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https://studentshare.org/education/1599655-schedules.
The Preschool I VisitedThe preschool I visited had their schedule posted on the bulletin board. Their routine at that day starts at 9:00 in the morning with circle time. This is then followed by Science at 9:30 to 10:30. They then have their snack time for 20 minutes. After the break, the class resumes with English at 10: 50. Their morning routine ends at 11:50. During the observation, there were 12 children in the classroom. Each child was accompanied by a parent, relative, or any other care giver.
As the children arrived, I could notice the different characteristics of the pre-schoolers with how they greeted their teacher. Some came in rushing to say good morning while others took their time and politely waited for the others. At 9:05, the teacher called the attention of the children and asked them to go to their proper seats. They started the day with a short prayer led by one of the students. The attendance was checked through a welcoming song wherein names were being mentioned. After the teacher and students greeted each other, they moved on to the morning exercise.
Together with a model student, the teacher led the stretching routine. The children obediently followed and performed the exercise drill. By 9:20, they formed a circle and the children took turns in briefly expressing themselves as to how they felt that day. Most of the children were eager to talk so the teacher reminded them that they had to wait for their turn. It proved to be a wonderful start since all of them concluded that they felt happy that morning. At 9:40, they arranged their chairs and the teacher started with the Science lesson.
The teacher talked about plants and their different parts. They then went outside and the children were asked to draw a plant that they have particularly observed. The kids were ecstatic while going out of the class room and animatedly talked with each other about the plant that they want to draw. Their drawings were collected at 10: 25 and the teacher asked them to wash their hands for snack time. The children were very excited as they brought out their food. The teacher and volunteer parent went around and assisted the students in opening their snacks.
Some of the children went out and played some games while the others contentedly chewed on their sandwiches. At 10:50, the children were asked to settle down and keep their food. Some of them did not go inside immediately so two girls told them to come inside the room. They were also requested to clean their area. Many of them promptly threw their trash. At 10:55, the teacher distributed their work books and guided each student in writing diagonal and curved lines. It was apparent that most of them needed encouragement from the adults in completing the two-page-work.
Most of them seemed to lose interest after writing on the first page. A girl who finished ahead announced that she was done and was rewarded with a sticker. This inspired the others to complete their writing activity. After 45 minutes, the teacher announced that it was time for dismissal. They then sang their usual farewell song and enthusiastically went to their waiting parents.It was evident that there were slight differences when it comes to the planned time since the teacher had to adjust to the ambience of the situation as well as to the respective conduct of the children.
Certain factors such as readiness, motivation, and atmosphere setting must be considered. It was also noted that the teacher grasped opportunities for learning. For instance, she did not strictly adhere to the schedule when the children were eager to participate in the circle time activity. Indeed, this is a significant part of the morning routine since it has a lot of benefits including emotional literacy. Circle time emphasizes several values like democracy, respect, empathy, and inclusion (Roffey, 2006).
Moreover, they did not exactly start at 9:00 A.M. since a couple of kids did not arrive yet. A few minutes were also spent on waiting for the children to settle down after their break. Generally, the morning class was spent meaningfully and productively. Reference ListRoffey, S. (2006). Circle time for emotional literacy. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
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