Community Reflection

In the spring of 2020, I served as a lead teacher in the Fishback Learning Center’s
3&4-year-old classroom. I had the opportunity to teach and work right alongside 16 very enthusiastic
children. My classroom duties included lesson planning a range of activities to build fine and large
motor skills, reading and literacy recognition, mathematical skills, social skills, and creative play. I
was also in charge of implanting these lessons and tracking the development of my students’
progress. Our semester offered a few surprises when we had to adapt to an online learning format. I
believe making these adaptations allowed me to build an outline for online teaching in the event I
need to implament it in the future.

I believe that any experience in an educational setting can make you a better educator. As
teachers, we get the blessing of being life long learners. Each new class will teach us something, each
student may bring a new idea that changes how we approach classroom lessons and activities. In my
classroom, I learned what it meant me flexible and strict at the same time. Preschoolers need a
routine to begin building their foundation of phonic awareness, number recognition, and writing their
names to prepare them for kindergarten. However, they also are at an age where learning is still new
and exciting. Because of this, I learned how to incorporate basic skills in new, active ways.

My personal pedagogy includes kinesthetic movement integrated into the classroom

curriculum. To learn numbers, I laid the numbers 1-5 out on the floors and had my small group hop
on one foot onto each number in the correct order. This combined number recognition with active
moment which has been proven to increase retention is young students. Not only did we learn
together, but we also laughed along the way. This helped me learn what it means to make personal
connections with each of my students. When I took the time to ask questions and inquire about my
students’ likes and dislikes, it helped me form relationships based on honesty and trust. Through this,
my students weren’t afraid to ask questions or come to me with their struggles.

The greatest compliment I received was when one of my students told me, “Teacher Haley I
like when you listen to me.” Anytime a student was having a rough day or got upset I always made
sure to kneel down, look them in the eyes, and say, “we all have big and small feeling and I am
always here to listen to yours.” Sometimes they would talk about it, other times we just went right
back to the activity we were working on. What made that statement so impactful was the fact that a
4-year-old recognized I listened, and I cared. Supporting our students is job number one and I grew
as a teacher through this experience by understanding the importance of teacher to student
connections.

Overall, my time spent as a lead teacher in the 3&4-year-old classroom allowed me real
teaching experience as well as a way to learn about the kind of teacher I am becoming. Self-reflection
is important because while we learn from our students we also learn from the past versions of
ourselves. Growing as an educator means continuing to find purpose in the lessons we teach, every
student we meet, and every setback or goal we achieve.