Administrative Tasks

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Administrative Tasks

Thursday, September 15th & Friday, September 16th, 2016

Day 1 & 2 - Observation/ getting involved

The life of a Teacher/ECE in a Kindergarten classroom is hectic to say the least, as so much is going on in such a short period of time. I offered my assistance in an activity the Early Childhood Educator put together based on the children’s book ‘The Kissing Hand’. I was able to type up poems and print them out. The teacher allowed me to sit with the JK/SKs and help them put together a little card for their parents. I was able to assist and guide them in gluing down the poem, offering my opinions on how to decorate them and lastly spreading some paint on one of their hands to make a handprint as a keepsake.

Materials Used:

Red paint
Scissors
Glue
Glitter
Stickers
Poems
Foam Hearts

The Kissing Hand Activity

Focused on showing the children that although their loved ones- such as parents, guardians, and pets are not with them at school, they know that they will always come back and be there for them no matter what.

When I do not complete a program plan/learning experience for the children, this page is the place to view! Administrative Tasks will consist of important things I am responsible for completing within the classroom for both the teacher or my field supervisor. Examples can include; decorating bulletin boards, filing/paperwork, assisting in putting together lesson plans for the teacher to implement, attending workshops, etc.

St. Margaret Mary Catholic Elementary School

Honouring

TERRY FOX!

A Single Dream.

A World of Hope.

All About Terry...

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.

While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope

He ran close to 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario. However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs.

Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at the age 22.

The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning.

To date, over $650 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.

Day 6 - Setting up/ decorating the classroom

Friday, September 30th, 2016

Today was a very busy day in our Kindergarten classroom. I had an activity planned, however I did not get to implementing it due to the day’s busy schedule. Although I did not get to implement my activity however, I engaged in a lot of prep planning for the teacher and took part in helping my field supervisor with various tasks in the classroom that had to be finished. From laminating and cutting various lesson activities, to gluing and hanging up various artwork around the classroom and participating in different fall-themed activities that educators needed help finishing off.

Completion of Task-

Prepping teacher’s lesson materials laminating & cutting
Gluing, Taping & hanging up various children’s artwork around the classroom
Assisting in finishing off artwork of children who hadn’t yet finished specific requirements

Materials Used:

Glue
Scissors
Construction Paper
Laminating Sheets
Permanent Markers

Day 10 - Recreating The Dramatic Center

Thursday, October 6th, 2016

Today my field supervisor was absent, so I was given more tasks/responsibility than usual. I completed typically daily tasks that she would complete such as; unstacking chairs in the morning, setting up morning routine activities, collecting their communication bags/library books, leading them in O Canada, morning prayer, leading them to gym, library and getting them all ready for outdoor play at lunch. Amongst all these important tasks that are required to make the day flow smoothly, one of the main tasks I completed was transforming the dramatic center into a mini farmer’s market.

The purpose of creating the farmer’s market is to encourage the children to become knowledgeable about the different foods that are available to buy at a farmer's market, learning how to read different signs for each food item, understanding how to read money value of different foods and learning to follow simple instructions on how to make different flavor pies.

I will be transforming the dramatic centre into a mini famer’s market. In response to my purpose, I am planning on getting the children excited about learning about different pies you can make using different ingredients such as; apples, oranges, cherries, blueberries, grapes and encouraged them to use their imagination to make their own flavors. The idea of the experience is to allow the children to broadcast their imagination and simply to have fun interacting with their peers.

My Role

Materials Used:

Various Colored Pom Poms
Laminator/ Laminator Sheets
Various Colored Construction Paper
Baskets
Scissors
Printed out Signs
Glue
Cloths
Mini Fake Pots
Jars to ‘hold ingredients’
Mini Betty Crocker Spoons

Completion of Task-

I had to create and find premade signs online of foods, pies, etc
I had to print and laminate all the signs
I had to cut and tape all the different signs on the wall and all throughout the dramatic area to create a label rich environment
I had to take all the materials that the teacher bought and display them in different spots according to the labels

Day 11 - Apple Orchard Field Trip

Friday, October 7th, 2016

Today all the Kindergarten classrooms went on a field trip to Albion Hills Apple Orchard. Over the past couple of weeks, the teacher and ECE have been following the fall theme of using the concept of apples in various centers throughout the class. This field trip gave the children an opportunity to use their critical thinking skills of what they learned contextually in class through stories, circle time discussions and hands-on experiences; and sharing what they have learned with the apple farmers. The children were able to apply their acquired information to their outdoor learning environment! Throughout this trip, although I did not count in ratio- I was an extra set of eyes and hands in making sure the trip ran smoothly.

Acting as an extra set of hands and eyes, I was able to interact with all the children on an individual basis. I was able to travel from group to group and ask the children different questions of things they learnt so far and test them on the different things the apple farmers spoke about. By doing this, I am not only encouraging the children to practice their literacy skills by narrating different parts of their day; I am positively interacting with the children and their parents while engaging in meaningful conversation.

