Succumbed to Sickness

Hi all,

It is with great regret that I inform you that I was unable to make it to the classroom to volunteer yesterday (Monday). Unfortunately, I woke up Saturday morning feeling like a porcupine had climbed down my throat and into my head. I also felt like I had a foxtail stuck up my nose with the number of times I was sneezing. 

Needless to say, I did not want to pass that along to the students, so I took a sick day. I continue to sound and feel absolutely terrible, but at least I am no longer contagious, so I am hoping to make it on Friday.

Gotta keep this blog post short today as I will soon retire to my bed to be nursed to sleep by The Biggest Loser re-runs and NyQuil.

DON'T GET SICK! 

-TLC

Experience in the Classroom: Day 2

Disclaimer: I skipped day one because it was not very productive, but I touched on it in my last blog post. Aside from that, though, I am trying to make this a series of posts where I will reflect on my days in the classroom. 

So I'm just gonna jump right in to day 2. 

As I mentioned in my last post, I was expecting to have the kids in a math group with me for an hour, but because it was a crazy-hectic Friday, plans changed.

When I came in, the students were just beginning their art project that should have been finished by that time. However, the teacher insisted on finishing it before math time, so that's what we did.

I did some prep for the project while the kids were at recess. This included:

• tracing glue outlines (to be explained below)
• filling containers with water
• getting paintbrushes
• opening sets of watercolors
• tearing off paper towels for each table
• putting materials on the desk in pairs for each table

After that, I set up the iPad camera on the AppleTV so that the teacher could do an example for the students. The final product was supposed to turn out a little bit like this: 

The teacher basically prepped for this the day before by drawing outlines of pumpkins and leaves with white glue and leaving them out to dry. Then, we traced the lines while the kids were at break and recess to create the black outlines that you see in the example above. 

This project is similar to this one, except we added an additional level of contrast by outlining the lines of glue that we created. 

Ms. Kiefer explained and demonstrated how to properly use the watercolors and then described the objectives of the project. It was intended to teach students wet-on-wet painting techniques, color blending, and how to use space in an artwork. We also taught the students that they could only use colors that were touching on the watercolor palette such as red and orange or green and yellow so that we taught them the importance of using analogous colors. 

Though I didn't get to take a picture of the kids' final products during my time in the classroom, they all turned out really well! I was so proud of them and it looked like they had a TON of fun!!

-TLC

Sir Ken Robinson Comic

So tomorrow, Friday, I get to volunteer in the classroom again. My first time on Monday was eye-opening, but filling out paperwork took away most of the time I would have spent with students. It was really just a day full of listening and logistics.

But tomorrow, I get to work with my own group for an hour! An hour may not seem like much compared to what actual teachers do, but I am excited to help in a class rather than to be in one, honestly. 

Anyways, as I was perusing the internet, I came across this cool Ken Robinson comic that wanted to share with you all: http://zenpencils.com/comic/kenrobinson/

For those of you who do not know, he is one of my all time favorite educationalists and I strongly believe in what he promotes. He is also the author/writer of the most-viewed TED talk of all time: 

-TLC

Allow me to introduce myself!

Hi Everyone!


My name is Tara and I am a second-year senior at UCSB double majoring in Philosophy and Language, Culture, & Society and double minoring in Education and Professional Writing. As a student who ultimately wants to work in the field of educational justice, I am always finding new ways to put myself in the community of education.

I am currently volunteering in a third grade class at Isla Vista Elementary, so this blog is dedicated to my experiences in the classroom.

I will be posting summaries of what went on during my time with the students and documenting experiences that stuck out to me throughout the quarter!

Subscribe to my blog by clicking the button at the bottom of the page to learn with me!

-TLC