2nd weekly reflection

 As this was my second week of senior project, I felt a lot more comfterable in my overall role as a TA. I was downstairs and split between the two classrooms for most of the week. Even though the kids downstairs don't do projects or worksheets, I could still find ways to interact with them, whether that were sitting on the floor and playing with them or eating snacks with them around the table. They seemed to enjoy my presence. Obviously, at the 1-2 year old, they are not as verbal as the 3-5-year-olds, so a lot of what they're trying to say is a fun guessing game. All year, the teachers have been attempting to teach them a few signs in ASL to better communicate their feelings. Most of the kids knew the sign pretty well and tended to use it during snack time. However, other signs like all done, or please, were still a work in progress. The one day I was upstairs that week is because one of the children downstairs got covid. Because that whole age group is unvaccinated, the Inn had to close the downstairs floor. All the little kids were sent home early that day, so the downstairs teachers moved up and continued with a regular schedule. We were lucky, though to have an overall hot week, so it allowed us to spend a lot of time outdoors, which the kids loved. However, the black flies love the playground, so that was the only stress of the week. Overall I loved the school and was very happy I was able to work there during such a crazy time.

1st weekly reflection

 My first week at the imagination inn is complete! This week was pretty all over the place as I was just learning how everything is run. I was mixed pretty evenly between all the rooms which was helpful in terms of learning the layout of everything, but it also caused me some stress as each room had a different daily scheduled they abided by. A lot of the morning circle was used for me learn the students name as there were a total of 50 kids give or take there daily. The morning circle was also used as a playful attempt of structure, as I believed it help the kids feels a sense more involved in the movement of the day. A lot of my time spent this week was outdoors. Even though I am only there about 4 hours a day, about an hour of it is dedicated to recess or some version of being outside, for instance a walk. This is when kids would get out the bulk of their stored up energy. This is also when a majority of the arguments would happen, either over a toy or sand being thrown or someone was pushed. This is where I would help talk out a lot of the disagreements. This helped me negative my role as being a TA, to know how much or how little I should involve myself in kids real world experiences. Even outside I found myself in the sandbox or playing catch with kids just so I can learn a little more about them everyday. Throughout the week I became more comfortable to involve myself in class actives. I would play bingo with them or in the mornings sit in their tiny chairs and join them for morning table activity. I feel like I really tried this week to allow the kids to come to me as it was their first time in a while having a new teacher in the classroom. Overall though, I am very happy with the design of my project. The faculty is very caring and always willing to help me navigate around the school. Cant wait for what next week will hold. 

day 6 at the imagination inn

 Today was a rainy day in Andover, NH, which honestly was kinda nice as it was a nice change of pace to stay indoors. This time also gave me the freedom to plan activities I wanted to do with the kids, so I picked out Dr. Seuss books, which were my old time favorite and read them at circle time. I also got to be a customer at the imagination Inn pizzeria, very delicious felt pizza, if I do say so myself.  We spent a good amount of the day drawing and playing with dress up Mr. Potato head. The kids also seemed to like this chance of pace as it allowed them to calm down and take time to play with things they normally don't get too. Even-though, I do not tend to like rainy days this one was pretty nice, if I do say so myself.

day 8 at the imagination inn

 The focus of today was on honeybees and their lifecycle. Starting at circle time I read a book to the class called"Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera" by Cadence Fleming and Eric Rohman. 

The book was aligned with the honeybee's life.

At first, being a baby and just being born, to then moving into being a worker bee. 

This went through the steps of collecting the nectar and moving it throughout the hive. 

It also talked about, what it is like to have an intruder bee that tries to steal the honey. 

After reading this we made bee crafts. I traced out everything such as the body, the antennas, the stripes, and such. 

This allowed for kids to practice their scissors skills, this also let them use their imagination to create a personal bee's face. 

Overall, I had fun making crafts and getting to talk with the kids in smaller groups.

day 10 of senior project

Unfortunately, today was a short day for me as I wasn't feeling my best. I arrived to my last day at the inn at 8:00 am with a pretty bad headache and overall just feeling exhausted. With covid coming back around the school wanted me to leave to take a test, luckily I was negative. They were so supportive and allowed me to go back to my room to a much needed nap as well as an early lunch break. With it being my last day I didn't want to not say goodbye to the students and faculty. As I started to feel more like myself, they let me come back at 2:00pm to hang with the kids one last time. We made some arts and crafts and I even got some cards from the kids as well, which was super sweet. I only stayed for about 2 hours as the kids began to depart with their parents for the weekend. Sad to say goodbye, but I was so happy I was able to have these opportunity. 

day 11 of senior project

 Due to short staffing, the imagination inn had too close for today and tomorrow. Trish and Gabrielle in the athletic store, allowed me to pick up some hours as they needed help cleaning and putting away the spring uniforms. Throughout the day I did laundry loads of all spring sports team sports, and boy did they stink. Once they were all washed and dried, I went though the uniform checklist to make sure everyone had returned what they needed to. After about 5 sports teams, I toke a much needed lunch break. Once returning to the uniforms, I started to hang them in numerical order and pack away uniforms that were being donated. I enjoyed the day as it was a change of pace from my regular senior project. 