My Role

Completion of Task

Helping to get the children ready in the morning, placing on their name tags, assisting with their jackets and boots
Lining up the children by assigned groups given by teacher and ECE
Helping in getting the children onto and off the school bus
Always supervising the children as we are walking through the apple orchard
Interacting/engaging positively with all the children, parents and my field supervisor

Snapshots of our Field Trip!

The children had an amazing time as they were able to pick apples, pet some animals in their mini zoo & play in the apple orchard's outdoor playground!

Day 15 - Decorating bulletin boards

Friday, October 21st, 2016

Today my plan was to create Halloween themed playdough as a group learning experience; since there was a lot of other plans scheduled throughout the day; I wasn’t able to complete it. My task today was taking down all the bulletin’s boards in the classroom of the children’s artwork from September/ early October and begin to hang up more updated artwork. In addition, the classroom has to start to be transformed into a more updated outlook into what the children have been accomplishing; as parent-teacher interviews are around the corner for the first half of the year. I was able to create the four different boards based off a certain theme. For example; my field supervisor and I decided that the outside board could be turned into a documentation board; made for parents, another one could be for science inquiry, the third one for artwork and the last one could be left for anything.

My Role

By taking down all the artwork on the bulletin boards in a timely manner, I am able to place all the children’s old work into their individual “yearly progress binders” and put up their new pieces of art. It is important for educators to continue to hang up children’s artwork around the classroom at their eye level; so that they can learn to feel a sense of pride about their own work.

Completion of Task

Taking all children’s previous artwork down off the boards
Taking off the decorative borders and other pieces
Packaging up the borders, etc for the teacher to store away in her cabinet for next year
Putting together the new artwork to put up, by putting their names on the back
Make the Bubble Letter title the teacher requested and hang that up first
Next, hang up all the artwork & continue to do so for all 4 bulletin boards

Day 19 - Implementing handprint poppy art

Friday, November 4th, 2016

Today the teacher and ECE began to introduce ‘Remembrance Day’ and what it entails. My field supervisor had a plan in mind to begin creating handprint poppy crafts; however, she needed to continue working one of one with the children and test their knowledge on alphabet letters. She showed me a picture and I began by getting all the materials I think I would need. This activity would allow the children to create their own poppy, learn the reason behind the importance of poppy’s and practice writing out words in which symbolize what remembrance is all about- ex; peace, love, respect.

Completion of Task

Set-up the table with red paint, paint brushes and small paper plates to hold the paint
Invite the children one-by-one to dip their hand in paint and create four handprints in a certain design
Once the paint is dry, each child will continue to make their stem, grass and practice writing out a word of their choice

My Role

lOVE, PEACE & RESPECT

"In Flander's Fields"

In Flander's Field the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravly singing, fly.

Day 22 - fOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF AN ece

Thursday, November 17th, 2016

My field supervisor was away so I was given a list of several tasks she wanted me to complete in her absence. I basically had to guide the supply ECE in how the flow of our class schedule goes and help me get to know each of the children better. Some major tasks I completed included; filing documentation in the children’s binders for the classroom teacher, lead the children in morning circle and afternoon circle and put up different pictures of alphabet letters around the classroom.

My Role

By completing this activity, I will be given the opportunity to take on several different tasks at once and be in the role of an ECE. Although I always shadow the different duties of my field supervisor, I was able to take the same daily routine and run it myself.

The children made little leaf people as a craft that I implemeted and then I was able to decorate a bulletin board outside of the classroom!

Completion of Task

Filing all the children’s documentation in their own progress binders
Implement both morning and after circle time by grasping their attention, singing songs, and talk about whatever the teacher told me too implement at that time
Hang up the alphabet around the room in a timely and efficient manner to create a print-rich environment for all the children

Day 25 - creating "Santa's workshop"

Monday, November 28th, 2016

Today I was given the responsibility of decorating the classroom for Christmas and designing the dramatic center into “Santa’s Workshop”. Tasks included decorating the door, hanging items from the ceiling, and designing the dramatic center from scratch as to how I wanted it to look like. The Kindergartners absolutely love playing in the dramatic center, and I love creating new opportunities for the children to do so; so putting me in the role was a great match.

The design of Santa’s Workshop within our classroom setting will encourage children to use their imagination in taking on different roles such as; Santa, Mrs. Claus, elf’s, toy makers etc. The children will have the opportunity in pretending to bake Christmas cookies, decorate a Christmas tree, sell& sort Christmas toys and best of all wrap presents so Santa can deliver them to different boys and girls. In addition, the classroom Elf (elf on the shelf) named Cookie will be ‘watching’ all of us and reporting back to Santa.

My Role

Transforming the classroom and dramatic center into a Santa’s workshop; in which will allow the children to express their imagination and creativity at this favorable, exciting time of the year. The children will be able to interact with their peers through different types of play; solitary, parallel, cooperative and take on different important roles in order for the workshop to run properly.

Completion of Task

Create and laminate Christmas signs
Hang decorations on classroom door, ceiling and around the room
Tape several of the children’s Christmas artwork all around the room and display them outside the classroom as well
Overall goal was to create an authentic and rich environment for the children to have a great time in