"Miss Anna"

4/30/19
7:00 departure and a quick car ride to the school, Mrs. Brozovich took my picture by the welcome sign. I was not sure what the day would hold but I was excited.

First day!

As the kindergartners filed in and questioned my presence, I helped plan out an activity. We cut straws in half and were going to build a cube with clay. This task, although sounded easy, turned out to be harder than 'Mrs. B' and I intended.

The end product

There were some students who stuck out in the class. These students had a tough time sitting still, spit, hit, said mean things. We sometimes mistake childhood trauma for ADHD behavior, this can result in kids not receiving the attention they need. I learned tactics that some students used for when they are feeling aggressive.

Some tactics are:

1) poke dots on your hand

2) brush your arm

3) a weighted vest

4) noise canceling headphones

The boy at the bottom of the photo has the weighted jacket and noise canceling headphones
(face is blocked for privacy)

I also learned about positive reinforcings, since some kids might not be positively reinforced at home. The school has a system where some member of the staff are apart of the PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Systems). This is where a child, who needs extra attention, gets to spend more time with an adult figure and form relationships. This is a nationwide system and it is separated into three different tiers: 1, 2 and 3. Each tier has different degrees of involment. Some strategies they use in the classroom are 'Warm Fuzzies' and 'Super- You- Bucks'. Warm Fuzzies are when a student does something good, they can put colorful cotton balls into a jar. Super - You- Bucks is a coupon system, where when a student does a good deed they can be rewarded with a 'Super - You - Buck', which that they can later exchange for a prize.

Hours: 10 - Working in the classroom and planning future activity

Total : 11