day 12 of senior project

Because the inn is still closed due to covid, I helped out Gabrielle in student life cleaning out the "weekend love" office as we move closer to summer. For most of the day though, similar to yesterday I was with Trish. I washed and organized uniforms as well as counted clothing inventory for the athletic store. That toke a while, as I had to go through each box of a specific item and count the amount of each size, and label the product descriptions. About 4 boxes in with over 200 pieces of clothing I toke a lunch break and got to walk around with Jaxson Gabrielle's dog. Once returning back to the office I counted laundry pins, socks, hats, and other times of accessories. At 7pm I turned on babysitter mode and read 6 books to a faculty's member child. Overall a very good day, and an even better way to end senior project.

day 9 at the imagation inn

 I was set to decorate the learning center today. The learning center is used for sensory building. The theme for these two weeks was a flower mart. I got a box of fake plastic flowers, and plastic vases and set up the "store". The preschool had a register with a movable belt for the flowers. Some kids were retail workers, and others were shoppers. Overall I think they loved the flower shop as it allowed for new learning experiences.

day 7 at the imagation inn

Once arriving at 8am per usual, I spent 10 minutes with the older kids upstairs, which was a nice change of pace just because I am with the younger kids all day long. After coloring and playing with blocks, I grabbed my banana and coffee from bluebird and headed downstairs. For the central part of the morning, I was with the younger group of 1-2 year-olds, reading the same three stories to them "hop on pop," "there's a wocket in my pocket," and a ballon counting book. Once snack time came, I was pretty fluid between the two downstairs rooms, playing with lego cars and wooden foam blocks. Once snack time was over and I swept the floor, we moved to the playground. It was a pretty nice day with big gusts of wind that could keep the black fly away. A small light brown/green frog was spotted outside our gate during recces. When the kids first encountered the frog, it was sleeping, but not long after the kids were there, it woke up and planned its escape. Closely behind the frog on the grass was a tiny teal robin egg, which kept them entertained for another 10 minutes. Today, many of the kids played on the plastic cars and bikes, which was enjoyable to watch them walk in a circle for a reasonable amount of time and still be entertained. If the kids were in the vehicles, they were mainly at the sandbox trying to build a castle with dry sand, which didn't work as well as they had planned. Once it was time for the younger kids to go in for lunch, I was asked to spend the rest of the Inn that day with the older kids at their outside playground. Older kids found their entertainment from the slide, as I would be at the start at the slide with an awaiting high five. Overall another good day at the Inn.

day 5 at the Imagation Inn

Today being Friday, marked my first completed week at the inn, which honestly was somewhat of a rewarding feeling. Today I was assigned back downstairs with the little kids. At this point, I have been better at understanding what there trying to say, making downstairs more interactive for me. Immediately we started the day outside, as it was yet another gorgeous day out. With this warm weather, though bugs come so quickly, it seemed that everyone was somewhat irritated, having us go in about 10 minutes earlier than planned. Giving everyone time to readjust indoors, I read three books to the kids, which they seem to enjoy, and sometimes try and read along with me, which I appreciate. As the kids began to get bored with sitting, they slowly moved on to the next city, which gave me the perfect way to set up their lunch boxes for snack time. With only seven kids in the classroom, snack time is surprisingly tranquil. Once the energy was back, two of the teacher decided to take half of the kids on a few loops around Proctor on their large strollers that fit about six kids. Between the two younger kid classrooms, there were about 20 students that day. So the two teachers toke 12, and the other teacher and I toke eight and go back onto the playground. The wind was fair but helped keep the bugs away, making this a more enjoyable outside experience.

After about an hour or so, the two teachers returned and gave the kids who were on a walk 15 minutes of playground time to realize the last bits of energy before lunch and nap time. Once going back inside, we slipt the kids back into their classrooms for a few minutes of playtime while I prepped their lunches and juice on the table. Today was a big day for me as I had my exit interview for my academic concentration. So after I swept and wiped down the table, I headed out around 11:30 to finalize my concentration, which topped the day as it was a great end to my work. Now, I get to enjoy the weekend along with the teachers and students and head back Monday for another day of preschool. 

