Work Experience Finale!

Today was the day I was dreading the most of the ten weeks! The final day. I didn't want to go to school today because I knew it was the last day. I have grown so attached to the girls I didn't want to leave at all! I went into school and we gave Mrs.P a thank you present on behalf of Daina , Eilise , Alanna , Roisin and I. She was extremely thankful and talked to us about our experiences throughout the placement.

             I went into my class and gave Mrs.M a thank you present for allowing me stay in her class for 10 weeks!. She was ever so grateful.

             Today we were going to make ornaments for our Christmas trees. I had to roll out clay into pieces for each girl. They each made a snowman and bell, then made a hole in the top of them so that they could hang them on their trees. Next week they are going to paint and decorate them.

          

  Mrs.B brought in a gerbil today because the girls were learning about animals! While the class admired the gerbil I continued making the ornaments with them. We always made hedgehogs out of clay!

            After break I planted daffodils with the girls who were absent the last week. I then paired there pencils , stuck their names on their desks and cleaned up whilst they practised their Christmas play. 

            At the end of the day Mrs.M thanked me for all my hard work and gave me a present on behalf of the class. I was so thankful for this and gave each girl a hug. I gave the girls some sweets with permission from Mrs.M and they were all happy campers! I hated how fast the 10 weeks went and wanted to stay forever! I said my goodbyes and the girls went home. 

           Afterwards Mrs.M said I could leave and said she would have been lost without me I thanked her again for everything and went to the staff room. Here some of the other staff talked to us about our experience there and if they turned us off primary teaching completely! In fact it did the opposite! I know for sure this is what I want to be now! I was so upset leaving today!

Week Nine

I set off for work at 9 this morning and said hello to the girls in the yard. I walked into the corridor and waited for the bell. Daina Roisin Alanna and Eilise followed shortly after me. We greeted the teachers and students. The girls came in earlier than usual today because it was too cold and icy outside. I went into the classroom and helped the girls settle down and take off / hang up their coats. They all sat down and talked until Mrs.M came in and told us what was going to happen that day.

           She asked me to go out to her car and get the bulbs , soil and plant pots. Today we were going to plant daffodils. This was a very messy job! I brought the girls to the art table in pairs and planted the bulbs with them , When we were finished we put them at the back of the classroom , on the windowsill. 

          After we planted the flowers , I was given a 'tricky word' sheet I had to test them on.While Mrs.B and Mrs.M were teaching I took one girl at a time and had to go through the words with them and tick off the ones they knew. I also had to test them on their letters and sounds. Their parent teacher meeting are next Wednesday so I helped to set up their sheets in polly pockets.

    At the end of the day when they were gone home I had to cut out a lot of words with a slicer. I don't want next week to come because it will be my last day! I don't want to leave!

Week Eight

Today I woke up early and had a shower. I went  to work at 8:50 and met Alanna , Eilise , Daina and Roisin and we went into the school.

      We waited in the corridor  for the bell to ring for us to go to the classrooms while we  talked about school. We said 'good morning' and helped Mrs. Walton with her bags.I went into the classroom and helped the girls settle down and take off / hang up their coats. They all sat down in their seats and Mrs.Meleady explained to me what I was going to do for the day.

           At the start of the day I had to cut up numerous shapes out of different pieces of fabric. This week the girls read 'The Elf and The Shoemaker'. I was the shoemaker and they were my elves. I grabbed colourful unique pieces out of the box and began cutting them in all shapes and sizes. I had to take each girl one at a time and help them stick the colourful fabric onto the shoes. When the collage was finished I painted the inside and under the shoe. They looked really good in the end and I hung them up in the classroom.   I also made an art display board showing their creative shoes they each designed.

          Mrs. Burke was being examined the next day to see how her teaching practice was coming along so I decided to help her decorate the room with all the art she did with the girls.I organised the display board and had to thumbtack pictures of words and sounds from 'Jolly Phonics' onto the board.

         When the girls went home at 1:50 I filed all their worksheets and pictures away from the previous week.

Today I got up and had a shower. I set off to work at 8:40 and met Alanna and we went into the school.

