What another week for of learning and growth! This week I had the opportunity to do open house with the help of the assistant in my clinical classroom. I was nervous about  doing it when my CE asked me because it seemed intimidating to do it on my own. There was really no preparing for it because I couldn't predict what parents were going to say to me or ask me. My CE left me some information to give them and told me not to worry because only about four or five students show up at the most. Imagine my surprise when over half the class showed up! I was excited though to see them all and to get to make some connections with parents. I gave them the information from my CE and a "Meet the Student Teacher" form so that they could get to know me a little bit better. It was nice just to put a face with the parents and just by having some conversations, I got some background knowledge on my students and get information on their home lives that I did not have before. Just talking to these parents let me see how much trust they are putting in me and maybe of them shared their concerns with me. Mostly, it was the question of "how is my child doing?" Everyone just wants to know that their child is okay and is doing well in school. Luckily for me, I did not have to personally deliver any bad news to any parents. I was able to just tell them what I knew, what we are learning overall and I focused on their child's strengths. However, when my CE gets back she will have to sit down with the parents and talk about MAP scores and TRC assessments which will let parents know where their child stands in regards to where all other Kindergartners in the state stand. Some are not where they need to be in this point in the year and we have a lot of progress to make and work to be done. I know I will have to have these same kind of tough conversations when I take over so my CE suggested I sit in with her if it is okay with the parent! This will be an excellent learning experience for me because I have had the positive conversations so now it is time to learn how to have the harder conversations but still have a positive and encouraging tone. This is really only something I can learn by being apart of it so I am grateful to be doing that now with my CE. Much like the open house, this will be an excellent learning experience for me.


Also, this week I began working one-on-one with three students to do a case study on literacy. I am basing my assessments based on what I know they will need to know by the end of the year according to TRC so I am using my CE as a big resource for this. I will know where they are based on my assessments and I will develop lesson plans for where I need them to be. This is doing what I will be doing on a larger scale when I student teach so the practice is good for me. I am excited to see the growth that I can help to foster in these three particular students.

It has been a busy but rewarding week! I am excited to read how all of your clinical experiences are going! We are HALFWAY through the semester! Let's finish strong and keep learning from one another.