that way), so I put 10 pieces of the regular paper, and used a few sheets less of construction paper and tin foil than I had planned. It worked out though, because I found that the construction paper allowed the color of the doppers to bleed better than the regular paper the first round. The second round, I put out construction paper first, then gave children tin foil if they wanted. My favorite interaction with art was Bodhi today. When he came in and sat down, he said he did not want to get his hands messy. I told him to start with the doppers because those would not get his hands messy. As he did that, he got move engaged, and was excited to use the water dropper as well. He even used a piece of tin foil after he was done with the construction paper. He stayed the whole time, and was worried we would not keep his work as we were leaving for group. I reassured him that we would. I was happy that he became involved in the activity despite his worry of getting messy, and ended up staying the longest. In hindsight, I would have put newspaper down on the table because the dopper ink mixed with the water bled everywhere and stained the table.

October 25th

Today we didn't have a chance to do art due to trick or treating, but I can just recycle that lesson plan for some other time. I feel that yesterday went well. Having only 4 children yesterday worked out well because there was one child per teacher and I was able to spread myself out between children a little more being the 5th. I was actually really surprised by Gavin yesterday. I was not sure if the leaves would really do anything for him. He notices leaves outside if I bring one over and hold it in front of his face. He normally tries to take it from me, so I hold it tight and he rips off little pieces one at a time. He was actually my inspiration for the art. I was happy he held his attention as long as he did. I dropped some leaves in front of him and let them float down, along with crinkling them near his ear and that all seemed to catch his attention. After he left, I helped Michael glue and tried some of the same sensory tactics as I did with Gavin. Looking back, I probably would have taken out the glue and just allowed the children to freely explore the leaves. I feel like most of the activities I make up involve glue, so it is beginning to become too repetitive. Also, I probably should have planned the activity for when the leaves were freshly fallen from the trees. I planned on pointing out the different colors of the leaves for the children, but the only leaves I could really find were all brown instead of multi-colored like I had planned.

October 21st

   Overall, I feel that this week went really well for me with art. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to switch the trick or treat bag activity in for the bingo dopper/water activity. I'm glad I did the trick or treat bag activity for several reasons. First, it will be just in time for trick or treat on tuesday. Second, I was able to modify it for the better (I feel) because I had the last activity from tuesday with the gluing and coloring scarecrows fresh in my head. On tuesday, I saw that the children went straight for the glue, and I wanted them to color a little first before they used the glue. If any of the children tried to color after using the glue, it never turned out good because the glue was too wet. My solution was to hide the glue and tissue paper for a few minutes and bring it out as a "surprise" for the children. I feel that this worked well, and that the overall project was a success. The only thing I would have changed would have been to have the children open the bags while they were still wet so that the bottoms were not stuck to the rest of the bag while the bag was still folded.
   I actually feel like today went well too. All of the children seemed really interested in the sensory experience that the tin foil provided, and their responses ranged depending on the child. For instance, Michael stayed at the table during the whole time we had for art playing with the tin foil. He used the scissors a lot, and I helped him hold the regular scissors. Towards the end of our time, Michael said he had an idea. I asked him what it was, and he told me he was going to make a tractor. I prompted him with questions like, what do we need to make a tractor? He responded wheels, so I asked him how many. Gavin was also very engrossed in the art. The tin foil instantly caught his attention and he stayed in his seat and remained engaged for a lot longer that I thought he would. He explored the foil, shook it, and I helped him rip it. I am glad that he was able to be so engaged in my art lesson.

October 18th

I feel like my first couple days of leading art went really well. Especially yesterday. All the children seemed to be engaged with the playdoh and some of the children really surprised me. For instance, Joey stayed at his seat the entire time we had art and never once tried to get up. I was happy that the activity was able to hold his attention the entire time. I have seen this before, but the pasta roller might be the biggest hit of the entire activity. The children loved using it, and I sometimes had to get them to take turns because multiple children wanted to use it at the same time.

I felt like today was good too. It was a little harder to manage groups of 4 and 5 opposed to groups of 2 and 3, but the typical children seemed to like the activity. Observing what they were doing for the most part, I think that the first group was much more interested in the glue than anything else. Some of the children would pile on the glue, and not stick anything to it. Looking back, I think that glue sticks weren't the best idea because they kept coming apart or just didn't really work. I was also really pleased with how many of the children used the scissors. I had not really observed the children using scissors too much before, and I wasn't sure how that process would go. The first group used them a lot, and the second group used them before I could even tell the children to cut the hay. The only downside was that the second group seemed to be more interested in cutting the hay than anything else. However, it was a good process for them to practice with scissors and glue, and thus far I have been pleased with the way that everything is going.