Day 4 at the Imagination Inn

 As I got up today for another day at the Imagination Inn, I was greeted with sniffles and a cough; overall, I felt fatigued. Thinking it was just morning allergies, I continued to the Inn, ready for my 4th day. Today I was assigned to the 3-5-year-olds, which was a nice change of pace after being with the younger kids for the past two days. During morning activity, I sat with a few of the kids, coloring and helping them to try and write their names with the correct capitulation, as that was a primary focus for them to move onto Kindergarten. During those 45 minutes of morning table activities, more students began to join the classroom for the day. I was assigned to the other older kids' classroom, one I haven't worked in yet. There were about 10 or 11 kids that day, and these were all students I had never interacted with before, so I think they enjoyed the new company. We did circle time where the kids talked about the date and the weather, and we even went around and did a name song, making it somewhat easier trying to remember everyone's name. I sat with the kids playing with these dinosaurs between circle time and snack. At this time, I started to feel worse and just more tired. I grabbed myself a face mask and talked to the school director, who sent me to get a covid test at the health center. After testing negative, they allowed me the rest of the day off to recharge, which was much appreciated. I toke about a 3-hour nap once leaving the Inn, which was much needed. Even though it was a short day filled with not feeling great, I still felt very supported and cared for by the staff and students. 

Day 3 at the Imagination Inn (Senior Project)

 Today started like any other day at the preschool. I got there and was assigned to a floor and a classroom. Just like yesterday, I was with the 1-2-year-olds. We started the day off outside on the playground, being as it was such a lovely day out. Kids came in, particularly throughout this time. After being outside for an hour, the other teacher and I took the seven kids in for indoor playtime. Most kids choose to play in the ball pit or with the toy farm for this 20 min break before snack.

As the other two teachers came in for the day, more of the older two years came. As the kids began cleaning up for snack time, I would grab their lunchboxes and take out their snacks and drinks so everything was situated by the time they were done. My role during snack time is to open the food packaging and hydrate myself. Once the 15-minute snack was over, we headed back outside to the playground as today couldn't have had nicer weather. However, the bugs became somewhat intolerable around 11:15, so this was our cue to head in for lunch. During the transitional period between recess and lunch, the kids can play inside. This is also the time when the other teacher would change diapers. I set up lunches and water during snack time while the kids cleaned up the toys. I had to leave early this day as my team had an away match. Before I left, I helped set up kids' mates for nap time. Overall I say today was another good day at Pre-k.

Day 2 at the Imagination Inn (Senior Project)

 For my second day at the Immagation Inn, I was placed in the downstairs care area. This area is for the younger kids ranging from 1-to 2 years old. Even though these kids had a very similar schedule to the children upstairs, it still felt like a completely different playing field. The day started with playing with plastic instruments and going in and out of the "ball pit." After about 45 minutes or so of free time, it was time to clean up and wash hands for snack time. Being as these kids were less verbal, it became harder to understand their emotions, being that most of the time, they would just scream and cry. So, the snack time conversation mostly remained between the 5 other kids at the table. While the kids went to the bathroom with the other teacher, I swept up the crumbs and wiped down the chair and table. Once everything was all set, we headed for the playground. It was such a lovely day out; we combined classes with the other 1-2-year-old classroom for recess, making it about 16 or so kids. Recess is an hour-long; this is where most of the disagreements occur, whether over a toy, woodchips being thrown, or just because it is that type of day; this is when I hear Ms.Sarah called the most. Teaching kids to share, say sorry, or just keep their hands to themselves is much more complicated than I expected. After recess, I help the kids come inside and wash their hands for lunchtime. My role during lunch is really just to open up wrappers and clean up spills here and there. The other teacher set up their blankets and beds for nap time during the lunch break while I put away the children's lunch. For some kids falling asleep was easy. However, other kids needed more assistance when falling asleep; this usually included a back rub. Just like that, my 2nd day was done at the immagation inn.

Day 1 at Imagination Inn (Senior Project)

As I entered the preschool classroom door at 8am, I was welcomed with 9 smiley faces ranging between 3-5 years old. As the two teachers of the day introduced themself to me, I went on to sit at one of the small tables with 4 kids. They were playing with small colorful circles you can connect to one another to build whatever their little hearts imaged. This ranged from flowers to firetrucks to fart-activated spaceships. As I introduced myself as Ms. Sarah to the class, many of the kids tended to stick around me as they introduced themselves to me. They told me all types of things about themself, from their siblings' names to their home addresses; It was a wide range of topics. After cleaning up the toys, the kids did a color worksheet as they were learning colors and how to spell them. Once that was over, we all sat in a circle on the ground with whiteboards.Dry erase markers, as the kids would practice writing their names with upper and lowercase letters and then present them to class, announcing each letter. From there, we went on to play 1-20 number bingo; I was the one to call out the numbers. From there, 2 more kids joined our classroom for the day, making it 11 kids for the rest of the afternoon. As Crystal got the kids ready to go outside for recces, I wiped down the tables and swept the floor from dropped snacks. Recess was about an hour-long; this is about the point I started to learn fast kids' emotions can change. At one point, they were running around happy. The next, they were running over to me crying; this, I believe, is just the beginning of the things I will learn at the Imagination Inn. After an hour-long recess, we came back in for lunchtime. After lunch, I read two picture books to the kids, who finished their food early, while Crystal set up the sleeping arrangements for nap time. Before I left around 12:15, I was sent off with a big Bye, Ms. Sarah, from the whole classroom, which truly toped off my day.