Another Day That Just Got Away

1/26/11
I'm really getting into a good routine with morning calendar and I'm not as nervous about not doing things in the exact way that Ms. Fraser does. Although varying from the strict structure and routine did cause K to cry and start throwing a fit because I didn't do things exactly the way he wanted me to do them. In order to calm him so he wasn't interrupting the rest of the class, which happens frequently, Ms. Fraser had to pull him aside and explain to him again that I'm learning to be a teacher and I need to practice that's why she isn't doing calendar anymore. The explanation and a hug stopped the crying, but he wouldn't participate in anything after that. To top it off today was a poetry notebook day, it's really just an alphabet book, and K really does not like doing this so he was not cooperative at all today. Before I sent them off to complete their poetry notebooks I went over with them some of the common errors that they make when completing their work.
There are a lot of repetition of directions and expectations on work even though they are things that the students have done repeatedly since school started. It seems to me that no matter how many times and ways they are told to do things some still have difficulty following or knowing what they should be doing. I think some of it is that there are students that no matter what is done will not listen or pay attention, but others are still struggling with the language because Spanish is spoken at home and this is the first time they have really had to understand any English. It can become frustrating to repeat directions or repeat modeling steps especially when it comes to the few that I know just don't pay attention the first time. I try to remind myself that it is Kindergarten and it won't always be this way, but some days it just builds up. I also make sure that I never show my students that I'm frustrated because that won't help either of us. So I just talk with my cooperating teacher and she has been good about reassuring me that I am doing what I should be and that some of them take a bit longer to crack open and get them into a school state of mind.