10-13-11

Today was my last day leading song for awhile. Looking back, I think I have gotten a lot better at leading the group than I was at the beginning. There are so many random little things to remember that are still important nonetheless. Fortunately, after doing this for a couple weeks, the repetition finally helped me get almost everything right. I saw a lot of differences between leading the group of 10 students opposed to the group of just 5 students. When there was only 5 students who are nonverbal, I felt like I was pretty much singing alone up there with a couple of the teachers helping me, however it was fun to try different things to get them involved.  A benefit to the 5 children group was that it was definitely a lot easier to manage. With the 10 group, a lot of the children were more involved, so it definitely was fun to lead the group when you saw some singing along or being engaged. One thing I would change if I was leading song next week would probably to add a visual or something to involve the children more with Oats and Beans and Barley. Monday it was kind of a dud, and I really wanted to see how Thursday would go with the whole group. I added the part with clapping our hands because I felt like it would be able to help the children stay more involved. It helped to a degree with keeping the children involved, but that is something for me to look at next time I try to do a song like that when I am leading.

Oct 7

I agree that songs went well. There can be many factors like the ones you mention that made group more successful. I also really like Wyatt new seat, because it gives him room if needed to get up. Joey can see better which will help his engagement. Michael seems to be adjusting well to his new seat. I think it also helps control his impulse during weather to be further away. All the children are also now maturing into the routine. Don't stress about the little things that got you fluster like weather in the box or not collecting the pictures the for story. Those things can be easily fix. Usually, you just make the mistake once and it never happens again. Just like how you remember to collect the pictures at song today. Thanks for taking care of the transitions. You did a good job sticking to the schedule. See you Monday and good luck on being more efficient in setting up in the morning!

October 7

I felt like today at music went very well. None of the children seemed to be upset when we came in. They also remained in their seats. It probably had to do with some of them just being changed out of wet clothes from the art activity today, as well as being able to spend a longer amount of time outside without an extra transition between playground and songs. Or maybe it was because the water activity soothed them. Regardless of the reason, it helped everything go smoothly. I took off a couple of the songs so that we had 5 songs for 5 children. Today, I simply went from my right to left when picking children to choose a song. A saw a few extra children doing the motions who normally don't. Michael was vocal, but not disruptive. I feel like I am really into a rhythm with song group. Song definitely went better today than story group went. Obviously I had never done it before, and was a little under prepared and messed up with a few things (like having Michael put the cloudy visual up on the window instead of the "No" box). Although, I don't think story group was particularly bad either, I just felt like I kept forgetting or leaving things out. It kind of made me realize that I spend so much time worrying about executing the things we do in group, interacting with the children, being animated, timing, and everything else, I get a little flustered and end up making little mistakes like the ones I made today and the ones I made over the past couple weeks in song. Today for song, I felt like I had enough of a hold on the routine that I was able to freely think and keep a flow to the whole thing, so I just think all these things take time to get down and feel confident about it. I've seen that confidence is also very important when leading groups like this. See everyone Monday!

10-6-11

Today, we were missing a couple of children (Joey and Max). Only having 8, it was a little easier to set up the room to where everyone could see. I wanted to try sitting down cross-legged today because I am not sure some of the children on the far left are able to see very well with me kneeling. Sitting down actually worked really well because I feel like I was able to be more animated (because I was not focusing on staying balanced like I do when I am kneeling), I was on the children's level, and I could still get up and move if I needed to. I feel like most of the children were engaged in the songs today, especially as time went on. I think adding the visual book for "Down on Grandpa's Farm" was a great tool, and helped the engagement levels of the children. I also like the new set up of the room with the children's new seating arrangements. It seemed to have a good overall flow to it that was reflected in group time in general. One thing I keep messing up on is I am so focused on trying to remember the sign language for all the letters of the alphabet (because I do not know much sign language), I keep forgetting to push the buttons on the screen to change the letters. Other than that though, I felt like the last few days have run very well with group. See you tomorrow.

group leader

After group today, Amy & I tested which side the group leader should be on. I did this because I knew Joey had a hard time seeing the computer screen. The group leader should be closest to the window that way they are not blocking the computer. I think this will help future groups.

9-3-11

Today was my first day of leading song during week 2. I added in Old McDonald and Down on Grandpa's farm and took out Wheels on the Bus. I wanted to keep with the farm/fall theme so I added those songs. In the interest of time and only having 5 children, I skipped the Tiny Turtle song and Shake your Sillies Out. I think I am doing better about knowing when to pick each child. Something I did different today was sitting on my knees and not on a chair. It was kind of uncomfortable for me, but I was able to move and be engaged a lot easier. I'm considering sitting cross-legged on the ground too so I do not block anyones view. Tomorrow Judy observes me, so hopefully everything goes well. See you tomorrow.

Monday songs

If we are going to keep, "Down on Grandpa's Farm" we need to either have a visual with the animals or hand motions or props. I think it was hard for Wyatt to stay in his seat for this song. Gavin loved patting his knees along with his teacher. I might suggest moving to the other side of the computer song so Gavin could have had a better view. Always play it by ear, which side for you to be one is the best view for the children in the group to see. Think about this when you setting up the chairs.