      The principal met me in the corridor and explained to me that there was another teacher in the classroom I was working in doing teaching practise . She didn't want me to go to waste ,so,  if the teacher didn't need me I was going to have to change rooms. Luckily she needed my help and I was aloud to stay with the girls. Although it has only been 6 weeks I have grown to love the girls , they're so cute and kind. I have a sort of bond with all the girls now and get on well with them. 

       At the start of the day I put their pictures into folders for Mrs.B. I then began to make a time line for them out of pictures of themselves over the years, ribbon and card. They turned out really pretty in the end. This took a long time and it was now break time. We went to the staff room ( Eilise , Alanna , Daina, Roisin and I) and made hot chocolate and ate biscuits , was so nice! After break I cut up pictures and words for Mrs.C and then did two other art activities with the class.

        Firstly we did marble art. We got baking trays , filled them with water and played drops of marble ink into them. I mixed them and then helped the girls dip their umbrella drawings into the top of the water. They turned out amazing! While some girls were doing this the other girls were colouring in blank sheets of paper with crayon and then black water painting them, to show that crayon is waterproof!

       When the girls went home at 1:50 I then paired all their pencils , sorted out folder and stuck their timeline's and pictures up. I thought today was a really fun day because I enjoy doing art with the girls.

           

            

Book Fair!

Past the half way mark! , Yesterday I got organised for my six week of work experience.Today I woke up and was full of life! I went to school and greeted everyone with a smile and a 'good morning' as usually. It had now become our weekly routine. Meet in the corridor , talk , go to the classroom.

           The teacher said I could take it easy this week because I had such a hard week last week. I thought this was really kind of her and said I honestly didn't mind. She let me be the art teacher again and I set up the art table. This week the girls had read a book about Cinderella and their task was to design her dress for the ball. This was fun to do with the kids because I got to see their creative side. By the end we had long , short , multi-coloured , beautiful dresses to show!

            

            Half way through the day the Principal of the school came to me and asked me to help out with the book fair. This brought back all the memories of when I went to school and was so excited for the book fair! We were the organisers for the day! All the little girls came up with their money in envelopes and we had to find their books for them and sell them to them. Sometimes the girls would buy books they weren't supposed to and we had to make sure this didn't happen. It was a fun day working with money and helping the girls ! 

               Today has been one on the best days I hope next week will be too!

LinesLinesLines

Yesterday I got my outfit and lunch organised for today. I woke up and got ready at 8, I was sick the night before and was dreading today I didn't want to be a nuisance so I was strong and went to work. It was a winter morning and the temperature was in the minus'!. I went to the school and met the four girls in the hall , we said our 'good mornings' and then went to our classrooms.

            The teacher said hello and told me what we would be doing for the day , she told me how I would hate her by the end of the day with the work she was about to give me! haha She then explained that her and Mrs. Acton needed to rule , line and number 120 copies for the girls! Myself and my workmates faces dropping and we laughed in nervousness! The teachers were reasonable and said they were so so sorry but they had to be done , they apologized all day and said that if we got too tired we could give up.

             Myself , Eilise and Daina took to the job like a duck to water and did as many was we could. At first we were thinking that the job would be quick enough and wouldn't matter at all , two hours later we were proven wrong. Our hands were falling off but we were determined to get the job done. We spent the whole day doing the copies and at the end the teachers said they'd never put us through that again! The teachers were so grateful for the work we had done , I really felt a sense of achievement!

Work Experience - Week Four

This is my Work Experience Video I made with my friends Ciara , Alanna and Katie. Mrs. L kindly helped with editing the video! Thank you!

Time is Flying by..

It's hard to believe that it is week four already! ,  Yesterday I got my clothes and lunch organised for today. I woke up and had a shower to wake me up , I was so tired and had the flu which didn't help at all. It was cold outside and the weather was miserable. I went to the school and met the four girls in the hall , we said our 'good mornings' and when it was time to go into the classroom I went in.

           The teacher greeted me and told me what we would be doing for the day , because Halloween is approaching she decided to make pumpkin lanterns and ghosts. She told me how to make the ghosts first step by step.

