Alissa Peterson: Blog II

I believe I have gotten better at lesson planning and incorporating art into the classroom. I have always been able to lesson plan but the more practice you have of course the better you will get so it is very nice to have this extra experience. I think I have also grown to know what children like to do best and what really keeps their attention, more of visual art and not music and movement.

I have really made strong connections with a lot of the children. When I have been in there in the past, I was being graded as a part of my classes so I had to be the teacher and not just observe and teach art, a lot of what I had to do was more structured but now with bring all art activities in, the children really open up and see to enjoy them. I have gotten to know a lot of the children on a more personal level and not just as a teacher which has been nice. It has also been nice to see how the children have grown since I had them last semester for my class.

A lot of the children remembered me from before so that always is nice. Another thing that has really made me happy is how excited the children are when I bring out the art project for the week. They do a lot of other art throughout the week, but my art does not usually relate to their theme, so it is more of a free time art than anything else. Some of the children really enjoy the art projects that I bring in and they open up and have very different conversations about what they are doing.

I would like to create a few harder lesson plans for the end of the semester. It is kind of hard to find something that will be a challenge but not too hard since all the children are at different places, but I am interested to see. I think it will be interesting to see how much they improve in just a semester so I am excited to see that as well by bringing in something challenging.

Alissa Peterson: Blog I

What is your teaching experience so far?

So far, my teaching experience has just been more of observation in the classroom. This was my first week in the class, so I did not plan a lesson because I wanted to see how the classrooms were run before I brought something in. I have previously worked in the Why room (3-year-old) and I am excited to be back in the classroom.

What are you looking forward to about the class you will be teaching?

I am excited to bring art into their classroom more and plan some fun activities that will incorporate art. I am excited to be in these classrooms because it is the age group I would like to work with at some point, so it is great to get my feet into the water. I am also excited that I can bring music and movement into the classroom and not just visual art. I think both are very important.

What do you hope to learn/gain from this experience?

I hope to gain more knowledge about bringing art into the classroom and the difference between 3 and 4-year old’s when it comes to art. I am also interested in seeing their abilities and fine motor skills that are different between the two classrooms. It will be interesting to see the differences in just a one year span.