                While she taught the girls I called one over at a time to make their ghost. They each had a paper plate they had drawn faces on the day before. I punched a hole in the top with them and put string through to hang them from the ceiling. We stapled on crepe paper and stuck on hands. In the end they looked really well and very creative.

        After big lunch we made pumpkin lanterns.Mrs. M helped with this. They each got a sheet of orange cardboard and folded it into eight long strips , then cut them out. They then glued them in various ways to make the outline of a pumpkin. This was difficult for senior infant girls to understand so we had to go to each girl and help them out. After that they cut out pumpkin faces on black paper and stuck them on. In the end they turned out very 'spooky' and looked really good. 

              When home time came and the children went home I hung their art work from the ceiling , this looked very spooky and was perfect for Halloween. I also made booklets for them. Needless to say I cannot wait for next week!

Once again the week flew as I looked forward to Wednesday , the day for Work Experience. I hopped out of bed made my lunch and made sure I had a watch so I could monitor when my break was because the clock in my classroom was broken.

                 The teachers said their 'good mornings' to me in the corridor and I went into my classroom. The girls said hello to me and some hugged me. They all became so inquisitive and asked me what we were going to be doing today before I even knew! ha

                  Today I had to do 'Splash' painting with the children. I had to show them how to splatter the paint onto the picture with their fingers and paintbrush. As easy as it seems this is difficult to teach to little girls how to do this , their fingers were so tiny some weren't strong enough to do it so we came up with easier ways to do it with each girl.

                  After art we went on a nature walk. We walked to Castletown. I had to be a traffic warden and take care of the girls on the walk. We went on the walk and they collected leaves and observed the nature. We all got home safe and sound just in time for lunch. When the children went home at 2:10 I stapled pages and wrote names on colouring competition pictures. Overall I had a great day and can't wait for next week!

Week Two

All week I couldn't wait to go back to my Work Experience. I woke up at 7 o'clock again to be in school for 9:10, to my surprise I wasn't nervous at all but excited to see everybody again .

 I went straight to my room with the other four other girls from my year.Once again the other members of staff were so welcoming and a pleasure to work with. When the bell rang we each went to our assigned classes. The girls all smiled when they saw me and shouted 'hi Chanice' which made me smile.

                  
I was the 'art teacher' again for the day. I was given the task of making a robot called 'Robotot' with the children. They had been reading a book that week about a robot who had no feelings but by the end of the book he got feelings. I had to help them make the robot with recyclable materials they had gathered that week. Each child wanted to put 'their' box onto the robot so I had to find a way to let them and make the robot look like a robot too! By the end of the day we had a life size cardboard robot which was fun to make and the children enjoyed making him too.When the children went home at 2:10 I stayed with the class teacher for an hour and sorted out their class folders and made them art folders.

Senior Infant Class

Beginning

ROBOTOT

Scoil Naomh Bríd - Celbridge

This week I started my Work Experience. I went to my old primary school , St.Bridget's in Celbridge because it is something I'm thinking about doing when I leave school. I woke up at 7 o'clock to be in school for 9:10, to my suprise I wasn't tired at all but anxious to see what was in store for me.

                   I walked into reception and saw four other girls from my year which made me slightly calmer. I was so nervous at the start of the day because I didn't know what I was going to have to do. The other members of staff were so welcoming and a pleasure to work with. We each got assigned one class to work in. I got assigned to a senior infants class. I went into the classroom and the teacher kindly introduced me to the kids.

                    I was the 'art teacher' for the day. I was given the task of making patterns with the children. The topic was 'patterns' so I had to paint the back of jigsaw pieces and print them on sheets. Each piece had to be in a pattern and had to face the same direction , this was difficult to try and tell the children but I simplified it and made it easy for them to do.When the children went home at 2:10 I stayed with the class teacher for an hour and sorted out their class folders.

                    At the start of the day the principal told us our lunch times but the clock in my room was broken so I had no way of telling the time. I was late for lunch twice but nobody noticed because all the 'work experience girls' eat lunch at the same time. I luckily still had 20 minutes to eat lunch and everything was ok. The best part of the day was painting with the children.